The Dungeon, ‘Ice Witch’s Castle,’ was an open-type Dungeon, so there was no problem going back out. But there was one thing…

[You, you shouldn’t go…]

A cool energy continued to crash into him from behind because the banshee was chasing after him timidly with the four vengeful spirits.

"…Poor girl," the Frost Queen looked back and muttered.

If a banshee wanted to ascend, she needed someone to listen to her story.

‘But looking at her, that’s probably impossible.’

The snowstorm around her was so severe that even the Sword Saint didn’t want to get close.

"Contractor, I am, of course, angry, but... at times like this, it’s important to make rational decisions. Are you confident?”

The Ice Witch's curse on the banshee had been maintaining that level of strength for hundreds of years. This was impossible to do unless the caster was someone at the level of an archmage from a magic tower. But surely, the Ice Witch wasn't as powerful as someone from a magic tower.

'The reason why the ice curse hasn't stopped for hundreds of years even though she’s not an expert is simple.’

This was because the Ice Witch was periodically renewing the curse on the banshee. However, there was no human being in the world who could live for hundreds of years.

"Be careful, your opponent is an immortal magician,” warned the Frost Queen.

An immortal magician was also called a lich. The term referred to an undead magician who had received immortality in return for destroying their own soul. Seo Jun-Ho had only taken a glimpse of them in the Frontier's monster dictionary, but he had never met them in person. Of course, he had no idea how strong a monster who refused to die and devoted itself to magic for hundreds of years could be.

"But it doesn't matter,” responded Seo Jun-Ho.

It was because he had decided to kill the Ice Witch, that undead skeleton. Hearing Seo Jun-Ho's frosty voice, the Frost Queen turned her head and looked at the banshee once again.

"…I'm glad the snowstorm is strong."

Seo Jun-Ho agreed. The snowstorm brought over by the banshee would hide what was going on inside.

***

Hamel Ice Canyon was where the dwarves had built the new ‘Del Ice.’ Hundreds of years ago, it was where a family had stayed: a hunter couple and their children. And now, it was the site of a nameless lich’s dungeon.

Tap, tap.

In the dark dungeon, the lich's skeleton fingers lifted a bottle.

Clatter, clatter!

Then, another skeleton tied to the wall's restraint shook in a frenzy. The lich stretched out the bones of her index finger and covered her mouth.

- Shhh… You need to remain quiet.

Her voice sounded as if it were directly vibrating the air. Since she was a skeleton that could not make a sound due to her physical structure, she spoke using magic.

Clatter, clatter!

The skeleton's struggle increased, but the lich still poured medicine on it.

Sizzle!

Cells and blood covered the entire skeleton, and skin like that of a human was produced at a rapid rate.

- Ohhh!

The lich exclaimed, but that was it. The skeleton had started to turn into a human with a hideous appearance, and the only eye generated rolled about randomly.

- Is it a failure again?

Crack! 

The lich lightly flicked her finger and killed the existence that was seemingly on the verge of becoming human. The lich wrote a report calmly without even sparing it another glance.

- Subject #3,189... Failure due to lack of ductility. More vitality is needed.

With this, the lich had taken a step forward.

The lich ordered her goblin subordinates to clean up the dirty lab. She went into her room, sat in a chair, and looked into the empty space with her black eyes. It was the only thing she did except when she performed her research.

- …

Hundreds of years ago, she thought she had escaped the human species and transcended death, but she was mistaken. It was not a blessing of transcendence, but a curse born from greed. Touch, taste, pain… as soon as she had become a lich, she had obtained a body that couldn’t feel. Naturally, even the desire to live had disappeared like smoke when she obtained such a body. What followed was perfect void. Void where she could not feel anything.

- I want to be human once again.

It wasn’t because she wanted to die. It was to live again, to yearn for something again. It was to breathe, eat, and sleep again. She wanted to be human.

- If I succeed in this experiment...

She would achieve true eternal life. She would become a lich right before death, and become human again when she wanted. She could give up anything for that grand dream. Humanity? It had been a long time since she had thrown that away.

- I need more subjects. Go get some.

As she muttered, her voice vibrated the air throughout the dungeon.

"Kieck?"

"Kkirrrr!"

Snowfield goblins nodded hastily, packed their weapons, and left the Dungeon to find new humans for their master. Acquiring humans wasn’t difficult at all. They didn’t know why, but there were people who handed over living humans every time they visited.

***

[Hey, you.]

The banshee chased after him timidly, but she gathered her courage and spoke up. But it wasn’t enough to stop Seo Jun-Ho's steps.

[Hu-human!]

“…”

She was a little scared, but she stood in front of Seo Jun-Ho with her arms spread out. He asked with a gruff expression. "What?"

[Ar-are you really going to the Ice Witch?]

"Yes..."

[No! I don't know about you, but she's incredibly strong.]

Seo Jun-Ho simply looked at the banshee with a nonchalant look.

She pursed her lips and muttered in a low voice.

[You'll die if you go.]

"I'm not going to die."

Seo Jun-Ho bluntly answered and took a step.

The banshee screamed, “Kkyaaak!”

[Y-you absurd human! Don't just walk through a lady's body!]

"The location of the Ice Witch’s dungeon... Was it that way?"

Seo Jun-Ho walked up the canyon, tracing the way with his memory. The memory was about the location of the Ice Witch's Dungeon from the banshee's memory.

"Was it on the left around here?" wondered Seo Jun-Ho.

"Is it not the right side?" the Frost Queen argued.

As he wandered the road with the Frost Queen, the banshee crept in.

[Hey, human.]

"What?"

[What are you going to do with the Ice Witch?]

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho looked at the banshee without saying a word.

[Wh-what are you looking at?]

"You should ascend."

[What?]

"You and your siblings. You guys should ascend."

They had wandered this world for hundreds of years now. The vengeful spirits that followed her were not banshees. They could have ascended if they wanted to, but they couldn't because they were worried about their older sister.

[…]

The banshee's lips opened and shut without a sound for a moment after hearing something completely unexpected. She pondered and slowly opened her mouth to speak.

[Are you confident?]

"Do you know who I am?"

[How would I know that?]

"When I appear in my hometown, half a million citizens gather... It's really crazy."

[You're not telling me to believe that, are you?]

Seo Jun-Ho kept his mouth shut. It was hard to explain the concept of the 1st and 2nd floors here. He asked as he looked ahead and walked, "How’s the pain?"

[Where you hit me?]

"Not that pain."

[…]

The banshee looked down near her heart. There was a strong ice curse planted there. It was a terrible curse that the Ice Witch extended every year.

[It doesn't hurt.]

"You're lying."

There was no way it wouldn’t hurt. It was a curse engraved on the soul, and with it causing a snowstorm of this level, it was sure to cause a lot of pain. However, the banshee opened her eyes wide and shook her head.

[It really doesn't hurt. I'm just used to it by now.]

“…”

The way she talked as if it really didn’t matter deeply permeated his heart. Seo Jun-Ho quietly swallowed and nodded. "Is that so?"

He didn't even give a little bit of consolation as his pace up the canyon became faster.

***

"Kirrrk."

"Krrkrr."

Two snowfield goblins were coming down the canyon while cracking jokes.

"Kirik?"

Then, a goblin patted the other one on the shoulder. The goblin's eyes widened as it hurriedly followed the other’s gaze. It was because a rough snowstorm was approaching them.

"Kieeck!"

The frightened snowfield goblins quickly returned to the Dungeon.

- I’m certain I told you to bring humans.

The lich murmured, looking down at the back of the prostrated goblins’ heads.

- But I don’t see humans.

"Kirrr!"

"Kyak!"

The goblins raised their heads and looked as if they had been wronged. They hurriedly explained the whole story using gestures. The lich’s head tilted to a side as if she had understood what they were saying.

- If it's a snowstorm... Does that mean she's coming?

Just why?

Whenever that banshee approached the vicinity, the lich would drive her out using pain. Having repeated that for hundreds of years, the banshee had eventually stopped coming about 50 years ago.

- Is that so? Did she forget the pain?

It was possible, as humans were forgetful creatures. The lich may have lost her soul, but she didn’t have the blessing of forgetfulness. As such, she knew that a banshee was a soul in itself.

It was possible for the banshee to forget the pain of the past and challenge the lich’s authority once again.

Boooom-!

All of a sudden, the Dungeon trembled.

- An earthquake?

There was no way. There hadn’t been a single earthquake in the last few hundred years.

Boooooom-!

Once again, the Dungeon shook. The intensity had become even stronger than before. At that point, even the lich could not help but feel uneasy.

- Send all the guardians out. Check what's happening out there!

After issuing the order, the lich hurriedly began to gather her research materials.

***

Arriving in front of the Dungeon, Seo Jun-Ho looked around. The surrounding was full of the snowstorm caused by the banshee.

"…Hey, can you adjust the intensity of this snowstorm?"

[Only a little bit. But why do you ask that?]

"That's a relief. Listen to what I'm going to say from now on," Seo Jun-Ho calmly said as he looked at the entrance of the dungeon.

"Let out the snowstorm as hard as you can."

[Uh... Why?]

"No one can see what's going to happen from now on."

It was hard for her to understand, but the banshee nodded instinctively.

[Oh, all right.]

Seo Jun-Ho thought about why she accepted it so easily, but he couldn't figure it out.

He had no idea that his voice—no, his entire body emitted a strange energy.

[My Lord?]

It was similar to what the Lord of the northern region emitted, whom she had seen when she was a child. It was an overwhelming aura that made people bow their heads. But the banshee shook her head.

'Something… something’s different…’

It was much, much more powerful and ferocious than that. He wasn’t a very tall man, nor was he full of muscles. But his aura was more intense than anything she had seen in the last few hundred years.

[Maybe... more than… the Ice Witch?]

The moment she said that without realizing it…

Whaaaa!

The white land of Hamel Ice Canyon began to turn black. The center of the pitch-black land was none other than Seo Jun-Ho's two feet.

"Crawl out."

Seo Jun-Ho murmured and slowly raised his hand. Darkness slowly began to rise from the pitch-black earth. The moment it rose to a certain height, Seo Jun-Ho flicked his finger.

Ttak!

Boooom-!

At the same time, the darkness fell back to the floor, generating a tremendous echo akin to an earthquake throughout the area.

"One."

After counting, he did the same thing again.

Ttak! Booooom-!

"Two."

Just before the count of three, the guardians of the Dungeon began to come out of the entrance while holding weapons in their hands.

"Kyak!"

"Kirrrr!"

Goblins, orcs, trolls, and even snowfield wolves came out. Seo Jun-Ho looked at the dozens of monsters coming out like a swarm of ants and nonchalantly flicked his finger.

"Three."

Booooom-!

Darkness fell, and the monsters were crushed to death like ants. At the same time, the Dungeon couldn’t withstand the impact and finally began to collapse. Finally, the existence Seo Jun-Ho was waiting for had come out of the Dungeon.