Evan D. Sherden, Broke the Ice (5)

“I’ve seen this somewhere.”

There was an unnecessarily high ceiling, huge columns, and unrecognizable geometric patterns inside. They were all characteristics of dungeons that had been frequently featured in Yo-Ma Great War Zero.

It was a vast historical site that made him feel like an ant. Everything inside except the players was huge. This was one of the characteristics of Yo-Ma Great War Zero.

“Master? What are you thinking about?”

“I’ve been agonizing over whether this falls into my curse’s category of misfortune.”

On this journey, he thought that he could meet one or two monsters from the Mana Realm, but he didn’t expect his party to jump in there themselves!

‘No, probably not. Would it be accurate to assume that the entire site flew into the present world?’

Perhaps giving too much blood to the Magic Circle had affected it. There were so many things that he could conjecture. However, there would soon be no time to think about such things because…

– Ssssssss.

“I can feel something. The temperature is decreasing.”

“Hyeong, activate the protection, please. Lua, prepare flame magic.”

“Okay.”

Evan gave direct orders to the party members and kept his eyes to the front. The cold air that was encroaching the surroundings soon condensed into a shape with Raihan’s power and all the attention was on him. It was the Crystal Lady, a giant female monster whose entire body was made up of ice crystals. She was one of the monsters that appeared only in Yo-Ma Great War Zero, and it wasn’t easy to catch and attack her because she spread in the form of the fog of small crystals in the wide area, but it was of no use in front of Raihan’s protection.

-What’s this? I wanted to play with that pretty guy over there, but why would a middle-aged man like you bother me?

“What? A middle-aged man…!”

“Hyeong, you’re supposed to attract the monster’s attention. But why is it the other way around? You aren’t a middle-aged man, so don’t worry.”

It seems that the Crystal Lady was attracted to Evan’s beauty. Evan patted Raihan on the back, who was already bothered about being the oldest in the party, as he ordered Belois to attack the monster.

“Ha!”

Belois’s fierce flames attacked any woman who was after Evan, regardless of race, and struck the Crystal Lady directly!

-Argh!

A lump of extreme, blazing flame struck the Crystal Lady’s body and began to melt her away. She tried to put the flame out by blowing cold air, but it couldn’t penetrate Raihan’s protection and only deflected toward him! Indeed, the cold atmosphere was so great that it froze Raihan’s armor for a moment, but in the end, the Crystal Lady turned into steam as she melted away.

-Ahhhhhhh!

“Huh.”

“Umm…”

However, Raihan and Belois, who easily hunted the Crystal Lady, looked surprised. It was because they had just gone through something they had never experienced in combat with other monsters.

“I never thought my armor would freeze. I thought, with the guidance of our Master, that all conditions were perfectly developed. Well…as expected, I still have a long way to go.”

“I was going to melt it down right away, but I didn’t expect a counterattack. I’ll have to train harder.”

“I think both of you have too high standards…”

Anastasia wasn’t completely influenced by the Astrays and carefully tackled their thoughts, but her words fell on deaf ears.

“Let’s go in deeper.”

Meanwhile, Evan made a complicated expression and urged the group on. Since then, everything had been put in full swing. Evan perfectly responded to all monsters that appeared, giving timely instructions to the group as if he had already known what monsters would come out in the situation while perfectly guiding the way.

“…This is more extraordinary than usual.”

“It’s like you’re predicting every moment.”

It felt like all Evan’s party members became a cogwheel that ran perfectly within the machine that was the dungeon. It was like one system that was tailored to the wishes of an engineer named Evan. Furthermore, it was fascinating to see such a stunt against high-ranking monsters who they couldn’t predict in advance.

“That’s the way it should be. No, that’s the only way to do it.”

Evan didn’t need to hide anything…as Yeo Ban-Min in his past life; he liked Yo-Ma Great War Zero and Yo-Ma Great War 3. The Great Ancient Wizard was the main character, who was taciturn, humane, and had strong abilities. The classic and charming heroine, the High Elf Mirole! A magnificent epic that used them as its mainstay to defeat all kinds of monsters that appeared from the mythological era…!

‘I’ve been into 3D combat scenes with charming characters and high budgets, and I’ve played it over and over again.’

Besides, unlike Yo-Ma Great War 3, where the random system was perfectly settled, there were quite a few specifications that didn’t change until Yo-Ma Great War Zero. For example, the place where monsters appeared. The kind of monsters that appeared was predetermined, so if he made a good strategy, he could clear the dungeon without getting hit like in the movies. This site was now one of the dungeons that the Great Ancient Wizard had cleared in the past. More precisely, it was one of the DLCs of Yo-Ma Great War Zero, which wasn’t difficult, but at the end of that, people were able to get items that were the key ingredients of the new armament, so if they were a fan of Yo-Ma Great War Zero, they had to buy them…

“I was just thinking of it, but it’s really turning out the way I expected. That means…”

They must be halfway around the dungeon. Suddenly, Evan raised his fist and hit the air. The terrible pressure, which ran straight, smashed one wall, and complex polygonal crystals rolled out.

“A hidden reward!”

“Yes, this is the Tears of Glacier.”

“…Hmm?”

Shine asked back, questioning his ears, but Evan didn’t change his answer.

“It’s the reason we are here.”

“What, it’s this easy…?”

“You’ll be surprised in the future.”

Evan left the battle to his party, beginning to strike the hidden points in the ruins. They couldn’t find any difference between a pillar or an altar of ice or a chandelier made of ice, but they could break it down mercilessly, or they could melt the entire treasure chest made of ice…in the process, they got the polygonal crystal, the Tears of Glacier, that beautifully reflected the light.

“Master, there’s a lot…”

“Yeah, it wasn’t uncommon in the mythological era.”

Although it was a top-of-the-line item treated as a fantasy material that could make the Elixir, one they could only barely get by clearing the ruins under Eternal Glaciers, that was why it was called the mythological era. Just as monsters’ basic standards were different, the basic standards of the items were different. To make the above-mentioned unique armament, it was necessary to collect about 30 Tears of Glaciers around the ruins.

“Then there must have been a lot of Elixirs during the mythological era.”

“Alchemy wasn’t developed back then. And some ingredients weren’t there at the time.”

But now, the remains of the mythological era were so chaotic that they appeared in this world. This was why Evan had fallen into his complicated thoughts earlier. It was better if this happened only around him, but…

‘I don’t know. I’ve got to do everything I can.’

If the ruin were cleared normally, three Tears of Glaciers could be obtained, and potentially another key ingredient of the unique armament could be obtained depending on their luck. However, Evan was able to penetrate all the hidden elements of the dungeon, so he destroyed the ruins and secured more than 10 Tears of Glaciers!

“I’ve built your main armaments, but I haven’t made any fast weapons yet. Let’s think of this as a good opportunity.”

It would be better to do something when you saw it. He was able to infer why the ruins were in a state of partial destruction, and now, Evan was running wild.

“But it’s fascinating. If this is the remains of the mythological era, do you mean we’re in the past?”

“No, I’d say this ruin has flown into the present era.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Hmm?”

Evan turned his head at Belois’s words. She continued, pointing to the ice crystals lying on the floor.

“We’ve tested it earlier, but there’s no time-varying change in ice crystals. I wondered because it took so long to melt with the flame, but I finally found out. Everything here is fixed.”

“Everything is fixed?”

“Yes, it’s probably not affected by the flow of time. Maybe it’s the same for us who are here.”

Belois was speaking in an extremely calm tone, but in retrospect, it was ridiculous. Evan thought about what it was like in Yo-Ma Great War Zero, but strangely, he couldn’t remember that part well.

“Maybe. You mean the flow of time was frozen.”

“Yes, if we were to say that we came into a space that had been stopped…I think we should be careful.”

“But our goal here doesn’t change.”

The party continued to move forward. Despite being cautious, Evan broke all the hidden points to claim the Tears of Glaciers, gathering almost thirty in total.

“We’re about to enter the Boss Room.”

“…This will be difficult.”

Like the ruins where everything was frozen, the Boss Room was also frozen, and the only way to open it in the game was to melt it with incredibly strong heat. However, it wasn’t that difficult for Belois, who was already pioneering the realm of natural magic, to melt it.

“Everyone be ready for battle. If you take a cold shot, your heart can stop beating at that moment. I’m going to use assistance magic.”

“Don’t worry too much. The power of nature will protect us.”

Raihan’s divine magic and Anastasia’s Druid magic wrapped around the whole party. Belois’ last flame hit the door, completely smashing it. A moment later, a terrible chill spread from inside the Boss Room!

[Oh, my god]

A cold voice echoed quietly as if it was supposed to freeze the listener’s eardrums.

[I never thought I’d see him again since I ran away.]

“Is it a hobby for bosses these days to talk nonsense without introducing themselves?”

[You’re young and immature. Zero, I’ve been obsessed with your fate after all.]

Evan remained in the King Ice Spirit’s sight as he waited for his companions. However, unlike Yo-Ma Great War Zero, it seemed that its mental state wasn’t particularly good when he talked.

“I’m not here to kill you, but I can’t do anything about it anymore. So, I’m going to kill you.”

“I think killing it will activate the exit. It looks like the axis of the door.”

[Ah, everything will be your way in the end.]

Evan didn’t know what the hell he was talking about! He took a step forward on behalf of his group, who had fought with all the monsters so far. He knew it wasn’t the right time to take it easy, so at the same time, he released his boot and activated Heaven’s Step…

[But I will choose when I want to die.]

At that moment, the entire site was twisted. The King Ice Spirit was resonating with the ruins, emitting light from his body!

[I’ll be waiting.]

“Where?”

Evan broke it with an unforgivable wave of his palms before he played tricks. But surprisingly, its body went through Evan’s palm!

[I…will…die…as I wish…!]

“Huh!”

Unfortunately, it only encouraged Evan. One, two punches, and a kick! Finally, a fist containing Heaven’s Throw penetrated the body of King Ice Spirit!

[Argh!]

The King Ice Spirit let out a short breath. At the same time, the vibrations of the ruins began to intensify. Belois realized something and ran to Evan with the others.

[Zero, Zero…!]

The moment Belois’ protective barrier magic wrapped around Evan and all his companions, the King Spirit oxidized. Perhaps it was the power of the King Ice Spirit that kept the ruins in the present world, and soon after it disappeared, the ruins melted down as if they never existed. And when they came to their senses, the group was standing where they first jumped into the ruins.

“Zero…?”

Evan succeeded in extracting the key ingredient for their weapons safely…he held the heart of the King Ice Spirit in one hand and tilted his head.

“Did he know he was part of Yo-Ma Great War Zero?”