I Gain Infinite Gold Just By Waiting-Chapter 199: Episode 43_Lord of the Ice Castle (2)

Episode 199

2.

The Ice Castle had made an overwhelming first impression the moment it appeared.

Fortunately, there was video footage.

It was a massive castle carved entirely out of ice.

Even seeing just the outer walls, the visible sections alone were so exquisitely sculpted and looked so solid that they drew involuntary gasps of admiration.

—It's ice, right? Can't we just melt it?

—With what? We're talking about the Arctic. A lighter would probably freeze solid if you tried to flick it. How are you supposed to melt that?

Normally, ice didn't have a reputation for being "solid."

It was generally weak to fire, and people were usually more wary of extreme cold, like freezing temperatures.

However, the Ice Castle in the Arctic completely shattered that image.

These were ice walls, fortified by the extreme cold.

They gave the impression of being utterly unbreakable.

What could possibly crack them?

Even if a fracture did appear, it felt as if it would just refreeze in the sub-zero cold and become even harder.

—Still, maybe Fly could do it? 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

—You think Fly is a god or something? The recommended difficulty is 8-Star. You expect a party that's just started clearing 8-Star dungeons to break that?

—It's still just 8-Star at the end of the day, right? Just a theme dungeon.

—That's not wrong. Basically, you just need the specs to clear an 8-Star theme dungeon.

—Yeah, if you have the ability to take down a level 86 boss—one that's literally called the Ice Lord and is obviously specialized in cold.

—That's a little rough.

—"A little" rough? Come on. A level 86 boss is basically 9-Star territory.

—True. The only reason anyone can even enter the Ice Castle is because they relaxed the entry requirements. Originally, Fly would've been the only one allowed in, right?

People had a lot to say about the Ice Castle.

They couldn't help it.

Countless dungeons had appeared on Earth, and countless monsters had poured out of them.

Now, on top of all that, a completely new type of dungeon had taken root on Earth itself.

[Announcement]

▶ Ice Castle

1. Somewhere on Earth, a castle made of ice and its lord will appear!

2. The Ice Castle is a new type of dungeon and, like other dungeons, comes with the same clear conditions and penalties.

3. When you defeat the Ice Lord, you will receive rewards appropriate to the feat and earn the right to become the owner of the Ice Castle.

4. The recommended entry level for the Ice Castle is 8-Star, and the Ice Lord's level is 86. This is based on the time of the Ice Castle's appearance and may change as time passes.

And one more thing put people even more on edge: point 4, stated clearly in the announcement.

—So if we rush in blindly, we'll just end up as monster food?

—If it can change, that means not only the Ice Lord but the monsters there can grow too, right?

—Unless global warming suddenly kicks in and their levels drop?

—Christ. Do we seriously have to stop people from trying it out and getting themselves killed?

—It's not like killing one person is going to instantly bump it from level 86 to 87.

—Still, just the fact that it can grow is way too much pressure.

It wasn't just players who could grow.

Monsters could grow, too.

The exact criteria hadn't been revealed, and if this trait applied only to the Ice Lord, people could accept it. However, if it applied to the other monsters as well, the story changed completely.

Until now, growth had been a privilege exclusive to players.

They grew and grew, then hunted higher-level monsters.

In other words, no matter how strong the monsters were, they were ultimately prey. Because players could see a future for themselves, they were willing to risk their lives to grow.

But what if that was no longer the case?

What if monsters were no longer just prey, but could hunt humans to grow stronger themselves?

The hunger for power gained through hunting wasn't exclusive to humans.

Once you got a taste of it, whether you were human or monster, you were bound to get hooked.

It was only natural.

The problem was that other monsters might now acquire that same instinct.

—What if this is just the beginning?

Strictly speaking, a single dungeon in the Arctic might not matter.

Just because everyone lived on the same planet didn't mean they all interacted. Even if there was a dungeon in the Arctic so high-level that no current player could realistically clear it, not many would be so terrified that they couldn't sleep at night.

Earth was that big.

This was a world where a terrorist attack on the other side of the globe was read about like a story from a novel, completely detached from one's own life.

The Arctic?

A lot of people practically thought of it as another world.

Very few people seriously believed that monsters would cross that vast ocean just to harm them.

However, the fear that this might be the beginning was a different kind of dread altogether.

Right now, the monsters spilling out of dungeons gathered for survival, tried to secure territory, and occasionally attacked humans to fill their bellies. But what if they started attacking humans to grow?

What if they moved in organized groups, used strategy, and deliberately targeted weak humans who could not fight back?

"That's inhumane! Think about human rights! Don't touch civilians!"

Those were emotional appeals that only worked on other humans, not on monsters.

The day might come when monsters hunted humans as well.

That was how people interpreted this announcement.

Of course, for now, things were still fine.

Worrying about the future and preparing for it was a gift given to humanity, a right of intelligent beings.

Most people didn't waste time sighing and fretting about such a distant future.

They knew very well that wasn't what mattered right now.

—Who cares if the monsters get stronger? The real problem is, if that Ice Lord or whatever is occupying the Arctic marches south with an army of monsters, who's going to stop it?

The players of today had no room to worry about the distant future.

They lived in a world where dozens, even hundreds, of casualties were reported every single day.

They were already struggling with the monsters right in front of them; how could they possibly prepare for a threat months down the line?

For them, this one newly appeared Ice Castle was already too much.

So they invested.

They invested in a future clear.

It was a land so harsh that they couldn't confirm a single survivor within nineteen miles.

Conversely, they set up bases just outside that nineteen-mile radius and recruited personnel to gather information on the Ice Castle.

It was an extremely dangerous job.

But precisely because it was dangerous, someone had to do it.

Countless guilds around the world volunteered, building temporary outposts in all directions and slowly advancing.

Users whose names alone drew people's attention also joined for various reasons, and for a moment, it looked as if humanity was about to cross the glaciers and expand its territory.

If not for her appearance.

* * *

A raging blizzard descended.

The scouting party, which included no fewer than five level-60 players, quickly huddled together as the storm suddenly cut off their vision.

They weren't just some random mob.

They weren't fools who would laugh off a sudden, unnatural change in the weather with a casual, "Huh, guess this really is the Arctic. The weather's insane."

They were fully aware that they were inside the territory of an 8-Star dungeon, a place where anything could happen, and they advanced with that constantly in mind.

As they clustered together, a storm of mana swirled among them, clearing the snow whipping between their ranks as they prepared for the worst.

"Is it a monster?"

They had to avoid the worst-case scenario: being attacked without a chance to react because they couldn't see what was coming.

They couldn't dispel the entire blizzard, but the scouting party had at least formed a solid defensive posture and didn't let down their guard.

It would not have been strange for monsters to attack at any moment.

They swallowed hard, bracing themselves.

However, no attack came.

Instead, the blizzard calmed and began to disperse.

They were too stunned to speak.

'Is it over?'

The scouting party couldn't allow themselves to think that.

The swirling snow didn't vanish; instead, it spread out, forming a self-contained domain that completely cut them off from the outside world.

And then they saw.

They saw the countless monsters surrounding them.

Every one of them was a white beast covered in thick fur.

And floating among them was a single woman.

They recognized her instinctively.

Even without instinct, their experience and intuition from countless dungeons told them.

That woman was the Ice Lord.

She was so beautiful it gave them goosebumps.

Her crown and thin dress, both crafted from ice, were completely transparent, revealing her sensual figure without filter. Yet not a single person dared to admire it.

Their bodies were frozen stiff.

This scouting party included players over level 60.

They had survived countless crises and even taken down monsters far higher-leveled than themselves.

That was why they'd been entrusted with this scouting mission—they were the kind of people who could remain cool-headed enough to be criticized for their objectivity in any situation.

Yet these very people were now frozen solid.

It was not because of fear or terror.

"S-So cold…"

"My body…"

[(★★★★★) You have been afflicted with Freeze.]

Of course, the scouting party had come equipped with at least one or two accessories that protected against status ailments.

Yet even they couldn't withstand the power of this status effect, which rooted them to the spot.

It was no wonder they couldn't speak.

'A 5-star status ailment.'

The situation was so absurd they couldn't even form words.

The Ice Lord had done nothing.

She had simply appeared.

That alone had neutralized them.

Even if this was the full extent of her power, it was a situation where she would be extremely difficult to defeat—no, it was fair to say she was almost impossible to defeat.

A boss monster that inflicted a 5-star status ailment the moment combat began.

Unless you had immunity to it, you wouldn't even get to trade a single blow. How were you supposed to start a fight like that?

Naturally, if you could secure items that granted immunity, the story changed.

People might even say it was easier than expected.

Monsters that specialized in status ailments generally had lower stats, after all.

However, the difference between a 4-star and a 5-star status ailment was like heaven and earth.

The price of an option that granted immunity to a 5-star status ailment?

Money aside, it was questionable whether such an item even existed on the market.

Of course, for the scouting party, that wasn't the main issue.

The Ice Lord's gaze ran over them.

"How can humans be this pathetic?"

The lord opened her mouth, her voice dripping with mockery.

With every word she spoke, the howling blizzard around them flaunted her power.

"Maybe humans are just born with a death wish."

She let out a light laugh and lazily wiggled her intertwined fingers.

At that, ten of the lower-leveled members of the scouting party froze solid on the spot.

Not just their movements—they literally turned into ice statues.

Then, with a snap of her fingers, they shattered.

CRASH!

There was not the slightest hint of hesitation or mercy.

They were simply dead.

After erasing ten players without a flicker of emotion, the lord fixed her gaze on a single player.

It was the one wearing the camera.

"Humans are entertaining."

At her words, the blizzard lifted.

The Arctic sky cleared as if nothing had happened, not a single cloud in sight. Only three or four members of the scouting party remained.

It was a spectacular debut for the Ice Lord.

* * *