Chapter 5: Meeting The Iceborns —1 11: Heaven Arizoma]
As I used the Entry Permit back in Heaven Entroma, I was teleported to the next one— Heaven Arizoma. As soon as I did, it felt oddly strange.
Of course, it did. Whenever I used an Entry Permit, I was teleported to the next heaven central city (more accurately a Fantasy Kingdom), where I could save my coordinates—that would help me travel back if I needed to.
However, this time, it wasn’t the central city—it wasn’t even a city—rather a forest layered with heavy snow. Merely standing on the snow caused my heart to freeze, and the silence amplified the eerie atmosphere.
[Item ’Leather Long Coat’ has been selected]
Fortunately, I had a few items that would help me—specifically in a situation like that. Soon the chilling sensation was replaced by the warmth of the coat. It was unimaginably soothing— a heart-warming comfort I had never before.
"The experiences never fail to amaze me." I murmured, blowing away a warm wind through my mouth as I looked around me, "I guess I have to find a way to the central city of this heaven."
Hence, I began walking.
*****
No good. I had been walking for an hour now—or so it seemed to me, by the way. The towering trees blocked the sight of the sun, drawing a never-ending darkness throughout the entire forest, and preventing me from detecting the directions. It was like a maze—and I was like a traveler without a map.
In any case, I didn’t seem to be lost, though. Only the uncertainty was crawling over my head—whether I was heading in the right direction. The trees, after all, had a resemblance to one another.
Suddenly, my senses became sharp and continued alarming my instincts. Not far away, an intense scream clapped through the forest like thunder—perhaps a roar filled with rage.
Unlike the decoy last time, it was surely a scream. However, It didn’t feel like a person—rather a monster clashing with another one. It would be wise to leave them alone—especially if it were their inter-species conflict.
’Good question. Does that kind of theory apply to this game?’
The chances were slim, but not impossible—considering the smallest details the game had been programmed to. Even the smallest fragment of snow could trigger my sensation when it fell onto my skin earlier.
The real question, by the way, was whether I should avoid it or look for what was going on. A glimpse wouldn’t kill me, would it? Surely not. But I needed to take precautions and maintain my presence wisely.
Then it was decided. I’d observe but not engage. If they—whoever was fighting—were to consider me as an interception in their matter, I might get into trouble.
*****
"Take this!"
The moment she punched the giant Snow Bear’s chest, its body burst into shards of ice, scattering around the battlefield they had created. I was befuddled. Her strength was entirely on a league of her own—perhaps twice as strong as I had been. It wasn’t, however, what caught my attention. It was her appearance.
Her hair— white as though snow itself had given color to it, was kept majestically in a classic braid. Her upper half featured a soft snow-coloured blouse with flowing puffed sleeves, layered under a tight, blue leather corset adorned with intricate vine embroidery on her back.
It complemented her indigo-coloured petal-cut skirt that added an utmost elegance while ensuring mobility; followed by her thigh-high legwear that almost matched the color of the snow.
Frankly speaking, she was divine. But it wasn’t the end. There was more. Her skin. It was entirely blue. Unlike the disease I had in my real life, which turned my hair white, her skin was purely blue as if the embodiment of ice itself—and so soft as if a beauty made to be untouched, and if touched regardless, even a gentle poke would’ve caused it to be distorted.
In any case, it was divine, and so were her eyes that were blue as well, yet glistened brightly as a sapphire would.
I was frozen by her charms—left open-mouthed by her charisma. Simply, glancing at her for a second made me realize just how much I had underestimated this game—no, this world!
’Wait,’ as I was still captivated by her beauty, a reasonable thought occurred to me, ’Perhaps she’s a player who customized her avatar that way. I mean, yeah, in the aspect of avatar customization mine was no less. It was more of a regal emperor than a typical adventurer and had vibes of a warrior too. She cannot be much different, I guess.’
Even if she was different and not an actual player, then there was only one conclusion. An NPC. The possibility of her being an NPC was comparatively higher than being a player.
In any case, either she was a player or an NPC and that was all to it. What was I even anticipating? This wasn’t a real world. She wasn’t a real person. Then what the hell was I even hoping for?
I smiled gently at myself, thinking I might be having idiotic feelings.
"Hay, you there!" quite unexpected as her beauty was, her detection was surprisingly amazing as she called out. "You think you can hide just because you’ve been keeping your presence away from me the whole time. Come on, get yourself out already."
"Fine, you’ve got me." I came out, raising both hands in a surrendering manner, "I didn’t anticipate you’d be capable of seeing me—not when I didn’t move as much as to take a breath. You must be quite amazing."
"You think so, haha!" she smiled, a bright cheering smile, "To be honest, I only had a hunch of someone observing me. I never thought there would be anyone, though. I just confidently threw the question. If I were wrong, I wouldn’t be embarrassed since there wouldn’t be anyone else."
Her diligence and honesty were remarkable. It wasn’t something a typical NPC would do. The more I thought about her being an NPC or a Player, the more curious I got. I deliberately yet slowly walked towards her—to get into the range where I could see what mark she had above her left shoulder. An NPC, a Player, or even a PK—she could be anything.
"I admire your honesty and how strongly you fought the Snow Bear. Oh, by the way, I nearly forgot to introduce myself. Call me Zanthrix."
She slightly bent towards me as I was only a few steps away from her. With a cheerful smile, keeping her hands behind her, she said.
"Then let this successor of the Mavi Clan—one of the five clans of Iceborns— thank you for the compliment you’ve given."
She bowed gently, and at the same time, the system panel notified me of something.
[New Quest Unlocked!]
[Dynastic Singularity Quest: Iceborn Reclamation]
[Clearance Condition: Will be informed soon]
I frowned, seeing the quest notification and staring at her mark at the same time. Both caught me off guard, and left me stunned momentarily.