LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 75
Chapter 75
Whoooooosh!
Crackle!
[★★★★ Successfully located the Carnivorous Flower.]
[★★★ Summoning the Iron Grinder.]
[★★★ Successfully located the Reversed Vitality Trap.]
[★★★ Successfully located the Flash Trap.]
[★★ Summoning the Seahorse Warrior.]
[★★★ Summoning the Spirit of the Hot Springs.]
[★★★ Successfully located the Sticky Hammer.]
…
Whoooooosh!
‘…Huh?’
Azarup’s eye sockets glowed orange. A large crystal formed outside the gates of hell.
[★★★★★ Successfully located the Crystal Trap of the Fierce Blizzard.]
Crackle!
Five-star items appeared one after another.
[★★★★★ Successfully located the Horrifyingly Huge Ice Pillar.]
‘Two five-stars…! No, that’s not the point right now!’
What is it…
The identity of the rainbow.
Whoooooosh!
Boom!
The rainbow light began again.
In a space filled with rainbow light, emotions swung between curiosity and anxiety, joy and despair.
Is this what it feels like to have your life hang by a thread with each draw?
‘Please…’
I hope it’s you.
The one who comes out of this door…
“In hell…”
Azarup muttered.
“There was a demon born on the coldest mountain.”
Whooooosh!
A snowy mountain landscape.
“After hell was named, the first extinction… Ituralde. In a land where everything was frozen, even demons gave up stepping foot, unbelievably, a demon awakened.”
Save me…
Don’t leave us…
Take me with you…
“The demon had no self, and a life without self was nothing but good prey for souls craving a body.”
Whooooosh!
Frozen souls invaded the demon’s body, and the demon gradually turned into something dark and heavy.
Boom!
The demon fell from the cliff of Ituralde’s snowy mountain, plunging into a deep lake.
Splash!
Crack!
It was as if a metal ball had fallen into the lake, freezing it entirely.
“The frozen souls fought to take over the demon’s body. The ten souls that survived the endless battle…”
The screen showed how ferocious and terrifying the frozen souls were.
They appeared like beast gods, briefly showing their forms like a snowstorm before disappearing.
Growl…
Roar!
The roar of beasts.
“The ten souls thought they had taken over the demon’s body. But they were mistaken.”
Whoooooosh!
The process of creating ten rings passed like a panorama.
Do you dare to imprison me here?
You can’t control me!
Do you think I’ll lend you my power?
How long do you think you can keep me trapped?
“The demon that walked out of the frozen land of Ituralde extracted all the souls dormant in its body and sealed them in weapons.”
The demon was a girl with long white hair down to her waist, curly and voluminous.
I’ll give you power.
I’ll help you.
Are you a fool? You can’t do without me.
I’ll protect you! Just trust me!
The gates of hell began to vibrate violently.
Boom…
Boom!
“Daughter of the Ice, Ipos… The last spring born of Ituralde. Come with the snow.”
[★★★★★★ Summoning Ipos.]
[Event: Receive Golden Mistletoe as a reward for the Winter Festival.]
Boom!
Whoosh!
Clang!
As the chains broke, an immense cold pierced through the door, bringing a blizzard.
The gates of hell opened.
Boom!
A chilling demonic energy, so intense it numbed even the demonic aura, appeared with the rainbow light.
Step…
Step…
“Uh…”
The Frost Demon, Ipos.
“Can I… stay here?”
A girl biting her nails close to her face.
A small, pale horn like skin protruded from one side of her forehead, wearing a cropped traditional outfit.
Cold eyes, and somehow, eyebrows that looked unjustly wronged.
‘Haha…’
You finally came out.
The Frost Demon, Ipos.
“Is that… a demon from the legends…? …Hahaha!”
The Frost Giant laughed, shaking the space.
“It seems… this time, I’ve landed in quite an interesting place.”
My hands and feet trembled involuntarily.
‘This is…’
The feeling of hitting the jackpot in a gamble.
Leaving the silent place behind, I uttered a single word and left.
“Lucifer, guide us.”
Lucifer bowed with one arm bent to his stomach.
“We will follow shortly.”
* * *
The Frost Nest was indeed larger than the Rotten Root. However, this was only true for the lower levels. As one ascended, the terrain narrowed, meaning not all levels were wider than the Rotten Root’s forest.
‘Seeing it like this, it’s truly immense.’
Gathered at the heart were all the familiars newly summoned through the recent 60-draw gacha.
Growl…
Some familiars, despite being contracted, still retained their wild nature.
Zap!
Whenever that happened, Lucifer’s fierce gaze would make them shrink back again.
‘Lucifer has become much sharper than before.’
By sharper, it didn’t mean her personality, but her aura.
As Lucifer’s magic slowly returned, her presence was gradually being restored.
If her magic fully returns…
‘I should consider training Lucifer as well.’
The equipment, traps, and talismans obtained through gacha were stored in the armory, and the familiars were divided into different living areas based on their attributes.
Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Ice, Thunder, Forest, Mind, Death, Light, Life, and more…
Lemegeton was composed of various attributes, and thus had a wide variety of familiars. Therefore, gacha events targeting a specific attribute, like this one, were not to be missed.
Whoooooosh…
Seeing those familiars emitting cold, I couldn’t help but think I needed to gather a lot of marbles.
It was a truly beautiful sight.
Three-star familiars were excluded as they weren’t suitable for espionage activities, and four-star ones were also excluded due to the lack of suitable candidates for such tasks.
‘Hmm… These familiars can’t be taken outside.’
Instead, the distributed character, the owl beastman Koning, seemed more suitable.
Boom…
Boom…
“Will you give me a name?”
The Frost Giant took a few steps closer, nearing the throne.
‘It won’t fit through the door.’
It didn’t matter. The dungeon core’s power would allow the Frost Giant to move elsewhere if needed. The fact that such a large familiar could be moved anywhere within the dungeon was impressive, but my dungeon core had become incredibly sturdy after the Autumn War, so it wasn’t an issue.
“Odin.”
“Odin? Hahaha! Not bad.”
The Frost Giant accepted the name Odin with satisfaction. I gave it the first five-star weapon I had summoned, the Horrifyingly Huge Ice Pillar.
Being a five-star, it was equipped with special abilities and had a high base power, making it perfect.
Most of all, I wanted to see Odin wielding that massive weapon.
A five-star familiar with a five-star weapon.
It was a good combination to use as a leader, so I was seriously considering dividing the hierarchy into two levels.
Moreover, the Frost Nest had a terrain that synergized well with ice attribute familiars, so there was no need to forcibly create an ice field.
‘Everything is falling into place.’
After sending everyone back, only Ipos remained.
“Ipos, daughter of Ituralde.”
“Lucifer… Is it really you?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you with the demons… Weren’t they all destroyed?”
From here, I had to explain the situation of the demons, my identity, and how things would proceed.
Ipos nodded while biting her nails.
“Guarding the dungeon isn’t difficult. I’ll… try… But, is my…?”
“This, you mean.”
Ten rings.
Ipos’s exclusive weapon, the mirror.
Seeing the mirror, Ipos’s face brightened for a moment.
“I can’t do without this…”
If it were Phoenix, she would have been bouncing around all day after receiving her exclusive weapon, but Ipos’s reaction ended there.
“Then…”
Slide…
Ipos leaned against a pillar in the heart of the dungeon and sat down casually.
“…What are you doing?”
“…Huh?”
“I asked what you are doing.”
“Well… Can’t I stay here?”
“…Shouldn’t you go to your level?”
Ipos twirled her hair with her fingers, looking troubled.
“I’m not close with everyone yet…”
“…”
“I was wondering if I should say something to break the ice…”
This one is extremely shy.
There’s a way to handle this.
“Lucifer.”
“Yes.”
“Take her to Phoenix.”
“But… Hmm… That might be a good idea.”
“Alright.”
Lucifer dragged the reluctant Ipos by her traditional outfit and disappeared.
“Hey, wait! Where are we going…?”
* * *
The field’s construction went smoothly.
First, I put some effort into the terrain of the layers.
Since the structure spiraled upwards, intruders wouldn’t get lost and could reach the heart directly. To make this process more challenging, I filled it with traps.
Additionally, with the help of the Frost Giant, I placed obstacles fitting the icy terrain at intervals.
The key elements of an icy terrain are usually frostbite and falls. Slipping and falling, falling by mistake, falling even when you know it’s coming—most of the screams you hear in the dungeon are from people falling somewhere.
The cold itself isn’t an immediate problem, but as soon as the guardian mission activates, it will show what extreme cold really is. Unprepared intruders will freeze solid.
Initially, I planned to divide the field into two layers, but I remembered something and raised the icy field to the 4th and 3rd layers.
I placed Phoenix on the 5th layer.
Why did I put her first, even though her attributes don’t match the field and there aren’t enough familiars to use her as a minion?
‘Because her Unyielding Threshold is near.’
Her unique trait, Unyielding… means she must lose 15 guardian missions.
She has been steadily meeting this condition, so in one or two more missions, she will achieve it.
‘It’s been a long journey… truly.’
Finally, the day has come to meet this wretched condition.
Considering she was the first demon I summoned, it’s a miracle she’s still alive.
Thud!
Whoooosh!
Something entered the dungeon at incredible speed.
It was the owl beastman, Koning.
Since it was midnight, a few familiars who were in deep sleep woke up at her return.
Thud!
Koning laid down the carcass of a large Malco deer.
Slide…
She soon reverted to her human form, wearing goggles.
“Faust! Today’s hunt was successful!”
“…Good job.”
“Oh, by the way, I saw something interesting. Aren’t you curious?”
Something interesting?
“There were wizards with pointy hats fighting nearby!”
Wizards with pointy hats…?
This is…
‘They’re not wizards… they’re witches!’
…Sniff… Where are you going?
To the frozen land.
Sniff sniff! The land of witches! Sniff… Got it, pass.
Beyond the kobold’s burrow lay the frozen land, the witches’ territory.
The reason this place is called the witches’ land is simple. Because witches live there.
The presence of witches cannot be ignored. The episodes in the frozen land are related to them.
“Koning, do you remember the location?”