How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 691: Frozen Trials 4.5
Previously on How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game...
Does the Frost Queen frighten her that much?
Riley cast a look toward Anica.
The dragon who had playfully mocked him all along the journey now appeared rigid.
Her posture was upright, her gaze cast downward a bit, and the teasing lilt from earlier had vanished entirely.
Given the affection in her tone whenever she spoke of her Queen, Riley had figured their bond was... warmer.
Far less tense.
Yet this?
It resembled reverence more than anything.
"...P-Please go in ahead..."
Anica’s words came out softer now.
"What’s the matter?" Riley inquired steadily.
"N-Nothing," she responded swiftly. "Yeah, nothing whatsoever. It’s merely... the standard protocol for anyone approaching the Frozen Throne."
Her tail twitched once at her back, revealing her anxiety.
"...I understand."
Riley chose not to probe deeper.
He felt intrigued.
But not sufficiently to delve into the intricacies of dragon societal ranks.
Without delay, he advanced.
As soon as he passed the entrance, the atmosphere shifted.
The inner chamber stretched vast.
Not merely spacious.
Imposing.
Icy columns ascended toward a vaulted roof lost in swirling white haze.
Every column was so broad that Anica’s complete dragon shape would seem diminutive next to it.
The ground consisted of sleek white frost, buffed to reflective perfection.
The surfaces bore elaborate icy etchings — delicate snow patterns, timeless symbols, coiling ice motifs that pulsed with subtle life beneath the dim azure glow permeating the space.
It went beyond mere attractiveness.
It evoked grandeur.
’Those must be her commanders...’
Riley directed his attention ahead.
Arrayed on either side of the corridor were forms clad in thick ice plating.
Their heads dipped low, their auras restrained yet potent.
He had detected them before — near the dungeon’s gateway.
However, encountering them directly altered the impression.
Their magical essence proved thicker than his first guess.
Each remained poised in genuflection, resembling frozen sculptures.
Riley’s gaze sharpened a touch.
In favorable conditions...
They likely possessed the might to challenge Snow seriously.
Should they come at her singly, she might prevail.
Should they strike as a unit — as in the game — the battle would intensify greatly.
’Perhaps even Seo would struggle against their combined assault...’
Particularly in such a setting.
The sole factor easing Snow and Riley’s victory in the prior beast surge stemmed from synergy.
Alignment.
As a celestial entity, Riley inherently surpassed numerous elemental foes.
His essence alone interfered with lesser spells.
And Snow... this realm belonged to her domain.
Frost yielded to her command.
The majority of ice-spawned beasts lacked any leverage against them.
No elemental superiority.
No territorial benefit.
They clashed with adversaries who either nullified or dominated within their own domain.
With each step Riley took onward, the echo of his boots resounded gently over the iced surface.
The corridor held such quiet that even the subtle clink of the bowed figures’ gear held significance.
He came to a halt right after them.
The Queen’s lieutenants.
Viewed nearby, their auras sharpened.
A Frost Giant.
Enormous despite his kneel.
His hide was rugged, light azure rock encased in rime.
Sinews resembling hewn stones.
Though his gaze was downcast, he exuded unbridled brute force.
Beside him—
An immense frost beast.
Initially, it resembled an amphibian.
Yet no... more saurian.
A serpentine entity, crouched yet reaching nearly half the Giant’s stature.
Its spine bristled with sharp frost protrusions, and wispy vapor escaped its jaws with every breath.
Further along—
A cloaked elderly form.
Slender. Marginally bent. Rod propped on the ground.
Undoubtedly a Frost Shaman Orc.
Unlike his companions, his aura lacked weight.
It cut keen.
Mana harnessed with precision, coiled tight. The sort that might burst forth abruptly if stirred.
And including Anica—
Positioned now several paces to his rear—
That totaled four.
Four retainers.
Every one capable of endangering a nation independently.
None spared him a glance.
Riley’s eyes tightened faintly.
He was convinced that despite their devotion to their Queen, some intrigue ought to surface.
A pair of humans had breached their territory.
A pair of humans had decimated horde upon horde of frost-spawned beings.
That feat alone warranted enmity.
Especially from the Frost Giant.
His kind already waned in the outer realms.
Approaching oblivion in certain areas.
And still—
No fury.
No strain.
No murderous aura.
Merely quiet.
"Have you completed your evaluation?"
A tranquil, peaceful tone resonated across the chamber.
It lacked volume.
Still, it saturated the whole area with ease.
"Does the splendor of my followers captivate you?"
Riley gradually raised his sight.
".... So you’re the Frost Queen..."
She matched his memory precisely.
A divine allure.
Lengthy silver tresses cascading over her frame like new-fallen powder.
Eyes light and nearly transparent — akin to iced ponds in winter’s gleam.
Her complexion appeared impeccable, even as chiseled frost.
A innate elegance enveloped her.
Not the gaudy sort.
Not ostentatious.
Simply aura.
Like an ideal effigy shaped by forces transcending mortal craft.
She appeared mortal.
But she wasn’t.
Far from it.
In typical scenarios, Riley’s offhand remark would have sufficed to flatten him against the frosted ground.
Addressing her so casually, sans bow. Sans decorum. Sans awe.
The commanders would have sprung into action.
Were it not for a single directive.
Her standing command.
He was off-limits for injury.
"I observe that my Anica has escorted you well," the Frost Queen proceeded evenly.
Her attention drifted a fraction.
"Though I wonder... did you instill dread in her, by chance?"
Riley tilted his head marginally, glancing at Anica.
The Frost Dragon snapped to attention at once.
"No. Her present condition has nothing to do with me."
"T-That’s correct, my Queen!" Anica hastened to affirm, her tone rigidly formal. "The human bears no relation to my..."
She came across overly protective.
The Frost Queen’s gaze sharpened subtly.
Not from ire.
From scrutiny.
".... Understood."
The corridor fell quiet once more.
Then her focus returned to Riley.
"Regardless, I’m certain you wonder about my summons, young human." Her tone stayed even. "Yet before we continue... might I request the privilege of your name?"
That inquiry sparked a faint change in the atmosphere.
The commanders’ ears perked.
The Frost Giant’s frame stiffened barely noticeably.
Why did their Queen converse in this manner?
So gentle.
So... courteous.
Toward a human?
"Riley Hell," he replied promptly.
The Frost Queen examined him a moment beyond the usual.
"I see," she murmured gently. "What a lovely name."
A subtle wave of astonishment passed among the bowed commanders.
Lovely?
Amid the underlying strain and wonders.
The pair at the hall’s heart, though, disregarded all surroundings.
As though the vast space had shrunk to encompass only them.
...
"Good girl~"
The tone didn’t reverberate through the corridor.
No other heard it.
But Anica did.
And as it grazed her thoughts, her core clenched like gripped in talons.
Her frame quivered.
Her veins roared.
Her skeleton roared.
No—
Her very spirit roared.
Do not resist it.
Do not provoke it.
The entity bound to her core wasn’t something she could oppose.
It wasn’t even graspable in full.
Just the sound blurred her sight.
"You have beautiful eyes... it would be a shame if you lost them, right?"
The murmur was gentle.
Chilly.
Nearly whimsical.
Yet underneath lurked something immense and timeless.
"Y-Yes... i-it would indeed be a shame..."
"Hmm that ice doll erected quite the intriguing shield... so I can’t truly peer within... thus act as a faithful watcher and observe my darling closely~"
Her form in reality stirred faintly, scarcely voicing.
But her consciousness—
Her consciousness wandered elsewhere.
She no longer occupied the Frozen Throne Room.
She lingered in a realm submerged in crimson.
An infinite ocean of gore extended underfoot.
Heavy. Heated.
Decaying.
Each stride dipped into the yielding expanse.
The odor overwhelmed, iron-sharp and choking.
Overhead—
The firmament roiled in turmoil.
Crimson vapors writhed fiercely. Ebon bolts rent the skies, fracturing reality repeatedly.
And beneath the deep scarlet depths—
A pair of colossal orbs gradually awoke.
Instinctual.
Eternal.
So immense that her dragon entirety would scatter like ash in their presence.
As those orbs locked upon her—
Every draconic urge ignited.
Yield.
Comply.
Endure.
As a dragon, recognizing the entity before her came instinctively.
The Primordial Dragon of Chaos.
Not kin.
Not lineage.
The source.
W-Why does the Chaos Dragon link to that human...?
The notion arose—
And she quashed it at once.
Deeper knowledge invited peril.
Inquiry proved hazardous.
"Don’t worry," the tone soothed mildly. "No harm comes if you remain the compliant young one you’ve been~"
The blood sea undulated faintly.
"If my darling detects... or if that ice doll detects..."
The enormous orbs slitted.
"I’ll devour you entirely. Understood?"
"A-Alright..."
"Though," the tone appended idly, "afterward, you’ll need to offer me your tail voluntarily, alright~?"
The heavens split anew.
"After all... you attempted to claim what belongs to me."
"..."
"...."
A lull.
"It’s just fitting recompense for your misdeed, isn’t it?"
Anica’s form shook more intensely.
Her tail in the physical realm went rigid without thought.
She managed only a nod.
Mutely.