How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 692: Frozen Trials 5

This spot... could it be a majestic hall?

Right as Snow got shifted into this area, she sensed it right away.

The second challenge.

No announcement came from any voice.

No shining words appeared floating in the sky.

Just the change in the air revealed it all. The underground labyrinth had advanced her to the next stage.

Challenges within such labyrinths always varied per floor.

The environment, the intensity, the guidelines — everything altered slightly to unsettle those facing them.

Yet under it all, a common thread persisted.

A central idea. A teaching concealed amid the turmoil.

The initial challenge had featured a barren icy plain.

An endless blizzard raging on.

Piercing gusts. Pale heavens that wiped out bearings and moments. It led her to think the point was mere endurance.

Withstand the chill. Seek refuge.

Break free from the gale.

Yet that missed the mark.

The true solution had been herself.

Her power.

Her rule over the ice and freeze.

That barren land wasn't against her. It belonged under her sway.

And now this...

This opulent, lavish chamber differed vastly from the opening test.

Glowing golden lamps dangled from a tall roof etched with refined designs.

Frost-covered stone tiles extended broadly under her feet, buffed to a shine that caught her vague outline.

Wide steps swept upward on either side, joining at an upper ledge that surveyed the whole space.

It seemed costly. Noble. Nearly fit for kings.

Excessively flawless.

’I have no idea how many challenges remain...’

That idea hung silently in her thoughts.

Every floor might bring surprises. Sticking to usual logic could make her overlook the key insight once more.

This labyrinth plainly didn't favor direct approaches.

She needed a fresh perspective.

Unusual.

Her gaze drifted gradually over the chamber.

An elegant main hall...

Broad steps rising to an observation platform...

Each element showed perfect balance.

Pair of stairways.

Pair of column lines.

Pair of lengthy panes — even if no rays passed through.

The lamps too were placed with eerie accuracy.

It resembled less a noble home... and more an exhibit.

A built set.

"Have I ended up trapped in a splendid estate?"

A fair assumption.

Assuming exits existed.

But none did.

No entrances lining the sides.

No passages extending out.

The steps merely ascended — and from down here, the ledge clearly linked to nothing further.

The whole area was shut in.

Locked tight.

Like an ornate prison.

Snow advanced with a cautious stride.

Her footfall rang softly off the stone, carrying longer than expected in such a space.

Overly still.

Utterly vacant.

The opening test had probed her command of the freeze and chill.

Should this area follow a like pattern... what exactly did it probe?

Her stare sharpened a bit.

Opulence. Balance. Display.

Not persisting.

Not withstanding.

Another aspect.

Her digits stirred subtly while frosty vapor wound about her flesh.

Similar to the start, no beasts lurked.

No concealed watcher lurked in the dark.

Nothing living registered in this domain.

That fact comforted her somewhat.

Should foes exist here, they avoided raw power.

Snow pressed on through the chamber, her pace firm, vision keen.

The hush trailed her like an extra shade.

At last, she halted.

Before her rose an egg-like frozen fixture.

Initially, distinguishing objects in this realm proved tricky.

All formed from ice — barriers, supports, barriers, even ornate shapes.

The features dulled by rime, borders faintly hazy. Items merged with the build.

Yet this piece...

This form rang a bell.

It marked the initial sight most dawns.

Besides Riley.

Besides the girls.

"A looking glass?"

Its face covered in rime, veiled in pale. It merely echoed her dimly — a hazy form of light locks and gentle azure.

She drew nearer.

Her hand extended and grazed the face.

The rime nearby eased at her contact.

ZSHHH!!!

A piercing noise rang out as a response stirred under the face.

Magic power.

Subtle, yet present.

Snow’s stare tightened a touch.

"Thaw out."

The rime on the glass started to dissolve gradually — not to liquid, but to vapor.

The freeze lessened sheet by sheet, yielding to her command.

Briefly, she pondered issuing the order to the whole chamber.

But that struck as unwise.

The framework consisted of ice. Compelling it to dissolve would merely collapse the roof upon her.

Thus, she targeted just the glass.

Icy vapor rose into the atmosphere, fading away.

And then—

Her image sharpened.

Light tresses flowing beyond her shoulders.

Flawless azure gaze.

Even, unblemished complexion.

Amid this odd challenge, clad in a basic white coat and simple garb, she appeared poised. Grand. Unaffected by the labyrinth's weight.

Icy allure cloaked in serene assurance.

As ever.

Then it caught her eye.

Pale azure magic power started to collect at the glass's borders, shaping slim shining streaks along the edge.

Intrigued, Snow pressed her hand fully to the pane.

The face wavered.

Like rippled liquid.

The image warped — elongating, curving — and something emerged from beyond.

It entered her grasp.

She fluttered her lids once.

"A message?"

A tidy sealed folder lay in her hold.

She glanced back at the glass.

It stood ordinary.

Simply her image gazing at her.

The pale magic at the edge pulsed dimly before gradually vanishing.

Hush resumed.

Snow dropped her view to the folder in her hold.

Why a message?

The opening test had examined her grasp on freeze.

It proved blunt, severe, and evident in purpose.

Yet this?

An opulent chamber.

A glass.

A message.

What precisely did this labyrinth demand from her?

Briefly, frustration stirred in her core. Not dread. Not worry.

Pure vexation.

Striving to grasp fully what lay beyond reach would just exhaust her.

She grasped that ages back.

Dwelling on each mystery would merely fog her mind.

Thus she released a gentle breath.

Serene.

She carefully lifted the slim rime closing the folder.

The freeze detached like sealant, snapping softly beneath her digits. Within sat a crisp creased note.

She unfolded it.

Snow voiced it out, her tone firm in the vacant chamber.

She eyed the phrasing once more.

Probing my allure... and my spirit?

Her brows furrowed a tad.

What sort of challenge aimed to be this?

"So... do you agree?"

"—!"

The tone arose from ahead of her.

Recognizable.

Excessively so.

Snow’s head jerked upward.

Her gaze broadened.

The glass.

Her image no longer matched her motions.

It grinned.

She did not.

The shape within the pane matched her precisely. Identical light tresses. Identical azure gaze. Identical stance.

But the look—

It bent otherwise.

It showed whimsy.

Delight.

"Who are you...?" Snow queried softly.

The image tipped its head a fraction, mimicking her actions — yet delayed by an instant. Intentional.

"Hm~ discovering that would ruin the enjoyment," it answered. "And fulfilling your own wonders is your duty, not mine~"

The tone mirrored hers closely.

Matching pitch. Matching gentleness.

But a subtle twist marked it. A mocking hint Snow avoided. A friendliness alien to her frosty essence.

It resembled hearing herself... via a warped filter.

The image pressed nearer to the pane from its side.

"You scanned the note," it went on, grin broadening. "Your allure faces judgment. Your spirit endures trial."

Its azure gaze sparkled.

"Fall short... and they become mine."

Snow’s hold on the note firmed a bit.

"They?" she queried evenly.

The image’s grin grew deeper.

"Oh my... so you do cherish."

For an instant, the pane’s face wavered anew, twisting the shape within.

The atmosphere near Snow thickened subtly.

"Your treasured ones...."

it murmured.

"You~"

The image laughed lightly.

It stayed soft.

Sufficient to resound within Snow’s mind.

Though Snow’s features held steady — icy, impassive — the entity in the glass plainly perceived beyond what it ought.

it grinned, propping its chin gently on the pane’s face.

"Now, will you take the judgment, oh lovely one~? Show me you can conquer this challenge."

"......"

Snow’s mind hazed momentarily.

Queries piled up.

What truly was the judgment?

What guidelines bound it?

What marked defeat?

What signified claiming "them"?

Yet ultimately, such queries held no weight.

This marked a labyrinth challenge.

Grasping all in advance never formed the test.

She breathed out steadily.

"I accept."

"Fufu~ Excellent."

The image’s grin expanded.

Snap.

The snap of digits rang out with eerie volume.

And the realm transformed.

The frozen chamber fractured like brittle pane. Rime stripped from the barriers, hues seeping into being.

The chilled stone tiles altered under her soles, heat flowing across them.

Brightness.

Sounds of speech.

clamor.

The quiet broke apart.

Before Snow could grasp it fully—

"You let go of the princess, you wretched creep!"

Slap!

Agony burst over her face.

Her sight slanted as her form toppled and struck the earth firmly.

Cling!

Cling!

The keen ring of blades drawn enveloped her.

Chilled metal bore against her neck.

Snow fluttered her lids, bewildered.

Warriors.

Armored warriors encircled her, weapons out, stares brimming with enmity.

Their looks showed revulsion. Fury.

As though she had done something beyond pardon.

Her pulse faltered.

Then she peered forward—

And her air hitched.

Positioned before her...

Stood her own self.

Light tresses.

Azure gaze.

Matching stature. Matching features.

But clad in noble garb.

Graceful.

Polished.

A sweeping dress of pale and silver.

A tiny gemmed tiara sat atop her crown.

She gazed down at Snow — the Snow on her knees — with a tender look.

Compassion.

"What?" Snow whispered beneath her breath.

"This wretched witch doesn’t even realize her actions. Seize her at once—" one of the warriors snapped.

"Wait."

The tone sliced through keenly.

"But Your Highness—"

"It’s fine, Sir Kenneth,"

the other Snow stated mildly.

"I am fine. She only wished to interact with me."

The warrior leader appeared doubtful.

His chin set firm.

But beneath the royal’s even look, he unwillingly eased his blade a fraction.

"...As you command."

The weapons lingered near.

Still menacing.

Then—

The royal advanced.

Snow observed in shocked quiet as the other self reached out a hand to her.

"Are you okay, miss?"

the royal inquired gently.

"I hope my guards haven’t caused permanent harm to your face."

Her tone.

It matched Snow’s tone.

But gentler.

More compassionate.

Approachable.

Snow sensed her digits quiver faintly.

She lifted her sight.

In that azure gaze — gaze just like hers — she caught her own image.

But the features gazing back struck unfamiliar.