How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 705: Frozen Trials 12

Riley harbored his own schemes, so Gallan’s suggestion didn’t bother him much.

Even though the Frost Giant chieftain’s scheme might qualify as treachery, Riley hardly viewed the Frost Queen as possessing superior ethics.

After all, her own intention was to forsake the dungeon the moment Snow took over her role.

In essence, Gallan was merely gearing up for what was bound to happen.

Yet...

’Snow probably won’t ditch this place after ascending as the Frost Queen, though...’

As these musings filled his mind, Riley pressed on through the icy passageways.

Truth be told, controlling a dungeon such as the Frozen Castle offered scant obvious advantages.

It teemed with frost-spawned beasts, all bound to the frigid northern realms.

And despite their seemingly refined demeanor—or at least their rational faculties—they remained monsters deep down.

Their drives.

Their essence.

Their allegiance.

Everything hinged on strength in the end.

If Snow didn’t intend to wield them as her private force, she might well opt to obliterate the dungeon outright and claim its core for herself.

This path would let her seize its might straightaway, sparing her the hassle of overseeing a horde of beasts and their intrigues.

The Frost Queen undoubtedly foresaw such a turn.

And should Snow truly claim the mantle of Frost Queen, that choice would fall squarely on her shoulders.

Nevertheless...

’Those generals might prove handy.’

Riley pondered the elite figures ruling the dungeon’s pecking order.

Besides the erratic Frost Giant chieftain Gallan, the remaining generals could turn into prized allies.

Mighty beasts.

Seasoned commanders.

Entities adept at directing the frozen dungeon’s denizens.

Under Snow’s rule, they could form a solid base for any empire she might forge ahead.

Naturally...

Whether they’d pledge fealty to Snow of their own accord remained a separate issue.

’Monsters naturally revere strength...’

Riley mused in silence.

’It could work.’

After mulling it over some time, Riley allowed the notions to fade.

He had no business settling such matters.

Ultimately, Snow would handle all those calls upon her return.

’I’ll just handle my role.’

His steps resounded faintly as Riley traversed the frosty corridors.

At the outset, their journey north boiled down to one goal.

To bolster Snow’s power.

To let her stride beside him freely, without shame.

Yet somehow...

Simplicity always eluded his orbit.

Fate delighted in weaving Riley—and all tied to him—into needless tangles and turmoil.

…

Suspended high in the heavens, a tiny crimson gateway flickered dimly amid the chill winds.

It undulated like rippled liquid.

Suddenly—

A feline visage emerged gradually.

Jade-green orbs gleamed as they surveyed the vicinity, flickering briefly from azure to scarlet like they were dissecting the scene.

’She’s gone?’

Cheshire pondered wordlessly.

He edged a bit more from the petite rift he’d conjured. The perpetual smoky haze encircling his levitating skull swirled and twisted alive, twitching faintly as if baffled by the eerie tranquility.

”I figured she was keeping tabs...”

He grumbled softly.

”...but maybe she got bored?”

The identity haunting his thoughts was one he yearned to evade forever.

Liyana Heavens.

Though Cheshire had never clashed with her firsthand, his knowledge screamed one truth.

Riley’s fiendish betrothed wouldn’t settle for scraps when chasing her whims.

If she’d truly spied on this spot...

Vanishing so casually rang false.

Previously, the instant Cheshire detected her aura, he’d vanished without trace.

No second thoughts.

No ego.

Pure survival reflex.

And with her essence utterly gone now...

A deeper chill gripped him.

”Sigh...”

A weary exhale slipped out as a throb built in his skull.

Riley had beckoned him directly.

That fact alone screamed oddity.

Among Riley’s allies, Cheshire ranked low on the trust scale.

Thus, this summons hinted at brewing strangeness.

Cheshire hadn’t grasped the full picture yet.

But eyeing the terrain...

Trouble loomed large.

’Tell Alice?’

The idea flickered momentarily.

She’d crave details on any Riley drama.

Yet Cheshire dismissed it fast.

Disastrous move.

Alice wouldn’t idle upon hearing this.

News of Riley’s fresh peril would propel her straight here.

Worsening the chaos.

But the true deterrent ran deeper.

This mess exuded peril beyond his first guess.

And crucially—

Girlish rivalries spelled disaster amid this storm.

’Come to think of it...’

Cheshire ascended gradually, his luminous gaze sweeping the iced expanse beneath.

’Where’s Riley?’

Upon arrival, he’d clocked the dungeon’s vibe instantly.

The biting frost.

The odd atmospheric weight.

The dungeon’s distinct arcane mark.

Impossible to overlook.

But presently...

The sought-after signature had evaporated.

Riley’s subtle presence, once traceable, had blinked out.

”Hmm...”

Cheshire hovered motionless aloft, his emerald eyes sharpening.

’Deeper in?’

That seemed the prime bet.

Riley embodied the sort who’d plunge into peril’s core for his aims.

Cheshire cocked his head mid-thought.

A prankster famed for caprice and sly ploys, his gravity shone rare.

Soon enough...

He dipped his chin in resolve.

Unknown hazards inside that dungeon already loomed probable.

With Riley entangled?

Certainty surged.

”Ah well...”

Cheshire yawned expansively in flight.

”Curiosity slays the feline, they say~”

His laugh bubbled low.

”Never claimed to be ordinary kitty.”

Thereupon, he glided toward the dungeon’s maw.

Having trekked this far for Riley’s aid, he’d honor the pact.

Descending to the portal, the carnage sharpened below.

Snow drowned in gore.

Beast remains littered the field, iced into nightmarish forms by northern gales.

Cheshire trilled a tune as scarlet mana bled from him.

Slender scarlet vapors unfurled over the slaughterground.

True to hunch, Riley’s call likely aimed at tidying this mess.

Gradually, cadavers melted.

Sanguine stains on white vanished.

All consumed by Cheshire’s advancing crimson haze.

In mere moments, the warzone gleamed unnaturally clean—like no fray had raged.

”Seriously...”

Cheshire groaned theatrically en route to the ingress.

”What a diligent kitty I am~”

…

Meanwhile—

Deep in the Frost Queen’s ordeal.

Snow—or Celestine presently—grappled with her toughest call in Celestine’s lifespan.

”It’s mine!”

”No, mine!”

”You hate blue stuff! THAT STAFF’S MINE!”

”Nope! Love it now!”

”Liar!”

”White hair suits white! Pick that!”

”You’ve got white hair too!”

In the cramped chamber, twin lasses clashed vocally.

Years had flown since Celestine rescued fledgling dragon Anica.

Through those spans, they’d shared hearth and home.

Trained side by side.

Frolicked as one.

Dined jointly.

And gradually...

Sisterhood bloomed.

Thus—

Such spats were fated.

Presently, in Celestine’s quarters, the siblings waged fervent war.

Over trifling prize.

Dual enchanted rods.

One azure.

One ivory.

”Easy now~ no need for squabbles,” Elea soothed mildly, aiming to soothe. “Both rods fit you ideally. Just hue differs—power and make identical—”

”But this one’s mine, Mother...” Celestine clung to the blue rod fiercely.

”No! Mine too, Aunty!” Anica countered swift, clutching the white one like treasure.

Elea batted lids.

She’d braced for minor tiff, but this promised drag.

Perhaps all-white rods would’ve spared this...

Regret tinged her reverie.

Eyeing the duo, she sighed faintly, head swaying soft. Though primed for brawl, reality diverged sharply.

Deep affection bound them truly.

Such rows recurred often.

Anica’s arrival forged inseparables. Like kin, they clashed over trifles.

A loaf slice.

A coverlet.

A tome.

Or presently—

Twin near-match rods.

Yet frays fizzled quick. Reconciliation followed seamless.

Aware, Elea fretted little.

She bobbed head gentle, striding to egress.

”Fine then,” she voiced, unlatching. “Pick your rods by dusk. Practice awaits post meridiem.”

One last peek.

”Sort it betwixt yourselves, alright?”

Playful grin appended.

”No roughhousing.”

”Yes, Mother.”

”Gotcha, Aunty!”

Syncopated replies rang.

Elea exited, sealing portal soft, grin blooming inward.

Yet...

A notion clung faint.

Beholding their ceaseless tussles...

She pondered at times—

True kinship...

Or mere ease profound?