170 - The Frozen Frontier

The countdown continued above the crystal at the center of the tower, its numbers decreasing steadily while the expedition remained gathered around the chamber. No one spoke much during the first few minutes. They had already learned enough from the ruined city to understand that the dungeon was far more complicated than any structure they had encountered on Earth, and the information displayed by the crystal had created more practical questions than the team could answer immediately.

Six external gates.

Twelve internal regions.

Five active regions.

Seven inactive.

A sealed central region.

And now another external gate was preparing to appear somewhere on Earth.

Ara continued recording everything she could. “The synchronization value hasn't changed. It's still eighteen percent.”

“Can you determine what it measures?” Subin asked.

“Not yet. It could represent the stability of the connection between Earth and this dungeon, or it could be related to the gate network itself. Without more data, I don't want to make an assumption.”

Subin nodded.

That was the right approach.

The dungeon had already shown that its systems followed rules that were understandable once enough information was collected. Guessing too early could lead them in the wrong direction.

Yerin stood beside him, looking at the map of Earth projected above the crystal.

“The new gate could appear anywhere.”

“Yes.”

“And we don't know whether it will remain open.”

“Not yet.”

She looked at him. “Then shouldn't we return to the original entrance?”

Subin considered it.

Returning to the original gate would be the safest option, but they had already discovered that the gates could move. If the entrance near the staging facility disappeared while they were inside, the team could become trapped until another connection appeared.

“We need to understand how the gates work before we leave,” Subin said.

Jae-hyun glanced at the countdown.

“Then we're staying until the timer reaches zero.”

“Exactly.”

The final seconds approached.

The crystal's light intensified.

The map of Earth disappeared.

The twelve-region diagram returned.

One by one, five regions began glowing.

Forest.

Ruined City.

Frozen Region.

Volcanic Region.

Floating Region.

The remaining seven stayed dark.

Then the crystal displayed another line.

[External Gate Formation Imminent.]

The countdown reached zero.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the entire tower shook.

A wave of energy passed through the chamber and traveled downward through the ruined city. Lights activated across the streets, while the dormant Sentinels outside turned toward the sky.

Ara checked her equipment.

“Something is happening outside.”

The team rushed to the tower's upper observation platform.

The crimson sky had changed.

A massive circular distortion had formed above the city, like an enormous ring suspended in the clouds. Light gathered inside it, creating a vertical column that extended upward from the city.

Subin watched carefully.

The distortion did not look like an attack.

It looked like an opening.

Then the system appeared.

[External Gate Formed.]

[Destination: Earth.]

[Location: Unknown.]

[Gate Stability: 61%.]

The final line changed.

[Gate Type: Temporary.]

Ara immediately began recording.

“We have confirmation. The gate is active.”

“Can you identify where it leads?” Director Kang's voice came through the internal network.

Ara shook her head.

“Not from here.”

Subin looked toward the crystal.

The world map reappeared.

One point began glowing.

Not near the original entrance.

Not near the coastal territory.

The marker appeared in the northern part of the world.

Ara enlarged it.

“It's somewhere in the Arctic.”

Jae-hyun frowned. “An Arctic gate?”

“That would explain why the destination isn't showing precise coordinates,” Ara said. “The region is too remote for our current mapping system.”

The crystal changed again.

The frozen region inside the dungeon began glowing.

Subin immediately understood the connection.

“The gate is linked to the Frozen Region.”

Yerin looked at the map.

“So the next region is probably where the new entrance leads.”

Subin nodded.

They had two choices.

Return to Earth through the existing gate and investigate the new entrance from outside, or continue deeper into the dungeon and reach the Frozen Region directly.

The first option was safer.

The second would give them information that could not be obtained from Earth alone.

Director Kang's voice came through the communication device.

“Subin, the Association is preparing an Arctic expedition. We can send a team to the new gate once we locate it.”

Subin looked at the crystal.

“Can you keep the original gate open?”

“We don't know.”

“Then don't send anyone through until we confirm the stability.”

Kang paused.

“Understood.”

Subin turned toward the others.

“We continue.”

Jae-hyun smiled. “I was hoping you'd say that.”

Rafael shook his head. “You two really don't know when to stop.”

“We'll stop when we have enough information,” Subin replied.

The team left the tower and returned to the central city.

The Sentinels did not attack them.

Instead, the Ruined Sword Commander stood near the main road, waiting.

Subin approached.

The Commander raised its sword and pointed toward the northern edge of the city.

A road that had previously been blocked by collapsed buildings had opened.

Beyond it was a large gate.

Not an external gate.

An internal one.

The system identified it.

[Regional Gate Detected.]

[Destination: Frozen Region.]

Subin looked at the Commander.

“You want us to go there.”

The construct remained silent.

But it lowered its sword.

Subin understood.

The expedition moved north.

The journey through the ruined city took several hours. Along the way they discovered more evidence that the city had been abandoned rather than destroyed completely. Some buildings had been deliberately sealed, while others contained equipment that appeared to have been removed before the inhabitants left.

At one underground station, Ara discovered a wall covered with inscriptions.

She translated several symbols using patterns recovered from the tower.

“They describe evacuation.”

“Evacuation from the city?” Yerin asked.

Ara nodded.

“It says the city was no longer sustainable after the regional environment changed.”

Subin looked at the words.

The dungeon regions were not necessarily permanent.

They could change.

The civilization that built the city might have abandoned it because its environment had become unsuitable.

That explained the Sentinels.

They were not protecting living inhabitants.

They were maintaining a structure that no longer had anyone to protect.

By the time the team reached the northern gate, the sky had darkened completely.

The gate was enormous.

Unlike the forest boundary, which had been surrounded by natural roots and water, this structure was made entirely of black stone and pale blue crystal. Frost covered its edges.

Subin stepped closer.

Cold air flowed through the opening.

The Frozen Region was on the other side.

Yerin tightened her coat.

“We're going to need better equipment.”

Ara checked the environmental readings.

“Temperature on the other side is approximately minus thirty-five degrees Celsius.”

Rafael sighed.

“That is definitely worse than the forest.”

Jae-hyun looked at Subin.

“Ready?”

Subin drew Simple Edge.

“Let's go.”

The team entered.

The change was immediate.

The heat of the ruined city disappeared.

Snow struck their faces.

A powerful wind swept across a vast frozen plain.

Mountains surrounded the horizon, their peaks covered in thick ice. Massive glaciers stretched between them, and several enormous structures were partially buried beneath the snow.

The temperature continued dropping.

Ara checked the equipment.

“Minus thirty-eight.”

Yerin raised her spear.

Something moved beneath the snow.

Subin looked toward the disturbance.

A large shape passed beneath the surface, moving rapidly toward them.

The snow exploded upward.

A massive creature emerged.

Its body resembled a wolf, but it was covered in thick white fur and crystalline armor. Its mouth opened, revealing several rows of ice-covered teeth.

[Frostfang Tyrant — Level 179 — A+]

The creature roared.

Several smaller creatures emerged behind it.

Unlike the monsters in the forest, these were aggressive.

They charged immediately.

Subin moved forward.

The first Frostfang lunged.

His sword cut through its crystalline armor, but the creature twisted in midair and avoided a fatal strike. It landed several meters away and immediately attacked again.

Subin recognized the difference.

These creatures were not guarding a territory.

They were hunting.

He stepped into the second attack and cut through the creature's neck.

The body collapsed into the snow.

Yerin and Jae-hyun handled the others while Liu Wei and Ethan covered the rear.

The Frostfang Tyrant proved more dangerous than its level suggested. Its body could generate freezing mana, slowing movement around it. Every time it attacked, the temperature around its body dropped sharply.

Subin adjusted his sword technique accordingly.

Instead of fighting against the cold, he reduced unnecessary movement and maintained his momentum.

The battle ended several minutes later.

The remaining monsters retreated into the snow.

Ara approached one of the corpses.

“The mana core is different from the forest creatures.”

“More concentrated?” Subin asked.

“Yes. The environmental mana is being stored directly inside their bodies.”

Subin looked across the frozen plain.

The region was built around extreme environmental pressure.

The creatures had adapted to it.

The humans would have to do the same.

The team continued forward until they reached a massive frozen structure.

At first it appeared to be a mountain.

Then Subin realized it was a building.

Only its upper section remained visible above the snow.

A massive entrance stood in the ice.

Above it was an unfamiliar symbol.

Ara scanned it.

“The same civilization.”

Subin looked at the structure.

So the ruined city wasn't isolated.

Its builders had established settlements in multiple regions.

The team entered.

Inside, the temperature was lower, but the wind disappeared.

The walls contained murals similar to those in the city.

This time, however, the murals showed the inhabitants fighting enormous creatures.

One image showed a group of swordsmen standing before an enormous dragon-like beast.

Another showed a frozen army defending a massive gate.

A third showed the same circular network connecting multiple regions.

Then the final mural showed something different.

The central region.

It was represented as a huge black sphere surrounded by twelve connected territories.

Seven of the territories were dark.

Five were illuminated.

Subin stared at the image.

The dungeon's current structure matched the mural.

The civilization had apparently understood the twelve-region system long before the expedition arrived.

Yerin noticed another detail.

“Look at the center.”

A sword had been drawn across the black sphere.

Not a person holding a sword.

The sword itself.

Subin stepped closer.

The symbol was simple.

A blade pointing downward.

The system suddenly activated.

[Regional Sword Mark Detected.]

[Compatibility with Sword God Class: High.]

Subin's expression changed slightly.

The mark wasn't merely decorative.

It responded to him.

The frozen structure trembled.

A hidden door opened beneath the mural.

Beyond it was a descending staircase.

Jae-hyun looked at Subin.

“Another hidden route?”

Subin nodded.

“But this one is reacting to your sword,” Yerin said.

Subin looked down at Simple Edge.

The blade remained unchanged.

No glow.

No sudden awakening.

Nothing dramatic.

Yet the system had recognized the symbol.

That was enough.

The team descended.

The staircase continued deep beneath the frozen structure until they reached a vast underground chamber.

At its center stood an enormous frozen crystal.

Inside the crystal was a sword.

Not an ordinary weapon.

The blade was longer than a human body, covered in frost, and embedded vertically within the ice.

Ara checked her equipment.

“That's not a normal dungeon item.”

Subin approached slowly.

The moment he stepped within several meters of the crystal, the sword inside moved.

Not physically.

Its presence changed.

Sword Intent filled the chamber.

Every sword user in the team felt it.

Jae-hyun immediately stopped.

Liu Wei's expression became serious.

Even Ethan's mana sword flickered.

Subin stared at the frozen blade.

It wasn't attacking them.

It was testing their response.

The pressure increased.

Subin remained standing.

His Sword Intent rose naturally.

The two sword intents collided.

Ice spread across the floor.

Cracks appeared in the crystal.

Subin did not draw Simple Edge.

He simply stood there.

The ancient sword's pressure became stronger.

Then weaker.

Then stronger again.

Subin understood what it was doing.

It wasn't testing strength.

It was testing whether he would force his sword intent against something he didn't understand.

He allowed his own intent to settle.

The pressure stopped.

A system notification appeared.

[Ancient Sword Intent encountered.]

[External Sword Principle detected.]

[Observation permitted.]

Subin smiled faintly.

He had found the first genuine sword-related inheritance inside the world dungeon.

But before he could approach the crystal, the entire chamber shook.

A deep roar echoed from somewhere beneath the ice.

Ara looked at the readings.

“Something is approaching.”

Subin turned toward the entrance.

The frozen walls began cracking.

A massive shadow moved beyond them.

The ancient sword remained sealed in the crystal.

Whatever was coming had sensed the expedition.

And this time, the creature wasn't merely an A+ predator.

The system displayed a new classification.

[Warning.]

[High-Level Regional Guardian approaching.]

Subin tightened his grip on Simple Edge.

The frozen chamber trembled again.

The expedition had entered the second region.

And the first guardian of the Frozen Frontier had arrived.