Free Web NovelChapter 19: Explorers of the Lost City
A cold wind that passed through the blizzard was dragging across Lian’s skin like an icy blade. His breaths had become heavy, and his lungs were burning.
His legs no longer had any feeling. From the moment they had escaped that damned village, he had just run.
Without stopping. Without even looking behind him once. And finally, his knees bent.
He dropped Seris onto the snow, and he himself fell to the ground with a muffled sound.
The cold snow touched his face.
But for the first time in the last few hours, he felt like he was still alive.
"Damn it..."
His chest rose and fell. His whole body hurt. Even after all the increases he had gotten from the system. Even after all those stats he had absorbed.
The fight with Mira was not a fight at all. It was a massacre. Even if he and Seris had been three times stronger, it would not have made a difference.
That creature, whatever it was, was not a normal monster. Now that his brain was finally not in a stressful, emotional state and he could think calmly, the image of the moment when the system could not identify that monster’s race appeared in his mind.
In a normal situation, such a thing is impossible. Unless The Will had not yet been able to fully identify the new ruined realm and gather all its information.
But is that possible? He doubted it. Actually, there was a more logical possibility. Those monsters were no longer what they used to be. They might have evolved and turned into a new kind of monster.
This could explain the missing hearts in those bodies. And if they had mutated, that would explain everything. Because they were monsters that had never existed before.
And for this reason, the system could not identify them. The more he thought, the more sure he became of his reasoning. But the question was, how had they actually mutated? And what exactly were they now?
Next to him, Seris slowly opened her eyes. She stared at the gray sky for a few seconds.
Then she frowned.
"What happened?" Her voice was weaker than ever.
"Where are we?"
Lian was quiet for a few moments, then shook his head.
"I don’t know."
For the first time, he looked around. The blizzard was still continuing. A white, endless world of snow and ice. Huge rocks and frozen valleys.
And silence.
But suddenly, something in the distance caught his attention. In the middle of the blizzard, behind the white curtains of snow, there was a massive shadow.
Lian blinked. Then he sat up higher, and his eyes widened.
"That..."
Next to him, Seris also noticed. In the distance, there was a city. A massive city, but not made of stone. Made of ice. Towers that stretched to the sky. Walls that shone like crystal.
[Hidden area discovered]
[Frostheart, The Fallen City]
[First discoverer of the area: Lian Vonhelm, Seris Pendragon]
[Reward received]
[10 Fragments]
[20 Stat Points]
[New title received]
[Explorer of the Lost City]
Lian stared at the notifications. His eyes shone with surprise. He had not expected to discover a hidden area!
Hidden areas are very attractive. The people who find them first become rich. Aside from the amazing rewards they get from The Will, these areas are always full of valuable items and objects.
Hidden areas are places that show the remains of civilizations from ruined realms. Civilizations that once had passion and life.
And aside from all the wealth that might exist in that fallen city, he had gotten 20 stat points and ten fragments. Plus a title! With this title, he now had two titles.
But that was not the only thing that caught his attention. It was Seris’s family name. Pendragon! The family name of one of the six founders of the modern era.
Actually, one of the first ten Awakened and a member of the group that had cleared the first ruined realm by themselves and saved the world from that apocalypse.
"So you are a Vonhelm." Seris also stared at him with a cold tone. Her tone was colder than usual.
"And you are a Pendragon." Lian also frowned. The relationship between their families... was not very good.
"But you don’t act like one of them."
"But I guess you really do seem like one."
The atmosphere between the two became a little suffocating. The tension rose higher and higher with each moment. As if they might attack each other at any moment.
But in the end, Seris sighed and leaned against a rock. As if she was too lazy to care about such things.
Her wounds had not fully healed yet, but her condition was much better than before.
"My family’s problems are none of my concern." Then she thought for a moment and said in a more normal tone. Her words made the tension disappear.
"I guess we are both in the same boat." Lian laughed quietly. He also sat down and leaned against a rock. He was considered an exile. He had no interest in caring about his family problems.
"What exactly happened?"
"After you got hurt in the fight with that monster and passed out, I attacked her. But as you can imagine, I could not do much..." Then Lian explained how they had been forced to make a strategic retreat and leave that village.
"I lost?" Seris looked at her fists. Her sword was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, in all that chaos, her sword had been left behind.
"Don’t blame yourself. That bastard was way too strong."
"So what about the others?"
"Oh." Lian suddenly realized he had completely forgotten about the twins and Ryan. Of course, in that chaos, there was nothing he could do anyway.
He had barely saved himself and Seris, let alone them.
"They are probably dead by now." Seris said with a cold tone. But not as cold and indifferent as usual. After all, they had spent some time together.
For a while, silence formed between them. Neither could speak. Until she herself broke the silence.
"What should we do now?"
"We need to get stronger and go back to that village. There is no other choice. The key is there. And I doubt finding another one would be that easy." Lian thought for a moment and then answered.
Seris slowly stood up and looked at that city in the distance.
"If we want to get stronger, that place is our only chance." She then said quietly.
Lian also stood up and nodded. A hidden area could be a huge help. If they could also find and hunt monsters nearby, that would be even better.
"But I don’t have a good feeling about that city." Seris suddenly said.
"Since when have you ever had a good feeling about anything?" Lian laughed.
"Never." Seris’s answer was immediate, but her gaze was still fixed on the city.
"A hidden area is definitely dangerous. These areas are unknown. Along with all their opportunities, they can also be deadly. But right now, it is our best option."
Suddenly, the blizzard parted for a moment. For a fraction of a second, Lian saw something on one of the ice towers.
A shape that looked like a human. Standing on the edge of the tower, motionless, just watching. But much larger than a human. And it seemed to have horns?
But in the blink of an eye, the shape disappeared.
"Did you see it?" Seris suddenly asked.
"Yes." He quietly nodded.
Both were silent for a few seconds. So it was not just his imagination. Seris had seen it too. Something was there. Of course, that was not unusual. Such a city would certainly not be empty. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
But was that not even better? Instead of fear, both of them felt excitement. Excitement to grow and become stronger.
The wind blew again. A strange howling sound rose from the ice city.
"Shall we go?"
Lian stared at the city for a few moments. At the ice towers. At the blue light. At the deadly feeling that came from there.
Then he gave a bitter smile.
"We always make the worst possible decision, don’t we?"
"We are still alive." Seris shrugged.
"That’s right."
Lian stood up from the snow. The wind blew again. The city of Frostheart was waiting for them in the middle of the blizzard.
