Reunion

A month had passed.

“I am Lycoris.”

Looking back on the time, I carved each letter on the snow with the root tip.

“Time has passed like this…”

I remembered when I first learned the words “sky” and “snow.”

From that day on, every day was a series of new discoveries.

Oldin taught me letters with his staff, and Rian taught me words related to nature, one by one.

“But the hardest part was…”

The daily evening conversations with Marianne.

She sincerely believed in Mikel.

But the Mikel she spoke of…

Was different from the one I knew.

“Mikel-nim is a compassionate person. He doesn’t desire blood at all.”

“He cherishes all life.”

Every time she said that, I thought to myself,

“You don’t know. The real Mikel… the Mikel who was moved by the blood festival.”

But why?

When I saw her sincere prayers, a strange pang gnawed at my chest.

Do I really understand Mikel’s intentions?

When such doubts arose, I began training more intensely.

“☆☆ [Brian] Human LV53” “☆☆ [Kevin] Human LV41” “☆☆ [Marianne] Human LV48” “☆☆☆ [Arthur] Human LV102” “☆☆ [Rian] Human LV93” “☆☆ [Oldin] Human LV94” “☆☆☆ [Haphel] Human LV101”

I acted as their training partner to repay their kindness in teaching me.

At first, they were overwhelmed by Belez’s ferocity and couldn’t even stand properly, but now they could fight back to some extent.

“Strange.”

The humans’ levels were rising little by little.

I initially thought it was due to experience, but experience is gained by killing enemies.

However, Oldin’s explanation was different.

“Humans grow through training and enlightenment. Simple killing doesn’t lead to growth.”

His words shook my worldview.

I clearly leveled up like in a game, but humans were different.

They didn’t have levels; they were ranked based on strength.

It felt like I was the only one who existed in a game-like world.

“What am I…?”

The status window and stars were visible, but the butterflies didn’t know either.

Even the butterflies, who held various positions like aides, network administrators, and strategists, had no answers.

“Ah… I should ask the master.”

I suddenly thought of the master.

She hadn’t appeared in a month.

Occasionally, when I looked at the snow-capped mountains, I felt a chill in my chest.

“Could it be… Did she really abandon me…?”

As I pondered meaninglessly, my head became complicated.

At times like these, I…

“Training! Begin!”

I carved the words firmly on the snow with the root tip.

As usual, the adventurers’ faces stiffened in an instant.

Even after a month, they still couldn’t relax in front of me.

“Already… Training again…”

Brian said with a tired voice.

His sword trembled slightly in his hand.

“Just a short break…”

Before Kevin could finish, pale flower petals filled the sky.

His growth was the slowest, which was unavoidable.

He couldn’t use fire magic at all.

“Fire. Use. Die.”

Those were the words from the first training, which left him with a lifelong trauma.

Fire was a double weakness for me, an ice and plant-type being, and for Belez, an ice and insect-type!

Am I not an ice-type?

I only have the “Frost Block” skill, though.

Moreover, with [Inferno Stigma], I was fatally weak to fire.

Anyway, the ferocious eyes of hundreds of Belez were still watching him.

“Fight! Now!”

The Blizzard Hornets flew up in unison.

Their perfect formation, which now came naturally with a single command, was impressive.

“Brian, cover the rear!”

“Got it!”

Kevin stepped back and cast an ice spell.

His ice magic, once crude, now had a decent weight to it.

But his eyes still showed thirst.

It must be the frustration of not being able to use his original fire magic.

“Go!”

Haphel’s greatsword sliced through the hornet swarm.

She, who once couldn’t read the insects’ movements, now predicted their flight patterns and struck.

“Indeed… A-rank is different.”

“You’ve really grown a lot.” Rian said, drawing her bowstring.

“At this rate…”

Oldin gripped his staff tightly.

“But is this growth our…?”

“Lifesaver?”

It wasn’t funny.

I was being so kind in training them.

“Marianne! Forward!”

Marianne stepped forward with trembling feet.

The holy tablet around her neck glowed faintly.

“To Mikel! Offer blood!”

“No!”

Marianne’s shout echoed through the snow-capped mountains.

“Mikel-nim is… compassionate. He wouldn’t ask for blood. That’s…”

“Ah, she’s at it again.”

The tedious sermon began.

Every time this happened, I thought, Marianne doesn’t know Mikel at all.

I am the faithful follower, with the [Mikel’s Flower] trait and receiving [Mikel’s Encouragement]!

“Yes, yes. You think you know Him because you believed for so long.”

With their short lifespans, how much can humans understand Mikel?

But why does my chest feel so tight?

Training continued.

But that day, I couldn’t focus.

Marianne’s words kept echoing in my mind.

Then…

“Gasp…!”

My whole body began to tremble.

Nothing appeared on the Detection Radar, but the flower petals quivered instinctively.

This sensation… It was the thrill before meeting someone long-awaited.

“What… is this…?”

An emotion I couldn’t logically understand overwhelmed me.

Joy, longing, affection… and then,

A presence appeared on the Detection Radar.

“Joo! Master…!”

Her silver hair shone like moonlight, and her beauty was flawless.

It had been a month since we last met.

“Indeed! You didn’t abandon me…!”

Joy overflowed.

It was only my third time seeing her, but my body already knew her.

Perhaps this body remembered the three years we spent together, even if my mind didn’t.

“Ah…”

I realized suddenly.

This overwhelming loyalty, this overflowing emotion, might be only natural.

It was the natural heart of a follower toward the master who raised and protected her.

The three years embedded deep in my subconscious now revived in this moment.

“Master…”

The flower petals glistened under the moonlight.

***

The air around us froze.

My whole body stiffened.

A fear of death, incomparable to Lycoris’s overwhelming presence, crushed us.

The immense pressure felt like a glacier collapsing overhead.

As an A-rank adventurer who had faced many dangers, this fear was new.

The shield in my hand trembled.

Hundreds of Belez also halted their movements.

The Blizzard Hornets, usually flying boldly, became like ice sculptures on the ground, and the Ice Flies hid behind Lycoris with trembling wings.

I slowly looked up.

Who could emanate such an aura…?

“The ruler of the Shia Kalt Great Labyrinth… Frostia.”

The legendary name, which I had only heard of, rolled heavily in my mouth.

Having adventured in Shia Kalt for decades, I always thought she lay dormant in the deepest layer of the labyrinth.

Who would have thought I’d meet this absolute being…?

The ice dragon landed elegantly beside Lycoris.

The surrounding air turned white with frost, and her breath created a beautiful pattern of frost.

Her presence was that of the goddess of winter.

“Is this… possible…?”

I couldn’t believe what was happening before my eyes.

The massive ice dragon transformed into a human form in an instant.

Her silver hair flowed in the moonlight, and her skin was as pure as snow.

Her dress, made of transparent ice, sparkled under the moon.

Her eyes, like glaciers, were cold and clear, yet carried unmatched elegance.

Her gaze, filled with centuries of wisdom, left me breathless.

“So… that’s why.”

I finally understood Lycoris’s overwhelming power.

We thought she was just a special monster, but she belonged to the ruler of the labyrinth.

It made sense that a monster raised by the labyrinth’s absolute ruler would possess such might.

“Lico, my beloved flower, have you been well?”

Her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, filled with affection.

Lycoris’s body trembled with joy.

But in an instant,

“Who are you?”

Her gaze toward us turned icy cold, like a freezer.

The chill felt like dozens of degrees below zero, piercing through us.

I tried to speak but couldn’t.

“Is this… the true power of an absolute ruler…?”

Beside me, Haphel’s greatsword trembled, and Oldin’s staff was covered in frost.

Even we, A-rank adventurers nearing S-rank, were shaking like children.

Frostia’s gaze shifted to the insect monsters.

“Oh… these children…”

Seeing her smile, I realized:

What we had faced all this time was merely a fraction of Lycoris’s true power.