All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 108

54. An Unexpected Encounter – 2

The small sun in Ian’s hand turned towards Hoteph.

Hoteph, watching it with tearful eyes, was taken aback.

“How… does he have that…?”

Even in the Garia Desert Kingdom, that light was not to be seen.

Yet, here in this place of exile, he was witnessing the Sun’s Choice.

He jumped up from his seat.

“Could you be… the High Priest? Has the High Priest also been exiled?! Surely those madmen wouldn’t dare!!”

The High Priest, representing the sun.

The chosen priest who alone could follow the Sun God, and the teacher of all Pharaohs and priests.

To see the power of the priest, who had disappeared long ago, here.

Hoteph, who had been blankly staring at the light of the sun, hurriedly knelt down.

A small sphere of the sun began to settle within his body.

Hoteph trembled with the pain and the overwhelming joy that came with it.

How long had it been?

A single tattoo appeared on the back of his hand.

A tattoo symbolizing the sun.

The qualification to become a true Pharaoh, chosen by the sun, had been revealed.

Hoteph wept as he looked at the tattoo on his hand.

After clutching his hand and sobbing, he knelt before Ian once he had calmed down somewhat.

“I never thought I would meet the High Priest in this place of exile.”

If left alone, he looked ready to kiss Ian’s boots.

Ian took a step back and lightly waved his hand.

“Enough. Just go back quickly. It’s not good to stay in another dimension for too long.”

“……H-How do I return……?”

“What? Didn’t you talk about that with the guys who made this tower?”

“I have never met such people.”

He explained calmly.

There is a small cave in the Valley of the Kings in the Garia Desert. Anyone exiled from the desert had to enter that place, and he himself had simply entered it.

And when he came out, it was this desert.

“I was able to use my power reasonably well because it was a desert. Also, there was this temple and subordinates, whether there was another Pharaoh before me or not.”

In other words, he didn’t know why this place was like this or who made this tower.

“How many years has it been since you came here?”

“It has been about seven years. Of course, I have heard that this is inside a tower in another world. I was just carrying out my role here based on the records left by the previous Pharaoh.”

He knew nothing else.

As Hoteph spoke cautiously, Kirke explained instead.

After thinking for a moment at the report, Ian said.

“This place will be evacuated soon, so keep that in mind and try to challenge it diligently when you return.”

“Will the High Priest not return?”

There was no reason to return, and no intention to return.

He had obtained everything he needed from the Garia Desert Kingdom, where Hoteph had to return.

What would he do there?

Ian climbed the stairs with an indifferent expression, as if he had no interest.

Ian, who entered the door of light at the end of the stairs, sighed.

The door of light he came out of disappeared.

Snowflakes fluttered and fell from the sky.

A mountain shrouded in dreamy mist could be seen in the distance.

A world full of beautiful, thickly piled snow.

This was also a place he had seen before.

A harsh land where extreme cold reigned.

The eternal land of snow and ice ruled by the Queen of Winter.

Ian looked around the world of snow with its fantastic beauty and said.

“I went through the Pharaoh when going from the 2nd to the 3rd floor. Then can I only go up here through the ruler as well?”

Ian quickly turned his head.

The center of the land of snow and ice.

A mountain so high that it touched the sky caught his eye.

As Ian knew, the ruler’s residence would be in the ice fortress halfway up that mountain.

“Myaaa……”

The snowfield began to shake with Myaen’s cry.

From there, giant ice monsters were moving.

“Chiten!! Use magic!”

“Blaze!!”

Explorers were fighting ice monsters, one of the monsters in this world.

One of them, fighting the ice monster with aura and magic, discovered Ian and shouted.

“Hey! Get out of the way!!”

The explorers who found him shouted, and Ian grabbed his sword.

“Hey!! You can’t catch those things with a sword!!”

Even if the ice monsters were injured, they would revive with the surrounding snow and ice.

They even split into two.

To catch the ice monsters, you had to melt all the surrounding snow and ice before fighting, but there he was.

The magician tried to stop him, but he didn’t stop.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Stance of the Sun.

One Line.

A blindingly fast sword strike cut the panther-like ice monster in half.

The leader of the explorers who saw it gritted his teeth.

“Damn it!! That’s why rookies!! Dex! Magic prep…….”

But the monster did not regenerate.

The split ice monster shattered, dropping only one crystal, the proof of the ice monster’s disposal.

While everyone was surprised to see it, Ian cut down all the remaining monsters.

“W-Who are you?”

“This is a feat only a Sword Saint can perform…….”

But he didn’t look like a Sword Saint.

The explorers scanned him and were startled.

“Could it be?! Ian Brandon?!”

To meet a strongman they had only heard rumors about.

Surprised, they blankly stared at Ian before snapping out of it.

“Ah. I am the explorer Wikalta. I came to find eternal ice at the request of Count Predisian.”

The man, who appeared to be in his late 40s, gave an awkward smile.

As others approached and greeted him one by one, he spoke seriously.

“Are you perhaps trying to go up? If so, come with us.”

“I can go alone.”

“Ah, no. It’s not that kind of problem.”

He quickly shook his head.

“Some crazy bastards stole the treasure of the queen here. The great giant Marzana.”

“Huh. What kind of guys.”

“Anyway, the queen is so angry that no one can approach her castle right now.”

The queen, the ruler of this place, was angry.

It meant that no one could escape this world until she calmed down.

“There is a gathering of those staying here. Let’s go there for now.”

Guided by the explorers, they arrived at a fairly large village.

On the outside, it was quite a fantastic landscape.

Houses and palisades made by cutting logs.

Thickly piled snow and small animals running around on it.

But the atmosphere inside was not so fantastic.

As they entered the palisade, there were quite a few wary glances.

“Damn it! Which son of a bitch touched Queen Marzana?!”

“I’m going to catch them and kill them!”

Everyone seemed quite angry.

Among those who were saying they would chew them alive if they caught them, Wikalta smiled bitterly.

“Queen Marzana, the ruler of this place, is a gentle person.”

“I suppose so.”

“Oh? Do you know her?”

“Yes.”

Wikalta was puzzled as Ian nodded.

As far as he knew, Ian had entered the tower, but there was no story of him entering the tower.

How did he know?

Instead of him being puzzled, the magician said.

“She resides in the Ice Palace and happily receives any humble tribute and opens the way.”

Also, when those who have fallen or had an accident in the snowfields desperately pray, she saves them with snow and ice.

“She is truly a good person.”

Ian nodded.

Wikalta said to him with a bitter expression.

“If you don’t touch just one thing, that is.”

There is a small room in her residence, the Ice Fortress.

Marzana said that she keeps her most precious thing in that room.

She shows god-like power here.

Those who thought that it was the source of her power sometimes approached that place.

And.

Each time, the queen revealed a cold rage befitting the ruler of winter.

‘There’s nothing as scary as when a gentle person gets angry.’

“But it seems they didn’t catch those guys this time. Originally, they couldn’t escape the castle and were caught…….”

Perhaps they were quite skilled, but this time the queen missed them.

Wikalta let out a heavy sigh.

“Anyway, everyone is quite edgy right now because of that.”

The explorers sighed heavily.

“Among those who went in at that time, was there anyone who saw the face of that person?”

“Well. I’m investigating for now…….”

Wikalta and his party seemed to be going around looking for them.

This place is much narrower than the desert area on the 2nd floor.

So, they are currently searching using the information network of the explorers and residents here.

“It’s been four days already, but there’s still no news……. Um. Ian. If you’re okay with it, could you help with the tracking?”

Ian is treated as equal to the Sword Saint, the Forest Keeper, and the Emperor.

So, even if the person who touched the queen resists, he would be able to subdue them easily.

“I will.”

Anyway, he had to go up.

To do so, it was convenient to catch the tracker or whatever.

‘Kirke. Can you find it? If it’s Marzana’s treasure, it will be kept in her ice. See if it’s in an area outside the fortress.’

Kirke began to explore the surrounding area, centering on Ian.

And after a while.

“Of course, I’m not going to leave everything to Ian!”

“Yes. Not only us, but other explorers will continue to investigate. So if you could help us even for a moment…….”

The majority of those who come here are those who come to find artifacts.

As such, they compete with each other, but it is right to cooperate in this emergency situation.

Some of them were already saying which areas they had searched, as other explorers had already searched each area.

Ian got up from his seat and looked at the map hanging on the wooden wall.

The areas that the explorers had already searched were organized.

“It seems like no one has been to the Crystal Song Forest.”

When Ian pointed to one place on the map, Wikalta nodded.

“That place is a bit too dangerous……. It is a place with trees made of crystal-like ice.”

There are also many ice monsters there, and sometimes chunks of sharp ice containing magic fall.

In addition, there are many violent spirits.

So, after searching all the other places, they were going to join forces with the explorers to go there.

As another explorer spoke, Ian nodded.

“I’ll go here.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Ah. Then take this with you.”

One of the explorers handed over a thick leather coat.

And someone gave him an artifact with the magic of Warm Body on it.

“And if you show it to Ivan, the village chief of Lungelt Village in the center of the Crystal Song Forest, he will help Ian.”

Wikalta handed over a small ornament.

As Ian received it, the explorers let out heavy sighs and spoke seriously.

“Please be careful. And there are many places where your feet can get stuck in the snowfields on the way there.”

“Yes. Especially since the snow in this world often has magic mixed in, so even masters often can’t get out easily.”

“There are also traps to catch giants, ice monsters, and spirits…….”

Normally, in such cases, Marzana, who contemplates this world, would save them.

But that would be impossible now.

Among the others, there are those who are making snowshoes or changing equipment in preparation for the worst.

Ian glanced at it, nodded, and went outside.

In Slavd, there was a saying that snow is the tears shed by Marzana, the Queen of Winter.

Remembering that, Ian headed to the snowfield, stepping on the thickly piled snow that was beginning to accumulate.

As he walked away, Wikalta looked worried and then puzzled.

“Why aren’t there any footprints on the snow?”