How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 686: Frost Queen 5

He figured it out in no time at all—they weren't followers of Erebil.

A modest wave of true relief washed over him from that thought.

Fanatics like those rarely posed real problems, thanks to how weak they usually were.

To someone at the level of Riley or Snow, these zealots amounted to little more than minor hurdles.

The true headache always hit afterward.

Slay too many believers, and sooner or later, the entity they revered would take notice.

Once gods or demons locked onto you... trouble was sure to follow.

Riley let out a steady breath, his gaze fixed firmly on the cloaked shapes ahead.

Whoever your master is... you've got guts pushing this far up north.

"I'll deal with them. Snow, you go ahead."

Snow halted in her tracks and glanced back at him.

"Are you sure?"

Riley gave a firm nod without pause.

"Yes. I can't trail you any further in regardless. Might as well save your strength for the ordeal waiting ahead."

Snow examined his features closely.

Even without probing his mana, she knew—these hooded intruders weren't your typical cult members.

Their aura hung heavy and twisted, sticking to the icy atmosphere in an eerie way.

Yet... this was Riley she was talking about.

"I know you're strong," she murmured gently, "and powerful... but please be careful, okay?"

A soft laugh escaped Riley, casual and unconcerned.

"Don't worry. They’re not exactly a threat."

That easy, unwavering assurance finally melted away her concerns.

Snow offered a smile, then pivoted and pressed on, her pale cloak whispering over the frosted floor.

"Oh my... oh my~!"

The elderly man's voice boomed out in grand flair as he flung his arms open wide.

"What a splendid show of trust and fondness! Even if your words diminish our menace, I can't help but feel stirred by this heartbreaking romance unfolding right here!"

He clutched at his heart with theatrical flair.

"To imagine the youth letting his beloved charge into peril alone—such sorrow! Such splendor! Go on, proceed, oh sorrowful leading lady!"

In overly pompous respect, he dipped into a bow.

His followers mimicked him, splitting apart like a formal escort.

Snow paused just a moment, a flash of astonishment crossing her face—then she brushed them off completely and strode onward, her steps echoing faintly into the dungeon's icy core.

The moment her silhouette vanished from sight, the elder rose up straight.

With measured intent... he shifted his stare to Riley.

A sly smile crept over his wrinkled features.

"Oh, youth brimming with assurance and resolve!" he declared. "Such belief! Such assurance! A spirit like yours must be drawn to honor our mighty deity—care to join our ranks?"

Riley's face stayed impassive.

"You sure talk a lot of nonsense."

The elder stiffened briefly—then erupted into joyful cackles.

"Nonsense? Nonsense, you call it?" he echoed with delight. "Oh, how I adore that term! Indeed, indeed—I do spout nonsense!"

He threw his arms up again, his gaze alight with frenzied zeal.

"That's the essence of our creed! Wild irregularities! Facts that mock reason! Ignorance that sparks true wisdom!"

He bent in a bit, his tone shifting to a hushed, worshipful murmur.

"In chaos... we discover the divine."

Riley's azure eyes narrowed to points.

The second murderous intent flared up inside him, the elder responded purely on reflex.

The godly might he'd pilfered—seized—from his vile patron burst forth, crafting a shadowy, foreboding haze that danced like a fading ember.

Yet it proved far too slow.

[Hidden Blade Technique: First Form]

[Blue Moon]

Flash.

A lone streak of azure radiance sliced across the chilled chamber.

For the briefest instant, it appeared as if nothing had shifted.

Then—

Siiissshhh—

Crimson sprays burst forth like bloody geysers.

Head after head tumbled neatly off the necks of the robed lackeys, their forms crumpling into limp piles as the sharp whistle of the blade finally reached the present.

The elder remained rooted, hot blood spraying over his visage and garments.

Drip.

Drip.

Reality snapped back to him in fragments.

"M-my... lambs..." he whispered, his tone quivering—not from sorrow, but from wonder.

Riley advanced steadily, kicking aside the sprawled remains like mere roadside clutter.

His sword had vanished already, tucked away unseen, as though it had never emerged.

"Hey, old man," Riley stated evenly, "I've been wondering—who's the dark god you're serving?"

The motive for sparing the fellow was straightforward.

He could still talk.

And he looked like the most useful one.

The elder raised his head gradually... and then chuckled.

"Haha... hahah... HUahahahaha!"

His guffaws bounced madly off the frozen tunnel, reverberating against the glacial barriers.

The spark in his eyes had lost all humanity—it shone with the wild fervor of someone who'd forsaken sanity ages ago.

"Oh, how our deity has favored us!" he wailed. "To let my lambs join him so soon in their existence! What envy it stirs!"

Riley's look remained unchanged.

"Answer me," he demanded bluntly, "and I'll grant you the same swift end as your 'enviable' followers."

The elder slapped a palm to his breast and inclined in sarcastic homage.

"Ahh, such kindness from a being of such might! A lure worth considering," he intoned with overblown piety. "Yet I must politely decline, oh shining oddity."

His grin warped even broader.

"I bear a duty—to proclaim our god's message, to announce his sanctity! Death eludes me still, for I serve as his sole herald!"

Quiet descended.

Riley cocked his head a touch.

"Is that so?"

He understood that chatting with deranged devotees would yield only senseless babble, yet he pressed on anyway.

Knowledge counted for much—particularly against mysterious dark gods.

Since it's not Erebil... I can handle whatever fallout comes later.

Should slaying them alert some hidden, ancient power, the instant that entity tried to glimpse him, Riley would sense it.

His inherent godly essence ensured that.

Scant few entities in this realm could challenge him head-on now—whether in the game or the real world, it scarcely mattered.

Beyond Erebil... Liyana... and the White Queen...

Hardly anyone else could endanger him in his present state.

...This could prove a fine chance.

An occasion to measure himself against yet another deity.

With that resolved, Riley started pouring mana back into his weapon, the steady buzz of energy coiling around his limb—

When an odd occurrence unfolded.

SIIISHHH!!!

Ebony fumes started seeping from the cadavers.

Not vapor from heat.

Not fading mana.

Something different.

The inky mist twisted skyward like animated vines, twisting with muffled cries and warped feelings that clawed at Riley's awareness.

His flesh crawled, an uncanny itch slithering along his back.

"Ohhh!!!" the elder shouted, his eyes flipping upward in ecstasy. "Our god at last honors these lambs! Such glory—to be devoured!"

Riley's attention whipped to the remains.

He'd anticipated the power flowing toward the dungeon's heart.

Toward a shrine.

A ritual ring.

Something of the sort.

But no—

The murky haze veered.

Its path curved impossibly... and streamed right at him.

"...What?"

Before he could move, the shadowy force rushed in and merged with his form as if it was meant to—no pushback, no denial, no taint.

[Congratulations. You have acquired a follower’s divine energy!]

[Divinity +10,000]

"Huh?"

...I was their god?

The elder dropped to his knees, tears flowing as he stared at Riley in a stupor.

...

Amid the icy weave of the dungeon, Snow pressed on solo.

Her footfalls resounded gently down the vast hallway, each one sharp and distinct even on the slick ice and packed snow.

The noise hung in the air too long, like the dungeon was eavesdropping.

Surrounding her, grand barriers of iced rock and crystal soared upward like carved columns, their faces marked with elaborate, purposeful designs.

They held no chaos.

An artistry graced them—sweeping curves and balanced patterns sealed in frost, as if a sculptor had crafted the dungeon by touch before eternity froze in the chill.

The surface underfoot seemed less rugged wasteland and more a deliberate trail... a route designed for traversal.

"Hoh..."

A puff of white breath slipped from her mouth, vanishing swiftly in the frigid breeze.

She'd deceive herself if she claimed no fear gripped her.

Or anxiety.

The lack of beasts felt wrong.

No growls. No stirrings. No sudden strikes.

Only quiet—heavy, smothering quiet that weighed on her nerves more than any foe.

Yet onward she went.

Foot by foot, cautious and purposeful, her fingers clenching her staff tighter as she delved further in.

With each tick of time, the frost deepened—not a mere winter nip, but something profound.

Weightier.

Like the atmosphere thickened, invading her very core.

Still, her thoughts stayed keen.

Far too keen for comfort.

Beasts might lurk in any nook.

Or something smarter might observe.

Her vision swept over every dark corner, every twist in the iced barriers, her instincts pulled tight like a strung arrow.

And then, far off, it appeared.

A soft azure shimmer.

It gleamed faintly at the corridor's close, pouring from a huge, rounded arch hewn straight from the glacier.

The doorway loomed cave-wide, yet oddly recognizable—almost matching the outer gateway in scale and form.

Her pace eased.

Her face set firm.

Nearing it, the glow brightened, enveloping her in a mild cerulean sheen that danced on her snowy robe and platinum locks.

The atmosphere here shifted... uniquely.

Not aggressive.

Inviting.

And then—

’You’re finally here...’

The words resonated straight in her thoughts.

Lovely.

Pure.

Icy as drifting flakes.

Snow halted abruptly, her inhale snagging.

Before response—before words or wand could rise—the azure radiance swelled out, unfurling like a budding flower.

In a flash, it engulfed her entirely.

And the dungeon hushed again.