The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 103

Meanwhile, at that moment, in the Frozen Land of northern Syres.

The rangers of Syres were scouting in the snowstorm-swept snowy plains.

One of them grumbled as he looked at the snow pouring from the sky.

“Seriously, snow, ice, snow, snow, ice… I’m sick of it.”

“What’s new? It’s always like this.”

“Even if it’s normal, it still gets old, man.”

“Hmm, it’s strange. Don’t you think there are fewer monsters than usual today?”

“You’re right…”

Usually, during their patrols, they would at least encounter a few monsters.

Their routine involved dealing with those few monsters, and if they encountered a large number or particularly strong ones, they would return to the fortress to report.

Though in the latter case, there was a 30-40% chance of death.

That’s how tenacious and fearsome the monsters of the north were.

But today, for some reason, they hadn’t seen a single passing monster.

“Well, isn’t that good? It’s better if there are no monsters.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Anyway, Jaxon, you worry too much.”

“Come on, let’s head back and warm up. There aren’t any visible monsters. We’ll turn into ice statues at this rate.”

“If you become a statue, you’ll be the ugliest one in the world, Vermon.”

“Haha, you look like something that an ice goblin would use for sashimi.”

“And you have a face that even orcs would run away from in terror.”

The rangers exchanged light-hearted banter as they made their way back to Frost Fortress.

The snowstorm was growing stronger, making further scouting impossible.

“Hmm?”

But just as he was about to follow his comrades, Ranger Jaxon halted, puzzled.

“Everyone, hold up for a second.”

“Ha, Jaxon. What’s it this time?”

“What is it? Let’s go back and rest, man.”

Though his comrades grumbled, eager to return to Frost Fortress for food and a drink, Jaxon remained stubborn.

“Don’t you hear something?”

“Hear what? Just the wind howling…”

However, his frowning comrades soon had to stop as well.

-Aaah…

They heard it.

Within the fierce, frost-laden winds, a faint but increasingly distinct sound could be heard.

‘A scream?’

It sounded like the scream of a woman.

Was someone stranded in the snowstorm?

But there was something eerily off about the sound, making it hard to move easily.

It didn’t quite seem like a sound a real person would make, but it was too clear to dismiss as mere wind.

Ultimately, as if their legs were bound by invisible chains, the rangers stood still, staring through the blurred snowstorm.

-Aaah…

The sound, mixed with the wind in the snowstorm, grew louder and clearer.

“Hey, guys…”

Jaxon spoke with a trembling voice.

His hands were now trembling slightly, as were those of his comrades.

“When did that mountain… get there?”

“…”

No one answered his question.

They were all wondering the same thing.

Beyond the snowstorm, there was a snowy mountain that hadn’t been there before, or at least they hadn’t noticed earlier.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on that snowy mountain, and soon they realized why they were seeing it for the first time today.

“What is that…”

It wasn’t a mountain.

-Aaah…

Following the chilling scream that seemed to constrict their chests.

Crunch, crunch.

Frozen icebergs began to rise.

The sharp icebergs combined to form spires and walls.

An ice fortress was rapidly growing in real-time.

-Aaah…

Once again, a terrifying, ear-piercing scream echoed.

-Ka ka ka ka ka ka ka!

-Kel kel kel kel kel kel kel kel!

From all directions, the roars and howls of countless monsters could be heard.

Just like the ice rising from the snowy plains, ice golems, numerous spirits, and many frozen undead were emerging and being born.

From tens to hundreds, from hundreds to thousands.

As the sounds grew louder, the rangers felt a shared emotion.

Overwhelming fear.

The ice fortress rising.

The mind-numbing scream.

The continuously growing army of ice monsters.

It all reminded them of a story they had often heard since childhood.

A monster that created the current Frozen Land and was akin to winter itself, which the first Grand Duke of Syres had defeated.

The name of that dreadful monster.

“The Winter Queen…”

As if responding to their realization, the mythical monster let out a great, tearing scream.

-Screeeeech!

Drip.

Red blood started to flow from their ears, noses, and eyes, but none of them could move.

Their bodies trembled with fear, paralyzing them.

“We need to… run…”

With the last of his sanity, Jaxon tried to move his trembling legs.

But then, he felt something binding his leg.

‘What is it?’

His trembling gaze slowly moved downward…

Clatter.

He saw a frozen skeleton with shriveled skin on its bone arm, gripping his leg.

The skeleton looked up at Jaxon with empty eyes.

“Ahh! Ahhhh!”

“U-undead!”

They screamed in terror.

And behind them…

Crunch, crackle.

Click, clack.

Dozens of frozen corpse soldiers broke through the snow, rising up and slowly approaching the rangers.

* * *

The ancient disaster-level spirit, the Banshee Queen, Winter Queen.

-Screeeeech!

The Winter Queen’s grief-stricken wail echoed beyond the Frozen Land, beyond Frost Fortress, reaching even the human city of Faras to the south.

“Ahhh!”

“My ears, they’re going to burst!”

“Guh, guhh…”

Those who heard the soul-shaking scream of the Winter Queen felt immense fear and pain.

They were overwhelmed by the ‘fear’ contained in the scream.

Many of the common people fainted, and among the elderly, there were cases of heart attacks and deaths.

-Screeeeech!

The scream even reached the northern main temple of the Sacred Fire Order, which was buzzing with excitement over Aden obtaining the sacred relic.

“Ugh!”

“What is this scream…?”

Those inside the temple only experienced mild dizziness and headaches.

Most of them were priests imbued with holy power, and the divine energy spread throughout the temple mitigated the malevolent influence of the scream.

But it was enough to cool the excitement over the appearance of the legendary apostle.

-Detecting mental curse interference.

-Neutralizing it per system authority.

Aden, on the other hand, was completely unaffected.

But his face hardened.

“This sound… could it be…?”

Aden considered a possibility.

But it couldn’t be.

‘That event’ was supposed to happen later.

This scream shouldn’t be heard now, and it shouldn’t exist.

‘Then why?’

Everyone in the Grand Duchy of Syres heard the scream.

The entire Syres was in turmoil. If left unchecked, the chaos would only spread.

At that moment.

A light appeared in the sky above each city in Syres.

When the light faded, a translucent figure appeared in the sky.

A person wearing a peculiar mask, half laughing and half crying, dressed in formal attire.

-Greetings, everyone. Thank you for always using our services.

-I am the owner of the Spirit Merchant Guild, the Hat Merchant.

The leader of the Spirit Merchant Guild.

It was the Hat Merchant.

-A special announcement from our guild.

Her voice echoed from the sky in each city, reverberating.

Managing dungeons was within the Spirit Merchant Guild’s domain.

And if the guild leader herself was making an announcement, it meant something significant was happening.

The Hat Merchant addressed all humans in Syres, and the world.

-As of today, the legendary dungeon, ‘The Winter Queen’s Domain,’ has been created.

The resurrection of the Winter Queen.

And the emergence of a legendary dungeon.

While everyone was stunned by the news, even Aden remained silent with a hardened face.

He had no choice but to accept the reality.

‘The future has changed.’

The first legendary dungeon, the Winter Queen’s Domain.

It had appeared ten days earlier than originally expected.

* * *

The horrific scream of the Winter Queen continued for about a minute before stopping.

But the impact of that one minute was immense.

‘The Winter Queen has appeared!’

The founding ancestor of the Grand Duchy, the first Grand Duke, had defeated her at great cost.

A being that was only known through stories had now made her presence known throughout the Grand Duchy.

“Leave here immediately!”

People who had gathered in Syres to watch the martial arts tournament began to leave.

Both outsiders and citizens of the Grand Duchy of Syres moved south.

They had all grown up hearing terrifying tales of the Winter Queen as if they were fairy tales.

Now that the fairy tale had become reality, it turned into a nightmare.

The entire Grand Duchy was trembling with fear.

Naturally, the martial arts tournament was canceled.

-What do you plan to do, Dragon Slayer King?

“…Shut up.”

Aden pondered where things had gone wrong.

Originally, the Winter Queen was supposed to awaken seven days after the martial arts tournament began, which was ten days later.

‘A lot of small futures have changed so far.’

Like the fact that the leader of Kertel was cursed a few years earlier.

Or the fact that the dog Elise was raising turned into a spiritual beast.

But those were all consequences of the butterfly effect caused by Aden’s actions.

‘So, this means that one of my actions has somehow accelerated the Winter Queen’s resurrection.’

He had no idea what it could be.

But that wasn’t particularly important.

There was only one problem.

‘My elixir is gone…’

The elixir was gone, and the plan to participate in the subjugation had to be completely revised.

‘If there’s any consolation, it’s that I’ve gained

a new ability.’

Flare.

The holy relic of the Sacred Fire Order, which allowed one to see the truth of all things.

When he first acquired this power, Aden didn’t think much of it.

But he was wrong.

It was far more important than he had imagined.

“To be able to glimpse into the memories of the wraiths, it’s incredible.”

Aden chuckled to himself.

-Special ability, ‘Wraith’s Flashback,’ acquired.

As the Banshee’s Spirit Shield grew, Aden obtained the ability to subjugate wraiths.

Combined with the ability to see the truth of all things, Flare, Aden acquired a new power.