178 - The Northern Passage

The expedition left the Northern Ice Junction behind shortly after dawn, although dawn was difficult to distinguish inside the World Dungeon. The pale sky remained bright without ever showing a true sunrise, while distant mountains reflected a faint silver glow across the frozen valleys. Behind them, the Northern Ice Colossus had already disappeared into the snow-covered plateau, and the Frostburrow Wyrm was somewhere beneath the newly opened northern passage.

Nobody followed either creature.

The expedition had a more immediate objective now.

Ara led them along the route she had mapped before leaving the junction, occasionally stopping to compare the physical landscape with the information projected by her equipment. The passage ahead descended gradually, cutting between two enormous ridges before disappearing into a forest of ice-covered trees.

"The route should continue through that valley," she said. "The structure we detected yesterday is somewhere beyond it."

Jae-hyun looked toward the valley. "Another junction?"

"Possibly. But I don't think it's identical to the ones we've seen."

Subin glanced at her. "What makes you think that?"

"The signal is too weak for a major junction, but it's unusually consistent. Whatever is ahead isn't fluctuating the way the damaged regions did."

Rafael adjusted the strap around his shoulder. "So we finally found something that isn't trying to collapse."

Ara gave him a dry look. "Don't say that too confidently."

The group laughed quietly, and the tension that had followed the encounter with the Wyrm finally eased.

Their relief lasted less than an hour.

The forest ahead was beautiful at first glance. Tall white trees rose from the snow, their branches covered in translucent leaves that reflected the pale light overhead. The ground between them was almost perfectly untouched, with only occasional tracks crossing the snow.

Then Yerin stopped.

"Something's following us."

The entire group slowed.

Subin looked back.

There were no visible creatures.

Only their footprints stretched across the snow.

Yerin lowered her voice. "Not behind us anymore."

She pointed toward the trees.

Subin's gaze followed the direction of her spear.

A faint movement passed between two trunks.

Then another appeared farther away.

The creatures were not approaching.

They were keeping pace.

Ara scanned the surrounding forest and frowned. "I'm detecting several mana signatures. Level between 120 and 150."

"How many?" Ethan asked.

"At least twenty."

Jae-hyun smiled slightly. "That's manageable."

"Don't assume they're hostile," Subin said.

The creatures finally emerged.

They were thin, fox-like animals with long legs and pale fur. Blue crystalline markings ran along their backs, and each had a pair of small horns above its eyes. They remained at a distance, watching the expedition with cautious curiosity.

One stepped forward.

Subin remained still.

The creature approached until it was roughly ten meters away, sniffed the air, and then suddenly turned toward the forest.

It stopped after several steps and looked back.

Yerin understood first.

"It wants us to follow."

"Or it's trying to lure us somewhere," Jae-hyun said.

Subin looked at the creature.

"Either way, we'll know soon enough."

They followed.

The creatures led them through the forest along a route that wasn't visible from the main valley. The trees gradually became denser, and the ground beneath the snow began to slope downward. After nearly twenty minutes, the group reached a wide depression surrounded by enormous ice-covered roots.

At the center stood a stone structure.

It wasn't a ruin.

It was intact.

A circular platform had been built into the ground, surrounded by twelve stone pillars. Unlike the ancient structures in the ruined city, there were no murals or weapons displayed here. The surface was completely smooth except for a single symbol carved into its center.

Ara approached cautiously.

"There's a dormant mana circuit beneath it."

Subin studied the symbol.

It looked like a circle crossed by three lines.

The same symbol appeared on the map inside the Frozen Sword Citadel.

"Can you activate it?" Yerin asked.

"Maybe."

Ara placed her hand against the outer edge.

Nothing happened.

She tried again with a small amount of mana.

The twelve pillars lit simultaneously.

A low vibration traveled through the ground.

The fox-like creatures immediately backed away.

"Everyone step away," Subin said.

The platform opened.

Instead of revealing a staircase, it exposed a vertical shaft filled with pale blue light.

Cold air rushed upward.

Rafael peered into it. "That's deep."

Ara checked her equipment.

"No measurable bottom."

Jae-hyun looked at Subin. "Of course."

They secured ropes and began descending.

The shaft extended much farther than expected. The walls were smooth and covered with the same crystalline material found throughout the Frozen Region. After several minutes, the group finally reached a massive underground chamber.

The sight below made everyone stop.

A frozen river flowed through the chamber.

It shouldn't have been possible.

There was no visible source and no obvious destination, yet the river moved steadily through the cavern, its surface covered by a thin layer of ice that broke apart and reformed as the current passed.

Several bridges crossed it, connecting platforms carved into the cavern walls.

At the far end stood another enormous gate.

Ara stared at the structure.

"This isn't a junction."

"What is it?" Yerin asked.

Ara slowly shook her head.

"I'm not sure."

Subin stepped toward the river.

He immediately sensed something different.

The water carried mana, but unlike the currents they had encountered in previous regions, this mana wasn't moving toward a destination.

It was circulating.

The river flowed forward while part of its energy returned through the ice beneath it.

A closed cycle.

Subin crouched and touched the surface.

The ice beneath his fingers vibrated.

Then something moved under the river.

The entire expedition became alert.

A shadow passed beneath the frozen surface.

It was too large to be one of the fox-like creatures.

The ice cracked.

A long, silver-scaled head emerged.

The creature rose from the river, revealing a serpentine body nearly thirty meters long. Thin fins extended from its sides, and translucent horns curved backward from its skull.

Glacier River Serpent — Level 193 — A+

Its body emerged higher.

Water cascaded from its scales as it stared at the expedition.

Yerin tightened her grip on her spear.

"Another A+."

The serpent opened its mouth.

Subin raised one hand.

"Wait."

The creature did not attack.

Instead, it lowered its head toward the river.

The ice around its body began glowing.

Ara immediately looked at her instruments.

"The river's mana output is increasing."

The serpent was feeding from the current.

Not draining it.

Balancing it.

Subin remembered the Northern Ice Colossus.

Another creature performing a role within the environment.

But this time, something was wrong.

The river's flow suddenly reversed.

The serpent reacted violently.

It struck the water with its tail, sending a wave across the chamber.

The bridges shook.

One of the stone platforms cracked.

"Something changed!" Ara shouted.

The expedition moved toward higher ground as another surge swept through the chamber.

Subin looked toward the gate.

The three-line symbol on its surface had begun glowing.

The river wasn't reacting to the serpent.

The gate was drawing the river's energy.

"That gate is pulling the current," Subin said.

Ara checked the readings and her expression tightened. "You're right. It's diverting the circulation."

The Glacier River Serpent roared and attacked the gate.

Its enormous body surged across the chamber, smashing into one of the stone pillars protecting the structure.

The gate remained intact.

The serpent struck again.

This time the impact cracked the pillar.

Subin understood immediately.

The serpent wasn't attacking them.

It was trying to stop the gate.

"Everyone clear the eastern platform!"

The group moved as the serpent coiled around the chamber.

A section of the bridge collapsed behind Rafael and Diego, cutting them off from the others.

Rafael caught the edge before falling into the underground river.

Diego grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

The serpent struck the gate again.

The entire chamber shook.

A deep sound emerged from the structure.

The gate was opening.

Beyond it was not another frozen landscape.

A vast darkness stretched on the other side, illuminated by distant points of golden light.

Ara stared at the readings.

"That's not the Floating Region."

Subin looked through the opening.

Something enormous moved far beyond the gate.

He couldn't determine its shape.

The expedition had been expecting another regional passage.

Instead, they had discovered something that appeared to bypass the normal sequence entirely.

The Glacier River Serpent coiled around the gate and released another roar.

Subin stepped forward.

"We need to close it."

Ara nodded. "The serpent is trying to do the same thing, but it can't."

"Then we'll help it."

Yerin joined him. "How?"

Subin studied the gate.

Its structure was different from the portals they had encountered before. It wasn't simply connecting two regions. It was using the underground river as an energy source.

If they stopped the flow, the gate would lose power.

But the river couldn't simply be blocked.

That would damage the entire underground ecosystem.

Subin looked toward the serpent.

Then toward the broken pillar.

Finally, he looked at the circulating water.

"We don't stop the river."

He drew Simple Edge.

"We change where it goes."

Ara understood.

"There are three channels beneath the chamber."

"Can we open them?"

"Not remotely."

Subin walked toward the nearest channel.

"Then we'll open them manually."

The serpent watched him.

For once, the expedition and the dungeon creature were moving toward the same objective.

Subin raised Simple Edge and brought it down against the stone beside the river.

The cut wasn't meant to destroy the structure.

It followed the natural weakness of the channel, opening a narrow passage beneath the chamber.

Water began flowing through it.

The gate flickered.

The serpent immediately shifted its body and pushed against the current, guiding more water toward the newly opened channel.

Ara stared.

"It's helping."

Subin nodded.

"Keep working."

The expedition spread through the chamber.

Yerin and Jae-hyun opened the second channel while Ethan and Rafael stabilized the damaged bridge. Diego secured the remaining platform, and Ara monitored the flow, directing them toward sections that could safely accept the diverted water.

The gate's golden light began fading.

Then the enormous shadow beyond it moved closer.

Everyone froze.

Something on the other side had noticed them.

Subin's grip tightened around Simple Edge.

The gate flickered again.

The shadow disappeared.

The portal collapsed.

The chamber fell silent.

The Glacier River Serpent slowly lowered itself into the water.

Within moments, its body vanished beneath the frozen surface.

Ara stared at the closed gate.

"What was that?"

Subin looked at the symbol carved into the stone.

"I don't know."

He paused.

"But we know one thing now."

Yerin looked at him.

"This dungeon has routes that don't follow the regions we've mapped."

Subin nodded.

"And some of them can open unexpectedly."

The expedition gathered near the center of the chamber.

The discovery wasn't another mystery to chase immediately. It was a practical problem they now had to account for. An unstable route could appear without warning, and if such a route connected to an unknown environment, nobody on Earth could predict what might eventually come through.

Ara looked toward the northern exit.

"We should report this before moving deeper."

"Agreed," Subin said.

They began preparing their return route.

Behind them, the underground river continued its silent circulation.

The Glacier River Serpent remained beneath the ice.

And the sealed gate stood quietly at the far end of the chamber, its three-line symbol no longer glowing.

For now, the path beyond it was closed.

But the expedition had learned that the World Dungeon contained more than the twelve regions recorded in the Citadel.

There were routes between them.

And there were routes that went somewhere else entirely.