The Dimensional Swordmaster C15
by berryChapter 15. The Whereabouts of the Sword (5)
“Ugh… why can it talk?”
Yujin shuddered, his voice trembling. A monster capable of speech—rare even among S-ranks. Goosebumps crawled up his arms as he rubbed them hard.
“Hunter Gong Siyoung, what do we do?”
Siyoung said nothing. His eyes stayed fixed not on the giant calling itself a Warden, but on what lay beneath its massive feet—a door.
The swirling snow obscured the details, but it was unmistakably a door.
A locked door guarded by a self-proclaimed gatekeeper…
“Hunter Yujin, you attack first. I’ll provide cover. Hunter Gu Jayoung, do… whatever you want.”
The other two nodded without complaint. Yujin immediately activated his skill.
He summoned his chainsaw and yanked the starter cord. The saw screamed to life, its blade spinning wildly with a shrill metallic growl.
“Leave it to me!”
With a loud war cry, Yujin charged. The ice giant spoke again, voice echoing like thunder.
〈This is the realm of the chosen. The unchosen may not step within.〉
[Boss Monster (A): Warden of Niflheim activates “Seal of the Pole (A).”
Time until release: 00:15:00]
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A dome of ice formed around them, sealing them inside. The sky turned opaque in an instant.
Yujin trembled violently as the cold sank deep into his bones.
“Holy— It’s freezing! It’s f*cking freezing!”
“Feels like a sensory reduction spell,” Gu Jayoung muttered.
She pointed toward the dome, her fingertip swirling with black dust. The dust spiraled upward, but when it touched the icy surface, it fizzled away without penetrating.
Blowing off the remaining particles, Jayoung whispered, “We’re sealed off from the outside. If this keeps up, we might suffocate.”
“We’ll be out before then.”
Siyoung motioned to Yujin, who nodded firmly.
“Roger that! I’m going in!”
Yujin charged at the giant without hesitation, aiming straight for its neck. The giant’s massive hand swung down.
Siyoung reacted instantly—shooting a flurry of ice arrows.
Dozens of sharp ice spears slammed into the giant’s body, but it wasn’t enough to stop the hand from coming down.
BOOM!
The ground shook as the palm struck empty air. Yujin rolled aside, groaning as shards of ice rained around him.
“Not done yet!”
He swung his chainsaw and struck the giant’s wrist. The spinning blade screeched as it met flesh. The moment it touched, the giant’s eyes flared crimson.
[Warning! Boss Monster has reactivated “Seal of the Pole.”
All lifeforms within range will be immobilized.
Time until release: 00:01:00]
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“What—?! What kind of seal—”
Yujin froze mid-sentence. Literally. His body stiffened, ice crawling up his limbs until even his eyes dulled over.
Behind him, Jayoung seized Siyoung’s collar and yanked him down.
“Duck!”
Her skill burst to life—lavender light blossoming into a thin barrier around them.
Through the translucent veil, fragments of the giant’s frozen magic brushed past. Snow whipped violently around them, as if they were trapped inside a snow globe.
“We can’t move for a minute,” Jayoung said, breath sharp.
Siyoung bit his lip, checking the scene outside the barrier. Yujin was frozen solid but still alive—for now.
He measured the distance to the monster, eyes flicking to the timer on his system window.
[Time until release: 00:00:31]
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“When I signal, drop the barrier. I’ll handle Yujin. Just hide after that.”
Jayoung nodded, swallowing hard as she watched the countdown tick.
But the monster didn’t attack. Even with Yujin practically at its feet, it simply returned to its post, standing tall before the gate.
“…What the hell?”
A monster that didn’t finish off its prey? He’d never seen that before.
Siyoung’s eyes glinted coldly as he began preparing multiple spells.
“Change of plan. Once the seal lifts, grab Yujin. I’ll freeze everything else. When I signal, raise your barrier and stay hidden.”
Jayoung nodded again. Both of them tensed as the countdown reached its end.
3… 2… 1…
[Time until release: 00:00:00]
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“Now!”
The barrier shattered at the exact moment Siyoung burst forward. Frost erupted beneath his feet, freezing everything his boots touched.
[Skill “Freeze” activated. All entities within a 10km radius affected.]
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A storm of frost swept outward. The giant’s eyes glowed once again. The storm intensified—snow and wind consuming everything.
The frozen barrier cracked, veins of light splitting it apart until it exploded into shards.
[Seal of the Pole (A) has been broken.]
[Boss Monster is enraged.]
[Boss Monster has recognized the player.]
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The giant’s crimson gaze fixed on Siyoung. The moment Yujin thawed, the monster roared and charged.
The ground quaked with every step—shockingly fast for something so massive.
Siyoung conjured an ice spear and met its fist head-on. The giant’s punch slowed as it froze, then shattered with a sharp CRACK.
Watching shards scatter, Siyoung clicked his tongue.
“Not enough.”
His freezing attacks barely dented the thing. Switching tactics, he tightened his grip on his spear and lunged.
The giant’s burning red eyes locked on him.
〈Are you chosen?〉
“Chosen my ass.”
Without hesitation, he hurled his spear. The blue blade shot through the air, piercing toward the giant’s throat.
The monster’s hand swung again. Siyoung twisted away, creating another spear mid-motion and stabbing into its leg. The giant dropped to one knee—its voice echoing.
〈This is the realm of the chosen. The unchosen may not enter.〉
[Boss Monster (A): Warden of Niflheim activates “Blue Flame (A).”]
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A wave of blue fire surged from the ground, serpentine and alive.
“Wait, not frost?”
The attack’s element made no sense—its very nature contradicted the dungeon’s supposed ice affinity.
The flames devoured the ground. Siyoung leapt skyward, conjuring a floating sphere of ice and flinging it toward Yujin and Jayoung.
They scrambled inside as the fire raged. The frozen ground began to melt into liquid light.
The giant thundered forward. The tremors deepened; the land itself split beneath its feet.
[Due to Blue Flame (A), terrain within 1km radius is collapsing.
Area will not regenerate.]
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The earth caved in with a deafening crack.
Moments before the fall, Siyoung suspended the ice sphere in midair, letting it catch his teammates before the terrain sank away.
Yujin, wide-eyed, gave him a shaky thumbs-up. Siyoung exhaled hard through his nose. They were safe—for now.
Still, unease prickled in his gut.
The boss’s attacks felt off—its behavior strange. The patterns didn’t match any monster he’d fought before. It wasn’t attacking to kill, but rather to keep them away.
Whenever they approached, it struck. But once they kept their distance, it froze—silent and motionless again.
Unprecedented behavior for a dungeon boss.
Defeating it wasn’t impossible, but something about this felt… wrong.
Still, with his teammates safely sealed inside the ice sphere, he could fight freely.
He opened and closed his hand around his spear, weighing his options. Observe longer? Or finish it now?
The door still rested beneath the giant’s feet. Perhaps proximity to that door triggered the attacks.
He glanced back at the sphere where Yujin and Jayoung were huddled. Jayoung would be fine, but Yujin—he’d taken the brunt of that immobilization spell. He’d need medical checks later.
“See? This is why I prefer working alone,” Siyoung muttered.
No matter how many people he brought, it always ended like this.
With a resigned sigh, he launched forward again.
If hesitation solved nothing, then action would.
Ice shards all around him rose into the air, their sharp edges glinting. Hundreds of blades aimed at the giant.
Just as they were about to strike—
[‘The Chosen One’ has entered the dungeon!
Allies’ attack power +10%, HP regeneration +5%.
Effect duration: 00:30:00]
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