Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

This was his first reaction.

When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see clearly what was below.

A stone brick ladder leads down to an unexpectedly spacious space.

Is that... a lake? No, it should be called a pond... or a large pool.

Like all the lakes in Shimla Bakken, it was frozen.

The ground around the pool, although covered with frost and snow, is actually a proper grassland with sparse vegetation.

It seems that this black tower was built on this water source. This isn't some underground level, but perhaps the real level. The rebels occupied this place just to ensure a source of water for their lives...

“It looks like there aren’t any monsters… huh!?”

But AS discovered the enemy.

It’s…eel!

Although he did not know Chinese characters, he remembered the cryptic "eel" and the grown-up "fish" on the left side of the cryptic "eel" by recording their appearance.

Add to that petite figure, extremely beautiful face, and sky-blue eyes—a third-level ice staff… That’s right!

It's "that fish"! The enemy of all healing!

The healers immediately covered their mouths, tense, and the tanks stepped forward—but something was wrong.

The eel was standing on the ice, looking flustered.

What's even worse is that she looks in a bad state, with a bad expression, and a negative status of "damaged magic power".

Not only that, her once-splendid equipment was now stained...it looked like she'd been through many intense battles, leaving her in such a shabby state. Her companion, the Berserker, was gone.

"...treasure chest!" Suddenly, Brother Teng said from the side.

AS then discovered that the eel was actually standing in the center of the pond.

And there, there is a treasure chest that looks very important.

The eel was about to reach out and open it... at least, his fingertips were about to touch the edge of the box.

"...!?"

But the eel stopped, looked back in shock, and looked at the team at the entrance in astonishment.

"Ah... so many people?!"

She was like a frightened bird, frozen in place.

Then she picked up the staff... but immediately made a judgment and looked at the treasure chest reluctantly.

This series of actions meant only one thing to these twenty-odd enemies.

"Boss! Get started!"

"Boss, they must have defeated a top-tier boss and haven't had time to open the box yet."

"I'm on it. That Berserker must have been sent home by the Boss. She's the only one left."

"In terms of speed, she's in terrible shape!"

"I'm also a magician. I recognize that damage to magic power. Excessive use of magic in a short period of time and failure to replenish magic power in time will cause..."

"It really looks like we defeated a boss."

"That treasure chest...is of a high rank."

There were more than 20 people making a lot of noise, and they even ignited the atmosphere.

That is the irrational restlessness, that is the ecstasy that is about to be harvested.

These atmospheres seemed to be poisonous, and even though they had no form, they corroded into the commander's mind.

AS already thought this was the case, and the team members' words made him make an immediate judgment.

"—Don't let her get away!"

He himself was the first to obey the order.

In the left hand is a shield, in the right hand is a long hammer.

He rushed forward at high speed—towards Yu Man.

Yu Man gritted her teeth and resisted - she tried to freeze the steps and delay the enemy's attack.

But apart from causing people to slip and lose a little blood, it did not cause any substantial effect.

Soon, except for a foreign healer, the archer Ni Xiaolu who had a long attack range, and Brother Teng who was determined to watch... everyone else had gone down the stairs, stepped onto the ice, and attacked the eel.

No, actually I want to open the treasure chest.

The eel is the largest treasure chest, and the treasure chest is the smaller one.

But Yu Man's escape speed was even faster than they expected.

However, this black tower had no other exit, so they felt like they had cornered their prey and could now enjoy the feast in peace.

"Eel! Welcome to the old world!" The speaker was Qiqi. He was very vengeful because that was what Eel said to him when he was killed by Eel when the server was first launched.

"Don't worry, let's open the treasure chest first and see what's inside."

"Indeed, although I don't know what kind of boss they fought to get this treasure chest..."

"But it does feel good to snatch the fruits of victory right in front of others."

"This is the meaning of a full drop, winner takes all!"

"Brother, it's just a game, you won't hold a grudge, right?" Qiqi said again.

Although all the things have to be given to the boss, the feeling of revenge is always good.

A treasure chest, obviously of extraordinary value, stood right in the middle of the ice.

Some people stared at Yu Man, while others urged the boss to open the box. The latter enjoyed the moment and took photos as a souvenir. The group was laughing and joking, and the matter was under control.

AS finally kicked the treasure chest open... Hmm? Something felt off.

Like kicking a monster—no, the treasure chest did open.

“…Huh?! It’s not treasure.”

"Fuck, there's a corpse in the treasure chest...Fuck, there's a hidden mission!"

No one was frightened by the corpse, and even if there was, they were immediately calmed by the following scene.

Because the body of the strangely deceased had a red exclamation mark on its head.

That means...mission.

In the game "Old World," aside from the novice period and a few main city guides, there aren't many quests to speak of. According to information circulating among players, there are indeed exclamation marks that trigger hidden quests, and one such quest in the main city involved clearing ruins.

The hidden tasks in the treasure chest are undoubtedly of extraordinary value.

"Hahaha, Master Eel, you—huh? You're about to die, and I'm so angry that I'm laughing, right?"

Yu Man breathed a sigh of relief.

It’s great that everyone is so simple...

"There are really so many of you, more than expected."

"Are you starting to review the situation already? Indeed, your magic power has been damaged."

"Hmm... I did spend a lot of mana." Yu Man nodded, and gently raised the hand holding the staff. "I only have enough mana for two skills."

Brother Teng immediately realized it and immediately gave the order: "Be careful, she wants to change someone before she dies, go all in on healing, all in defense, and all in on damage."

Everyone did as they were told.

But - it's a little late.

"When I came in—the pond wasn't actually frozen."

Yu Man's light voice was the spell of the "freeze" magic.

Now it should be called -

"thaw"

The ice melted.

Except for Yu Man's feet.

No one realized what was happening, but the biting coldness that penetrated their boots made their feet, legs... and even their bodies painful.

It wasn't until the cold overwhelmed their consciousness that they understood.

Ice Mage - Doesn't just freeze people's mouths.

Yu Man drained all of his magic power and released his final skill.

"freeze"

The melting ice retains the cold air and condenses again.

The people who fell into the water were frozen in the water with their struggles, astonishment and fear.

Only the head is left outside.

"Come on, come on, smile."

Yu Man's fingers formed a viewfinder, leaving a souvenir for everyone.

"Brothers, it's just a game, you won't hold a grudge, right?"

Foreigners don’t understand what Yu Man is saying, but they understand Yu Man’s magic.

He endured the irresistible coldness for a third-level magician, endured the pain of being unable to move, and being frozen by the entire pool of ice.

"……Ugh."

As for the fawn—

She hid at the entrance to the second floor at the beginning, sent a message, and then went straight downstairs.

So, from the very beginning, her sword was pointed at the person who stayed at the door and did not go into the pond to be attacked.

At this point, the loser didn't even know what to say. Some people looked at the treasure chest reluctantly. Like Yu Man, it hadn't melted into the water—apparently, there was a hidden quest there.

AS was filled with regret. Why did he want to challenge these two monsters?

He was so angry that he even wanted to hit himself on the head, but he couldn't do it.

——Fortunately, Yu Man can do it for him.

Yu Man drank the last of the magic potion and recovered a little bit of magic power.

She swung her staff—the moisture in the air condensed into a transparent ice sword.

At this point, she put away her staff, just holding the sword lightly, and stepped onto the ice again.

They don't have the negative status of "suffocation" this time, so they can live longer.

So long that Yu Man could visit every household and say Happy New Year to every frozen head.

……

The black tower fell silent, with only the faint cracking sound of the ice.

Yu Man understood very well that this feeling of loneliness was felt late at night when the New Year ended.

There are no more firecrackers, no more laughter, and the sky that once sparkled with fireworks has returned to darkness.

There is no more smell of gunpowder in the air... there are only leftovers in the refrigerator and red envelopes under the pillow.

As for now——

Yu Man only had a red and transparent ice sword and a backpack full of equipment.

Alas, lonely.

"The New Year is over."

"Yeah." Fortunately, Xiaolu was there too - her cheerful smile was very warm.

As always, she had a doubt, which was related to the box she was holding.

"Eel, I thought you were such a good actor, why not just trick them into the lake? Why did you specifically ask for a hidden treasure chest monster costume mission?"