The explorer's records were indeed accurate.

The camp he once documented in his book is now directly below Ronald.

"..."

He had found his target for this journey.

Ronald naturally began to descend slowly from mid-air to the ground.

Honestly, he was quite curious himself.

Ordinary people couldn't possibly set up a base on the Arctic ice cap; they lack the capability and wouldn't undertake such a task.

As for casters...

Setting up a camp in a desolate place is understandable, but why go to such a distant location?

Considering the actual situation of Entrod.

On the tundra north of the continent, one could find a place just as easily where ordinary people wouldn't discover them. No need to reach the Arctic, not even needing to cross the mountain paths.

"..."

"I should just take a look..."

Faced with this situation, Ronald decided to examine it carefully.

Arriving on the ground, he approached to take a closer look and then realized that the camp was encased within a small ice hill completely covered by solid ice.

Due to the passage of time and the impact of the climate on the icy continent itself, the camp was now completely enveloped by solid ice.

Even by clearing away the snow covering the top, one could barely make out the shadows of the structures inside.

Ronald circled around to the weakest part of the ice wall.

The traces left by explorers here hundreds of years ago were still visible even now.

In the direction leading to the interior of the camp.

Someone had used tools to carve out part of the ice, but the difficulty of further entry was too great, forcing them to give up.

In Ronald's personal observation.

Though, over the centuries, the polar continent had once again buried the traces of the explorer's excavation. The slight color differences in two places on the ice wall still attested to his great journey to this place.

As an ordinary person.

The explorer had come here alone; the journey must have been extremely dangerous and challenging...

Swipe—

Ronald quietly stared at these marks for a few seconds.

Then the Sword of Saint Catherine was in his hand, and the power of "Solar Radiance" also covered the blade.

However, he didn't choose to cut a path through the weakest spot to enter directly. Instead, he moved to the side, carefully avoiding the marks left by the explorer, and then struck the ice wall in front of him with his sword.

This was just a small choice.

Although it might take Ronald a bit more effort.

He thought it better if in the future, when brave people reach the Arctic, they could still see the "monument" left by this explorer.

...

As Ronald continued to break through forward.

The hard wall that blocked the explorer's further exploration hundreds of years ago was soon broken into a hole by him.

This path led directly to the interior of the ice wall.

Inside was a scene of another world.

Directly below the ice hill, the entire space was hollowed out, and a camp, appearing old yet possessing an aura of solemn aesthetics, had been established by people of the past.

The primary purpose of this type of camp was to shield against snow and ice.

After all, compared to the icy ground above, which is frequently subjected to cold winds or snowfall, being protected below the solid ice is relatively safer.

Walking within it.

The feeling was like being in an interesting ice house immensely expanded in size.

"This place..."

"Is really quite nice, isn't it?"

Breaking through the enclosure to enter inside, while voicing his appreciation, Ronald's pace suddenly slowed.

He was looking at the northeastern part of the camp.

His eyes filled with confusion and perplexity.

Because around the ice that enveloped the entire camp, there existed a concealed array that shielded detection and ensured safety, and Ronald only noticed this through the magic fluctuation emitted when he broke it and made his way through.

Given this, it was undoubted that the camp was set up by the mystic side.

After all, the presence of an array confirmed this.

But what truly changed Ronald's mood...

Was the discovery upon arriving at the camp of an exceedingly faint magic fluctuation!

This was not the rigid feeling one would get from magical items.

Instead, it was the feeling one would have from a real human caster maintaining their spellcasting abilities.

Only under the perception of "Fury".

This person's mental activity was close to zero, retaining only the most basic life reactions.

In other words—

The person seemed to be in a state of hibernation or sealed away.

Unable to move independently.

So...

There are still living people in this ghostly place?

Thanks to the mysterious forces in this world, otherwise, in a reasonable exploration story, you wouldn't encounter such an outrageous discovery.

"How many more surprises can this place have?"

Ronald couldn't help but shake his head.

Since there are still living people, the exploration of the camp can be put on hold for now.

After all, no matter how thorough Ronald's investigation was, it couldn't be as straightforward as asking the person directly.

As for the potential danger from the person and their uncertain attitude.

Ronald believed with his strength, even if real problems arose, he could handle it.

Walking steadily through the camp.

In a little over two minutes, Ronald found the source of the magic fluctuation he perceived.

Ronald had mentally prepared himself before.

But when he saw the scene before him with his own eyes, he couldn't help but be amazed.

On a platform made of square ice bricks.

A beautiful woman with a proud aura lay on the ground; in front of her, an old woman with a gaunt appearance held an ice blade glowing blue, piercing the young woman's heart.

A layer of magic-enhanced ice covered both bodies.

Isolating them from the external influences while seemingly preserving their final moments of life-and-death struggle.

"..."

Ronald raised an eyebrow slightly.

By typical storytelling standards, he should be rescuing this beautiful damsel now.

But alas.

The elder's ice blade pierced directly through her heart, so the beautiful woman was dead—dead beyond any doubt.

The survivor Ronald sensed previously.

Was actually the elderly woman who, riding atop the maiden and pinning her to the square platform, still had life in her.

However, to be precise.

This scene doesn't fit the dramatic developments of a story, yet aligns with the laws of the real world.

After all, in the mystic side of this world, higher age usually signifies mastery of more spells and stronger power.

Thus, a younger person perishing under the blade of an elder.

Can simply be attributed to her lack of skill in her arts.

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