The passage beyond the Ursid fortress wasn't just a tunnel; it was a throat of ice ready to swallow him whole.

The blue light radiating from the crystalline walls was blinding, and the air was so tyrannically cold that Alvian felt moisture freezing inside his lungs with every gasp.

He glanced at his status. The [Piercing Frost] debuff had reached maximum stacks. His health regeneration? Gone. Mana regeneration? Nullified.

This was the final layer of the dungeon's defense.

Alvian inwardly frowned. If he took even a single hit here, the damage would be permanent until he left.

His eyes flicked to the corner of his vision where a relentless timer ticked down.

[Shadow Weave +2]: 03:58 remaining.

It was a ticking time bomb.

He moved with swift, gliding purpose. He had four minutes to penetrate the mountain's frozen soul, or he would be turned into an ice sculpture.

Bursting into the cavern at the end of the tunnel, Alvian's eyes went wide.

The previous chamber looked like a crude antechamber compared to this. He had arrived at the heart.

It was a massive geode, the walls lined with colossal ice crystals pulsing in a hypnotic rhythm. The air was a shimmering haze of raw cryo-energy, so dense it felt like he was wading through deep water.

And there, suspended in the center, was the prize.

The Heart of Frost.

It wasn't a simple gem. It was a flawless sphere, ten feet in diameter, containing a miniature, swirling blizzard within its depths. Orbiting it like loyal servants were three smaller shards of pure ice.

However, Alvian didn't rush. His gaze locked onto the figure floating silently in front of the Heart.

It was a humanoid form crafted from swirling, spectral frost. Its eyes were hollow sockets burning with malevolent blue light.

[Icewraith Matriarch]

[Level: 35 (Lord-Tier)]

Alvian felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. A Lord-tier monster! Even with his skills, fighting this thing head-on was suicide. It was a raid-level threat that could swat him like a fly.

But he didn't need to fight.

He glanced at his timer.

[01:48]

He just needed to endure.

He glided forward, a phantom in the silence. The Matriarch was a creature of magic and spirit, able to sense life force and intent. But under the effects of [Shadow Weave +2], Alvian was nothing. To her, he simply didn't exist.

He passed so close he could feel the absolute zero aura radiating from her form. It felt as though his very soul was being frozen.

Yet, the wraith remained motionless.

Alvian reached the Heart of Frost. The pressure was immense, a physical force trying to crush his semi-ethereal form. He gritted his teeth and pulled out the frosted leather tome—[Frost Descent].

According to Rogge, he needed to attune himself. He needed to absorb the essence to stabilize the spell's chaotic matrix.

He opened the book. The blank pages instantly glowed with a hungry, blue light.

[Ding!]

[Attunement with a Prime Source of Elemental Ice detected.]

[Commencing essence absorption for 'Frost Descent'?]

[Warning: This process will cause extreme pain to mana channels.]

'Proceed,' Alvian commanded instantly.

He didn't have time to hesitate.

The tome became a siphon. A brilliant stream of cryo-energy erupted from the Heart of Frost, flowing into the book, and then slamming directly into Alvian's body.

"Ugh!"

Pain!

It wasn't just pain; it was agony on a cellular level. It felt as if every drop of water in his body was being flash-frozen and shattered into a million microscopic shards.

His vision turned white. A scream built in his throat, but he forcibly choked it down. If he made a sound now, the Matriarch would tear him limb from limb.

A system progress bar appeared in his vision, crawling forward at a snail's pace.

[Essence Absorption: 7%... 12%... 19%...]

His invisibility timer was ruthless.

[01:12]

Alvian clenched his jaw so hard he thought his teeth might crack. The cold was invading his meridians, threatening to turn his blood into slush. This was the price of power. To wield the blizzard, he had to become the blizzard.

[Essence Absorption: 34%... 48%... 62%...]

[00:45]

Suddenly, the Icewraith Matriarch stirred.

Its head, a vortex of frost, slowly turned. It hadn't seen him, but it sensed the fluctuation in the energy. The pressure in the room intensified instantly.

Alvian pushed through the pain, his mind a single point of unyielding focus. He wasn't just a gamer clicking buttons; he was a survivor.

[Essence Absorption: 77%... 89%... 98%...]

[00:15]

The Matriarch's gaze fixed on the empty spot where he floated. She cocked her head, sensing the unnatural void in the air.

[Ding!]

[Essence Absorption: 100%!]

[You have gathered sufficient 'Heart of Frost Essence'!]

[You may now learn the skill: Frost Descent.]

The tome snapped shut. The connection severed.

The agony vanished, leaving behind a bone-aching chill, but Alvian didn't stop to celebrate.

[00:05]

He turned and glided away, pushing his speed to the limit.

[00:03]

"SCREEEEE!"

The Matriarch let out a piercing shriek that shook the cavern. She had found him.

She raised a spectral hand, and a massive spear of pure, black ice materialized instantly.

[00:01]

Alvian shot back into the narrow tunnel just as the timer hit zero.

[Ding!]

['Shadow Weave +2' duration has ended.]

His form flickered back into reality.

"BOOM!"

A deafening explosion ripped through the air behind him. The spear of frozen death slammed into the tunnel entrance where he had been a fraction of a second ago, sending spiderwebs of cracks racing across the ice.

Alvian didn't look back.

He sprinted, clutching the frost-covered tome tight. His heart pounded with adrenaline and triumph.

He had the prize. He had survived the guardian.

A cold smile touched his lips. Now, it was time to unleash the storm.

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