The group finally entered the dungeon and it felt like they entered a new world. The interior did not resemble that of a mountain but of a grand castle made of blue stone pillars and ceilings. There is obvious cracks on the ceilings and walls that indicates that the structure is very old. Still, its old age might have enhanced its visual allure rather than degrade it.
The whole group was captivated by the majesty of the decorations that they failed to notice an old looking man looking at them. Well, the old looking man is actually a spirit and only four players in the group could actually see spirits. The four were Equinox (Adrian), Vayu, Soleil and Creepysoo.
"I hope that the majesty of my burial ground pleases you adventurers." The spirit of an old man stated.
Adrian was surprised that the old man talked because he thought it was a statue or something. The reason being that the old man had blueish white skin and had dark violet tattoos on his body. The spirit of an old man was also stationary so Adrian really thought it was a statue.
"I am sorry for trespassing inside your tomb, old man." Adrian replied to which the three others who can see spirits also noticed the old man.
The others who cannot see the old man started talking to themselves and said, "Did Adrian finally go crazy?"
"Big brother is talking to an old man can you guys not see it?" Soleil said to the other that could not see spirits which creeped them out even more.
"You do not need to worry too much about that o Shepherd. The twin gods might have heard my prayers which is why you have finally come to help me ascend the mortal plane. Also call me Gefroren." Gefroren stated.
"We actually came inside here not because the twin gods sent me but there have been reports of peculiar undead spawning outside of this location. We are actually here to look for an item of sorts." Adrian replied as he knows that spirits would usually give him quests.
"I think that was also the reason but maybe it is the twin god's will for you to come here. Despite one of your companions being an undead." Gefroren stated as he looked at Creepysoo warily.
"You do to have to worry about him as he is on our side." Adrian stated so that Gefroren is not too wary of Creepysoo.
"I hope you are right because the cause of the mess on my tomb is an undead itself." Gefroren stated.
"Do you know what type of undead is it?" Adrian asked.
"Sadly, I do not know o Shepherd. Spirits like me do not want to get near undead for fear that they will be affected by the miasma that they scatter. If we get affected by that then we will no doubt become undead ourselves. But I do have to admit that your undead companion does not exude this vile aura around him so I showed myself to you." Gefroren stated.
"If this is your tomb then you must have been a king or a ruler of some sort? Also can you show yourself to my whole party? They are looking at us with doubt." Adrian asked.
"Very well but I will be needing your help o Shepherd." Gefroren stated.
[Gefroren seeks permission to use some of your mana to manifest. Do you agree? Yes or No.]
Adrian agreed and Gefroren's spirit body started to materialize into existence. Gefroren might look old but his body was still packed. Evident that he was once a great warrior and despite becoming old age still managed to maintain the physique. Either that or that is how he perceives on how he looks which made his spirit form like that.
The others reaction was varied some were shocked while some screamed. It was Kabrakan that screamed as he is not good at handling spooky stuff. Solstice sighed with relief because she found out that her brother was not going crazy or something that he starts talking to air.
The old man materialized like he became a real person. His blue skin and dark violet tattoos were still prevalent. His hair was white along with his beard and facial hair. He also wore brown leather overalls with grayish fur outlining it. He would look like those depictions of Vikings if they had blue skin and dark violet tattoos.
"It seems that the Shepherd's powers is more potent than I thought. I look like I am alive now." Gefroren stated.
"Yeah. Yeah. Get on with what you want to say old man. We do not have all day." Solstice stated as she wants this mission over with so that she still have time to meet a certain someone later.
"Typical of you bloodsuckers. You were always the impatient ones." Gefroren said and it shocked Solstice a lot because vampires are not that easy to distinguish.
"How did you know!?" asked Solstice.
"You are a descendant of one of the five races I presume." Adrian stated as the old man looked familiar but not at the same time.
"As expected of the shepherd, you know your Asmodian races. I am a bit peculiar though as I am only half Jotunn and half human." Gefroren stated with a slightly sad tone.
"Why do you look sad mentioning that?" Adrian stated as the color of the aura around Gefroren's spirit changed.
"I became an outcast for the Jotunn because I am smaller than them and the humans avoided me because I was different than them. Still, I did not give up and I managed to become the crown prince of my country." Gefroren stated as he told his story to Adrian's group.
Gefroren was a child born from a princess that was offered as a bride to the Jotunn king back in the day. The Jotunn king had five wives but all of them were loved. Gefroren grew up being loved by both his parents but the same could not be said for the Jotunn clan members.
A child between different races usually results in the child becoming either of the two races. There is only a very small chance that a child will have both qualities of a parent and usually they become abominations. Luckily, Gefroren did not become one but was a human with the powers of a Jotunn.
Even though he had the qualities of both races, he was still an outcast as he was never a true human but also not a true Jotunn. His parents decided that it would be better for him to be the crown prince of his mother's country because they lack an heir to the throne.
Along with his mother, Gefroren returned to his mother's country but was still avoided by children of his age because he was different.
Nevertheless, this did not stop him from becoming great. Gefroren with his elemental affinity gained from being a descendant of a Jotunn had immense powers that can control the ice element. Their frozen wastelands became bountiful with harvests because he would use his powers to create a dome that covered the town from being subjected to the harsh cold weather.
He became loved by the common folk as he helped them have bountiful harvests and not rely on crops that can only thrive in the snow. Years passed and even his children albeit human had great powers that can control the ice element. He basically created the golden age for his country but that was thousands of years ago.
"I ask you adventures to purge the undead that are roaming my tomb and desecrating the monument that my people have built for me." Gefroren stated and a system notification popped up for all of them.
The Ice King Gefroren wants you to rid of the undead pests that is roaming around his tomb and took control of it. Make his wish come true and he will reward you handsomely.
Reward: Location of the Key to his Treasure Vault
Failure: An undead horde made of Frozen Corpses will overflow and roam the Winterlands.
Restrictions: The Shepherd of Souls must accept the mission.
Adrian gladly accepted the mission as they were going to clear the dungeon anyway.
"Thank you for accepting the mission o Shepherd. But please be wary as that fiend took control all of the traps inside my tomb and apparently he can see everything inside the tomb and even the outside of it. Be very careful from surprise attacks." Gefroren stated as his figure started becoming faint until he disappeared.
The group once again checked their gears before heading out. The first room that they entered was not filled with monsters but traps. The floor was slippery and there were square holes on the walls. They thought the holes would produce monsters but it did not.
The group was careful but Soleil started skipping after seeing no monsters. A few skipping steps later, Soleil stepped on a tile that went down which released a huge rectangular ice block from the square holes. The rectangular ice block sped towards Soleil who tripped because of sudden drop of the tile.
Adrian acted immediately and Blinked towards her location but the rectangular ice block was so fast that he had to push Soleil away. Adrian then suddenly froze on the spot instead of using Blink to get away.
Meanwhile outside of Adrian's gamepod….
Beep….Beep…Beep…User is experiencing a mental episode.
The gamepod suddenly blared out words that alarmed Adrian's parents that were in his house. They immediately rushed towards Adrian's gamepod as his body was having a seizure.