Rumble rumble rumble—
The avalanche swept away all the charging magical beasts and monsters.
Alicia took in the sight of the perfectly cleared snowfield before she turned her head toward Zeke.
"Ha! Zeke Draker, this is nothing like I imagined."
But Zeke kept his tension high as he glared at the snowfield.
A moment later, the snow churned as magical beasts that had survived the avalanche began to emerge.
Swoosh!
Zeke immediately swung his sword to attack the magical beasts.
Seeing this, Alicia gripped her Fang-Wolf Sword and charged at them as well.
"You filthy magical beast bastards!"
Thanks to Alicia wildly swinging her sword, the once-pristine snowfield was soon stained with the mush of pulverized magical beasts.
After clearing the magical beasts, Zeke's group climbed back up the Ice Mountain Range.
On their way to Himonas Castle, they encountered northern knights searching for the fallen Alicia.
"Mistress!"
From a distance, Sven came running with a loud shout.
He spotted Alicia with the unfamiliar knights and shot them a wary glance.
Alicia waved him off.
"Ah, it's fine. These are Zeke Draker and his group—they came to help us wipe out the monsters and the imperial scum."
Sven grew even more guarded upon hearing the name Draker.
At that moment, Zeke stepped forward and spoke.
"Glad to see you're back in good health."
Sven scowled and replied gruffly to Zeke's words.
"I don't recall. I've never crossed paths with any Draker whelps."
"Looks like you don't remember. I saved you from near death once before." When Sven made a puzzled face, Zeke opened his mouth.
"Do you remember the name Zeke Murray?"
As soon as he mentioned the alias he'd used back then, Sven's eyes widened as if the memory had finally clicked.
"Zeke Murray? Of course I remember my benefactor's name! But Nikolai said Zeke
Murray was a northern mercenary aspiring to be a ranger?" Zeke chuckled and said.
"Who in the north would openly admit to being a Draker? It was just an alias."
Sven's expression grew complicated at those words.
"Ugh... So a Draker saved my life..."
He couldn't deny that Zeke was his benefactor, but the Draker name still gnawed at him.
As Sven stood there with a conflicted look, unsure what to do, Alicia sidled up and smacked him on the back.
Smack!
Sven cried out in a pained voice.
"Gah! Mistress! Are you trying to shatter my spine!" Alicia clicked her tongue and said.
"I don't know the full story, but if Zeke Draker saved your life, then as a northerner, you must repay that debt to uphold your honor."
"Even if the other party is a Draker?"
"Yes. Even if it's a Draker."
Sven nodded at Alicia's words and bowed to Zeke.
"My apologies. Zeke Draker. Thank you truly for saving my life. Back then, things were too chaotic for me to give my proper thanks."
"Glad you're looking healthy. But I don't see Nikolai around."
"He took a wound in battle and is recovering. With the monsters being so relentless, only those who can move came out with the mistress."
It seemed they'd gathered elites from Nikolai and Sven's Thistle Knight Order, along with other knight order members, to form a monster subjugation team.
As he listened, Alicia ground her teeth beside him.
"Damn it, those imperial bastards dragging these accursed monsters here— it's infuriating."
Zeke said to Alicia.
"To stop the monster legion, we need to find the gate as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the entire north will suffer their assaults." At that, Sven stroked his chin and said.
"You mean this gate is like a big hole the monsters are coming out of?" Zeke nodded at Sven's question.
"That's right. Have you spotted one?"
"One of the search teams mentioned seeing something like that. Not close by—it's a bit farther off."
"Could you tell me the location?"
Sven called over a search team member, and Zeke confirmed the approximate position from him.
Marking it on the system's map, Zeke was surprised to find it was near the site of the Elder Dragon Ruins from before.
"The Black Stage should be holding that position, though?"
If the Black Stage had withdrawn and Narak had taken over to set up the gate, it would be a headache.
The Elder Dragon Ruins Zeke remembered were as rugged and narrow as the natural fortress of Thermo.
'Even knowing the location, launching an assault wouldn't be easy.ʼ
For now, they needed to head to Himonas Castle, regroup, and wait for word from Niki.
Zeke sorted his plans and headed to Himonas Castle with Alicia.
*
"Puhahaha! Zeke Draker! Drink up! Down the hatch!"
As soon as they returned to Himonas Castle, true to northern form, Alicia threw a feast for their guests.
Northerners believed that failing to properly host guests brought misfortune, so unless they were enemies, they always gave visitors a grand welcome.
Zeke took the large bowl of hwayeongju Alicia offered and downed it in one go.
"Oooooh!"
Sven and the other northern knights marveled at Zeke's capacity.
As he set down the empty bowl, they cheered even louder.
"What a firebrand!"
"Not like a Draker at all—love it!"
The knights of Thurn, whose ancestors hailed from the north, quickly warmed up and mingled well with Himonas's knights.
In one corner of the banquet hall, Felix was showing off tricks with his magic.
But Felix's magic paled in popularity to the arm-wrestling matches with the barbarians.
Thud!
Not a single northern knight who prided themselves on strength could beat King's Fist at arm-wrestling.
Stung by this, the northern knights swarmed around King's Fist.
And at some point, Alicia, who'd been watching from behind, rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.
"Barbarian! King's Fist, was it? Let's see you try me."
Alicia had the build of a great strength wielder, but her frame was petite.
Her arm was slender compared to King's Fist.
Yet the King's Fist, who hadn't flinched against any northern knight, now looked tense with Alicia stepping up.
The other barbarians teased him as they watched.
"Scared?"
Denying it with a snort, King's Fist stepped up to Alicia.
Alicia extended her index finger and said.
"I'll even give you a handicap with just this."
She was boldly claiming she'd face the barbarian with one finger.
King's Fist gritted his teeth and extended his own index finger.
Zeke, watching from behind, clicked his tongue.
"You'll regret that."
Reina, beside him, nodded at Zeke's words.
"Exactly. No matter how strong, pulling that against a barbarian..."
"No, I meant King's Fist will regret it."
"The barbarian?"
Boom!
Before Reina could finish, a loud crash rang out.
"Grrrk!"
King's Fist had hooked fingers with Alicia for arm-wrestling, but the moment it started, he was slammed to the floor.
Alicia raised both arms in a victor's pose.
King's Fist stared blankly, unable to believe he'd lost to this small human woman.
The other barbarians crowded around him, tossing barbs.
"Chickened out?"
"Wimped?"
King's Fist ground his teeth, enduring the mockery from his fellow barbarians.
Then Alicia turned to Zeke and said.
"Zeke Draker, what do you think? Come on out and face me."
Zeke, who'd been quietly sipping tea to settle his drinks, looked up at Alicia's sudden challenge.
He met her eyes briefly, then glanced around to see not just Himonas's knights but
Thurn's knights and even the black spirit unit members all watching him expectantly.
'These guys...ʼ
He had no desire to step up, but backing out now would kill the mood, so Zeke slowly rose from his seat.
"Oooooh!"
Everyone in the banquet hall buzzed with excitement, crowding around the table where Zeke and Alicia would arm-wrestle.
Alicia placed her hand on the table. "I could even give you a finger if you want." Zeke smirked at her words.
"Need an excuse after you lose, huh?"
Zeke placed his arm down and gripped Alicia's hand.
Alicia's expression changed as she clasped Zeke's hand, channeling metal power.
'He doesn't seem to be using aura...ʼ
In all her life, she'd never met anyone who could match her with pure strength alone.
The air around their joined hands shifted.
The excited knights froze, silenced by the aura emanating from the two.
Sven, acting as referee, glanced around nervously before blowing his whistle.
Tweet!
The shrill sound echoed through the banquet hall.
But Zeke and Alicia, hands locked on the table, didn't budge an inch.
The onlookers looked puzzled.
"What's going on?"
"They started, right?"
After a bewildered pause, they noticed the table supporting their arms trembling faintly.
Immense forces clashed without yielding, holding the balance.
Everyone held their breath, watching the unmoving duel.
Then, a drop of sweat from their joined hands fell onto the table.
Drip!
At that instant, the table couldn't withstand the force and shattered.
Crack crack crack!
It was made of black ironwood, said to be stronger than steel from the north, yet it splintered to pieces.
Still, Zeke and Alicia's gripped hands hung steady in midair, unmoving.
Sven alternated glances between them before blowing the whistle again.
Tweet!
The draw signal rang out, and only then did Zeke and Alicia lower their hands.
For a moment, spasms kept them from moving easily.
Alicia forced a nonchalant look and said to Zeke.
"Ha! Not bad, you've got some strength."
"Grand duchess, at this level, you won't get beaten easily out there." They were both bluffing despite the inability to move their arms.
Alicia ground her teeth and said.
"Hey, Sven, go fetch the whole barrel of liquor. Tonight, I'll make you watch a Draker crawl on all fours."
In the end, Zeke got dragged into it by Alicia and had to down hwayeongju all night.
*
'Dizzy...ʼ
Zeke shook his head as he left the banquet hall.
Alicia had plied him with drinks so relentlessly that even Zeke, with his immortal body, felt a slight buzz toward the end.
Alicia herself had eventually passed out from the drinking.
The other knights had dropped early, leaving Zeke as the only one still compos mentis till the end.
After using healing to dispel the remaining buzz, Zeke left the banquet hall and pulled out the absolute compass.
'This direction leads to the castle basement stairs.ʼ
Zeke had stayed in Himonas Castle for quite a while in his previous life.
He knew the layout inside out.
Without hesitation, he followed the compass's direction down to the castle basement.
The basement held a memorial space with statues honoring past grand dukes of the north.
In his previous life, Alicia would come down here whenever her mind was troubled, to sort her thoughts before heading back up.
Zeke was familiar with the place too.
The compass pointed past the statues lining both sides, to the altar in the center.
Unlike the central continent, northerners didn't worship the god of light or the sun god.
With local deities in each region, there was no unified church or religion.
But Himonas revered the wolf king Fenril, who had raised the hero king, as their symbol.
The Fang-Wolf Sword Alicia carried was said to be passed down through generations of grand dukes, forged from wolf king Fenril's tooth—a legend.
The central altar was dedicated to that very Fenril.
Zeke approached the Fenril altar the compass indicated and tilted his head.
'Why no reaction?ʼ
If Caligula's tomb was here, the system should have reacted the moment Zeke sensed it, but nothing changed.
Zeke said to the system.
'System, no detected ruins?ʼ
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Scanning surroundings at user's request.]
[Scan complete: No reactive ruin information found.] The system reported no detection.
'What's going on? Then why is the compass pointing here?ʼ Zeke stepped closer, looking up to examine the Fenril altar closely.
That's when he noticed something.
An hourglass sat atop the altar.
It emanated a familiar aura.
'This is?ʼ
Zeke slowly reached out toward the hourglass.
Then a new message appeared before him.
[Authority: Rewind links with Chronosʼs Hourglass.]