SAINTESS [Chapter 38: Entrance]

[Small Change- Spell named FROST SNOW TORRENT changed to FROST SNOW FLAME]
#######

“Oh my great grandmother!!” With the loss of balance quickly followed by the sensation of weightlessness, Winnie's face turned deathly pale as he screamed in panic.

Looking down, the quicksand hell was right beneath him, and he was rapidly approaching it. In less than a second, he'd be kissed by that terrifying monstrous quicksand.

‘What the hell!? The palace floor's quality is terrible?? I haven't even decided whether to go down yet!!’

Again, this happened again, before he could even finish agonizing over what his next move should be, that old hag Goddess of Radiance had already made the decision for him.

So damn manipulative!!

Beneath him, the storming sands raged like the claw of a colossal beast stretching upward. Suspended in mid-air, Winnie was so terrified he almost lost his breath. If Vanessa hadn’t still been weakened by anemia, making her useless if called upon, he probably would have reflexively transformed into her and attempted to escape with [Flawless Holy Wings].

Goddess above, if this goes wrong, I'm really gonna see my great-grandma waving at me from the afterlife, aren't I?!

“AAAAAHHHH!!” How long has it been? Winnie felt like he'd been suspended in midair endlessly. Before, the fall had seemed instantaneous, a split-second sensation, but now, it felt like floating endlessly, neither rising nor falling.

What's going on here?? This is torture!! Just let me fall already, would you?! Stop messing with me like this!!

‘Aaaaah, sure enough, what goes around comes around. Even me, Camella's idea king, Camella's bullying king, would eventually be tormented.’

‘Stop it, stop it! I have acrophobia, you know!! Don't just leave me hanging like this!!’

Looking down, he could see the endless chasm of quicksand stretching beneath him, constantly reminding him there was no turning back, he had already fallen. This kind of torment was beyond what any human could endure.

‘My life is over. Honestly, just kill me already and get it over with!’

‘Wait, why am I still falling? How deep and tall is this quicksand vortex anyway!?’

‘Ah, whatever, whatever. Slow is slow. Take your time, old lady. I'll just close my eyes and nap a bit, okay?’

Still, Winnie's stress resistance and adaptability were what they were. After a short while, he accepted his fate and gave up struggling.

‘Eh, whatever. If I'm gonna fall, I'll fall. Can't stop it anyway. Let it be.’

With such a laid-back attitude, Winnie soon landed at the bottom. The sand kicked up by the impact choked him, making him cough violently.

‘Seriously, this is so unhygienic! Are you trying to suffocate me??’

Winnie summoned [Armour Fortress] and used [Ice Steel] to block the sand particles. The armor and the ice coating could now serve as a breathing filter.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!” After falling for so long without being sucked into the quicksand, Winnie realized just how massive this abyss truly was. From above, it looks deceptively close, but the fall has taken ages. Still in free fall for this long without hitting bottom, its scale was truly immense.

If this really used to be part of the underground palace, then the scale of Mars Palace was truly terrifying, shockingly large, unimaginable, built upon the blood and sweat of millions of enslaved people.

While lost in these thoughts, he finally hit the bottom, at least, he touched the surface of the massive quicksand hell.

It took this long to land, it really wasn't easy. The moment he touched the vast quicksand abyss, Winnie was instantly swept in like a speck of dust caught in a storm, inevitably swallowed.

It was just like approaching a black hole. Seen from far away through an optical telescope, it might not look large. Only when you truly get close do you realize how massive and terrifying it really is.

This endlessly churning quicksand abyss was the same. From above, it looked vast, but you couldn't grasp its true scale. Only upon approaching it did you understand just how insignificant you were.

Winnie swallowed hard.

Alright, he was still dismayed, especially now, being sucked into this vortex resembling a black hole, surrounded on all sides by flying sand, engulfed by a surging tsunami of particles.

He felt like he was suffocating.

Think of it, he, Winnie, a so-called regional powerhouse of the continent, an officially promoted Warlock, actually helpless against such a sandstorm vortex.

Although he knew the token protected him from death, he still felt uneasy.

No, no way. He was still a Warlock! How could he be so easily defeated by a mere quicksand vortex??

Winnie grew furious. He was going to fight back.

Some mysterious sandstorm trying to trap a Warlock expert like him??

‘Take my [Annihilation Stomp]!’

Just as Winnie prepared to unleash the spell linked to his Warlock [Armour Fortress], he suddenly realized a critical issue, this move requires both feet on solid ground to activate. Without contact, without a point of force, it was impossible to use.

Damn it! Then try this, [Frost Snow Flame]!

Following the instructions for [Frost Snow Flame], Winnie took a deep breath and exhaled downward. Instantly, his face was covered by a frost demon mask with eyes blazing cold fire and a ghastly visage. Pure white frost demon flames burst from his mouth, piercing through the sand swirling around him like the light of dawn, freezing it instantly into icy debris.

Not only that, the surrounding sand particles were also affected by the terrifying low temperature, frozen into ice, and even the raging wind paused momentarily.

Incredible power! Was this the true might of a [Extraordinary]-level affinity spell released at the Warlock level??

Yes! He did it!

A former disposable villain succeeding through righteous means, already, he had won!

Yet, before he could spit out a few more bursts of ice flame, the frost demon mask disappeared, replaced by a pained expression beneath the [Armour Fortress].

What happened? Why did it stop after just two breaths? Did his mana run out? Impossible!! He was now a beginner-level Warlock, a noble Warlock! How could his magic power deplete so easily??

In truth, it wasn't due to depletion of magic power. Although [Frost Snow Flame] was a high-tier spell with extreme casting requirements and massive consumption, it shouldn't have drained a Warlock's mana this quickly.

The reason it stopped after a few uses and clicking cooldown was because [Frost Snow Flame] had another condition.

The release condition was indeed [Excellent] or higher Ice-element affinity, but the spell's power and duration were tied to Fire-element affinity.

Well, of course. It's called [Frost Snow Flame], wouldn't it naturally be linked to both elements? Fundamentally an ice spell, so the release condition is Ice affinity. But since it's released in the form of flame, other factors are tied to Fire affinity.

That makes sense, but...

Damn it, was the person who invented and developed this spell out of their mind??

Ice and fire were defending opposing elements. How many freaks in the world could simultaneously possess high Ice affinity and high Fire affinity?

No wonder, although this is a high-tier spell, he'd never even heard of it before. With such strict conditions, who could possibly fulfill them??

Hmm, come to think of it, there actually was one person nearby who could.

But that person was an exception, an absolute outlier. A cheater who shouldn't count.

Regardless, [Frost Snow Flame] was now on cooldown, and he was completely swallowed by the quicksand, spinning helplessly within it.

‘Spinning, twirling, I can only close my eyes.’

But still so dizzy!!

Winnie felt like he'd been thrown into a giant blender, stirring along with the mud and sand. Even with his eyes shut, the dizziness was overwhelming.

‘I can't take it anymore, I'm gonna throw up!!’

Where was he now? Well, no need to open his eyes. Even if he did, all he'd see would be a screen full of yellow sand, nothing else.

Aaah, not just nauseous, now he was nearly suffocating too.

This is unbearable torture! I'm gonna die!!

Where's the token? Help me!! Didn't it say it'd teleport me back to the anchor point when in danger??

He didn't know how long he'd been tossed around. He only felt his vision darkening, the world dimming, as if even the space around him had shifted without notice.

After enduring this agonizing state for who knows how long, Winnie suddenly felt his feet touch something solid.

‘Huh? Touched solid ground? What's going on, have I reached the bottom already?’

That can't be right. This quicksand hell doesn't look shallow at all. Drowning here would be perfectly normal.

Still, feeling the solid ground beneath his feet brought a surge of relief. Stability returned, and so did his focus. He gathered himself and activated [Annihilation Stomp].

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!” A loud rushing sound, the sandstorm shattered as Winnie burst through, his legs slamming down hard onto solid ground. The impact left hundreds of jagged cracks across the surface, sending sand and debris flying.

‘Ah, I see.’

Winnie observed the swirling storm and dust around him, recalling the sensation of sinking deeper into the quicksand earlier, the constant struggle to maintain balance. He gained sudden insight.

Maybe he could draw inspiration from that earlier sandstorm, improve his [Annihilation Stomp], make it more destructive, more disruptive??

Everything that failed to kill him only made him stronger. Drawing inspiration from nature and enemies, so this was what enlightenment felt like?

Winnie had a rare flash of inspiration. Staring at his hands, reflecting on the insight, his mind buzzed with thought.

‘Yes, that's it, this feeling! As long as I can grasp it! The sandstorm couldn't beat me, right?’

‘If I can just…’

“Winnie, didn't I tell you to wait for me on the shore?” Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him.

Winnie startedled, realized who it was, and suddenly turned to see the silver-haired girl.

Compared to his disheveled appearance, helmet full of sand, messy hair and dripping sand, his pitiful state, the sandstorm seemed to have no effect on Aesphyra at all. Her clothes were clean and tidy, every strand of hair exactly as it was before entering, not a speck of sand on her.

“Ahhh! You silver-haired nutball, why are you here too?? Scaring me like that??” Winnie quickly stepped back.

“No one intended to scare you, Winnie. So why did you come down by yourself?” Aesphyra tilted her head.

“Tch, you tiny bread roll, what business is it of yours? You came down too, didn't you? Both of you flew down and left me there all alone. What's wrong with me coming down? Is it only allowed for you?” Winnie immediately grew defiant.

“Winnie, are you ranked in the top five of the year?” Aesphyra raised an eyebrow.

“I'm not, so what? Now you have ranking discrimination? Such a strict hierarchy?” Winnie snorted. Being challenged angered him. Being challenged by Aesphyra angers him even more!

‘If you can come down, why can't I??’

“But Winnie, can you guarantee your own safety when you come down?” Aesphyra asked seriously.

“What do you mean I can't guarantee it? If you're saying that, then let me remind you about what happened last time?? And by the way, I wasn't just safe, I had an enlightenment moment! Do you even understand what enlightenment means??”

“Wait, where are we even?” Winnie suddenly remembered to ask their current location.

“Here? It might be a bit complicated to explain. You might not understand, Winnie.” Aesphyra turned away. The large black bow tied at the back of her head swayed with her movement, seems indicating she didn't want to continue arguing with Winnie on this topic.

“Tch, are you insulting my intelligence now??”

“Winnie, now that you're here, keep your voice low. Don't wake up whatever's sleeping here.”

“Huh??” Winnie froze, instantly lowering his volume. He began observing his surroundings, noticing the extremely low visibility, with only a few torches providing light. The area was enclosed by stacked dark stone bricks on all sides.

The bricks were covered in densely written text, several lines per brick, some with four or five rows, others with just three, or even one.

Winnie initially thought there was a pattern, but upon closer inspection, found none. The texts were all different, almost no repetition at all.

“Where… exactly are we?” Winnie's expression turned odd, a chill creeping up his spine.

Ahead, the familiar black-haired girl stood before a massive gate, seemingly deep in thought. In front of the gate stood two familiar statues, one was the Ouroboros god, symbolizing [Eternity], and the other the multi-armed, single-eyed, four-faced god, symbolizing [Continuance].

The strange, giant gate was carved with all sorts of bizarre characters, giving the impression of an open contract scroll.

Winnie pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, eyes widening slightly. “Could this… be the entrance to the buried dungeon??”

“Not completely certain,” Aesphyra shook her head, then added, “But the possibility is very high.”