20 Ice Queen's Lair

"Hey! Don't leave me here like this! Let me out!" Black Rose called out after them, causing Vice-leader Marco to turn in her direction. 

"Shouldn't we help her first?" he asked in confusion, but Liu Ye shook his head. 

"It's okay, she is almost out on her own. We need to hurry and hunt the Ice Queen before she recovers," Liu Ye convinced. "This is an opportunity to finally get rid of such danger. We can't let it go to waste." 

"You are right. Let's go!" Vice-leader Marco agreed as an afterthought and they both ignored the raging Black Rose. Liu Ye could not be bothered to spare her an act of kindness. She would definitely try to mess with him right after so it was best to let her struggle for a few more minutes. 

"The Ice Queen's lair seems to be right ahead!" Vice-leader Marco informed him as they followed the marks on the ground. They soon spotted a cavern at the foot of the mountain.

It was covered with thick spider webs, and five spider soldiers protected the entrance. 

[Venomous Spider - Lvl. 5] 

[HP: 100/100] 

[MP: 50/50] 

Their long fangs rose up to intimidate them, but Liu Ye didn't care much. He gulped down a mana potion and began slapping them with his whips, not even letting them come close. 

[Ding! You killed the Venomous Spider. You received 50 Experience and 50 bronze.] 

The notification rang five times as Liu Ye cleaned them up like they were nothing, impressing Vice-leader Marco once again. 

"What a talented Waterbender," Vice-leader Marco praised as his eyes lit up. "Have you ever considered working as a guard? If you want, I can speak with the Lord to secure a position for you."

"Uh… That's a great offer but I don't think I will stay in the village for a long time," Liu Ye rejected politely. "I plan on adventuring to the mainland in the near future, but thank you for the offer." 

"Oh!" Vice-leader Marco exclaimed in awe. "Not many dare to visit the mainland so I respect your bravery. The mainland can be quite dangerous and chaotic. Be careful in the future." 

Liu Ye raised an eyebrow as questions arose in his mind, but he suspended his curiosity for now as dealing with the Ice Queen was more important. His three water whips hovered around him in a defensive setup as they explored the Ice Queen's lair. 

Just as he expected, the system map turned red and a familiar virtual screen appeared in front of him. 

[Ice Queen's Lair - Warning]

[Player entered the Death Zone. The lair is a home of a powerful field boss. It's not recommended you enter inside at all.]

[Zone Buff: +100% damage from Ice Abilities.] 

[Death Penalty: -2 Levels, Permanently lose one random stat.]

When Liu Ye saw the zone buff, he couldn't help but freeze with his foot stopping mid-air. He immediately understood why it was called a Death Zone. The Ice Queen could instantly one-shot anyone with just a stab of her leg.

The death penalty didn't make it any better, but luckily, he had an advantage not everyone could get. The earlier fight already lowered the Ice Queen's HP to 300 and it just happened the zone buff also applied to him, so he continued walking inside with Vice-leader Marco following closely behind. 

They both drank Medium Health Potions that Liu Ye provided and entered a spacious tunnel deep inside the mountain. They proceeded slowly since they were not familiar with the layout of the cavern. With the help of the sunlight spilling from the gaps above them, they could see the endless spider webs along the way, but to their surprise, aside from the initial five spiders by the entrance, they didn't meet any other monsters.

"We are entering her trap…" Liu Ye informed in a whisper, knowing exactly where this was going. He could already see a brightly lit cavern ahead with eight spider legs waiting for them at the other end. 

Based on his gaming experience, Liu Ye could guess that the boss room would be filled with spiders any second now, surrounding them from all sides. Even if they managed to kill the Ice Queen, they would be in serious danger from all the Venomous Spiders jumping at them. 

"If only we had some kind of bait to test the waters..." Liu Ye muttered, wondering how to handle it, when they suddenly heard loud hurried footsteps coming from behind. 

"You! Are you even a man?!"

Liu Ye's eyes brightened hearing the angry shout and turned around to see Black Rose storming inside the lair. Her eyes were like daggers, glaring at him sharply. 

"Last time I checked, that was indeed the case," Liu Ye replied with feigned innocence. "Is there something wrong? Why are you shouting?" 

His tone only made Black Rose explode further as she clenched her fists. "You think you are funny, huh?!"

"I would say I'm pretty good at sarcasm," Liu Ye replied with a shrug. "At the very least, I'm not getting mad at someone who should have been grateful I saved her life." 

"Saved my life?!" Black Rose repeated in high pitch. "You could have let me free but you intentionally did nothing and watched me struggle! Is that your revenge on me, or do you just hate women in general?" 

"Lady, I think you should calm down," Vice-leader Marco suggested as he stepped in between them, smoothly separating the two players. "We are inside the Ice Queen's Lair. Even though spiders can't hear, you are disturbing us from our raid. We can't let our guard down, or else—" 

"Hah!" Black Rose snorted as she gave the NPC a glare. "Do I look like I care? He has been giving me trouble the whole day!"

At that point, Liu Ye had enough of her yapping. It was his mistake for even letting her talk as he should have treated her the same as other players. She was just a walking loot to him. Nothing else.

"I think you are overreacting," Liu Ye sighed while covering his waterskin with his palm. "All I did was ignore you so I can play in peace. Did you fall for me or what?"

He busied her with conversation while water traveled through his arm and then down towards the ground. It spread through the ground and slowly moved closer towards her. 

"Fall for you?! Ha! You wish!" Black Rose laughed at his face. "I won't fall for you even if you become the best player in the world." 

Just as she gave her retort, three water whips grew out from the ground and wrapped around her body like snakes. 

"What the fuck?" Black Rose cursed in surprise. She blew one whip away with a quick air bullet, but Vice-leader Marco reacted fast, appearing right next to her. 

He grabbed her wrists and locked her hands with Earth Handcuffs while looking at her in disappointment. 

"Now I know why men live shorter lives than women," Vice-leader Marco commented. "If a man has a wife that screams like you, I am sure he will want to die sooner." 

Pfft!

Liu Ye couldn't help but chuckle, not expecting his partner to be this good at roasting. The AI of this game truly deserved applause, no, a standing ovation. To make it better, Vice-leader Marco turned to him and grinned. "Did you say earlier that we could make use of a bait?" 

"What—Let me go!" Black Rose yelled in warning, but Liu Ye did not even hesitate to throw her deep inside the Ice Queen's cavern.