[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-how-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game":3,"chapter-how-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game-how-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game-chapter-688":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1218907,1604,"Chapter 687: Frozen Trials","how-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game-chapter-688",688,"\u003Cp>When the light finally settled, Snow slowly opened her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint frown formed on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow and frigid winds assaulted her from every direction, so thick and violent that visibility was reduced to almost nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world around her was swallowed by white—an endless expanse of swirling frost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath her boots, the snowy ground rose in uneven drifts, piling higher and higher as if the land itself were being buried in real time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where... am I?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was immediately stolen by the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And more troubling—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why is it so cold?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in her life, the chill bit into her skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow had always possessed a natural affinity with cold. Ice, frost, winter—these had never been her enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had stood in blizzards without flinching, summoned glaciers from nothing, and walked through frozen wastelands as though they were temperate fields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had never once felt cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the rare occasions she had, it was only due to mana exhaustion—when she pushed her magic beyond its limits with high-tier or unique spells. Even then, the sensation had been fleeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cold was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It cut into her, not as temperature, but as presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even an ordinary snowstorm of this magnitude should not have affected her in the slightest... yet here she was, her breath visible, her skin prickling beneath her coat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow narrowed her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm as she assessed her surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No landmarks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just endless white and roaring wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So this is it,\" she murmured. \"The trial.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riley had warned her—once she stepped inside, she would likely be on her own. Whatever awaited her here wasn’t meant to be overcome with brute force alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhh—!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bluish-pale mana surged from her core, wrapping around her body like a protective veil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The frost-laced aura pulsed gently, pushing back against the foreign cold encroaching on her skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The biting chill lessened immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hadn’t lost control over her mana. Nor had her affinity been sealed or suppressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant this place wasn’t rejecting her power—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was testing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, the fact remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cold wasn’t hers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow looked out into the blinding storm, her grip tightening around her wand as her thoughts raced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What should I do now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind howled in response, as if the frozen world itself were waiting for her answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, dungeons that trapped their intruders within trials fell into specific categories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subjugation-type dungeons, where survival itself was the test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Floor-type dungeons, structured layers each demanding conquest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boss-type dungeons, where everything existed to prepare challengers for a single absolute confrontation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though classifications could vary, trial-type dungeons shared one unchanging truth—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their trials were never random.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were designed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Designed by an absolute being residing within the dungeon: a dungeon core, a ruler, a creator... or a boss whose will shaped the laws inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the fact that they were not impossible to clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow understood this well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because of that, she also understood something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This dungeon—this trial—was connected to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The frozen castle etched deep within her soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horrifying dream she could never fully forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That other version of herself, standing upon an endless throne of ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It all pointed to the same conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had to name this place...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The Frozen Castle Dungeon,\" she whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words felt oddly natural as they left her lips, as if the dungeon itself acknowledged them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this truly was a test meant for her, then it wasn’t strange that the challenge differed from ordinary dungeons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, even knowing that, she had expected monsters—something tangible she could confront.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An endless storm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This trial was already proving far more difficult than she had anticipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no clues to guide her, Snow tightened her white coat around herself and pulled her hood over her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her breath fogged the air as her blue eyes glimmered sharply beneath the shadow of the hood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mana began to flow outward—controlled, deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was no direction given to her...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she would find one herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting out a soft, steady sigh, Snow steadied her breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear and uncertainty were pushed aside, replaced by calm resolve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I move forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unbeknownst to her, at the very moment her mana spread outward—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snow beneath her feet shimmered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The raging cold eased, ever so slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the storm around her seemed to pause, as if the frozen world itself were waiting... for her command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first test was Authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Authority was not merely power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the right to rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An absolute dominion that governed the laws of the world itself—laws that could manifest as natural phenomena, abstract constructs, or even concepts so subjective they defied common understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And many more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each Authority existed as a fundamental truth of reality, and to possess one meant becoming its embodiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the domain born of that Authority, its bearer did not command power—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those of ascended existence could wield such forces. Gods and demons, naturally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But also the ancient high races whose bloodlines brushed against the divine: elves, vampires, sea folk, dragons—beings whose existence had long surpassed mortal limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once an Authority was claimed, its holder possessed absolute control over the concept bound to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That control could only be challenged by another who wielded the same Authority at a higher degree, or by a being whose Authority eclipsed it entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when one reached the zenith—the perfected, absolute state of an Authority—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No being in the universe could override it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No denial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such was the reason primordial gods stood beyond all others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the primordial goddess Eris, whose Authority encompassed Light, Life, and Creation itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her will shaped existence, and reality obeyed without question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the frozen castle, far beyond mortal reach—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman with porcelain-white skin sat upon her throne of ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her crystal-like eyes shimmered faintly, resembling falling snowflakes caught in moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though her expression remained distant and apathetic, there was the faintest curve of amusement hidden beneath it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Frost Queen gazed into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was not looking through walls, nor across space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was observing an unfolding truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something none of her subordinates could perceive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something only one who ruled cold itself could recognize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So this is how your Authority awakens,\" she murmured softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice carried no hostility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the throne room of ice and silence—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three figures knelt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Monsters in form, yet far removed from the mindless beasts that roamed the frozen plains outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each carried the weight of command, of countless lives bound to their will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the three generals of the Frost Queen, and even they dared not raise their heads without permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intruders had entered the dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that—entire patrols had been erased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monsters nurtured and raised within the Queen’s domain, creatures that had taken decades of mana and time to form, were being slaughtered with frightening efficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet no new orders had been given.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Frost Queen remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No retaliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No mobilization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No command for extermination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That silence gnawed at the kneeling figures far more than any shouted decree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had been informed that certain outsiders—fanatics clad in black—had offered to handle the intruders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A so-called temporary force that claimed devotion to an unknown god.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trusting such beings was absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fanatics were tools at best and disasters at worst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They lacked discipline, loyalty, and restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of the three generals believed for a moment that those madmen could stop the two humans who had entered the domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humans—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, not truly human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the reports alone, it was obvious: the intruders stood at a level where even the Queen’s generals could not act carelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Power like that was not something numbers could overwhelm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sending waves of monsters would only feed the slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the three kneeling figures, Gallan, chieftain of the frost giants, clenched his massive fists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the Frost Queen, monsters were assets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Gallan, they were his people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The frost giants were not born as mindless creatures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their ancestors once roamed the northern lands freely, ruling the frozen wilderness long before the dungeon existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had built cities of ice, hunted and defeated dragons, and forced even human kingdoms to bow beneath winter’s might.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those were not legends to Gallan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were memories carved into his blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His loyalty to the Frost Queen did not come from reverence or fear—it was born from ambition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Queen’s power had allowed his race to survive, to grow, to regain strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And one day—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To reclaim the north.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That dream burned fiercely in his chest, and watching his brethren die without retaliation twisted that fire into something dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gallan’s loyalty had limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the day came when choosing between the Frost Queen and the future of the frost giants became unavoidable—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would not hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if that choice meant betrayal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gallan lifted his gaze toward the frozen throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High above, upon a seat carved from eternal ice, the White Queen rested in stillness—her presence so vast and suffocating that even breathing beneath it felt like an act of defiance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chieftain of the frost giants tightened his jaw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—he needed to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intruders were not ordinary prey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His kin were dying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet they were ordered to wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gallan drew in a breath, preparing to ask for permission to personally deal with the threat—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shiiishhh~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something soft yet unyielding brushed across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long, pale-white tail slid effortlessly over his mouth, silencing him before a single word could escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though slim and elegant, the tail belonged to a being whose true form dwarfed even Gallan’s own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Floating beside him in an almost playful imitation of kneeling was a woman with silver-white hair and eyes that gleamed with draconic amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anica.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Frost Dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her polymorphed human form, she smiled brightly, one slender finger resting against her lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shh~\" she whispered, her voice light and teasing. \"Our Queen is rather busy right now... don’t ruin her focus.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gallan’s brows furrowed, but he did not resist. Slowly, once the tail withdrew, he spoke in a controlled, restrained tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I only wish to be granted permission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anica tilted her head slightly, her smile never fading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can ask later. Right now, Her Majesty has far more important matters at hand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gallan’s fists clenched against the frozen floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The intruders—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, them?\" Anica cut in smoothly, waving a hand dismissively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She leaned sideways in midair, peering through the icy walls of the castle as though they weren’t there at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One of them doesn’t seem interested in entering our castle,\" she said casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then her smile sharpened, eyes gleaming with predatory interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the other... is already being dealt with by our Queen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her draconic gaze pierced far beyond the dungeon walls, tracking something unseen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So don’t worry too much, Gallan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gallan did not respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Anica noticed it immediately—the subtle tension in his posture, the restrained fury simmering beneath his disciplined silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her smile thinned just a fraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Keep your thoughts in check, Chieftain,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>she said lightly, though the warning beneath her words was unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unless you want me to personally handle them for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, Gallan finally shifted his gaze toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a brief moment, the weight of two ancient beings pressed against each other—giant and dragon, ambition and supremacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Gallan lowered his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...As you wish.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence reclaimed the throne room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anica watched him for a moment longer, her amusement flickering into mild curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s usually far more composed than this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whatever impatience stirred within the frost giant, she chose not to dwell on it....\u003C\u002Fp>",1973,"2026-06-03T14:41:09.353Z",1,"novelbin.me","a7547481159bffdbaa14b37950aae55d3f657ed99eca54639e3e577dc755cebb","how-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game-chapter-689","how-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game-chapter-687",727,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhow-to-survive-in-the-romance-fantasy-game-cover.jpg"]