Chilled Inferno

'Do they really exist?' Lucas mused; his thoughts interrupted by Lucy's voice calling out.

"Lucas, what did you get?" she inquired, her expression resembling someone who had nursed a dying pet back to health.

"I received a Soki scroll. The system designates it as a class change scroll for the God of Fire and Heat," he responded. Pausing, he turned the question back to her. "So, what did you get?"

Lucy raised her hand, revealing a white scroll with indecipherable writing. "I obtained a class change scroll as well. It's the Khione scroll, signifying the Goddess of Snow and Ice."

Observing his own red scroll, equally adorned with unfamiliar symbols, Lucas posed a perplexing query. "Lucy, how did you arrive here so quickly?"

Her smile was unwavering, Lucy recounted her journey. "The cold was intense near the snowy mountain. I experienced a brain freeze, lost focus, and accidentally plunged into the water surrounding the mountain. Despite my inability to swim, I employed the earring's power to freeze the water and create a path."

Her voice remained cheerful as she continued, "Upon stepping onto the ice, I realized that although land travel was prohibited, the water wasn't part of that restriction. I dashed along the frozen river, which lasted for only thirty seconds. I safely reached the area behind the snowy mountain, where I found a similar shrine to yours. It was frozen, so I had to employ my katana to shatter it. Subsequently, I spotted a crimson mountain in the distance that I suspected was the volcano. To cross the distance, I froze the water beneath my feet and treaded across."

Observing her determination, Lucas sighed. "It appears we both circumvented the intended path."

Concerned, Lucy inquired, "Do you think the system might penalize us?"

"I doubt it. The system seems to favor those who can deduce solutions independently, given that it rarely offers explicit instructions. We're left to discover everything on our own." Gazing back at the volcano, he confessed, "Frankly, I utilized the full range of my hurricane ring's abilities to reach this point. Unlike you, I don't possess water-based abilities—only wind and fire. Consequently, I was limited in my maneuverability, essentially flying straight over the path and skipping the volcano."

"Considering we both bypassed the central areas—the volcano for you and the snowy mountain for me—what do you imagine lies ahead there?" Lucy inquired; her curiosity unabated.

Lucy asked absentmindedly, not bothering to delve deep into the thought. Frankly, it was exhausting to continually guess and end up with wrong assumptions.

Lucas had been pondering this as well, but he had just received a valuable hint a short while ago. "Given that we were bestowed with God-class change scrolls, I speculate that whatever lies atop those two mountains is likely to possess immense power or present intricate puzzle-like challenges. However, in a sense, we've already succeeded in obtaining these scrolls. The system refers to this as a level eight dungeon named 'Frozen Fire.' Perhaps that's a clue, though I can't discern its significance beyond the fact that the path we treaded upon resembled the floor tiles in the class change building."

"The tiles in the white building? I didn't make that connection," Lucy admitted.

Lucas nodded. "You know, even if our classes are granted a 'God' title, we remain ignorant of their actual potential. It's possible that everyone has received class names with a 'God' theme."

"In any case, we have a few hours to relax here until the time limit expires," Lucas proposed, settling down beside Lucy on the ground. Even though the ground felt as hard as the rock beneath them, it was surprisingly restful.

After one hour passed, stillness prevailed. Another hour followed suit, and yet nothing transpired. Lucy, who had maintained her silence for a prolonged period, suddenly burst out with a query. "Lucas, doesn't this seem too straightforward for a level eight dungeon?"

Abruptly, a deafening explosion resonated around them, causing Lucy, who had just spoken, to grasp onto Lucas's shirt instinctively. The eruption of sound was accompanied by a chorus of bird calls. 

Lucas's eyes widened as he beheld a colossal red phoenix emerge from the volcano, spewing forth lava that flowed away from them. Before them, a gigantic white snow dragon emerged from the mountain, its appearance shattering the peak and causing the infinite water they had seen to freeze solid.

Pressing a finger to his lips, Lucas gestured for Lucy to remain silent, a sense of urgency overtaking them. He swiftly encircled her in his arms and invoked his fire shield. Urging Lucy to employ her freezing ability on them, he directed, "Quickly, use your freeze."

Though bewildered, Lucy complied without hesitation. "Freeze!" she murmured, causing ice to form atop Lucas's fire shield.

"It's working," Lucas marveled, his attention focused on the crystallizing ice enveloping the fire shield. He then steered them both downward, rolling into the sea.

"What are you doing, Lucas?" Lucy exclaimed in bewilderment.

As they descended slowly within the frozen sphere, Lucas elucidated, "Just as my fire shield continues to safeguard me for three hours even though it's intended to last for thirty seconds, as long as it maintains contact with its elemental source—in this case, fire—it persists.

Applying this principle to your freezing ability, with the entire sea now frozen and the hollow space around us devoid of water, your skill won't cause freezing inside this confined space."

As Lucas concluded his explanation, both Lucy's freeze ability and his fire shield reached their limits, and the temperature plummeted abruptly.

Lucas let out a sigh as he retrieved some clothing they had acquired from the store. "What are you doing?" Lucy inquired; her curiosity piqued.

Lucy questioned; her voice tinged with a chill brought on by the dropping temperature.

"The ice above will shield us from the volcano's magma for some time. This clothing is to help us warm up. I doubt you'd like to be frozen together, would you?" Lucas responded; his tone was lighthearted.

Lucy shook her head in agreement. She felt a welcome warmth radiating from the flames. "It's amusing how all my item abilities are coming in handy today," Lucas remarked, his gaze fixed on the burning clothing as he muttered to himself.

"Fire blaze!" he chanted, and the garments burst into flames. In response, Lucas drew Lucy closer to him to ensure neither of them got singed.

"I wonder, do you have any insights into why this place is called a 'Frozen Fire Dungeon'?" Lucy inquired, savoring the newfound warmth.

"Why?" she asked, her curiosity piqued despite her initial disinterest.

Lucas pulled out his pen and paper, using them to illustrate his explanation. "In addition to the land being divided between fire and snow, the emergence of the Fire Phoenix and Ice Dragon likely turned the entire terrain into a fusion of ice and fire. Imagine a fire burning on ice, much like the magma flowing from the volcano, resting on the frozen sea. These are opposing elements that directly clash, unlike fire and water, where water consistently overpowers."

Pausing briefly to fetch more clothing from his supplies, Lucas cast another fire spell on them. "Fire blaze!" he repeated.

"Even now, we have fire blazing above ice, while here we have fire within an ice-covered sea," Lucas continued, gesturing upwards. "The exterior temperature is so frigid that the ice above us doesn't yield to the heat of the fire blaze."

Reflecting on Lucas's explanation, Lucy exclaimed, "@?!%$, does the system want to ensure we don't survive? Walking into the mountains might have triggered those mythical creatures, leading to our demise."

Complaining about the system had possibly become a habit, maybe from spending too much time with Lucas. "If anyone else tried an alternative approach to clear the dungeon, they'd likely meet their end."

Lucy turned to him, her expression filled with pride. Lucas was momentarily puzzled by her gaze.

Lucy grinned and continued, "Luckily, I have you. You're clever. Even without freeze or shield items, I'm confident you'd unravel challenges more swiftly than the wind."

Though he felt a tad embarrassed by her praise, Lucas shyly looked away. "It was probably just luck that my method worked. Besides, I still don't understand how we're able to breathe normally here, given that oxygen should have depleted due to the perpetual flames."

Suddenly, a chime cut through the conversation.

A resounding tone resonated within their minds, and instantaneously, their vision darkened.

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[Level 8 Dungeon: Frozen Fire Cleared!]

[Dungeon: Frozen Fire Closed!]

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Achievement Cleared: 

[Mithril] First to Clear a Level 8 Dungeon.

Rewards:

Class Items Scroll [Legendary] x2

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Back within the structure they had occupied before embarking on their journey, Lucy gazed blankly at the displayed achievement.

"Lucas, can our intelligence always lead us to clear dungeons?" she inquired, her eyes fixed on the pair of pristine scrolls resting on the floor.

Lucas, a person who rarely displayed his emotions, also stared avidly at the artifacts before him. Glancing occasionally at the words on the system notification, words that held immense significance in the realm of MMORPG video games, he couldn't help but gasp.

"Legendary!"