The area they had entered was way above their level. There wasn’t even time to check what exactly was slowly coming out to hunt.

They moved by hiding continuously, holding their breaths and burying themselves into the snow just to escape the gaze of what were bear-like creatures with distorted skulls and spikes growing out of their body. Their saliva dripped down from their open jaws, huge paws crushing the snow under them. They were twice as big as a polar bear, with their levels displayed as over a hundred.

And this state, they knew, was with lowered numbers. After 24 hours, the monster amount would have reached its full level.

“Go, go, go!” Bloody hissed the words under his breath. “There! There’s a cliff!”

Ice tried to steady his steps on the uneven ground as they dashed the last bit forward towards what revealed itself to be a roughly circular indentation in the middle of the mountain. It was a huge crater.

They crawled the last steps towards the edge, peering over it, and held their breath.

The hole did not seem to end at all. It stretched into deep darkness, making one wonder if someone had tried to drill their way through the planet.

A crystal net, like made of spiders’ silk, created a delicate platform, parts of it growing up the wall like the branches of trees.

In the middle of it stood the lonely castle, as brittle as if made out of sugar.

It was almost glowing in the sunlight - the translucent ornaments decorating it shining like jewels, while the perfectly white material of the walls seemed as soft as snow.

The players held their breath.

Bloody was marvelling at the beautiful architecture, but Ice was staring at another corner - the single entrance to the castle, which was open.

A lone figure - tiny, considering the distance - stood in front of it, head tilted up. It turned, walking inside, a long robe dragging over the ground with the movement.

Ice opened his mouth, when excruciating pain blocked out any sort of feeling.

The world turned black, only showing a dry piece of text:

[Killed by an Irritable Snow Snapper.

Do you wish to revive in Midsummer City?]

Ice did not need to vocally confirm it. The world turned completely black once more, only to return to light a couple of seconds later.

When players respawned, there were fixed areas - which the NPCs believed to be linked to their curse or blessing. The spawn point for Midsummer City was a pretty little corner near a temple, where either for fun or by accident the developers had placed a shallow pond.

The Ice Emperor groaned loudly at waking up. He rubbed his head, feeling his whole body ache after he had been killed. It always made him a bit dizzy, but he didn’t like lowering the settings - it made everything feel less real.

“Bleh.”

Next to him, Bloody dragged a leaf of a water lily off his head.

The nuns coming out were already used to people appearing in their pond. They giggled behind lifted hands and came over to help the two up and offer them a place to dry.

With a warm tea in hand and a towel on his head, Bloody checked his experience points. Despite being prepared, he winced.

“Ah well”, he mumbled. “It will be easier to get back once we train in the new area. Did you get killed by the Irritable Snow Snapper as well?”

“Yes. I didn’t even see it.” Ice rubbed a towel over his hair. The long hairstyle felt like a second nature to him; he was almost tempted to let his real hair grow out as well to match it. If only he wasn’t worried about standing out, he might have done so.

“I think the castle might be a special area. We are probably supposed to explore it later on. Are you okay with that? Or do you want to try again?”

“No.” Ice shook his head, remembering the figure who had seen but ignored him. It was a hard decision for him to take, but the most logical one. “I’ll go again when I can reach the correct level.”

“Alright! Let’s get to filling out the map, levelling and finding you a mount then! Maybe there’s another wyvern around that you will like? Did you want to go for another flying mount?”

“I’ll decide when I see them.” The Ice Emperor took up a new towel, continuing to dry his hair. “A little pet is fine too. I just want to like it.”

“We should buy some monster food in preparation. The high-class stuff. That will raise the chances of one accepting you. My guild has a player who sells for a good price, we can go to her!”

With the way Haven was created, the game also attracted a lot of lifestyle players that simply wanted to enjoy the world.

Those players were just as valuable as any fighter - what they sold was often of higher quality than what the NPCs created, and they could learn and follow a party around. Having an alchemist, cook and smith around you was very convenient.

Haven had a large number of lifestyle professions that could be learned. They had a separate level from the general character’s level.

Most players learned some basics in cooking or crafting, but they wouldn’t reach a level where they could sell things.

Ice himself had a low cooking skill, but his crafting and alchemy was acceptable for a fighter. His crafting skill had been raised accidentally when he had started making ice sculptures as practise. If he wasted the mana, there were a lot of fancy things he could create.

They’d all melt after a while, though.

“That would be kind.” Finally, Ice was done with his hair. He carefully put it back up and looked at Bloodless Sunset, who was happily dripping everywhere. “Are you not going to dry yourself?”

“It’s warm enough. It will dry by itself.” Bloody shrugged.

“I’ll… help you”, Ice offered after some hesitation. He hadn’t done that kind of thing before, but considering that Bloody was a friend and a very easy-going person, he was willing to help.

The Ice Emperor stood up, taking place behind Bloody. He couldn’t simply rub the towel over the other’s head - there were ears in the way after all - so he worked through it corner by corner. It felt a bit like taking care of a large, fluffy dog.

Bloody was laughing softly, his eyes narrowed happily.

The nuns passing by the room were quiet, not disturbing the two of them. Foreigners were weird anyway, they were not ones to judge what was normal and what wasn’t.

One of them entered the room, carrying a tray with a letter. His smile was gentle without any hidden intentions. “You’re the Ice Emperor, am I right? I have a letter for you.”

“Thank you very much”, Ice responded equally kindly. The nun smiled wider - she was used to the Foreigners treating them differently, but as she had heard, the man in front of her wasn’t the same. “For the towels, too.”

“You are helping keep us safe. This is the least we can do.”

Ice took the letter and opened it. Despite its official-looking appearance, the text itself was quite leisurely written. It was in stark contrast to the royal seal at the end of the page.

“What is it?” Bloody twisted in his seat, trying to take a glance.

“The prince asks me to come by the next time I am here. He said it’s fine to bring any companions that are with me at the time along. Do you want to go?”

“Of course! Getting along with the prince is pretty useful. I think my hair is dry, so we can go immediately.”

Ice brought the towels away, once again thanking the nuns for their service and repeating that if they were in need of help, they shouldn’t hesitate mentioning it. The mood was warm and sweet, a sight that most players never saw. They treated NPCs as fake people, and the response they got was equally distanced.

Bloody leaned against a wall, watching Ice. There weren’t many people who could treat this place as much as a second home as Ice did.

They didn’t bother covering themselves with their cloaks when they left. This was the capital, where rankers were common to see - at least they wouldn’t stick out too much.

“I haven’t even been to the capital that often.” Bloody stretched, enjoying the warmer temperatures compared to the mountain. “Since my guild is in Southwall, there’s no real reason for me to come here.”

Southwall was a city almost the size of the capital, but much more south of the map. It was mostly flat terrain, with many meadows and thin forests, closer to the currently locked desert compared to the mountains in the north.

Haven’s guild system was not too different from other games. You needed a guild permit to create one, which could be earned through a rather annoying quest, and then could hand it in once you were over level 40 and had at least ten other people of the same level to join it immediately. Later members had no level restriction.

Guilds had to be controlled completely by the players themselves - you could employ an NPC as a manager, but the players had to pay and confirm the changes the NPC wanted to make. The larger a guild, the messier things would get, especially because the cities expected the guilds to keep an eye on their members. If players within a guild caused a larger mess, the guild might be held accountable.

That was why guilds were filled with people that the leader could trust enough to behave.

Guilds had a number of advantages. The prestige of the guild could make it easier to gain jobs, quests and the friendliness of NPCs. You could order items in a bunch, which would lower the price, and most guilds had personal smiths and alchemists that made it convenient to order what you needed.

The guild hall was a designated building - of whatever size - that any guild needed to have. This was where the city guard would go if a member caused trouble, for example. It was very useful because many guilds created free living  space to log out, and they had storages where players could place their items safely.

Personal houses were very expensive, which only increased the attraction of guilds.

“You’re planning on buying a piece of land sooner or later, aren’t you? Was it around here?”

“Yes and no…” Ice lowered his eyes and smoothened out some creases on his clothes as he walked. “The prince said he will notify me if there’s a suitable place.”

What Ice wanted wasn’t just a piece of land. He wanted to have a safe little house, which meant that he needed no random area, but one that was part of a city, like an NPC would get. The inhabitants of Haven didn’t like the thought of the Foreigners living in their midst, though. Ultimately, they regarded the players as travellers, not as people who were here to stay. Buying a house in the city was something that no player had managed to do yet.

The most you could do was rent a guild hall, and even then there were restrictions for the rooms.

The only reason why Ice had a chance at all was because he was friends with the prince and generally well-liked.

The royal guards in front of the castle recognized Ice, saluting him with smiles and opening the gate for him. The royal castle looked like a classic right out of a movie, with a huge garden and countless guards patrolling around. They were into the left wing of the building, a place for visitors.

Damien came to greet them and led them into a small but overwhelmingly lavish room, where they were to sit down. Bloody sat stiffly, arms tense and back straight while a couple of maids brought refreshments.

“Since you’re here so soon, I reckon the exploration did not go well?”, Damien asked in his smooth, velvety voice. He kindly handed Ice his usual cup of tea before turning to Bloodless Sunset. “May I bring you something to drink as we wait?”

“No, thank you”, Bloody awkwardly mumbled, feeling awed at how relaxed Ice was in this setting.

“The monsters on the mountain are good at hiding and strike swiftly”, Ice responded to Damien’s question, who merely nodded in understanding.

It took a  couple of quiet minutes until the door was opened again and Prince Altair walked in.

Altair was a fairytale prince. He had long golden locks tied up with a green band and equally emerald green eyes. His teeth were perfectly white, showing through his charming smile. The tall man spread his arms in a welcoming gesture that somehow managed to be both friendly and dominating. “Ice Emperor! I’d say it’s a shame to see you again so soon due to the circumstances, but I’m always happy to have you around. How are you? How was the mountain?”

Bloody sat quietly, completely ignored. The prince sat down opposite of them, focused on Ice in such a natural way that it didn’t even come off as an insult.

“Cold”, Ice said after some consideration. “There are regular blizzards, I believe.”

“There sure are. Killed some of our people, too.” The prince sighed and leaned back. He crossed his legs and folded his hands comfortably. “Good that you people are exploring it now. At least you won’t die - well, not really. This is your companion?”

Altair switched topics as he pleased, displaying a willfulness that Ice was used to from noble NPCs. This was that kind of world. In the eyes of the NPCs, the players could be respected, but nobility was obviously above them.

“Yes. This is Bloodless Sunset, who was exploring with me.” Ice introduced Bloody, who lowered his head in greeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”

Prince Altair nodded, pleased. “The reason I called you here, Ice Emperor, was because I got a late report about the mountain exploration that I would like for you to confirm. The messenger had been unconscious for two weeks, which was why it only came now, and by then you had already left for the mountain. Well, no matter!”

He waved his hand and Damien bowed. The beastman went to the door, leaving without a single sound.

“Anyway - there is a report about a castle in the mountains. None of my people managed to approach it, but we can’t have another castle in my kingdom, right? Right.” Prince Altair clapped his hands together, looking delighted. “Since you’re reliable and I trust you, I’d like you to lead a little group of Foreigners to find out if anyone lives in that castle.”

The two players flinched when a quest window appeared in front of them. They had just made plans, and they were destroyed by this single window.

【World quest - A castle made of ice

Prince Altair is worried about a supposed castle in the northern mountains.
Find out if what he heard is true.

Optional: Offer proof that there is or isn’t anyone living in the mountains
Optional: Offer proof that the origin of the report is hostile or non-hostile/Offer proof that the castle’s origin is hostile or non-hostile

Limited quest (can only be shared by Prince Altair)
Duration: 1 month

Warning!
Success or failure will be determined according to the situation. Reward or punishment will be calculated depending on the outcome.】

Ice’s eye twitched.

He knew that the castle existed, but the quest made one thing clear - they could hide it. It was completely up to them which information they’d relay to the prince.

This was a world quest.

Depending on what they did, factions might change, might be created, relationships would develop. There was no telling what would happen, and what exactly their reward or punishment might be. This kind of quest was entirely dependent on the reactions and relationships of the NPCs.