"Looks like we're getting close to the core," Ile muttered to herself, looking at the tiger corpse in her hand.

  "What core?" Eric asked.

  "The center of this maze. I came here for whatever's at the heart of it," she replied.

  Eric wisely kept quiet after that.

  "Guess there's no time to waste. That guy Kate is probably ahead of us."

  "Kate?"

  "That annoying missionary."

  "Ready?" she asked.

  "Huh?" Eric was confused, realizing he was already tucked into her waist. When had that happened? So fast he couldn't even see the movement! And there was no feeling of soft flesh—just the hard armor against his hard bones.

  "You're so skinny," Ile commented, hefting him a bit.

  "..." What did she expect from a skeleton?

  Then, the scenery around them blurred as they moved at an incredible speed. To Eric, it was like being the Flash. So fast! This was the speed of a top-tier warrior.

  Eric clutched his staff, now basically a human magic lantern being held by Ile for light. She zipped through the passages like a bullet, the surroundings blurring into nothingness. When she finally stopped and planted her feet, Eric's legs felt a bit wobbly.

  "We're here," Ile said.

  Eric looked up, raised his staff, and in the light, a grand crystal palace appeared before them.

  "This is the center of the maze?" he asked.

  "Yep, let's go in," Ile said, standing beside him and pushing open the massive palace doors.

  A cold wind swept in, along with a bunch of crystal monsters—seemed like crystal golems. And not just one, but a whole horde of them charging at them.

  Eric could feel that any one of those golems could easily slice him in half.

  "Light," Ile said, stepping forward and putting on her helmet, hiding that breathtaking face of hers.

  Eric quickly raised his staff high, poured mana into it, and the light shone brightly throughout the crystal palace.

  And Ile was already in motion.

  In an instant, she disappeared from sight. All Eric could see was a purple blur zipping through the crystal golems. Wherever the blur passed, the golems shattered into pieces.

  "Keep up!" Ile shouted.

  A path of crystal golem debris had already been cleared in front of Eric, and he hurried to follow.

  They kept pushing forward until they reached the very center of the palace. There was a throne made of a single massive crystal. And on the throne, a huge, ice-like greatsword was embedded. A bony arm was still gripping the hilt of the sword.

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  Ile, in her purple blur, lunged for the greatsword. It was clear she was after that sword. But just as she was about to touch it, the bony hand holding the ice sword suddenly let go and reached for Ile.

  Ile didn't expect the bony arm to move. She didn't dodge but swung her greatsword hard at the bony arm. There was a clang, and the bony arm was knocked away.

  Ile stood steadily in front of the throne, took off her helmet, and looked at the ice sword embedded in the crystal throne.

  "Finally, got it," she said, planting her greatsword beside her and reaching out to grip the hilt of the ice sword.

  A gust of cold wind instantly rose from the position of the ice sword, blowing outwards. Frost immediately covered Ile's gauntlets, and her purple hair was blown back by the cold wind. The frost spread up her gauntlets and quickly covered her entire armor.

  But Ile didn't let go; instead, she gripped the hilt tighter and slowly pulled the ice sword out.

  "Not bad, not bad," a golden figure slowly descended and floated beside the throne, clapping. It was that missionary, Kate.

  The cold wind swept past Kate but was deflected to the sides by her golden holy light.

  "What do you want?" Ile asked.

  "We agreed on fair competition earlier," Kate said.

  "So I'm waiting for you to pull the sword out and then we'll have a fair competition," she continued. "Not everyone has monster strength like you. With my thin arms and legs, I'd probably freeze to death the moment I touch the sword," Kate said, lifting her sleeve to show her fair, slender arm.

  Of course, Eric's arms were even fairer and more slender.

  "Hmph, once I pull the sword out, you're welcome to try," Ile snorted.

  "Haha, this sword isn't that simple," Kate said. "Can you feel your strength slipping away bit by bit?"

  Ile didn't speak, but her expression grew serious.

  "The Frostbound Sword, a famous blade of the Lantes United Kingdom, once worn by the Lantes king and later bestowed upon the founding knight Albert. It has the power to seal away the strength of whoever touches it, bit by bit. By the time you pull this sword out, your strength will probably be completely sealed," Kate explained.

  "Although it might seem a bit underhanded, the church is determined to get this sword," she added.

  Watching Kate talking with Ile on the throne, Eric kept muttering, "Can't see me, can't see me, can't see me," while carefully inching towards the bony arm that Ile had knocked away. Luckily, it wasn't far from him.

  Soon, Eric reached the bony arm, hooked it with his foot, and pulled it into his hand. It was a right arm bone.

  Eric carefully removed his own right arm bone. Just then, Kate looked in Eric's direction.

  "We sure have a knack for running into each other," she said. "How about you give the Goddess of Light a try?"

  "Let him go. He just accidentally fell into the hidden maze," Ile, who was pulling the sword, finally spoke.

  "Whoa!" Kate said, surprised. "No way, Ile, have you really sunk so low as to take an interest in a guy like him?"

  Kate seemed to have found something amusing and looked Eric up and down.

  "Kid, since that's the case, you can go," she said.

  But instead of leaving, Eric walked towards Ile.

  "A mutual crush? By the Goddess of Light, do you guys mind if I officiate this wedding?" But no one paid him any attention.

  "You should leave. His goal is just the Frostbound Sword; he won't do anything to me," Ile said, her purple hair now speckled with ice crystals, making it even more dazzling.

  "Bone Mutation," Eric took a deep breath and connected the arm bone to his skeleton.

  In an instant, a tearing force filled his entire body, and his bones creaked under the strain.

  "What's wrong with you?" Ile asked, her voice tinged with a hint of panic as she saw Eric collapse beside her.

  Eric couldn't speak; his throat bones had shattered. "Constitution boost!" he managed to open his panel and put the life-saving points into his constitution.

  Instantly, a surge of strength came from deep within him, healing the shattered bones. He barely managed to keep from falling apart.

  Eric shakily got up, reached out, and covered Ile's hands with his own. Then he spoke.

  "Pull the sword."

  Together, they exerted force. The frosty power became even more violent, as if it had intensified several times in an instant. And the Frostbound Sword actually came out a good length.

  "By the Goddess of Light, what's going on?" Kate was stunned.

  "A miracle of love?" she joked.

  Ile didn't understand what was happening either, but she knew Eric was helping her. The power in her arms finally found an outlet and stopped ravaging Eric's body.

  But then, the oncoming cold wind coated Eric's body and hands with another layer of frost. His bones felt like they were about to shatter from the cold.

  Ile pulled Eric into her embrace like a mother hen protecting her chick, shielding him from the cold wind. Only then did Eric feel a bit better.