Behind the closed door...

*GRRrrrrr*

"What? Mutated humans? Even with mutation, how the hell can a human become such an abomination?" Robin cursed. Yet, the roar of the head-snatcher drowned it.

It charged at Aiden with its hand raised in the air. As soon as Aiden entered the range, the vice-like hand aimed for his head. However, he wasn't the same Aiden who needed help from ESS to fight.

One swing of his ice sword and a red line appeared on its body. At the next moment, the sliced up part of its body dropped to the ground, spraying red blood everywhere.

*Bang*

A bullet passed an inch away from Aiden's helmet and… *Grrrrrrrr*

"There are two more of them." Robin's words welcomed two more head-snatchers. But it didn't affect the outcome. A few more swings of the dwarven metal weapon and the wall got a paint job.

After confirming that there were no more enemies in the vicinity, Robin asked, "Could they be the researcher?"

"Only if they have volunteered themselves to be a lab rat."

"But how can you be so sure that they are not monsters, but human beings?"

Aiden didn't respond but continued to move forward. As Robin walked past the sliced up bodies of the so-called mutated human, he realized something, "The blood of these things is red, not blue…"

It made him more curious about Aiden's background. At first, he thought of the possibility that Aiden was an alien. But when he saw that Aiden could distinguish between monsters and humans in a single glance, he felt Aiden could truly be one.

'Well, whatever!' Robin rubbed his slave tattoo, 'It is not like that changes anything.' After a deep sigh, he continued to follow Aiden.

They soon passed through another dark area, and the mechanical recording was becoming clearer. Soon enough, they reached the area that looked like a junction. About five doors were leading to various laboratories. This was also the location where the recording was coming.

"What now?" Robin inquired, looking at the five doors. They had a plate that recorded the number of labs behind it. Out of which Aiden pointed at the only door that had no specifics of the lab it guarded.

"Authorized personnel only." Robin stepped closer to read what they had written on the door. And out of all the doors, it was the only door that they didn't create with a glass-like material.

"What are you looking for?" Robin couldn't help wondering. "The more I looked into your action, it felt like you're some kind of spy. Prying about the secrets of this lab?"

"Maybe an alien spy." Aiden's choice of words made Robin a little embarrassed. But he couldn't put a finger on Aiden's behavior.

As he looked closer, he found signs of assaults on the gate. Something had tried to enter with force and succeeded. The resultant cracks allowed chilly winds to leak. However, it didn't stop Aiden from entering. So he could only follow.

One step inside the door and he felt someone poured a bucket of ice water on him in the middle of the winter night. It was like a dense layer of cold cocoon wrapping over all his senses.

First, it was his ear. Even without using it, he could hear everything. The muffled groan, pain-induced sob, and silent cry. It wasn't just one or two of them. The more he listened, the more he realized that there were too many to count.

But that wasn't all. Like a rabbit under a hungry wolf's paw, something had caught him inside an inescapable cage. With each passing moment, the pressure on his chest intensified, sucking oxygen and warmth out of his body.

He wasn't sure it was too dark, or he had closed his eyes. Whatever it may be, he couldn't see anything. He was having a hard time breathing; he was losing his feeling in his limbs, and his throat was too dry to call for help.

"Help." Even after gathering all of his energy, that was all he could say. Or so he thought. Without the sense of hearing, he did not understand that it too sounded like an indistinguishable groan.

Like a doll without juice, he stood there with one leg inside the door. And his other leg was hanging in the air, waiting to come down. Slowly, a layer of frost covered his body, seeking to create an ice coffin around his body.

His consciousness diluted with each passing moment, and it was then that he felt that somebody tapped his shoulder. He felt a gust of warm mana spread from the touch in the next moment.

It was like a warm gust of wind, which washed away the coldness of his body. Strength returned to his body, so did his senses. It was only then that he could move again.

He wanted to say something. But his throat was too dry, his lungs were lacking air, and his awkward posture made him stumble. He remained on his knees until he could regain control of every part of his body.

The first thing that caught his attention was the not-so-thick ice shells on his feet. Ignoring that, he struggled to stand on his still weak legs.

"Don't worry. It is dead." He could hear Aiden's voice again.

He didn't realize what Aiden was talking about, but to Robin, those words were anything but reassuring. But it triggered his curiosity, 'What could induce so much pressure? Are you sure it is dead?'

Alas! No matter in which direction he looked, Robin couldn't locate the monster or human Aiden was talking about. Yet, he could always sense the power of the terrifying being.

"You should go outside. Staying here won't do you any good." Aiden's words didn't comfort at all, rather made him more curious. Aiden did not understand what was going through Robin's mind, so he added, "It's better not to see than see and regret it later."

Listening to Aiden's words, Robin frowned, but Aiden didn't elaborate anymore and walked away without looking back. Hesitant yet curious, Robin accompanied him.

The more he walked in, the more he felt that it was getting colder. And it wasn't just cold, even his auditory illusions were getting stronger. Lucky for him, the warm mana inside his body helped him to recover. Just a few moments later, something more disturbing caught his attention.

"What are those?" Maybe his voice was so loud that at the same time so many eyes turned to him. Even if they were lifeless, they still sent shivers down his spine. "What are they? Are they human?"

Looking at the human-like beasts inside the giant cages, Robin wasn't sure how he should react. Though they looked like humans, some of them had ice hands, some had ice legs. For a bizarre one, the chest was a block of blue ice.

"They were human. Now they are so-called mana beasts, the beast to harvest mana crystals." Rather than pain or shock, it was hate that overshadowed Aiden's vocal emotions.

"How can a human become…" Realizing the truth, Robin stopped in the mid-sentence. He hesitated a moment, but asked, "are they mutated humans?"

Aiden shook his head and said, "They're all farm animals, used to farm mana stones by the Federation."

"What the hell are you talking about? Is that even possible?" Robin's argument never left his lips. The more he looked at the people behind the bar, the more anger he felt.

A boy, not over six or seven years old, was sitting on the ground. His left leg had turned into a block of ice. It was the same thing with his forehead, too. Robin felt he was staring at him with his ice eyes as he continued to mumble in a nasal tone, "Mommy, Mommy."

He wasn't alone, either. The dead body of a woman with a head made of ice. A broken ice statue, which was a human before it fell on the floor. The girl with her frozen hand holding her beloved doll. The lady who transformed into a block of ice while holding a baby who was still crying.

Whether it was a man or a woman, old or young; it didn't matter. They could not escape their irreversible destiny. A fortunate few had already embraced death.

And all those who can still make sound kept groaning to prove their existence. With each passing moment, it was becoming intolerable for Robin. He rushed to Aiden and stopped him, "What's all this?"

He wasn't joking yet Aiden chuckled, "the so-called necessary payment for survival."

"What the fuck?" Robin cursed, "Don't joke with me. There is no way the federation would do something like this. Could it be the work of a rough scientist?"

Listening to him, Aiden couldn't help but laugh again, "This is the work of the Federation. Believe whatever you want."

"You are joking right!?" Looking at Robin's desperate struggle to conserve his faith, Aiden frowned, "Go outside and wait for me."

He was curious about them, about the monster, and many more things, but he couldn't ignore the effect of the tattoo. Robin glared at Aiden for a moment, but couldn't disobey.

Aiden didn't wait for him to go out of here, and he kept going deeper. The deeper he went, the quieter it became. The path widened a lot. The height of the cave increased to ten meters, and the width doubled. There were still cells on both sides. But those insides had already turned into blocks of ice.

And the frozen statues weren't only inside the cells, but there were also several frozen bodies outside the prison. First, there was one ice dwarf, then a pair of twin-headed ice trolls. Three circle ice trolls, jagged wolves, countless ice dwarves had frozen and turned into statues.

"Don't stop circulating your mana essence. As soon as you do, you will turn into a block of ice. You have already entered its domain." That was the third time that Mraz had seriously reminded him.

"I understand. But the question is, what is it?" If Mraz didn't urge him, he wouldn't have come down here and would have headed straight for a stronghold. But, having seen its effect, his interest increased.

"Didn't I tell you about the fire giant, the guardian of the core of the plane?" Aiden nodded, and Mraz continued, "If the fire giant was the guardian of the core, then the ice giant is the guardian of the plane above. Part of its remains is here"

"Part? The Essence crystal?"

"No. You will see it soon." Mraz didn't elaborate, so all Aiden could do was to move forward. There were no prison cells, neither were any frozen monsters.

A thick layer of ice was covering the rough stone floor. Even with the circulation of essence mana, he wasn't able to dispel the shivering cold that was affecting his body.

He gritted his teeth and kept on walking. It was then he saw it for the first time. It was almost eight meters in height, with a two-meter-long horn coming out of its forehead. It wasn't a full body, but it was just a giant severed head.

"This…" Aiden had already developed a very diverse understanding capacity that these giant beasts would no longer shock him. Still, the skull made him look twice. However, what attracted him most was the horn. It shone like a brilliant blue torch in the middle of the darkness.

Aiden took a few moments to calm down before he asked, "What the hell do you want me to do?"

"You should train here. With the amount of essence, you will have no problem in comprehending your first mana circle." Mraz's voice sounded satisfied, "you won't find a purer source of mana in this world. You should improve your control over the obelisk."

"Are those creatures not going to invade this place again?" Even though they left, there was no way to confirm that they would not come back again.

"What are you afraid of? Unless it is a seven-circle beast or has mana as pure as yours, they won't be able to come close to this place. Didn't you see those frozen trolls?"

"Okay" Aiden, too, was eager to enhance his strength. Even if it is a five-circle wolf, it still carries his totem. It should show a little respect for him. "But how should I do it?"