‘Queen’ referred to the most powerful individual among the monsters lurking in this area.
And the mana stone we had to destroy was always guarded by this Queen.
In other words, to destroy the mana stone and close the rift, we first had to defeat the Queen.
The hint I gave to the captain about me possibly being a mental manipulation type was also about this monster.
Meanwhile, the captain took out the mana detection item he had brought in advance.
He seemed to be trying to locate the Queen with it, but I spoke first.
“The item is not necessary. I can detect where the Queen is. The Queen is currently guarding the mana stone on the top floor of that visible castle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m certain.”
I could be confident.
Before the regression, the Queen of the 4th rift was also at the top of that castle.
However, I couldn’t say that I knew the Queen’s location because I was a regressor.
So this time too, I made up an excuse about detecting mana, but the captain seemed to believe it.
“That detection ability of yours is remarkable. To be able to sense mana from such a distance.”
“Thank you. Shall we move quickly then? I feel the poison in the air is particularly strong here.”
“Right. Let’s hurry.”
With our destination decided, we immediately set off.
The path was quiet.
But that didn’t mean we could relax.
Even excluding the Queen, various monsters were roaming around here.
Come to think of it, weren’t there a few dog-shaped monsters around here?
No sooner had I thought that than something large came slinking out from behind a withered tree nearby.
The same shape and movement as when I encountered it before the regression.
Thanks to that, I could easily identify what it was.
“It’s nothing special. I’ll take care of it.”
“Won’t your arm still be uncomfortable to move?”
“The forearm injury healed long ago. So now I need to stretch a bit.”
Hearing my words, the captain willingly stepped back.
I looked at his expression, wondering if he was worried, but there was no such sign.
He was just watching me expressionlessly as usual.
I nodded to him once, then gripped the sword at my waist.
Saa-ah-
As I grasped the sword while drawing up my ability, frost began to form on the white blade.
Soon, a cold air spread out in a circle around me, and then the ground around me froze slightly.
This was my ability.
My ability to freeze everything was chilling my sword, the air, and the ground.
Watching the grayish-white earth continue to freeze over white, the captain muttered.
“I always feel this, but your ability is really useful. Not many can manifest their power so visibly.”
“It’s not just the ability that’s useful. As you know, swordsmanship is what I’m really confident in.”
Meanwhile, the pack of dog monsters that had appeared one by one began to surround us.
And I sensed it.
The moment had come to show the captain the skills of 30-year-old Yulia, further developed over the past 5 years.
By then, the monster pack had completely surrounded us.
Monsters with sharp teeth several times larger than ordinary dogs.
They didn’t seem to regard the two humans who had entered their territory as anything more than prey.
Despite their usually cautious nature, they rushed at me without much reconnaissance.
Grrrr!!
The first to charge was the one that appeared to be the pack leader.
The grayish-brown furred leader quickly closed the distance, then leapt up from the ground.
It planned to pounce on me from above and bite my nape.
But its teeth never reached my neck.
Whoosh-!
I waited for it to jump into the air, then immediately swung my sword.
The swung blade didn’t directly touch the monster.
If an ordinary person had swung a sword like that, the monster would have taken no damage.
But my case was different.
Mana imbued with cold energy emanated from the sword I swung through the air and flew towards the monster.
Slash-
The sharp burst of mana, known as sword ki, cleanly sliced the monster’s neck in mid-air.
The leader that had charged first was thus neatly disposed of.
Grrrr…..
As the leader died helplessly, the other dogs surrounding us began to hesitate, frightened.
I hoped they would retreat, but they were stupider than I thought, and this time two of them rushed towards us.
They seemed to expect that I wouldn’t be able to dodge if they attacked simultaneously, but once again I showed them how wrong their judgment was.
Keeung…!!
Krruk!!
First, I slightly twisted my upper body to the side to avoid the one in front.
Then, using the body’s recoil, I slashed the one on the left.
Using the body’s elasticity to slash, I was able to cleanly cut the left dog in two.
I kept rotating my body while maintaining the speed of swinging the sword, and thus slashed the one that had just charged from the front from behind.
Kkaegaeng-!
There’s a common misconception among those who haven’t directly seen the Silver Knights fight.
The misconception that since it’s a knighthood composed only of awakened ones who use abilities, their skills excluding abilities would be unremarkable.
But that’s just a misconception.
Having a strong ability certainly gives an advantage in a fight, but that alone wasn’t enough to defeat monsters.
The enemies we face are far stronger beasts than ordinary animals.
That’s why we had to perfect every element we possessed.
Ability, martial arts, weapons – nothing could be lacking.
Kkaegaeng, kkaeng!
The two remaining dogs slowly backed away and then started to flee.
I briefly considered letting them escape, but ultimately raised my sword.
They might bring back another pack.
So I raised my sword vertically to the ground and thrust the blade firmly into the earth.
Immediately, the ground around where the sword was planted began to freeze over with a loud noise.
Jjeojeojeojok-!
Soon, sharp ice pillars began to rise from the frozen ground.
The ice pillars, spreading widely as they rose, finally impaled the two fleeing dogs.
Puk! Seeing the monsters instantly killed by being skewered on the ice, the captain showed interest from the side.
“What was that technique just now?”
“I devised it recently. As you saw, it makes sharp ice rise from the ground to impale monsters.”
I told the captain it was a technique I had just devised, but in fact, it was something I had created before the regression.
Was it when I was 28?
It was a technique I had originally used from 3 years later, but there was no reason I couldn’t use it now.
“It’s a decent technique. But there’s one flaw. It only works on enemies on the ground.”
The captain said this while gripping the halberd on his back.
Then, just as I had done earlier, he infused the weapon with mana and swung it through the air.
The mana contained in his halberd turned into pitch-black, hot flames and flew. Towards a tree near us.
Kkaegaeng-!
The last dog that had been hiding in the tree was instantly cut to pieces by his sword ki.
Black flames immediately caught on the corpse that fell to the ground and began to burn it without a trace.
After dispatching the last dog as if to advise me, the captain soon looked at me.
“When using that technique, be sure to check above. It won’t work on monsters at height.”
“I saw the one in the tree earlier, but left it for you in case you were bored, Captain.”
“Tch, your mouth is too quick.”
Seeing him put away his weapon without laughing at my light joke, I couldn’t help but smile.
It seemed nothing had changed at all.
Even before the regression, he was a man with little humor, befitting his nickname of ‘cold-blooded’.
It was because he was such a man that I hadn’t realized he cared for me until just before I died.
Of course, unlike the captain from 5 years later, the current captain probably genuinely dislikes me, but I didn’t feel particularly sad about it.
After all, if we spend 5 years together like this, his feelings towards me will change.
Right now, I just felt glad to see the captain’s unchanging demeanor.
Meanwhile, he urged me in a gruff voice.
“Don’t stand there blankly, let’s go. Don’t you sense any other monsters?”
“Yes. Apart from the ones we just dealt with, there’s nothing nearby. All that’s left is-”
“Just the Queen, I suppose.”
The Queen of the 4th rift. A powerful monster with mental manipulation ability.
Before the regression, half of the members we had brought lost their lives because of that monster.
Recalling that time, I felt my facial muscles involuntarily tighten.
Seeing me like that, the captain unexpectedly said,
“No need to be tense. What you’re worried about won’t happen.”
It was just a simple remark, but it felt like it cleared away the fog of worry that had filled my mind.
That’s right, this time the same thing as before the regression won’t be repeated.
Believing this, I started to move, following behind the captain who was walking ahead.
[This is the timeline separator]The mana stone and the Queen were located on the very top floor of the old castle.
As a result, we had to climb an endless spiral staircase to meet that esteemed Queen.
Continuously ascending stone steps.
As I moved my legs endlessly, taking in the repetitive scenery, my head was starting to feel numb when-
“We’ve arrived. This is the final floor.”
Hearing the captain’s words, I raised my head and indeed saw the end of the staircase.
Climbing up, there was a corridor, and right in front was a door.
I remembered that old, rusted door clearly.
Before the regression too, the monster had been waiting for us beyond that door.
Before opening the door, the captain first gestured for me to reduce my presence.
I, who had already reduced my presence, nodded slightly and then gripped my weapon.
Now we just needed to open the door, but for some reason, the captain added a comment before entering.
“There’s one thing I want to warn you about.”
“What is it?”
“It probably won’t happen, but if I lose my sense of self to the Queen’s ability and attack you-”
“You want me to stab and kill you without hesitation, right? I won’t do that.”
The captain looked a bit surprised.
I wasn’t sure if he was surprised that I had guessed what he was going to say, or if he was surprised by my answer.
Hearing his next words, it seemed to be the latter.
“Why won’t you kill me? Does my order not sound like an order?”
“Yes, I think it’s a strange order. Why would I kill you, Captain?”
“You’re the one saying strange things. Deep down, don’t you want to kill me?”
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
