How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game-Chapter 703: A Giant Dream

Gallan was dreaming.

In his dream, he walked leisurely across the vast snowy plains of the northern continent.

The wind was cold, but it carried a familiar scent—the scent of freedom and the wild lands that had always belonged to his people.

Around him were the members of his tribe.

Frost Giants.

Warriors with towering bodies and booming laughter that echoed across the frozen valleys.

Together they traveled across the north, exploring ancient glaciers, conquering dangerous beasts, and claiming territories that no other race dared to approach.

It was the life he had always envisioned.

A life of adventure.

A life of conquest.

A life where the Frost Giants stood proudly at the top of the northern lands once more.

Eventually, in the dream, they settled upon a massive mountain peak.

From there they could see the endless white wilderness stretching beyond the horizon.

It was their land.

Their kingdom.

A prosperous and glorious life awaited them.

One where Gallan led the Frost Giants back to their former greatness.

One where their tribe’s name would be sung in stories throughout the continent.

A legend reborn.

And most importantly—

A life where they were finally free from the burden that had shackled them for generations.

The burden his ancestors had passed down.

The chain that bound their tribe.

A single word that Gallan had always despised.

Loyalty.

...

"I welcome the esteemed guest."

Gallan’s deep voice echoed through the hall.

When Riley entered the Frost Giants’ mansion—more specifically the residence assigned to the Frost Giant Chieftain Gallan, one of the Frost Queen’s generals—he was greeted by a rather unexpected sight.

The first thing Riley noticed was the interior.

Almost everything in the Ice Castle had been constructed entirely from enchanted ice—walls, pillars, floors, even decorative structures.

Yet inside the Frost Giant mansion...

There was wood.

Large wooden tables.

Massive carved chairs.

Even support beams made from thick dark timber.

The contrast was striking.

The furniture was clearly crafted for giants—each chair large enough that a normal human would need to climb onto it.

Still, Riley could immediately tell the place wasn’t crude.

The wood was polished and engraved with runic carvings and tribal patterns.

Despite their reputation as brutal warriors, the Frost Giants clearly possessed their own form of culture and craftsmanship.

As expected, the mansion itself was also layered with complex celestial magic.

The interior space had been expanded far beyond what the outer structure suggested.

The enormous hall easily accommodated dozens of Frost Giants moving about without feeling cramped.

For them, this probably felt like an ordinary house.

Just properly scaled for their size.

Riley calmly observed the surroundings as he walked further inside.

At the center of the hall sat Gallan himself.

The Frost Giant Chieftain.

Last time Riley had seen him was inside the Frost Queen’s throne room.

Back then, Gallan had remained silent and composed, giving away almost nothing about his thoughts or intentions.

But seeing him here now...

It was different.

Up close, Gallan didn’t seem like the type of giant who bothered hiding his emotions.

His eyes were sharp.

His posture relaxed but powerful.

There was a clear intensity in the way he looked at Riley—like a warrior studying another warrior.

Not hostility.

But certainly not simple politeness either.

This was a man who carried ambition.

And unlike the cold, unreadable demeanor of the Frost Queen...

Gallan didn’t seem interested in concealing it.

"So," Riley said calmly, folding his arms as he looked up at the towering giant, "why did you call me here, Chief?"

He didn’t bother with unnecessary formalities.

From the moment he stepped into the mansion, Riley had already understood what kind of person the Frost Giant chieftain was.

Part of that understanding came from memory.

After all, Riley was already familiar with Gallan from the game.

And now that he had met him personally, the difference wasn’t that great.

Sure, there were some surprises here and there—subtle changes that came from the difference between a living person and a character written into a game’s story.

But at his core...

Gallan was still the same chieftain Riley remembered.

Behind the giant’s calm posture lay a quiet arrogance.

A powerful sense of ambition.

A man who clearly had his own goals and desires.

Those things were hidden deep within his gaze.

But to Riley, they weren’t hard to see.

And frankly, he didn’t feel like wasting time circling around the point.

This was already the second invitation he had received in just a few hours.

First from the Frost Queen.

Now from the Frost Giant chieftain.

He had no intention of playing polite games all day.

Since Gallan didn’t seem like someone as reserved or distant as the Frost Queen, Riley figured the best approach was simply being direct.

And it seemed his judgment was correct.

The subtle tension between them eased slightly.

Then Gallan let out a low chuckle as a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I like that," the giant said.

"You get straight to the point, human."

"Well," Riley replied casually, "if you didn’t call me here for nothing, you’d want the same thing too, right?"

He tilted his head slightly.

"Besides... your movements are probably being monitored by your queen anyway."

"Kuku..."

Gallan let out a deep laugh, the sound rumbling through the hall.

"That is true."

Exchanging only a few words with Riley already gave the Frost Giant chieftain a strange sense of familiarity.

A sense of likeness.

Yet despite that...

Gallan still held animosity toward the human standing before him.

After all—

Riley had slaughtered every Frost Giant sent to stop him.

Without mercy.

For a declining race like theirs, every member mattered.

Every warrior.

Every hunter.

Every child.

Their numbers had already been dwindling for generations.

So, losing that many warriors in a single battle...

It was a heavy blow to the survival of their tribe.

And yet—

Gallan could not simply treat Riley as an enemy.

Not here.

Not now.

Because the human standing before him...

Was a guest of the Frost Queen.

And he was a being even he could not fully understand yet.

Despite his arrogant nature as a member of one of the few high races in the world, Gallan was not a fool when it came to battle.

Arrogance without awareness was the trait of weak leaders.

And Gallan had not survived this long by being blind to reality.

He knew very well that there had to be a reason why merely two humans had been able to cut through the monster waves they sent so effortlessly.

Not only that—

They had even brought down several of the Frost Giants’ elites as if it were nothing more than a casual skirmish.

That alone was enough to prove something important.

The human standing before him, Riley... and the girl currently undergoing the Frost Queen’s trial...

They were not ordinary.

Not even close.

In fact, Gallan suspected they might be even more dangerous than the white swordsman guarding the southern part of the northern continent.

Someone the Frost Giants had long learned not to provoke.

And because of that understanding, Gallan also knew something else.

Trying to pursue something as petty as vengeance right now would be pointless.

Charging blindly at an enemy he could not defeat would accomplish nothing.

Dying for pride alone would only bring shame to his tribe.

Besides...

He believed his fallen tribesmen had already died with honor.

Or at least—

He hoped they had.

Because Gallan had seen the battle.

Through one of the many observation crystals he possessed.

Special artifacts placed throughout the dungeon and its surroundings, allowing him to monitor key areas whenever necessary.

As the one who had authority over the dungeon’s entrance, he had direct access to several of those viewing points.

And what he saw through them...

Was something he could not easily forget.

He saw it clearly.

The moment Riley stood before the dead demonic cultists.

The moment the human extended his hand.

And then—

The moment he siphoned the black divinity from their bodies.

That sight alone had told Gallan something important.

The man standing before him...

Was not simply strong.

He was abnormal.

’This human is connected to something ill-fated...’

That was the conclusion Gallan had reached after observing Riley.

The power he displayed.

The strange ability to manipulate divinity.

The ease with which he dealt with enemies that even Frost Giants treated with caution.

All of it pointed to something abnormal.

Something dangerous.

And Gallan was not someone who would ignore such an omen.

He was a man who still had dreams to achieve.

Dreams far greater than the frozen castle they currently served under.

Because of that, an anomaly like Riley could not simply be left alone to interfere with those plans.

If the human became a threat...

Then he had to be removed from the equation.

Or at the very least—

Prevented from interfering.

"My name is Gallan," the giant said, straightening his posture slightly. "Chieftain of the Frost Giants of the Frozen Castle."

His deep voice echoed through the hall as he spoke with unusual seriousness.

"Honorable guest... powerful human..."

"I have need of your favor."

Riley raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Favor?"

"Yes."

Gallan nodded calmly.

"Do not worry. It is not a difficult favor."

He leaned slightly forward, his massive presence casting a shadow across the hall.

"All you need to do... is ignore everything that will happen in this castle from now on."

For a brief moment, silence hung between them.

"And in exchange," Gallan continued, "I will tell you the location of the castle’s dungeon core."

Riley’s expression finally changed.

"I believe knowing about it will give you more leverage in your current situation,"

The giant continued evenly.

"As well as an instant guarantee for your lover’s safety."

"...!"

Riley’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"...You understand what you’re saying, right?"

"Yes."

Gallan answered without hesitation.

For a monster—or rather, a dungeon general—to willingly reveal the location of the dungeon core was unthinkable.

That core was the heart of the entire dungeon.

Destroy it, and everything within the dungeon would collapse.

Revealing its location to an outsider...

Was nothing less than treason.

While Riley was still processing what Gallan had just proposed, the Frost Giant chieftain continued speaking.

"And as another guarantee..."

"I will also tell you the location of the robed humans who entered this dungeon."

That sentence instantly sharpened Riley’s gaze.

Robed humans.

There were only a few people inside this dungeon who fit that description.

And it definitely wasn’t him.

Nor was it Snow.

Which meant only one thing.

The evil god cultists he had encountered earlier.

"They seem to be connected to you in an ill-fated way,"

Gallan said slowly, watching Riley carefully.

"Does this pique your interest, human?"

Hearing those words, Riley finally realized something.

Gallan wasn’t joking.

He wasn’t probing.

He was completely serious about what he was offering.

Riley had expected many things from the Frost Giant chieftain.

Hostility.

Suspicion.

Even veiled threats.

But one thing he had never expected...

Was betrayal....