Book 19: Chapter 2 (6)

s.h.i.+n followed Tieras gaze to see what was wrong, and saw something buried in the snow.

It was about 1-mel high and a little wider. Through the piled-up snow, he could see what looked like sharp tree branches.

There was no reaction on the map. The vibe coming from it wasnt that of a living creature, either.

This iswhoa, for real.

Half buried in the snow was a deer.

Not a monster. But a wild deer. Six of them.

The small ones were about 1-mel and the big ones were probably 2-mel. They were lying on the ground, snuggled up against each other. It turned out that the deers antlers were the things protruding from the snow.

No external injuries. Probably froze to death.

There are others like that, too.

After examining the deers body, s.h.i.+baid announced the cause of death, Filma, who had looked around, found a similar small pile of snow.

Looking through the snow with [Through Sight], she saw, in addition to the deer, other animals cuddled up to each other and dead.

Dont animals that live in places like this know how to avoid the cold?

Yeah, but it was probably useless. Look over there, see how all those little animals gathered around the bear.

Predators and prey were huddled together, trying to keep warm. They must have been in such dire straits for such a thing to happen.

Looks like it hasnt been long since the weather got worse, so they couldnt handle it.

If we dont hurry, this mountain ecosystem will be destroyed, and so will the city.

Some reactions were still being registered on the map, most likely animals.

They were probably taking shelter in caves or other places where they could escape the cold, Tiera said.

s.h.i.+n and his party picked up the pace, running up the mountain without pausing.

They crossed an alt.i.tude of 2,000-mel from the foot of the mountain. And then walked further and deeper into the mountains.

s.h.i.+n thought that climbing too high in one stretch might cause alt.i.tude sickness, Chosen Ones or not, but Schnee said that Chosen Ones could flexibly cope with such climatic changes.

As a matter of fact, they didnt feel suffocated even after 3,000-mel.

After crossing over the elevation of the clouds that had been dumping snow relentlessly, a strong wind hit his cheeks. The bizarre snow piles were no more to be seen, and from there onward, the ground was covered in ice instead of snow.

Then, at an alt.i.tude of over 4,000-mel, s.h.i.+n stopped.

Okay, so we cant just keep blasting through from here on out.

Until now, most of the animals and monsters had fled when they sensed the presence of s.h.i.+n and the others.

However, the area beyond s.h.i.+ns gaze, an area that could be called another world where the ground and trees were frozen, imparted no feeling of trepidation.

As if to say, this marks the end of the area with only low-level monsters that would flee at the mere sign of them, and the ice-covered ground spread out before s.h.i.+n and his party as though it was inviting its prey. The ice-covered ground had also transformed into something more mysterious, emanating a bluish-white glow.

Does this mean that were now inside the dominion field?

You dont think it knows we are coming and is lying in wait for usdo you?

Filma and Setys questions were prompted by the presence of a being standing on the ice-covered ground.

Its a monster that sometimes appears as a gatekeeper. Theres nothing strange about it.

The monster with the human face hidden behind a helmet, gazed silently at s.h.i.+n and his party. And stamping on the ground with the legs of a tiger.

The name of the monster, which was sometimes a.s.signed as a gatekeeper or a guardian of treasure chests, as s.h.i.+baid said, was Zhen Guo.

It should be noted that this monster possessed a translucent crystal-like appearance.

And thus, would change its appearance depending on the environment: where the attribute is inclined toward fire, its entire body would turn into lava; and if inclined toward water, it would turn into flowing water, and so on.

The upper body of a warrior in armor was growing out of the tigers torso, which always remained the same regardless of the attribute, and the fighting style for each attribute was unique, with different weapons for each attribute.

For fire, a great sword; earth, a hammer; wind, a bow; lightning, a sword & s.h.i.+eld; light, a whip; and darkness, a dagger. Water and ice were both spears, but with the water variant being a long spear and ice being a short spear.

They fall between level 600 and 700. With the Zhen Guo in front of them being at Lv. 648.

Were not here to mess with the divine beast, so could you please let us through.

The Zhen Guo was already poised for battle with a short spear in both hands. The reason it hadnt made a move on s.h.i.+n and the others was probably because they had yet to cross the line, which clearly indicated a boundary line.

Youre sure Miraltrea is just up ahead?

The route to this point is exactly as shown on the map, so Im pretty sure.

Berett checked the map and nodded.

s.h.i.+n nodded back and put his hand on the blade around his waist.

The handle was all black with a crimson tsuba* that resembled a flame. And a black scabbard with a burning flame painted on it. The black blade, which was pulled out, also had red ripples floating around it like flames. (TLN: Sword guard or f.l.a.n.g.e)

A superior ancient-grade katana. The name of the blade was Scorching Blade. It stood among the best fire-attribute blades, bearing the name of h.e.l.l.

Leave it to me.

Saying that, s.h.i.+n stepped forward alone with the Scorching Blade in his hand.

Although the gesture was aimed at the Zhen Guo, which didnt attack until he stepped forward even after he had drawn his weapon.

However, the more important reason was to show the adversaries who were watching from the shadows how strong the one who came forward was.

To show that he could overpower the Zhen Guo one on one. It would send a better message than if they defeated it with numbers. Now, If they were to feel threatened and choose to flee, it would make things a whole lot easier on s.h.i.+n and his party.

s.h.i.+n, a member of Rokuten.

Stepping into the bluish-white ice world, s.h.i.+n held up the Scorching Blade and announced his name. The way Zhen Guo remained quiet even after taking up its stance prompted s.h.i.+n to do so.

The Zhen Guo did not attack until s.h.i.+n had finished saying his name and had his Scorching Blade at the ready.

When s.h.i.+n finished giving his name, the Zhen Guo struck its short spears together as if returning the gesture, and took a stance.

Perhaps because the upper bodies of the two were in the shape of warriors, it was as if they were engaged in a single combat.

s.h.i.+n held the Scorching Blade aimed at the Zhen Guo, and watched it make its move.

Two lights twinkled silently behind its helmet-covered head.

Even though it seemed all geared up in armor, there was nothing but ice inside of it, and even if the helmet were to be peeled off, it wouldnt reveal its face.

The helmet itself was the head. Without organs for sight, the two lights functioned as one, probably because it knew that the slit in the helmet is in the same position as the human eyes, and that it actually perceived the enemy through its vision.

The light, which had been swaying at a constant brightness, became slightly more radiant.

The next moment, Zhen Guo closed the distance with the sound of ice sc.r.a.ping the ground.

It launched the a.s.sault just as it was slowly moving both arms to change its stance. Because the lower part of its body wasnt that of a human but a beast, its preliminary movements were different from those of a human.

It thrust the right short spear, with the left short spear still raised to shoulder height, perhaps to match s.h.i.+ns movement.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between them closed and their s.p.a.cing overlapped.

s.h.i.+n responded to the surprise attack by swinging his Scorching Blade.

The tip of the blade drew an arc and bounced strongly off the short spear. From the bottom to the top. Flames ran through the air, tracing the path of the blade.

The flame fueled by magic power disappeared after about one second, inflicting a [Heat] status effect just by coming in contact with it.

When directly slashed by the blade, the flame would run through the wound, resulting in a double attack of slash and heat.

Zhen Guo, however, wasnt intimidated by the obscure slash.

As soon as the short spear in its right hand was repelled, it thrust the short spear in its left hand, which had been kept at its shoulder, without a moments hesitation.

The flames tracing the trajectory of the Scorching Blade had yet to disappear. Zhen Guo exploited the flames still lingering in the air as cover to unleash its thrust.

(Yeah, nice try.)

Even though its arm was burned, its momentum had not diminished in the slightest.

However, the magical flames do not affect the person wielding the Scorching Blade. It wasnt clear whether Zhen Guo was trying to use it as a blindfold, but, even if it was, it would have been useless against s.h.i.+n.

s.h.i.+n lowered his body to the ground, almost crouching.

Concentrating strength on his legs, he stomped and shattered the ground, launching forward.

He darted toward Zhe Guos left side and swung his Scorching Blade as he pa.s.sed it. The ripples on the edge of the blade shone brightly, and a red trail pierced through Zhen Guos body.

s.h.i.+n stopped, stamping the frozen ground with his outstretched foot.

Zhen Guo collapsed, splitting into upper and lower halves, before the flames running through the air could catch up with the Scorching Blade that he swung.

The lower half wont move on its ownright?

With insect-based monsters that are half-human and half-insect, the insect part may attack even after being separated from the human part just like now, so s.h.i.+n kept his attention on the tigers lower half without letting his guard down.

It seemed that it didnt die instantly, but s.h.i.+n could see its HP drop to zero in one go.

Then, both the upper and lower halves crumbled into small pieces like large grains of sand.

Leaving only the drop item, the core, in a small pile of ice grains.

The ones lurking around seem to have scurried off.

They were probably planning to pounce on us if we had struggled with the Zhen Guo, but seeing it get cut in two with a single blow instead got them all fl.u.s.tered. A few of them were shaken up quite a bit.

s.h.i.+n looked around and then retrieved the core, and s.h.i.+baid responded while looking around as well.

Theyre talking about monsters, right?

Um, yeah. Why?

Tiera, listening to the conversation between s.h.i.+n and s.h.i.+baid, asked Schnee for confirmation, looking all skeptical.

I thought maybe I felt a strange presence, but it could just be my imagination.

A strange presence. Can you be a little more specific?

s.h.i.+n also listened to the conversation between Tiera and Schnee, curious about the strange presence.

According to Tiera, it was a faint and seemingly ambiguous presence.

She also said that she felt a tingling sensation on her skin.

Do you remember where?

With the map and detection skill, he was able to get a rough idea of where and how many of them were there.

s.h.i.+n and the others didnt feel the presence that Tiera mentioned, so they checked the spots and found out that those presences were much further away than they had a.s.sumed.

s.h.i.+n a.s.sumed that they were hiding within visible range, just like how the other reactions that they felt staring at them did within the expected distance.

He had written it off as one of those types that were good at concealing their presence and that Tiera, who was more sensitive to presence, had noticed them.

However, Tieras testimony revealed that the strange presence was watching them from deep in the mountains.

Although she couldnt be sure of the exact distance, considering the location and the situation, it couldnt have been some random high-level monsters.

It should be possible for a monster with a Through Sight skill, though.

The fact that its deep in the mountains makes a lot of sense.

s.h.i.+n nodded in agreement with Filmas point. The direction was clear, and the two highest peaks of the Grandmost mountains were straight ahead.

Or maybe, its the divine beast, and its already appeared

Thats unlikely. Because even the presence of a G.o.d in a pa.s.sive state is overwhelming. And someone other than Tiera would have definitely noticed it.

Even back in the game era, every one of them were existences that set detection skills off the charts at the slightest whiff of their presence.

Including Iira Suura and Venna Vaal.

It hasnt shown up yet. But its here.

While s.h.i.+n and the others twisted their heads in doubt, Yuzuha looked straight at the mountain and said so. Apparently, there was no doubt a G.o.d was present.

Lets keep moving. The monsters watching us have all dispersed, so we wont have to waste precious time fighting them.

The monsters that had been lurking and watching s.h.i.+n and the others had collectively vanished, forfeiting the chance to attack by taking advantage of the aftermath of the battle.

However, rather than fleeing at once, their movements seemed to indicate that they had withdrawn for the moment.

So he wanted to move while they could, since there was a possibility of those monsters acting as scouts for monsters that attack in packs.