novelraw Chapter 346: Snow Mountain Journey, Arrival at the Secret Realm
Chapter 346: Snow Mountain Journey, Arrival at the Secret Realm
The carriage traveled along an uneven road, with thick snow underfoot. The horses pulling the carriage left deep hoofprints as they trod upon it.
The wind from Frostbreath Snow Mountain carried a bone-chilling cold that rushed against their faces, sometimes whipping up fine snowflakes that pattered against the carriage compartment, adding a faint, crisp "tap-tap" sound amidst the howling wind.
Everyone had chosen not to enter the Portable Space. Lin Mo lifted the carriage curtain and gazed into the distance. The entire world seemed to be nothing but pure white, with the continuous snow-capped mountains piercing the clouds.
Sunlight spilled onto the snow, somewhat dazzling.
They had officially entered the snow-capped mountains. The road conditions ahead would no longer allow the carriage to continue.
That was why they weren't staying in the Portable Space—because from here on, they had to walk the rest of the way themselves.
Of course, Lena was the exception.
The cat-eared girl was support personnel and was currently diligently tending to the fields on the ridges inside the space.
"Let's get off," Lin Mo said as he lifted the carriage curtain, his foot stepping onto the snow with a crunching sound.
Finnie was bundled in thick cotton clothes that Sherfilia had just put on her while they were still in the carriage.Ellie stepped out of the carriage, took a deep breath of the icy air, and felt her spirits lift even more. She shook her tail and suddenly made a puzzling move.
She slightly bent her knees, placed her hands together on her forehead, and with a leap—"plop!"—she dove headfirst into the snow, leaving only a fluffy tail sticking out.
"Pfft..."
Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What are you doing?"
Ellie emerged from the snow, covered head to toe in it, scratching her head with a silly grin.
"I don't know why, I just suddenly wanted to do that."
Lin Mo shook his head helplessly. This little wolf-girl was becoming more and more like a Husky. Thankfully, there were no signs of her wanting to tear the house apart yet.
She didn't tear the house apart, but she was a handful...
She pestered Lin Mo more and more often, like a little imp.
The moment Eve landed, she immediately began observing their surroundings, entering an adventuring state of mind.
Flora followed closely behind. So far, although she had become quite familiar with everyone, she still felt somewhat detached from the team, always a step behind.
Lin Mo looked ahead. In the distance, he could vaguely see the backs of adventurers, and behind them, adventurers were gradually arriving one after another.
The environment of Frostbreath Snow Mountain was harsh, but its ecosystem was quite rich, with many types of magical creatures and some rare treasures. The rewards for adventuring here were quite good, so many adventurers from nearby liked to take on missions in this area.
Moreover, the outer regions of the snow mountain weren't that dangerous, and there were also some lower-level magical creatures.
Of course, they were only relatively not that high-level. For newcomers, this place was still absolutely off-limits.
Lin Mo pulled out a book from his Portable Space titled "Research Record on the Ecology of Frostbreath Snow Mountain," which documented all currently known species of snow mountain creatures.
The book was divided into two sections: one about the snow mountain itself, and the other about the Secret Realm within this snow mountain region—the Millennium Cold Cavern.
The adventure officially began. Lin Mo walked while looking at the book in his hand.
According to its records, in the outer regions of the snow mountain, the commonly encountered magical creatures generally had threat levels between 5 and 10.
This level was terrifying for newcomers, but for Silver-level adventurers like them, they were indeed just opponents to warm up with.
They didn't have to wait long. Less than twenty minutes after entering the snow mountain, Lin Mo keenly sensed something approaching them.
Turning to look, accompanied by a series of rustling sounds, several small-sized magical creatures covered in snow-white fur suddenly burst out from a snowdrift.
"Foxes?"
Ellie sniffed.
"So cute!"
Finnie's eyes lit up.
Indeed, judging purely by appearance, the magical creatures before them were somewhat cute. They looked fluffy with big eyes. They didn't seem intent on attacking, just watching them with their round, large eyes, even tilting their heads slightly as if curious.
After watching for a while, one fox cautiously and carefully took a step toward them. Seeing no reaction, it took another step...
Its overly cautious demeanor practically screamed "harmless" on its face.
However—
Lin Mo glanced at what was written in the book, his lips twitching.
Just as that fox approached within five meters, the seemingly harmless white figure suddenly charged toward them, opening its mouth to reveal sharp teeth, aiming for Lin Mo's neck.
Lin Mo's expression remained unchanged. He circulated his Qi and Blood and delivered a [Knight's Rushing Punch], directly turning this Snow Fang Fox into a meat pancake.
That's right. These magical creatures might look cute, but they were actually cunning and cruel.
They were well aware of the advantage their appearance gave them, so they often deliberately acted cute, pretending to be harmless or clumsy as they approached, then suddenly launched a sneak attack.
Moreover, these creatures preferred to eat their prey alive. Sometimes, the prey would still be alive even after half its body had been eaten.
The sudden turn of events didn't surprise the others. After all, they were all experienced adventurers. Even without reading the book, they naturally wouldn't be so easily fooled by a magical creature's appearance.
Including Finnie. Although she thought the little thing was cute, she had remained vigilant the entire time. The moment the fox charged at Lin Mo, she immediately cast a protective spell on him.
Although Lin Mo didn't need it.
The remaining Snow Fang Foxes reacted extremely quickly, immediately realizing these humans were not to be trifled with. They tried to turn and flee, but Lin Mo moved like a ghost, instantly catching up and punching them flat one by one.
Well, literally punching them flat.
These magical creatures weren't large, their meat was sour and unpalatable, and the only valuable parts were their teeth and fur.
Sherfilia and Ellie quickly processed the corpses. Lin Mo collected the spoils and continued forward.
Along the subsequent journey, they encountered many more types of magical creatures: Ice Claw Rabbits, Ice Armor Bears, Snow Blade Weasels...
These creatures weren't particularly strong, and the proficiency gained wasn't much. Fortunately, Lin Mo had some excellent-grade Knight profession skills on hand, and the leveling speed for these skills was relatively fast.
[Swift Taunting Strike], [Knight's Charge], [Heavy Trample]...
The proficiency for each skill rapidly increased.
Since these magical creatures posed absolutely no threat to them, their travel speed was relatively fast. Before long, they left the outer region of the snow mountain and entered deeper areas.
Here, towering snow mountains surrounded them on all sides. The entire world was a vast expanse of white, and with the occasional snow flurries, adventurers with less experience could easily lose their way.
However, for a mature adventurer team, this wasn't a concern.
Not to mention Ellie, as a Half-Orc, naturally had a strong sense of direction, Lin Mo had also prepared many small tools to help determine direction.
As they gradually ventured deeper into the snow mountain, the level of the magical creatures they encountered also increased.
The previous creatures were generally levels 5-7, but now they encountered Snow Pattern Snakes and Cold Wind Snow Bats, which had reached levels 8 and 9.
A Snow Pattern Snake suddenly emerged from beneath the snow, opening its bloody maw to bite Lin Mo from the side.
Lin Mo glanced at it, swung his sword backhanded, and effortlessly severed its head.
Magical creatures of this level could be killed with a single sword strike even without using skills.
For normal adventurers, if they could avoid using skills, they naturally would, to conserve Qi, Blood, and stamina.
But Lin Mo was different. Even the smallest piece of meat was still meat—this was all proficiency.
And level 9 creatures provided a decent amount of proficiency.
The team had grown accustomed to this. In fact, although Lin Mo hadn't said anything, after spending time together, they had gradually discovered some of his "secrets."
For example, he would use skills against every monster he encountered... According to Eve's speculation, his talent and comprehension received a significant boost during combat. Therefore, even when facing magical creatures that weren't strong relative to him, using skills in battle could yield some gains.
If he fought against powerful magical creatures, the improvement would be even more immediate and noticeable.
And this was the biggest reason for Lin Mo's rapid improvement.
When Eve first deduced this, she felt somewhat excited, a sense of novelty from glimpsing a secret. But upon second thought, wasn't this just pure, raw talent?
No technique involved, just pure talent.
Others might fight a hundred magical creatures using skills and still not see any improvement, but as long as he fought, he would definitely gain something.
This was completely unlearnable...
It seemed that if she wanted to get stronger, she could only study hard and research more "knowledge."
The more "knowledge" she mastered, the more she might gain from each precious opportunity. Only then could she catch up to the others, or even surpass them.
As the currently weakest combat member in the team, Eve harbored a very urgent desire to catch up.
Night fell. As per convention, adventure required a balance of work and rest, so naturally, they returned to the Portable Space to rest.
Having been blown by the cold wind all day, the others were fine, but Finnie had suffered quite a bit. Her little face was flushed from the wind. The moment she returned home, she immediately went to take care of her skin, fearing it would become rough and Lin Mo's touch would feel worse.
Having worked hard adventuring during the day, they naturally had to reward themselves properly at night. The adjacent warehouse stored quite a bit of high-level magical creature meat. Lin Mo took out some and handed it to Lena and Sherfilia to prepare.
After a delicious meal, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
Lin Mo sat on the edge of the bed and read for a while. Calculating that the time was about right, he put down the book and looked up.
Not long after, Eve pushed the door open and entered.
The blonde girl was now wearing a black semi-transparent gauze dress. She walked into the room with firm steps, her eyes not showing shyness but only a thirst for strength.
She wanted to improve so badly...
Lin Mo could understand her feelings. After all, among the current combat members, both Ellie and Flora were far ahead of her. Even Sherfilia was clearly stronger than her. For Eve, who had always been highly competitive, this was too difficult to bear.
And so, he generously offered his assistance, giving her some extra tutoring.
The next day, the journey continued.
After a session of imparting all his knowledge, Lin Mo's condition today was still perfect.
The high-level magical beast meat he had consumed was quite effective. Not only did it boost his attributes, but it was also very nourishing for his body.
Eve's face, on the other hand, inevitably showed some signs of fatigue, but it wasn't a big issue. After all, she was also a high-level Professional, so it basically wouldn't have any impact.
Today's journey was equally smooth, though the strength of the magical creatures encountered along the way had increased a bit.
Creatures above level 10, reaching Elite Level, had begun to appear.
These creatures were just right for Ellie and the others to practice on.
It also worked out well since Lin Mo needed to practice his Knight profession skills. His monster-clearing efficiency wasn't high, so this way he could both grind proficiency and allow the girls to gain experience.
Every so often, a skill level-up notification would float before Lin Mo's eyes.
These creatures provided a decent amount of proficiency, and excellent-grade skills didn't require much proficiency to begin with, so soon some skills were universally promoted to Exceptional-Grade.
Lin Mo's basic Constitution attribute also rose accordingly with the tide.
...
Time reached 3 PM. At this point, they were only about a dozen kilometers away from the Secret Realm marked on the map. It seemed they would reach the Secret Realm entrance by evening today and officially enter the Secret Realm first thing tomorrow morning.
"The temperature keeps getting lower..." Flora said, exhaling a puff of "white air."
"Indeed."
Lin Mo nodded. The deeper they went into the snow mountain, the lower the surrounding temperature became. It had now dropped to minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius. This temperature was still manageable for the others, but for Finnie, and even for Eve and Sherfilia, it was already quite uncomfortable.
Especially Finnie, who was shivering from the cold. Lin Mo could only pull her into his embrace, using fire element to help warm her.
He originally wanted her to go into the Portable Space to warm up and rest for a while, but the girl refused, insisting on continuing the adventure with them.
Lin Mo had no choice but to let her have her way. Then Finnie tightly hugged his arm, pressing her whole body against him, making Lin Mo suspect she might be using this as an excuse to take advantage of him.
On the way to the Secret Realm entrance, they encountered more magical creatures, including a level 17 Snow Armor Giant Lizard and a level 19 Frost Fang Giant Wolf. These creatures were relatively high-level, but they were just right to serve as challenging opponents for Ellie and Flora.
Especially that Frost Fang Giant Wolf with a threat level of 19. Because this level was just right, it suffered an exceptionally miserable fate. Under the buffs from Finnie's skills, Ellie, Flora, and Sherfilia cornered and beat it up. The key was they weren't in a hurry to kill it; instead, they kept it alive as a sparring partner for quite a while before it finally contributed to Lin Mo's proficiency.
As for Eve, her level was still a bit too low. The gap was somewhat large, so she couldn't really participate in battles of this level.
In the evening, the setting sun cast golden afterglow upon the snow mountains, making them look like mountains of gold, shimmering brilliantly.
A massive ice cavern finally appeared within their sight.
"The Millennium Cold Cavern... we've arrived."