Chapter 107: The Land of Icy Winds

There was hardly any snow left above; the summit was completely frozen over. Not a single monster in sight, and even I couldn’t go any further. Every step I took slipped two steps back—extremely dangerous and utterly dull.

No, since the official developers designed this map, it couldn’t be merely for sightseeing. There had to be some NPC or something; otherwise, players would be utterly lost here.

I looked around. The place was desolate, with only a lone pine tree standing wrapped in snow halfway up the mountain. Beyond that, there was no point in going further. I could only circle around the mountainside, hoping to find another path.

After nearly ten minutes of wandering with nothing to show for it, I looked up and exclaimed, “What’s that?” A small section of rock protruded sideways from the peak, about a square meter in size. What could it be?

I tried climbing up but slipped down due to the thick ice.

After some thought, I finally had an idea. I drew my Dark Sword and stabbed it into the ice, using it as an anchor to climb up. When I wiped the snow off that protruding rock, I found solid stone beneath. As I climbed, I almost lost my balance and fell. A cold wind suddenly blew from inside the mountain.

Looking up, I was stunned.

Inside the rock formation was a hidden world—a narrow path of ice crystals snaked downward into the mountain. On both sides, the path stretched into darkness so deep that tossing a block of ice down produced no sound of impact for minutes.

“Should I go down?” I was sweating cold. Falling here would mean certain death. Thankfully, I didn’t have a fear of heights, or I would’ve blacked out and fallen already.

Well, since I was here, might as well go down.

As I stepped forward, my map name changed to “Land of Ice and Wind”—a beautifully fitting name. I carefully followed the icy path downward. The corridor gradually widened until I saw another creature besides myself. I finally relaxed; this map was full of hidden wonders!

That creature was a level 42 “Frost Demon,” its entire body formed of ice crystals, glistening and translucent. Its two front claws, like crab pincers, were firmly planted on the ground. No doubt those sharp claws were its weapons!

I drew my sword and attacked!

The Frost Demon charged at me with icy claws.

System notice: You have been hit by the Frost Demon’s frost attack—attack and movement speed reduced by 20%!

It was a status-effect attack monster!

Fortunately, the Frost Demon’s damage wasn’t high. Though it attacked frequently, the harm it caused was minimal. Its health and defense were also low. After just four strikes, I defeated it. It had roughly 4,000 HP, about the same as the undead monsters near Silverpine Forest.

Pressing onward, I soon encountered another monster type—Blue Demons. Their attack and defense were similar to the Frost Demon’s, but they used ranged attacks instead of status effects. The Blue Demon was entirely blue, holding a golden shield in its left hand and a copper throwing axe in its right. After watching for a while, I realized it threw the axe to attack, but oddly, as soon as it threw one, another would appear in its hand, as if from nowhere.

Using a glow powder, I stealthily approached a Blue Demon and immediately unleashed a Frozen Slash, followed by a combo and heavy strike, killing it. It dropped a level 33 white armor and 60 silver coins. Not bad—this monster was quite lucrative. Both experience and money were plentiful, and they were easy to kill due to their pitiful defense. If Xue Han used Flame Rain, her fire spell, against these monsters, the results would be twice as effective. Unfortunately, monsters were so sparse that I had to walk more than ten steps to find one. The icy path spiraled downward into darkness; I had no idea what lay beneath.

Killing as I went, two hours flew by. I had defeated nearly 300 monsters but found no green equipment—only eight level 33 white items. I wasn’t sure if anyone would buy them. I earned over 100 silver coins and gained 12% of level 39. Overall, leveling up here was quite enjoyable, though the round trips were a bit long.

Looking up, the entrance on the mountainside was barely visible. Inside the cave, countless ice crystals refracted strange lights. Huge icicles hung from the walls, forming frozen flowers. I worried they might fall and impale me like a porcupine.

In truth, my fears were unwarranted. Though the icicles swayed slightly in the breeze, they showed no sign of falling.

“Hoo~!”

Just then, a fist-sized snowball hit me, and my health immediately dropped by over 100 points.

System notice: You have been attacked by a Snowman, losing 102 HP!

I looked up and couldn’t help but laugh. This is what they call a Snowman?

It had long horns, pure white fur, a goat-like face, and hooves like a cow. How could this creature possibly be related to a human? Either I was mistaken or the programmers had lost their minds...

The Snowman’s attack was much stronger than the Frost and Blue Demons, but its defense was even weaker. With my 715 attack power, every strike dealt over 1,200 damage—probably the lowest defense monster I’d ever encountered.

Five strikes later, the Snowman fell, dropping 50 silver coins and a Snowman Hide. Picking it up, I saw it was a crafting material—high-quality fur used for making leather armor.

Whether useful or not, I decided to keep it. Fur items could stack, and it might come in handy someday.

The icy path gradually narrowed, merging against the ice wall, which at least gave me one solid side for some sense of security. Monsters became more varied—Frost Demons, Blue Demons, and Snowmen gathered together. The difficulty rose, especially when ranged monsters surrounded me, firing volleys. It was agonizing; several times I was reduced to near death and could only escape by activating enhanced stealth.

An hour later, it was time to eat. Yet monsters still swarmed the area. I was now at level 39 with 72% experience, so I expected to break level 40 today—another great milestone.