Chapter 42: Frozen Grassland
Leo was heading into the frozen grassland to slay a mutated frost wolf that made its territory near an outpost, most likely a scout of the kingdom. The information he got for this mission was quite detailed since it concerned an ongoing war.
He knew how many of the pack he could factor in, which would be zero. He also knew that the frost wolf had just entered the low-level. Its mutation only caused it to become bigger causing an increase in strength as well as a decrease in speed.
The mission seemed to be easy all things considered. He now only had to track it down and kill it. Preferably killing it without making a mess out of its fur so Leo could skin it and sell the fur for a quick buck.
He didn't make much out of the normal beasts' furs and meat since almost any cultivator could kill them and even normal hunters were making a profit out of them. A low-level spirit beast on the other hand that is larger but barely more dangerous than the normal variant was quite the catch.
An ideal mission. Leo was glad that he was the first to grab it. He had just taken it casually and it ended up being a profitable mission.
He would be able to learn many more spells with the credits he would be making with a low-level mission. Maybe in a month or two he would have cleaned out the low-level spells sector. At least, that was what he was planning on doing.
He reached out to the sword hilt that was sticking out of his bag just to confirm that he didn't forget it and that it would be ready to draw at a moment's notice.
Honestly, he could have just teleported to Northpass and went from there, but it felt too much like fast travel and Leo enjoyed the scenic view from time to time.
Sure, he could use the time to learn another spell or prepare to advance to the mid-level, but he needed these downtimes to release some tensions.
Though, one could argue he released enough tension when he spends his time with his girls in a hotel, but he needed the days in which he just relaxed in solitude and did nothing for a change.
Usually, he would just relax in bed and doze off the entire day or just relax in a tub or something, but a jog was fine to him as well. With this at least he had quite the view to look at as he takes on the new world.
Almost a day later he made it to the borders to the frozen grassland. Usually, he would need a lot more time, but after reaching the low-level a stroll might have been a sprint before. He had gone through a little forest in a straight line to get to the borders of the grassland.
He could have gone to Northpass first but since he had decided to walk from Arcanum, it would have been a detour for Leo. It was late and the sun was already setting so Leo had no desire to cross the border to enter the frozen grassland.
He would have been in the beasts' territory, and he wasn't eager to experience the cold either. This world had some weird phenomena that were normal for the inhabitants but quite strange for earthlings.
It was strange because the borders to the frozen grasslands were clear cut. There was a clear line on which the frozen grassland started, where it separated the human territory with the beasts' territory.
Leo gazed into the distance and saw the line between the two biomes extending seemingly endlessly into the horizon. It kind of looked like a painting of an artists that wanted to show the contrast between summer and winter in one picture.
Leo sat down and started a campfire to heat up his marshmallows that he found in a shop not long ago. He didn't know when it was the last time he had a campfire, but it was something he did all the time before he died. He of course, did it once or twice in this life as well, but it had to be awhile.
His little sister, Rosy was quite fond of the melted marshmallows.
He relaxed for a bit, took out some jerky to eat, and some water to wash down the meat and the marshmallows before he went to sleep without a worry.
He was already able to sense his surroundings, so he wasn't concerned about being ambushed. Of course, he could still be easily killed by a higher leveled cultivator, but that was threat that would always exist.
'I should probably form a party' He thought as he covered himself with a camouflage after putting out the fire. It wasn't that he was opposed to the idea of forming a party to do some missions faster and safer, but there were still some things he needed to consider.
He knew that he was talented and that he would soon outgrow most low levels. He was already on the same level of most people in the beginner branch, and he was barely a member for a month now!
There were many members in the low-level, still trying to advance to the next level for the last few months, some were even stuck in the low-level for years now. That is not to mention that Leo had also advanced into the low-level in the body rank.
Of course, stacking ranks of the same level didn't put him two levels above his level, but he was undoubtedly one of the strongest low-level even if he had advanced not too long ago.
With every moment now he was getting stronger and advancing towards the mid-level at least with his body. He had yet to automize his cultivation in the mental ranks, but it was already on his to do list.
As soon as the first sunrays hit him, he woke up and packed up his things again before moving into the frozen grassland. Normal people would have taken out some thick clothes to warm themselves already, but he enjoyed the cold.
Of course, there were tons of benefits of weathering the low temperature and now he had a frozen environment for him to exploit. Who was he to decline this chance to toughen his body up again?
Honestly, he wanted to see how much his body would be affected by the coldness of this place as he was a lot stronger than before. Theoretically he figured that he would be less affected by it, but only knowing it theoretically pales to experiencing it.
So instead of layering himself further with clothes, he just crossed the border with the robe he got. It might be a robe of the grand Arcanum but unfortunately the low-level robes didn't regulate the temperature for them. Leo didn't care either way as he welcomed the changes of the weather, be it hot or cold.
He instantly felt the change as he stepped into the bounds of the frozen grassland. It was like he stepped out of the shining sun into a freezer.
He felt his body cooling in this cold environment, it was like the ice baths he took regularly just a bit warmer. He knew that if it were before cultivating, he would hardly be able to endure this harsh environment.
He ignored the freezing sensation and made his way through the grassland, heading to a small outpost that had requested help from the nearby factions.
It took him 6+ hours to see the silhouette of the outpost and another hour to reach it. On the way, beside the frozen landscape he saw the occasional fox and other small animals that lived in these environments.
They weren't hostile and ran away like normal animals would if they saw a human enter their territory. The outpost was in a meager state, but it was to be expected since most wouldn't want to live in these lands and were only visiting this place to look out for a beast attack or mass invasions.
Even with Leo's acceptance of all temperatures and especially his tolerance to the cold, he wouldn't want to live here.
Corresponding to its name snow and ice deeply covered most of the landscape. If Leo dug into the snow, he would be completely covered in it before he hit the ground, and this was all year around. He liked snow but this was a bit much even for him.
Leo couldn't really wrap around his head how the snow and the temperature as a whole wasn't affected by the giant ball of plasma in the sky called the sun. He heard that it had something to do with a cultivator's death that dabbled into the frozen arts or something.
After approaching the outpost, he was asked for his reason for coming to the outpost. By saying that he was there to complete a request that they had sent out they let him inside. They asked him about his mission and the corresponding papers.
After explaining everything, they guided him to a hunter that provided the outpost with enough food to survive. Apparently, he had a run in with the wolf and was injured in the process, prompting the other soldiers of the outpost to request for some aid.
If their hunter were impeded again, they would lose their main man that provided for them with food, and the soldiers would either have to hunt some game for themselves or retreat to the human territory. Either of the options were undesirable for them.
The hunter was glad to see that someone would come this quickly to slay the beast. It hadn't been more than 3 days since he requested for some help, and he knew that the factions would wait for the mission's assessment before giving out the missions for the taken.
However, his enthusiasm lessened after feeling the spirit waves coming from Leo's body. He himself was a low-level cultivator that specialized in the frozen arts, so he knew if someone was in the same rank as he was.
"Are you sure you can beat it? Although, it just advanced it is still a spirit beast, not something for us low-levels to just confront." The hunter appreciated the help, but he wasn't eager to send this young man to his death just because he was overestimating himself.
"You don't have to worry about me I can handle myself." Leo said with a nod and with such a nonchalant vibe that one would think that he wasn't asked to slay a beast that was stronger than Leo in every dimension.
The hunter could only shake his head and sigh. "I heard people say this quite a bit and they always ended up heavily injured or dead." After seeing that his words didn't faze the young man, he could only shrug.
"You cultivators from the big factions usually know what you are doing… Either way I warned you. It is your life, so do as you please with it. Don't haunt me after you died." After preached to Leo a bit more he guided him to the last spot he had seen the wolf before returning to the outpost.
'Wait was he wearing the robes of Arcanum?' The hunter asked himself as he remembered the symbol on the robe's back but after a moment, he shook his head. A beginner robe and a low-level body rank, it had to be another faction, the man convinced himself.
After arriving at the place, the wolf was last seen, he investigated the surroundings and quickly found that there was a trail made of a thin bluish ice sheet. Not something out of place in the frozen grassland but considering that a trail of snow was frozen, it wasn't something in the norm.
Leo quickly guessed that the wolf had to be releasing a coldness that would freeze the snow wherever he walked along. It was weird since frost wolfs weren't known to release coldness themselves.
They were pretty much normal giant wolves just with bluish white fur to blend in with its snowy surroundings. They used their claws and teeth to end their victims, though there were other wolf species that could kill with their frost breath, but the mission said that it would be a normal frost wolf.
Weekly Power Status
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