Chapter 396: The Cruel Snowfield
"Tsk... This ground is too soft..."
Yuuki Asuna moved forward cautiously beside Asagiri.
Because of the torrential rain that had fallen for several hours, the ground, which had originally been ordinary soil, had become incredibly soft. If she did not carefully choose places that looked firmer to step on, her feet would sink the moment she put them down.
Yamauchi Sakura and Kato Megumi were the same, following closely along the safe path Yuuki Asuna had walked, not wanting to let the mud stain their legs.
"I think it's okay."
"Me too."
Hearing Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko's incredibly relaxed words, Yuuki Asuna could not help rolling her eyes and saying irritably,
"You two can just gloat."
Asagiri looked like he was walking, but he was actually using Walrider's ability to walk in the air at a height of about five centimeters above the ground. His feet never touched the mud at all.
As for Iwanaga Kotoko...
Her figure was too petite, and her weight was very light, so even if she stepped on those soft, waterlogged areas, she would not sink.
"There is also news from Kaguya's side."
Asagiri spoke softly while moving forward.
"They found an abandoned camp where they encountered the Teostra and Lunastra that appeared on the beach before. After completing the subjugation, they found a log report left behind by the Blackwatch squad in the camp."
"Most of the content was similar to ours. They all suspected that there were problems within Blackwatch, and felt that the monsters on this island were not created to fight against the supernatural, but were ultimate weapons used to destroy the world."
"There was also a topographic map of the island."
"According to the description on the map, this island has a circular ecological environment distribution."
"The outermost ring, which is where we landed, is entirely beach and is known as the coastal region. Moving inward, the next ring is the dense forest region we are currently in. The third ring is the snowy mountain, the fourth is a black red lava volcano, and then..."
Asagiri paused slightly.
"There is the core region of this island. The members of Blackwatch didn't provide any description of that place because they didn't know what kind of monsters existed there."
Upon hearing the intelligence gathered by Kaguya Shinomiya, Iwanaga Kotoko said thoughtfully,
"Concentric regions, huh... That's interesting. It's almost as if they're using layers of harsh environments and monsters to prevent us from entering the core region, or perhaps..."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"To prevent a certain monster within the core region from getting out?"
"In any case, we must keep moving forward. Based on our current location..."
Asagiri recalled the details on the topographic map and spoke softly.
"We are about two hundred kilometers in a straight line from the core region. Along the way, we will pass through two marked dangerous areas, regions occupied by monsters like the Furious Rajang."
"We could take a detour, but that would nearly double the distance we have to travel."
"Let's take the shortest path."
After thinking for a few seconds, Iwanaga Kotoko immediately proposed a plan.
"Setting aside the fact that defeating monsters earns bonus points upon clearing, while combat does consume stamina and mental energy, we can easily recover during the time we save."
"For a team like ours, with the strength to defeat these monsters, the best way to reach the island's core in the shortest time and in the best possible condition is to eliminate the monsters in the dangerous zones directly, then rest thoroughly in an area where no monsters will disturb us before continuing forward."
"In short, choosing the shortest route is the right move."
Asagiri nodded and spoke slowly.
"We might not be able to fully trust the map from the Blackwatch members. The dangerous areas they marked will certainly have some degree of error due to the passage of time."
"It's possible that if we try to bypass a dangerous area, we might run into monsters instead. In such an uncertain situation, it's best to choose the only certain factor."
"Distance, which doesn't change over time."
...
"Phew... so cold..."
Hearing Yamauchi Sakura's words and seeing her cute appearance as she kept rubbing her hands together, Asagiri immediately deactivated his Hunter's Windbreaker and draped the black coat he had been wearing when he entered the Dungeon over her.
"Are you okay?"
Although Yamauchi Sakura was shivering, she still looked up at Asagiri and managed a forced smile, nodding.
"Yeah... don't worry about me. Let's keep moving."
The cold of more than thirty degrees below zero was at most a slight discomfort for Iwanaga Kotoko, whose physical fitness exceeded human limits, even if she could not compare to Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, or Asagiri. It would not cause any serious issues for her.
However, for Yamauchi Sakura, whose physical fitness was at a frail level, even worse than an ordinary person, it was a lethal chill.
If not for the Holy Genie helping her withstand most of the cold wind, and her constantly eating Furious Rajang meat to restore her stamina, she would likely have collapsed long ago.
Seeing Yamauchi Sakura's face gradually losing all color, Yuuki Asuna felt a surge of heartache.
She walked over to support her, biting her lip, unsure of what to do.
Should she ask Asagiri to carry them and speed through the snowfield?
That would not work.
Not to mention the physically frail Yamauchi Sakura, even Kato Megumi and Iwanaga Kotoko could not withstand the high intensity strain that Asagiri's full speed flight would place on their bodies. The excessive speed would cause serious damage to them.
And if they were targeted by a flying monster, Asagiri would not be able to slow down to evade the attack.
The risk of this method was too high. It was not feasible.
They had only just reached the halfway point, with dozens of kilometers still to go.
If things continued like this, not only Yamauchi Sakura, but even Iwanaga Kotoko could fall into a dangerous state of hypothermia.
Furthermore, because everything in sight was pure white, Yuuki Asuna felt her vision starting to blur.
It was a precursor to snow blindness.
"Thud..."
Just then, a soft sound came from the snowy cliff nearby.
Yuuki Asuna instinctively cast her gaze over, only to see flurries of snow beginning to drift downward.
And then...
"Roar!"
From the mountainside of the snowy cliff, a massive, pitch black shadow suddenly lunged out, followed by a terrifying roar so deafening that the very air trembled.
"Oh no..."
Seeing the black shadow plummeting downward while carrying a massive amount of pure white snow, Yuuki Asuna's expression changed instantly.
She immediately realized what was happening.
This was an avalanche triggered by the monster's roar.
"Shadow..."
"Persona, Core Mita."
Without needing Yuuki Asuna to remind him, Asagiri had already summoned Core Mita and activated his ability.
"Mita World."
In an instant, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
The avalanche, the monster, the cold.
All of it disappeared.
Yamauchi Sakura, whose consciousness was already fading, could not open her eyes.
She only felt as if she were lying on a soft bed emitting a faint fragrance. Because of the extreme cold she had just endured, the environment that had suddenly become warm made her skin feel a little numb and tingly.
"Phew... thank goodness..."
Seeing the room, which was decorated quite warmly, and confirming that the others were uninjured, Yuuki Asuna finally let out a sigh of relief.
She looked at Asagiri, who was leaning against the wall, and said gratefully,
"It's fortunate you possess the Mita World ability. Otherwise, that situation earlier was just too dangerous."
"A mere avalanche is not worth mentioning."
Asagiri waved his hand with a smile.
Looking at Yamauchi Sakura lying on the bed and Kind Mita, who was tending to her, he spoke in a soft tone.
"Sorry for the trouble."
"Hmph, it's no trouble."
Kind Mita carefully tucked Yamauchi Sakura in while pouring hot tea for the other four.
Then she looked at Asagiri and said in a deliberately teasing tone,
"Just like Hat said, we're all just incompetent wives, sigh~"
"Stop hanging out with Hat so much. Your personality is becoming abstract."
Asagiri took a sip of tea, then looked at the three women in front of him, Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko.
He spoke softly.
"What should we do next? With my current mental energy, the maximum time I can maintain Mita World is forty minutes, but if I really maintain it that long, I'll fall into a coma."
"That's indeed tricky."
Iwanaga Kotoko, still shivering, kept rubbing her fair little hands and blowing warm air into them.
"My body is frozen stiff. And that monster can actually trigger avalanches to attack."
"A team composed purely of physical class jobs would have an easier time resisting such an extremely cold and harsh environment. We must cross the snowfield as quickly as possible. The longer we delay, the more dangerous it becomes."
"Then there is only one way."
Asagiri crossed his arms over his chest and spoke softly.
"I will fly while ensuring it doesn't place a burden on your bodies. If we encounter monsters, I will first try to scare them off with a wave of power. If that doesn't work, I will use the Supreme Magic Bullet."
"That's the only way."
Yuuki Asuna pursed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something.
But after hesitating, she ultimately said nothing.
If Asagiri did not mask his power aura and directly used the passive effect of Unrestrained Tyrant to release mental pressure, he could indeed scare off most monsters.
However, correspondingly, the strongest monster in the snowfield region would very likely sense his aura and come to actively expel the intruder.
The Supreme Magic Bullet would consume seventy percent of Asagiri's mental energy.
Using it once would require the Ring of Conversion to trade stamina for mental energy and replenish it.
Using it twice in a row would push Asagiri to his absolute limit.
With the plan he had just mentioned, if they encountered monsters twice during the flight, he would have to use the Supreme Magic Bullet twice in succession.
Even for the strongest Player team at this stage, this highest difficulty Dungeon felt difficult in a way they had not experienced in a long time.
.....
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