Serie

The group walked towards the snow-covered mountains against the biting mountain wind, fine snowflakes constantly hitting their faces.

The road into the mountains was difficult to travel. At first, it was alright, at least it didn't affect their speed. But after crossing two small hills, the wind and snow intensified.

Perhaps because it's a windward slope, the ground is covered with thick snow, and you can sink into it completely with just one step.

Galan leaned back slightly, pulled his feet out of the snowdrift, shook his boots to get rid of the clump of snow kicked up by the tips, and sighed softly.

This is so troublesome... It seems like I run into trouble wherever I go...

But given the current situation, we can only take it one step at a time.

The wind howled. Because he was so afraid of the cold, Frog hadn't walked far before he tried to lean against Lancelot, but he forgot that the other was wearing armor. So the moment he leaned against him, he felt an intense chill and jumped back.

Seeing that he couldn't get any warmth from the tin can, he had no choice but to huddle up next to Galan, shrinking his neck and trying to warm himself up by chatting.

"Does young man Galan possess the magic of [diagnosing illnesses]? He only glanced at me and already knew how to treat the symptoms."

"[Identifying the illness]? That's the Goddess's magic, isn't it? I'm not Priest, how could I possibly know that? Besides, it's easy to deduce, as long as you have enough experience."

"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder you're Apothecary. Do you have any methods to ward off the cold? I've put on an extra layer but I still feel cold..."

Frog tugged at his scarf twice in frustration, covering his exposed skin again.

... I guess everyone's constitution is different... There's really nothing I can do. By the way, you're wearing even more layers than me, and you're still shivering like this? I thought you were faking it."

As Galan watched the plump penguin complaining to him, he couldn't believe that even though it was wearing several layers, it was still cold.

I wish I were just pretending...

Lancelot listened to the pointless conversation between the two people behind him and shook his head inwardly.

He walked at the very front, his steps steady and slow, and he could already see the end of the uphill slope.

He took two large strides, hoping to win the grand prize this time so he could find the Ice Pillar Cherry and return home as soon as possible. After reaching the top, he peered down and began to explore.

On the white, snow-covered hillside, one could occasionally see the shadows of some cold-resistant plants, but there was no sign of the Ice Pillar Cherry.

If it's a tree species with such obvious characteristics, it certainly won't escape your notice.

Another disappointment... How many more places do I have to go before I can find it...?

Lancelot felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Even with his willpower, the prolonged, fruitless search was taking its toll, and he began to lose faith in this aimless search for the Ice Pillar Cherry.

Ultimately, the claim that Ice Pillar Cherry blossoms grow here is just Galan's side of the story. He hasn't actually seen it with his own eyes, so perhaps Ice Pillar Cherry don't even grow here. All they've done so far has been a waste of time.

As Zi Guang scanned his surroundings, he thought to himself, "This is what I am thinking."

Suddenly, a blond figure burst into her field of vision—or rather, appeared out of thin air.

He found it somewhat unbelievable, and even rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

I was sure I'd seen that place before; there shouldn't have been anything there, but now suddenly someone I'd never seen before had appeared.

And how could someone dressed so lightly possibly appear in a place like this?

She was only wearing a white coat... and she was even barefoot?

This intense sense of incongruity stirred up unease within him. He didn't know why the other person looked so thin and short, but even from this distance, Lancelot felt a strange sense of oppression.

"There's someone down the mountain opposite... She actually spotted me? At this distance and in these circumstances?"

Ahead of them, Lancelot's voice carried a hint of surprise, and an incredulous expression graced the man's face.

This piqued the curiosity of Galan and Frog behind him, who wanted to see who this person he was talking about was.

They started jogging, but because of the snow, their running posture was somewhat distorted, like ducks being herded onto a shelf.

Upon reaching the top of the slope, they looked in the direction Lancelot was pointing and indeed found a person with long blond hair watching them.

"How does she manage to stay warm wearing so little? Wait... who exactly is she?"

Frog finally grasped the key point, and the same doubts arose in his mind as Lancelot's.

The only person who reacted differently was Galan; the moment he saw that person, his heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.

That figure is definitely Serie!

Why are you here?

To think I'd encounter the world's most powerful Mage in a place like this...

No wonder the three of them were discovered so easily... no, perhaps they were detected from even further away. "To think they would meet... it was almost as if in the blink of an eye, Serie had vanished from her spot. When they opened their eyes again, she was already in front of Galan, her sleeves fluttering in the wind and snow, looking at him with a strange gaze, as if she had seen an interesting toy and wanted to reach out and play with it.

"Oh!"

The first of the three to react was Lancelot. Almost the instant he realized the other was in front of them, he kicked Frog away, sending him flying a distance away.

But unexpectedly, he was knocked unconscious, then bent down and drew his sword. His swordsmanship was as fluid as water, or like a fierce tiger pouncing out.

Before Galan could even react and speak to stop him, the gleaming silver sword was already drawn and slashed mercilessly at Serie's neck.

The entire process took less than two seconds. This was his instinctive reaction. When he noticed the other party, Lancelot sensed a faint but present danger.

Although Serie didn't adopt any aggressive posture, the mere sight of her standing there was enough to suffocate Lancelot.

He had never seen such a powerful being, nor had he ever felt such powerlessness, as if he were trying to shake a mountain with his bare hands.

The [Defensive Magic] blocked the Silver Sword halfway through its swing. An unprecedented structural pattern appeared faintly on the barrier. The powerful force stirred up the thick snow on the ground and stunned Lancelot. He couldn't believe that someone could use [Defensive Magic] to block his full-force sword strike at this distance.