Chapter 139: Land of the Yeti 15
’Losing the use of my abilities for eight hours is going to be a bit tricky. Without my spiritual power to scan the area, I won’t be able to detect a lot of dangers in time.’
But compared to the effects of consuming the Red Fruit, it was a risk worth taking. After all, she still had life-saving tools like the Illusion Cloak, her protective shield, the Exoskeleton Mecha, and her Flying Device. Surviving for eight hours should be fine.
’Worst-case scenario, I can just hide in my space for those eight hours.’
As for the drowsiness, it only affected some people, so it was probably a matter of chance. Still, she had to prepare for it just in case.
Having mentally prepared herself, Moira Lynch eyed the splash of red on the snow. She wrapped it in her spiritual power and, in the blink of an eye, snatched it into her space.
Immediately after, before the Anthor Beast could react, Moira Lynch and her Flying Device ducked into her space as well.
She clearly heard a furious roar just before she entered her space.
Thankfully, the roaring vanished once she was inside.
Moira Lynch looked at the freshly picked Red Fruit, unable to suppress the smile spreading across her face.
It was cool to the touch, likely from sitting in the snow for so long.
Wisps of red energy were currently leaking from the broken stem where it had been picked.
Seeing this, Moira Lynch didn’t dare delay for a second and popped it straight into her mouth.
The moment the Red Fruit entered her mouth, Moira Lynch felt her spiritual power suddenly disappear.
’I was just worrying about what would happen if I accidentally used my spiritual power. After all this time, I’ve gotten used to using it for almost everything.’
’Well, problem solved. It’s been completely blocked, so I can’t use it even if I want to.’
"Patience, set an eight-hour countdown for me."
[Countdown set.]
Moira Lynch didn’t leave her space right away. For one, the Anthor Beast might still be outside, not having gone far. For another, she needed to wait and see if the Red Fruit’s second side effect would kick in.
After waiting for about half an hour, Moira Lynch still didn’t feel any drowsiness. It seemed she wasn’t one of the affected people.
Taking out her Flying Device, Moira Lynch activated the Illusion Cloak’s Stealth Mode and left her space.
She reappeared where she had vanished. Looking at the ravaged ground, Moira Lynch patted her chest, her heart still pounding. ’Thank goodness I was fast.’
She hastily piloted the Flying Device away from the area, putting as much distance behind her as possible.
After flying for about ten minutes, Moira Lynch deactivated her Invisibility.
’The cloak’s invisibility only lasts for one hour. I’ll have to use it sparingly for the remaining seven-plus hours.’
In the distance, Moira Lynch saw a blue forest. Based on her previous experience, places like this usually had side quests.
She steered the Flying Device toward the forest.
While still some distance away, Moira Lynch slowly descended, stored her Flying Device, and then disguised herself.
’This white hair is a bit of a problem. Although it will revert to my normal color when I leave, so it can’t be traced back to me right now, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to trace later.’
’Caelus is currently experiencing extreme heat, but what if it enters a period of extreme cold? Haven’t you ever heard of an ice age?’
She put on a face mask, sunglasses, and a hat with an attached wig that she pulled from her space.
While organizing her supplies earlier, she had found a voice-changing toy that could mimic sounds, so she put it to use as well.
With all her preparations complete, Moira Lynch finally headed toward the forest.
Halfway there, the system’s voice sounded in her ear.
[Warning: You have now entered the territory of another group of Yetis. Please proceed with caution.]
’Another Yeti territory? So there isn’t just one clan of Yetis on Glacius.’
She had seen how formidable the Yetis were, and she had no desire to run into them unless absolutely necessary. Besides, she had been walking for so long without triggering a side quest...
[Side Quest: Collect one hundred large, plump Ice Mist Fruits and deliver them to The Snowbird Singing Troupe in Snowbird Village.]
’Well, speak of the devil. A side quest just when I was thinking about it.’
Moira Lynch glanced at the nearby forest, then back at the path she came from. With her spiritual power disabled, she wasn’t keen on accepting this quest. But she was reluctant to give it up, too. Who knew where the next side quest would be?
After wrestling with the decision for a few minutes, Moira Lynch decided to accept the quest after all.
’Without my spiritual power, I’ll just have to rely on other methods to monitor my surroundings.’
She took a drone out of her space.
"Patience, notify me immediately if any Yetis approach."
[Understood.]
After launching the drone, Moira Lynch felt much more at ease.
When she reached the edge of the forest, Moira Lynch realized it wasn’t a forest at all—it was an orchard. The treetops were laden with blue, pear-like fruits.
There were also footprints on the ground. It seemed other players had been here before her.
Not daring to waste any time, Moira Lynch immediately began picking the Ice Mist Fruits.
The quest required one hundred large and plump Ice Mist Fruits, which meant she couldn’t just randomly pick any hundred she found.
’Looking at all the fruit in the forest, Moira Lynch sorely missed her spiritual power. If she still had it, it wouldn’t even take ten minutes to sweep all the fruit in this area into her space. Then she could take her time sorting through them.’
’Too bad. Without my spiritual power, I have to physically touch anything I want to put into my space.’
The largest, plumpest fruits were all hidden at the tops of the trees, requiring her to climb up to reach them.
This wasn’t difficult for Moira Lynch. With a light leap, she jumped directly onto a branch without any external assistance.
’Looks like all those Bounce Fruits I ate weren’t for nothing.’
Moira Lynch glanced down. She had jumped at least three or four meters. In the past, she wouldn’t have even dreamed of such a thing.
She gathered all the Ice Mist Fruits within reach into her space, not even bothering to look at them during the process.
’Anyway, I still have to find Snowbird Village later, so I’ll have plenty of time to sort through them then. No point wasting time now.’
After clearing the upper half of one tree of its Ice Mist Fruits, Moira Lynch moved to the next, and then the next.
She continued until Patience’s voice sounded in her ear again. This time, it wasn’t a warning about Yetis, but about other players in the area.
The forest was vast, and these people were on the other side, which was why she hadn’t noticed them at first.
Judging by the footage sent back from the drone, these players didn’t look like they were from her country.
They were still some distance away, so Moira Lynch decisively changed her direction. She didn’t want to waste time getting into arguments with them right now. Besides, she probably wouldn’t even understand what they were saying.