Chapter 147: Land of the Yeti 23
On her way, she encountered several avalanches of varying sizes, harvested some Ice Chestnuts, but also wasted a fair bit of time.
After a few times, Moira Lynch decided to just go with the flow. ’If time is wasted, so be it,’ she thought. ’It’s not like it was for nothing. I’ve gotten something different out of it each time.’
Because her route was planned in advance, it passed through the spots she had previously marked—places where wandering Yetis were buried.
When night fell, Moira Lynch didn’t stop to rest. Yetis weren’t nocturnal creatures; they rested at night, too.
Back in the main Yeti territory, there would have been patrols, but the wandering Yetis clearly lacked that instinct.
In their minds, it was all about fighting. Patrols? What was there to patrol?
This meant it was actually much safer here at night. Moira Lynch only had to contend with the plunging temperatures and harsh weather.
But since Moira Lynch had eaten the Ice Chestnuts, these things were nothing to her at all.
Compared to the daytime, Moira Lynch actually traveled much faster at night.
After collecting the Yeti Horns from all the places she’d marked, she had miraculously made up for the time she’d lost earlier.
Moira Lynch piloted the Flying Device at lightning speed. The cold wind whipped past her ears, but she didn’t feel a thing. Her expression didn’t even flicker; to her, the temperature felt just right.
Just by looking at her, who would have guessed that the ambient temperature was over a hundred degrees below zero?
If she continued to climb, the temperature would drop even further.
Along the way, Moira Lynch saw plenty of signs of Yetis.
She would never have dared to travel so openly during the day, but it was nighttime, and the Yetis were all asleep.
Even if a Yeti did notice something, by the time it opened its eyes, she would be long gone.
As dawn broke, a Flying Device slowly descended to the ground.
Moira Lynch hopped off, stretched lazily, and yawned as she glanced behind her.
She was several hours ahead of schedule.
Her initial one-day estimate had factored in all sorts of potential delays.
According to the Snowbird Beastman, if she kept walking forward for a while, she would see a castle made of ice—the Glacial Directorate.
Moira Lynch was suddenly struck by a serious question. ’Wait, I’ve made it to the Glacial Directorate. That should count as being rescued, right?’
’The last main quest just said to "be rescued." I’m at the Directorate now, which is a bona fide official organization. Doesn’t that count as being rescued?’
After walking for a while longer, just as the spire of a castle came into view in the distance, a line of text materialized before her eyes.
[Distance to the Glacial Directorate: 3800 meters]
’Still 3,800 meters to go? I’d better hurry.’
With that thought, Moira Lynch quickened her pace.
Ten minutes later, a door forged from ice appeared before Moira Lynch.
She rang the doorbell, and the great door slowly swung open.
The moment Moira Lynch stepped through the gate, the system’s voice echoed in her ear.
[Congratulations, player SoySauceDrunkard, for completing the main quest. Do you wish to exit the game?]
Seeing the prompt, Moira Lynch chose "No" without a second thought. ’Only an idiot would leave the game now,’ she scoffed internally. ’I haven’t even collected my quest rewards yet.’
Arriving at the Glacial Directorate, she was surprised to find that the person greeting her was a snowman?
Moira Lynch looked at the receptionist before her and confirmed that, yes, she was a snow person.
[The Snow Tribe: The most ancient race on Glacius. They enjoy living in frigid environments and dislike hot things.]
Moira Lynch reined in her curiosity and took out her adventurer identity card. "I’m here to turn in a quest and claim my reward."
The snow person took the Task Card, her eyes flashing with shock.
A newly registered, low-rank adventurer had resolved two Frost-rock Vole threats at once? This was unprecedented.
But... the record couldn’t be wrong.
"Very well. Please follow me."
Moira Lynch had, of course, seen the surprise in the snow person’s eyes. ’I thought I’d be given a hard time, just like the protagonists in the novels I’ve read. I even prepared a speech to defend myself.’ But in the end, nothing of the sort happened.
’This is better, though,’ she mused. ’It would’ve been a pain to take out all those Frost-rock Voles.’
Arriving before a room, the snow person stopped and turned to Moira Lynch. "Please wait a moment."
Moira Lynch nodded silently.
The snow person entered the room and emerged a moment later, now holding a cyan stone.
"This is your quest reward."
She reached out and took the cyan stone.
[S-Rank Awakening Stone: Guarantees a second awakening.
P.S. Only those with the aptitude for a second awakening are guaranteed to awaken. Those without the aptitude cannot awaken, even with an SSS-rank Awakening Stone.]
’What’s the aptitude for awakening?’
[Break through to Level 3 before the age of twenty.]
’That condition won’t be difficult for me,’ Moira Lynch thought. After all, she had already been on the verge of breaking through to Level 3 before even entering the game.
She had a feeling that she would successfully break through to Level 3 once the game was over.
She recalled from her research that Level 3 and Level 5 were two major thresholds.
If you couldn’t even overcome the Level 3 hurdle, there was no point in even thinking about Levels 4 and 5.
Besides, one awakened a Spiritual Body after reaching Level 3. Moira Lynch was quite excited to see what her own would be. ’I wonder what it will look like.’
The recorded forms of Spiritual Bodies throughout the galaxy were incredibly diverse—animals, plants, insects, even inanimate objects.
For some reason, Moira Lynch’s thoughts drifted to the egg being cradled by the lion in her storage space.
After receiving the Awakening Stone, Moira Lynch didn’t leave. Instead, she went to the third floor, where the local branch of The Adventurer’s Guild was located.
Moira Lynch found the person in charge. "Hello, I’m here to turn in a quest."
As she spoke, she presented her adventurer identity card.
The official’s eyes clearly flickered with surprise upon seeing she was only a low-rank adventurer, but he didn’t say anything.
He led her to a warehouse and said, "You accepted a quest involving Frost-rock Voles. Place all the voles you’ve captured inside the warehouse. Once we’ve tallied them, the payment will be transferred to your card."
"Okay, I understand."
Moira Lynch nodded. ’This warehouse looks a little small,’ she thought. ’It must use some kind of spatial folding technology, like a Space Button.’
Moira Lynch didn’t ask, not wanting to seem uncultured or ignorant.
As Moira Lynch began pulling Frost-rock Voles from her storage space one after another, first came the normal-sized ones, followed by juveniles, then giant ones, and finally, even two Coldstone Rat Kings.