Chapter 140: Land of the Yeti 16
The group didn’t look like they were in good shape. They were shivering uncontrollably from the cold, draped in pelts stripped from some unknown creature.
Given their condition, if they saw her, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t try to take her clothes and supplies.
After successfully passing the players, Moira Lynch paid them no mind and continued to focus on gathering Ice Mist Fruits.
Before long, the voice of Patience sounded in Moira’s ear again, much more urgent than before.
[Warning, warning, a pack of Yetis is approaching!!]
Moira Lynch didn’t dare take any chances. She pulled out her Flying Device, activated Invisibility, and turned on her protective shield, bolting out of the forest in a flash.
As she fled, Moira Lynch glanced back. In the distance, she could vaguely make out a group of massive figures rapidly approaching.
Her glasses were integrated with a Focusing Lens, allowing her to see clearly that there were five Yetis in total. But they were enormous, and the commotion they made as they ran was immense. No wonder Patience had called them a "pack."
Fortunately, Moira Lynch was fast enough; the Yetis didn’t seem to have spotted her.
She didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until she was out of the Yetis’ territory. She slowed down the Flying Device. ’It feels like I forgot something, though.’
She mentally slapped her forehead. ’My drone!’
’Those things are ridiculously expensive, and I only have a few of them.’
But even with that thought, Moira Lynch didn’t stop her escape.
After flying a while longer, she spotted an Iceberg Beast—an Erqii—basking in the sun from a distance.
Moira Lynch slowly landed on Erqii’s body and finally let out a true sigh of relief.
"Patience, can you still control the drone from this distance?"
After a moment’s wait.
[Receiving footage transmitted back from the drone. View now?]
’The signal hasn’t disconnected? But I’ve come so far.’
’It must be because of Patience.’
"View."
Immediately, a scene from the forest appeared before Moira Lynch.
The Yetis, upon discovering how many Ice Mist Fruits were missing, were furious. They began rampaging, searching for the little thief.
Watching one of the Yetis effortlessly uproot a fruit tree and snap it in two, Moira Lynch felt extremely fortunate that she’d left when she did. Otherwise...
As she continued to watch, she noticed there was no sign of the other players in the video. ’Looks like they sensed the danger and got away early, too.’
After failing to find the thief, the Yetis didn’t return to their den. Instead, they headed off in another direction.
Watching the Yetis move farther away, Moira Lynch whispered, "Follow them."
The words had barely left her mouth when the drone, under Patience’s control, took off after the Yetis.
About ten minutes later, the Yetis finally reached their destination: a vast Sea of Snow Lilies.
’Judging by its size, this probably isn’t the one I saw earlier.’
’No wonder that girl from before had that expression on her face and said what she did.’
At that moment, numerous players were in the middle of the floral sea, completing tasks. The sight sent the Yetis into a rage, and they let out furious roars.
The players picking flowers were startled. When they saw five massive monsters roaring at them, many of them turned and bolted.
Though the Yetis were enormous, their speed was anything but slow. They also possessed powerful bodies and astounding jumping ability.
Moira Lynch watched as one Yeti easily leaped over half the Sea of Lilies, landing in front of a fleeing player and snatching them up before they could even react.
Luckily, the drone was flying high enough that the Yetis hadn’t noticed it. Their attention was focused elsewhere.
The other Yetis did much the same, easily snatching up several more players.
After the initial chaos, most of the players had been caught by the Yetis. Only a small number managed to escape using items and special abilities.
Although the captured players had lost their freedom, the Yetis didn’t seem to intend to harm them—or at least, not immediately.
After tying up the captured players, the Yetis picked a large number of Snow Lilies and headed back toward their territory.
The sky was growing dim. Moira Lynch thought for a moment but decided against having the drone follow them any further.
Night fell quickly on Glacius. One moment the sky was merely dimming, and just a few minutes later, it was completely dark.
Suddenly, she felt the "ground" move. The Erqii beneath her had stood up and was beginning to move slowly.
Moira Lynch wasn’t alarmed when she realized this. For the time being, her position was still relatively safe.
Erqii walked up to an iceberg and stopped. Moira Lynch heard a CRUNCHING sound from below.
She looked down and saw Erqii chewing on a corner of the iceberg with great relish.
’No way, it eats ice?’
’Watching one iceberg chew on another... it feels a little weird. Don’t these Iceberg Beasts ever accidentally eat their own kind?’
Watching Erqii eat with such gusto, Moira Lynch suddenly felt like she was watching a mukbang.
While watching, she picked out one hundred of the largest, plumpest Ice Mist Fruits from her harvest and stored them separately.
"Patience, do these Ice Mist Fruits have any special properties?"
Moira Lynch examined the Ice Mist Fruit in her hand. It looked like a pear, but it was blue. Then again, this was Glacius, where most things seemed to be cool-toned. It was also much larger than a pear from Caelus.
[Ice Mist Fruit: Thrives in cold environments. Sweet and juicy. Protects and nourishes the vocal cords. Long-term consumption can make one’s voice more beautiful and penetrating.]
’Penetrating?’
Looking at that word, she thought back to the Yeti’s roar from earlier. She wouldn’t call it ’beautiful,’ but it was definitely ’penetrating.’
’Even from that far away, I could hear it clearly without the drone’s microphone.’
’If I ate this Ice Mist Fruit and then used a dolphin-like shriek... the damage potential would be off the charts.’
’The effects of this Ice Mist Fruit would be perfect for someone who has awakened a sound-based ability.’
Just as she finished storing the hundred selected Ice Mist Fruits in a separate Space Button, her drone returned.
After stowing the drone, Moira Lynch couldn’t help but yawn.
The yawn was like a switch being flipped. Sleepiness washed over her like a tidal wave.
’You’ve got to be kidding me. I was just celebrating not getting drowsy after eating the Red Fruit. I guess it’s not that there’s no side effect, it was just delayed.’
’Well, it’s already dark, so it’s not like I can travel anyway. Might as well sleep.’
Fighting the last vestiges of sleepiness, Moira Lynch took out her Flying Device and got off Erqii’s back.
’Who knows where this Iceberg Beast will wander off to once I’m asleep. It would be a disaster if it carried me into the Yetis’ territory.’