Chapter 134: Land of the Yeti 10
Moira Lynch crouched down, hiding among the Snow Lily blossoms. She tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, and the movements of her hands quickened considerably.
These players were completely reckless. She had to gather as many Snow Lilies as she could before they ruined them all.
Soon, Moira Lynch had picked fifty Snow Lilies. She took out an empty Space Button and dedicated it to storing them.
Afterward, Moira Lynch skillfully wove a simple basket and continued her gathering.
The closer she got to the center of The Floral Sea, Moira Lynch noticed that the Snow Lilies bloomed larger, their colors were deeper, and their fragrance was more intense.
These Snow Lilies were clearly of higher quality.
While other players were still racking their brains trying to figure out how to preserve the Snow Lilies, Moira Lynch was already harvesting the ones in the center of The Floral Sea.
Weaving containers by hand was too slow, so Moira Lynch simply started putting the Snow Lily stems directly into her space to be woven.
Before she knew it, she had filled several Space Buttons with Snow Lilies.
Moira Lynch straightened up, wiping non-existent sweat from her brow. ’This should be more than enough,’ she thought.
She had wanted to continue deeper, but she discovered that the Snow Lilies closest to the center of The Floral Sea hadn’t bloomed; their buds were still closed.
’Did I get here too early?’ she wondered.
By now, Moira Lynch had developed the habit of consulting Patience whenever she encountered something she didn’t understand.
[Wilting Snow Lily: After a Snow Lily wilts, a seed grows inside the bud. Consuming it will increase your thinking speed. In the time it takes others to think for one second, you can think for two.]
Moira Lynch’s eyes lit up. ’These Snow Lilies really are a treasure trove.’
Looking at the many closed buds before her, she realized they were all wilting Snow Lilies.
Moira Lynch took a pair of scissors from her space and began collecting all the buds.
Her spiritual power detected someone slowly approaching. They were still a few hundred meters away, but she had to be quick.
She spent nearly ten minutes cutting down every last wilting Snow Lily bud in the area.
Just then, the flowers in a patch not far away rustled, and the sound of footsteps reached her ears.
Seeing this, Moira Lynch immediately ducked down and slipped away stealthily in another direction.
By the time Misty Cloud emerged from the flowers, she only saw a large patch of Snow Lily stems, all their buds gone.
Misty Cloud examined the cuts on the stems. They were all fresh, which meant the person had only just left.
She thought about how hard she had struggled to get here, yet she hadn’t managed to pick more than a few Snow Lilies. They would either melt the moment her fingers touched them—a problem solvable with gloves—
but the Snow Lilies would begin to wilt within minutes of being picked, and she couldn’t stop it no matter what she tried.
Now, seeing these stems with only their buds snipped off, she wondered, ’Could it be... that my gathering method has been wrong all along?’
Meanwhile, Moira Lynch hadn’t been idle after leaving. She continued to collect Snow Lilies along her path.
Whenever she spotted a wilting bud, she would snip it off and take it with her.
Thanks to her spiritual power, she didn’t run into anyone on her journey.
Having left The Floral Sea successfully, all she had to do now was deliver the Snow Lilies to the Flower Gardener in Snow Rabbit Village.
She now had two quests to complete: find Snowfox Village and find Snow Rabbit Village.
The names of the two villages made them sound like they wouldn’t get along.
’Oh well,’ she thought. ’Who cares if they can get along? As long as I can complete my quests, that’s all that matters.’
Moira Lynch habitually reached for an Ice Chestnut to eat, but when she felt the Space Button at her waist, she came up empty.
She then checked her inventory space and confirmed it: she had eaten all of her Ice Chestnuts.
Moreover, she realized she hadn’t needed to eat an Extremely Hot Mushroom in a long time. This was a good sign; it meant her Cold Resistance Attribute was already very high.
Since the Ice Chestnuts were gone, she would eat Snow Chestnuts next. She still had Snow Lily seeds, so she could mix the two.
Eating a Snow Chestnut gave a one-in-a-thousand chance of receiving a Snow Sprite’s blessing.
She didn’t know what the blessing entailed, but it was definitely something good.
Even though the odds were small, it was worth a shot.
The only side effect, it seemed, was that regardless of success or failure, one’s skin, hair, and even eyes would all turn white.
However, this change didn’t affect one’s health. At worst, it would just make her stand out in a crowd, which wasn’t entirely unacceptable.
Besides, the change wasn’t permanent. As long as she stayed away from extremely cold places, she would revert to her normal appearance.
Moira Lynch pursed her lips. ’Thinking about it that way, it’s kind of like being a chameleon.’
She looked around. In a place covered in snow like this, turning completely white didn’t seem like a bad thing. She could put on some white clothes, lie down on the ground, and no one would be able to find her.
With that thought, Moira Lynch took out a Snow Chestnut and ate it without hesitation.
The moment it entered her mouth, an involuntary shiver ran through Moira Lynch.
If an Ice Chestnut felt like eating ice cream, then a Snow Chestnut was like a flavorless block of ice.
One bite sent a chill straight to her core, leaving her feeling surprisingly refreshed.
After swallowing one Snow Chestnut, Moira Lynch waited a moment but felt no changes.
She wasn’t disappointed, though. It was a one-in-a-thousand chance, after all. Just like the lottery, it was all down to luck.
Moira Lynch glanced at her hand. It did seem a bit paler than before.
After putting her gloves back on, Moira Lynch continued on her way, popping Snow Chestnuts into her mouth. When she got tired of the taste, she would occasionally switch to a Snow Lily seed.
And it was working. Ever since she started eating the Snow Lily seeds, Moira felt her mind become exceptionally clear. Her thoughts were faster, and even her reaction speed had improved.
’It’s a shame Snow Lilies are unique to Glacius,’ she mused. ’Otherwise, I would have definitely planted some in my space.’
’I should hurry up and finish these side quests.’
After walking for another half an hour straight, Moira Lynch decided to stop and rest.
She looked around, but there were no large rocks or other natural cover to hide behind. So, she simply dug a hole right where she stood and jumped in.
She took a parasol out from her space and opened it to cover the opening of the hole above her.
She took out some food she had prepared earlier and an alcohol stove.
She had originally planned to have hot pot. After all, in such cold weather, there was nothing more blissful than eating a steaming hot pot.
But the smell of hot pot was too strong. Out here in this vast, snowy wilderness, she worried it might attract a wandering Yeti, and that wouldn’t be worth the risk.
Anyway, she could have hot pot anytime. She promised herself she’d have a nice, big feast once the game was over.
Having made up her mind, even the boxed meal in Moira’s hands seemed to smell more appetizing.