Chapter 608 - The Dreaded Grounds
A cold landscape covered in ice entered both Kana"s and Liu Na"s eyes. The two girls found themselves on a tall mountain peak. The clouds of the sky could be seen beneath their feet as they spread out over the edge of the mountain slope. "Why is it so d.a.m.n cold!?" Kana yelled out as she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm up.
"Kana here." Liu Na seemed to have been ready for everything as she pulled out two rings from her s.p.a.ce pouch at her side. "These are called heat rings. Senior Brother always told us, girls, to make sure we had a few special supplies in case anything happened. Although these rings are cheap and will only last a few days, but at least it will give us time to try to find and kill a demonic beast with fur to make warming clothes."
Liu Na"s voice stuttered as her teeth clacked against each other. Although she was a full realm above Kana, she was still feeling the cold just as much as Kana was. The cold was biting and penetrating their skin as if it was nothing. Only those in the qi condensation realm would be able to wrap spiritual qi around their bodies to ward off any change in temperatures.
"Then we should hurry," Kana said as she took the ring from Liu Na and slid it on her finger. She was instantly wrapped in warmth as if she had just wrapped her body with a warm quilt and sat in front of a fire.
The two girls made their way through the knee high snow down the mountain slope. Kana always walked around barefoot, so she was happy that Liu Na was so well prepared. Otherwise, she feared her little toes would be a bright blue from the cold by now. As they continued down the mountain slope, Kana could feel the pressure of the world weighing down on them. The air was also thick with spiritual qi. She could feel her beast core sucking it in greedily.
"Ah!" A shriek escaped Liu Na"s lips as she slipped and began to slide. Luckily Kana was quick and caught her before she slid off the edge of the slope. "Thank you!"
"Careful. The footing here is very bad, and your boots have no grips." Kana warned as she helped Liu Na up.
"I wish I could go barefoot like you, but I am afraid my feet will be worse than my boots." Liu Na gave a dry laugh. She wished she had better boots that did not have such smooth boots to them. They were lightweight and flexible, which were good for dry ground, but these kinds of conditions were not good.
"For now, let"s just focus on trying to get to someplace that is not as cold. Maybe the snow will be less as we make our way down the slope. For now, let"s take our time and make sure every foot is solid. One slip could mean our deaths." Kana did not bring Liu Na with her for her to slip off the side of some mountain. She wanted to give Liu Na the same chance she was getting to prove herself. Liu Na had been very attentive towards her since she arrived here, so she wanted to help this new friend of hers out as much as she could.
The two girls slowly made their way down the cold frigid slope. It was when they hit the cloud bank that they realized the descent before was simple compared to no visibility and extra slippery conditions. The cloud bank was like frozen ice pellets raining down. The two girls hugged the mountain cliffside and held hands as they edged their way down. It took almost five hours before they finally breached the cloud bank, and the temperatures rose slightly.
While it was still cold and the mountain slope was still covered in snow, Kana could finally see that their dangerous trek was almost over when she saw snowy covered treetops below them. "We should find an overhang and use that for shelter to rest for the time being. We still have about a day"s journey before reaching the bottom, and it seems to be getting dark already."
"That is a good idea. My legs feel like they are about to give out after all this stress of going through that cloud bank." Liu Na readily agreed. Her whole body felt sore from being so tense.
"Then let"s hope we can find decent cover from the wind at least." Although they would not be cold from the wind, it was still annoying with how high it was. The moisture still caused them to squint as it blew into their eyes.
After traveling another few hours as the night sky began settling in, Kana and Liu Na finally found a decant inlet on the mountainside that blocked the wind enough for them to at least take a rest. The ground was covered in snow, but with a little work, they were able to clear a spot out for them to sit down and take a much needed break. Kana took first watch to allow Liu Na to rest up. They decided to take s.h.i.+fts so both could get a decent amount of rest. Kana sat staring over the pile of snow they made after clearing the snow up at the cloudy night sky. Liu Na was using her lap as a pillow, already sound asleep.
"I wonder how the others are doing..." Kana couldn"t help but think of Bell and the others when looking at Liu Na sleep. She hoped they were not worried about her. She had no idea if time was quicker on this planet than outside of it or whether or how long she would be stuck here for. She just hoped that no one would come and search for her. If they did, they would also be stuck in this world like her. But as she thought about how long she might be here for, she began to get a little depressed. She wondered if Bell and Ganjo had become a couple or not. She wondered if she would be stuck here so long that she would end up lagging behind once again. She had a lot of worries, but she couldn"t deny the chances this world had to offer.
"Haha! Don"t look so gloomy!" An old man"s voice came from the side. It seems as if time had stopped.. There was no wind, and the snow froze in mid air as the old man suddenly appeared out of nowhere.