Chapter 188: Winter Is Coming [7]
Chapter 188: Winter Is Coming [7]
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[30 Minutes After Amon Ventured Into The Tunnel]
Nadia flew high in the air, her body tightly clinging to her familiar.
It was a griffin, a mythological creature that was said to be a mix of a lion and an eagle.
It screeched hard in the air as it fought the cold winds in the sky.
Although the griffin could fly, it mainly specialized in strength and defense with its large body.
Flying fast wasn't its forte which was why it was struggling in the fast winds.
Fortunately, Nadia was there to boost their speed using the trail of flames that escaped from her hand.
It propelled them forward, pushing them through the wind.
The griffin's form wavered, tired from Blizzard's continuous journey.
The coldness was also affecting its body, often disrupting its flight or direction with the mini shards of ice that got stuck in its wings.
'Just a little more...' Nadia pleaded in her mind, her eyes focusing down on the storm.
They were wide open, unaffected by the strong winds.
She was trying to find something from the moment their journey had begun.
'It should be close...' She thought before her eyes suddenly widened.
'There!' She saw large circular spots of blue in the storm, that shone brightly in her gray vision.
Instructing her familiar, the griffin locked its eyes with the spot she had instructed.
Before in one whoop, diving down at full speed towards the target.
Nadia gritted her teeth as the sudden motion pressed down on her.
As they got closer and closer, she embraced for landing.
Peering over its body, she aimed her two hands at the spot before shooting a sea of flames at the spot.
BOOOM!
A large explosion occurred as the spot blew up and pieces of metal and rock were blown away in the storm.
And then, Nadia ducked down as the griffin crashed into the hole she had created.
Panting hard and trying to catch her breath, Nadia barely got down from its back.
The griffin returned to its mini form of a small lion cub, quickly climbing into her blazer.
Gritting her teeth, Nadia ignored the cold that affected her injuries.
She had more important matters to focus on.
Walking into the narrow tunnel she saw, her eyes instantly widened.
The whole tunnel was illuminated in a blue shimmering light.
The light was being emitted from large crystals that were embedded into the walls of the tunnel.
Nadia instantly knew what they were.
After all, they were the source that led her here. The crystals were brimming with energy.
Because they were mana crystals.
They were a less efficient but more used and cheaper alternative to the mana cores.
They could often be found in cave-environment dungeons.
You couldn't find them much in Eldergrove or the main cities of the empire, where mana cores were used more.
Nevertheless, the energy stored in those ores could still not be ignored.
After all, if it was only a little, Nadia could have never spotted it that easily in the storm.
If it was real life, Nadia would have tried to mine those crystals.
After all, even though they were cheaper, they certainly held a price to them.
Unfortunately, this was a virtual simulation.
Which meant those crystals were not real at all.
And besides all that, she didn't have the time to currently focus on things like these.
Suddenly, a large siren rang from outside, notifying Nadia that the storm was now heading toward the 5th checkpoint.
'No, I'm wasting too much time.'
Ignoring the crystals, Nadia quickly started to practice her mana breathing while running through the tunnel.
There were various turns to the tunnel, but Nadia still knew that they were all headed in the direction of the storm.
'Huff...huff...'
As she ran, she wondered if Amon would be there.
It would be better for her if he was.
What better way could there be to clear the matter up with him than to confront him face to face?
Because after all of it was done, Nadia was pretty sure she couldn't see him for the whole day.
As she took another turn, her eyes widened as she saw the tunnel end.
Or rather, it was joined by a narrow staircase that was heading up toward the surface.
Without wasting any second, she took wide strides toward the staircase, heading up.
As she arrived almost on the surface, she was greeted by another two same doors she had seen
on the other side.
'This is it...' She braced herself before blowing the doors apart with her fire.
BOOOM!
As the smoke cleared, Nadia quickly ran up, arriving on the surface.
And immediately, the warm cozy air greeted her body, bringing a sense of comfort to her body.
It was a pleasant change from the cold that had ruined her body.
But Nadia didn't lose herself in the comfort as she quickly became alert.
She observed her surroundings.
She was standing in a lawn filled with lush green grass, a contrast to the winter she saw previously.
A circular fence was placed in the distance that ran around the whole area.
And out of the fence...
Was a raging cold blizzard.
However, the area inside the fence was completely unaffected by the cold.
As if was magic.
Moving her gaze, Nadia's eyes landed on the wooden cabin that stood in the center of the area.
Made with wooden logs, it also stood sturdy and unaffected by the storm.
From the windows, she could see the warm cozy interior.
But was she was observing the things around her, a sound brought her back to attention.
Munch..
It was the sound of someone eating.
She quickly moved toward the source of the sound, arriving at the entrance of the cabin.
And right there, on the balcony, Amon was sitting nonchalantly on the railing, eating an apple.
A wolf was seated in his life, resting with its eyes closed.
Both of them were comfortably enjoying the warmth until....
Amon's eyes moved, locking with Nadia.
A shudder passed through her body as previous memories resurfaced in her mind.
Suppressing a gulp, she looked back at him as he got down from the railing, preparing himself.
He threw the apple to the side, subtly smiling at her.
But Nadia knew better than to fight him right now.
Not only was she completely covered in injuries but also depleted of her mana.
If she couldn't beat him in her full power, how would she do it now?
But even aside from all that, she had come here to settle things with him.
To settle things aside and...
Nadia bowed.
"I'm here to apologize for how I behaved to you on the match."
To apologize.