“It is getting colder as we get closer. Will you be okay, Madam Agartha?”

Knight wearing heavy armor asked the priestess.

“I am okay. These robes are blessed by Anshar. A mere cold will have no effect on me.”

Unlike her behavior when she first met me, Agatha spoke stoically. I looked at her and thought about what happened after that.

"Will you really check my body?"

I asked Blanche. I lifted my shirt slightly and winked.

"I wouldn't mind if it's you."

She looked unimpressed yet she gave me a small smile. I watched her as she extended her index finger and touched my exposed belly. I jumped back.

"Cold!"

"Do you have a usual marking on your body?"

She asked.

"Last time I checked there was none."

My heart fastened for a second. What if there was a marking? What if my deal with Wolf King manifested as a mark? Blanche looked outside from her window.

"There are many reasons why a magical marking can appear on one's body. There are actual magicians that study why it happens. For example..."

She pulled her right sleeve. I saw markings the same color as her mana shone for a second before disappearing.

"...A Magic Crest passed in the family. Of course, it is different from naturally happening markings."

She turned around to face me.

"I don't follow the same religion as her. I don't follow a religion at all. I am a mage. We try to comprehend what's around us and control it. You can't comprehend a god fully, let alone control it."

I tilted my head. I needed some time to fully understand what Blanche said. She must have liked my confused face since she kept smiling.

"Unless you carry a mark of a demon, I don't mind whatever god you believe. And I know you don't carry one."

That night I checked my body for any markings but there wasn't anything new except some small scars I gained.

“Can’t we teleport there?”

I asked. We already teleported a fair amount of distance. Couldn’t we just do it again? Not because I liked being teleported, but because it made me nauseous. It was really getting colder as we walked. It was partly because we were climbing a mountain but even so the rate of heat leaving our bodies wasn’t normal. It must be worse for Duncan and Percavel since they were in front, stopping the wind. Agatha was in the middle while Blanche and I were at the back. The reasoning was simple: We wanted our healer to be as far from danger as possible. The only way any monster could get to her was getting through us and yeah, that’s not happening. Blanche was Blanche and could create ice walls and Percavel carried a shield bigger than himself.

“No. The ambient mana coming out of the dungeon blocks teleportation. It is also the reason why the air is getting colder this rapidly.”

If it’s this cold even before entering the dungeon, I can’t imagine how cold it is inside. Still, I wasn’t that cold. I think Ice Resistance also must decrease the effects of cold air. Or I just got used to cold because I was with Blanche all the time.

“We are not going to die freezing. Stop being babies.”

Duncan said. Then he looked at me and let out a chuckle.

“At least not all of us.”

One of the things living over 60 years taught me was some people will hate you without any reason and you will hate them back. Okay, maybe without any reason was wrong. If two people were to meet there were two outcomes: Good ending was them becoming best friends. The bad ending was them hating each other. Just looking at that fucker made me want to punch him.

“You are the only one that doesn’t wear clothes covering their entire body. Is showing your arms more important than not getting frostbite?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Hmpft! I have enough mana to defend myself from this pesky cold!”

“What if he exhausts all of his mana before we get to the dungeon?”

I whispered to Blanche.

“He won’t.”

A simple answer.

“He is the strongest person in this party, besides me of course.”

She also whispered as if she didn’t want him to hear her. Guess not letting your workers know you think they are important was one way to control them. I sighed silently. It wasn’t my first time climbing a mountain. I even climbed The Himalayas so I could exterminate the Nest on top of it. And what we were doing couldn’t even compare to that. We weren’t really climbing. More like walking on an extreme incline. It was still hard but at least we didn’t have the danger of falling to our death if we slipped. I looked at the sky as the snow started to fall.

“It would be beautiful if we weren’t in this situation.”

Just like any other natural phenomenon, it have been a while since I saw snow. We shouldn’t have created nuclear weapons, let alone use them. I hoped this world- Elppader as she called it- won’t meet the same fate as Earth. Star’s words rang in my head.

“This world needs saving.”

I thought to myself. From what? The only danger I could see in this world was its own inhabitants killing and hating each other. And if Stars really think I could stop something like that, they were wrong. The only way discrimination and hatred of others could stop was to destroy sapience and sense of self. As long as the concept of “Self” exists, the concept of “Others” will exists. As long as both exist discrimination will also exist. Even after several countries fell to Horde and humanity had a common enemy, racism and stupid politics still existed. I sighed once again.

“Focus on the present and not the past.”

According to Blanche, this dungeon expedition will take around a week. While that meant that I will be stuck in a dungeon filled with monsters, Ama and Arslan will have a chance to save the slaves. They still were outnumbered by the guards but this is their last chance. If Blanche returns, I don’t think they have a chance. I don’t know their exact plan but I managed to give the all information I gathered before I left. Ama talked about getting reinforcements but I was worried about the time. So I had to slow this team as much as I could.

“Incoming!!!”

Duncan shouted as a huge rock come flying toward us. One of Duncan’s axes flew towards it and smashed it to hundred pieces. Axe then bounced from it, returning back to Duncan. Skill or item option? I raised my shield, blocking flying debris for myself and Blanche. As the dust settled I saw that Percavel did the same for Agatha.

“Hey! Be careful! You nearly-“

“Shut up and fight!”

Percavel tried to lecture Duncan but he was already running toward where the rock come from. I looked at Blanche and her face looked displeased.

“He is a loose cannon.”

I whispered. Breaking off from the formation without the party leader’s command… If one of my men did the same when I was still a commander they would be cleaning the toilets for a month and that was the lightest punishment.

“What should we do, My Lady?”

“Stand your ground. Wait for him to come back.”

Percavel wanted to say something, if I interpreted his body language correctly but hearing her voice he stopped in his tracks. Several shockwaves and screams come from where Duncan ran off to. After around 5 minutes he returned.

“There were several ice trolls. I got them.”

“You got them?”

Blanche walked towards him. Her high heels made a lot of noise. So much in fact that I found it weird since I haven’t heard them before. Unless she wanted to put a presence now to establish dominance and made a noise because of that.