After finishing his meal, Locci felt a wave of sadness wash over him. The humans had wiped out the Wanderclaws. Now, he had to search for another pack of Wanderclaws.

Locci wasn't familiar with Winterhold, but with his [Traceless] ability, he felt confident he could navigate anywhere safely.

'Finding the Wanderclaws is crucial for my growth, but locating them is the first step. There's another pressing issue.. I'm still weak. I must determine the type of build I need to survive.'

Locci began to analyze his abilities. He possessed four skills: [Frostbite Fury], [Frost Paw], [Traceless], and [Heal]. [Frostbite Fury] and [Frost Paw] were for attacking, [Traceless] for escaping and ambushing, and [Heal] for sustaining himself.

Considering combining his stealth technique with attack, he speculated he could become an assassin type. However, this would require increasing his firepower and critical damage to defeat enemies with one strike.

Yet, he questioned if surviving solely as an assassin was feasible in all situations. Pondering further, he envisioned being surrounded by numerous foes with detection abilities to track his invisibility. In such a scenario, he would be helpless against multiple opponents on his own.

Having confronted multiple opponents on numerous occasions, Locci realized the necessity of possessing an area attack ability and a defensive capability.

'I suppose I can rely on Heal and Traceless for defense, so my primary focus should be on acquiring an area attack.'

Locci wasn't aware of any Nixes with area attacks that he could confront, but fortunately, he could use Traceless to observe them safely.

With that in mind, Locci embarked on his adventure to observe Nixes.

Locci journeyed through the forest, mossfield, and valleys in search of new Nixes.

Along the way, he marveled at the strangeness of Winterhold. It was a vast frozen archipelago, with some of its seas covered in ice. Its landscape bore resemblance to the Arctic and Antarctica. To draw a comparison with Earth, he envisioned Indonesia, the largest archipelago, frozen along with its surrounding seas.

As Locci approached a flowing river, he took a sip and was surprised to find that the water was warm.

"This is truly the work of magic," he exclaimed. "To think I found a warm river in this ice-covered land."

Locci decided to stay and observe the kinds of Nixes living in the area.

However, as time passed, Locci began to regret his decision. He discovered only powerful Nixes around the river, such as Polarnix, Goggre, a fur giant with antlers named Diggonix, and a giant ice-scaled anaconda called Vrosian.

"Did I just stumble into a high-level region?" he muttered, feeling a sense of unease.

Making sure he was alone, Locci sprinted as fast as he could, fleeing the region. After a while, he found himself back in the familiar pine forest.

'Phew, I'm safe now. I won't venture into that valley again until I'm strong enough.'

Feeling hungry after his ordeal, Locci hunted some Nixes for his meal.

[You have leveled up!]

[Name: Locci Snowstar

Species: Snowoo

Level: 5 | Grade: Extra

Innate Ability: 2 | Essence: 2/3

Strength: 19 | Endurance: 13 | Resistance: 17

Speed: 17 | Stamina: 20 | Polish: 12

Mana: 10 | Force: 12 | Wisdom: 7

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Soul: 4 | Sense: 15 | Willpower: 7]

Locci realized that his stats had stopped increasing before leveling up, and the Nixes around him no longer posed a threat. He desperately needed to find a new suitable hunting ground, somewhere neither too strong nor too weak.

'Let's see. If I take the human settlement as the center, then to the North is this pine forest. Beyond that are valleys with warm rivers, and further beyond that is a mountain. I wonder what I can find in the other directions.'

As Locci was about to resume his adventure, a Vizernix suddenly descended, blocking his path.

Realizing it was the same Vizernix that had knocked him down yesterday, Locci knew Andre must be nearby.

He glanced around and spotted Andre emerging from a tree. Instinctively, Locci began to back away, preparing to flee. However, Andre did something unexpected, causing Locci to pause.

With a solemn tone, Andre prostrated and apologized, "Mr. Locci Snowstar, I deeply apologize for what my Nix did to you yesterday. I was careless and forgot to command my Nix to stop. For that, I apologize. I'm here because I want to help you."

Despite Andre's sincere tone, Locci couldn't shake the bad impression he had formed because of yesterday's incident. However, he also recognized the opportunity to gain insight into why they were transported to this world. Plus, it was a chance to communicate with a human who was willing to engage with a monster like him.

Locci drew blood from his leg, dispelling his invisibility. Using the blood as ink, he wrote in the snow, 'Come closer without your vulture.' Once done, he healed his leg again.

Andre approached without hesitation, sizing up Locci as he spoke, "This is the first time I've seen a human turned into a monster, and not just any monsters from this world."

Locci drew his blood once more and wrote in the snow, "How did you gain information about my name?"

Andre tilted his head. "Through the system, of course. Can't you see it?"

"I have a system too," Locci wrote back, "but I believe it's different from yours."

"Hmm, my system, and everyone else's, allows us to transcend language barriers, read information about others, and grants us two special abilities," Andre explained.

"Special abilities?" Locci inquired.

"The first special ability is designed for us humans," Andre continued, "and the second ability is the power to bestow an ability onto a specific type of Nix. Mine is for bird-type Nixes."

Locci finally understood why Andre's Vizernix was more powerful. He also hadn't anticipated that their system granted abilities for humans as well.

"As for what happened yesterday," Andre started, "I knew you weren't dead, but I had to bury you because I couldn't let my superiors know about you. I'm sorry."

Locci assumed Andre must have recognized him as an extra-grade Nix, so his actions were understandable. It slightly increased his trust in Andre.

Locci decided not to dwell on the past and shifted the conversation. "Why were we transported into this world?" he inquired.

"I'm afraid that's something I don't know either," Andre admitted. "But from what I understand, only people who have downloaded Nixworld have been brought here."

Feeling pity that Andre didn't have the answer, Locci nodded and prepared to leave.

"Wait," Andre called out, tossing a map and a book onto the ground. "I know you don't trust me, but it's true I want to help you. That's a map of this island. There's another map for the whole Winterhold Archipelago, but I think you'll only need this one for now. And the book is a dictionary of Nixian Language, the main language in this world. Perhaps learning it will benefit you."

Locci scribbled in the snow, "Why are you helping me?"

"I apologize, but seeing you makes me grateful to still be human. It's my way of apologizing for having a rude thought. Sorry."

"It's fine," Locci responded in writing. "I'd probably think the same thing if I were in your position."

Locci smiled. "I don't think you want my help to enter human settlements, so if fate allows, let's meet again, Mr. Snowstar."

With a nod, Locci picked up the dictionary and map in his mouth and departed immediately.

Locci halted beneath a tree, ensuring no one followed him. While grateful for Andre's assistance, he couldn't easily trust someone he'd just met.

Once certain of his solitude, Locci unfurled the map. The regions were labeled in Nixian language, but Andre had provided translations.

According to the map, this island was one of the minor islands in the Winterhold Archipelago, named Wolfland. It contained six hunting grounds. The central open field and the northern pine forest were the weakest, with four more hunting grounds surrounding them. However, for Locci, the most suitable hunting ground was the Frozen Ice Beach to the south. There, he could find stronger Nixes that he could handle.

'Frozen Ice Beach. I wonder what kind of Nixes are there,' Locci pondered.

Having memorized the map, Locci was ready to depart, but then he recalled the dictionary Andre had given him.

'Well, learning takes time, and I can't carry this around,' he reasoned to himself.

Leaving the dictionary and map on the snow, Locci set off toward the south.

Utilizing [Traceless], Locci arrived at his destination safely. Standing on the cliff, he gazed down at the beach below. The snow blanketed the shore, and the sea was frozen solid. Scattered across the landscape, he spotted several Nixes.

Locci's excitement to hunt the Nixes in the area was palpable, but first, he needed to observe their abilities.

Locci quickly searched for a path to descend to the beach. Once he was on the shore, he began by closely observing the Nixes engaged in combat nearby.

Before him, a giant white frog called Barbog and a seal named Slidernix were engaged in a heated battle over the sprawling fishes scattered across the snow.

As they fought, Locci snacked on the fishes they were vying for, watching the spectacle unfold. "Mhm, this fish isn't bad for a snack," he remarked between bites.