Daz frowned. He, Madison, Ellie and the twins had been walking for a good while now. 'An hour? Maybe two? Hard to tell with my internal clock. The sky being blotted out by the snow is hardly useful too. I could always ask the system but it isn't that important. It's still bright enough.'

Hamson was peacefully being controlled by him outside of Mr Barrier's shield with the Frost Phoenix egg atop it. Reika, meanwhile, was being lazy on his halo. His Survivor's Instincts were silent as well.

Everything was going well but something felt... off. "I'm certain someone's watching us."

Ellie glanced his way. "Can't you see them with Soul Vision?"

Daz shook his head. "I don't see anything. Either I'm being too paranoid - possible but unlikely - or we're being watched by something soulless like one of your robots. Or..."

"... Or their souls can't be seen. One is a real possibility but I've rarely seen you be wrong before. Rarely being the key word there. Robots is even less likely. Mine can barely handle this storm as is and that's with all of the money I spent on them to get them to this point. So invisible souls it is. How though?" Ellie asked.

'A logical assessment from an emotionally distraught person in a great deal of emotional pain? A welcome surprise.' Daz furrowed his brow. "No idea. Maybe the snowstorm? It's abnormal enough."

Madison cocked her head to the side. "Try, communicate?"

Slowly nodding, Daz said, "It's worth a shot if nothing else."

He got everyone to stop moving and then approached the edge of Mr Barrier's protection. "Show yourselves! I can sense you out there! We mean you no harm so long as you share the same sentiments!"

Only the light sound of the snow hammering onto the barrier met him as a response.

"Maybe, barrier's, soundproofing, is, two, way?" Madison suggested.

Daz did note that she had asked Mr Barrier to made the snow far less ear-crushingly loud when she got the little blue ball of fluff to set up its barrier so that was certainly a possiblity.

He approached the fluffy creature sitting on Madison's head and asked it, "Can I be heard outside?"

The mysterious creature jiggled about positively.

"So I'm being ignored," Daz coldly stated.

"Really?" Katy asked with childish curiosity in her eyes. "Maybe they don't speak English?"

"Or at all. Maybe it's a monster!" Kathy added.

'Smart but I can be understood by all sapients, though you two don't know that,' Daz replied privately.

"Well, whatever it is, it's being very cautious. Understandably so but if it's acting like this then it or they know we're a threat. That implies intelligence," Daz stated. "Regardless, let's move on. Mr Barrier will keep us safe."

As they continued to walk Ellie informed the group that a large structure was up ahead but her bots couldn't quite make out what it was due to the grim weather.

A few of her disposable scouting bots had also been destroyed but not by the harsh conditions since she'd outfitted them with anti-freezing capabilities specifically for this expedition.

Someone of something was destroying them actively, proving Daz's gut feeling correct.

Not much later and his sharp eyes could just barely make out a wall of some sort in the distance. "Everyone stop."

No one argued and all of the girls ceased moving immediately.

"I'm going to go out and investigate. I'm the most suited to battle against this blizzard anyway. I don't want any of you leaving Mr Barrier's side when there's likely a dangerous predator out there just waiting for us to show an opening," Daz said firmly.

Madison nodded though worry flashed through her eyes.

"The egg?" Katy asked with her sister nodding along.

"I'll leave it in here with you two for now. Don't want it getting hurt by some strangers or a monster, now do we?" Daz replied.

They both agreed to that and took the egg off of his hands.

"Ellie, can you cover my back from in here?" Daz asked her while she stared off into the depths of the snowstorm.

She nodded. "This barrier hasn't stopped my telekinesis thus far, I don't see why it would start to do so now."

"I'll be counting on you then if I'm getting beat one-sidedly. Otherwise, don't interfere please," Daz replied then stepped out of Mr Barrier's protective shield.

His hair and skin immediately began freezing over as if his resistances, while lacking, were completely nonexistent.

He felt his movements slow almost to a crawl. Just walking was difficult but not impossible. 'Hamson and my control of him are mostly unaffected so I should be fine offensively so long as I keep my eyes open.'

Not the easiest of tasks, it turned out thanks to the cold.

Cold Resistance has reached Level 9.

'One more level then it should give me evolution options. That'll be immensely helpful,' Daz thought as he kept his vigilance up and soldiered on towards the wall.

The second he reached it, before he could even inspect it or start searching for a door or gate of some sort, something grabbed him by the shoulder and violently threw him off his feet.

Daz didn't panic or scream. Instead, while he soared through the air he controlled the two Young Lime Peridots and the two Young Aqua Tanzanites tucked in the folds of his gear under his elbows and behind his knees with Astral Crystal Control.

He had decided to hide them in his clothing months ago for this very purpose and he usually kept them there at all times. It was a mild discomfort for the peace of mind that he could never really have the control of his body stolen from him.

Only now was it proving useful to have prepared as such, however. Daz used the pebble-sized gems to steady himself in the air and he then willed Hamson into action.

The blood-red shovel tore through the air and easily cut right through whatever had attacked him before it could even notice the shovel hurtling towards it, let alone try to block or dodge it.

Daz could hardly see in this blizzard and the corpse of whatever he had just slain was quickly being covered by the snow.

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"Ahhh!"

"Ag! Ag! Ag!"

"Awwwruuuuu!"

Strange and numerous screeches and yells pierce through the violent weather, clearly reacting to seeing a comrade fall.

Daz didn't have the time to consider the other beings lingering out in the storm. He didn't want to get tossed around like a sack full of spuds again., Instead, he chose to quickly grab the body of whatever he'd just killed.

He immediately stored it then used the small gems to float right through the storm back towards Madison and the others.

Daz could think in Mr Barrier's barrier. He couldn't do so out here, at least not with so much distracting and endangering him.

Thankfully, he wasn't ambushed on his way back to the group of waiting girls. Perhaps because the other things out there were cautious of him and maybe they didn't like that his guard was now fully up.

Regardless, Daz returned safely and without incident. "Well, that was interesting," he said as his teeth slammed against one another.

Madison quickly hugged him. "Careful. Get, hypothermia."

Daz smiled at her in response. "I'll be fine but thank you."

He stared out past the barrier towards where the screams had come from as he waited for his body to heat up. After about five minutes he finally decided to investigate the corpse of his attacker.

Daz first withdrew it from his Industrial Item Box. Thankfully, neither of the young twins seemed to be very fazed by the bloody body.

'I expected nothing less from them. Anyone who's made it this far is jaded in some way or another regardless of age or background,' Daz commented internally.

He closely inspected the body. It was bipedal but not quite human. It was naked but had no genitalia and it was completely bald.

"Monster?" Madison asked.

"I'm not quite sure. It doesn't have a soul though so that could answer the question of how I couldn't see it and its kin," Daz answered.

Its skin was a dark shade of grey and it almost seemed glossy. The blood, however, wasn't abnormal. It was as red as the blood flowing through Daz's own veins. "I wonder what this thing is... Well... Identification."

At the same time as he invoked the skill, he saw Madison and Ellie follow suit judging by the immediate lack of focus in their eyes.

Owned [Deceased]

A possession of The Owner. This was once a person but was transformed by The Owner into the monster you see before you.

The Owned are lifeless dolls with little purpose beyond what The Owner demand of them.

Hey, if you really think about it, aren't you an owner and your citizens your own, well 'owned'? I wonder who of the two is the mindless slave tirelessly working away though...

Hidden Description

The method to create the owned is reliant upon the god-ranked gifted skill of the Champion of Control.

This Owned was once known as Stephanie Parker, a former citizen of the United States of America.

Daz frowned. "Did either of you see the secret status?" he asked his companions, completely ignoring the rude suggestion from the Master of Flavour Text.

Madison looked confused. "No? Only, Lesser, identification."

Ellie nodded. "Same here. My class didn't come with a variant of the skill. Did the hidden description say anything important?"

The twins seemed oblivious to the conversation as they both hugged the Frost Phoenix egg diligently.

"Well," Daz sighed as he stored the body again and brushed off his knees, "we're not the first ones here. Apparently, the Champion of Control is here and that 'Owned' was once an American woman changed by them."

"Control?" Ellie frowned. "Sounds like a dangerous champion. Way more dangerous than the Champion of Luck at least."

'I don't know about that. Your god-ranked skill may seem unreliable but it once saved my life.' Daz glanced over at the large robot that was being telekinetically handled by Ellie. The very same robot that had once blasted half of his body into dust. "I'm glad, honestly."

"Why?" Ellie asked.

"Means we have a tangible target and not some ridiculous test. Even if this is a mythical city, if it's just controlled by a champion of a lesser god then we can talk things out," Daz stated.

"And if we can't talk things out?" Ellie challenged.

Daz furrowed his brow but ultimately shook his head. "Well, Hamson's always eager for a bit of blood though I'd rather it didn't come down to that."

Ellie shrugged, seemingly done with the conversation.

"Let's move on then," Daz said. "With Mr Barrier's protection, getting past the walls should be simple enough."

----------------------------------------

It didn't take too long for his group to find a large gate attached to the walls. It wasn't as easy as Daz had hoped it be though despite the swiftness of their discovery.

The blizzard had only gotten thicker and thicker the closer to the city's entrance they got.

'Without Mr Barrier, this would be one hell of an expensive place to try to explore. Either costly for defences against the cold or you'd need a pretty specialised skillset,' Daz thought.

His mind also wandered to the Champion of Control. It wasn't a champion he had ever heard of before though he was certain Rose would likely have information on them.

'Shame I'm out of cellphone and earpiece range. Either that or something's fucky with this place's magnetic field.' Daz didn't know much about technology but he was trying his best to learn when he spent time with Rose.

The moment he crossed the threshold of the city he immediately couldn't even see an inch past the shield protecting them.

As disheartening as that was, a quest window did appear before his eyes at the same time.

Quest Title: The Liberation of The Lost City Lian'Wa'Runda Quest Type: Side/Ruler Quest Difficulty: S-rank Quest Goal Liberate Lian'Wa'Runda - the Globe of Snow - and add it to your territories. Quest Rewards Earn access to the title system. Earn the title 'Collector of the Mythical'.

Daz stopped in his tracks, as did his companions.

'A rank harder than Atlantis's related quest but the same rank as El Dorado's... No optional rewards but the title system is pretty enticing.' A deep sadness flashed across his expression for but the briefest of moments. 'Sandy had access to that... Hero of Fort Skip... Ha-ah...'

He blinked sharply to regain his focus. Now was not the time to dwell on his emotions. 'If it's rated S like El Dorado but isn't stripping me of my system access then there must be numerous other dangers lying in wait, the Champion of Control likely being the biggest.'

Speculation was useless, he felt. Asking questions would be fruitless too since a quest was now linked to his time here so the system wouldn't be as helpful as it usually might be.

Daz turned to his companions. "I got a quest. I assume you all did too? Details, please. Let's try to do all of them."

Madison was the first to answer. "Find, sword. Ice, sword."

"Did you get any hints to its whereabouts?" he asked.

Madison shook her head. "No."

"Pity," Daz replied with a small sigh. "Any time limits?"

"Nope," she replied with that usually monotone voice of hers though her eyes were brightly smiling.

If nothing else, at least her quest could potentially be completed after all dangers were nullified.

The twins spoke up next. "Protect Eggy until she hatches," Katy stated.

Kathy nodded vigorously. "Needs to hatch here according to the quest. No time limit either."

Daz smiled. "Convenient since we aimed to do that regardless. Ellie?"

The woman slowly turned her head to stare back at him. Coldly, she answered, "If I tell you it'll be harder to do."

"I see." Daz stroked his chin, not really liking Ellie's newfound attitude. "Your quest doesn't involve harming us, does it?"

Madison gave Ellie a somewhat wary glance after hearing Daz's question. Katy and Kathy seemed surprised by the implication if nothing else.

Ellie shook her head slowly. "No."

'The truth. Excellent. I'd be lying if I said I didn't suspect she blamed me in some part for the deaths of Idris and Sandy. At least that possibility isn't rearing its ugly head right now,' Daz thought in relief.

"Good. My objective is to free this place and become its owner. Free it from what, I do not know," Daz confessed. "I'm not entirely sure how we should proceed though... The snow's only gotten fiercer since we entered these gates... Hmm..."

At that moment, Madison stepped forward. "Will, clear, snow. Not, permanent, but, helpful."

Daz raised an eyebrow. He rarely sparred with anyone bar his clones so he wasn't entirely sure of his lover's capabilities beyond what she had told him.

Despite that, he held absolute faith in her. "Thank you, that would be helpful if only to see where the main road goes or even to get a better idea of what this place is beyond just a mythical city buried in snow."

Madison nodded and closed her eyes to prepare herself.