Madison approached the edge of Mr Barrier's shield and then drew her longsword, Family. Daz watched on with Katy, Kathy, and Ellie, in fascination.

'I wonder how she'll remove the snow,' Daz thought. 'An old skill that's been improved like her Laceration or Divine Cross? Maybe she's gotten a new skill or two that's even more powerful...'

Madison's stance was firm and unyielding as if she were a mountain facing off against the forces of nature.

Daz could even feel the Embers within him stirring upon watching her. 'The Ember of Edges and the Ember of Swinging, huh? My Ember of Digging is resonating with them a bit. This should be a sight to behold.'

And what a sight it was. The air around Madison hummed as power swelled from within her sword. She swung Family and the world shook.

The snow outside of the barrier flew every-which-way and for the first time since coming to this strange place, Daz could see his surroundings perfectly clearly.

Hundreds of buildings surrounded them from all angles, all of which were only a single story tall. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they were all made entirely out of a glassy ice that to the untrained eye looked rather ordinary if not beautiful.

With his Mana Sensitivity, however, Daz could feel the magic flowing through the walls. It was a strong current of a white, almost traceless yet extremely deep well of magic.

He could now also feel several beings much like the one he had killed just outside of the walls staring at him and his group.

"There's a lot of those things lingering around here, The Owned," he said as he slowly looked around. "They're hiding in the buildings just watching us. I couldn't sense them before though. I think the snow blocks my ability to detect magic."

"You can do that? Detect magic, I mean," Ellie asked in surprise.

Daz nodded. "It's a stat. Makes me more sensitive to magic. Anyway, the snow's picking up again already. Let's head to that palace off in the distance, shall we?" he asked, pointing at the distant structure of ice that didn't pale in comparison whatsoever when compared to Castle Skip regarding, size, scale and grandeur.

"Sounds like a plan," Ellie agreed as she moved all of her robots back into the barrier. "No point letting more get destroyed by those things."

Daz nodded, agreeing with her decision. They then immediately began following the main road towards a distant building that was far larger than the rest and was likely the home of whoever was running this place - The Owner.

As they walked towards what was quite clearly a palace upon closer inspection, Daz spoke to Madison. "That was incredible. Did you do that with just Embers? If so, I'd love to train with you. My skill with my Ember of Digging is pretty lacking in comparison."

While he had gained beginner-level mastery of the Ember of Digging it really wasn't meant for combat. At least, not his understanding of it. He could dig a hole with great speed, skill, and delicacy but honestly, without Hamson or his Quintessential Shovel Arts, it was a very frail asset for fighting with.

If he could get some enlightenment from a few spars with Madison, then that would be fantastic. Madison nodded happily.

"Mmm, would, love, to," she said before adding, "but, not, just, Embers. Alteration, too."

"Ah, I see. What did you alter, exactly?" Madison's esper power was incredibly versatile with a big enough imagination powering it.

In light of that, Daz couldn't even begin to think of what she might have changed to so explosively move the snow away.

"Snow, weight. Sword, force. Wind, pressure, direction," she explained.

Daz nodded. "That makes sense... Still, to clear such a massive area... How draining was that?"

"Very," Madison admitted.

"I see. Well, just relax then. Nothing can get through Mr Barrier so now that we know where we're going, reaching the palace and maybe even the throne room should be effortless," Daz said.

As if to agree with him, the little blue furball atop his fiancée's head purred happily.

Daz smiled a little at that before saying, "I'll be just outside the barrier. Snow or not, it's still insanely chilly out there and it'd be a waste not to level up my Cold Resistance skill."

The young twins wore looks of childish concern on their faces. "But the monsters..." Katy mumbled. Kathy mirrored her and said, "It's dangerous..."

Daz chuckled faintly. "Not for me. Besides, even if the storm is picking up again, I'll be right next to the barrier this time. There's no need to worry about me."

"Be careful," both girls said in unison.

"I will. Maddy would kill me if I died, after all," Daz joked to which Madison pouted with her eyes.

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

Just as the snowstorm was about to return to its full force, Daz's group had reached the bottom of a winding staircase.

This staircase of dark-blue ice led straight to the palace and it was overflowing with that deep white magic he had sensed in the buildings earlier.

Thankfully, Daz hadn't been attacked on the way there. Presumably, The Owned either feared him or had been ordered to simply watch them for now.

He felt the latter was more likely given that they were soulless and seemed to run on a baseline instinct of some sort. Regardless, the lack of action had helped Daz focus on his Cold Resistance.

Cold Resistance has reached Level 10.

As [Cold Resistance] is an [Evolution] skill, it shall now evolve. Displaying possible skill evolutions.

Advanced Cold Resistance [D-rank Lower Tier] [Evolution] Description

A skill generated by the system that has the potential to evolve based on how it is used.

This skill grants the host advanced protection against cold temperatures and cold magics.

Let it go~ Let it go~

Abilities Negates the effects of cold weather by 15%. Negates the effects of cold-based magics by 15%.

'Retains the evolution tag, includes magic but 'cold-based' is rather vague, and it also triples the old negation value... Not bad,' Daz noted mentally.

Endurer of Storms [B-rank Lower Tier] Description

A skill created by no sentient being but by the very forces of nature.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Only those who have willingly chosen to endure the full might of a powerful storm may be honoured with the option to obtain this skill.

Real grand soundin', huh? Honestly, you should already have this consider how much a shitstorm your kingdom is and how much you lounge around in it.

Abilities When the host is inside of a storm they shall gradually gain a permanent percent-based resistance to that type of storm up to a cap of 40%.

'Interesting and broad in usage. I can see this being a great skill but I wonder what options could pop out if I hold onto Cold Resistance a bit longer? If Endurer of Storms still had the evolution tag it would be a no brainer. Sadly, it doesn't. System, I choose Advanced Cold Resistance,' Daz declared.

How often did various storms happen that could come anywhere even close to affecting Daz thanks to his Elemental Resistance?

None really bar oddities like the snowstorms here or the lightning storms Altros' Lucky Dice conjured up to smite him.

The world was getting colder every day and not just in the central northern region of the States.

Still, whatever was going on here in this mythical city, Daz had a strong feeling it was entirely unrelated to the global cooling. He had a feeling a person was behind that, not a mythical city.

In light of that, a less powerful skill more centralised on the cold and that had the potential to grow further was far more suitable to him.

Confirmed. [Cold Resistance] has evolved into [Advanced Cold Resistance].

He felt the effects instantaneously. Some of his frozen hair defrosted and a bit of the moisture in his skin returned.

The weather was still nigh-unbearable and the snowstorm wasn't making this easier but with the upgrade, his body could tolerate it just that little bit more. The difference between 5% and 15% couldn't be overstated.

He and the girls ascended the winding icy stairway to the palace above in silence and in peace. However, Daz couldn't help but feel like they were being invited in.

'It makes some sense. Assuming the Champion of Control can see through The Owned's eyes then they can surely see how unbreakable Mr Barrier's barrier is. They also probably saw me easily kill one of The Owned and move in midair. I'd be apprehensive too in their shoes,' Daz surmised.

It made a lot of sense but at the same time, it felt like a trap. 'Survivor's Instinct isn't going off but I know how unreliable that can be when it involves anything bar myself,' he thought, glanced towards the twins who were jointly hugging the Frost Phoenix egg.

Ellie and Madison could handle themselves easily. Both of them were strong women. He hadn't sparred with Madison in some time and he'd never actually fought against Ellie but he knew either of them could hurt him badly if he didn't actually put any effort into defending against them.

The twins though? They were extremely weak in comparison. 'Provided nothing can enter the barrier they should be fine... It is meant to be indestructible. Even Hamson can't slash it apart and my shovel's fused with a close imitation of a god's weapon.'

"Katy, Kathy," Daz called as the group were nearing the peak of the long staircase.

"Mmm?" The girls cocked their head to the side much like Madison tended to do.

In fact, Madison was struggling to not embrace both of the girls, Daz noticed. 'Of course her seeing them take after her habits would tug on her heartstrings... Control yourself, Maddy,' he pleaded internally, hoping her maturity would win over her base desire to hug cute things.

Thankfully, maturity did seem to prevail in that battle, though her breathing had gotten a little bit rougher.

"No matter what happens, what you see, what you hear, whatever, you will both never leave this bubble, okay?" he ordered firmly while gesturing to the light blue transparent shield that surrounded them.

The girls looked confused. "We already planned not to..."

Kathy nodded at her twin's words. "Why would we leave? We're just here to hatch Eggy."

Daz knelt down to be at eye level with nine-year-old girls. "I know and I trust you, I'm just a very cautious man. I think it's wise to be careful around any unknown champion, let alone the champion of control, yes?"

The girls nodded slowly.

"I'm glad you understand. I have no idea how their powers work and you're right, you're just here for..." he slowly looked down at the white egg and continued, "... Eggy. If this turns out to be some sort of trap, which is not impossible, and if someone tries to manipulate you to leave the barrier, do not. In fact..."

'System, are there any medicines, drugs, whatever, that can knock someone unconscious instantly and with no side-effects whatsoever?' Daz requested.

He may be an overly paranoid bastard at the best of times but he wouldn't let anyone control his people, especially young children. He'd happily take the label of worrying over little-to-nothing if it meant keeping his people safe.

The Champion of Control's god-given skill could work in so many ways that it was hard to think of how to combat each and every possibility that flooded Daz's mind.

In that case, why even try to combat them individually? Just deal with all possibilities at the same time was his idea.

If anything bad were to happen to these girls who he had chosen to bring along on this expedition it would only ebb away at his already corroded mind.

He had enough guilt over Ger, Sarah, Jordan, Sandy, Idris, and the over 100,000 others who died under his rule.

Confirmed. 1,204,304,295,563,231 such items exist within the system's shop.

'Perfect. Any that can instantly knock out a person who has it in their mouth? Also paralyzes the body when triggered. Who knows if this champion needs the target to be conscious. It also needs to be activated by a trigger being spoken,' Daz asked.

Confirmed. 478,032,358 such items exist within the system's shop.

'Sweet to the taste but impossible to break with just teeth? Also not a problem to activate if swallowed by mistake,' Daz narrowed the filter's search further.

Confirmed. 56,753 such items exist within the system's shop.

'Can only be activated by the purchaser of the item and not accidentally by another person. Also, cancels any manipulative or controlling effects on the person it's having an effect on when activated.' The more specific he got, the more peace of mind he'd have, Daz felt.

Confirmed. 205 such items exist within the system's shop.

'Purchase two of the fastest acting and most effective ones. Price is irrelevant provided I can afford it. And yes, I confirm,' Daz stated mentally, ignoring the warning bells from his Survivor's Instinct for spending his merit points.

So long as he didn't suffer a backlash for spending the points meaning he'd changed the future where he was confident in the face of that astronomically large fine or tax or some sort, then he couldn't care less about these merit point warnings.

Confirmed. The host has now successfully purchased two [Brand of Di High-Quality Voice Activated Knockout Pills (safe for younglings)].

The total balance of the host is now: 6,140,000 merit points [-3,000,000].

Two small red pills that emitted the fragrance of cherries appeared in his palm. He extended his hand to offer then to the twins.

Choose an activation word.

'I choose the word 'sleep',' Daz responded to the system before he said, "Here, I want you two to put these in your mouth, one for each of you. You can swallow it if you want to or just treat it like a gobstopper. It'll make you pass out when I say a special word. This is just a precaution in case things go poorly, okay?"

"it smells tasty," Katy said as she took one and immediately put it in her mouth.

Kathy nodded excitedly. "Is it candy?" she asked as she took hers too.

"Sort of?" Daz answered. "Like I said, it's just to keep you safe."

He saw Ellie wear a complex expression on her face so he got back up and spoke to her, "Do you need one too or are you confident you can resist whatever the Champion of Control can throw at you should things turn sour?"

Ellie took a moment to think before replying. "I'm a Telekinetic Witch. Most of my powers come from up here," she said, pointing at her skull. "I have some natural resistance to mind-fuckery. I also have my unreliable God-rank skill but yeah, I have no faith in that. You?"

"I'm immune to any and all attacks on the soul and the mind. Perks of being a reaper," Daz replied. "Maddy?"

"Can, alter, self. Won't, be, controlled, easily," she answered with a little fist pump to show the confidence she had in her own abilities.

Daz smiled at that. "Well then, sounds like we're ready to meet whoever owns this palace. It's my first time being the visitor and not the host in this situation. Should be interesting, if nothing else."