"Why are we even doing this, HOOT?" Asked Owly as he hid inside of Naell's coat.

That day, both Naell and Owly were outside Taglagas. Ever since becoming rich, it was the first time they went outside to do some missions.

The scenery in the Grassy pond was by no means green. Instead, the pond was frozen, and snow that seemed endless had buried the trees and grass in white.

The hills that stretched as far as isolating the Grassy pond from the forest of Alawenta were covered with thick layers of snow.

Owly was surprised since it was Naell who initiated to go out. He could only HOOT in despair at the said herb gathering quest.

Under normal circumstances, the young owl would have no qualms in going. Yet since he hated the cold of winter, he simply wanted to hide and laze around in bed.

Now there they were outside the comfort of their blankets, still arguing while picking herbs.

"I told you Owly, once in a while we need to take a mission, otherwise we’ll lose our job."

He then added on with a cheeky grin on his face,

"The Adventurer's guild has a policy and the right to seize one's membership. This being due to members not taking any quests for a long period of time."

"I hate you, HOOT."

"You’re too cold~"

"..."

Owly wasn't even in the mood to refute that pun. Sensing that, Naell continued.

"An easy job has begun flocking with requests and no one has bothered to accept it."

"There’s a reason no one wishes to enter said park under this condition, HOOT…" He refuted while refusing to come out from his coat, yet his head popped out here and then just to instruct him.

"Well said. Luckily, I could train my "Laziness" as you call it and your body to regain its resistance to snow, Owly."

"..."

Lastly, for some reason, Naell knew of Athena's regret (she told him) which was her inability to adapt Owly's untrained body to their natural habitat.

"Be quick about it then--- Don't pluck that one that's just ordinary grass, HOOT!"

"The payment is good and probably no monsters to subdue. Just a walk in the park."

"Are you even listening to me, HOOT!"

They then pressed onwards and continued to gather herbs. Secretly, the young owl, under all his grumpy attitude, was impressed with Naell.

The young master of Beryldot could move the snow without harming the plants hiding underneath it.

Naell too was impressed with Owly's expertise to identify herbs. Truth be told, it was the young owl who gave him the idea for this mission.

There was a time in the canteen where Owly, in his most boisterous form, told them that he knew how to identify edible herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

"Them" being the protagonist party hanging out with Naell. Ever since he saved Viola, they would often pop up to converse, much to his dismay.

Owly would then smile and look at him pitifully, a face that made it apparent that the young owl was enjoying it.

Of course Naell had no problem with them anymore, aside from him and Rinca still being immensely awkward.

Still, he did not wish to be with them very often. He knew from the novel they often invited trouble or what he called heroic deeds.

Going back, those thoughts never did escape Naell's mind. Thus when the herb gathering missions began offering more rewards, he then began to plot his revenge on the cheeky owl.

Not only would he annoy Owly, but they would also rake in a sum of money. Yet to take things a step further, the guild itself would even owe them both a favor.

When he told Tahina that he would take the mission, she was so glad that she even reported it to the Vice Guildmaster who thanked Naell for it.

The guild was troubled as gathering quests requested by merchants were often left unattended in winter.

Not to mention, they would need to raise its difficulty to C-rank as monsters would sometimes appear in those areas.

Luckily, a B-rank adventurer who was unfazed by the cold, and an intelligent owl that is supposed to live up to its species’ name, had accepted the commission.

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"But why is the quantity we are getting far more than what we accepted, HOOT." Asked Owly as his eyes glared at Naell.

He was scrutinizing Naell's reaction when he was greeted with a cheeky smile,

"You know nothing, Owly Snow."

Before Owly could berate Naell for his often embarrassing (and very confusing) "references", they sensed the presence of two monstrous creatures roaming atop a hill.

Both Naell and Owly felt the intimidating aura coming from them, and as bad luck would have it, even they were sensed by those creatures.

"Yetis, HOOT." Owly recalled its name.

Its enormous, shaggy muscular but soft appearance was baffling. What was more surprising was the fact that they went as far as going near Taglagas.

Yetis are known to hunt all day in the winter so they could return to their cave and hibernate through the summer.

"I thought they never hunt near human settlements?"

It all happened in an instant as when Naell said those words, the two Yetis growled at them fiercely, and began descending the hill at a fast speed.

He then [ poofed ] out his wand and robe, and cast spells to obstruct their destination, perhaps even intimidate them.

Owly in return flew attentively. It was no secret that Yetis were known to be a dangerous snow creature only fourth to the regenerative ice trolls.

Not to mention, the mere fact both of them got intimidated meant that both Yetis were, if not awakened, already on that stage.

In an instance not matching their body, the Yetis quickly dove upon them. Naell and Owly hastily dodged to the side yet their claws made shockwaves that they weren't able to anticipate.

In response, Owly cast [ feathered turbulence ] muffling the wave and silencing the vibration.

If it weren't for Owly's capability to use sealing magic, Naell knew they were done for from that exchange alone.

With no time to breathe, the two Yetis began attacking once more, swiftly and faster than both of them. Every jump left footprints signifying the strength of their aura.

Luckily, levitation had proven its worth and somehow countered the speed of the Yetis.

Yet Owly with his spells, [ feathered turbulence, feathered beak, feathered slash ] ---- were all dodged.

Even though it seemed that they were able to somehow slow their advances, it only made them angrier. The Yeti's eyes shined, showing the might of their almost chaotic aura.

The speed of their claws created shock wave after shock wave, making Owly unable to rest.

Despite all that, Owly and Naell were calm. They both knew how important it was to be level-headed in a fight.

So instead of just dodging, Naell followed with his own. Using his wind and water magic combined, he cast a big layer of highly pressurized water catching the two Yetis in surprise.

Still, Naell and Owly weren't able to celebrate as both creatures simply walked unscathed from that spell.

"They got cautious though, HOOT." Said Owly, noticing the hesitation in the eyes of both Yetis.

Naell smiled wryly, the situation was far more serious than he could have thought. He then replied trying his best not to get distracted,

"Still I can't cast spells like that without knowing if it’ll even affect them. I'm limited and restricted."

Owly nodded, he knew what Naell meant. Not only does his seal prevent him from using most of his mana, but further, snow and ice monsters are his weakness.

The fact that Naell did not use [ fortress ] or the [ canon fortress ] that would fire off condensed magic made out of the snow was because Yetis were immune to elemental magic like that.

The battle continued, one Yeti began tossing trees and rock infused with aura, while the other closed the distance towards them.

The Grassy pond had turned into a mess which only made Naell mad. When his mana spiked up because of his emotions, both Yetis stopped again, and grew cautious once more.

Naell and Owly didn't fail to notice it. They fired back immediately where both Yetis took a hit.

"Owly, I have a theory and I need you to undo my seal."

Naell immediately distanced himself from the other Yeti before it could attack once more. Owly looked at him dubiously as he replied,

"Why, HOOT?"

"I figure they don’t like my mana."

Only a few seconds passed before the Yetis recovered and attacked.

Both of their further enraged aura shortly melted the snow meters around them. Yet their distraught minds erased their teamwork, and by instinct alone, they fought.

Owly was the one who began feeling the difficulty of countering their attacks. It was not only random, but more plentiful than before.

The young owl’s focus frequently shifted from one Yeti to another, until he accidentally misjudged his distance from one of them.

Quickly one of the Yetis coated its claws in much fiercer aura, before leaping up to the owl and sending a fierce sharp slash towards him.

Yet nothing hit the owl and only the sound of shattering ice occurred. Multiple layers of thin compact ice had blocked the slash’s path, giving the owl enough time to fly farther and reposition.

As Owly flew and countered another attack, a dark mist swiftly flew from Naell’s chest as he yelled out,

"It’s undone, don't faint on me, noob!"

With that, Naell's mana violently shook his surroundings. He immediately felt the heavy burden on his chest.

It was the first time he had willingly let out his mana, and to match it all up his red eyes lit as though bright red diamonds had replaced them instead.

The entire land of snow paled in comparison to the mesmerizing whitish hue his mana was spewing. It had even begun absorbing mana from around him erasing the snow on the covered grass.

Further, the mana from the icy pond was consumed and quickly began melting.

Both the Yetis then growled and shrieked, they staggered as they fearfully climbed back up the hill.

"..."

“That was quick.”

"Truly, HOOT."

Naell and Owly were dumbfounded, the plan was to use his mana to intimidate them so the owl could have a chance to land the deciding blow.

Yet at the moment, the Grassy pond had returned into a peaceful place once more, filled with things to fix nevertheless.