Novels2Search

31. Snow

Afterwards, no one else came even after driving for hours. I decided to just cancel Biggie's contract so it could just go home after waking up.

I wasn't complaining though, it would be horrible if more people like the mailman came. Come to think of it, since I took his box, how many people were going to miss their mail? Now I actually felt a bit bad.

[That reminds me.]

Hmm?

[Let me scan the letters. They could work as an alternative to the books.]

Oh! It would be amazing if I didn't have to rely on Sheepy for the translations anymore.

I plopped the open box onto my seats again and floated Tablet over to it. Its screen shone brightly with white light, engulfing the letters.

[Language Deciphered: Human.]

[Progess: 20%]

[You will now be able to understand it crudely.]

As Tablet's light faded away, I noticed the letters had turned slightly grey. They then disintegrated and fell as fine powder to the bottom of the box.

Wait, why does scanning them destroy the letters? That makes no sense!

[Don't question it.]

I guess those people weren't ever getting their mail then... Oh well.

[You should really decide what to do with your 2 skill points by the way.]

Tablet was right actually. I couldn't just withhold because I didn't know what to choose.

Show me my skills!

[Skill List]

[Eating I]

[Telekinesis II]

[Limited Shapeshifting I]

[Machine Communication I]

[Engine Burst I]

Telekinesis and Engine Burst seemed to be the best two candidates. But I didn't want Burst to eat up more HP and I wasn't sure how much strong Telekinesis would become.

Hey, what does Eating do anyway?

[Increases the efficiency from eating. You will need to eat less.]

As much as I did not like to just eat random flora, in the end, I basically just had unlimited fuel from eating bushes, didn't I? Screw it, I was just going to roll for a new skill.

[You've decided then. Here goes!]

[Improved Plating - 2 Star]

You take 20% less damage.

[Fuel Efficiency - 1 Star]

Your fuel lasts 50% longer and makes you move 5% faster passively.

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[Advanced Weatherproofing - 2 Star]

You are more resistant to weather.

Urgh... my luck sucks. Didn't even roll a 3 Star skill.

I felt like the skills seemed very inconsistent. Why did Fuel Efficiency seem so much better than Weatherproofing? Were their rankings decided by Tablet or something? Plating seemed really good though. Was a 2 Star skill supposed to be that good?

[Improved Plating - 2 Star]

You take 10% less damage.

What! Why did you nerf it suddenly?

[Balance issues.]

Unbelievable.

I ended up choosing Improved Plating anyway despite the nerf. I did like Fuel Efficiency, but in the end, I could just eat a few bushes when I needed fuel, right? Not that I looked forward to it, but still.

[Improved Plating acquired!]

You're not nerfing it anymore, right?

[Nope.]

How much more does it improve after I level it up?

[You can't.]

Wow.

Screw this bogus skill rolling. I decided maybe I should just upgrade Telekinesis.

[Telekinesis II -> III]

I tested out trying to lift a rock immediately. I collected quite a few when I was looking for boulders to put over Biggie's den yesterday anyway, so I didn't have to look for one nearby.

It was definitely somewhat easier. Maybe not worth the skill point though... For some reason, Tablet refused to tell me how much the skill actually improved.

I felt like sighing. Now despondent, I resumed my journey.

Soon, the place started to get engulfed in snow. I shifted my tires into pattern adapted for snow. This was so much more convenient than back on Earth. Back then, I used to have to change my tires when winter came...

The winds howled and I could see snowflakes whirling restlessly. There seemed to be many more trees in this area for some reason, with black bark and slender branches full of icy blue leaves that swayed in the violent wind. Did I come at a bad time?

It definitely wasn't a good time to head back either though, so I pressed on towards the mountains. From time to time, I felt like I saw creatures in the distance far away, but the constant snow made it hard to see. Maybe I was just imagining things.

I continued to follow the maps and found a road up the mountains much to my delight. It was a bit old and in poor condition, but it was perfect! Without it, going up the mountain would probably be impossible.

Driving up the road, I grudgingly chewed on a bush to replenish my fuel. It was then when saw a young boy who looked around twelve in furs shivering and walking up slowly. I couldn't blame him though, he was carrying a huge bag and- wait, why the heck is he carrying such a gigantic sword? 

It was one of those ridiculous fantasy swords, with a grey blade so fat that a guard wasn't even needed. The edges were unnecessarily spiky and there were engravings in yellow all over the flats. And since the boy was short, the sword was even taller than him!

As he sneezed, he caught eye of me. 

"Hey! Cold... is help..."

Excitement bubbled within me. Finally, I could understand people! It definitely was crude so far, but that just meant I needed more books. It would be so nice if I didn't have to keep relying on Sheepy!

"Hey! I'm freezing to death... please help..." the sheep translated.

For now, I was probably going to still rely on Sheepy though. As much as I didn't like it, it was still a pretty good translator.

I was a bit troubled. I wanted to help him, but if he got into the front seats, he would realise there wasn't anyone inside. That might not be a good thing.

But looking at him, so miserable, I felt like letting him sit in the cargo with Sheepy was probably not going to be fine. I wasn't equipped with air conditioning there, so it was going to be freezing.

Urgh, whatever. Surely a single kid knowing wouldn't get me into trouble, right?

[You are too soft.]

Better than being a heartless prick like you!

"Sure, come in."

I opened my doors and turned up the heat.

"Thank you! I thought I wouldn't be able to make it!"

The little boy hopped in and placed his bag and sword down. Gah, the bag was so heavy! What was even inside?

"Wait, where are you, miss?" his face paled. "Ahhh! Are you a ghost?"

"No no! I am in the back section! I'm letting you have the front seat since you are cold!"

He let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, good. Ghosts are scary!"

Thank god he was gullible.