Chapter 122 - Time For Departure
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The morning sun cast its golden glow across the snowy landscape, heralding the start of a new day... is what it's said according to the clock.
"Alright!" Lily's joy echoed outside the igloo, as everyone was present. She was gracefully dashing and sliding around, her delight shining brightly. "This is good..."
"Hm," So does Seia, performing similar maneuvers but with an air of examination. "Hn, it feels better than before. This is great."
The thrill on their faces was evident. After all, it's the result of their Mobility Boots finally advancing to the coveted 4th-tier. It was well-deserved.
Everyone finally had their Mobility Boots to 4th-tier, the exception being Lemuen. It's for a fortunate reason that we manage to haul a number of loots last time. Even then, I still have some spare of Frozen Shoestrings that I have for insurance—also earmarked for Lemuen's future upgrade. For now, she'll have to remain using the base Mobility Boots, unfortunately.
And just like I promised from Lara and her group, they also had their fair share of prizes as well. Although unbeknownst to them, all of it were mostly mundane. Well, it was still valuable enough to fetch a good price if they sell it, however.
As for me...
"Master, are you okay?" Luna's concern cut through the celebratory atmosphere, carrying the Deep-sea Scimitar, as she just had a spar against Astra. "You look tired than usual..."
"Aruji-sama, you can still rest if you want." Resting her head to my side was Akari who suggested on doing so. "There's still time before we leave, right? We'll handle it if something happened."
Well, it took us a while than expected when Me and Lemuen went into mining last night. Damn it, having to fight those relentless monsters hindered our progress. There were too many of them that I can't even mine properly...
Although, we managed to collect what we needed, however.
"Even Lemuen was the same... Ah!" Luna's eyes widened in realization. "Don't tell me Master... did you... with Lemuen..."
"Aruji-sama..."
"Huh? N-No! I swear I did not!" I hastily explained. Well, looking on what we did. It's no surprise if they came with such conclusion... "I just went to checked on something outside. That's all."
While I said so, a subtle undercurrent of bloodlust reaches towards me. Not particularly concerning, but I'm curious as why.
"What curt reasoning," While pondering, Lara interjected, her aloof demeanor unchanged. She's not the one giving me bloodlust, though. Then who? "Anyhow, you seem to be having fun there, no?"
"Not really..." I tried looking for the suspect in crime, and it didn't take long for me to find him. He, or should I say, Mikael, was staring at me with intense scrutiny, with Seymore sighing beside him. "Well, at least his masculinity's not lacking."
"Hm, did you say something?" Lara inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing." I replied. Man, I'm still tired. We still had to leave here early as my primary concern was the city...
Khione... We're in for another boss battle, huh. Anyhow, my brain is starting to warm-up, so I guess it's time. "Everyone, we'll start to leave now!"
"Immediately? Why so soon?" Astra, who came out of nowhere, questioned.
"Unfortunately, yes." I responded. "We have something important in the city. I'll tell you as we walk."
"Master, is something going out in the city?" Luna queried.
I nodded. "Which is why we'll head out early."
"Interesting conversation you're having there?" As I talked so, Seymore came interjecting wearing a concerned grin. His tension was palpable. "Mind giving us more information as we walk?"
"No problem," I replied. "I was planning to do so in the first place."
I shot a glance at Lara and Mikael and as expected, they're sharing the same reaction. Hopefully, they would provide us some meaningful explanation after we leave then.
* * *
We bid farewell to the igloo, embarking on our journey back to the city. Just like I promised, I told everyone on the dangers about Khione and the impending threat about to happen to the city. I kept the information concise, aware that the magnitude of the story might sound implausible.
To my surprise, they immediately believed it. I turned to see Seymore wearing a pained expression.
"Khione, one of the Four Elementals, huh. I heard that the Four Elementals became unstable these days. Kuh! To think the one meant to protect us could be the one to destroy our City..."
"Which is why we're leaving early," I replied. What do you mean by unstable? As far as I know, they're living things, you know?
"And then what?" Lara asked, her anxiety palpable. "It's one of the Four Elementals, you know? How do we even possibly defeat it?"
"We'll figure that out when we get there," I said. I can actually defeat it. I have no plans to tell them, though.
"T-The Four Elementals, huh..." Astra murmured, cold sweats forming on her face. "The Four Elementals..."
We reached the blocked aperture not long after. As we assisted those without Grappling Hooks, I can't help but marveled at how unprepared Seymore were while going to such perilous exploration. Utility gears? Anything? Nothing whatsoever!
Forget it. Nevertheless, the moment I stepped outside the apparatus, howls of frigid breeze entered my ears. Likewise, the ray of the morning sun warmed my face. Although the Cold Resistance Potion prevented us from feeling the chill, the sensation of sunlight on our faces was a welcome change.
"Ah...we're finally out," I exhaled. the underground had felt suffocating. Just as I expected, no one can match the vibrant feeling of the morning. Ah, such refreshing contrast...
"It's been a while since we felt the sun after all. Fufu~!" Luna replied. "Oh, how I've missed this..."
Everyone seems to have gotten out of the aperture. Noticed, when I turned around, I saw someone stood with a forlorn expression.
"Is there something wrong, Astra?" I inquired. That's unusual for Astra to make that face...
"Nothing, really... It's just that, leaving the Igloo felt like a waste." Astra replied. "Or rather, it's sort of sad that it'll get left alone..."
Ah, so that's what she's means. I kind of understand her sentiments, given her history...
Fortunately, I had something planned for that Igloo. "Don't worry," I assured her. "You'll be able to see it again soon. I had something planned for it."
Surprised, but relieved, Astra's mouth curved into a smile. "I see. Why did I even get depressed? You always have everything prepared no matter what."
"No problem," I could see everyone's smile from my peripheral, but I ignored them. "Was thinking the same actually. Leaving that beauty of a structure is a waste, so I planned to have it myself."
"Yes, Yes, I got you, Sai." Astra teased, her smile growing. "Thank you."
"So, Sai, what's the next move?" Lily interjected. "Don't tell me we'll walk our way back to the city?"
"It would take us a day and a half until we reached the city." Seymore added. "You said something is about to happen to the city, right? It's unfortunate but I asked you we leave immediately."
"W-Will we not make it in time...?" Mikael anxiously asked. "What if everyone—"
"Woah! Hold your horses, guys." I clapped as strong as I could, turning everyone's attention to me as I wanted them to. "Don't lose your hope yet. No way in hell we'll reach the city before it got destroyed. I had a plan."
* * *
"...Hey, Sai, mind telling us where we're going?" Lara asked.
As we trekked towards a nearby forest, not too far from the aperture, the leaves had all turned a pristine white due to the environment's influence.
"Boy, I know you had a plan in hand but we're getting delayed." Seymore exclaimed, a hint of impatience in his voice.
"Even if you go now, we're going to get ahead of you after this," I replied. "Just you wait. I promise you this'll be faster—ah, there they are..."
"W-What is it?" Seymore asked as everyone turned to see what I was referring to: a pair of dogs, nearly identical to Alaskan Malamutes, each towering about the size of a van. Fortune had favored us with just the right number.
""Gasp! Snow Malamute...!"" The girls mumbled in unison.
"That's right," I replied, retrieving the Saddle from my Pouch that we found in the Frozen Palace, flaunting it to them. "This is what it's purpose. Well, just watch."
I leaped onto a slanted mountain of snow and slid, gradually approaching the pair of Snow Malamutes. These majestic creatures, hostile fur of giants, were the key to our swift journey.
These pair of fluff of giants was originally a hostile species. However, it is one of those hostile mobs that can be tamed, getting their specific role. We'll be needing something to ride with, so...
A slight radius away, they sensed my presence. Their fur bristled, teeth bared, approaching me slowly as they growl.
"Alright..." I took a pair of meat. Yeah, I have it inside my pouch in case we lacked some food. It's for insurance. Anyway, I dangled the meat before them, approaching cautiously. "Careful..."
"Don't tell me, he's taming the Snow Malamute..." Seymore mumbled.
The Snow Malamutes cautiously sniffed the meat and my hand, and, in no time, they accepted the offering with a gulp. The process repeated with a second pair of meat, and by the third, they were visibly at ease.
"One last time," I murmured, offering the last pair of meat. The pair of Snow Malamutes took them, devouring the large meat as their tail wags in delight. Finally!
"Good boys," I confirmed, patting their thick fur. The dogs responded with even more energetic tail-wagging. "We're done. You can come out now, everyone."
"If you say so..." Lara said, uncertain, but followed suit after.
However, as soon as they stepped within the Snow Malamutes' radius, the pair growled protectively.
"It's alright, they're friends," I assured, gently petting them. These creatures were intelligent, capable of understanding human language to some extent... It's what it said in the lore that is.
"Amazing... to think you can even tame them..." Lara remarked, visibly astonished. "How cute."
"Just the final touch..." Lastly, I put the Saddle to their back, and strapped the harness to their body. "And we're done. We officially have our own Snow Malamutes."
"Wow, c-can we touch them...?" Tempted, Luna asked me, to which I immediately nodded. The group approached, each member taking turns petting the majestic creatures.
Luna slowly brought her hand closer to the Malamute's head. I can see that she's anxious. But the Snow Malamute, insisted and lick Luna's hand in gesture.
"Haha...Hahaha!" Luna was delighted as she pets the Malamute. Everyone followed suit, caressing the dogs back to their joy. "Fufu~! Thank you, Master."
"It's a promise, after all." I replied. I remember Luna wanted a pet like this before we head here. No need for worry, Luna will take great of them after this. "The clock's ticking; shall we head out?"
Now, onward to the city. I just hope we were not too late to get there...