kscans

Chapter 354 - Three Thousand Kilometers to the Mountain

As a means of long-distance travel, [Rocket] is an exceptionally good skill.

Of course, this is all based on the premise that the enhancement effect of my special title, 'Acrobat,' [Crown Crown], allows me to negate the self-inflicted damage that serves as its cost.

Being able to use it repeatedly at no cost, as long as I don't mind my health bar being permanently in the red, could be said to have both feet firmly planted in cheat territory.

—But, for solo travel as a physical bullet, it had one fatal flaw.

"................................................I'm bored."

My field of vision was basically either the blue of the sky or the white of the clouds.

Even if I tried to look down at the ground for a change of scenery while soaring through the air, my super-high-speed movement rendered my sight useless, capturing everything as mere 'lines.'

To top it off, just flying straight ahead, with the assistance of the [Marine Stake Boots], only required me to move my legs alternately while activating the skill.

There were no ups or downs on this journey, only sky.

My sense of time was also becoming vague, but fortunately, this world is a game and I am a player. Thanks to the user interface, which functions perfectly and clearly even amidst the blurred scenery, I could keep track of the elapsed time and my current location.

To avoid dying from an unexpected accident, including slip damage from the strain, I was throttling [Rocket]'s output to some extent. Because of that, I couldn't quite break the four-digit kilometer mark in a neat one hour, but I had passed that major milestone a while ago.

At first, the thrill and exhilaration of flying through the sky with my own body, without any cheats, had my spirits high, but unfortunately, that too faded in less than ten minutes.

I mean, I can't see the scenery or anything, so there's nothing to enjoy.

Maybe I should have just invited Sora... but then again, she's really into her training, and this material gathering trip is a personal errand of mine....

Speaking of which, the reason for this solo expedition was—

"—There's this mountain range? Or a sacred peak? Way, way, waaaaaay north of the city, and apparently there's an enemy there that drops some interesting materials."

"...What's this all of a sudden?"

"I'm talking about your clothes. I'm very happy that you like them, but it's embarrassing to have you in a stopgap outfit forever, so let's finally get you an upgrade."

"Hey, you call this a stopgap, but from what I've researched, this is more than top-tier—"

"Being satisfied with 'top-tier' isn't good enough for a ranker!"

"Seriously...? I'm not embarrassed at all, in fact, I'm proud of this gear."

"It's embarrassing for me as an artisan to have you wearing something half-assed! Stop complaining and go get the materials!"

—And so, I was kicked out the door by the lady Milmarinus, who is serious and proud when it comes to her work....

Well, it's fine. It's true that I'm very fond of my current outfit, the El-Gran series, but if Nia, the one who made it, is offering to make me something new, I'm honestly happy about it.

The problem is the one and only point that the target that drops the material she requested, with a demand of 'just go get it,' is a 'phantom' level rare enemy.

About three thousand kilometers due north from the safe area.

Among the many mountains that form the range, there is one—the [Eternal Ice Peaks of Extreme White]. The main objective of this expedition is the 'feather' of the 'lord' that inhabits its frigid summit.

It's only phantom-level, so apparently anyone can encounter it. What raises the rarity of the material to 'phantom' is the extreme difficulty of reaching the lord's lair.

An enemy on the summit of a frozen mountain that drops a 'feather'... I can pretty much guess what makes it so difficult without hearing the details.

If we're talking just about facing the 'lord,' then I suppose you could say this request is suited for me.

—The problem is...

"...I hope I don't get frozen solid."

It's whether this cutting-edge avatar, with zero points in VIT, can hold its own against an extreme environment that apparently makes even veteran pioneers shake their heads and say, 'I don't want to go there.'

◇◆◇◆◇

"S-s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-c-cold...."

—And so, I've arrived at the [Eternal Ice Peaks of Extreme White]. If I were to carelessly use water magic here, I'd probably be flash-frozen along with it at the [Eternal Ice Peaks of Extreme White].

With the snowstorm raging fiercely, my visibility is, as if by right, almost zero. Just like on the way here, there's no scenery to speak of.

Blizzard and ice—that's all I can see.

On top of that, I'm wearing a fluffy winter coat over my [El-Gran Series] that Nia lent me with the terrifying warning, 'You're better off not asking the price,' and I've used a cold-resistance buff potion she also forced on me, and it's still this cold.

To be precise, it's not so much cold as it is a temperature that has settled into the 'too cool' range... but perhaps because of the gap between my superhuman avatar, which usually feels neither hot nor cold, feeling a chill, my body naturally starts to shiver.

...Wait a second, there's a debuff icon with a snowflake on it lit up.

Does that mean this shivering and the slight numbness in my hands and feet aren't just my imagination, but a clear system-based disadvantage?

Apparently, extreme cold and heat in Arcadia can be mitigated depending on your VIT stat, so maybe if I had a decent build and the same level of winter gear, I could offset it.

I can't say I can ignore the knee-deep snow, as it's something I'm used to, but with this howling wind, it's probably for the best not to carelessly jump or fly until I get my bearings.

—Which brings up the problem.

"Wait, isn't this, like, a really bad matchup...?"

With my one trick of jumping and flying sealed, can I overcome the many obstacles that await me in this extreme mountain climb?

...Something's wrong. Now that I think about it, this is nothing but problems.

Nia-chan??? Can you hear me???