Elite Monster.

After finishing the battle with Frozen Weaver, Walfred pictured his next destination in his mind.

’Silicon Alley Station.’

About 4 miles from here.

In the past, it would’ve been a 20-minute drive, but the roads in the ice age were a different story. Snow piled up to the waist, and wind blocked the way.

If he’d been unawakened, it would’ve easily taken three or four days.

’But now it’s different.’

Having become a D-rank Hunter, Walfred’s physical abilities had already reached superhuman levels, and with Cold Resistance reaching level 2, he could withstand the cold.

Lauren, following 16 feet behind, was also a fire attribute Awakened, so she didn’t suffer from the cold either.

’At this pace, we should arrive by tomorrow.’

Assuming no major variables, anyway.

But life was unpredictable.

As if mocking Walfred’s judgment, the sky played its tricks right on cue.

Whoosh! Whiiiine!

The fierce wind obscured their vision.

The calm blizzard suddenly began raging like mad. A whiteout phenomenon arrived where you couldn’t see an inch ahead.

Plus the wind was so fierce that even Walfred, with his enhanced body, struggled to keep his balance.

"Kyaa!"

A scream came from behind.

Looking back, Walfred saw Lauren pushed by the strong wind, face-planted in a snowbank off the road. She tried to get up but couldn’t find her center because of the wind.

’This won’t work.’

Walfred clicked his tongue low.

Plus, the sun would set soon.

At night, monster activity increased, making things even more dangerous. Eventually Walfred turned around and shouted.

"Let’s find shelter from the blizzard!"

"What?! What did you say?!"

Couldn’t hear over the wind, apparently.

Frowning, Walfred cupped both hands around his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Blizzard! Find! Shelter!"

His cry pierced through the wind.

Lauren finally nodded. Then she squinted and looked around.

A world entirely white.

After wandering the area for a while, beyond the dim visibility, the shape of a man-made structure appeared.

"That’s..."

A collapsing greenhouse.

On a sign half-buried in snow, the words ’Newark Greenhouse Farm’ were faintly written.

But getting closer revealed a serious state. Only the skeletal frame remained, the vinyl completely torn away, looking inadequate to block the blizzard.

"Damn."

Should they find somewhere else?

While he was mulling it over.

"Mister!"

Lauren’s voice called out.

She pointed across the collapsed greenhouse with her finger and shouted.

"There, something like a building is there!"

"...A building?"

Walfred’s gaze turned that way.

After taking a few more steps forward, a large rectangular building appeared. A shipping container.

"Let’s go."

"Okay!"

A container would be more than enough to block the blizzard.

The two quickly approached the container. Then they hastily tried to open the metal door by grabbing the handle, but...

Clank!

The door was firmly shut.

A large padlock secured it.

As Lauren made a troubled expression, Walfred tapped her shoulder and said.

"Stand back."

"What? Oh, okay!"

Lauren hastily moved away from Walfred.

After confirming she’d moved beyond 16 feet, Walfred reached toward an icicle hanging from the container’s eaves.

"Frozen Weapon."

Crack!

The large icicle instantly transformed into a sharp ice axe. Walfred struck down at the padlock without hesitation.

Clang!

With a dull sound, the padlock shattered.

The door, free of obstruction, opened with a creaking sound. The interior was quite dark, but at least the wind didn’t come in.

’Was this used as a storage space?’

Various farming tools and fertilizer bags lay scattered about. Walfred roughly cleared the entrance area, then gestured toward Lauren standing at a distance.

"Go into that corner."

"Oh! I’m fine even near the entrance. As you know, I barely feel the cold."

Lauren waved her hands.

Walfred asked as if to say, what are you talking about?

"Then will you handle the monsters?"

"...Ah."

Lauren finally realized.

The fact that Walfred volunteered to stay at the entrance wasn’t just because of the cold, but also considering the possibility of monster attacks.

"Thank you. Then excuse me."

Recognizing the consideration, Lauren obediently went to the innermost corner of the container.

Then Walfred slightly closed the door to just block the wind before sitting near the entrance.

The distance from Lauren was roughly 16 to 20 feet.

As if proving this, Frost Domain and Blessing of the Snowfield remained active.

"Oh, right."

Then Lauren rummaged through her bag and pulled out a cup. And she put pieces of icicle she’d grabbed before entering the container into the cup.

The moment she clasped the cup with both hands.

Hiss!

With the sound of melting ice, white steam soon rose. Then the icicle melted at an amazing speed and turned into warm water.

"Would you like some? It’ll warm you up."

"No, I’m good."

Walfred shook his head.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to drink warm water, but if he was going to drink water anyway, he wanted to choose the option that helped with growth.

So he scooped a handful of snow from the gap in the entrance and dumped it straight into his mouth.

Crunch crunch!

[Experience gained.]

[Experience: +1.09%]

’Much less than before.’

So it decreases as you level up, huh?

Still, there was hope.

If the skill level of Frost Feast increased, the amount of experience might increase too. Just as Walfred was about to eat more snow.

"Y-you can’t do that!"

Lauren shouted in alarm.

Her eyes wide with shock.

"Can’t do what?"

"If you eat snow like that, you’ll get hypothermia! It’s already cold..."

"It’s fine."

Walfred replied flatly.

"I’m a frost attribute Awakened."

"What? F-frost attribute...?"

"Yeah."

Lauren’s eyes went round.