After a rather long explanation from Bonjour, Caelum finally understood who exactly "Big Ice" was supposed to be.

Apparently, Big Ice was a Yeti child whom Bonjour had befriended years ago after accidentally getting lost near the snowy mountains shortly after learning how to walk.

Or more accurately, the two of them had apparently beaten each other up repeatedly before becoming friends.

"But as you can already see," Caelum eventually said while looking at the endless snowfields surrounding them.

"I don’t think we’re finding Big Ice anytime soon, everywhere looks exactly the same."

He pointed toward the distant mountain range.

"So first, let’s head toward the foothills, maybe we’ll find someone living there."

Bonjour nodded in agreement, and the two of them immediately began walking toward the mountains.

"This really feels like an excellent place for a duel," Bonjour commented while cracking his knuckles slightly.

"Though considering the current situation..."

Caelum immediately facepalmed.

This barbarian seriously thought about fighting at every possible opportunity.

Meanwhile, Caelum glanced toward his school badge thoughtfully.

The responsible adults of this world would definitely begin searching for them soon enough.

After all, he was the son of a Count, while Bonjour was essentially an international exchange student sent by the Barbarians.

Naturally, neither side would ignore their disappearance.

In the meantime, however, he would need to survive.

And fortunately for him, he had once read the legendary survival book [Running Wild With Big Bear!] from beginning to end.

That massive book had not been read for nothing.

Its teachings were finally becoming useful in real life.

Nodding to himself confidently, Caelum continued walking.

At the same time, he did not doubt that the school badge likely functioned as some kind of tracking device, meaning rescue should eventually arrive no matter what.

However, the longer they walked toward the mountains, the farther the mountains seemed to become.

Eventually, even Bonjour noticed something strange.

"Wait..." he muttered while narrowing his eyes.

"Why do the mountains look like they’re moving away from us?"

His expression became serious.

"Is this some kind of walking mountain?"

Caelum raised his hand, signaling him to stop moving.

Then he activated his [Heaven Reading Eyes].

The moment his vision sharpened and expanded into the distance, Caelum’s expression changed drastically.

"What happened?" Bonjour asked.

Caelum slowly turned around.

"The directions here are reversed."

He spoke with visible seriousness.

Even the mana currents were behaving unnaturally.

Instead of flowing properly like they normally would in cold regions, the currents twisted backward in strange patterns.

Using the enhanced perception granted by his eyes, Caelum observed the landscape carefully once more.

The mountains they had been trying to approach, were actually behind them.

Meanwhile, the direction they had been walking toward contained nothing but endless empty snowfields.

All this time, they had unknowingly been moving in the opposite direction.

’Damn it... why didn’t I check earlier?’ Caelum thought inwardly.

However, before he could continue analyzing the situation, a familiar black-and-gold system screen suddenly appeared before his vision.

And along with it, his first real quest.

——————

Quest

Description: You have been caught in a reverse summoning, but the destination changed midway? What terrible luck! Even dogs possess better fortune than you!

Survive the Forbidden Zone of Old Ice alongside Bonjour. After all, you have already read [Running Wild With Big Bear!], so this should not be impossible. Also, do take revenge (if possible) because you are a cultivator.

Rewards: System Points depending on performance.

Failure: Ordinarily death but fortunately your background is expressive so diarrhea.

——————

Reading the description, Caelum immediately realized something important.

They were definitely not in the location Bonjour originally assumed.

And honestly, the failure penalty somehow annoyed him more than it frightened him.

’But why are dogs luckier than me?’ he wondered bitterly.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he suddenly raised his hand.

A summoning circle appeared briefly above his palm.

"Summon Dog," Caelum muttered fully knowing that shouting was unnecessary.

However, nothing happened.

"...It’s not working?"

Bonjour’s expression sharpened slightly as well.

"Then we head toward the mountain," he said immediately.

"Alright," Caelum replied after thinking briefly.

"But this time, keep looking at the mountain while walking backward."

Bonjour gave him a complicated look.

Still, he agreed.

Thus, an extremely strange scene appeared within the snowy wasteland.

Two students from the Imperial Zenith School, one fully dressed and the other shirtless.

Began walking backward through the snow while staring directly toward the mountains.

And after nearly two continuous hours of movement, they finally reached the mountain region successfully.

Then something caught both of their attention simultaneously.

There were monkeys.

***

"I think we should fight them and establish our dominance," Bonjour declared while staring at the group of monkeys with white skin and thick pale fur.

Caelum immediately looked at Bonjour with disappointment.

"Bonjour, you really need to learn more about the world." he began seriously.

Then he raised one finger as though beginning a professional lecture.

"According to [Running Wild With Big Bear!], if you suddenly find yourself stranded in the middle of snowy plains, the absolute last thing you should do is provoke unknown local wildlife before understanding their strengths and weaknesses."

His tone became increasingly deep as he continued.

"What if they suddenly call their gigantic monkey leader who has ruled these mountains for five hundred years and specializes in crushing lost travelers?"

Bonjour stared at him silently.

"...But I think we can beat them," he replied honestly.

After observing the monkeys carefully, he pointed toward them.

"There are only seven."

Then he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"And I don’t think creatures behaving like that would have a powerful leader."

Caelum followed his gaze.

Three monkeys were currently engaged in activities so bizarre that even he decided not to comment on them, while the remaining four rolled around laughing loudly.

"...You make a convincing argument," Caelum admitted.

Then his attention shifted toward several strange trees growing horizontally from the snowy mountain cliffs nearby.

Large white fruits resembling bizarre devil fruits hung from the branches as though inviting someone to steal them.

And unsurprisingly, the monkeys were gathered around those trees.

"You know... those fruits actually look delicious," Caelum muttered thoughtfully.

"So do you want them?"

"Of course I do," Caelum admitted shamelessly.

"Survival rules become slightly flexible when mysterious fruits are involved."

The mountain slope itself was steep and dangerous, but the trees somehow grew horizontally from the cliffside while maintaining perfect balance.

The entire sight looked unnatural.

Caelum narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You still have that axe stored inside your school badge, right?"

At the same time, Caelum himself retrieved his sword from his badge.

The blade gleamed faintly beneath the snowy light.

"We will attack them with full force from the beginning," Caelum said seriously.

"Do not give them even a single moment to react."

Bonjour’s grin widened ferociously.

"That part sounds excellent."

Thus, both of them prepared themselves for their very first battle within the strange and dangerous land known as the Forbidden Zone of Old Ice.