Chapter 257: More Hunting and Peaceful Memory?

(Hades POV)

It seems even mothers can run out of stamina and mana… Well, I'm not surprised when you take a gander at the side of this mountain. 

My mother had rearranged part of the biome, turning it into a dusty dirt wasteland that continued to burn black flames, but they were gone with one snap of my mother's fingers. 

So cool… 

"Oh yeah, show me your Medusa," Mother says after turning her head away from the complete dirt and dry biome, which was out of place as it sits in the middle of a cold mountain top filled with snow. 

"Sure, how much do you want me to use?" I ask. 

"Petrify below your feet without placing your hands on the ground…." Mother says, causing me to sweat cold bullets. 

"H-how exactly do I do that?" I respond very hesitantly but soon remembered the mother wasn't as harsh as my other one in front of me. 

"Oh, you can't even do that? Are you seriously even trying to think outside the box?" Mother says, causing me to cough up some blood due to how nonchalant yet painful her words were. 

"I-I can try," 

"You good?" 

"U-Uh, yeah," I say after wiping the blood from my lips and standing up from the compressed seat of snow under me. 

After fully standing up, I took off my shoes and threw them to the side while withstanding the nipping cold at my feet. 

"Come on, if you can't handle this, how are you supposed to survive at war," Mother says, filling me with a new sense of determination to prove her wrong as I knew Mother wanted to retire from her position as queen. 

It was obvious that she goes out and wants to explore, and if that is what she wants, I can't deny her wishes. And even if I beg her to stay, she's so stubborn that she'll probably leave without a word which means she won't be able to crown one of her children the new ruler. 

And I'm going to be that new ruler no matter what. I'm the strongest, hottest, most intelligent, and most social, so it's a no-brainer that I'd be picked… But just in case, I steeled myself and calmed my breathing as I closed my eyes. 

The nipping cold seemed to disappear suddenly as I focused on my heartbeat and trailed all the way to my feet before activating [Forbidden Magic: Medusa]. 

Even though I focused on my feet as much as possible, Medusa began to emit from my hands like always, causing me to click my tongue and open my eyes. 

"How did you manage to emit it from your feet?" I first ask Mother, who didn't look that surprised at my failure. 

"I had an epiphany while fighting an opponent, and it just came naturally. After that fight, though, I had to practice actually to get it down, so it only took a few days in total," Mother says as if it was just a stroll in the kingdom. 

"*sigh*... Why did I even ask," I mutter before sitting back down and finishing my meal. 

"If you want a tip, then throw yourself amidst multiple enemies and apply pressure to yourself. That is the best way to improve within a short amount of time," 

"Really?" 

"It's worked for me," 

"Okay… I guess I'll try it then," I respond before laying down. 

It's cold… 

… 

(Arpious POV)

[Day 85] 

We got up early in the morning and immediately went hunting where Hades seemed determined to master Medusa, so I let him do his thing without interfering. 

I even decided that if he was on the brink of death, I might not save him as it would be a good experience. 

"We'll see," I mutter as the last batch of Snow Drakes appear, clearly shaking in fear as I raise my scythe above my head and swing down. 

SHING 

My scythe tore through the Snow Drakes, and I already wanted to leave due to three things that I was mainly looking out for. At its minimum, my enjoyment was not getting as much XP, and the Snow Drake population was exponentially declining. 

As I swung my scythe over my right shoulder, I let out a frosty sigh before glancing at Hades, who just stood in front of his opponents, trying to manipulate Medusa towards his feet. 

"I wish I could help him," I mutter before extending my feet across the pile of Snow Drake corpses and spectating Hades' fight. 

He was currently facing off against 9 Snow Drakes, which seemed to be within his capabilities but not enough actually to cause potential harm… I hope. 

Hades has been a bit reckless ever since he woke up as he wanted to try his best to impress me as he's most likely caught on that I'll be crowing a new ruler soon. 

SWOOSH 

Hades first swung his sword across while stepping back a few times to create distance, aggravating the Drakes, but it seems Hades had a plan as he didn't even flinch upon hearing the blood-thirsty growls. 

"[Forbidden Magic: Medusa]," Hades mutters, causing a blast of gray mist to erupt from beneath him. 

The Drakes froze in fear after seeing a similar skill that wiped out their remaining families but soon realized that it wasn't as strong as the previous one, and it even began to dim down the longer time passed. 

"I see," I mutter after realizing Hades had put all his effort into one blast. 

He was currently smiling at his achievement and wiped a drop from his forehead as he turned around and glanced towards me. 

"What a show-off," I mutter as hundreds of monsters rose from the ground and tore apart the Drakes who thought they caught Hades off guard. 

And so, the snowy mountain finally fell silent as the two powerful beings walked away, satisfied with their new growth. 

… 

Next, we moved onto a similar snowy place, but this time it was filled to the brim with trees and had one giant icy lake in the middle. 

I saw this on the map in my kingdom and realized it was a relatively unexplored place in the [Mountain of Twilight].

"Let's see what new prey I can find," I mutter as my son, and I enter the forest nonchalantly, snow falling from every angle. 

It was quiet and peaceful. It almost felt nostalgic… 

"*sigh*... Maybe I should stay in a snowy place when I retire," I mutter after cupping my hands around my misty breath. 

… 

I was still quite young. About in my late teens. 

I had wandered into a snowy forest on Christmas to wish the people I loved Merry Christmas, as this used to be the happiest time of the year and my favorite time of the year. 

"Merry Christmas… Mom… Dad… Sister… Auntie," I mutter with tears that instantly froze running down my face. 

Four graves were spread out in front of me as I lowered my head, begging for forgiveness. 

"Hey, kid. Are you cold?" I hear a raspy older woman's voice say. 

Turning around, I saw a short old lady warped in a neatly knitted sweater that just barely prevented her from the frigid cold that surrounded us. 

"Kind of," I muttered. 

"You got parents?" 

"Nope," 

"Well, that sucks," 

The grandma walked away, never to be seen by me again. 

… 

[Day 86] 

"*sigh*... It's cold," I mutter after opening my eyes and breathing out a cold icy mist. 

Hades and I have slept on the soft pillowy snow, allowing for sweet dreams, which I guess worked? It wasn't much of a sweet or bad dream… It was nice, though. Nostalgic even when thinking back on some of the small, pleasant, and almost calming memories I had in my past life despite all the chaos. 

"Well… That was maybe the only pleasant one," I mutter before reaching out my hand towards the white wolf which slowly approached me. 

Kshhh Kshh Kshh 

Blood spilled all over my sleeping place, so I moved over a bit while hugging my son tightly… of course, after finishing the corpse. 

[You have been granted the following skills]

[Snow Coating]

[Beastly Enhanced Senses]

"I wonder if any of my kids can get this skill?" I mutter before trying to fall back asleep, but soon realize the sun was peaking over the treeline. 

"Ack! W-what are you doing, Mother?!" Hades shouts, jumping out of my arms. 

"I was cuddling with you to make sure you're not cold," 

"I-I'll never be cold, plus I'm not young anymore. I'm basically a grown-up, so only do that with mother and aunties," Hades says. 

Rebellious stage? Maybe? Nah… It seems I can't do this much longer, so I'll enjoy every second of it. 

… 

A few hours had passed, and I wasn't getting much XP nor fun out of the newer monsters here, which were essentially just changed species of every other one I've seen. 

A [Snow Wolf], [Snow Crawler], [Snow Toroise], and a [Snow Stalker]. Pretty basic. 

[Level: 95/100]

"So close," I mutter.