CH 198

“Yo……whaaat!?”

The moment we stepped into a new world, we were assaulted by an unbelievably harsh blizzard. With its momentum beating against my whole body, I unintentionally staggered right on the spot.

“Uhyaaaaaa!?”

“Tia!? Grab on!”

I heard Tia, who was also raising a scream, and I stretched out my right hand desperately. Tia immediately reached back, but the blizzard was so intense that I couldn’t see her figure well.

“This is no good. Manifest, [Akashic Compass]! The object I am seeking is the nearest terrain or structure that can shelter us from this blizzard!”

In a hurry, I used my power and began to walk desperately, pulling Tia’s hand in the direction pointed by the compass. After about thirty minutes of marching through the deep snow that buried up to our knees without proper visibility, we finally rolled into a cave. Once inside, I sighed in relief after confirming that there were no magical beasts within.

“Phew, we managed somehow. Are you okay, Tia?”

“I’m alright. Ugh, I’m covered in snow…”

Turning around, I saw Tia brushing off the snow that clung to her body. I did the same, but fortunately, the snow had not melted enough to get our clothes wet.

“It seems we won’t need to dry off. We might as well use that thing.”

The cave wasn’t very large, roughly a fluffy circular shape about two meters in height and three meters in width and depth. The entrance was only about a meter in size, perfect for a beast to make its den. However, if we lit a fire in here, the smoke could get trapped inside, which could pose a problem.

That’s why I pulled out a portable heater, which I had procured in the world of Canal, from the [Stranger’s Box]. At first glance, it looks like a lantern, but when you place it on the floor and pour mana into the purple stone in the head part, it immediately generates a nice amount of heat around it.

“Here, Tia, I’ve turned on the heater.”

“Uwah! It’s so warm.”

Responding to my call, Tia happily sat down in front of the heater. The orange plate in the center gave off a warm light, and our bodies, chilled from marching through the blizzard, slowly regained their warmth.

“This is really convenient.”

“Isn’t it? It was worth the effort to find an outdated model.”

In that world, most useful magical tools use magic stones, which can store mana, as their power source. However, magic stones are highly standardized industrial products and, while they are easy to obtain in that world, they are virtually unobtainable in other worlds.

So instead of purchasing a new model of magical tool, which requires exchanging magic stones that have been filled with mana, I deliberately searched for and purchased an old model of magical tool that allows direct mana injection. As long as there’s mana, anyone can use it, and even with my meager mana, there’s no problem just to start it. Of course, once it runs out, I’ll need Tia to replenish it but on the other hand, we can keep using it until it breaks.

“But to be hit by a blizzard out of nowhere, what kind of world is this?”

“Well, about that…”

While warming up by the heater, Tia asked me, and I hesitated.

“The truth is… I don’t really know.”

“You don’t know? Is it because you can’t remember?”

“No, it’s not that. Of the 100 different worlds I’ve been to, there was never one where a blizzard suddenly occurred. This is the first time.”

Slowly shaking my head, I put my words together and tried to remember again. But no matter how hard I try to remember, I can’t think of a world that fits this one.

A world where a blizzard suddenly occurs is something I couldn’t forget. But if I can’t remember, could this be a new world different from the ones I’ve visited before? But is that even possible?

“Is that so? Maybe like when we met Miguel, the location where we emerged is slightly shifted because I’m here? If you can’t think of a world that fits, why don’t we try to find the hero of this world? If you see their face, you’ll definitely remember, right?”

“That’s true. In that case… Manifest, [Akashic Compass]”

Once again, I activated my banishment skill, to search for the hero of this world. Then, a worn-out man’s face was displayed, and the compass correctly pointed to his direction.

“What do you think?”

“I think I kind of remember seeing him.”

“Then maybe you just forgot, Ed? If that’s the case, meeting and talking to him will help you remember.”

“I hope so. Well, there’s no option not to meet him, so let’s wait and see if the blizzard stops and then move on.”

“Understood. So, let’s relax for a while.”

With a wry smile at Tia’s casual response, we spent some leisure time. But even after waiting for three hours, six hours, having a meal, taking a nap, and the next day coming, the blizzard outside showed no sign of stopping.

“The weather is pretty intense today too… What should we do, Ed? Should we wait another day?”

“I wonder what to do…”

In the face of the raging blizzard, I crossed my arms and thought. We have plenty of supplies, so waiting for about a week is not a problem.

However, that’s assuming we have an estimate of when this blizzard will stop. When I stepped out of the cave a little and looked around, it seemed that this snow was not recent, but rather, it seems to have been falling for quite a long time.

“…Alright. Let’s watch the situation for today, and if the blizzard weakens, we’ll leave then. If it doesn’t change, we’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning. How does that sound?”

“That’s fine. Then, I’ll prepare with that in mind.”

“Okay.”

After a brief exchange, we spent our time eating, maintaining our equipment, and killing time. But in the end, the blizzard didn’t weaken… The next morning arrived. In the midst of the still-raging blizzard, we left the cave and exposed ourselves to the wonders of nature.

“Hey Ed, where are we heading?”

“For now, the nearest town.”

When I stretched out my arm straight, I could barely see my fingernails. Facing such bad weather, we held hands and talked loudly. With such poor visibility, our direction was entirely dependent on the [Akashic Compass] and we kept walking on a pathless path.

And during such a journey, Tia suddenly muttered.

“…It’s withered.”

“Hm? What’s up, Tia?”

“All the trees around us are withered.”

“Trees? Ah, indeed they are. But aren’t mountain trees usually like this?”

When I looked around as she said, all the sparsely standing trees around us were completely withered. To me, it didn’t look like a particularly special scene, but Tia clenched the hand we were holding in response to my answer.

“It’s different. Mountain trees, at first glance, may seem withered, but they’re alive. They’re just sleeping to sprout new buds when spring comes. But the trees here are different. They’re completely withered, I can’t feel any life from them. They’re not sleeping, they’re dead.”

“That’s…”

The moment she said that, I felt as if the scenery around us changed completely. It’s not a snowy mountain hit by a blizzard, but a mountain of death where life has been crushed. The unremarkable scene suddenly felt hopelessly lonely.

“…Let’s hurry”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Nothing in the situation has changed. Yet, I felt uncomfortably restless, and kept moving my feet desperately to leave this place as soon as possible.