Chapter 288 Serious (8)

"They know me relatively well, and they know that I would choose a cold place to build a new place, but it looks like I won't automatically return to some planets upon completing quests anymore, so maybe there isn't a point in creating any more bases," Jake thought. "I also need to consider what I should do with the dungeon core…"

Jake learned a long time ago that the order and the amount of fame determined the difficulty level of the missions, so perhaps it wasn't a good idea to skip the Frozen Salamanders' dungeon. Moreover, salamanders could be eaten, and it has been a while since Jake ate anything. In the last ten days, he filled his belly mostly with potions.

It was time to hunt for some meat, like the cavemen in the past. Jake was trully carving for some… even if their meat wasn't as good as the ordinary salamanders, as long as they fill his belly, he wouldn't complain. With that in mind, Jake selected the next mission.

Once again, Jake was teleported to one hell of a cold place. Much like the crystal wolves' world, he could only see frozen mountains and snow in all distance, but the temperature was a lot lower than on that planet. Fortunately, all the wolves that Jake had summoned came with him, so he won't have to start his monster's army from a scratch anymore.

"Let's use some time to explore the area and get used to the cold," Jake thought.

,m Although he said that Jake valued efficiency too much to just walk around aimlessly, he made the crystal wolves create a tower using ice magic, and then he climbed it to see things in the distance. Unfortunately, the tower wasn't high enough, and he could only see frozen mountains in all directions.

"I guess I will have to do this the old-fashioned way," Jake thought and then jumped on Magnus' back. "Lead the pack Magnis. Let's see if your nose is truly better than mine."

Jake didn't sleep much during that mission, and he wanted to compensate for that now. Unfortunately, he couldn't take much of a nap on Magnus' back. Maybe he should make something like a carriage. Even the minimal comfort of a house that could move was better than nothing, after all.

Jake decided to do that once they found any signs of the dungeon, but Magnus' nose didn't pick anything. He didn't know much about the subject, but he assumed that it was hard for the smell of anything to remain for long in such a cold place. Without any other choice, Jake gave the order for the pack to climb one of the highest mountains in the region. He could do that a lot faster by himself, but since the wolves needed to come with him, he would have to wait anyway.

Eventually, Jake and the pack reached the peak of the mountain he had chosen, and then he managed to take a good look around. That mountain was at least ten kilometers high, so Jake had a good view of the area… while he didn't find any signs of a dungeon, he found a massive ice structure in the distance.

"Is that… a castle?" Jake asked while frowning. "Maybe a tower? I don't have good memories regarding structures like that."

Regardless, it was a sign that some sort of people built a structure of that level over the years. If there were people, then some society must exist as well. Jake wasn't sure how he would be received there, but he needed to go in order to get some intel. Hopefully, those shitheads criminals hadn't done anything troublesome on that planet yet.

"Just to be safe, I suppose I need to leave you guys behind for a while…" Jake said. "If they already have any reason to be hostile, approach with an army of monsters will give them even more reason to attack me. Keep searching for the dungeon without approaching that area."

When Jake approached the area after running for two hours, he confirmed what it was… it was a pretty massive city that also had a massive tower at its center. It looked like a castle in the distance because of that… but it still was weird that everything was made of ice. Regardless, Jake understood how come the people there could live in such a place that should be even colder, it was because the residents there were trolls.

The city was walled, and from a distance, Jake could see some trolls patrolling around and above the walls. Jake didn't find a single monster until now, so he couldn't understand how come the trolls were guarding the place. That being said, they looked a lot smarter than Jake imagined…

"Are they wary of attacks or enemies?" Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "In any case, I have to see what I can get from them…"

Time wasn't something that Jake could waste, so he moved toward the gate of that ice city. Jake couldn't deny that he looked quite suspicious, but he still felt like sighing when so many trolls jumped from the walls with their ice clubs in hand. He could even feel their bloodlust piercing their skin, but he refused to grab his sword until the very last moment.

"Hello, can you guys understand my words?" Jake asked.

The trolls looked at each other, and they looked slightly confused. It was better than ignoring his words and going for the kill. Still, Jake had no idea if they could talk or even understand him. So, he might as well be wasting even more time.

"I am looking for the frozen salamanders' dungeon. Do you know where I can find it?" Jake asked. "I will move away from here if you can help me with that."

"It is in that direction…" A particularly tall troll said while pointing to his right side.

"Well, I appreciate your help," Jake said.