Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Glacial Realm 7
With that thought, Perry Yates looked around, searching for a place to hide.
’The best hiding spots are often right under your nose,’ she thought, so the closer to the village, the better.
So, Perry Yates hid right at the base of the village wall, burying herself under the snow. A nearby rock served as a convenient shield from the biting wind.
Having slept all day, Perry Yates wasn’t tired. On the contrary, the recent events had left her feeling wired and alert.
Just as she got settled, she saw the newly freed players emerge from the village. After a brief discussion, they broke off into pairs and small groups, fleeing in different directions.
’These players must have realized how dangerous this game is. Going it alone is definitely not an option.’
’But a large group would be too big of a target, which is why they split up like this.’
Once everyone’s figures had vanished into the night, Perry Yates looked away.
She had rescued those people so the Snow-Ox Clan wouldn’t take their anger for her actions out on them. As for what happened next, that was no longer her concern.
Inside her snow cave, Perry Yates took a clean cloth and began scrubbing a card with snow.
In just a moment, she had scrubbed the first card clean.
It was a purple two-star card. Its ability was Melt Snow, which allowed the user to merge their body into the snow.
She placed the clean card into her Card Storage Device, then Perry Yates immediately took out a second one.
This one was a one-star card with the ability Snowfall, which paired quite well with the previous card.
Perhaps due to the environment, the vast majority of the cards Perry Yates cleaned were of the Ice and Water Attributes. There were only one or two of other attributes, namely Wind and Fire.
Aside from Skill Cards, there were also item cards.
Perry Yates set aside the item cards she thought she might need for this game and put the rest into her Card Storage Device.
When she had finally scrubbed all the cards clean, Perry Yates let out a long sigh. ’Cleaning so many cards in one go... what a wonderful problem to have.’
At this thought, Perry Yates couldn’t help but let out a couple of sly chuckles.
Then, her gaze fell upon the cards she had set aside.
Ski Suit. A one-star card that provided warmth.
Compared to the clothes she was currently wearing, this ski suit seemed much more lightweight and convenient.
She spent some time and, with a burst of effort, managed to perform an Ascension on the card all the way to three stars.
After a month of training, Perry Yates was no longer the novice player who was nearly drained just by performing an Ascension on a card from one star to two.
The moment she put on the ski suit, Perry Yates felt significantly lighter and unencumbered.
Furthermore, compared to the one-star version, the three-star card after Ascension had many new functions. Its insulation was enhanced, and it had gained a new concealment ability.
Besides the ski suit, there were also cards for shoes, gloves, a hat, snow goggles, and even one named Claudia Vance.
’Hm? It seems like something strange got mixed in there.’
Most of these were White Cards. Perry Yates performed an Ascension on them to two stars, then equipped them.
The Claudia Vance card was the only one that wasn’t a White Card. In fact, it was a rare three-star card.
Claudia Vance. Ability: Manned flight. Can completely conceal the user within a cloud.
Disadvantage: Its speed is relatively slow.
’Thinking back on all those treasure boxes I saw, many of which were high-level, this card must have come from one of them,’ she mused.
With this card, her safety was guaranteed once more.
"Now I won’t have to worry about being grabbed by a member of the Snow-Ox Clan suddenly popping out of the snow."
Perry Yates considered ascending the card to four stars right away, but it would be time-consuming and unsafe, so she decided against it.
’Better to wait until the game is over.’
By the time she had finished her preparations, the sky outside was already bright with dawn.
The village gradually began to stir with activity.
Perry Yates didn’t use the Claudia Vance card right away. Instead, she remained hidden in her snow cave, using her X-ray vision to see clearly what was happening inside the village.
Children played, elders chatted, women washed clothes, and the men prepared to go hunting. ’What a harmonious and beautiful scene,’ she thought grimly, ’if only *we* weren’t the ones they hunted.’
Just then, an furious voice suddenly erupted.
’Looks like they’ve discovered that everyone’s gone.’
Perry Yates watched as a member of the Snow-Ox Clan stormed out of the room where the players had been held, shouting to the others, "They’re gone! That whole group of people, they’re all gone!"
While the other members of the Snow-Ox Clan were still reeling in shock, a scream echoed from the other side of the village.
Soon after, a female of the Snow-Ox Clan came stumbling over, her voice full of despair. "It’s gone! Our stores of food, clothes, and firewood—it’s all disappeared!"
If the humans had simply run away, they could always capture more. But their food, clothes, and firewood being gone? That was a death sentence.
After all, the cold snap was about to begin.
During that time, they would be unable to go out and hunt, forced to rely on their stockpiled food, clothing, and firewood to survive.
Without food, they would starve. Without enough clothing and firewood, their children would freeze to death.
"It must have been them! Go after them! We have to drag them back, and this time, we show no mercy!"
With that, a group of Snow-Ox Clan members stormed furiously out of the village.
However, it had snowed fresh overnight. The tracks the players had left were long gone, and even their scents had vanished.
After a moment’s hesitation, the charging members of the Snow-Ox Clan decided to split up to search.
Watching the Snow-Ox Clan members leave without a second thought, Perry Yates knew she had made the right call.
Back in the village, the members of the Snow-Ox Clan who had stayed behind were discussing what to do next.
Whether they could recover the food, clothing, and firewood was uncertain, but life in the village had to go on.
"If it comes to it, we’ll have to ask for help from your brother’s village," an elderly member of the clan said.
From her snow cave, Perry Yates used her X-ray vision. Although she couldn’t hear what the remaining Snow-Ox Clan members were saying, she could tell from their expressions that they were trying to figure out how to handle the situation.
After all, Perry Yates hadn’t left them a single scrap of food.
And who knew how long it would take to recapture the players—or if they’d even succeed. Their only option now was to seek help from their kin.
Remembering the haul from last night, Perry Yates, having had a taste of success, felt an idea begin to stir.
’If I can find the other villages, maybe I can score another big haul.’
’Wouldn’t that be much better than painstakingly searching for treasure boxes on my own?’
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