Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Glacial Realm 16
’Besides, the Identification Device did say that Ferrets have high intelligence. It should be able to understand me.’
"Little Ferret, do you want more of that food you had earlier?"
At the word "food," the Little Ferret’s black eyes instantly flew wide, and it nodded its little head twice with great force.
"If you want to eat, help me find prey. One animal, one piece of food."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Little Ferret sat up a little straighter, its eyes fixed on her as if to ask, ’Really?’
Perry Yates nodded. "It’s true. But I want large prey."
As she spoke, she gestured with her hands to indicate the size.
For a moment, her hands stretched out beyond the cloud, but she quickly retracted them and thought nothing of it.
Meanwhile, on a distant snowy mountain, a player was observing his surroundings with a pair of binoculars.
Suddenly, he saw a pair of hands emerge from a cloud.
"Huh?"
The player snatched the binoculars away from his face and blinked hard, then looked back toward the same spot.
By then, Perry Yates had already pulled her hands back in, and the cloud had returned to its normal form.
’Just as I thought. It must have been a trick of the light.’
But even though he had dismissed it as an illusion, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something about that cloud was off—perhaps an aftereffect of what he thought he’d seen.
The longer he looked, the more certain he was that something was wrong with it.
Just then, someone clapped him on the shoulder. "Owen Ward, what are you looking at so intently?"
The player, Owen Ward, turned and said, "Captain, I think something’s wrong with that cloud up there. I thought I saw it sprout hands a moment ago, but maybe I’m just seeing things."
Facing his captain, Owen Ward decided to voice his suspicions.
"A cloud with hands?"
The captain took the binoculars and, sure enough, spotted the cloud floating in the sky.
The cloud wasn’t hard to find; in fact, it was quite conspicuous.
’If I’m not mistaken, that must be an item cloud.’
’Hiding in the sky... a clever choice.’
Lowering the binoculars, he said, "That’s probably another player. Don’t worry about her. We’re on different paths. We have more important things to do right now—finding more treasure boxes and the village of that damned Snow-Ox Clan."
At these words, Owen Ward was shocked to learn the cloud was actually a player, but his attention was quickly captured by the last part of his captain’s sentence.
Meanwhile, once the Little Ferret understood what Perry Yates was looking for, it began to lead the way.
They floated over one snowy mountain after another, and finally, after two hours, the Little Ferret let out an excited cry.
"SQUEAK!"
Hearing the noise, Perry Yates gave the Little Ferret a surprised look. "Oh, so you can talk."
Perry Yates looked in the direction the Little Ferret was pointing, but at first, she saw nothing. It was just an endless, vast expanse of white.
Soon, however, she noticed something was different.
Something appeared to be moving on the mountainside.
It was...
"Elk?"
Perry Yates stared at the creatures. They resembled elk but had fur and antlers as white as the snow.
’No wonder I didn’t see them before. With that camouflage, they’re practically invisible if they stand still.’
She took out the Identification Device.
[Snow Elk: Possesses the characteristics of a horse, deer, ox, and donkey, earning it the name "four-not-alike."
Snow Elk are docile by nature but can become extremely aggressive under specific circumstances. The males are especially dangerous; their antlers can easily send a strong member of the Snow-Ox Clan flying.]
Perry Yates put away the Identification Device and looked back at the Snow Elk, her eyes filled with excitement and eager anticipation.
As for their strength and the antlers that could send a strong member of the Snow-Ox Clan flying, she wasn’t concerned.
’After all, she had no intention of engaging them in close combat.’
’With so many item cards at her disposal, she could probably just overwhelm one or two of the Snow Elk to death. There was no need for a head-on fight.’
With a thought, the Spiritual Ability Gun appeared in Perry Yates’s hand.
’Last time, I missed because of a mistake and my lack of experience.’
’This time, I’ve learned my lesson. And with the aiming function of my ski goggles, I refuse to believe I’ll miss again.’
WHOOSH! A beam of blue light shot from the Spiritual Ability Gun, striking a Snow Elk that was ambling across the mountainside with perfect accuracy.
She had aimed for the head, so the Snow Elk died instantly, without even a chance to struggle.
Red blood gushed from the wound, a jarring sight in the pristine white world.
Seeing this, Perry Yates was overjoyed. ’I actually hit it!’
Because of the distance, and because the Spiritual Ability Gun fired so quietly, the other Snow Elk remained oblivious. They continued to wander aimlessly across the mountain, occasionally lowering their heads to nose through the snow in search of hidden food.
The fact that the Snow Elk hadn’t run was a stroke of good luck for Perry Yates.
She started with the stragglers, taking them down one by one.
In the end, of the thirteen Snow Elk in the original herd, three escaped. The remaining ten were left behind forever.
After confirming there was no other prey nearby, Perry Yates descended with the Little Ferret and stored the ten elk in her Space Backpack.
Once that was done, the girl and the ferret returned to the sky.
’The Spiritual Ability Gun is more powerful than I expected,’ Perry Yates thought. ’My previous miss really was just a fluke.’
Now, she was itching to find the Snow-Ox Clan and avenge her earlier defeat.
However, Perry Yates knew full well that she had only been able to shoot so accurately thanks to her ski goggles.
’But I can’t always rely on the goggles. Looks like I’ll have to practice my marksmanship when I get back.’
Perry Yates mused, ’I think the Survival Game Administration offers special courses to improve players’ survival rates, including things like combat and marksmanship.’
’I’ll have to look into it when I get back. I can’t rely on the goggles every time.’
’Still, firing the Spiritual Ability Gun consumes my stamina and energy, so I can’t use it indefinitely.’
But since she was flying, managing her energy wasn’t too difficult.
With that, Perry Yates was eager to avenge herself. Her chosen target was the very same Snow-Ox Clan village she’d encountered before the cold snap.
Just as she was about to head back, following the route from memory, she realized she had completely lost her sense of direction.
’Figures. I overestimated myself again.’
’Still, I got the card I wanted, so the appeal of that particular village has lessened.’
Perry Yates decided to find a new Snow-Ox Clan village, and this arduous task now fell to the Little Ferret.
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