Just Extra

The next morning, they continued their journey across the snow-covered ground. With every step forward, the air grew progressively colder, biting through their clothing and stinging their exposed skin. The blue glow on the horizon had become much clearer than before—what they had initially mistaken for a single mountain was actually an entire mountain range. Towering ice peaks rose endlessly into the sky, their sharp ridges piercing through the thick clouds above. The mountains were so vast and impossibly high that their tops disappeared completely, swallowed by layers of mist and cloud. The sight alone carried a kind of overwhelming pressure, as if the land itself was guarding something precious and dangerous deep within its frozen heart.

Minerva stopped for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she studied the distant horizon. Her breath came out in small, visible clouds of steam that quickly dissipated in the frigid air. "At this pace, it will take us days to reach those mountains," she said quietly, her voice carrying a note of concern.

Naviga also understood the gravity of their situation. The endless snow plains had already begun to drain their physical strength and mental resolve. Attempting to reach those mountains that seemed to stretch beyond the limits of sight would be nothing short of reckless, especially considering the unknown dangers that might await them along the way.

Minerva reached into her storage ring with practiced efficiency and retrieved a thin talisman etched with intricate runes. The ancient symbols seemed to pulse with contained energy. "We will use these flying talismans. There is no point in wasting more precious time trudging through this frozen wasteland."

Naviga hesitated for just a heartbeat, weighing their options, but she quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, Young lady." She retrieved her own talisman from her storage, channeling her universal essence into the mystical artifact. A faint, ethereal glow spread across her entire body, gradually forming magnificent wings of pure light behind her back.

As they both lifted gracefully into the air, soaring high above the endless snowfield, Naviga could not help but feel a small frown creasing her features. A troubling thought passed through her mind, one that she had been deliberately ignoring until this very moment. I should have taken the air boat from the villa before we departed. If we had brought that vessel with us, there would be absolutely no need to waste these valuable flying talismans here in this desolate place.

Her regret deepened considerably as she recalled her older sister Minasa. They could have simply asked her for a proper aerial vessel instead of rushing headlong into this dangerous dungeon without adequate preparation. Now, with no other viable choice available to them, they were forced to burn through their precious resources far too early in their expedition.

Naviga clenched her jaw tightly and forced herself to push the troubling thought aside. The bitterly cold wind whipped mercilessly against her face as they glided higher through the thin air, the vast snow plains gradually shrinking below them like a white carpet. Ahead of them, the colossal ice mountains gleamed brilliantly under the pale, filtered light, each peak standing like a frozen giant from ancient legends.

They had already consumed three precious flying talismans just to cover the seemingly endless distance. The landscape beneath them had undergone a complete transformation, evolving from barren, lifeless terrain into an entirely different world of snow and ice.

Everywhere they looked, the scenery was dramatically different from what they had encountered before. Instead of the monotonous, lifeless plains that had stretched endlessly behind them, there were now tall ice trees rising from the frozen ground. Their trunks were completely frozen solid, harder than steel, and their delicate branches glistened like perfect crystal formations under the dim, filtered sunlight. Bushes made entirely of ice lined the ground in neat rows, their edges sharp and brittle, yet possessing a strange, otherworldly beauty that was both mesmerizing and dangerous. Even the streams that had once flowed freely through this land were now frozen completely solid, transformed into smooth ribbons of glass-like ice that stretched gracefully across the transformed landscape.

Until this moment, they had not encountered a single living tree anywhere within this mysterious dungeon. But here, in this frozen realm, the land seemed to have come alive again—though in a cold, crystalline way that spoke of ancient magic and powerful enchantments.

Minerva slowed her flight slightly, her experienced eyes carefully scanning the forest of frozen trees below them. "This place feels like we have entered another world entirely," she murmured thoughtfully, her breath curling white and visible in the frigid air.

The further they traveled into this icy domain, the denser the frozen vegetation became. The landscape stretched endlessly in all directions, showing them nothing but pristine white, deep blue, and shimmering frozen silver everywhere they turned their gaze. The silence here was heavy and oppressive, broken only by the soft humming sound of their magical talismans as they carried them steadily forward through the thin, cold air.

It served as a stark and sobering reminder that this dungeon was far more complex and layered than anyone on the outside could possibly imagine. Each step forward was taking them deeper into its hidden mysteries and unknown dangers.

Suddenly, without any warning, a massive figure emerged from within the dense frozen forest below them.

It was an enormous white bear—what the locals knew as a Snow Bear. But this creature was nothing like the snow bears that Naviga had encountered and studied in her previous life. This particular specimen was absolutely enormous, towering significantly higher than even the surrounding ice trees. Its heavy, thunderous steps shook the frozen ground violently, each massive paw leaving deep, spider-web cracks in the thick ice as if the earth itself could not bear the tremendous weight of this legendary beast.

As the creature moved with surprising grace for its size, sharp shards of frost continuously broke away from its incredibly thick white fur, scattering through the air like glittering icy dust caught in the wind. The monster's powerful muscles rippled visibly under its dense, winter coat, every single step carrying the potentially destructive weight of a living beast that had been perfectly built for survival in this harsh, frozen land. Ancient trees in its direct path shattered like glass, their frozen branches splintering into countless sharp fragments that scattered across the ground.

Then its intelligent eyes caught sight of them—two small figures flying high above in the sky.

A low, guttural roar rolled menacingly out of its massive throat, the sound echoing powerfully across the entire snow-covered forest. The threatening noise grew progressively louder and more intense, transforming into a thunderous bellow filled with pure, primal anger. Even the icy wind itself seemed to shudder and recoil from the overwhelming power contained within its fearsome voice.

The Snow Bear had spotted them clearly, and it was absolutely furious at their intrusion.

The enraged Snow Bear roared again with even greater intensity, opening its massive jaws impossibly wide. From deep within its throat surged a devastating wave of concentrated ice-element energy, blasting forward like a supernatural storm of frozen breath aimed directly at their flying forms.

Naviga and Minerva reacted instantly with practiced precision, their bodies tilting sharply as they arced away through the air with fluid grace. The freezing torrent split the space they had occupied just moments before, deadly shards of magical ice bursting into the sky and scattering like razor-sharp knives. Neither of them wanted to engage in another draining battle—not after their exhausting encounter with the Blazelor.

They pushed their flying talismans harder, redirecting themselves toward a different path away from the enraged beast. The Snow Bear thundered furiously below them, smashing recklessly through the ancient trees in its desperate rage, trying unsuccessfully to chase them through the dense forest. But the towering ice trees significantly slowed its relentless pursuit, each violent crash of its massive body leaving behind a clear trail of completely splintered trunks and shattered ice fragments.

It bellowed once more with earth-shaking power, but its enormous body simply could not leave the ground. With only its thunderous, earth-shaking roars chasing them through the air, the two managed to slip safely out of its effective range.

After nearly an hour of sustained flying, both Naviga and Minerva made the strategic decision to stop using their precious talismans. Between the two of them, they had started this expedition with twenty talismans total—ten each. By this point, six were already completely exhausted, leaving them with only fourteen remaining. While it was not necessarily a small number, they could not accurately predict how much longer this mysterious dungeon would continue or what unknown dangers still lay ahead. If another flying monster decided to attack them, those remaining talismans could easily mean the crucial difference between life and death.

They descended carefully to the frozen ground, their breaths leaving visible clouds in the icy air. Every step forward produced a satisfying crunch against the thick snow as the imposing mountains loomed larger with each passing minute.

At last, after what felt like an eternity of travel, they finally reached the base of the ice mountains. Standing there at the foot of these natural monuments, both Minerva and Naviga felt like tiny ants before towering giants. The peaks were not just tall; they were completely overwhelming, carrying an powerful presence that made everything around them feel insignificant.

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