The Phoenix [Cultivation, Reincarnation, Tower Climber]

The man in front of me is clearly not an ordinary Climber. If he's not a Stray, he's definitely at least weird. His clothes are all made of fur, his spear is a carved mammoth tusk, and one of the knives on his hip has a long fang for a handle. Also, he's right on the cusp of Middle 2 Star, putting him on the same level as Jin Hayou in terms of strength.

"I-" he starts. "Yes, I am. Are you going to do anything about it?"

"I don't like hunting people, if that's what you're asking," I reply. "I have no grudge against you, and honestly, I think that being a Stray isn't actually a bad idea. More time to build your foundations and whatnot to make the rest of the Climb easier."

He looks uncertain, so I give him a thumbs up to hopefully reassure him that I don't mean him any harm. He seems to be a pretty decent guy, since he chose to save me instead of letting me get trampled. I like people who take responsibility for their actions, so I'd rather not get on his bad side.

"...Yes," he eventually says. "Why are you out here alone, by the way? Did you get separated from your party?"

"No, I just don't like people."

"You shouldn't be in the northern region alone like this," he says. "Not at your level. You could be killed by any random…"

He trails off as he sees the claws and antlers still hanging from my pack, then scratches his head.

"Are you from an Ascendant family?"

"No, I'm from Earth," I say. "Newly integrated planet."

"Did your planet have oum already?"

"Nope."

He scratches his head in confusion again.

"Well, I guess I should congratulate you on your progress so far, but you really shouldn't keep going. You almost just got killed by the mammoths, and you haven't even reached the territory of the 2 Star beasts yet."

"I think I would have survived," I say. "I appreciate the concern though. And thank you for saving me. You're a good man."

"I'm serious," he says. "You're strong, yes, but you won't be able to survive on your own any deeper in."

Damn, he's too good of a person. This might get annoying.

"I'll be fine."

"No. You won't."

I raise my hand, gather a bit of oum, and shoot it into the snow to my right where it makes a small hole about a foot deep.

"Yes. I will."

He stares at the hole in the snow, dumbfounded.

"How did you do that?"

"Like this."

I do it again.

"That shouldn't be possible at your level," he says.

"Neither should surviving out here all alone."

"I guess…" he says. "But it will still be dangerous. Why are you so intent on going further?"

Should I tell him the exact reason? I mean, I don't see why not.

"I'm looking for the Hundred Year Snow Ginseng."

"You should give up," he says immediately.

"Huh? Why?"

"No one has found one in over a century. The beasts near where it grows can get as powerful as Late 2 star. I even heard a rumor that an Early 3 star beast lives up there."

He can't make eye contact. He's lying.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes," he says, still not making eye contact.

I'm not sure exactly what part he's lying about, and I doubt I'll find out from his mouth. Based on how the conversation has gone so far, I doubt he's trying to hurt me or anything. It's more likely that he or someone he knows is also going for the snow ginseng, and he wants me to stay out of the way.

"Well, if it gets too dangerous, I'll leave," I say. "But I want that snow ginseng, so I'm at least going to try for it."

"I-"

"I'm not an idiot," I say, cutting him off. "I am fully aware of what I am and am not capable of. If it gets too hard, I will turn back. I'm not going to throw my life away for it. You don't need to worry about me any further. We don't even know each other. There's no need to be concerned about me anymore."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He hesitates, then sighs.

"Fine. But if things go poorly, don't complain that you were never warned."

"I won't."

"I need to get going," he continues. "But before I do, I need you to swear that you won't tell anyone you saw or met me."

"I swear I won't tell anyone that I saw or met you."

"Swear on your core."

"Absolutely not."

He frowns. "Then how can I trust you?"

I shrug. "That's up to you, but I'm not swearing on my core for something so trivial. I have no grudge against you, and no reason to report you to anyone. I swear not to report you, but if you insist on having me swear on my core, we're going to have a problem."

He hesitates again.

"Fine," he says. "But don't make me regret this."

"It was nice meeting you," I say as he turns away. "Good luck with your Climb."

"You as well," he says, then bounds away into the distance.

His movement arts are truly impressive. I don't think I would have been able to move as well at his level until my third time around reaching it. He's definitely got good talent for it. That's probably why he was the one assigned to luring the mammoths away. I can only assume he wasn't alone, or else why would he have been leading the herd of mammoths so far away? He could easily have just outrun them, so he was definitely baiting them on purpose.

Well, it doesn't really matter to me.

Aside from that bit of lying, that was a relatively pleasant encounter. A refreshing difference from most of the other interactions I've had with Tower natives so far. It's nice to talk to someone who doesn't want something from me. I hope he does well in his climb. I also hope we don't end up enemies. That would suck.

Anyway, he's gone, so time to move on. Back to the search for the ginseng. He has given me a little to think about, since if anything he said about the beasts in the area is true, it will slow me down. The Quest did recommend a party of 10 Early 2 star cultivators, but it was also clearly an old Quest. It's entirely possible that the animals have grown stronger since it was posted. If there are Late 2 stars, I'll most likely have to turn back, and if there's really a Low 3 star guarding, I don't think I'll be able to get the ginseng anytime soon. Still, I need to check, so I'm going to keep going further.

The rest of the day passes without much happening. I climb to the top of one of the smaller mountains and cultivate a bit while enjoyed the view, then climb back down. The snow is getting deeper, and the animals are getting bigger, but there are fewer of them. The leech wolf packs are much more wary over here, and I can get them to back off just by flaring my oum a bit. I guess the ones that are deeper in are smart enough to know that anyone moving alone in this region is probably not someone they should mess with.

Because of the general lack of attacks, I make much faster progress, and with my movement arts, I probably make it a good forty miles by the time the sun sets. To sleep, I locate a cozy-looking cave that happens to be a bear den. The bear comes out to challenge me, so I kill it. It's a Early 2 star beast, and while its brute force is greater than any Early 2 star cultivator, it's skill is not. I think that even the spearman I fought could have taken this one out.

It's an interesting creature though. Despite not being able to cultivate in the same way that we humans do, spirit beasts, as these creatures are often called, are still able to develop technique-like abilities. This one, interestingly enough, was able to breathe fire, and its body heat was high enough that its footprints melted the snow. Even dead, its hide continues to channel ambient oum in a way that generates heat. It's actually a shame I'm alone, because this fur would be a very useful material for making clothes. Or tents. Unfortunately, I have no way of collecting it and keeping it, so I just harvest the teeth and claws to sell, and a bit of the best meat for dinner before summoning the construct to disintegrate it.

As I prepare the fire so I can cook the meat, I notice something right on the edge of my senses, and go out to investigate. About two hundred feet from the cave, there's a tree with some mushrooms emanating cold energy. I vaguely recall seeing a Quest for these on the board. I think they're called Snowshade mushrooms? Regardless, I can tell from how they feel that they're pretty good material, but nothing too special. I don't think the Quest for them was worth that much either.

I lick one. There's not much flavor from just a lick, though it does make my tongue tingle a little bit. I wait a few minutes while the bear meat cooks to check for other side effects, then when nothing happens, I take a small nibble. It tastes pretty good, but as soon as it enters my stomach, I know it's poisonous. I start circulating my oum to cleanse it, and fortunately, it seems that whatever poison it is, it is very weak to a heat transmutation, so I can cleanse it almost immediately. It also carries a bit of oum with it into my stomach. That can only mean one thing: dinner tonight is bear and mushroom skewers.

With no spices or seasonings, the bear is pretty bland, but the mushrooms make up for it, and the meal is overall, quite satisfying. I have to circulate my oum the whole time to avoid a stomachache, but between the bear meat and the mushrooms, I actually gain a not negligible amount of oum.

I offer Trinity some of the bear meat, which she gladly accepts. It being cooked seems to make her like it more. Maybe this is the cure to her human flesh addiction. I just have to make sure she never gets any cooked human flesh…

After eating, I cultivate with Trinity, then on my own, then go to bed, and the next morning, I do everything all over again. I travel, I see some interesting plants and animals, I stop briefly to cultivate at a few fun spots, then I settle down for the night in whatever shelter I can find. Aside from the occasional beasts trying to kill me, it's a very pleasant and peaceful experience.

Progress starts to get slower though by the end of this second day. The beasts are basically all Early 2 star now, with the occasional Middle 2 star beast, and those I have to be wary of. The leech wolves are especially dangers now, since they travel in packs, and at my current level, a pack of 2 star spirit beasts is too much for me. Still, I can avoid most of them if I need to, and with the trophies of those I've killed dangling from my bag, most of them are hesitant enough to attack that I can safely get by.

Today is the third day since meeting the Stray, and I think I'm starting to get near the edge of the Floor. My progress has slowed to the point that I'd be surprised if I make it further than 15 miles today, and the snow is so deep that some of the beasts have formed a robust tunnel system through it, meaning I can now be attacked from below in addition to the sides. There are birds big enough to bite me clean in half in one go flying around overhead, and I have hardly seen even an Early 2 star in the past few hours. It's been all Middle 2 stars, and I even once sensed a Late 2 star, though I made sure to give that one a wide berth, not getting close enough to bother it.

I walk carefully through the snow, keeping my senses alert for the sign of anything dangerous approaching. The second a shadow appears overhead, I find a large tree to hug, and the slightest trembling in the ground sends me into combat mode. The attacks almost never come, but when they do, they are dangerous enough that even a moment of laziness cold mean death.

But, it looks like my efforts might be about to pay off. I'm halfway up one of the tallest mountains in the region, and I finally sense something promising. Far above, something is emanating frigid oum so powerful that even from a mile away, it still sends shivers down my spine.