Chapter 183: Chapter 182: Post-battle Harvest

It was hard to tell where he was.

At the same time, he was battered by waves of impact, as if someone were repeatedly punching him.

Colin struggled to open his eyes.

Before him were Kase’s burly arms clutching a rope. Orelia’s shriek was drowned out by the roar of the avalanche.

The Climbing Rope was stretched taut against the Ancestor Stone. It withstood an incredible amount of tension with no sign of snapping. The remains of the Skeleton Legion smashed against the rocks, debris flying everywhere, but miraculously, none of it hit anyone on the sled.

Colin could have sworn he saw both the Ancestor Stone and the rope covered in a blue Spiritual Light, identical to Kase’s Power.

After what felt like an eternity, the insane journey finally came to an end.

As the last of the snow settled, a sudden silence fell, as if the entire world had held its breath.

Colin felt a sudden jolt, and then he was thrown clear.

When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on the ground and staring up at the sky.

Colin got up and looked around.

The sled jutted out from a nearby snowdrift at an angle. All around them were snow-covered slopes, like a vast white velvet bed.

The unstoppable Giant Skeleton, the endless Skeleton Legion—they had all vanished without a trace beneath the avalanche.

’The power of Nature really is terrifying.’

Colin pushed himself up with trembling hands, snow cascading from his shoulders.

He quickly opened his Dimension Bag and let the sled dogs out.

He then looked around and saw they weren’t far from the Ancestor Stone. The massive rock still stood in its place, like an indestructible watchtower.

Ale was standing alone on a nearby snowdrift, gazing up at the slope.

"Kase? Orelia?" Colin called out, his voice exceptionally clear in the silent, snowy expanse.

A bad feeling washed over him.

PFFT!

"Ptooey!" A red head popped out of the snow. Orelia messily spat out a mouthful of white powder and shouted, "Mr. Colin, that was absolutely insane!"

"Hahaha!" Kase’s arm shot out from another snowdrift, giving a wave. "You’re damn right it was, Pointy-tail! That wicked hag would never have guessed our Mage had a trick like that up his sleeve!"

The Armor on the Half-Orc had now vanished, and he had returned to his normal appearance. It seemed that his previous state had been temporary.

"Enough with the insults. Let the goddess rest, and let me rest, too."

Colin sighed in relief. His exhausted body could no longer support him, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Just then, Ale turned to look at them.

Colin blinked, carefully studying the unchanging expression on her beautiful face. ’Wait, is that a hint of a smile?’

"I’m surprised you came up with a solution like that, Mr. Colin."

Ale turned back to the slope, her voice carrying a rare, lighthearted tone. "I’d love to do that again."

Her words made the relaxed atmosphere instantly freeze.

"Huh? Are you serious?" "I... I give up..." "Miss Ale, please don’t joke like that!"

The group spoke almost in unison.

-----------------

After resting on the ground for a while, the group dug the sled out of the snowdrift and set it upright.

"Speaking of which, are we sure Lady Rime won’t pull something like that again?" Colin asked, looking at Ale.

"That avalanche must have consumed a great deal of her Divine Power. She shouldn’t be foolish enough to go to any more great lengths just for the four of us."

Ale said, "The Goddess of Qi, the Goddess of Harvest, the Lady of Enthusiasm... besides them, many other Deities are enemies of Lady Rime. They won’t let an opportunity like this pass them by."

"She certainly has a lot of enemies, then," Colin said. "So will these Gods intervene to stop this winter disaster?"

"Deities have their own considerations," Ale said. "If they think it is possible, they will act."

’So, that’s a non-answer,’ he thought.

Colin put such divine matters out of his mind and sighed in relief.

He turned his head and suddenly saw the Elf Giant Sword on the sled.

"Pepe and I retrieved it, Mr. Colin," Orelia said.

"Nice work."

Colin breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been worried he had lost a valuable Magic Item.

Kase used his Battle Axe to chip away the ice and pry loose the Frost Giant’s Giant Axe stuck to the underside of the sled.

The Climbing Rope tied to the front of the sled was still perfectly intact, though a section in the middle had been stretched out. Based on the properties of this Magic Item, the stretched section should repair itself over time.

Colin stood in the snow and looked around.

Most of the equipment and remains from the Skeleton Legion were now buried who-knows-where. Only a few bits and pieces were visible on the snow’s surface, and most of those had been broken or crushed by the avalanche.

The group split up and began to scavenge for anything useful. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The more he searched, the more disappointed Colin became.

Most of what he found was just junk. Items like Armor and weapons had been crushed by the avalanche, leaving basically nothing usable.

’So there’s no reward at all for that brutal fight?’

Half an hour ago, Colin had thought just surviving was more than enough, but now he wanted nothing more than to dig the Skeletons out from under the snow and fight them all over again.

’These guys were unbelievably broke!’

’I wonder how much that antique equipment would even be worth. After all, we risked our lives for this trip. This whole situation is just infuriating.’

’Granted, not every adventure pays off.’

’But the hauls have been way too small since we came to the Northern Lands.’

Colin grumbled to himself as he continued to scavenge.

"Find anything?" Kase’s voice came from behind him.

Colin carried his loot over to his companions and dumped his collection on the ground.

He took a closer look, then rubbed his cheek in embarrassment.

"Looks like you guys found some decent stuff, huh?"

"It’s more that your stuff is useless," Kase said, disdainfully prodding the pile of broken equipment and random junk Colin had gathered. "Is any of this really worth anything? Were you even trying, Colin?"

’I was definitely trying! I even had the Panel helping me...’

’So was my spot the only one with nothing?’

Colin cleared his throat. "Anyway, let’s look at the valuable stuff."

First were three parchment scrolls. The scrolls themselves looked brand new; if it weren’t for the strange design of the spools they were wound on, he would have thought they were modern-day scrolls.

"It’s written in the language of Ora Kaim. I can’t read it," explained Ale, who had found them. "We’ll probably have to take them back to have a professional take a look, but they are definitely Magic Scrolls."

’No problem,’ Colin thought. ’I can read it.’

[Object Positioning Skill / Tier Two Magic Scroll]

[Casting: Any Caster who can learn the "Object Positioning Skill" can cast the Magic by reciting the Spell on the Scroll.]

All three scrolls contained the same Magic.

’It seems these Skeletons were looking for something a long time ago,’ Colin mused. ’Of course, it could just be a coincidence. There’s not much basis for judgment when it comes to things that happened thousands of years ago.’

"Are these still usable?"

"Yes. After all, Scrolls are considered Magic Items," Ale added. "Of course, Magic Potions are also still effective, as long as they haven’t been exposed to air for too long and are still within their shelf life."

Colin looked at what Orelia had found.

"I just unstoppered it for a sniff. I think they’re Healing Potions," the Tiefling explained.

It was a long potion bandolier, which looked quite similar to the ones they wore, but the leather strap itself was tattered beyond repair.

Additionally, the small ceramic jars holding the Potions were covered in the marks of time.