Vol. 13 - Ch. 727 - Winter Area - Merry-making in the snow

"Oh... cold isn't affecting me at all!"

"A props to Hannah-san."

We're on the 31st floor—Winter Area of «Four Season Fairies  Dungeon».

What was merely a wintry landscape for the player's spectacle was now a bone-rattling environment in reality. 

With our previous experience, we had Hannah create a number of «Hot Drink», which now kept us as warm as your average day summer weather. It was quite a spectacle to see Lana in her usual no-winter clothes against the cold weather of the region. 

Ester expressed her appreciation for Hannah's work.

"It's truly warm. It makes me want to have one for winter days."

"These are for dungeon run, alright? So please do not use them on regular days."

"Come now, of course I know that."

I couldn't help but retort at Sierra's impression. 

Well, I did understand where she was coming from. The effect was just that amazing, completely nullifying the cold effect, and even enveloped you into a warm, cozy feeling, like you're snugly wrapped into blanket against a hearth. 

Albeit, it was an item meant to be used for the intermediate-high dungeons. Needless to say, the rarity of material and cost wouldn’t grant us that luxury. It wasn't something you could drink constantly. Maybe, if the effect lasted a day, but it only lasted an hour.

"Can't I drink it?"

"Karua, you already have the «Nature Adaptation Pendant,» remember?"

"Gah... what a blunder."

Karua, with her hearty appetite, was grumbling because she couldn't have the drink. The pendant's skill had nullified all the cold debuff for her. In other words, there was no need for her to have the «Hot Drink».

Oh, well. I guess when the drink's effect wears off, I will pass her one while the pendant could be worn by others. It's not good if everyone but one gets to, after all. As for me, I wasn't cold thanks to the «Cold Resistance» skill I temporarily gained by equipping the "Nature's Leaf Ornament."

"I'll let you drink it later, so bear with it for now."

"Mmm. Thanks, Zephyr."

Alright, with that, we were ready to proceed deeper into the dungeon. Time to

set off.

"I thought the Winter Area would be barren, but there's quite a bit of food to

gather."

"When it comes to fruits that represent winter, it's citrus! Let's gather as many mandarins as we can here!"

" "Nice!" "

What's a winter without mandarin, eh?

Most mandarin varieties ripen in winter, so parts of the winter area were vibrant with deep green leaves and bright yellow fruits. Lana, who apparently imagined a desolate path with only deciduous trees, excitedly rushed to gather fruits. Kalua, the glutton, was bursting with motivation as well.

"Oh! There are apples over there! Let's get those too!"

"Ya—."

It might not be «Apple Dungeon», but there was no such thing as too much; if there's, we're definitely going to get them. Lana seemed quite intent on gathering them. She really did like them, didn't she? 

In the meantime, Sierra, Ester, and I took out all the «Ice Fairy» monsters from the area.

"Don't go too far, Lana~"

"I know~"

Well, scouting was Karua's job, so perhaps she would be fine. And if they did get surrounded, Karua's unique skill could easily get them safe. Ambush wouldn't be a problem.

After combat, we also chased after Lana, diligently gathering and cutting as we advanced.

"Phew, I think we got a good haul!"

"Mmm, plenty."

After a while, both Lana and Karua returned with refreshed looks on their faces. They seemed satisfied. Well, they did gather a lot! I wondered if they could eat it all. Would it be alright to sell some?

"Hey Zephyr, what's that?"

Lana pointed back in the direction she came from, and following her finger, I saw a gentle hillside covered in white.

"That's the snow area. Those white patches are snow. I might have explained this before, but the cold in the snow area is extreme, and if you don't take precautions like drinking «Hot Drink», you'll randomly suffer negative statuses. It's an area you need to be careful in."

I pointed to the mountain, answering Lana's question in a way that would draw everyone's attention. 

The snow area was the only "Negative Environment" in this «Four Seasons Fairy Dungeon». A "Negative Environment" referred to any environment that inflicted negative effects; charging in without countermeasures would result in various types of damage. The winter area had small patches of snow on each floor, so it wasn't an issue as long as we kept our distance.

"Snow area... Zephyr, are we going?"

"No, it's off the path there. It's better not to go. There's not much to gather in the snow area, and it's not very appealing. Though, you can get «Ice Ore» for making ice-attribute weapons and such."

"Ice-attribute weapons, I want them!"

"Oh right, you come to like ice-attribute weapons, didn't you?"

Kalua unusually asserted herself, so I asked. Kalua's equipment consisted of ice-attribute daggers: «Ice Splash» and «Drifting Ice Dagger - Asha.» 

As a fact, she had mostly been using ice-attribute weapons, like «Ice Me», so she came to prefer them.

"Alright then, there's a snowy path on the 39th floor that we have to pass through if we take the shortcut, so we can gather there."

"Mmm, love you, Zephyr."

Oh, I got a 'love you'~.

There might be others who want to craft ice-attribute weapons, so let's gather a bit extra!

"Geez, Karua! Y-you can't just casually say 'love you' like that!"

"Ah, whaa—"

While I was engrossed in my thoughts, thinking of our guild members, Lana approached from behind Karua, caught her and carried her off somewhere. Sierra followed them, so I figured nothing serious would happen.

We continued gathering, sometimes hunting, reaching the 39th floor and entering the snow area.

"So this is snow. I've never seen it before."

"It's different from ice, isn't it? It's soft, and my feet sink when I step on it."

"Wow, this is... hard to move in."

This world also emulates the four seasons. However, compared to my previous life, the temperature differences were considerably milder. Summers never reached above 30 degrees Celsius, and winters supposedly never dropped below freezing. As such, snow was an entirely new concept for people around here. You had to venture deep into dungeons to see snow.

Lana, Sierra, and Ester expressed their surprise at their first sighting and touch of snow.

Their fresh reactions were quite amusing.

"Woah, it's a bit cold!"

"Lana-sama, it might be best not to touch it too much. You'll get frostbite."

"Ester, what is that 'frostbite' you speak of?"

Lana, who had scooped up some snow in her palm, was gleefully playing with it. She looked like she was having fun. I wanted to join in, but I also felt like watching these girls with their fresh reactions. What should I do—ugh, a dilemma!

"Zephyr, monsters, incoming."

"Don't interrupt the scene! «Thunderbolt»!"

"————!?"

I unintentionally used my fourth-order skill. The swarm of Ice Fairies took massive damage from that single blow, and Karua and I finished them off. 

Lana and the others were having a great time at their first experience of snow, cackling in laughter—I would not let anyone destroy this precious scenery!

"I wanted to test how well I could move in the snow, but..."

Thinking that, I turned around, only to find the joyful scene had vanished. All three were in battle readiness. And to top it off, Sierra was complaining to me. Damn you, fairies!

Well, as a tank, I understood Sierra's desire to test fighting in snow area. It seemed the frolicking would have to wait. What a shame.

Afterward, we hunted monsters and used our «Gentle Pickaxes» at excavation points to gather materials like «Ice Ore» and «Ice Crystal Spheres,» collecting plenty of souvenirs for Aruru.

And so, we finally plunged into the 40th floor—a floor with a very dangerous phenomenon.