Chapter 57: Fighting the Frost Bear King again (Part-2)

“Alright… You are here.”

But then… his eyes widened, and a cry escaped his body, which pulsed with energy.

“This is the mana… Yes…” Lin Fang clenched his fists. He stared at the Frost King Bear, “You polar bear, today will be the day you are going to be defeated.”

His body felt lighter. His senses are sharper. His reaction time had spiked beyond anything he’d experienced.

As Frost Bear King moved, shooting its claw toward him like a railgun, his instincts took over, and Lin Fang ducked low, rolled sideways, and narrowly avoided being cleaved in two. Snow exploded behind him by the force generated by its sweep.

“Come on…”

He yanked open his Training inventory mid-roll and materialized his weapons…

[Item Equipped: Twin Daggers of Xuanwu – Replica]

The moment they landed in his hands, the mana inside him automatically surged forward, rushing into the blades without command. A translucent layer formed around the dagger edges.

“It’s the same as Master Li’s sword,” Lin Fang nodded. He couldn’t help but grin in happiness as his gamble paid off.

He immediately dashed forward, zig-zagging across the snowfield at blurring speeds.

The Frost Bear King snarled with its eyes tracking him, but Lin Fang was already moving too fast for its sight. Each time the bear swiped, he was already gone, leaving behind a faint afterimage.

He then slashed.

This time, when the blade met the monster’s skin, it left a huge cut, spilling its blood.

The Bear howled as a gash split across its foreleg.

“Yes!” Lin Fang yelled while his heart pounded in excitement. “This is it.”

The bear retaliated immediately, slamming its paw into the snow where Lin Fang had been a breath earlier. Ice shards erupted everywhere. Lin Fang leapt back, raising one dagger defensively.

He narrowed his eyes, gripping his daggers tighter. A menacing grin appeared on his face. “Frost Bear King… here I come…”

Eighteen minutes.

That’s how long it took before Lin Fang was gasping for breath with his chest heaving and his legs trembling. Each breath came out as a cloud of frost.

He stood in the snow with his daggers loose in his hands, staring down at the beast before him. Meanwhile, the Frost Bear King lay in the frozen earth with its white fur matted with blood. Deep slashes crisscross its entire body.

There had to be a thousand cuts, maybe more. Its massive limbs twitched, trying but failing to rise.

“This ends now.”

With what little strength he had left, he jumped higher than he thought possible in that moment. As he rose above the bear’s blood-soaked body, he twisted mid-air and roared from the depths of his lungs. “Raaaa…”

He brought both blades down in a brutal cross-slash over its skull.

THWACK!

Blood exploded upward, drenching his face. The Frost Bear King jerked once, then went still.

Silence.

There were three seconds of extreme silence. Or atleast for Lin Fang. His hands spread widely, and a smile on his face as he welcomed the heavy snow, which no longer irritated him.

When he crashed into the snow, a chime in his head echoed, one after another.

*Ding!

[System Notification]

[Congratulations on defeating the Guardian: Frost Bear King]

[Guardian Quest Completed]

[ Twin Daggers of Xuanwu (Replica) removed. Reward: Real Twin Daggers of Xuanwu added to inventory.]

[You have claimed the Habitat: Silver Moon Snow Mountain.]

[+100% Ice Resistance permanently granted.]

[Silver Moon Snow Mountain is now available for Mining.]

[Reward: Frost Iron Pickaxe added to inventory.

[Cooldown Timer: Removed.]

[All functions unlocked in Silver Moon Snow Mountain Habitat.]

[Mining: Enabled for Silver Moon Snow Mountain]

And then, Lin Fang dropped to his knees, panting hard. Exhaustion took over his body and mind.

He looked up at the falling snow and let out a short laugh, equal parts relief and disbelief.

“I did it…” Lin Fang clenched his fists in pure joy.

“I… I… if only there was a way to have this mana, how great my life could have been… I could hav… sigh… let’s forget the things I cannot have. Just focus on the ones I can do. And once this Blood Coagulation pill’s effect is over, I will be out of action for 12 hours. Let’s not waste this time basking in glory…”

As he scrolled down the notification, one particular one suddenly caught his eye.

[Mining: Enabled for Silver Moon Snow Mountain]

“Mining?” he raised a brow in surprise. “That’s… unexpected.”

He got up and then started exploring this world of snow and ice.

After a while, Lin Fang’s instincts pulled him toward a familiar path that led to a half-hidden cavern mouth. He had entered this cave before on earlier runs.

But this time, something felt different, as when he neared, he could see a faint blue glow emitting from its mouth.

As he entered, he saw a series of faintly glowing blue crystals embedded in the walls, all around.

Curious, he went ahead and touched one.

*Ding!

[You found Mana Crystal Vein]

Mana crystal Ore: An ore of dense mana that raises the user’s mana permanently. Each mana crystal varies in Mana points. Note: Mana crystals can be stored in the inventory, but cannot be taken out in the real world.

“Huh? Permanently?”

“Permanent increase in mana?” Lin Fang’s entire body trembled at the sight of mana crystal ores. He couldn’t take his eyes off them, and there was greed in his eyes.

Without intending to wait even a second, Lin Fang took out the pickaxe that the system provided. The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, mana surged from his body, flowing into the tool like water down a mountain stream.

A faint blue layer formed along the edge of the pickaxe, just like with the daggers.

“Huh… even this reacts to mana now?” he muttered, impressed by it. “Good then.”

He approached the shimmering wall and gave it a light strike.

Tink! A few crystal shards dislodged and clinked onto the ground. He didn’t even need to pick them up. His inventory absorbed them automatically.

[+3 Mana Crystals Acquired]

[+4 Mana Crystals Acquired]

He grinned. “This is… too easy.”

He worked quickly, swinging in smooth, practiced arcs.

Every swing brought down more of the glowing blue ore.

He didn’t need to chip carefully either. The crystals were in abundance, and there were no guards, no monsters, no time limit. It was almost relaxing.

He chipped away as many crystals as he could from the walls.

But roughly eight minutes later…

His arms trembled, and a cold sweat formed on his forehead. His breathing turned erratic.

Suddenly, a system notification blinked in red across his vision:

[Warning: The Blood Coagulation Pill effect has ended.]

[All mana in bloodstream has been consumed.]

[Side Effects Applied: Acute Anemia. Weakness. Dizziness.]

“Sh*t,” Lin Fang gasped as his knees buckled. “The Time’s up.”

He fell backward, landing with a dull thud against the icy floor, panting heavily.

His body felt like it had been drained dry. His limbs felt heavy, his vision slightly blurred, and there was a metallic taste in his mouth.

“So this… is the price, huh…”

He had expected weakness, sure, but this was overwhelming. Even his thoughts felt slow.

He glanced at the glowing pickaxe lying beside him, the mana now gone from its edge.

Around him, over a hundred crystals lay neatly stored in his inventory panel.

[Mana Crystals: 103 units]

[Use?]

“Use it.”

*Ding!

[Mana Core is not detected in the body.]

[Do you wish to form a Mana core in exchange for 100,000 coins?]

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