The next day, Eudora, with dark circles under her eyes, sat in the room with Li Fan, studying the White Knight on the contract ice.
"Icebound Isles... the environment seems very harsh. We need hot drinks, thermal underwear, cold-weather tents, and a cast-iron stove... How long is the mission estimated to take?" Eudora asked, writing down the supply list.
"About a month."
"That long?" Eudora expressed surprise.
"Yes, this plan not only aims to hunt or capture the icefang dragon named Snow Shadow but also has an important purpose: to adapt to the Dragonblight armor," Li Fan explained.
"No wonder they chose the harsh environment of the Icebound Isles," Eudora realized.
The Dragonblight armor had an effect that induced an uncontrollable urge to slash. It could have been adapted in villages and towns, but it would have been too restrictive. The adaptation effect, from her experience, wasn't ideal. In ordinary wild areas, they might encounter hunter teams. The Icebound Isles were different; the extreme cold meant few teams were willing to visit. The contract even emphasized that after firing a signal flare for mission verification or emergency rescue, they should not leave the surrounding area unless absolutely necessary. This was because guild investigators might take anywhere from 10 hours to three days to arrive, or a blizzard could prevent them from seeing the signal flare at all. Therefore, they were advised to fire flares only in the evening, when the aurora was weaker.
"Hunt or capture, meow? Does that mean we can try to kill it?" Dilo asked curiously.
"The chest, gauntlets, and boots made from icefang dragon materials can all activate the sheath skill. I want to try wearing them with the Dragonblight gear to see if they can counteract the effect. Of course, it depends on the situation. After all, with the Dragon Slayers gone, it's uncertain if Puff can adapt to the climate of the Icebound Isles, so I've set a more flexible goal," Li Fan revealed his thoughts.
"I see, meow. Looking at the reminders from the previous three teams on the contract, this icefang dragon named Snow Shadow is indeed very difficult to deal with," Dilo sighed.
"Reminders? What are those?" Li Fan asked, slightly surprised.
"They're on the back, meow," Dilo said, flipping over the contract on the table. A small amount of writing appeared.
Takashiro Team's message: May the icefang dragon die.
Lakeview Team's message: Takashiro Team is right.
Big Head Team's message: This icefang dragon is not right.
"These guys... why don't you write something useful... Actually, there's no need to worry too much. Even if this contract isn't completed, consider it wilderness training." This contract was an unplanned venture, so Li Fan wasn't forcing anything. Of course, whether it was captured or made into armor to activate the sheath skill, it would all be beneficial to him.
Preparations began. Eudora went out to purchase supplies, while Dilo, with her small notebook, blended into the local Felyne school to inquire about precautions for the Icebound Isles. Li Fan spent the morning reviewing icefang dragon data and the afternoon at the training grounds, smashing mechanical frogs and practicing Wirebug usage.
Three days later, at dawn, the team arrived at the Honoka Village airship port and boarded a cargo airship to the Icebound Isles. Lying on the soft bed in the passenger cabin, Li Fan felt that although the speed was a bit slower, the travel experience was both comfortable and relaxing. Moreover, upon arrival, they wouldn't need to spend time resting to recover from fatigue.
Four days later, the temperature dropped sharply. On the sixth day of the journey, the team received a notification while flying above their destination.
Creak! Whoosh! Howl~
Li Fan opened the iron door leading to the deck, and a gust of cold wind hit his face. Snowflakes swirled and fell onto the deck with the strong wind. He walked up the high steps on the side of the airship and looked down. It was a vast expanse of white, indistinguishable from snow, clouds, or mist.
"Hey, excuse me, how do you determine that this below is the Icebound Isles?" Li Fan asked a crew member.
"The Icebound Isles are huge; it's hard to fly out in a short time, so it's easy to determine that we're in the outer region. We'd like to take you further in, but the closer we get to the core area of the Icebound Isles, the more abnormal the climate becomes, and this medium-sized airship can't handle it," the crew member explained.
"So this isn't your route?" Li Fan was a bit surprised.
"Of course not. Even if we fly around the core area of the Icebound Isles, there's only the endless ice sea ahead. After dropping you off, the airship will turn back. We wish your team a smooth hunt."
"Thank you."
After securing the team with ropes, the two people and one cat jumped down from the high steps simultaneously. Their vision was briefly obscured by the wind and snow, then suddenly opened up. Everywhere they looked was silver-white. Rolling mountains and hills merged together, and even from high in the air, they couldn't see the end. Eudora, at the front, spotted a mountain peak that seemed suitable for a campsite. She straightened her body and lowered her head. Li Fan and Dilo, pulled by the rope, plummeted down together. Having learned from the previous incident of crashing through a roof, Li Fan had no intention of taking risks. Just before landing, he deployed a Wirebug and used an Iron Wire to perform an emergency stop. They collected the dropped supply boxes, observed their surroundings, set up camp, and cooked...
By 4 PM, the sky overhead grew darker. At 6 PM, the cold wind howled. Inside the thermal tent, the two people and one cat, wrapped in cotton clothes, ate hot pot around the cast-iron stove.
"This shouldn't be happening. The camp is shielded by rocky outcrops on three sides, so why is it still so cold?" Eudora mumbled.
"Let's adapt first, meow. When I scouted the surroundings, I didn't find any more suitable locations... Ah-choo!" Dilo, whose paws were frozen numb, couldn't help but sneeze.
"I have an idea I want to try," Li Fan said, picking up a mining pick.
"I'll help," Eudora said.
"Me too, meow," Dilo added.
Clink, clank! Incense burning! They moved the cast-iron stove and dug into the hard rock ground, revealing a rectangular pit. Li Fan picked up the Dragonblight Great Sword, suppressed the urge for a moment, then drew the sword and placed it steadily at the bottom of the pit. A wave of heat instantly rose and dissipated.
"Fire-elemental weapons are not suitable for heating; there's a risk of ignition... It's really warm, though," Eudora said, her words cut short by a wave of warmth.
"As long as there are no flammable items nearby, and we use two stones to press down on it to prevent ignition, it should be fine," Li Fan, as a person from Earth, had a stronger sense of fire safety than the guild. However, the crisis that could arise from the team's condition due to the cold was no less than a camp fire.
Late at night, the cold wind swept across the land, and the temperature inside the tent dropped again. Eudora, woken by the cold, rubbed her eyes and retrieved the Dragonblight Great Sword stuck in the rock wall, placing it in the pit. At 2 AM, the tent flapped noisily in the wind, and Dilo, curled up in bed, shivered all over. She crawled out of bed, retrieved the Dragonblight Sword, and also placed it in the pit.
Chirp! Chirp! Hearing two bird calls, Li Fan got up and pushed aside the tent curtain. A blinding sunlight shone in. Stepping onto the snow, Li Fan felt refreshed by the crisp, cold air. After breakfast and packing their belongings, the team prepared to take advantage of today's good weather to find a suitable location for adaptation training. Affected by the cold climate, Little Fool's vitality had noticeably decreased, and its movable shell joints were contracted. Its aerial flight posture was stiff, and even its predatory desire had diminished. After observing for less than 10 minutes, Li Fan identified a natural cave formed of frost. Upon inspection, the cave had an internal space of about 40 square meters. Many small creatures were frozen into the walls like specimens. There was a hole at the top, about two people thick, through which sunlight shone directly down.
"This will be our training ground," Li Fan said with satisfaction.
"It feels so enclosed," Eudora said, touching the transparent ice walls, feeling a sense of oppression.
"That's the point of it being enclosed. Otherwise, if one person were to slash wildly outside, it would easily attract monsters," Li Fan explained.
"But what if a monster comes in through the cave entrance..." Eudora felt something was amiss.
"We can treat weaker monsters as opponents. If there are stronger ones, I'll use the safety rope to pull you out of this cave," Li Fan pointed to the hole at the top where sunlight was entering.
"Oh! You really thought of that! In that case... this place is indeed perfect for a training ground! Let's start quickly!" Eudora had long been tired of the restrictive feeling of the adaptation training in Honoka Village, which had been conducted under multiple layers of protection.
"Let's first discuss the training plan. The initial training period is set for 6 days, and we'll consider extending it based on the actual situation. The trainer and the protector will switch roles daily. If the trainer's stamina is exhausted midway and they can no longer continue the adaptation training, the protector must take them away to rest at the camp."
"Although I've never been a protector, carrying a hunter is my specialty. I'll do my best to protect you," Eudora said earnestly.
"Me too. Also, this kind of frequent exertion training is a good opportunity to increase strength. The protector also needs to feed some Power Seeds during training."
"Just throw them into my mouth?" Eudora found this point quite difficult.
"Of course not. Just throw them as close to the trainer as possible, so it's easier to pick them up and eat them."
"Can't Dilo deliver them... Oh, right, that's not possible." Eudora suddenly realized she had overlooked the danger of getting close.
"One last point, although this training plan is specifically for the Dragonblight armor, the principle is not much different from the 'letting go' method," Li Fan reminded her.
"It's okay. Adapting to the Dragonblight armor by suppression didn't work well when I tried it, so I think this plan is more reliable."
"Then let's begin. I'll tie the safety rope for you first. Remember the technique and position. Tomorrow, you'll tie it for me." After her shoulders and waist were secured with the rope, Li Fan tied one end of the rope to a Wirebug. The Wirebug flapped its wings and flew out of the cave through the hole at the top.
Eudora spread her arms and moved her upper body slightly, exclaiming in surprise, "You tied it so professionally! I feel so free to move."
"This tying method is called 'Bei Bei Jia' (a type of back brace), and it also helps to correct posture. If you practice it more with Iron Wire, you should be able to do it too," Li Fan explained, then went to the rock layer above the cave, constantly looking around, acting as Eudora's protector.
Bang! Crash! Boom! Wearing four pieces of Dragonblight armor and wielding the Dragonblight Great Sword, Eudora went on a wild slashing spree inside the cave. Dilo peered down from the edge of the pit for a moment, then looked up and said, "Eudora seems like a different person, it's so scary, meow."
"There's no other way. It's too difficult for a hunter to defeat monsters on their own, so we have to rely on equipment imbued with monster power," Li Fan, who was deploying a Great Wirebug, informed her.
"It's very powerful, meow. Ever since I put on the Dragonblight armor, I feel a power wanting to burst out... Hmm, what are you doing with the Great Wirebug?"
"I want to create an automatic ejection device. As soon as danger approaches, the trainer, who is tied to the safety rope, will be ejected," Li Fan explained.
"That's amazing, meow."
"It's not that amazing. There's a small problem at the moment. The safety rope is attached to the back. If the person below can't control their direction, there's a risk of them flying into a wall," Li Fan informed her.
The duration of a Power Seed was about two hours. After the second seed was delivered, the smashing sounds, which had been growing further apart, stopped. Li Fan looked down from the pit and saw Eudora lying on the ground. He quickly began to pull up the safety rope.
"Relax, take a deep breath... Let go of your hands." Lying on the snow, Eudora listened to Li Fan's guidance and slowly released her grip on the sword hilt. After removing her armor, Eudora's mental state was no longer as excited, but her physical exhaustion was so severe that she could barely lift her hand. Soon, Little Fool flew down from the sky and carried the team back to camp to rest.
After a bowl of hot soup, Eudora sighed, "Hoo... I can control it." Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief. If such an elaborate training plan had yielded minimal results, it would have been a huge loss for the team.
"Rest well. Tomorrow, it's your turn to protect me. If you have nothing else to do, you can try tying the 'Bei Bei Jia'," Li Fan placed a rope by the bedside. Such exhausting training couldn't be done continuously, which was why they alternated.
The next day, at the cave training ground.
"Eudora, why are you wrapping it around my neck?"
"Uh... don't you put it around your neck first?" Eudora asked in surprise, looking at the rope end.
"It's the waist first, then the shoulders. Wrapping it around your neck would be like hanging yourself."
"Sorry, I practiced very diligently yesterday, but your movements were too fast, so my impression was very vague. Then, after dinner... I lost consciousness." Eudora said helplessly.
"It's not entirely your fault. It's difficult to learn when you're extremely tired," Li Fan had experienced similar states many times in the small cabin and knew the feeling of wanting to just fall asleep and die.
"Dilo, come here."
"I'm here, meow."
"Turn around." Dilo turned around, revealing her back. Li Fan then deployed Liu Neng and pulled out an Iron Wire.
"I'll do one step, and you copy it."
"Oh! This method is great!" After completing the 'Bei Bei Jia' tying, Li Fan couldn't help but wonder why he was so adept at tying ropes, while his other skills and techniques were acquired through hard practice.
All preparations were complete. He put a whole Power Seed into his mouth and chewed it vigorously. After putting on the Dragonblight gauntlets, Li Fan suppressed the urge to perform a draw slash, raised the Dragonblight helmet high, and slowly put it on his head.
Thump! Thump! Thump!....
His heart rate suddenly accelerated. "Slay everything!" An uncontrollable thought surged in his mind.