Chapter 78: Winter Whale and Elf

The moment I opened my eyes and tried to move, a faint groan escaped my lips.

Every part of my body—arms, legs, back, neck—ached without exception.

It felt as if I had just gone through an intense workout and was now dealing with muscle pain.

At that moment, something wet licked my cheek.

Frowning at the strangely familiar sensation, I turned to look, only to see a large horse’s head staring back at me.

“Nightmare?”

Snort.

Nightmare looked at me and continued licking my cheek as if sulking, asking why I’d taken so long to wake up.

I pushed the creature’s massive head away and got to my feet.

Although the surroundings were somewhat dark, I could still make out the area without much difficulty.

“Where… is this?”

It was dark because I was surrounded by towering walls of ice on all sides.

It seemed I had fallen into this place after being struck by the giant bird’s breath attack.

Was this a crevasse?

I let out a sigh, gazing at the soft moonlight filtering down.

The light shining from above reflected off the transparent ice walls, dimly illuminating the area.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Snort.

In response to my question, Nightmare stood up proudly, as if to show he was perfectly fine.

Judging by the fact that both of us were moving without any issues, it seemed the mana barrier I’d hastily conjured had done its job well.

As I patted Nightmare’s head, I looked up.

“Do you think you can climb up there?”

Nightmare tilted his head up, considering my question.

After a moment’s thought, he extended a foreleg and tapped the transparent ice wall lightly.

Curious, I watched closely. From the edge of his hoof, sharp crystals emerged with a cracking sound.

Nightmare embedded those crystals into the ice wall and applied pressure, carving into the surface.

The sight reminded me of spiked boots used for climbing snowy mountains.

“Do you think you can manage it?”

Neigh!

Nightmare wagged his tail, making a tapping sound with his hooves as if answering my question.

Without hesitation, I climbed onto his back.

With me on his back, Nightmare embedded his sharp crystals into the ice wall and began running vertically upward.

The transparent ice walls seemed to preserve the ecosystem of this place, untouched by time.

Within the ice, I could see the frozen forms of aquatic monsters.

Deeper within, the faint outlines of massive creatures were also visible.

But I couldn’t observe them for long.

As Nightmare’s hooves struck the ice wall, white cracks spread outward, obscuring everything.

Crack!

Despite defying gravity by scaling the vertical wall, Nightmare ascended as if galloping on flat ground.

It took less than three seconds to climb a wall that was dozens of meters high.

Boom!

As the cracks in the ice wall spread further, Nightmare leaped into the air.

Unable to stop his momentum, he soared upward.

For a brief moment, I felt as though I was flying.

As the wind rushed past me from all directions, I looked out at the frozen landscape.

A white forest, a towering snowy mountain, and a massive lake came into view.

I furrowed my brow at the sight.

Despite the region being cold enough to freeze everything around it, the lake remained unfrozen, which didn’t make any sense.

Of course, I knew better than to judge this world by the logic I was familiar with.

Staring at the faintly glowing, rippling surface of the water, I turned my attention back.

Nightmare, who had soared into the air, was now descending.

Clatter, clatter!

The crystal footholds shattered into fragments that scattered like snow.

Nightmare landed gracefully among the frozen trees.

His landing was perfect, unlike the wild dash from earlier.

We had arrived in a snowy mountain shrouded in clouds.

The frozen trees bore white ice flowers instead of green leaves, and the mix of snow and clouds created a foggy haze that lingered in the air.

Holding Nightmare’s reins, I explored the area.

The ice covering the trees was so thick that I wondered if they were even alive.

Eventually, I spotted an icicle of suitable size and broke it off.

Crunch.

The icicle crunched refreshingly as I bit into it, though it left a slightly dull taste.

Chewing on the icicle, I pushed through the white fog and continued forward.

While I could have used a guiding star to find my way back to the base camp, I wanted to explore this mysterious mountain for a bit longer.

After wandering through the snowy terrain for some time, I noticed an unusual phenomenon.

The clouds filling the area seemed to be drawn toward one specific spot.

Light snow rose with the wind, merging with the clouds as they moved away.

I stared blankly at the sight.

And then, in that moment—

I found myself face-to-face with an enormous eye that emerged from the clouds.

At first, I didn’t realize it was an eye.

The surface shimmered with a faint blue glow, so large that I mistook it for another ice wall.

But it was indeed an eye.

Just as I noticed it, the creature behind the eye seemed to recognize me, its massive pupil focusing intently on me.

My mind went blank as I stood before a being far beyond the bounds of comprehension.

This was the third encounter.

While I’d observed it from afar in the past, this time, we were face-to-face.

The giant eyelid descended rapidly, creating a strong gust of wind despite it being just a blink.

Gulp.

I swallowed dryly and pulled on Nightmare’s reins, trying to retreat without provoking the enormous creature.

But Nightmare didn’t change direction. Instead, he took a step closer to the massive eye.

Crunch.

The snow beneath his hooves crunched as the wind cleared the clouds, revealing the creature’s full form.

“Whoa…”

A gasp escaped my lips as I stared in awe.

Hovering in the sky was a gigantic whale.

As I stood there, captivated by the sight, the massive whale shifted its gaze to me and began to move one of its fins.

The fin spread wide, large enough to cover the entire mountain.