Ash was stunned when he read the definition of the wrist brand.
'Players who use this wristband will gain an additional 300 points to their Defense Stat? But I don't have a Defense Stat?'
Confused, he called up his System again and traced his Stats with his index finger.
[Player: Ashborn Locke]
[Player Number: #23875]
Level: #3.4]
[Stats:
⇒ Strength: 85
⇒ Endurance: 75
⇒ Agility: 85
⇒ Intelligence: 75
⇒ Magic: 125]
[Extra Point: 0]
[Skills: ⇒ Hunter: Level: #8]
[Sword Skill: ⇒ Shadow Dance: Level: #42]
"Huh? What did I miss? No Defense stat here."
He tried to find any information that explained how his Defense Stat could reach 300 points.
"Damn it. Where is it?" he tried to search, when suddenly, Jagu slipped, and they quickly slid downwards.
"Whooooooooaaaaa!!!!"
Ash screamed as he tried to hold on tightly to him so he wouldn't fall off his back.
Finally, they slid down and landed on a thick layer of ice.
He gasped for air as he tried to free himself from Jagu's heavy body pinning him down.
With all his strength, he pushed him, who was still in his large form, but it didn't work.
Jagu only whimpered softly and didn't get up.
Frustrated, Ash gave a mental command for him to return to his smaller form, and he began to shrink.
He pushed its body and finally, he could breathe again.
"F*ck!" he cursed while lying on his back.
He looked left and right while lying down and realized they were on a frozen lake.
Ash hadn't noticed it earlier because he was busy searching for his Defense Stat.
Feeling cold, he eventually stood up and started walking towards the edge of the lake.
Jagu whimpered and stood up, walking after Ash while slipping and sliding.
Ash looked back and sighed deeply. He then pulled out a rope from his Inventory, tied it around Jagu, and started pulling him towards the edge.
However, he slipped and fell several times.
"F*ck! F*ck!"
After countless curses, they finally reached the edge of the lake. Thick snow-covered pine trees were crowded around the entire edge of the lake.
He sat down, panting heavily at the edge of the lake, while Jagu stood up and began walking around, sniffing the surroundings. The rope tied around his body dragged along with him.
Taking a deep breath, Ash stood up and called out, "Jagu, come here."
He walked back to his master, head down and tail tucked between his back legs.
"I'm not mad at you. Of course, you would slip walking in a place like that," he said as he crouched down, untied the rope, and put it back into his Inventory.
Jagu sniffed his face, and Ash giggled.
"Come on. We're lost. We need to find shelter before it gets dark," he said, giving him a gentle push.
They walked among the pine trees. The wind was not blowing strongly there, as it was blocked by the trees.
However, they couldn't find a place to shelter, so Ash reluctantly took a tent out of his Inventory and set it up behind a large rock among the trees.
He lit a campfire in front of the tent and cooked his meal there. After eating, he remained seated in front of the campfire.
His eyes stared blankly at the dancing flames in front of him.
His thoughts drifted aimlessly.
A lot had happened since he entered this world. Almost every event left him feeling tense and fearful for his life.
He wanted to quit and leave this place right away.
To make things worse, he had been betrayed and abandoned by people he had just met but had already considered his closest companions.
Now he was alone, with only Jagu faithfully by his side. But he wasn't human.
Sighing deeply, he added a few more logs to the campfire, then went into the tent and slept until the next morning.
***
They both walked back down the snowy mountain for several hours until the air began to warm up.
Ash removed his thick clothing as he started to sweat and threw it away carelessly. The thick jacket and pants had turned brownish from the blood.
They continued walking until they reached flat ground. Yellowish grass covered the area.
He arrived at the valley on the other side of BlizzViel, feeling a bit annoyed because he didn't open or check his Game Map yesterday when he descended from the object search location.
But now, with the Game Map displayed on the screen in front of him, he followed a small river that ran through the middle of the valley.
They only took a short break, and Ash ate some of the food he had prepared before they continued walking.
He didn't dare ride on Jagu, afraid of getting lost again or, even worse, slip again.
Before long, he encountered two contrasting sides of the valley.
On his right, there was only dry soil with brownish grass, lacking much water. There were no trees in that area.
On his left, trees, bushes, and grass thrived. A large river flowed through that side, visible from where Ash stood.
Ash walked closer to the large river and gazed at the clear water. He could see river stones, fish, and aquatic plants from the surface.
The current wasn't strong, and the river wasn't deep, so he quickly took a bath there.
He felt very hot and sticky, especially with the blood from the snow monsters they had fought after leaving the object search area.
Jagu kept watch while waiting, occasionally running away when Ash splashed water at him, making him giggled.
As he put on clean clothes from his Inventory, he accidentally spotted a wooden stilt house on the riverbank across from him.
It was covered by climbing plants and foliages.
After looking at it for a moment, he decided not to investigate the stilt house and intended to continue his journey.
He walked back with Jagu trotting beside him, heading back to Sassi.
Unbeknownst to him, someone was watching him from the stilt house until Ash was no longer visible.