Versatile: Alternate World

Chapter 816 Everfrost Forest

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Around 3 hours into the production of the headphone, I run into a problem. I have most of the materials I needed but I needed something that will block the soundwaves from an instrument and currently, I don't own any of that kind. I know of a few materials that can act as something that would allow me to actively block the sound of any instruments but they are not that easy to get as they are one of the rare items dropped by a monster. Luckily, that said monster is currently present in this continent and I can hunt it down. The only problem is the drop rate.

This item is called the [Skin of the Screaming Monkey]. It only appears in drops and it never appears in any other way by killing the monster [White Howler]. Even butchering the carcass does not yield the skin as the normal skin will just appear as [White Pelt].

There are other items that can act as an alternative to this item and are much easier to acquire than this. The only problem is that they are only present in other continents but not present in this continent and with no way to go back until this quest is over, I am stuck with the worst material to get my hands into.

But since that is the only way to finish this product, then I have to find it quickly before I reach the limit of the deadline I added for myself. I left the city before anyone notices my departure. I locked myself in a room to concentrate so no one knows whether I am inside or not and even Queen Tanya and Queen Tori didn't know I left as well, though it depends if they saw me leave.

Anyways, I summoned Leona when we are now out of the city as I needed the speed to reach where I needed to go.

"Fly north."

Leona nodded before flying in the direction I specified her to go. The only way to find the White Howler is to get into the Everfrost Forest, a place where the monster lives. Just by the name of the forest, the forest is forever in winter due to the curse that was caused by a woman who got cheated by her husband who is a woodcutter. Due to her jealousy and anger, she kidnaps her husband, tied her up to a tree, and asked Yuki-Onna, a yokai who can control ice and is said to be born from ice to freeze her husband and kill him. However, the yuki-onna is not that generous and decided to ask for compensation.

The woman who has no other things to offer as a way of payment for the deed, decided to run away. In a fit of anger, the yuki-onna killed the fleeing woman and froze the whole forest as a result. That turned the whole forest into a place where winter never ends.

White Howlers loved the cold and so the Everfrost forest became their main habitat with their coats as white as snow, they can easily blend into the forest's snow and hunt properly without getting worried about being hunted by their natural predators as they are now in the advantage of their surroundings.

But that will end now as I will have to hunt a lot of them to find the material I needed. Once I am done, I will go back to the city and finish the items I needed to make.

As we are nearing the forest, the surroundings start to get really cold, and even though I am wearing a cold-resistant coat, the cold seeps through my skin, shivering me to the bone. Thankfully, I am used to the cold due to my experience in the Freezing Region which is much colder than here. Still, it's still pretty cold compared to what I can remember in this place.

Leona seems fine from the cold but I still don't want Leona to be exposed to it for long. This is an artificial winter, after all.

We slowly arrived in the forest. I didn't land near the village to avoid alerting the villagers and whoever soldiers are present in the area as well. It would bring me no good attracting unwanted attention.

Recalling Leona, I trek the remaining distance toward the forest. It was located uphill, making the little trek a bit challenging due to the strong and cold winds. One wrong move and anyone trekking without care would slip into the slippery road and there will be a chance for some accidents like that to happen.

I slowly made my way into the forest and a few minutes of walk allowed me to reach my destination safely without slipping into the road that seemed to turn to ice as well.

Now here comes the hard part. White Howlers are not that easy to spot due to their coats and that alone made them harder to hunt. But it wasn't that hard if you have a Druid to help using [Track] passive that allows the player who has this skill to immediately learn the whereabouts of any creatures around him or her within 20 meters. Otherwise, I just needed to learn about their behavior and keep a good track of them and their behaviors.

I already have a good way to track them without getting the passive alone but I am in a bind here and needed to finish my work as soon as possible so instead of relying on my knowledge, I opened the skill tree and spent the Druid Points on the passive. I got 200 Druid Points in me, probably due to the time I used the Bo staff multiple times in battle and perhaps the time I used to transform into some animals at some point made me earn those points. Either way, I will buy the passive which is in tier 1 for 30 points.

There is also the [Trail Tracker] that allows me to identify any kind of tracks left on the surroundings and whose trail was left behind. It doesn't only work on monsters and animals, but it also works on humans as well. It's an active skill and I needed to cast it from time to time if I wanted to use it. It's in 10 pts which is a bit cheap but this will be helpful in my quest to track the monsters I needed to track. The reason it might be cheap is due to the fact that it has no other uses other than "tracking" which is not usually used most of the time.

Alright, now that the passive is working, I immediately spotted a few creatures not too far from my location. I activated [Stealth] immediately and pulled out my Versatile Weapon and changed it to Bow and Arrow. I needed to be quiet in hunting the monsters as they will be escaping from me if they noticed my actions. The bow and arrow are just the best for silent long-range attacks. Plus this also has less damage on the pelts of monsters killed as they don't tear the pelt when shot compared to guns and arrows don't produce a loud shot comparable to gunshots.

I slowly make my way in the direction of the monster I detected. I also cast the [Trail Tracker] to ensure that I am tracking the right monster.

Soon, I reached the location of the monster. If not for the passive and the [Trail Tracker] the monster might have escaped my eyes as the f*cker was just resting on the tree, camouflaged on the white branches of the tree and keeping itself hidden.

I nock my bow and aim the arrow into the unsuspecting monster, before releasing it.

THUNK!

The arrow pierces through the White Howler and it died before it can make any noise. I immediately checked the drops but the first monster didn't drop it. But it's fine. I have already gotten used to this and I am quite sure it will take me a bit before the necessary item I needed will appear. This means I needed to keep looking.

The carcass was immediately butchered by me before I moved on to the next White Howler that I already tracked after killing the first one. Once I found the next one, I nock the bow and aim the arrow, then released it, killing the White Howler in one hit again. Once more, I checked the drops... and nothing.

"Huff, let's be patient, me. This is the second monster, we still needed to hunt more. Don't be impatient," I whispered to myself.

And so, I continue to move forward into the snow, cold and shivering, yet still moving forward, looking for the material I needed.

I nock the bow and aim the arrow, and shoot. I nock the bow and aim the arrow, and once more, shoot. I repeated it again and again. And yet, the monster has yet to drop it. However, I have not lost all hope just yet.

However, while I was searching for the material I needed, I didn't realize, someone was currently watching me in the distance.