Way of the Knights

Chapter 355 - Ice Crystal Root

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'Damn! I was a bee's dick away from taking it! God! I hate this ancient art.' 

This was Raven's thoughts as he froze for nth time inside the Frozen Tomb. His position was quite awkward since he was frozen as he was reaching towards the item that, by his words, a bee's dick away from his reach. He was quite literally about to touch it, but the Breath of Absolute Frost prevented him from doing so. 

Raven could only sigh inwardly in exasperation. And because he had been active inside this cave for more than one week, he's going to be frozen for a whole week before the next thawing happens. 

With nothing to do, he decided to leave his frozen body and go towards his core. He would've preferred to go inside the crown space but he needed his body to be unfrozen first, or else the tremendous pressure in the Palace Grounds will turn him into Ice Dusts. 

Going towards his core doesn't need his physical body, he just needed his consciousness to do so. 

Once inside, he once again saw the mystical space inside which never failed to amaze him. He had been in the outer space before during his previous life, and this place looks just like that, minus the countless stars and asteroids. The only stars present here is orb of his Chaos Force, which closely resembles a sun, and the 'Bounty' he had been collecting from it, which looks just like the moon. 

Raven's consciousness then approached the Chaos Force Orb. Once he got close, he flew towards the top of it and sat down to enter deep meditation. And just like, Raven was once again lost in his thoughts, gaining some faint ideas that will eventually link together and end up as an enlightenment for him. 

This is what he had been doing during the Freezing Period. At first, the idea of sitting on the surface of a star that resembled a sun, doesn't really sounded good to him. But then again, this is not the Sun, this enormous star is the total amalgamation of his Chaos Force, where the majority is sealed by an unknown force. He figured that since it's inside his body, it shouldn't be there to harm him, so it should be safe to approach it. What's more is that, it's sealed anyway. Approaching it wouldn't cause him to explode or anything like that. 

To his surprise, once he started doing deep meditation on the surface of his own Chaos Force Orb, new ideas and enlightenments started visiting him more often. At first he thought that it was just a coincidence but the more tested it out, the more he started believing. So it's no surprise that this is the only way he's doing it if the situation permits it. 

'I've been active inside this place for a week and three days. This is the 10th time, and due to the annoying rules of this place, I'm here for a total of almost a month, 24 days to be exact. And I'll be here for longer since I also have to travel back. Undoubtedly, the journey back to the exit will be longer.'

At most, he'll be here for 2 months in total, if he's unlucky then he might have to stay longer. What's really annoying him was the rule. The longer he stayed inside, the longer he's frozen. How he wished that the ratio of Freezing Period and Thawing Period was 1:1, it'll be less annoying if that was the case. 

***

"Damn, I finally got it." He murmured as he started walking back. He can't afford to waste time so he started walking back as soon as he grabbed the item he was here for.

He gazed at the thing he was holding. It was a ginseng root which looked like it was made out of glass, it had multiple fibers growing out of it's body which almost looked like little frozen branches. This is the ingredient that he needed in this place. 

The Ice Crystal Root. 

An ingredient that will only grow in cold areas. The colder the surroundings, the faster it's growth is. And judging by the appearance of this root, it's at least 90-100 years old. This was enough for multiple use since what they needed was just the fibers. Raven took the whole root away since he had plans on giving to Richard when he get back, this is a very rare ingredient after all. It could be used for tons of recipes, so he took it away with him so that they could grow one back home. 

'Alright, now I only needed to head towards the east, grab the final ingredient and head back home." He murmured as he was walking back. His journey was nearly over, the idea that he'll finally be able to go back home and spend time with loved one's really excited him. 

"Hmm?"

Raven suddenly sensed a disturbance in front of him which made him stop on his tracks. 

Out of nowhere, a huge snowflake suddenly materialized in front of him, catching him completely off-guard. Raven frowned and can't quite decide whether to destroy this snowflake, observe what happens or ignore it altogether and just get the hell out this place. 

As he was in the middle of deciding what to do, another change occurred on the huge snowflake. 

The middle portion of it shattered and revealed a crack in space. Raven involuntarily inhaled sharply as he sense the fluctuations of space. His face instantly became serious, he couldn't feel any malicious intent coming from it but he knew that an existence that could create portals like this in conjunction with another, is something that he could not mess with right now. 

All of a sudden, something shot out from portal and went towards him with a blinding speed. It was too fast that Raven couldn't even dodge it even though he saw it coming. 

Tendrils of white silk wrapped around his waist and before he knew it, he was already being dragged towards the portal. He tried to fight the pull but it was too strong for him. Left with no options, he decided to just allow himself to be transported, and he'll just deal with the situation depending on how he sees fit. 

Raven then disappeared inside the Frozen Tomb, the portal disappeared as well the huge snowflake, leaving only the cold air and the perpetual silence inside the tomb. 

***

When Raven regained his vision, he found himself standing in a place that he had never seen before. 

He was inside of what looks like a dome made out of nothing but ice. The temperature inside this place is not as cold as the outside, his breath wasn't turning into a white mist and he's definitely not shivering from the cold. 

The then turned around to see more of the place but as soon as he did so, he nearly suffered from a heart attack. 

He saw an enormous face, studying him from head to toe. 

That face alone was almost as tall as he is. Raven swallowed a mouthful of spit and studied the creature back. 

Its face resembled that of a gorilla's but its features are more delicate. It's whole body is covered with a thick mop of white and glossy fur. This one had two horns which starts from the edge of its eyebrows and extends at least a few inches away from its head. It had a massive body, he couldn't accurately tell how big it was since it's hunched over with its face very close to him. At the same time, this creatures arms and legs is bigger compared to its actual body, its feet were huge too. 

After studying the creature long enough, Raven finally realized what it was or, who this was. 

"Greetings, Guardian Yeti of the North. My name is Raven. Nice to see you?" He sounded quite unsure during his last words since he couldn't believe that this was happening. 

The being that was born at the same time as this plane, the immortal that raised the most powerful emperor that had ever lived, the one and true ruler of the entire north. 

The Guardian Yeti, is in front of him and is currently studying him closely. 

*Snort!*

Air was blown from yeti's nostrils, causing the entire dome to shake and for a moment and the huge gust of cold air to directly assault Raven.

He did nothing to avoid it nor feel offended by it. Raven could feel that the Guardian Yeti had no bad intentions since if had, then his ocular technique should've given him signs already. 

After the commotion dissipated, him and the yeti stared at each other again. It was then that the yeti's tongue suddenly came out of it's mouth and gave Raven a long lick that almost sent him flying back. 

Raven couldn't do anything other than to smile wryly. He didn't understand why the yeti decided to do that, and he couldn't even avoid it. Now he's covered in slimy spit from that lick, making him very uncomfortable. 

Out of nowhere, Raven heard a laugh which caused him to be alarmed. He then saw someone walking out of the shadow of the yeti and walking towards him.

"It's seems that A'nu likes you, young man."

"You are…"