102. Cold
A big figure swung its thick arm toward a black silhouette.
It resembled a bear but with humanoid features, it had pure white fur and it was tall five meters.
However, it was slow, both in its movements and in its attacks, allowing the black figure to slash one of its shoulders.
GRRRRR
A low growl resounded from the tall beast as a wound appeared on its body but the cold winds in the surroundings gathered on that spot, fixing the injury.
'They are easy to fight but hard to kill.'
The black figure was, of course, Noah, testing the limits of the rank 3 Ice-born Yeti in front of him.
He had moved deep into the mountain range toward its peak, separating himself from the rest of the participants.
'In five hundred meters this is the first rank 3 that I met. I should climb a bit more.'
They had been teleported in the peak area of the mountain but they were still many kilometers away from its summit.
The Yeti roared and charged toward Noah seemingly angry for the injury just suffered.
Its frame was impressive but its speed was not even worthy of consideration.
Noah simply dodged its assault and appeared on its back as he placed his hand on the beast.
Black smoke was released which devoured in a few seconds all the rear area of the creature.
The Yeti fell dead on the snowy ground and a "1" appeared on the golden rune inside Noah's sea of consciousness.
'Finally some reactions. I believe that the rank 2 versions don't count or they are worth something only in big numbers.'
He had met some rank 2 Ice-born Yetis in his march but, even after killing them, the rune showed no changes.
'This environment forces the cultivator to expend a great deal of "Breath" to protect his body. Added to the vitality of the Yetis which is boosted in this field due to the cold winds, the test involves more than just brute force to be passed.'
The participants had three days to hunt as many magical beasts they could so they had to be wary of their reserves of energy.
'Yet, there are a lot of nobles from large-size families, I don't believe that they don't have any medicine to keep themselves in top condition. Even I have some of them after all.'
He thought for a bit while the mountain winds assaulted him and he raised his head to look at the summit after he had
'I need to go higher.'
Meanwhile, on another side of Shelfan Mountain.
Another group of youths was climbing the mountain.
There were the two red-haired siblings, the noble from the Muwlos family and some other cultivators.
The noble was currently speaking while taking out a long spear from the body of a rank 2 Yeti.
"This doesn't work, we need to go higher or we won't get any point."
They had decided to group up and to divide equally the kills but it was obvious that the Muwlos descendant was trying to take the bigger share.
"Samuel, I already told you that we should remain on a lower altitude. My sister is never wrong with these things."
Samuel Muwlos snorted and replied to the tall red-haired man.
"And what could your small Eeggi family even know? There are only rank 2 magical beasts in this area! We need to climb if we want to collect points!"
The others in the group nodded and followed Samuel's lead.
The man from the Eeggi family sighed and turned toward his sister.
"Still danger?"
The girl nodded and trembled as she gazed at the mountain peak.
"I feel that the higher we climb, the higher will be the chances of failing the test."
The brother too looked toward the peak.
"Isn't it possible that you are just sensing the stronger beasts up there?"
The girl shook her head.
"No, I feel that the danger will come toward us."
.
.
.
Many small groups had formed during the first day of the test.
Those belonging to small and medium-size families and even some lone cultivators chose to follow the lead of the descendants from the large-size noble families.
After all, the environment was harsh and the Yetis were resilient, grouping up was completely in the forecasts of the academy.
However, there were still some individuals that chose to challenge the mountain alone.
Noah was one of those and he was currently hidden in a large tree in which he had dug a small hole.
The night had come and, even if he could clearly see in the darkness, the temperature on the mountain had dropped so much that he had to take many breaks during his advance.
'Moving at night will just tire me uselessly. I'd better move tomorrow in the morning. It seems that I've finally reached a more populated area.'
He focused on the rune in his sea of consciousness which showed a clear "22" on its surface.
'The thing is that I can't see the kill count of the other participants so I don't know if I should hold back or push harder. To be safe, it's better to do my best and everything should be fine. I don't believe that there is someone with a spell more destructive than mine.'
He was relying mainly on the partial Demonic form to kill the Yetis as any other of his abilities could only inflict injuries that the winds easily healed.
'I will move as soon as the temperature rises.'
Noah took out his clothes and let Echo come out of his body and envelop him.
The body of the blood companion was made of "Breath" which naturally opposed the assault of the cold.
Noah closed his eyes and slept in the warmth of the bat's body.
The next morning, he retracted Echo and donned back his clothes.
He resumed his climb and noticed that the temperature lowered as he reached higher altitudes.
At some point, Echo sent a peculiar image to his mind which made him change direction toward another higher area.
He put one of his knees on the white terrain a peeked at the scenery below him.
There was a slope that created a small cliff on the side of the mountain.
It was a few hundred meters large and only at twenty from the terrain, it was like a small canyon in the insides of the mountain.
Inside the small valley, tens of rank 3 Ice-born Yetis were resting or lazily walking around.
A slight smile formed on Noah's face as he looked at them.