"HUFF, HUFF..."

Colin ripped off his helmet and looked down to check his injuries.

His flesh and clothes were stuck together. When he tugged lightly on his sleeve, pieces of charred debris flaked off onto the snow, making it look like he’d been tossed into a fire and roasted for hours.

Also, when he’d ducked to avoid the scythe, his elbow had been scraped open, and a layer of white frost had formed on the wound.

A few sets of footsteps approached from a distance.

"Sir Colin! How are you feeling?!"

Orelia’s serious voice came from his side. The forcefulness in her tone made her sound like a completely different person from her usual gentle self.

"It doesn’t hurt. It’s just a bit numb," Colin said, his lips feeling sticky as he spoke. "But the surface of my skin feels a little hot."

As was her custom, Orelia gave him a drink of alcohol before quickly picking up a dagger from the ground. She carefully cut away the clothing that was stuck to his skin, and only when that was done did she use her Divine Art to heal him.

A warm, golden light surged into his body.

Intense pain and a fine, tingling itch flooded him from all over, as if countless ants were gnawing on his skin. The sensation nearly made Colin suffocate.

"Drink this, quickly."

A pair of large, rough fingers holding a potion appeared before his eyes. Colin quickly took the [Weak Healing Potion] and downed it in one gulp.

A prickly itch replaced the pain. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was much better than the raw agony from before.

"I’m recovering now," Colin said, starting to get up.

"Not yet, Sir Colin." Orelia held him down and took out an ointment, carefully applying it to the areas that hadn’t fully healed.

Ale was also squatting silently nearby, pressing a lodestone against his cut clothing to gradually repair it.

Standing to the side, Kase’s brow was furrowed. He was silent, lost in thought.

Colin looked at the others.

They were all covered in fine cuts from the ice shards in the [Ice Storm].

Kase was also badly hurt; several gashes from the white bear’s claws were still bleeding.

Orelia, having drunk a Potion, was in better shape, but Colin could see she was drained.

Ale’s injuries looked frightening as well. Not only were there large bruises all over her body, but she was also covered in numerous small cuts.

In the distance, Pepe and the sled dogs limped over.

They had taken the brunt of the magic and fought the Wild Wolves; their white fur was almost completely stained red.

Colin sighed.

’It really was a costly victory...’

"We’re out of potions, Colin," Kase said, looking down the path ahead. "What will we do if we run into more of those Druids?"

"We probably won’t be running into them again anytime soon."

Colin said, "That one just now must have been a high-ranking member of the Frostland Druids. The fact that she came to meet us alone means they’re in serious trouble. The problem is, we don’t know what kind of trouble they’re facing."

"Could it be the Skeletons from before? I feel like the smell of rot is getting stronger," Orelia said, her nose twitching.

Colin pushed himself up. "It’s hard to say. We’ll worry about it later."

After he helped Orelia finish treating the wounds of the others and the sled dogs, the group briefly surveyed the battlefield.

Colin walked over to the Druid’s body first.

He picked up the intimidating-looking Ice Scythe, only to find that its blade had already begun to melt. It quickly became an ordinary wooden stick.

So, the spell that turned it into a scythe must have just been a temporary Enchantment.

"These bastards really are spiteful."

Colin grumbled as he tossed the stick aside.

He looked more closely and pulled a coil of rope from the Druid’s waist.

[Climbing Rope / Non-Ordinary Magical Item]

[Activated Rope: The user can hold one end of the rope and command the other end to move toward a designated location at a speed of half a meter per second. The user can also command the rope to tie itself to a specified object or to tie a knot in its middle. If the rope is cut, the longer section retains its Mana and can regenerate to its original length over time.]

Colin gripped one end of the rope, flicked it out, and silently gave a command in his mind.

Just as he’d expected, the other end of the rope slowly flew off into the distance.

Judging by the flight time, the thing was about twenty meters long.

’A Frostland Druid who can turn into a bird wouldn’t have any reason to buy something like this. She probably stole it from someone or just happened to find it.’

This thing was quite convenient for creatures without wings. Plus, it was a Non-Ordinary Level Magic Artifact.

You could climb any cliff under twenty meters with it. It was a shame you had to hold one end to activate the rope; otherwise, you could have attached other Hemp Rope to it.

In any case, it was a Non-Ordinary Magical Item. If he were to sell it, he could easily get anywhere from one hundred to several hundred Gold Coins.

"Is that a new spell you learned, Sir Colin?" Orelia called from a distance.

"It’s a new Magic Item," Colin replied as he searched the body again. As it turned out, the Druid had nothing else—not even a single copper piece.

’Why are all these bastard Druids so poor?’

Colin complained inwardly.

Taking the item, he got up to check on the others.

Besides what the Druid had, the only other spoils of war were a few beast carcasses.

The few Wild Wolves were one thing, but the white bear was too large to deal with. The group could only chop off all its Bear Claws and pull out its full set of Bear Fangs.

It was worth noting that the beasts lying on the ground all had burns to some degree, likely Ale’s handiwork. It seemed this Warlock was a traditional "turret-type" Caster.

While chopping off the claws, Colin joked, "Kase, why don’t you cut off some bear fat to eat?"

"Huh? What?"

"I said, why don’t you cut off some bear fat to eat."

"There aren’t many bears around here. This one was probably summoned by the Druid’s magic. It’s a big one, that’s for sure," Kase said. "If you guys want to eat, we can cut off a leg and roast it. By the way, do we have enough salt left? If not, we can add some cured sausage or something."

"Yes, we still have salt."

After speaking, Orelia shook her head at Colin, signaling him not to press the issue.

Colin nodded silently.

Listening to Kase ramble on about unrelated things, he grew a little worried.

After all, the Orc Tribe wasn’t far from here, and the situation there didn’t sound good. It was only natural for the Half-Orc to be anxious. Colin had already spoken with Kase about it at length, and he didn’t know what more he could say to comfort him.

Perhaps only good news could lift the Half-Orc’s spirits now.

The group busied themselves, loading the few Wild Wolves onto the sleds.

Only after they finished did they drag their injured bodies to a rock cave Kase knew of to take shelter.

However, worried about the "trouble" the Frostland Druid had mentioned, they didn’t start a fire to roast meat. They only skinned a few pieces of Wolf Hide and Bear Leg Hide.

The sled dogs had eaten a lot over the past few days, which had freed up plenty of space in the Dimension Bag, so the Bear Meat and wolf meat were stuffed inside.

By the light of a [Light] spell, they ate a hasty meal of dry rations and set the watch schedule. Then, the exhausted party found their own corners and fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, Orelia woke Colin.

He nodded to her and walked silently to the cave entrance.

A moment later, footsteps sounded from behind him.

Colin turned around. Ale, a blanket draped over her shoulders, was standing there watching him.