Chapter 81: Who Says This Place Smells? It’s Actually Great
Peiya had just recovered from the shock when she came face to face with such a huge creature.
The Ice Bear King was much bigger than normal bears. Especially the moment it changed from a bear guard into the Ice Bear King, it really startled her a bit.
It was like… an egg suddenly turning into a rooster.
Peiya suspected it used some kind of forbidden skill, probably related to the “treasure” it mentioned earlier.
But there was a bigger problem right now, the Ice Bear King seemed to think she was from the Church…
“You’ve got the wrong person. I’m just an adventurer. I have nothing to do with the Church. If I really were one of them, I wouldn’t stupidly walk in here.”
The Ice Bear King raised its head, letting out a burst of icy breath. The cold air around it covered the walls with a thin layer of frost. A hint of doubt appeared in its eyes.
“You’re not from the Church? How is that possible?”
“It’s true. But I’m surprised you can talk. Since I answered your question, now it’s your turn. What’s going on with these minerals? Why are you breaking them?”
“Heh…” The Ice Bear King smashed the surrounding crystals with one swipe of its claw. “Why should I answer a weak human like you?”
The broken crystals quickly dimmed, and their surfaces released strong heat and light. Peiya immediately recognized this as the process of mineral activation.
“You’re crazy! Aren’t you afraid of being poisoned by the mineral toxins?” Peiya pretended to be angry, looking like she wanted to bite someone.
“Foolish human. If I could be poisoned, do you think I would break them? I may be fine, but that doesn’t mean others are. Instead of worrying about me, worry about yourself.”
Peiya observed carefully. There were indeed no signs of infection on the Ice Bear King.
Her expression quickly returned to normal.
So her guess was right. The Ice Bear King had been staying here for a reason. It probably had a way to deal with the toxins.
She had wanted to trick it into revealing more, but it didn’t work.
Looks like those scenes where villains explain everything only exist in books.
Peiya sighed and used the Judgment Cross to clear the toxins around them. This made the Ice Bear King stare in shock, almost furious enough to crush them with its claws.
“You shameless humans! How do you explain that? You Church dogs, if the Witch finds out, she will punish you right here!”
“I’m not one of them. I just used their item.”
“You think I’ll believe that? Enough talk, prepare to fight! I will defend the Witch with my life!”
The Ice Bear King swung its massive claw, shattering all the crystals around it. The large white crystal on its back turned purple as it absorbed the mineral energy, surrounded by cold air.
“It can absorb the mineral toxins?”
Peiya’s face changed. She quickly moved away from her previous position.
She had wanted to talk a bit more to gather information, but the bear attacked without warning.
What confused her more was that she heard it mention a “Witch.” What was that about?
Did this creature have some connection to a witch?
“Be careful, Miss Peiya. Leave this to me.”
Elise reached out and held Peiya’s back, stopping her from retreating further.
Peiya looked up at Elise’s pale chin and nodded. “I’ll leave it to you. I’ll support you.”
“Alright.”
Elise steadied Peiya, then turned into a streak of golden light, rushing toward the Ice Bear King’s incoming claw.
Their frost powers collided. The confident Ice Bear King was clearly shocked by Elise’s attack.
For a moment, it lost focus and was pushed backward.
Peiya seized the chance. Her hands were already casting a blessing spell. A golden light surrounded her body, and a powerful energy surged from her palms.
Normally, when Peiya raised her hand, it would be to use strengthening skills. But every situation is different.
Elise was much stronger than Peiya’s former teammates, so those life-saving skills could be saved for later. Peiya first gave her buff-type support. As for the rest, there would be plenty of chances later.
Elise felt the blessing and looked a bit surprised. This was the first time she had seen Peiya use her ability like this.
The healing and support were incredibly strong. The fatigue from her previous attack disappeared, like it had been erased.
To put it simply… her body might not look impressive, but her healing power was unexpectedly amazing.
“You human… why did you suddenly become stronger?”
The Ice Bear King also noticed something was wrong. Its gaze shifted to the support caster behind Elise.
It had fought support-type fighters before. Church members often used this method, greatly strengthening one person.
But this one felt different.
“What are you… human or something else?”
The Ice Bear King pulled back its claw and jumped onto a higher part of the cave. Its next target was Peiya, her ability was too dangerous.
She had to be dealt with quickly.
“I don’t know why you have such strange power, but this ends now.”
The massive bear paw slammed down toward the ground, but stopped just before hitting.
The attack froze in mid-air.
At that moment, Elise held her sword in reverse grip, the tip pressing against the bear’s paw. Sharp frost spread from the hilt, turning into a cold core of ice that almost swallowed the paw whole.
Elise, now touching the power of order, released a force even stronger than normal frost. Even the Ice Bear King, who controlled ice, felt a sense of danger.
At first, it thought the support caster was the problem.
But now it realized, both of them were dangerous!
“Stop struggling, Ice Bear King. We can talk this out.”
Peiya had no intention of killing it. Since it could communicate, the most important thing now was to gather useful information.
“Foolish human! I won’t fall for your tricks again! Back then, you used the same methods to take the Witch away. The bear tribe will never become slaves!”
The battlefield shifted again. The hourglass-like space returned.
But this time, the Ice Bear King didn’t go back up. Instead, the bear guard above began to descend.
When it touched the Ice Bear King, the two merged into one. A wild, violent power filled the entire cave. The Ice Bear King lifted its head again, its expression now fierce, like it had been possessed.
At the same time, the mine, shaped like an hourglass, started turning again.
As it rotated, the scene on the other side became clearer.
That was… Anna?
Peiya recognized the figure in the reflection. But in the next second, she was struck by the Ice Bear King’s shadow and slammed into the wall like a bug, completely stuck there.
Not just Anna, other adventurers were also struck and thrown against the walls. The entire wall turned into a giant crystal.
The battlefield changed instantly.
The adventurers trapped in the crystals were released through beams of light, only to be pulled into the air again by a strange force and embedded into the surrounding rock walls.
Dark magic circles appeared around the crystals. The adventurers caught inside had all their magic drained, which then flowed into the Ice Bear King’s body.
But Peiya noticed something funny.
Her three former teammates, maybe because they had too little magic, or were seen as “useless”, were rejected by the magic circles.
They were casually thrown back into the muddy mine pit where Peiya had fallen earlier.
That place used to feel like a disgusting sewer…
But now…
Somehow, it didn’t seem so bad anymore.
It even felt a little… comforting.