19 Polar gate
Hans reached the entrance of the gate and was taken aback by its size; he didn't doubt that it could easily fit at least a truck which was quite different to an E-Rank gate's entrance which could only fit a few people at once.
From what he had been told, among the four exploration teams sent inside, none had returned.
Undaunted, Hans ventured forth. However, contrary to his expectations, what awaited him on the other side of the gate was far from ordinary.
He couldn't discern anything and only felt that it was difficult to move, which made him wonder, 'Am I… underwater?'
Forming a cup with his hands and bringing it before his mouth, Hans released a bit of oxygen to determine which way was up. He then swam as swiftly as possible until his hand hit something.
It was solid, but also very cold, only then did he realize that it was ice.
Almost out of breath, Hans summoned his remaining energy to cast a spell.
In his haste, he opted for {Fireball} and cast it right inside the ice to avoid the spell's effect being stopped by the surrounding water.
It didn't take long for the ice to melt, finally allowing Hans to regain his almost-lost breath.
"Cough! Cough… haaa"
Exhausted, Hans lay on the ice and tried to expel all the water he had accidentally inhaled while trying to breathe.
Only when he stood up to his feet did Hans finally get the chance to survey his surroundings.
After taking a look, he realized that he was in the middle of a frozen lake that stretched out for a few hundred meters in all directions with distant white mountain peaks and plenty of pine trees covered with snow that could even be seen afar.
The biting cold wind blew and penetrated Hans's wet clothes, causing him to shiver as countless snowflakes descended on him from the obscured sky.
His breath formed a trail of steam that was big enough to rival that of a chimney's plume.
"First things first, let's get out of this ice, standing on this isn't a good idea, nor is it safe," Hans then started to walk.
Nonetheless, with his clothes soaked wet and the temperature around being way below freezing, his endurance stat couldn't keep him safe from the cold and his fingers started freezing, allowing frostbite to set in.
After he arrived at the pines, Hans took off his clothes and released his skill, {Fire Veil}.
Though the efficiency was barely sufficient to stave the chill and warm him, the mana consumption was insane, he took the chance to warm himself up and dry his clothes using a hot breeze.
Only after he put his clothes back on did Hans finally start to feel a bit warmer and couldn't help but consider himself lucky to have entered this gate during fall with his jacket and jumper on, or else, had he gone in there with nothing but a t-shirt and pants, he would've been frozen to death by now.
The sensation of stuffing himself under three layers of clothing was truly the best comfort for Hans at the moment.
Just as he savored this peaceful moment of respite, a loud rustling sound erupted to his left. The trees in the distance started falling and the earth beneath Hans' feet started trembling.
What seemed to be an avalanche was closing on Hans, obliteration to the ground everything that came in its path.
Hans darted out of harm's way and crouched close to the ground to observe the passing snowstorm, but when he observed it up close, he noticed that there was something inside it.
When the avalanche subsided, a massive beast that looked like the fusion between an owl and a bear, with snow-white fur remained on the floor, watching around to find the prey it seemed to have lost.
Hans, who hid behind a tree, thought incredulously, 'Are you for real?'
[Race: Owl Behemoth
Name: None
Level: 92
Strength: 117
Dexterity: 59
Endurance: 99
Wisdom: 23
Skills:{Trained Hearing (E-Rank) (PASSIVE)
Description: A trained ear of a hunter.
Effect: Enables the user to hear even the slightest movements in their surroundings.}
{Sting Release (D-Rank) (Race Skill)
Description: When an owl behemoth gets scared, they'll release spines like a porcupine, but from their abdomen.
Effect: The enemies hit by these spikes will be less resistant to the cold, and if not heated, they will freeze to death over time.}
Description: A silly predator who likes to hunt smaller animals. It gets scared easily if its prey shows signs of superiority.
Evaluation: Peak Rank-D when it feels strong, low-rank D when scared.}
"That would be considered a boss monster for an E-Rank gate, but here it's just a normal monster," Hans couldn't help but remark.
"I have to look intimidating? But how am I supposed to do that when he's five times taller than me?" Hans muttered in confusion while scratching his head.
"Okay, let's give this a shot!"
With that, Hans covered the entire area in blazing flames while the behemoth remained seated on the fresh snow, watching the flames with interest after being intrigued by the spectacle.
'Still not enough huh?' Hans pushed himself further, igniting all the trees around them even though they were wet and snow was falling upon them.
The giant owl now seemed to be feeling a bit intimidated, but… 'Fuck, it's still not enough?!'
Giving it his all, Hans melted the snow on the ground, burned the green on the trees, and even melted the falling snowflakes, creating a barren landscape around them.
The owl, who had never seen a scenery without white snow was scared out of its wits and released its spines, shooting them in all directions.
Even though Hans was struck by one, he rushed towards the monster that was attempting to escape.
With his hand slightly burned and his body fuming, Hans screamed, "DON'T YOU DARE!!"
The owl-like creature froze on the spot, unable to move a muscle after being terrified by the other's aura.
Hans closed in and touched the behemoth's stomach and cast {Greater Fireball}, causing the monster's mouth to erupt a bright light before the creature disintegrated into a thousand pieces.
Hans, now boiling and dirtied from the creature's blood, decided to immerse his body in an almost frozen pond he found in the surroundings.
When he finally got out, Hans felt refreshed while the cold water had washed away all the bloody stains on his clothes accumulated from the previous battle, making them look completely new.
But since they were wet now, Hans heated himself and the clothes once again before resuming his exploration.
Almost two hours had passed since he entered the gate, and that was when he encountered a gruesome sight; slaughtered bodies of many owls' lay on the ground, and the creatures seemed to have been brutally killed since the innards of the monsters were splattered everywhere, truly not a pleasant scene to witness.
Hans could confirm that it was definitely a work of some beast. With that, he decided to follow the blood stains, and after a while, when the sound of a clashing came into his field of hearing, he activated the spell {Stealth} before hiding himself on top of a tree.
In the distance, numerous behemoths had formed a circle, making it look like they were performing a ritual of some sort, but they were actually hunting.
In the center of the circle, proudly stood the presumed killer of all the owls Hans had found before; a scary white bear, with sharp claws and fangs.
The bear-like creature's entire body was covered in spikes, while half of it being adorned in an almost broken earth armor.
After a few minutes, the bear looked like it was one step away from its death. However, Hans, who had seen its status window, knew that it wouldn't fall so easily and made preparations to take action.
[Elite Monster
Race: Mountain Bear
Name: None
Level: 95
Strength: 142
Speed: 113(-25)
Endurance: 197
Wisdom: 1
Skills:
{Stone Skin (Tier-3)
Description: Envelopes the user's entire body or the selected part of their body in hard stone, making it impenetrable for arrows and blades.
Effect: Dexterity -10, Endurance +30,
Defense against sharp objects +100%.}
{Berserk (C-Rank)
Effect: Reduces the user's wisdom to 1, but in exchange, raises all of their other stats by 50%.
After the skill is used, all of the user's stats will be reduced by 30%.}
Sub-skills:
{Death Cry (D-Rank)
Effect: If in a critical situation, the moment berserk finishes, the user will emit an atrocious cry that will inflict an abnormal condition (Fear) on all of its enemies in the surroundings.}}
Description: A wild bear who has won countless battles and evolved over time, its {Stone Skin} is currently weakened due to its low wisdom, a result of the skill {Berserk}.
Current Evaluation: A low Rank-C beast due to the injuries it has sustained and the freezing effect caused by the spikes in its body.}
A true monster among monsters.
The moment the bear's {Berserker} would finish, the {Death Cry} would apply the status {Fear} to the behemoth's, turning them weaker.
By then, the bear's intelligence would've returned to normal, making it more sensitive towards sneak attacks.
This meant that there was only one chance for Hans to kill it, and it was now.
Hans rushed forward while maintaining his skill {Stealth}, closing onto the elite monster, and just when he was a couple of feet away from it, he started chanting the spell {Greater Fireball}.
The monster, caught up in its fury, couldn't manage to notice Hans, and by the time Hans' hand touched its fur, the spell was already done.
A violent heat surged into the bear's body, causing it to suffer more than it ever had in its entire lifetime.
Before dying, however, it decided to put up a last struggle, and dedicated all of its remaining energy to let out a deafening cry.
{DEATH CRY}
————
Sub-skills:
Sub-skills are specialized branches of a skill.
For instance, within a martial art skill, the initial form could be considered its primary aspect. Whereas sub-skills are within a wide variety of skill sets, like {Flame Control}, which might include techniques like {Flame Spear} or {Flame Fist} which fall under the category of flame arts.
