Healing System

Chapter 227 Child of Shadows (7)

"So, where to?" Elizabeth questioned, looking all around the snowy surroundings until eventually locking onto a single place off in the distance.

Kevin took notice of that and, without even answering her, turned to look in the direction that had caught her interest.

To his surprise, it was some kind of frozen lake—one that spanned as far as the eye could see.

And in the very middle was some kind of pedestal with a black shard, as though made of obsidian, on top of it.

He attempted to stretch his mana out and check what it was, but for some reason, his mana was being cut off the moment it entered the lake's radius.

"Yeah, that's probably it," Kevin commented with a nod and proceeded to start walking toward it.

Dangerous as it may be, they were stuck. Time did not pass outside of this place, but they could still grow older.

Worst-case scenario, they would be stuck in here for months, if not years.

But obviously, Kevin would not let that happen.

"Wait up," Elizabeth's voice rang out from behind as she jogged over to him before saying, "You think all we have to do is get that weird black shard?"

"I would expect, because if not, then we are lost," Kevin replied as, finally, they reached the very edge that bordered between the snowy land and the icy lake.

Yet, as he took a single glance down at what was under, he noticed several figures moving around, as well as glowing lights of different colors and sizes.

'Hmm... water-type monsters, huh?' He noted it down in his mind.

From the looks of it, they would be their main source of trouble since, without a doubt, any bit of disturbance would cause them to break the ice and make both Kevin and Elizabeth sink into the lake.

Better yet, mana usage seemed to be a complete no-go; he couldn't even channel or move it around in his body.

"I spy with my little eye... a bunch of disgusting monsters," Elizabeth's repulsed voice rang out.

"Seems like that's the case," Kevin nodded in response before continuing, "I'll go. You stay here and watch the perimeter."

Just as his words fell, he took the first step, and surprisingly, he felt a tug on his hair.

"Now, why would I let you go in there alone? Two is always faster than one," she insisted before putting her arm around Kevin's body and pushing both of them forward, sliding on the ice.

'...This girl.' He was left speechless, but nonetheless, he positioned himself in a way where he would not fall to the ground and alert the monsters.

The ice was extremely slippery—not even needing any strides to move forward. The only requirement seemed to be for them to stand upright.

However, Kevin couldn't help but grow more and more uneasy the closer they got to the shard.

And soon, when they were only around 100 meters away, the movements halted—the ice no longer skidding them across. Continue your journey with empire

Just before Elizabeth fell flat on her face, he caught her before taking a glance around.

Using mana was still impossible, but even to the naked eye, the barrier surrounding the black shard was visible.

Kevin stretched his arm out, and surprisingly, the barrier did not seem to be resisting him. Therefore, he stepped forward.

However, as he did so, a wave of cold assaulted him—one that made him freeze on the spot, literally.

'Fuck...' A massive headache began assaulting him, but before it could get too far, he stepped out of the barrier, meeting Elizabeth's puzzled gaze.

Therefore, he explained, "The barrier makes us normal humans, I would assume. Even though we can't use our mana now, we don't feel the cold... but in there, it's a bit troublesome."

His tone carried a sense of urgency, and it immediately made Elizabeth take the situation seriously.

"What do you suggest we do? From what I'm seeing, this barrier stretches out all around—and even into the sky," she then took a glance below them, through the ice.

"But it doesn't seem like it stretches out below? Unless I'm imagining it."

Kevin tilted his head before glancing down, and indeed, she was correct. The barrier seemed to cut off the moment it made contact with the ice, meaning everything below it was just simple, extremely cold water.

However, that did not completely put him at ease, as even if they got to the black shard, they would still need to get inside the barrier to retrieve it since it was on some kind of pedestal.

Cutting around the pedestal could work, but the plan was still a work in progress.

"Give me just a moment," Elizabeth stated as she unsheathed her sword and slowly sunk it into the ice below.

Obviously, it was not as easy as it looked since the ice was especially thick, but after a few minutes of grinding, she eventually managed to get the sword through silently.

"Make a bigger hole," he commented, earning a glare from her.

"Shut up. It's not that easy," she replied with a scoff before continuing to grind away at the ice until, eventually, a hole big enough to fit a person was formed.

Lifting that chunk of ice, Kevin gently put it down onto the ice beside them before sending a nod to Elizabeth.

"I'm going to take a quick dip—be back in a moment." As his words fell, he sunk his feet and quickly dived under.

Unsurprisingly, the water was extremely cold, but not something he couldn't bear.

Yet, that did not matter, as their main objective was to check whether the barrier truly did not expand below.

Making sure to stick to the very bottom of the ice below Elizabeth, he slowly made his way over to the barrier and soon passed it.

It was a bit colder than usual, but still, it wasn't as bad as it was above the ice.

With this finding, Kevin quickly made his way back up and heaved a deep breath before saying, "You were right."

"Of course I was," Elizabeth stated with a smug look as she sheathed her sword and looked down at the hole leading down.

"So, when are we going?"

Kevin stretched his limbs a little, and before long, announced, "Now."