Chapter 33: Snow Mountain Adventure
Cleveland stared blankly at the mysterious and elegant being before him.
He had never seen such a creature.
Cleveland opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could not find any words to describe the creature before him.
Was it a monster?
No… its proud demeanor, and the immense power that could freeze the very air, were more accurately described as “god” rather than “monster.”
Suddenly, Cleveland heard a melodious and pleasant cry, like a heavenly sound.
“Hiss!”
Immediately after, he saw the mysterious creature before him flap its wings, shimmering with ice crystals and snow, turn, and fly in one direction.
Its elegant ice-blue tail drew a beautiful arc across the sky.
In an instant, the snowflakes that had been frozen in mid-air began to fall again.
But the falling snow parted as if by magic, leaving a clear, snow-free vacuum in the middle!
Gazing at this miraculous sight, a disbelieving guess suddenly appeared in Cleveland’s mind.
—This mysterious creature was guiding him!
At this moment, a strong will to survive surged within Cleveland.
This belief drove him to stand up again, staggering towards the “snow-free path.”
One step, two steps, three steps…
Closer, he could see his territory in the distance.
However, Cleveland, who had not eaten or drunk for a long time, finally collapsed on the snow.
The mysterious creature had disappeared into the snowstorm at some point.
“Still not enough?” Cleveland muttered to himself.
He closed his eyes, feeling his strength gradually draining away.
But just then, Cleveland suddenly felt something fall beside him.
The creature’s claws made a rustling sound on the snow.
“Lili?”
A wild monster was coming to attack him!
Cleveland’s eyes shot open, but the next second, he saw a red monster with a hollow tail looking down at him.
The monster’s face and chest were covered in white feathers, and the most eye-catching thing was the white bundle clutched in its claws.
It looked just like a Santa Claus from a story.
The Messenger Bird patted the human with its wing, but the human showed no reaction.
The Messenger Bird showed a troubled expression.
Today, it had intended to leave its nest and find more food to store.
But unexpectedly, on the way, it saw a human walking alone in the vast snow mountain.
The Messenger Bird saw that the human seemed to be carrying no food and felt worried that this fellow might starve to death, so it followed him.
It had just seen the human suddenly collapse and quickly flew down to check the situation.
“Lili…” This person seems a little dead…
But the next second, it saw the man open his eyes.
“Lili!”
The Messenger Bird was startled, but seeing that the person was not dead, it couldn’t help but be happy for him.
“Lili!”
The Messenger Bird patted the man with its wing, then took two berries it had painstakingly searched for from the bundle and placed them in front of the man.
“Lili!” Eat! You’ll have strength if you eat enough!
After sharing the food, the Messenger Bird flapped its wings and happily turned to leave.
It had given the food to the human; it still needed to find more to store.
Cleveland stared blankly at the back of the bird-monster.
He was too hungry and immediately began to devour the berries.
With food to fill his stomach, Cleveland regained a little strength.
He looked with a complex expression in the direction the bird-monster had left.
Had he been helped by a monster?
But there was no time to think; he had not yet returned to his territory.
Having barely filled his stomach, Cleveland stood up and staggered towards his territory.
Cleveland didn’t know how long he had been walking, so long that his limbs had lost all feeling, and he could only move forward by instinct.
“Cleveland!”
“Uncle!”
Suddenly, Cleveland heard Ryan and Christina’s voices.
He looked up and saw a group of people running towards him.
Finally… arrived…
Cleveland could no longer hold on and fell to the snow with a thud, losing consciousness.
“…”
Cleveland had another dream.
In the dream, he saw the mysterious creature that had suddenly appeared before him and guided him.
“Hoo!”
Cleveland’s eyes shot open.
He found himself back in his territory.
He was lying in a small wooden house, where a charcoal fire burned fiercely, making the entire room warm.
Ryan and Christina were keeping watch, and seeing him wake up, their faces were filled with surprise:
“You’re awake!”
A flicker of confusion crossed Cleveland’s face.
“You’ve been missing for three days!” Seeing her companion awake, Christina let out a sigh of relief, saying, “Thank goodness, Uncle, it’s so good that you’re okay!”
Cleveland looked at his bandaged arm and couldn’t help but murmur, “What on earth happened?”
Ryan stood by with his arms crossed and explained:
“That day, Christina and I returned to the territory safely. Prince Lei Wen, upon learning that you stayed behind to fend off monsters, immediately dispatched the Knight Order to search the mountain. They found you unconscious on a snowy field.”
Prince Lei Wen…
Cleveland recalled his journey and immediately got out of bed, asking, “Did you report what you found on the way to Prince Lei Wen?”
“We didn’t have time yet.” Christina said sheepishly. As soon as they returned, they re-entered the snow mountain. Thinking of Prince Lei Wen, she said with some worry, “I hope His Highness won’t blame us!”
Cleveland: “…”
He stood up and said to the two of them, “I’m fine now. Let’s go and report our findings to Prince Lei Wen!”
Lei Wen was in a tent with the Old Butler Elif, inventorying the remaining supplies in the territory.
Seeing Ryan and Christina enter, he looked surprised: “Cleveland is not awake yet?”
Before they could answer, Lei Wen saw Cleveland walk in: “Reporting to Your Highness, I am awake!”
Lei Wen glanced at his arm and asked, “How do you feel?”
“Much better, Your Highness need not worry,” Cleveland replied.
“Alright, then you should rest well for a while. We’ll talk about everything after your wounds have healed,” Lei Wen said.
“Yes!”
“Prince Lei Wen…” Christina handed over the book with the map and monster illustrations to him, saying nervously, “This is the task you gave us. Please forgive us for not giving it to you until now, we are very sorry!”
“No need to be so nervous,” Lei Wen took the book and smiled, “I know you were worried about Cleveland, and that’s why you forgot about this. It’s good that you’re alright.”
Christina then breathed a sigh of relief. His Highness is truly merciful!
Lei Wen opened the book.
On the first page was a drawing of a Pokémon he was very familiar with.
It was a small Pokémon shaped like a little turtle, with many hollow holes on its red shell.
—Potter.
Christina had recorded the Potter’s personality and reactions below.
【 Unknown monster, timid by nature, hides under stones, not aggressive. When we approach, it retracts its head and limbs into its shell. 】
“There really is a Potter?” Lei Wen was somewhat surprised. If so, by next spring, they could capture a Potter and entrust it with brewing Berry Juice.
Ordinary berries, when fermented by a Potter, would turn into Berry Juice that could restore stamina, and its effects were far superior to ordinary berries.
Lei Wen nodded with satisfaction.
Just as he was about to turn to the next page, he heard Cleveland say:
“Prince Lei Wen, I have something to report to you!”
