Iul was practically on the verge of tears.
He truly hadn’t expected to be this unlucky.
It had always been him setting traps to scheme against others; this was the first time he had been schemed against.
And the most critical part was that such a crude trap had tied him up; there was absolutely no justice in this.
His lifelong reputation!
If Aqina knew what this kid was thinking, she would probably laugh even louder.
Because Heavenly Principles would say: “I am currently sleeping, do not disturb.
Solve your own problems.” The Damselette laughed enough, then she put her hands on her hips and looked up at the upside-down Iul with her chin raised.
“Hey, you, hand over your nameplate, or I’ll leave you hanging here until dawn and let the Instructor come fish you out!” Iul’s face turned bright red with anger; hanging upside down caused blood to rush to his head, so how could it not be red?
“You, you ambushed me!
Despicable!” “All is fair in war,” the Damselette said triumphantly.
“Besides, who told you to step into my trap?
My trap was laid out so obviously.
If you were blind, who can you blame?” Aqina looked closely and realized it was true.
On the snow around the withered tree, there were indeed several unnatural mounds.
The vines had extended from there.
Just now, their attention had been entirely on the Damselette; not a single one of them had noticed the trap under their feet.
“He really is the Unlucky Bear himself,” Aqina couldn’t help but remark.
Tatiana also suppressed a laugh, extinguishing the flames in her hand.
She could tell that this young girl had no malicious intent.
She just loved pranks and had no intention of harming anyone; otherwise, what she had scattered earlier wouldn’t have been paralysis pollen, but poisonous herb powder.
Iul was still struggling there: “Let me go!
If you have the guts, let’s have a fair fight!” “No way,” the Damselette made a face.
“You are my captive now, and a captive should have the awareness of a captive.
Hurry, hand over the nameplate!” “I won’t!” “Then I’m going to tickle you.” A few thin vines sprouted from the Damselette’s hand, the tips blooming with small flowers, swaying back and forth against the soles of Iul’s feet.
Iul’s expression changed: “You dare!” “Watch me,” the Damselette said, controlling the vines, really about to tickle him.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Iul caved.
“I’ll give it, I’ll give it!
You let me down first!” “You give it first.” “You let me down first!” The two of them started arguing just like that.
Just like a bickering couple.
Aqina and Tatiana watched with arms crossed, having no intention of intervening.
Tatiana even produced a piece of dry ration from somewhere, broke it in two, and handed half to Aqina.
“Watching a show requires some snacks,” she said.
Aqina took it, bit into it, and said indistinctly, “This young girl is interesting.” “Dendro-element, can use vines, knows a bit about herbs—she’s good material,” Tatiana evaluated.
“She’s just a bit young and loves to play.” Over there, the argument between Iul and the Damselette had escalated.
“Why are you like this!
You don’t keep your word!” “How am I not keeping my word?
Hand over the nameplate and I’ll let you down.” “Let me down first, then I’ll hand it over!” “Then you can keep hanging!” “Hey!
Don’t walk away!
I’ll really give it!
Will you accept it if I really give it!” The Damselette turned back, smiling as she extended her hand.
“It would have been better if you were this obedient earlier.” Iul made a long face, fished his nameplate from his chest, and was about to hand it over.
Aqina suddenly spoke up: “Wait.” Both of them turned to look at her simultaneously.
Aqina walked over, took the nameplate from Iul’s hand, and looked at the Damselette: “Little sister, are you alone?” The Damselette looked at her vigilantly.
“What for?
You want to bully me with numbers?
Let me tell you, I’m not afraid.
I have plenty of other traps nearby.” “No fighting,” Aqina interrupted, shaking the nameplate in her hand.
“We can give you the nameplate, but there’s a condition.” “What condition?” “Join us,” Aqina said.
“More than half of the trial time has passed, and the next few days will only get more dangerous.
Even with traps, can you handle others who are teamed up on your own?” The Damselette hesitated.
Aqina continued to sweeten the deal.
“We have a wielder of a Pyro Vision, and we have a strategist.” She pointed at Tatiana and Iul.
“And me.
You should have heard of me, right?
I am the Undying Cockroach.
Or perhaps you’ve heard of that recent horror legend about the Snow Ghost?
I am the protagonist of that horror legend.
If you join us, your chances of survival are higher, and besides…” She revealed a coaxing smile.
“Don’t you want to see how this ‘Unlucky Bear’ will continue to be unlucky?
Follow us, and you’ll have entertainment every day.” Iul: “Hey!” The Damselette’s eyes lit up.
She looked at Aqina and the other.
Finally, her gaze landed on Iul, who was hanging like a dried fish.
Then, she burst into laughter again.
“You guys are so funny.” With a wave of her hand, the vines suddenly loosened.
Iul fell into the snow pile with a thud, completely disoriented.
This time, the Pyro older sister was pulled in.
The Damselette skipped over and extended her hand.
“Deal!
My name is Vera, a wielder of a Dendro Vision, fifteen years old this year, from a small village in the southern border of Snezhnaya.” Aqina shook her hand.
“I am Aqina, and this Pyro older sister next to me is Tatiana.
The one on the ground is Iul; you can just call him Unlucky Bear.” Tatiana also reached out and shook hands with Vera.
Iul struggled to climb out of the snow pile.
He brushed the snow off himself, his face full of resentment.
“Can you stop calling me Unlucky Bear all the time…” “No.” The three of them said in unison.
Vera laughed even more happily.
She pulled a small cloth bag from her chest and poured out a few green seeds.
“A gift for our first meeting.
These are my specially made medical seeds.
Holding one in your mouth can relieve pain, and applying it externally can accelerate wound healing.” She handed one to Iul.
“Here, treat your leg.
I noticed a long time ago that you were limping.” Iul took it and put it in his mouth, half-doubting.
After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up.
“It really doesn’t hurt anymore!” “Of course,” Vera said proudly.
“Hmph, I am the best herbalist apprentice in our village, and I’m going to be the best herbalist in the future.” Aqina looked at the three people in front of her.
The Pyro older sister, the Unlucky Bear strategist, the Dendro little witch, plus herself, the Undying Cockroach.
This combination was simply perfect.
And she felt that the upcoming trial might be very interesting.
The sky gradually brightened.
The four of them sat around a campfire, and Vera was enthusiastically showing off the various “little trinkets” she carried with her.
“These are sleep spores that can make people fall into a deep sleep, and this is itching herb powder; just a little bit will make you itch for three days.
Oh, and this one, I named it Wrestling Moss.
It’s especially slippery when scattered on a smooth surface…” She was like a little squirrel, constantly pulling things out of her cloak.
Before long, a pile of bottles, jars, and various herb packets was laid out in front of her.
Iul was dumbfounded.
“How did you carry so many things?
Isn’t it heavy?” “It is heavy,” Vera said righteously.
“That’s why I didn’t bring much dry food.
I’ve been relying on traps to catch rabbits to eat these past few days.” Tatiana curiously picked up a packet of green powder, sniffed it, and then sneezed.
“You little girl, you have quite a lot of tricks.” “I have great skills!” Vera puffed out her cheeks in defiance.
“Yesterday, I even used a trap to trap a veteran squad.
Hmph, all three of them fell for it.
“I sprinkled itching powder on them.
They were scratching while running, and their nameplates fell to the ground.
I picked them up and left, hee hee.” Aqina imagined the scene; the image was too beautiful, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
But as she laughed, she suddenly remembered something.
She looked at Vera: “You just said you set the traps because you wanted to catch rabbits?” “Yeah,” Vera nodded.
“The rabbits in this valley are so fat; they must be delicious when roasted, but unfortunately, I haven’t caught one yet.
I saw them near the small stream over there before, so I thought I’d set a trap to try my luck.
Who knew I wouldn’t catch a rabbit, but would catch an Unlucky Bear instead.” Iul: “…Can we not mention that anymore?” “A small stream?” Tatiana caught the keyword.
“In this ice and snow, there’s an unfrozen stream?” “Yes,” Vera said.
“About two miles to the east, there’s a hot spring eye.
The water flowing out of there is warm, so it doesn’t freeze.
I even saw fish in it, but unfortunately, I don’t know how to catch them.” Aqina and Tatiana exchanged a glance.
In a place like the Frost Burial Valley, what does an unfrozen water source mean?
They both understood that it would be a battleground for all the trial participants.
Fetching water, catching fish, or even ambushing…
“How many times have you been there?” Aqina asked.
“Just once,” Vera said.
“I went the day before yesterday.
I originally wanted to catch fish, but I saw people fighting, so I hid.” “What kind of people?” Tatiana pressed.
Vera recalled, “It was a veteran fighting three recruits.
No, it can’t be counted as fighting; it was a one-sided crushing.” Her eyes lit up, and she gestured excitedly.
“That veteran was amazing!
He used a bow, that kind of extra-long recurve bow.” “He just stood on a big rock by the stream, one arrow per person, every shot hit its mark!” “Those three recruits wanted to rush over for close combat, but they were shot down before they could even get close.
The farthest one was still twenty steps away from him.” Aqina’s heart stirred.
Archers are a scarcity in an environment like Snezhnaya.
Snow and wind affect arrow trajectories; anyone who can maintain accuracy in this environment is definitely an expert.
“What happened next?” Iul also became interested.
“Later, those three recruits surrendered, handed over their nameplates, and got lost,” Vera said.
“I originally wanted to wait for that veteran to leave, but guess what happened?” The three of them looked at her in unison.
Vera lowered her voice and said mysteriously, “After that veteran won, he actually took out a fishing rod and sat on the rock to start fishing!” “Huh?” Iul was dumbfounded.
Tatiana was also stunned.
“Fishing in the trial grounds?” “Yes!” Vera nodded vigorously.
“And he actually caught two!
He started a small fire on the spot, roasted the fish, and ate it.
I was hiding in the bushes at the time, and I was so hungry my saliva was almost flowing out.
I wanted to team up with him right then and there…”