The obsidian temple fell behind Adam as he ascended out of the basin, leaving the quiet ashes of the Sun-King to settle into forgotten history.
The Emerald Maw seemed to change its tone as he walked deeper toward its northern border. The oppressive, humid jungle slowly surrendered to cooler mountain winds that swept down from the Jagged Crest a colossal chain of snow-capped peaks that sliced across the horizon like the teeth of a sleeping dragon. Here, the wild mana of the forest mingled with thin, crisp high-altitude air, creating shimmering ribbons of auroral light that danced across the sky even during the daytime.
Adam took his time, enjoying the shift in temperature and terrain. The soft earth beneath his boots gradually yielded to sharp slate and frost-dusted pine needles.
As he reached a narrow mountain pass winding up the cliffside, the faint sound of iron striking iron echoed from the rocks above, accompanied by the distinct crackle of combat magic.
More mortals struggling against the world, Adam thought with mild curiosity.
Stepping around a sharp turn in the path, he arrived at a wide, frozen ledge overlooking a steep drop into the valley below. A small merchant caravan was trapped. Three heavy wooden wagons were wedged against the cliff wall, their draft beasts lying dead on the snow. Surrounding the dozen surviving guards was a pack of Frost-Claw Wargs monstrous wolves the size of horses, covered in crystalline white fur with icicles dripping from their razor-sharp fangs.
At the center of the defensive circle stood a young woman holding a glowing wooden staff, her face pale with exhaustion. She wore the blue-and-silver robes of a high-tier academy student, but her mana reserves were dangerously low.
"Maintain the circle!" she commanded, her voice trembling slightly despite her firm posture. "The frost barrier won't hold another charge! Focus your arrows on the alpha!"
The alpha warg a massive beast with a scar running across its milky white eye snarled, stepping forward on the ice. It let out a piercing howl that sent a shockwave of freezing air across the ledge, shattering the guards' wooden shields into brittle splinters.
A young guard at the edge of the line lost his footing on the ice, dropping his spear as a massive warg leaped toward his exposed throat.
Adam casually stepped onto the ledge, his posture relaxed and his hands resting comfortably at his sides. He glanced at the leaping beast, then at the frozen path ahead of him.
"The wind is quite cold up here," Adam remarked quietly, his voice cutting through the howling blizzard with perfect, effortless clarity.
Before the warg's fangs could touch the guard's throat, an invisible wave of heat soft, gentle, yet utterly absolute erupted from Adam's path. The freezing mountain gale vanished instantly, replaced by a warm, spring-like breeze that swept across the entire ledge.
The mid-air frost-claw warg hit the ground with a soft thud, its icy aura completely melted away.
The sudden, unnatural shift in climate sent a wave of utter confusion through both the mercenaries and the pack of monstrous wolves.
The frost-claw wards whined softly, their thick fur useless against the sudden, tropical warmth that now blanketed the snow-covered ledge. The ice beneath their paws melted into clear water, draining away their elemental power. The scarred alpha warg took a step back, its ears flattening against its skull as it looked past the guards directly at Adam.
It did not smell magic, nor did it sense a spellcaster's incantation. Yet, the entire mountain ledge had been stripped of its cold element in less than a second.
"What... what kind of spell was that?" the young woman in the mage robes gasped, dropping her staff slightly as she stared at Adam. She searched his face and hands for a focus or focus-gem, but found nothing. He wore no rings, carried no staff, and wore no protective runes.
Adam continued walking down the center of the ledge, stepping between the terrified guards and the confused wargs as if passing through an empty street.
"Animals act on hunger and survival," Adam said softly, glancing down at the alpha warg. "There is no malice in their hunt. Only necessity."
He paused, looking at the dead draft beasts lying beside the wagons.
With a subtle flick of his wrist, Adam reached toward the threads of nature lingering in the air. A pulse of soft, emerald light washed over the remaining pack of frost-claw wargs. The primal rage and starvation driving them vanished instantly, replaced by a deep sense of calm and satiety.
The scarred alpha lowered its massive head, letting out a low, peaceful huff. It turned slowly, leading its pack away from the caravan and trotting peacefully back into the higher mountain caves.
The guards fell to the ground, panting heavily in disbelief as their weapons clattered against the damp rock.
The young mage hurried forward, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and deep suspicion. She bowed deeply before Adam, holding her robes to keep them out of the mud created by the melted snow.
"Thank you, honored elder," she said, assuming he was a disguised high-tier grandmaster from one of the central sanctuaries. "I am Lady Vivienne of the Silver Spire Academy. We were transporting critical alchemy ingredients to the northern border when we were ambushed. May I ask the name of our savior?"
Adam stopped, looking at the distant spires of the mountain range ahead.
"I am Adam," he replied simply. "And I am merely traveling."
Vivienne blinked, surprised by his lack of title or family crest. "Adam? Just... Adam? Sir, the pass ahead leads directly into the territory of the Northern Frost Domain. It is locked in an ancient war between the noble houses and the wild tribes. An unattached cultivator walking there alone will draw immense attention."
Adam looked at her with a faint, knowing smile. "Attention is easily brushed aside. But war... war is an old song I have heard many times before."
Without waiting for her reply, Adam stepped past the merchant wagons, his figure fading into the warm mist as he crossed over the crest toward the northern lands