Mareona enjoyed the scenery as the wind blew her blue hair. The feathers on the bird's back were soft which comforted her skin. But her hand felt the powerful flesh and muscles that protected its body.
During the flight, she saw many incredible beasts roaming in the sky and on the cliffs of the mountain.
"Aldred, can we reach the peak?"
"I think we can," Aldred replied in his Gargant Eagle form."
Bartrem and Mary heard that and felt like it was too easy.
"This is Mount Fargon. A mountain filled with myths and legends. How can it be that easy to reach the peak?" Mary sighed.
"Maybe Aldred is just too powerful."
The flight slowed. Aldred flapped his wing a couple of times, but his speed did not increase.
"Uhh… Guys. I don't think I can continue flying. I will get us to the highest cliff possible."
His flight stopped, but he could still glide to the nearest cliff. He smoothly landed with his claws and then sat down so the others could hop off.
Aldred transformed into his normal body. Everyone looked at him thinking how useful his ability was. But they did not have too much time to think as the gnawing wind blew against their skin, chilling their bones.
"Aldred, take out the equipment."
Large bags appeared on the ground.
"Put on some warm clothes. Wear as many as you can. If it gets wet, throw it away immediately."
The soldiers opened the bags and grabbed the thick clothes made out of wool. They wore it over their armor and then grabbed some hats and gloves. There were also coats in there which they wore after everything else.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAldred was about to take some clothes, but he thought of something better. He transformed his skin into the feathers of the eagle, and sure enough, the cold did not affect him. Though now he looked like half human and half bird.
The soldiers trembled cold despite the thick clothes. That wasn't a good thing. He had to do something about it.
"Everyone, gather around." Aldred pointed at the ground. "Fire Combustion."
A small part of the ground combust into flames, giving out the much-needed warmth to all of them. The soldiers reached out their hands to the flame.
"It's not enough," Mareona said. "I am still freezing."
Sophia raised her staff. "Internal Heat!"
Their body temperature rose, slightly removing the cold sensation.
Mareona trembled. "Not enough."
"I have an idea. Pull my feathers, and place them on your clothes."
"Can we do that?" Mary asked. "Will it generate more feathers?"
"I think so."
"Won't you feel pain?" Mira asked with worry.
"A little bit of pain is fine."
Mareona walked to him and plucked one of his feathers. "Does it hurt?"
Aldred smiled. "Nope."
"Good." Mareona plucked his feathers one after another with incredible speed.
Meanwhile, Aldred was secretly gritting his teeth. It was painful. Terribly painful. It felt like being stabbed by a needle numerous times.
Sophia noticed this and pointed at him. "Reduce Pain."
Green soft energy entered his nose, and it soothe the pain away.
"Thanks, Sophia."
"You said, you did not feel any pain."
Aldred shrugged.
Mareona flicked his forehead softly. "You're retiring from being a naughty boy, huh."
"Retiring? Please, I am just starting."
Mareona giggled when she recalled what he did to her yesterday. "So you're a vampire? Or is that part of your shape-shifting ability?"
"It's part of my ability," Aldred lied. He didn't know how Mareona would react if she knew his parents were literal demon king and grand vampire. "Now, please pluck the feathers faster."
Bartrem and Mary approached him and pulled out a handful of feathers. They all dropped to the ground and the soldiers came to take them. They did not need to sew the feathers. Just add water, and it would freeze on the clothes. Though they had to boil the water first on the fire.
After more than an hour, everyone was already covered in frozen feathers. It didn't look nice, but it did its job by containing the heat and blocking the cold.
They were not trembling which meant the feathers worked.
"We should camp for the night." Bartrem squinted at the setting sun.
"It's harder to climb at night." Aldred nodded. "We're already ahead of the others anyway. We should continue tomorrow."
Aldred summoned the tents from his divine dimensions. He combusted more flames and stabbed some fire javelins around the area to create more heat.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Why does your mana never run out?" Sophia asked. "That fire javelin cost a lot of mana from what I heard. How large is your mana capacity?"
"Uhh… I don't have mana capacity."
"You don't have what?" Mira asked, and couldn't believe what she just heard.
"I don't have it. I can use the spells as many times as I want."
"Is that true?"
Aldred nodded. "Yep." He turned a bunch of rocks into flames. This ability was good as the flame would never die as long as he channeled mana into them. It was the same with his fire javelin, arrow, and bullet.
They were all shocked to hear this. Didn't that mean Aldred was the ultimate magician? With his unlimited mana capability, even if he fought a powerful magician twice his strength, he might still defeat them.
The soldiers inside the camp walked around comfortably with enough heat in the air.
"I wonder how people would survive in an environment like this without your power," Mary said.
"They probably use magical treasures." Mareona lifted her pot and scoop out a boiling soup filled with meat and vegetables. "Ahh, this is the best. All I want is hot boiling soup in my throat."
Aldred was eating some hot soup as well. He smiled as he enjoyed its warmth and taste. He saw Pongo walking around bare naked.
"Pongo, You don't feel cold?"
"Pongo."
"Right, you're a penguin. So cold means nothing to you. In the Antarctic you'd be swimming in cold water, but still fine."
"Pongo pongo."
"That reminds me. Why don't we make a hot tub? We can submerge ourselves in hot water. That would be nice."
"Sounds like a good idea," Mareona said. "Aldred, take off your clothes."