Chapter 118: Leveling Up the Wolf Cub

After all... snow does not fall forever. It is highly likely that once this blizzard ceases, there will be no more snow for the next ten or fifteen days. The small amount of water Ye Da had stored would be used up quickly, and then what? Would he have to spend money to buy more? Although he could afford it, he found it troublesome, and the quality of purchased water was never guaranteed.

However... the ice required by the water-element rune—does it specify "high-quality ice"? Are there different grades of ice?

"Chu Ping, stay inside and rest. I'm going out to get some ice," Ye Da said. Chu Ping wanted to help, but Ye Da stopped him, noting that he had no clothes to wear. As for the two wolf pups, Ye Da did not stop them from going out this time; they had been cooped up for half a day and needed to relieve themselves and run around a bit.

Huh?

As the two wolf pups ran out, Ye Da was surprised to discover that each of them had gained a title above their heads.

[Name: Jungle Wolf (Little Gray)]
[Level: Tier 2]
[Skills: Bite, Bleed, Air Bullet]
[Loyalty: 100%]

...

[Name: Jungle Hell Wolf (Little White)]
[Level: Tier 2]
[Skills: Bite, Claws, Air Bullet, Roar (Mental Attack)]
[Loyalty: 100%]

Oh. They leveled up!

Ye Da looked closer and realized that at some point, both pups had grown significantly. Their current size was nearing that of their mother before she passed away. However, Ye Da had checked carefully; both pups were male, so they would likely grow much larger than their mother.

Of course... the increase in size wasn't what surprised Ye Da the most. It was that both pups had advanced from Tier 1 to Tier 2 and gained the "Air Bullet" skill! An attribute bar for "Loyalty" had also appeared. Ye Da suspected this was a passive skill gained after he acquired the Beast Tamer sub-class, allowing him to see a pet's loyalty and the possibility of betrayal.

But Ye Da had never doubted the loyalty of these two little guys, especially after they had saved him from the goblins. The bond between the three of them was irreplaceable! So, this loyalty stat was unnecessary for him. It was their new skill—Air Bullet—that piqued his interest.

"Little White, try firing an Air Bullet at that small hillock!" Ye Da ordered.

Little White barked, then began snapping at the air toward the designated hill, as if swallowing it. As it kept consuming air, its throat thickened, and something began to glow inside; the skin on its neck became translucent, emitting an orange-red light. It looked as if a small sun were condensing in its throat. This change made Ye Da frown with a sudden sense of foreboding. Could this thing be incredibly powerful?

"Roar!"
"Whoosh!!!"

As its throat grew thicker and brighter, Little White let out a roar. The next second, Ye Da saw a red sphere of light shoot toward the hill. The moment the orange-red sphere struck, it exploded into a brilliant flash, and a shockwave sent snowflakes scattering in every direction, as if it had started to snow again. Ye Da could even feel the force of the shockwave, which stung his face.

Impressive! Feeling the intense wind and snow, Ye Da felt that life with such wolves left nothing to be desired. He hadn't expected them to evolve such a powerful ranged attack. He had been worried that his team lacked ranged capabilities. Even his own spirit bow was just a weapon bonus, not a skill. But now, it was different! Both pups had gained ranged skills, and they could provide cover for him in the future!

He just wondered what element the Air Bullet was. If it were fire-based, it would be useless against those damned Giant Macrophage Pitcher Plants, as burning them would destroy the loot. Once the snow on the hillock settled, he rushed over. The hill had been blasted with a crater over a meter wide. The accumulated snow on the hill had also been shaken loose and slid down, much of it filling the crater.

"This..." Ye Da said, feeling a headache. "How am I supposed to dig this out? Wait, wasn't I here to get ice?"

"Perfect. I'll compress this snow and see if it turns into high-quality ice!" Ye Da placed his hand on the snow pile and thought, *Collect!*

[Inferior Snow +1]
[Inferior Snow +1]
[Inferior Snow...]

Once his inventory slot was full, he chose to synthesize!

[Synthesis of Inferior Snow successful!]
[Inferior Snow -20, Ordinary Ice +2]

"Oh, it really works!" Ye Da continued collecting, but soon the snow in front of him was cleared, revealing the hole Little White had blasted. The hillock was actually a large piece of rock, and this solid stone now had a hole a meter wide and ten centimeters deep. At the center was a pit the size of a ping-pong ball, surrounded by dense, spiderweb-like cracks—a testament to the power of the Air Bullet!

Most importantly, there were no traces of fire elements or scorching; the rock looked as if it had been struck by a shockwave. Considering Little White compressed air to attack, if Ye Da wasn't mistaken, this was a wind-type skill!

"Lord, what happened?"

Just as Ye Da was feeling excited about using the pups' new skill against the pitcher plants, he heard Chu Ping’s shout. He figured Chu Ping must have heard the noise of the blast and rushed out in concern. As expected of a subordinate with over 95% loyalty—truly loyal!

"It's nothing!" Ye Da replied. "We were just testing a new skill. Go back; I'll be back with the ice soon."

"Understood, Lord... Ah!!!"

However, before Chu Ping could finish his sentence, Ye Da heard a scream. And the scream lasted less than a second before cutting off abruptly!

What was going on?!