"Boss, how much is this?" The muddy little boy held up a plump rabbit and asked the boss behind the counter.

The boss, who was counting today's revenue, was startled by the sudden voice. When he looked up, he saw a skinny and dirty little boy struggling to hold up a rabbit twice the size of his head.

"..." The boss wanted to scold him, but seeing that it was just a kid, he held back.

Pussecrion has been quite chaotic lately, with various lords constantly fighting each other, plunging the entire kingdom into turmoil. Only when things became way too excessive would the royal family step in to maintain order. Many refugees would often escape to the territories near the capital.

He had seen many people like this little boy.

Although the boy was skinny and dirty, even struggling to hold up the fat rabbit, his bright eyes revealed his unyielding will.

He had seen many refugees who would simply start begging in the streets even though they were able-bodied and could have found work.

"One silver Tiel," the boss said with a smile.

"One silver Tiel?!" The boy looked at the boss in surprise, exclaiming in disbelief.

"Yes, food prices have risen a lot lately, and your rabbit is huge. It's worth it; here, take it," the boss said with a smile, handing the boy a silver Tiel.

The rise in food prices was true, but it was not that exaggerated; even the largest rabbit wouldn't be worth a silver coin.

The boy carefully put away the silver Tiel, clenched it in his hand, and bowed to the boss.

"Thank you, if I can grow up and survive, I will repay you. My name is Asrant."

The boy said firmly, then left the shop under the boss's approving gaze.

"Poor little guy..."

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Asrant used the silver Tiel to buy two loaves of dry bread, getting change for ninety-eight copper Tiels. He ate them hurriedly in the alley outside an inn. He didn't dare go to the door, as that would get him beaten.

"Have you heard? There seems to be some kind of treasure in the Eastern Ridge."

The conversation between two people at the window caught the boy's attention.

"I heard, but it's not a treasure. They say a great spirit has appeared in the Eastern Ridge and covered it with snow."

"A great spirit? Anyway, how can there be such a thing?"

"They say it was brought back by a group of apprentice magicians from Scarlet, but weren't they practicing in the Central Plains?"

"The kingdom has been too chaotic lately. The northern region is even more chaotic, and those aristocrats don't want their descendants to take risks."

"True... But do those things really exist? You know, contract with them and gain powerful abilities..."

"According to the legends, they do. But let's eat and not worry about that."

Asrant quietly nibbled at his bread, pondering the conversation. After licking the last piece of bread into his mouth, he clenched the money bag in his arms and left.

"Great spirit..."

Asrant bought more than a dozen loaves of bread and packed them in a cloth bag, then used a copper Tiel to buy some rags to wrap around himself.

He waited at the entrance of the Mercenary Guild for two days until he finally found a convoy heading to the eastern border.

After giving them fifty copper Tiels, they kindly helped him get on a carriage to the eastern border.

Although they were kind enough to arrange for him to ride, they didn't give him any food. After all, it was already very generous to let him join and even sit in the carriage.

Asrant didn't complain. He knew that the mercenaries were being merciful as it was, not stealing his money already counted as a great fortune.

By the time they reached the eastern border, Asrant's bread had run out. He could only buy another large bag and use the remaining copper Tiel to buy fabric, wrapping himself tightly in it.According to what those two people said, the peaks of the eastern ridge were indeed covered with ice and snow, and it was still snowing constantly. In this case, he wouldn't have to buy water and spend extra money. However, this was not enough, because the eastern ridge was so vast that he didn't know which peak might have the Great Fairy, so he spent a day inquiring at the eastern border. His story spread throughout the pubs in the entire border town. "There's a little boy wrapped up tightly in rags, determined to find the Great Fairy." Everyone treated him as a joke. The only useful piece of information Asrant got was that the tallest peak had once appeared with an ice blue glow, which could very well be the Great Fairy. Asrant set that peak as his target, leaving the eastern border, and headed for the eastern ridge. Fortunately, during his time reaching the eastern border, the weather had become warmer, and Asrant would be more comfortable on the snowy mountains. Unfortunately, with the warmer weather, Asrant's bread may go bad. Getting sick in the snow and ice can be fatal. But Asrant had already decided that he would rather die than turn back, so he didn't care about these things. How cold is the eastern ridge now? Being already at a high altitude with low oxygen and low temperatures, the wind and snow made people feel cold even when they were wrapped in seven or eight layers of clothing.

Asrant covered himself tightly from head to toe, not letting any breath leak out, except for his head. He carefully avoided the jackal camps scattered around the ridge, hid under the eyelids of hunting wolves, climbed the cliffs of the ridge with his bare hands, and escaped from the deadly situations time and time again. Finally, he arrived at the highest peak, where the top and bottom were two extremes, with one side covered in ice and snow and the other in yellow soil within a few meters. When Asrant's foot stepped into the snow-covered area, he felt the temperature of his foot drop significantly. "It shouldn't be like this normally, maybe that Great Fairy really exists." Asrant added a reassuring phrase to himself, then slowly moved his entire body into the snow-covered area. In this way, his body wouldn't feel too uncomfortable due to the sudden temperature drop. He had already eaten a lot of bread, and it already started to smell a bit bad. The only thing that made Asrant happy was that he didn't have to search for water to drink during the journey, as the ice and snow on the ground were his source of water.

He scooped up a handful of snow with his hand, took a bite, and his tongue coiled up from the cold, his eyes gushing with tears which were quickly frozen. After enduring the pain, Asrant started his new journey.