My Skill Creation System

Nathan and the others rushed into the shelter as the outside weather had taken a drastic turn; the air temperature had dropped drastically.

They urgently plugged up any openings that let the cold air in, leaving only a small gap at the bottom for them to take breaths.

Yudan then ignited a cylindrical device that contained a monster core within; it glowed red-hot like a fire, radiating warmth all around them.

"This is crazy! The temperature just plummeted and it's so cold!" Muramoto shivered as he exclaimed.

"According to human temperature measurement, it is around -50°F, or -45.56°C." Yudan replied.

"How do you know the temperature so accurately, Yudan?" Linda asked with a chuckle.

"Well...," Yudan nodded slowly. "Us dwarves are quite attuned to temperature, so I can make a pretty good guess."

"The situation is dire," Muramoto said. "It's extremely cold, and without the proper precautions, few will make it through. And if the weather takes a turn for the worse, it will only get worse."

Nathan noticed Muramoto shiver slightly while staring out through one of the cracks between their hurriedly-placed boards and the wall.

Nathan frowned and said, "Muramoto."

Muramoto looked back and responded with a confused expression on his face.

"I know how you feel right now," Nathan told him. "But we can't allow ourselves to panic. The monsters are still lurking out there somewhere. The more time we spend worrying about the situation, the less time we have available to survive here until morning. If we lose this shelter, everything we've been doing will go down the drain."

Muramoto nodded slowly before responding: "You're right... Nathan-san, sorry..." He exhaled deeply as he turned away from the crack once again.

They all gathered in a circle around the device Yudan had brought out, trying to get as close as possible to it in order to adjust to the sudden decrease in temperature. Linda, in particular, was sitting very close to Nathan and shivering, yet she was still attempting to keep her composure.

Out of the five people, Linda was the only one wearing clothes that were quite revealing. Nathan noticed this and offered to put his cloak on her, but she declined.

"No, Oppa," she said, shaking her head. "I can hold on. I'm fine." She smiled at him. "I have an affinity with the element of fire, and I can use the Stamina I have to reduce the chill."

"Are you sure?" he asked, and she nodded back, still smiling.

Yudan took a small pot and placed it on the heating cylinder. He poured water into the pot and then added a mix of herbs. To finish, he dropped in some small pieces of meat.

"I'm going to make a soup to help increase our resistance to the cold. Although I don't have enough ingredients and herbs to make a proper potion, I'm confident that this should be enough to help us survive until morning. I didn't anticipate needing to gather herbs to increase cold resistance, so I didn't plan ahead." Yudan said.

"Thank you, Yudan," Nathan said. "You've been a great help."

"Mr. Nathan," Meriel interrupted. "It seems like the snowfall outside has become even heavier than before." She looked out through another gap between boards as they spoke. "The storm is getting worse; if it continues at this rate, it will definitely freeze us."

Nathan nodded. He turned to his other party members, asking them, "I'm going to go take a look at what's happening outside and, if I'm lucky, take down some monsters. Could you guys stay here for a bit?"

Everyone stared in shock at Nathan's words. He simply smiled, "Don't worry. I'll just use my golem body to go out and take a look at the situation outside, and maybe hunt some monsters. I still have enough Stamina left to do this for a while and leave my real body here."

Linda stared at Nathan, her expression unyielding. "I'm not letting you work alone, Oppa. I can come with you and use Aura Shield to guard myself."

Nathan nodded and responded with a gentle smile. "I appreciate your concern, but that won't be necessary right now. Please don't worry too much about me. I promise that I'll get back in time."

"The temperature isn't so bad if we get used to it," Linda insisted.

"That's true," Nathan replied, "but we should be ready if it takes a turn for the worse."

"Mr. Nathan," Meriel spoke quietly. "I can help restore your stamina from a distance. Perhaps this way you can remain in your golem body for a longer time?"

"Really? That would be great," he replied.

Yudah then took the clean monster bear skin and carefully draped it around Nathan's body. Nathan adjusted himself to find a comfortable spot to lean against. Meriel then moved closer to him.

"Mr. Nathan, I'm sorry, but I need to bite you a little in order to direct my energy into your veins," Meriel said shyly.

"Yes, of course," Nathan nodded. "Do whatever you need, Meriel."

Nathan then turned to Yudan. "Yudan, tell me the characteristics of the herb you need, and I'll help look for it," he said.

Yudan nodded and began to explain the details.

Nathan quickly moved to Night, his personal avatar golem, which he had set up to stand guard outside the shelter. Silver was also nearby, their body almost completely covered in snow.

The weather outside was awful. The snow was falling so hard that it was almost thigh-high as an adult. Nathan glanced to the side when Luna's body suddenly appeared, hovering near him.

"Hi, Master Nathan. I miss you...." She said.

"You don't have enough screen time because there are too many people around me right now, Luna?" Nathan said.

He tried to activate Flame Aura on his two swords to help melt the snow around him, but it didn't help much.

"Do I need to spend another skill slot for a fire element?"

Then he thought of exchanging his two swords for a greatsword, which easily sliced through the snow due to its large size.

"Follow me from behind, Silver." Nathan said.

Fang then came into view, running around on the snow with ease.

"I can't believe you're actually doing this, Fang." Nathan said, impressed.

"It's fun, right?" Luna said with a smile on her lips.

The night was dark, and the weather was terrible. But Nathan felt more comfortable when he was alone like this, so he kept walking, following his instincts. He wasn't too worried about getting lost, as Fang had a good sense of direction.

If he had to pick, he'd rather do everything himself, like he had been doing before. Even though Edna was with him then, she wasn't here now.

He thought back to the man he met when he first held the Sword of Disidia. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Gather as many allies as possible," he said.

"Luna, tell me," Nathan said after a moment of silence. "Can I enter the Crescent Moon Dimension from here?"

Luna floated in front of him and nodded quickly. "Yes, Master. You can go there if you want. However, it has to be tomorrow. Are you looking for something there?"

Nathan shook his head with his golem body. "Not really, I just thought of using it as a place to retreat if I get into an emergency I can't avoid. I can bring my friends there to hide and prepare for a counter attack."

Luna nodded back with a smile. "Oh, I see. Good idea, Master."

As Nathan continued his trek, he eventually reached an open area illuminated by the moonlight that struggled to peek through the falling snow. That's when he heard a distant growl.

"Sounds like a bear? Another Elite monster?" Nathan said.

Luna answered with a nod. "That would be a rare monster. It is probably a snow bear."

"A snow bear?" Nathan repeated. "I think I've found what I was looking for," he muttered.

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble, and soon enough, he could make out dozens of pairs of icy blue eyes in the distance.

The snow-covered landscape suddenly stirred as a large skeletal figure emerged from the shadows.

[Rare Snow Skeletal Bear Lv. 70]

It was a Rare Snow Skeletal bear monster, its bony frame covered in a thick layer of snow. Its long, sharp claws seemed to gleam in the light of the moon, and its eyes glowed with an icy blue light. Its fur was a pale blue, the color of snow, and its skeletal frame seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. It slowly lumbered through the snow with a low growl, its bony frame cracking as it moved. It seemed to be searching for something, its eyes never leaving the snow-covered ground. Suddenly, it stood tall on its hind legs and let out a loud, deep roar. Its eerie howl echoed across the snow-covered mountains, and its presence seemed to be a warning to all who dared to enter its domain.

Nathan was filled with excitement at the thought of encountering more Rare Monsters. He hoped that if many of the participants had been trapped by the blizzard, he could have all the monsters to himself.

"Come to me," he excitedly said, "whether they be Rare Monsters, Elite Monsters, or even General grade Monsters."

[Snow Skeletal Bear Lv. 60]

[Snow Skeletal Bear Lv. 56]

[Snow Skeletal Bear Lv. 61]

And the other normal monster was coming too.

"One rare monster and a dozen normal ones?" Nathan said, filled with excitement. He looked to the sky, holding his flame-engulfed greatsword aloft, and bellowed: "Silver! It's time to show them what we've got!"