- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 80
**Chapter 80: The Emergence of the Nature Spirit**
Two hundred miles north of Eagle Ridge lay their destination.
This place was already within the Northern Glacier region, a land said to be the resting place of frost giants from the mythic age. Compared to the northern province, this area was far colder, blanketed by eternal snow and ice. Only a few unique plants and living beings could survive here. Even at the southernmost edge of the glacier, the bitter cold made the unicorns’ breath visible in the air, and Thor himself could feel the bone-chilling cold. Even his life energy seemed to be suppressed.
A soft hum echoed as ripples of energy spread out, forming a magical barrier around Anna. A wave of warmth enveloped Thor, providing some relief from the intense cold.
“Thank you,” Thor said quietly, understanding that Anna had cast the spell intentionally.
“No need to thank me,” Anna replied softly.
Thor smiled and motioned for the group to continue onward.
By dusk, they had reached their destination—an ice-covered canyon. The sky was filled with scattered snowflakes, falling steadily as the cold intensified. Thor quickly ordered the knights to set up camp.
Two hours later, they had settled in.
“Everyone, be alert. Report any unusual activity immediately,” Thor instructed. While his intelligence had provided relatively clear information, it wasn’t exact. He knew only that the Nature Spirit was set to emerge somewhere within this canyon. But when it did, the elemental fluctuations would be impossible to miss.
“Yes, sir!” the knights responded.
And so, they began their watch.
Time passed swiftly, and by the second day, the canyon’s atmosphere had begun to shift noticeably. The temperature dropped sharply, and the light snowfall had turned into a fierce storm, making it difficult to see. The intense cold forced even the seasoned knights to activate their life energy, and Anna cast additional fire magic to shield herself and Thor.
By the third day, the snowstorm had worsened, and the temperature plummeted further. Anna and Thor now wore five layers of fire-based magical protection, but even that seemed insufficient. The cold was simply too overwhelming.
At this point, Anna’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She could no longer contain her emotions. Her lips pressed together as she gazed at Thor, her thoughts swirling with anticipation.
“It’s time,” Thor said softly. “The center of the canyon—let’s go.”
“Y-Yes!” Anna replied, her voice filled with eagerness as she followed Thor.
Pushing through the relentless snowstorm was no easy feat. Their magical barriers flickered and weakened under the pressure of the elements. They had barely advanced twenty meters before a loud crack resounded, and the outermost layer of protection shattered, ice creeping over the remaining shield.
Ten meters further, another shield broke apart.
Anna began to chant a new spell, but Thor raised a hand to stop her.
He came to a halt.
Ahead of them, the endless snowstorm swirled into a vortex, transforming the landscape into a world of ice and snow.
Anna’s heart raced with excitement. If there had been any doubt before, she was certain now. This was the birth of a Nature Spirit. For any elf, such a moment was beyond words.
“Master!” Anna’s lips moved, but her words were lost in the storm. Her emotions swirled between eagerness and nervousness, her eyes holding a subtle shift as she looked at Thor.
“Go ahead,” Thor said with a nod, giving her permission to move forward.
Anna took a deep breath to steady herself, her heart pounding with excitement. She bowed slightly toward Thor and cast a warming spell over herself before stepping forward into the swirling storm. The protective barriers around her flickered as she advanced. Soon, the third shield broke as well, but still, she pressed on.
At the heart of the canyon, within the eye of the storm, a small, translucent figure began to materialize, barely visible amidst the violent winds.
Time passed slowly as Thor watched. His heart beat faster with anticipation. Unlike forest elves, Nature Spirits couldn’t be captured or subdued. The only bond they could form was a symbiotic contract, which they themselves had to initiate—usually with a forest elf.
Thor couldn’t capture or exploit the Nature Spirit, so his best option was to invest in Anna. But this investment would only pay off if the Nature Spirit chose to bond with her. Anna wasn’t a pure-blooded forest elf, so there was no guarantee.
If the Nature Spirit didn’t accept her, then Thor’s gamble would fail.
This uncertainty weighed heavily on him as he watched Anna’s form disappear into the storm, the wind and snow hiding her from view. The blizzard intensified, and the cold grew more piercing. The knights, their life energy flaring around them, struggled to maintain their composure. Even Thor’s three magical shields began to flicker under the pressure.
Moments later, another sharp crack signaled the shattering of Thor’s third shield. Ice immediately began to form on the fourth, creeping across a third of its surface in mere seconds.
At this rate, the fourth shield would break in less than ten breaths. And when it did, Thor would be forced to retreat.
The icy wind bit deeper, and time ticked forward slowly.
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