Ascension from Dual Professions

Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Wraith in the Snow, Breakthrough Point

”No wonder we haven’t heard back from anyone these past few days. So it’s because of these things!”

Jon recognized the monsters with a single glance.

Snow Wraiths. A type of ghost formed from the coalesced resentment of those who have frozen to death. Their lingering obsession drives them to attack any living being that ventures into the snow.

These monsters weren’t particularly powerful on their own, but as ghosts, they were immune to physical attacks. Without special means, most non-casting Professionals below Knight Level would be helpless against them.

However, that wasn’t a problem for Jon.

”Everyone, to me!”

His booming shout, infused with the Power of Frightening Roar, erupted from his lips. The frenzied spirits froze, and the terrified Scouts instinctively obeyed Jon’s command, closing in on him.

Then, a flash of light enveloped Jon, and a glowing sigil resembling a solar corona materialized at his feet.

Impact Aura and Aura Mastery!

[-24 (Effective! Flame Damage!)]

The Power of flame was extremely effective against these ghosts of the frozen dead, doubling the base 12 points of damage!

”AAAAAGGGGHHH—!”

Before Yadri’s astonished eyes, fire erupted from the bodies of the newly appeared wraiths. Their wails instantly filled the air as they abandoned everyone else in a fury and swarmed toward Jon.

Instead of retreating, Jon advanced. Using Big Mimi to guard his back, he drew his sword with one hand, shield in the other, and slashed directly at the nearest wraith.

With a single downward slash, the flame-wreathed blade annihilated the wraith.

’This is... Jon’s Power?’

Though Yadri was stunned, he didn’t hesitate.

Once he confirmed Jon was handling them without difficulty, he also swung his sword, unleashing several slashes of blue Battle Qi that tore apart a few approaching wraiths. But his efficiency paled in comparison to Jon’s.

What Jon could finish with a single blow took him two or three strikes.

Big Mimi, guarding Jon’s back, wasn’t faring much better.

Its abilities stemmed from its innate talent, the Power of Frost, and its formidable physique as a Demon Beast. But its attacks were largely ineffective against the wraiths, which had extremely high Frost Resistance and immunity to normal physical attacks.

It lashed out again and again with its massive, frost-wreathed claws and hooked tail, but it still took several hits to destroy a single wraith through sheer brute force.

The great Big Mimi had roamed the outskirts of the Shery Mountain, and never had it been so humiliated! It roared again and again in frustration.

”RAWR! RAAWWR—!”

While his two allies struggled to maintain their offensive, Jon had already wiped out more than half of the attacking wave.

Yet more wraiths continued to emerge from the blizzard.

Jon’s brow furrowed at the sight.

”Captain Yadri, take your men and fall back! I suspect these things are after me. Their timing is too coincidental.”

Yadri could handle himself and had no desire to retreat, but one look at the faces of his Scouts, which were turning blue from the cold, convinced him not to press the issue.

”I’ll get the lads to safety. I’ll be back soon! Jon, you have to hold on!”

”Go on. These things are nothing to me.”

Jon casually cut down another wraith that had charged him like a moth to a flame, his movements relaxed and fluid.

Seeing this, Yadri shouted an order to his men, then turned and left.

Just as Jon had suspected, the Snow Wraiths paid no attention to the retreating Scouts, single-mindedly throwing themselves at him wave after wave.

’Yadri and his men were here for some time, yet these things only appeared the moment I arrived.’

’Is there something special about me that’s drawing these monsters’ attacks?’

’Is it the potent positive Energy from the Sunlight Talisman?’

’Or has Po Ao’s gaze given me some trait that Undead Creatures despise?’

’That shouldn’t be it... If these creatures could sense the Power of either of those things, they wouldn’t have the guts to attack...’

’Or... is there something else about me that’s drawing their aggro?’

Jon pondered this as he ordered Big Mimi to cover his retreat, slowly falling back.

These wraiths gave a good amount of experience—over 300 combat EXP per kill—but now wasn’t the time for grinding. Solving this problem and rescuing Viscount Paris was the top priority!

Sure enough, as he moved further away from the strange Blizzard, the rate at which the wraiths appeared dropped sharply, until they finally vanished altogether.

After seeing his men to safety, Yadri hurried back.

He saw that Jon wasn’t even flushed or out of breath, as if annihilating that horde of wraiths had been less than a warm-up. The guard captain’s tone couldn’t help but carry a hint of reverence.

”Mr. Jon, what should we do now?”

Jon sheathed his blade, scanned the area, and said decisively,

”You stay here and wait for the main force. I’m going to look for a weak point in this Blizzard and see if I can break through into the town.”

”You can’t!”

Yadri was startled and immediately tried to talk Jon out of it.

”Given the state of Meis Town, there’s no telling how many lunatics from the Eternal Frost Sect are lying in ambush inside! We should wait for everyone to arrive so we can figure something out together!”

”Don’t worry, I won’t be reckless. If it’s not feasible, I won’t force my way through.”

Jon looked up at two points of Holy Radiance rapidly approaching through the blizzard, his tone light.

”Besides, I have help.”

Yadri looked up as well and saw a pair of twins with Light Wings descending from the sky.

”Mr. Jon! We’re back!”

”We’ve determined the full extent of this Blizzard.”

Xina folded her wings upon landing and reported dutifully.

”It’s a complete circle that encloses the entire town. There are no breaches.”

”The source of this unnatural Blizzard must be inside the town, likely some kind of continuously active calling ritual.”

’A true, academy-trained Saint Professional, to be able to grasp the situation just by observing it from the outside.’

Jon looked at her with a hint of approval.

”Excellent. Thank you for your hard work, Xina.”

”It’s my duty.”

A hint of a bashful blush appeared on the young Monk’s face after the praise.

Seeing her younger sister get praised, her older sister, Xia, immediately piped up.

”What about me? What about me! I helped too!”

”You worked hard too, Xia. Now, let’s get ready for what’s next.”

After placating her with a few words, Jon looked up at the gray-black vortex of the storm, which seemed to blot out the very sky.

’Based on my experience grinding the Frozen Ruins, the Blizzard hitting Meis Town should be the same type as the one still raging over the Ice Flower Territory. The only difference is that this one is on a much smaller scale.’

’So, how did the players back then break through the perpetual Blizzard in the Ice Flower Territory, get inside, and destroy the ritual?’