I stayed up all night thinking about what to do in the morning. I arrive at the office at six. Nelson must still be plagued by paperwork since he is still in his office. I knock before entering.

"Ellis! It's good to see you. I was going to contact you, but I am completely swamped with paperwork. Are you ready to get off leave and come back?"

"Even better, Nelson. I have a proposition for you that will benefit both of us."

"That sounds great, but I don't have much time to spare. When the riots first happened, all raid teams were deligated to protection details for the government buildings. Unfortunately, I was shafted with paperwork since I am technically the head of this department. Even though we only have one team."

"That actually brings up what I wanted to discuss with you. I want to leave the team and-"

"What!? Are you quitting? If this is still about the arm, I can try to get-"

"Please don't cut me off and listen to me. Split the current team into two. One without me and one with only me."

"Why would I do that?"

"The success of two teams looks better than the success of one. My tamed beasts and I can handle fractures by ourselves. I want to actually do what the "Hazard Branch" is supposed to do and head into dangerous and unknown places."

"This seems out of character for you, Ellis. I thought you joined purely for the benefits, and now you want to volunteer to head into fractures by yourself?"

"I know. But last night, I realized a few things and decided to throw myself into the lion's den. I calculated the statistics and realized that I needed to be pushed to grow stronger. I want to see if the data is accurate."

"You are willing to risk your life for this?"

"I don't see it as risking my life but putting myself in danger."

"..."

"..."

"Alright, Ellis. Give me a few hours, and I'll see what I can do."

~

He was true to his word. After a few hours, he saw what he could do. I am now the provisional leader of a new hazard raid group. I don't get a pay raise, but at least I am the leader of my own team. I have my own identification badge and office space that is only there for show.

I was supposed to have a badge anyway, but now I have one with "Team Captain" on it.

I texted my family and friends that I would be heading into a fracture for a while. That starts to make me think about how long I should spend there. I guess it'll depend on what fracture I actually go to.

~

Three preliminary reports are floating in front of me thanks to Duchess' [Telekinesis]. The first one is the [Endless Graveyard] that sucked me in. The dead fog that did not affect me still caused many issues. It still counts as "unsurveyed" because a citizen's report isn't enough.

I'll put that on the backburner because I want to get levels. The other two were called a [Dark Ocean] and a [Snowstorm].

[Dark Ocean] is a fracture that is entirely underwater. I don't want to drown, so my only other choice is the fracture with a constant snowstorm.

I use the "company credit card" I got when I became a "team leader" to invoice a shit ton of supplies. Most of it is food. Duchess and Khan are the only beasts of mine that need to eat. They don't often eat, but when they need to, they eat a lot.

The preliminary report shows that the initial survey team fled after a group of [Snow Mephits] caused an avalanche. I did some research on mephits. They are what you would get if you bred an elemental and a goblin.

It looks like a goblin, and they act like a goblin, but they are elementals with skills and personalities that change depending on the element.

Speaking of goblins, they are a particularly fascinating race. They are humanoid creatures that used to be treated as monsters before they got "domesticated." According to the travelers from the other world, they have a patron god and used to be feral but have been integrated into society.

I found it weird that any creature can have a complex culture and society, but their different morals or primitiveness is so blatant that people would label them monsters.

Anyone can be a monster. It's not a species but a way of life. Maybe that's a very "tamer" way to see things since we are supposed to befriend the “monsters” of this universe.

My things are ready, and I didn't even go over the arbitrary budget they gave me. I'm supposed to buy equipment, potions, or medical supplies, but cutting those things from the invoice opened up room for this fifty-foot dog sled. I saw that they had one to give, so I wanted it.

I put on a parka and head inside the fracture.

~

[Ughhh]

Apparently, I skimmed over the part where it said this place was highly elevated. No one but Duchess had any issue with the rapid change in atmospheric pressure.

It seems that we entered a window of calm. The snowstorms aren't constant, but they are deadly for any team that is ill-prepared to weather them. It's not that cold, but Duchess is shivering. Oh shit, she is cold-blooded.

This gives a perfect chance to test a theory.

[Martyr

You are a martyr of the people. May your sacrifice be remembered. The user can siphon any amount of damage taken by another target.

Range: 10 feet

Damage Taken: 2x]

I activate my [Martyr] technique on Duchess and feel a wave of cold and a headache.

[Thank you, master. Thisss one is grateful.]

"I'm going to vomit."

~

I did not vomit, but my experiment worked! I can take my beasts anywhere as long as I am willing to brunt way more torment than I am used to.

I grab a large amount of rope I brought and tie the crates of food to the sled. I also set up the harnesses so Khan could pull the sled with his fifty mouths. He's a strong boy. I'm sure he can handle pulling this massive sled as everyone else rides it.

And if he gets angered for being the designated puller, he would pull faster and harder thanks to his [Rage] skill.

[Thisss one believes that a snowstorm is approaching.]

"Why? What gives it away?"

[The snow.]

"..."

Lo and behold, snow starts falling from the sky.

The bleak landscape gets obscured by the flurry of ice and snow. Khan rushes us around the fracture, the sled cutting through the snow.

The cold gets worse as my body starts getting nipped by hyperthermia. My regeneration is the only thing keeping me from constantly having to spend mana and heal.

[Resistance: Ice 31 > 32]

I just need a few more of those before I can start walking around in shorts. The worst thing is my prosthetic arm. The metal is supercooling against my skin, causing my shoulder to necrosis from frostbite. Constantly healing my dead flesh gets old.

The ice and snow are infused with tiny amounts of mana. Even Rob, who is undead, is getting "cold" from the storm. The entire party is taking constant chip damage from the snow. Unfortunately, I am the [Martyr].

[Resistance: Ice 32 > 58]

Thirty minutes passed by excruciatingly slowly.

Thank gods something happened. I'd die from boredom before the cold did. Dozens of mephits pop out of the snow and surround the cart. We could have just barreled through them and kept going. The cart slides to stop as Khan lets go of the ropes.

I scan the landscape with [Scientific Insight+]

[Snow Mephit E lv50]

[Snow Mephit D lv55]

[ETC]

I scan a little less than forty mephits. This is enough for a warm-up.

Before I could command my beasts, hundreds of snowballs rained from the skies as the mephits started slinging them out. I don't know if this is some skill, so I [Martyr] for my beasts.

-0

-0

-0

ETC

"..."

They are just throwing normal snowballs at us. I go to hop off the sled, but I get nailed in the head with a different type of snowball.

-74

It hurts my pride more than anything, cheating by adding mana to your snowballs. Well, I’ll cheat back by adding rocks.

I throw a "snowball," which is just Flash Gordon, at a massive cluster of these [Snow Mephits].

[Empower] [Fragmentation C] [Elemental Attunement] [Living Fortress]

Flash Gordon erupts into scorching heat as he turns into a fragmentation grenade infused with fire.

-960

-860

-860

-860

-890

Holy shit Flash Gordon, I think that's a war crime.

Something that I found out about Flash Gordon's new evolution is my Might isn't added to damage when I throw Flash Gordon anymore. But at least when he activates [Living Fortress] and grows grander, his body also deals more damage.

I note that these mephits seem vulnerable to heat as my other beasts and I start the fight. The mephits explode when they die, so punching them is a quick way to take unnecessary damage directly.

Sword in hand, I pounce toward the first one. It seems shocked that I am approaching it before it gives a cruel smile.

Ice spikes shoot from the ground and try to skewer me in place.

[Bolster resistance]

When the [Ice Spikes] fail to pierce my flesh as the residual ice damage is nullified by my new beefy [Ice Resistance]. I close the gap and swing my sword.

Snow scatters as my blade swings straight through the creature. Its body reforms in from of me.

It clutches its chest, and I see snow missing from its body. I swing down on it again and am met with the sound of crunching snow.

The mephit dove into the snow and disappeared. I look around, but I don't see the one I injured.

Duchess has difficulties flying during the storm, and it looks like mephits can fly short distances toward her. Duchess would blast a mephit with a burst of light at the mephits attempting to get close to her.

The mephits trying to harass her from a distance met a similar fate.

I made Khan not chaotically spread across the battlefield but instead go into groups of ten and hunt down one mephit at a time. The poor bastards get shredded and eaten. I'm not sure if snow is nutritious, but it shouldn't be bad for him. Right?

Rob is having the worst time. He is getting played with by a group of mephits. Being pushed around, getting snowballed, and getting scattered and laughed at when he reassembles himself. Flash Gordon floats over and bonks one on the back of the head. A melted spot in his skull proves its death.

Great job, Flash Gordon! He's the mvp! Or would it be mvr?

Anyway, the snowy terrain is giving these creatures a massive advantage. Maybe if I can get Khan to use his weird weather connection to stop the storm in a localized area, we can sweep them up with no issue.

I make Duchess relay this information to the hive. My plan starts to work.

Khan's weird weather abilities start stirring up the storm around us. It starts to die down. Joy fills my face before it freezes in place.

It starts snowing even heavier, vision is more obscured, and I'm positive it got colder.

Godsdammit, Khan.