Time: The second week after entering the North

Elsie felt she was losing track of time; the closer she got to the depths of the North, the less distinguishable day and night became.

The only thing that can tell time is... the dwindling amount of food.

【Elsie, I regret to inform you.】

The food is all gone, and your little white horse hasn't eaten in a long time either.

Elsie stroked the white horse, which was pulling the carriage at a slower and slower pace. As she stroked it, tears welled up in the horse's eyes.

"The Abyss of Souls... I still haven't seen it." Elsie said with some helplessness.

She hesitated for a moment, then removed the magical barrier near the carriage, and the icy wind instantly froze the white horse into an ice sculpture!

"I'm sorry." Elsie cried until her nose was red. She hugged the ice sculpture, and her tears instantly turned into ice crystals on the snow.

"sorry……"

...

With her last bit of food in her backpack, she was about to venture deeper into the mountains.

Now that things have come to this... she really can't turn back.

The narrator says, "In the very end, isn't it a perfect ending?"

So, these sorrows can all be reversed in the end of the main storyline, right?

Believe in me, Elsie, and believe in yourself... Your power is beyond your imagination.

Snickers, sweeping all before it...

"You're blocking my way." Elsie slapped away the pop-up window in front of her.

...

The snowstorm failed to penetrate the magic barrier, and after several days of travel, Elsie had eaten all her last food.

She dropped her backpack and went to the council chamber again and again to call out to the nameless.

This time... she was truly all alone.

Hey! I'm still here!

Am I not human? Am I even human?!

"..."

The narrator's words once again successfully interrupted Elsie's emo skill.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Elsie looked up at the distant snow-capped mountains. In this world where directions were completely indistinguishable, these snow-capped mountains were so timely!

"It will serve as a reference point, at least I won't be spinning in circles." Elsie rubbed her hands together, trying to minimize the consumption of magic power.

Interestingly, her mana regeneration rate is faster than the rate at which her mana barrier is depleted.

If anything unexpected happens, she is capable of fighting back.

"The biggest mistake of this trip was probably... not expecting that there wasn't a single living creature left in the North," Elsie sighed.

If some small animals from the snow come, she will be very happy to let them stay in her belly.

"Gurgle~~" Elsie clutched her stomach, feeling frustrated by hunger.

Even more horrible is...

What? (Crunch) (Sound of potato chips breaking)

Why aren't you saying anything? You want some too? Sigh, Elsie, this is all a test from heaven for you.

You don't need to see me like that... As the saying goes, when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on you, you must endure hardship, toil, and hunger...

"I don't think that's how it was said..."

Oh well, don't worry about it. In short, all the hardships will eventually turn into successful results.

"Suddenly it's become so sophisticated," Elsie remarked.

Sure enough, narration is the least reliable thing at crucial moments.

Soul Abyss... a corner of the Northern Territory...

Such a vague description. Does the Soul Abyss really exist?

Yes, what if the Northern Soul Abyss that Wuming mentioned doesn't exist in his own world?

She had never seen any record of the Soul Abyss in any books, indicating that the humans were completely unaware of it.

[Elshit! Look! There's a house over there!]

"Ah, are you hallucinating from hunger too?" Elsie glanced at the pop-up window.

[I'm not kidding you! Elsie! Open your eyes wide!]

"I clearly...can't see it..."

"It's so cold..."

[Hey! Elsie! Why did you remove the magic barrier?]

[Elsie? Don't faint now! Elsie!!!]

...

"?"

"Human? Vampire?"

"Huh... how did I get here?"

...

"..."

Open your eyes, close your eyes.

The firelight in the fireplace and the warmth emanating from the wooden cabin made her feel as if something was pressing down on her, making it hard for her to breathe.

So... am I going to die?

I'm out of energy, just close your eyes...

[Bullshit! Get up! Elsie!]

"Cough cough—" Elsie coughed violently a few times and pushed away the woman who was holding her.

"How rude of you! If it weren't for me, you would have frozen to death outside long ago," the woman teased with a smile as she saw Elsie wake up.

Elsie began to pay attention to this woman who was not human; she had gills like a fish on her cheeks and a salty, fishy smell about her.

"Little girl, what are you looking at? How rude!" the woman said, crossing her arms.

"I..." Elsie opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, but finally managed to say, "Thank you."

My social anxiety is acting up again!

[Alright... it's a side quest anyway, let's just cook her up and eat her, then go find the Soul Abyss. I call this efficient!]

"Hmph..." The woman chuckled a few times and introduced herself, "My name is Hales Muyin, and yours is..."

"Elsie... Elsie Tiran," Elsie said, touching her stomach, the hunger almost driving her to the brink of collapse.

"Are you hungry?" Hales got up, ladled some fish soup from the iron pot, and handed it to Elsie.

Smelling the aroma of the fish soup, Elsie couldn't resist burying her head in it and enjoying it.

“Looks like you’re really hungry, after all… you’ve walked quite a distance, haven’t you?” Hales got up and served Elsie another bowl.

She smiled and said, "After all, there are hardly any living creatures in the North. Ordinary creatures would never be able to set foot here."

“Tilland…that sounds familiar?” Hales came to the bedside and flipped through several thick books on the desk, which seemed to be some kind of history.

Elsie doesn't care about any of that; her primary goal right now is to fill her stomach, right?

Damn it! I almost starved to death!

Eat slowly, watch out for fish bones.

"Thank you for reminding me."

“Found it.” Hales suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, looking Elsie up and down, and said, “I didn’t expect our ancestors to have such a good connection.”

"?" Elsie looked up at the other person.

“My ancestors participated in the war against the Demon King, the hero of sound, Miu Yin.” Hales explained, “In fact, in the north, two other non-human races also sent their own heroes to fight against the Demon King.”

“But…” a desolate glint appeared in Hales’s eyes: “They’re all extinct now, aren’t they?”

"Aren't there any stories about us in the South?"

Elsie shook her head; she had only ever seen information about the eight heroes in the murals of the Hagrid family.

The other three heroes from the non-human race seemed to have been kept in hiding, with no news of them.

"..." Hales was silent for a moment, then she patted Elsie's head: "Well then, little Elsie, you've met her today."

"I am the last survivor of the Merfolk."

"We have become extinct in the history of the world."