108 Blizzard, part 1/6: Frost

47 Hours Later:

Tia nervously paced, walking in circles; slight perspiration covered her palms. The time was quickly approaching. She was anxious, even though she spent the time she had in preparation.

Her ring was stacked with weapons, healing, and mana potions while her eyes absently stared into the distance.

'It can't be so bad.' It was a deal made by her two systems, and she believed they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize her life.

She could still feel the overflowing energy and power from her evolution—both her mind and body reaching a new level.

As the last second ticked down, the time seemed to freeze, with all the shadows and the flicker of the lamps turning static. She couldn't move or twitch her eyelid, yet her thoughts were still running and moving.

'It is time.'

Dingy Ling!

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Congratulations! The great summoning system has summoned you to be a time-limited summon.

Task: Protect the summoner for 24 hours!

Reward: Your debt will be fulfilled

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The lights flickered off, then on again. A gust of frigid air hit Tia like a freight train, instantly transforming her surroundings into a snowy vortex. Her vision narrowed; she could only see a few meters ahead as snowflakes whirred in the wind, obscuring the world beyond. Ice crystals formed on her skin, her coat and hair flapping wildly in the chill gusts.

Unfazed, Tia focused energy into her palm. A shockwave erupted from her hand, and the ring on her finger lit up. The ring on her finger glowed, and a solid sphere of kinetic force burst outward from her, rippling like a thrown stone's impact on water and blocking the wind and snow.

She felt cold and freezing, but the endurance and vitality of her body surpassed those of a regular human by at least three times, allowing her to assess the situation around her calmly.

'Summoning system? So, there are more of you out there...' The humiliation boiled within her, overpowering even the freezing coldness—she was not only a pet; now she was also a summon.

Yet it also made her smile. 'So, I am not insane, as the systems are not only in my head—they're real!'

Suddenly, a trembling, soar voice came from behind her: "Please save us; the frost demon is nearby!"

Tia spun around, locking eyes with a huddled group of young people clustered near a sputtering fire.

The flames faltered, struggling for life in the middle of the blizzard, offering a pitiful defense against the ferocious cold. Ice encrusted their coats, and their faces tinged blue from the chill.

They looked half-frozen, eyes wide with desperation and teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"Who summoned me?" Her voice cut through the wind's howling like a sharp blade, her eyes locking onto each young face before her. She frowned, as they were all too young for her patience.

'An immature brat.'

"M-me," stammered a young boy in the center, his voice barely audible over the wind's roars.

Tia's eyes narrowed as she took in the makeup of the group: one boy amidst a sea of young women. Her mind leaped to a cynical conclusion.

'Is this the legendary harem?'

A series of distorted growling howls cut through the air, echoing ominously from all directions.

'Monsters...'

Tia's frown deepened as she could feel the energy charged within the beastly howls, betraying the supernatural nature of their origins.

'How did a group of teens get stuck in the middle of a blizzard while surrounded by monsters?'

She crouched slightly, her body tensed and ready to spring into action. Invisible tendrils of kinetic energy snaked out from her, forming an intricate detection web around her.

Pairs of glowing blue eyes materialized in the swirling snow, piercing the white curtain of the blizzard. Eight sets of eyes, each radiating malevolence and intent, slowly closed in absolute silence, their steps masked by the howling of the winds.

'There are eight of them.' Tia quickly counted the pairs of glowing orbs, her mind tensing. She was confident that with her mobility she could easily win, but the thought of being shackled to some weakling made her tremble.

'What will happen if I fail and he dies?'

Decision made, her storage ring flickered. More than a dozen guns floated into the air around her, hovering and glowing like a deadly halo of metal and light. Her expression hardened, shifting from annoyance to steely focus.

'In this case, the sooner they die, the lesser chance of one slipping through and killing the brat.'

Her eyes locked onto the glowing orbs in the distance, and her finger twitched. In the next instant, the guns roared to life, each locked onto a target.