Chapter 342: Chapter 342

The frost giants look somewhat similar to ice giants, with their bodies entirely composed of jagged ice blocks. They move quickly, crunching noisily as they walk, and when they get close, they adjust their direction and start spinning in place with sudden flashes.

Spinning along with the surrounding snowflakes and frost.

They really do have their eyes closed.

Han Qiwu took one look at the situation and immediately understood why the giants were so upset.

Xiao Dian must’ve picked up a bad habit somewhere.

Could it be from Xiao Lai?

"Don’t come closer, the smell’s awful." Han Qiwu quickly retreated two steps, raised his hand, and tossed an explosive snowball at them, while glancing at their attributes.

[Attack Methods: Blizzard, Death Spin]

[Remark: Frost Giants fear fire]

The power of the explosive snowball was undeniable.

The sudden burst of snowflakes directly dispersed the blizzard formed by the two frost giants.

A dozen seconds later, Han Qiwu noticed a problem.

The blocks of ice left behind by the dispersed frost giants had reassembled into four smaller frost creatures.

Great, are you cousins with the Stone Beetles or something?

And as luck would have it, each of the four smaller frost creatures had a dab of bird poop on their heads.

"Xiao Dian, don’t do something so disgusting during normal battles in the future!" Han Qiwu shouted back. He had originally come to this level intending to practice close combat to polish up his "Ice Blade."

During his earlier rest, he noticed that the edges of the blade within the Ice Blade were becoming more distinct; it wouldn’t be long before it revealed its true glory.

At that point, he could finally practice swordsmanship.

But that’s for later.

First, he had to deal with the four smaller frost creatures.

Ever since forming, the four smaller frost creatures began spinning in circles around one another again.

Hand in hand, they looked rather adorable.

But the power behind their spinning was ferocious. Once the spinning gained speed, it became astonishing. Wherever they passed, the ice was completely obliterated, creating a loud sweeping sound.

"Death Spin? So you need to die before you can spin?" Han Qiwu sighed helplessly, aimed carefully, and launched a fireball spell at them.

Since you fear fire, I won’t hold back.

The large fireball floated over and swiftly melted the four smaller frost creatures into nothing but white light before vanishing completely.

Thankfully, he had many ranged options. Otherwise, whether it was the blizzard or the death spin, getting caught by either one...

...would definitely cost him his leg hair.

"That’s it? And you still try to spin circles with me?" Han Qiwu smirked and glanced afar at their loot.

A piece of dark ice block resembling the earlier frost giants.

Except this ice block didn’t glow with any system indicators, making it look like part of the background environment, firmly stuck to the ice layer.

Han Qiwu walked over for a closer look, ensuring there wasn’t any bird poop, and then started trying to push it.

"What’s going on? Is this supposed to be loot or not?"

Han Qiwu pondered for a moment, pulled out his ice pickaxe, and struck the large ice block forcefully.

The ice pickaxe left a white mark on the block.

Looks like it worked.

Motivated, Han Qiwu kept striking the block repeatedly.

During the process, he realized some areas could be chipped away while others couldn’t. After several attempts, a familiar shape slowly emerged on the large ice block.

The process gave him the impression that he was sculpting an ice statue.

Han Qiwu stared at the frost dwarf taking form atop the ice block base, lost in thought.

[Special Effect - Stirring: At night, the Frost Dwarf Statue will stir the snow environment, gradually expanding the area covered by snow and frost.]

[Selling Price: 300 Gold]

[Remark: The more Frost Dwarf Statues, the stronger the effect]

After glancing at its attributes, Han Qiwu roughly grasped its significance.

If he collected seven statues, would there be a special effect?

The snow-expansion ability was pretty practical. He hadn’t seen any new ice lotuses recently, so this effect had come at just the right time.

"Xiao Dian, where did you encounter this thing earlier? Go lure two more over—any method works." Han Qiwu reached out and plucked Xiao Dian out of the fire bucket, speaking gently.

Xiao Dian: "??? Didn’t someone just say not to lure monsters in that disgusting way?"

Seeing Xiao Dian shake its head in defiance, Han Qiwu casually took out a Thunderlight Fish, muttering to himself, "Such a delicious Thunderlight Fish. Too bad there’s a bird who refuses to work and won’t get to eat it. Should I steam it or braise it?"

Instantly, Xiao Dian shot out from the fire bucket, grabbed the Thunderlight Fish in its beak, and flapped its wings, flying off into the distance.

Han Qiwu chuckled and shouted after it, "If you don’t find anything in twenty minutes, just fly back—we’ll head down to the next level soon!"

With that, he returned to mining iron ore alongside his Snowman Miner figurine.

Watching the entire scene play out, Xiao Lai let out a soft sigh.

Thankfully, I can’t fly.

Thankfully, I don’t have legs.

Thankfully, I eat rocks.

Life is tough, the Slime sighed.

Han Qiwu, staring at the two Frost Dwarf Statues before him, nodded in satisfaction before tossing Xiao Dian another Thunderlight Fish.

"Well done, take a break."

Xiao Dian gratefully bit into the Thunderlight Fish, but before it could nod, Han Qiwu added, "Once we reach the next level, go look for Kangkang, okay?"

Han Qiwu packed away his Snowman Miner figurine and walked toward the nearby staircase. This level’s yield wasn’t bad—he’d gathered [Iron Ore]×86.

[You have reached the seventy-seventh level of the mine]

As soon as his vision cleared, Han Qiwu noticed something strange.

The deeper the mine layers went, the thinner the surrounding ice became.

Thinner in a visibly noticeable way.

"Could there be a heat source below?" Han Qiwu speculated. Earlier, he had guessed there might be major changes starting from the eightieth level, and now, it seemed that the changes were already showing signs.

Similar to how he had felt the cold increase after passing the thirty-fifth level of the mine.

It seemed likely that the lower levels would transition into a high-temperature environment.

"Fortunately, I’ve obtained quite a few items lately, including some for dealing with heat." Han Qiwu touched the Snow Armor he was wearing.

Noticing it was almost time for the next refresh, Han Qiwu quickly recorded the location of an iron ore deposit nearby and waited for the reset.

When the clock struck the hour, the Lost Compass began spinning rapidly.

Whether it was due to being underground or not, the compass’s rotation speed was noticeably faster than before.

[Marker locations updated]

After glancing at the map, Han Qiwu grinned.

The map now displayed iron ore deposit locations within two kilometers around him, with some densely packed and others scattered.

Wow, the Lost Compass is amazing.