One-Eyed Monster

As for the Deep Winter Slumber on Guru Mountain, Elder Rostellum had heard about it. However, since he had never visited Guru Mountain during the Deep Winter Season, he had no impression of what this Deep Winter Slumber was like. He only knew that this Deep Winter Slumber halted the profit-seeking endeavors of Treasure Hunters, while filling his and Guru Village’s tavern’s coffers.

He was deeply grateful for this Deep Winter Slumber. This peculiar phenomenon of Guru Mountain enriched him and Guru Village. The villagers’ reverence towards him was undoubtedly related to the affluence he had helped them amass.

Only by providing others with the hope and motivation to survive will they respect you. Elder Rostellum understood this truth well. By merely leveraging certain characteristics of Guru Mountain, he had found a path to prosperity for the village. With this strategy, he had won over the entire village.

Elder Rostellum gazed again at Guru Mountain. Winter had arrived, and by rights, the mountain should also enter its Deep Winter Slumber. However, the mountain looked no different from its usual state, which indicated that it had not entered its customary Deep Winter Slumber.

”Too many things have happened these days; this change is nothing extraordinary,” Elder Rostellum muttered, dazed, as he glanced at the few Treasure Hunters before him. Truthfully, I’m a little excited, he thought. But as a politician, his true feelings were never easily revealed by his expression.

”We won’t disturb the esteemed Governor any longer,” the Treasure Hunters said, scurrying away like rats once they realized the danger had passed. Their movements were so quick and elusive that by the time Elder Rostellum finally uttered an ”Oh,” they had vanished.

Watching their hurried departure, a sense of pride swelled within Elder Rostellum. The clear relief on the faces of the fleeing Treasure Hunters further inflated Elder Rostellum’s already considerable ego, sending it soaring.

Authority is certainly useful. It elicits fear and respect in strangers—a feat impossible to achieve without power.

Stroking his beard, a torrent of emotions surged within Elder Rostellum. No matter what, I must hold onto my position as Governor—no, to be precise, as the Governor of Gaga County!

Speaking of which, Gaga County truly is my fortuitous ground. No matter what tricky situations arise, they always seem to resolve themselves inadvertently.

And just like that! Only moments ago, I was fraught with anxiety, Elder Rostellum mused, but Guru Mountain has immediately presented me with a great gift. A gift so grand, it could make me laugh in my sleep!

This strange occurrence will definitely attract a lot of attention. I even suspect the Liuli City Administrative Office, or perhaps even the higher Luona City Administrative Office, will discreetly dispatch people to investigate once they hear about this. The power to prevent a mountain from entering its Deep Winter Slumber... even a fool could tell it’s extraordinary. Elder Rostellum calmed down considerably. I’m even a little pleased. As long as someone is interested in this power, they’re bound to come here to investigate. Then I won’t have to worry about this and that anymore!

Because Guru Mountain has already prepared the narrative for me. I don’t even need to open my mouth; the Treasure Hunters’ reactions alone are enough to show how complex the situation here is.

Elder Rostellum continued his stride. Now that he had calmed down, he had the chance to ponder the peculiar Deep Winter Slumber of Guru Mountain.

So many things have happened recently, it’s all been so chaotic. I almost lost my bearings, Elder Rostellum thought.

Initially, he had painstakingly sought the son of the Governor of Luona, Rostov, who had assaulted someone. Then, the emergence of the Alchemy Workshop had left him puzzled. The arrival of the Dark Wizard made him treat every matter with caution. Subsequently, Lord Babasha’s death plunged him into disarray. The Spirit Duel in front of the Endless Night Tavern, though a minor incident, had been eye-opening. The appearance of Mountain Monsters at the foot of Guru Mountain had thrilled him to no end. And the buried secrets of the Alchemy Workshop had given him much to contemplate.

Elder Rostellum slowly recollected the events of these past days. The more he reflected, the more complex everything seemed, and the luckier he felt.

Perhaps my greatest fortune is this very scene before me. I thought my position as Governor was in jeopardy, but now this has suddenly appeared. I feel so fortunate!

For the first time in many years, Guru Mountain hasn’t entered its Deep Winter Slumber after the Deep Winter Season began. This is a major event, and it’s also the very thing that will save me!

Elder Rostellum recalled everything carefully.

Regarding the Deep Winter Slumber, Elder Rostellum had no prior experience with this unfamiliar phenomenon, so he had no idea what the mountain’s Deep Winter Slumber was actually like. Therefore, asking him to describe any specific peculiarities of Guru Mountain’s Deep Winter Slumber now would be pointless.

Of course, Elder Rostellum was not entirely in the dark. Relevant books did mention the Deep Winter Slumber, and though the entries were not lengthy, they were enough for people to know such a thing existed.

Elder Rostellum remembered that those books, without exception, all mentioned something similar: the cold brought by the Deep Winter.

It was the cold that made everything stop working, causing systems that were originally running to suddenly pause. All sorts of systems that had been rumbling along became sluggish due to the cold, eventually grinding to a halt.

Entering the slumber was entirely due to this cold, and the slumber itself was just so that existing systems could function better after the severe cold passed.

What would Guru Mountain’s Deep Winter Slumber even look like? It’s just a mountain; I’ve never seen it ’operate’ normally. How could it have a Deep Winter Slumber?

Elder Rostellum shook his head. That’s not for me to consider. The few books with limited information on Guru Mountain repeatedly emphasized its appearance after entering the Deep Winter Slumber.

These books stated that after Guru Mountain entered the Deep Winter, it would become incredibly ethereal, appearing as if shrouded in mist and clouds, making it impossible to see the mountain’s contours clearly. All you would see was a vast expanse of white.

Elder Rostellum had never witnessed this actual scene; he did not know what Guru Mountain’s Deep Winter Slumber truly looked like. He turned and looked at the mountain again.

Its contours were clear, with no sense of being veiled in mist. The legendary vast whiteness was also absent.

Could it really be just this minor difference?

Could such a mere difference in appearance attract all these Treasure Hunters?

Elder Rostellum couldn’t be sure. He kept walking forward, while the Treasure Hunters, one after another, continued to dance with excitement as if they had discovered a new continent.

What’s there to be so excited about? It’s just the absence of that vast expanse of white.

Elder Rostellum didn’t understand the Treasure Hunters’ mentality. He continued to search his memory for information related to the Deep Winter Slumber.

However, he found very little.

After all, this mountain was inherently obscure, with very few books recording anything about it. The only ones he knew of were those few in Biggs’ Divination House.