Eternal Winter's Reign - Book 2 - Chapter 13 - Heading Out to Hunt (Patreon)

                                                     Alexander North

I stretch a little as I leave the base, heading towards the nest with a map having been downloaded into my terminal by the Doctor directly from her own terminal. Something I didn’t realize was still possible thanks to my terminal’s changes.

|Everything this unit could do prior to the merging it can do now with no outside interference.|

That’s good to hear.

Anyways, there are two nests close to this base, with two more slightly further away. But the closest nest is slightly Northeast of the base.

So I’ll head there first.

This nest is supposedly one filled with a combination of wendigos, wraiths, large infected bears, and large infected bats. Nothing too terribly powerful, but also nothing too weak either.

I glance back at the base once before continuing to walk towards the nest.

Alexia should be fine. I left Snow with her after all, and she has Cynthia too.

Although I get the feeling she might be a little mad at me when I return. But I need to deal with these nests sooner rather than later. And if she were awake, I get the feeling she would try to join me in the clearing of them.

While she is as strong as a Tier 2 Symbiont Host and could definitely hold her own against random frozen ones that attack the base or something, I don’t really want to be bringing a twelve-year-old girl with me to fight in a nest full of infected monsters. It just isn’t a very morally responsible thing to do, and I’d rather not get her hurt.

|Query. Is Alexander feeling fatherly affection towards the girl designated as Alexia?|

I frown at that before shaking my head.

No. Probably not.

But regardless, I’m not just going to abandon her. I know that she for some reason views me as her father figure now, and I also know just how it feels to lose a parent. And I’m not going to push that onto a twelve-year-old girl by abandoning her.

Although it would still probably be better if I could get Cynthia to take care of her instead.

|Intel predicts that the girl is unlikely to take well to that thought.|

Yeah, didn’t think she would. It’s why if I do ever suggest that to Cynthia, I’ll make sure to be far away from Alexia at the time.

Anyways, I glance down at the armor the Doctor gave me. Armor that is just like my old cybernetic armor that I had before all this went down. Armor that is much better than the trash I was wearing when I got to that base.

Although unlike the old armor, this one has the cold energy power source in it. Which doesn’t really do much for me since my heat signature was already very muffled and almost nonexistent anyways.

Maybe it might cover up my own energy source?

I furrow my brows slightly at that thought before shrugging and focusing on making the trek through the snow that is once again starting to fall down now that I’m leaving the area around the base that didn’t have the eternal winter over it. And it doesn’t take long for some infected to start making their appearances.

Time to get some energy for the trip.

It’s a nice thing not needing food or water anymore, but I do wonder how I’ll end up nourishing myself if the frozen ones stop being a thing in the future.

|User’s worry is unnecessary. While cold energy is a powerful source of nourishment for the user’s body, so is heat energy.|

I am not eating people.

|Heat energy is found in anything warm by default, not just human beings. This includes plants, animals, and anything else that has a naturally high body temperature.|

Oh. That’s good then.

So if I do ever run out of any sort of energy to absorb, I can just go back to eating regular food and water?

|Water does not contain heat energy.|

I roll my eyes at that as I find a wendigo charging towards me.

Then I can go back to eating regular food if I run out of energy to absorb.

|Correct.|

Please do not give me half an answer the next time I ask a question.

|Understood.|

I sidestep the wendigo before extending my claws and reaching to grab its neck, snapping it in an instant after that.

Terminal, is there any way for me to use my energy aside from just sensing with it?

|Affirmative. You currently have the biological capability to use two different powers outside of your senses. These powers include the power to freeze things on touch as you have been unconsciously doing since you were first infected, and an unknown power.|

I blink at that as I retract my claws again,

What do you mean by an unknown power?

|You have a power that this unit cannot calculate the purpose of outside of its presence.|

Hmm. Something besides the thing that led my other sets of armor before this to slowly frost over from the inside out.

I wonder what it is? And more importantly, how I use it.

That line of thought has me staring down at my armor which isn’t freezing over thanks to the cold energy fueling it – a nice plus that none of my other armor sets since getting infected had – before eventually sighing. Then I look up and continue making my way through the snow again.

Is there any way that you can teach me how to control the ‘freezing things on touch’ power?

|Affirmative.|

Alright. Let’s work on that as we head to the nest.

Also, designate that power as ‘Frost Touch’ to make things easier.

|Understood.|

I smile slightly at that before glancing at my claws. Unlike when I was at the Alpha base when I got infected, I didn’t get any swords from the armory at the Delta base. Strictly because I knew it would just break like all the other swords I’ve used since becoming infected. And my claws are just better.

But having a new power that I can actually control would be nice.

Plus it would make me stop freezing things when I touch them. Even if that seems a little wonky and doesn’t always do it.

Anyways, let’s get started.

|Understood.|

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