"So, can I get my payment now?" Alex asked after several seconds of silence.
The Elder recovered and sighed.
"Sure," he said. "I'll make arrangements for your payment right now."
The Elder walked out of the house while Alex sat down and waited.
The pleasant smell of the room made Alex's mind relax, and before he noticed it, the Elder had already returned.
"The Ice Wood and a sled wagon will be ready shortly," the Elder said.
"Sled wagon?" Alex asked in confusion.
The Elder nodded. "A sled wagon is the best method to transport goods in this region. It's a sled that can be outfitted with four wheels when necessary. That allows you to transport things in the snow and on the ground."
"Oh," Alex said with some wonder.
That sounded like a practical vehicle.
Alex wondered why he had never heard of something like that on Earth.
"Thanks," Alex added after thinking about the sled wagon for a bit, "but why does it need wheels? Is Warrior's Paradise in a different climate?"
The Elder nodded. "We are in the Ice Wyvern Zone. Warrior's Paradise is in the Storm Eagle Zone," the Elder explained.
"Ice Wyvern Zone? Storm Eagle Zone?" Alex asked. "Why are the zones named after beasts?"
The Elder was taken aback by Alex's question.
"Because of the Ice Wyvern and the Storm Eagle," the Elder explained with a weird tone. It was like Alex had asked a stupid question.
"I've never heard of these two beasts," Alex said. "Why are the Zones named after them? Are they in the Zones?"
The Elder lifted an eyebrow in skepticism as he looked at Alex.
Was this young man joking with him?
However, Alex appeared genuinely curious about these two godly beasts.
"Powerful beasts dictate the climate," the Elder explained slowly. "The Ice Wyvern is an unfathomably powerful beast with an Ice Affinity. Its Ice Mana stretches over vast distances, lowering the temperature of the landscape."
Alex's eyes widened in surprise.
"Beasts can do that?" Alex asked in shock.
"Yes," the Elder said slowly, feeling weird about answering such a question. "Even children know about that."
Alex felt a bit weird about that comment. So, he decided to tell the Elder about his supposed memory issue.
The Elder understood and gave his condolences and some encouraging words after hearing about Alex's issue.
This young man had obviously gone through a lot.
"So, why are these beasts still alive?" Alex asked. "Are all the humans too weak to take care of them?"
"No," the Elder said. "There are humans even more powerful than these godly beasts, but these godly beasts are protected by them. These godly beasts transform Natural Mana into Elemental Mana. Elemental Mana is necessary for Mages to become more powerful. Even more, us common people have already adapted our lifestyle to these climates."
"If the godly beasts die, the entire climate will change. Our lifestyle is adapted to the climate, and if it undergoes a severe change, everything will break down, and many people will die," the Elder explained.
Alex nodded in wonder.
He had thought that he was somewhere in the north due to all the snow, but it actually turned out that there was simply a very powerful beast somewhere in the area.
This was truly a very different world from Earth.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ "What about the Storm Eagle Zone?" Alex asked.
"The Storm Eagle is a godly beast with a Wind Affinity. It absorbs Natural Mana and converts it to Wind Mana, which generates many heavy storms. Us common folk mainly avoid such zones due to the natural destruction happening constantly, but the Wind Mages and warriors love it."
"The Storm Eagle Zone is filled with canyons and mountains, creating an environment with a lot of uneven ground. It's difficult to create villages and towns in craters, canyons, and mountains, which means more space for beasts. The many brutal beasts living in such an environment help the young warriors to gain battle experience, which is one of the main reasons for why the academy is in that Zone."
"The other reason is that the Duke's castle is also in that Zone. Duke Whirlwind is a High Mage with a Wind Affinity. His family and most of his Mages have a Wind Affinity, which makes this the perfect place for them," the Elder explained.
Alex nodded along with curiosity.
The entire world had gained more wonder!
The climate wasn't dictated by the planet but by the mighty beasts.
This opened so many possibilities for different climates and territories!
The Pest Cats probably had a Darkness Affinity. What would the climate under a godly beast with a Darkness Affinity look like?
Would it be constantly dark?
What about a godly beast with a Water Affinity? Would that just be an ocean?
Would a godly beast with a Fire Affinity create a volcano or a desert?
There was so much to explore!
"Now that I think about it, it's actually logical that you would have an Ice Affinity," the Elder said. "You have been born into a Zone filled with Ice Mana. Many of our children have an Ice Affinity."
This gave Alex a thought.
"I have a question," he said.
"Yes?" the Elder asked.
"When Ice Mages use their powers, do their bodies heat up?" Alex asked.
The Elder looked at Alex like he had just said something stupid.
"No, of course not. We are simply releasing the Ice Mana. Why would that make us hot? Elemental Mana can affect the temperature, but the temperature doesn't immediately shoot to the opposite end when the Elemental Mana vanishes."
"For example, if you fill something with Ice Mana, it will cool down very quickly. After it has cooled down, when you pull all the Ice Mana out of it, it is still cold. However, it will warm up with time since there's nothing left that cools it."
"If you want to heat up something filled with Ice Mana immediately, the best method would be to replace the Ice Mana with Fire Mana," the Elder explained.
Alex listened to these words with deep interest.
His eyes appeared innocent, but deep inside, Alex was in deep thought.
'The same principle should apply to my Ice Blast,' Alex thought. 'The concepts of how an Ice Mage unleashes their power shouldn't be different to how a warrior with an Ice Affinity would unleash their power.'
'In short, using my Ice Blast shouldn't result in my left arm heating up.'
Alex wanted to frown, but he kept his expression under control. He knew that the Elder was not an enemy, but the Elder had just warned Alex about revealing his Affinity.
It was best to immediately put these teachings to use.
'So, do I actually have an Ice Affinity?'
Alex remembered that the God had said that Alex would get a very special Affinity and that Alex could maybe use it in the future.
Alex had been sent to an ice region. The God wouldn't have said maybe if Alex had an Ice Affinity.
'Judging by how my Ice Blast got absorbed by the Frozen Lake Stag, I'm certain that I'm not unleashing a simple cold wind, but a blast of pure Ice Mana.'
'Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I actually have Ice Mana in my body. I can use my Ice Blast without actually using any Mana. I can even use it indefinitely, as long as my arm stays cold.'
'Does this mean that whenever I use my Ice Blast, my arm gets filled with Fire Mana? Why else would it heat up?'
'Is it some kind of energy splitting or something?'
'However, I can feel Ice Mana, and that also only started occurring after I absorbed the Pure Ice Mana Source. I didn't feel the Earth Mana from the Pure Earth Mana Source back when the hedgehog wanted to reward me. I also wasn't able to absorb the Pure Earth Mana Source.'
'So, I can feel Ice Mana as if I had an Ice Affinity, but I don't have an Ice Affinity. Yet, my Affinity is somehow related to ice. On top of that, my Affinity is not related to earth. Lastly, my Affinity might be related to fire, but I can't be sure yet.'
'What kind of Affinity do I have then?'