Chapter 031: Blizzard

Meanwhile, Yui Ikari, walking beside Wang Bo and Asuna, couldn't help but glance at Wang Bo upon hearing this.

Having accepted this quest, she naturally understood the background of Middle-earth. She had even watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the oasis. But the question was, wasn't that a movie?

Yet from Wang Bo's words, it seemed as if he had actually seen the real Caradhras.

So she couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Wang Bo, have you seen the real Middle-earth?"

Wang Bo nodded. "I've been to many worlds, including Middle-earth. Did you see my name? It includes 'King of the Lonely Mountain.'"

Yui Ikari immediately realized, "Could it be that Lonely Mountain?"

"That's right, that Lonely Mountain."

Asuna couldn't help asking, "You mean the Dwarf kingdom?"

"Now it's my kingdom. When I entered the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves hadn't retaken it yet, so I took it back from Smaug and became the King of the Lonely Mountain."

Wang Bo said bluntly.

Asuna was stunned. "So Middle-earth really exists."

"That's right."

"What about Gandalf? Does Gandalf exist too?"

"Of course. Not just Gandalf, but all the characters from the Lord of the Rings exist. Even minor characters who appeared for only a few scenes in the movies have astonishing lives in the real Middle-earth."

"Then the Balrog exists too."

"It did, but I killed it. Its ashes were scattered... oh, to be precise, I brought its corpse back and gave it to the dwarves, who forged a set of Balrog armor for me." Wang Bo said.

Yui Ikari asked in surprise, "You subdued the dwarves?"

"No, those guys aren't willing to submit to humans. I just hired them to forge weapons for me. Though they're a bit stubborn, their craftsmanship is impeccable."

Wang Bo acknowledged the dwarves' forging skills.

Asuna asked excitedly, "What about Gandalf? Is the in-game Gandalf the same as the real one?"

"Not the same, but their appearances are similar. The real Gandalf is a bit taller."

Ever since learning that Wang Bo had been to the real Middle-earth, Asuna asked many questions, and Wang Bo answered them one by one, since they had nothing better to do.

In such idle chat, traveling didn't seem as boring as imagined.

However, it didn't last long. Shortly after entering Caradhras, the group encountered a blizzard.

Under the blizzard, traveling became difficult. Heavy snow fell, and the sky was filled with swirling snowflakes, making the road almost invisible.

Many players complained that the game was too realistic, and some even suggested waiting for the blizzard to pass before continuing.

But the group's leader, Gandalf, ignored them and led the group forward.

The players had no choice but to follow, afraid of falling behind.

Fortunately, the blizzard did not rage continuously; occasionally the storm would subside for a while, but before long it would strike again.

The strong wind carried large snowflakes that stung the face. Fortunately, everyone was used to it. Gandalf was unwilling to stop, and the players could only find joy in misery.

The blizzard grew fiercer, the snow on the ground thicker, and the cold in the air could almost freeze one's heart.

Wang Bo suddenly noticed that his health bar seemed to be dropping, losing one point of health every few seconds. Though slow, the health bar was indeed decreasing steadily. If the blizzard did not stop, Wang Bo might freeze to death.

In the real world, this would be a joke, utterly ridiculous.

But in the game world, Wang Bo was not Superman but a lowly level-seven character. If he did not rest and recover health, dying in the blizzard was only a matter of time.

When Wang Bo asked Malthus and Caroline, he found that they were in the same situation.

As for Ada Wong, she was even worse off; her level was second lowest among everyone, only above Lady Gremory. But Lady Gremory was a demon god whose power could even influence the game world.

Ada Wong was far from being able to do that.

In fact, not long ago, her health had become dangerously low. If this continued, she would face her first death within half an hour.

Helpless, Wang Bo had to find Yui Ikari and ask if they had any solutions.

"I have a way," Asuna quickly said. "I have quite a few health potions in my inventory. I can give you some."

Saying this, she took out some red potions from her inventory and handed them to Wang Bo.

Wang Bo took a few bottles and gave the rest to his subordinates.

Ada Wong picked up a health potion, gulped it down, and restored her lost health.

The blizzard continued. When Wang Bo finished his seventh health potion, he noticed that other players were also drinking potions. It seemed they too were affected by the blizzard.

However, their levels were high, their health pools large, and their cold resistance good, so they lost health slower than Wang Bo's low-level group.

But they were losing health too.

The players who were not losing health at all were few and far between. They were those who had prepared and changed into thick clothes when the blizzard struck.

These clothes were apparently made of special materials, with cold resistance beyond imagination, able to maintain body temperature even in such a blizzard.

But before long, something bad happened.

The four hobbits were failing.

In this blizzard, not only players but also NPCs were under attack. Players could rely on health potions to survive the snow disaster, but the NPCs had no such potions.

Especially the four hobbits, born in the spring-like Shire, who rarely saw snow, let alone such heavy snow. They were the ones who suffered the most in the blizzard.

But they did not complain; instead, they gritted their teeth and kept up with the group.

Until their bodies were completely broken by the blizzard.

Wang Bo knew that in the original story, the blizzard did not break anyone, but this was not the real world—it was a game. The Fellowship of the Ring had twenty extra players, and the game difficulty had clearly increased.

After the four hobbits collapsed, even Gandalf had no solution and had to ask the players for help, hoping they could save the little ones.

Many players saw this as an opportunity to gain NPC好感度, generously donating several cold-weather clothes to save the four hobbits, earning some gratitude.

From their beaming smiles, it was clear they had gained quite a bit of好感度.