Survival Queen of the Frozen Wastes novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225 The World Of Ariel

Chapter 225 The World Of Ariel

Jeff turned pale, instinctively shoving Rod behind him as he raised his pickaxe; though his legs were shaking, his gaze remained steady.

Seeing the two youths terrified out of their wits, Riley couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Relax, you two.”

Riley patted Neeko’s side. “Neeko, say hello.”

“Rawr- (Hello everyone!)”

Neeko waved a large bear paw obediently.

Hearing Riley’s voice, the two finally snapped out of their trance.

“My… my lady?”

Jeff realized who it was and his legs nearly gave out. “Forgive us! We didn’t know it was you! We thought a monster had broken in!”

“It’s fine. Staying alert is a good habit.”

Riley walked over, picked up Rod’s fallen pick, and handed it back. “Get back to work. I’m here to dig too.”

“You… you dig coal yourself?”

Rod’s eyes went wide.

In his mind, someone of Riley’s stature should be sitting in a warm castle drinking wine while ordering servants around. Who would ever see a lord in a mine shaft?

“I’m not above manual labor. What’s so weird about working? The working class is the greatest!”

She walked to a nearby coal face and pulled out her own pickaxe.

“Boom!”

A single swing.

The entire coal wall vibrated under the impact.

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Hapter 223 The World Of Ariel

With a cascading clatter, a massive chunk of high-quality coal. nearly three fee high was sheared clean off the wall.

“Obtained: High-Quality Anthracite x 10”

“Woah…”

Jeff and Rod watched, mouths agape.

Beside her, Neeko raised her own pick and began to dig; after all the practice, the bear had become quite the expert miner.

In an instant, dust was flying and coal was falling like a black waterfall.

Fortunately, the system’s auto-collection also sucked up the floating coal dust, preventing the group from being covered in soot.

Watching the insane work speed of the woman and the bear, Jeff and Rod looked at their own pathetic little picks and suddenly felt completely redundant.

They worked for over four hours.

Riley’s inventory increased by another three hundred units of coal.

“Take a break.”

Riley stowed her pick and spread a picnic cloth over a flat stone, producing a pot of hot tea and several bags of bread.

“Come sit. Rest for a bit.”

Riley beckoned to the two youths who were still standing awkwardly to the side.

Jeff and Rod were hesitant, but following Riley’s gaze, they tentatively sat at the edge of the cloth.

“Have some coffee.”

Riley poured them two cups of steaming coffee.

As the hot liquid hit their stomachs, their tension finally began to dissipate.

“What did you do before this?” Riley asked casually.

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Chapter 225 The World Of Ariel

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“My lady.” Jeff answered honestly, “I was a blacksmith’s apprentice. I’ve been swinging a hammer for five years. I’m strong, so I usually handle the heavy sledge.”

“I… I was an apprentice at the bakery next to the forge, working for Old Jack,” Rod added, scratching his head sheepishly.

“Tell me about your old life,” Riley said.

At the mention of their old home, their eyes dimmed.

“Our world was called ‘Ariel’…”

As they spoke, Riley gained a deeper understanding of the native background.

It was a classic low-magic medieval world.

No skyscrapers, no electricity, but perhaps some faint traces of magic. People lived under the protection of various lords, thriving across the continent of Ariel.

Jeff gestured with his hands. “The strongest man we had was the Captain of the Royal Knights. They say he could split a boulder with one sword stroke… but honestly, I don’t think he was as strong as your swing just now.”

Riley smiled.

That was the advantage of system reinforcement; if you stacked your stats high enough, tearing through a tank was child’s play. Natives were limited by their mortal frames; even at their peak, they had a ceiling.

“Then came the great blizzard…”

Rod’s voice trembled. “The white storm just came out of nowhere. We couldn’t see a thing. When we woke up, we were in this hellhole. Everyone from town was gone; we don’t even know if they’re still alive.”

Riley patted their shoulders. “As long as you’re alive, there’s hope. Maybe you’ll find the others later.”

At those words, a flicker of light returned to their eyes.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the mine entrance.

“My lady! Are you still in there?”

It was Joseph’s voice.

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Chapter 225 The World Of Ariel

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Joseph came sprinting in, out of breath and wind-battered, but his eyes were blazing with excitement. He was clutching two chests that radiated a bronze light.

“Uncle!” Jeff and Rod stood up quickly.

“My lady!”

Joseph ran to Riley, holding the items out to her. “Following your orders, I’ve been patrolling near the camp during the day. Today, I found these buried in a collapsed snowdrift!”

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A wealth of the Mine