After three weeks of traveling by boat, Minos' party had left the Marine Empire's territory and entered the Sky Whales tribe's southern border.
After more than two weeks since leaving the Krakens' tribe, the group had finally entered the main part of the Spiritual World's South Pole, the most icy area in the entire world.
In this area, the water was so icy that countless icebergs floated on the sea's surface. At the same time, frozen mountain ranges at the bottom of the ocean which provided beautiful scenery for anyone traveling there.
Even though they were traveling along the ocean floor, Minos' group got the same impression as if they were traveling on foot near the Endless Snow Mountain Range, where the highest peaks in the world were located.
The only difference in this part of the world was that this was the ocean floor, and they were covered by water.
But even the frozen parts of those mountains on the bottom of the sea were the highest because, near the bottom of the sea, the spiritual roots warmed the ground closest to them.
But even though the spiritual roots in that place worked to warm the environment, that area was so icy that the roots could barely warm the ground. It was only up to 10 kilometers away from their closest points that they had any effect.
In addition, the seawater itself could freeze and form new icebergs, and people below level 80 could instantly die if they were more than 10 kilometers away from one of the nearby roots.
These waters were so cold that everyone in Minos' tax office felt as if countless small blades were trying to pierce their bodies.
Perhaps because of these life-threatening characteristics, they had encountered few beings traveling through this area in the days since they had entered it.
However, all the ones they saw were large beings, whales in general, all above level 80.
Many of them were peaceful, but when they had encountered two Arctic Sharks three days ago, Minos' group had had their first fight, when they had combined the formation with mermaids, krakens, and mermen along with the land crew of their group for the first time.
Those who hadn't seen Minos' skills in action had a chance to see them in this situation and finally understood why he was the leader despite being only a level 83 Sage.
...
At that moment, Minos' group was all inside the compartments of the Sea Folk's boat, all wearing special items to keep them warm.
They could withstand the cold of these waters even without special resources, but no one would constantly expend their energy on that alone while merely passing through the area.
Therefore, even the Krakens in the group used their scales to cover their entire bodies in their humanoid versions to protect their insides from the icy waters of this area.
"The Arctic is truly impressive!" Emlyn said as black, white, and orange fur covered her humanoid body. "I didn't think the situation here would be so drastic." She commented as she looked out of one of the windows of the area where she and the rest of the group were staying, where she could see the nearby mountain ranges even though the light in the area was low.
Due to the characteristics of the South Pole, there was no night on the surface. Thus, there was practically no daylight at the bottom of the sea, and there was only average lighting, the minimum for being able to see the mountain ranges up to about 5 kilometers away. Beyond that, you couldn't see anything.
Not only that, considering that the presence of life in this area of the Spiritual World was much more sparse and scattered than anywhere else on the planet, there were few cities in this region, so there were fewer bright spots in the distance.
Minos listened to Emlyn's comment and told her something old that he knew. "Yes, the situation in this area is so terrible that some tribes in this area used to punish their members by banishing them from their territory.
If someone committed an unforgivable crime, instead of being killed quickly or spending the rest of their lives in prison, these tribes punished such individuals by throwing them out of their territory.
This may sound less severe than immediate death, but it wasn't. Although it seemed like a weak way to punish someone because there was a chance of survival, it wasn't that simple.
By being thrown into the coldest parts of the sea, these beings' bodies would gradually freeze, and even their spiritual energy would solidify and break down!
This was the worst way to die in the Spiritual World because it was slow and irreversible.
"It still happens." One of the Krakens in the group commented, remembering things he had heard from the elders of his tribe. "The Arctic Ocean is dangerous in any area outside the spiritual roots range. But there are areas where the danger is so great that even high-level Sages cannot withstand the low temperatures unless they are special beings from the races in the area.
Humans or land animals, even at level 89, would definitely not be able to withstand the cold in that area."
As the atmosphere had different temperatures depending on the area you looked at, the seabed suffered from the same situation.
"This is terrible!" One of the level 89 beasts in the group commented, not imagining that this place was so terrible.
"But how can there be life here?" A level 89 human, one of the mercenaries in Minos' group, asked in doubt.
As much as everyone there was an expert, everyone had different backgrounds, experiences, and contacts. Not everyone knew everything just because of their high cultivation level.
Minos was one of the Sages who knew the most about the Spiritual World, thanks to the memories of Henricus Longus and his experiences over the years. But even he didn't have access to much information about this world.
Therefore, the fact that one of those mercenaries from the Marine Empire did not know about the South Pole of the Spiritual World was more normal than it might seem at first glance.
The other Kraken, the one who had the most information about this area among the group members, said. "This is possible, as it is for races that can live in absolute heat, at high altitudes, under extreme conditions, and so on. Some races simply evolved to live in these environments.
We Demigods can withstand any conditions because of our high cultivation. But some beings from the Spiritual World have their own characteristics that allow them to even benefit from the frozen spiritual energy that exists in this area!
...
