Several days later.

The world was blanketed in pure white.

Heavy snow covered both forest and wilderness.

Two figures and a large gray wolf trudged through the silent snowy woods.

Behind them stretched a long trail of footprints leading back into the dense forest depths.

"Huff—"

Aria tightened the fur cap around her head as her exhaled breath instantly transformed into puffs of white vapor, her cheeks flushed red from the cold.

She instinctively moved closer to Gauss walking ahead of her.

Gauss led the way, dressed less heavily than her.

Yet approaching him, one could feel a faint warmth radiating from him like a human-shaped heating stove.

Gauss's gaze swept their surroundings.

Truth be told, he felt the cold too—just not enough to complain about yet.

The benefits from reaching the thousand-kill milestone days earlier—the +1 to Strength and +1 to Constitution—were proving their worth now.

With 8 points in both attributes compared to a normal healthy human's 5, he could endure extreme weather conditions much better.

Of course, the main reason for dressing lighter was combat mobility—too many layers would hinder his movements.

Chewing on dried meat, he checked the Monster Encyclopedia in his Adventurer's Manual.

"Total monsters slain: 1311."

Their efficiency had dropped significantly compared to the first couple days.

Mostly small, scattered monster settlements, plus this year's unusually harsh winter had slowed all adventurers down.

Aria speculated most participants would see reduced profits this year.

But for their duo, the first two days' haul had already filled their pockets.

Braving the cold these past days was more about "since we're already here, might as well earn some more."

Even with reduced efficiency, it still beat taking those basic one-star commissions back in Grayrock Town.

Unfortunately, barring unexpected developments, today would likely be Winter Hunt's final day.

The cold had become unbearable—many adventurers and support staff had already expressed desires to return to town.

Gauss continued scanning the Encyclopedia.

"Current ordinary monster species recorded: 19"

After activating the 17th entry [Frost Snake] days earlier, they'd only added two more: [Dire Wolf] and [Assassin Vine].

The former were common monster minions and winter regulars.

The latter were ambush predators disguised as normal vines that entangled passing creatures.

The rest were repeats of already recorded monsters.

This made sense—goblins, kobolds and such were wilderness staples to begin with, so repeated encounters were inevitable.

Moreover, regional biodiversity was limited, and many monsters had either migrated or gone dormant for winter, complicating their collection efforts.

But... today shouldn't end empty-handed.

Gauss rubbed the raven-black feather in his palm—about hand-sized.

He'd specifically gathered intel about it at camp yesterday. Their targets were just ahead.

"Caw caw caw!"

The familiar cry of Eck the raven interrupted Gauss's thoughts.

Instead of annoyance, a slight smile appeared.

The raven's return meant it had found their quarry.

Fortunately, ravens were highly adaptable creatures, remaining active even in bitter winters.

Eck's presence these past days had saved them considerable effort.

After rewarding the bird with meat, brief communication yielded intel about nearby monster settlements.

"If things go smoothly, we'll head back after noon."

Seeing Aria's reddened cheeks despite her determination to accompany him, Gauss felt a twinge of guilt.

Truthfully, many teams had already given up on morning excursions, opting to relax by campfires until Winter Hunt's official conclusion.

Gauss had considered suggesting Aria stay behind while he hunted the 20th monster species alone, but for some reason, the words never left his mouth.

Perhaps he sensed she'd insist on coming anyway.

After all, they were a team that advanced and retreated together.

"Mm-hmm." Aria nodded.

Guided by the raven, they pressed onward through the snow.

"Caw caw!"

As they neared the location, Eck lowered its voice as warning.

"Thanks." Gauss muttered, regardless of whether the bird understood human speech.

He then climbed a small snowy rise.

Eagerly, he surveyed the monster settlement ahead.

This concerned both the 20th monster entry and his second racial trait—even his usual calm couldn't suppress the anticipation.

Like facing an unopened mystery box—the unknown always held the greatest excitement.

Squinting, his gaze penetrated sparse pines to a deliberately cleared area below.

A bonfire blazed, its dancing flames fighting the cold, surrounded by shadowy figures that seemed torn between craving warmth and fearing the fire.

"There they are..." Gauss's eyes gleamed as he clearly identified their primary targets—Crowmen!

These creatures might share ancient ancestry with Eck.

Crowmen—standard low-tier monsters with raven-like upper bodies covered in black feathers, sporting claws and wings, paired with humanoid lower bodies for bipedal movement.

They could glide short distances but lacked true flight capabilities like proper birds.

Yesterday, an adventurer team had discovered crow feathers here but opted not to pursue the trail as darkness fell.

Come morning, that same team decided against entering Emerald Forest entirely, simply sharing the intel with Gauss instead.

"One, two, three... fifteen." Gauss counted silently.

Not many. While individually stronger than common goblins, fifteen posed little threat to current Gauss. Even Aria could handle them without Urfen's help, albeit with effort.

But numbers hardly mattered now.

Sliding down the slope:

"Fifteen Crowmen. After clearing them, we'll have lunch then head back."

Gauss relayed plans via Message cantrip.

"Understood. I'll support with Entangling Roots."

"Yeah, same routine we've been practicing."

"Got it."

Aria whispered back with a hand signal.

"Caw caw caw!"

A somewhat hoarse caw abruptly shattered the snowy forest's silence, drawing the Crowmen's attention toward the gloomy sky.

"Caw!"

They looked up warily, only to relax upon spotting the circling black raven overhead.

Ravens were common winter birds, and their shared avian heritage meant little suspicion toward these flying distant cousins.

They failed to notice several dried green seeds mixed with grayish-white droppings landing softly near the bonfire with faint "plop" sounds.