Galanotos Snow Mountain, also known as Snowdrop Flower Mountain.
The nearby village, where Mrs. Vis lives, is named after this mountain.
The mid-section and above of this mountain are snow-covered year-round, with only the south-facing foot of the mountain briefly thawing in summer.
Currently, it's November, and even the foot is a vast white expanse.
The cold wind blows relentlessly, piercing to the bone.
Fine snow grains, driven by the wind, roll over the surface of the snow like fine sand on a beach.
So even on a clear day, the footprints left by climbers are quickly buried.
At that time, whether people from the mountain want to find a path down, or those at the base want to climb up for rescue, it becomes extremely difficult.
Moreover, the higher you climb, the thicker the snow gets, and the stronger the wind blows.
Walking becomes exceedingly difficult, and a single careless step could lead one to fall and be buried by snow, laying to rest here forever.
Yet despite these harsh conditions, Jimmy continues to push forward, eagerly searching for the herb that holds her family's hope.
Her small face is flushed red from the cold, and despite wearing a thick cotton coat with the hood pulled tight, nothing shields her from the biting wind.
"Divotian, Divotian... white, bell-shaped flowers..."
She softly repeats the features of the herb, as if cheering herself on, and also fearing to miss the white blooms against the snow.
Finding the herb could heal Dad, and if Dad is healed, Mom won't have to work so hard, and her brother won't have to cry in secret.
Children often focus solely on their goals, ignoring potential consequences or assuming the worst won't occur.
Jimmy is like this; she just wants her efforts to restore her family to the way it used to be.
Hunter, who chases after his sister's back, likely has a similar mindset.
With Dad sick, it's his job to protect Mom and his sister, and to heal Dad.
The snow mountain is a dangerous place; he can't let his sister face it alone.
The two small figures plod along on this snow-covered high mountain, searching for what they seek.
"Found it!" Sister Jimmy's eyes lit up.
Underneath a slightly protruding rock, several stalks of vibrant green seemed to peek out from the crevice, adorned with white blooms swaying in the wind.
Despite being surrounded by snow, they still exhibited a vigorous life energy.
Jimmy excitedly dashed over, tripping in her haste.
She didn't care about the snow clinging to her clothes, or even about standing up, practically crawling on all fours toward it. Carefully, she parted the snow and gently uprooted the herbs with a small part of the root.
One after another, Jimmy tucked the herbs inside her coat, as if gathering fragments of hope for their father's recovery.
After a while, with hope held close, Jimmy stood again, though she staggered a bit.
Her strength was nearly exhausted, yet she plodded on, determined to take the herbs back.
"Sister!"
A familiar voice made Jimmy wonder if she was so tired that she was hallucinating.
But the child in front of her, hugging his arms, neck shrunken, nose bright red with nearly frozen snot, was indeed her silly brother!
"Hunter?! Why are you here?"
"Of, of course, to find Sister!" Hunter struggled to sniff his nose back but to no avail. "Mom said, the mountain, the mountain is dangerous, I have to protect Sister."
Jimmy didn't know whether to be angry or amused. As someone who sneaked up the mountain, she didn't seem qualified to scold her brother, did she?
"Idiot... I found the herbs. We can go back and save Dad now."
"Sis... Sister..." Hunter's eyes widened in terror, staring past Jimmy.
"What... is it?" Jimmy turned around, her body frozen.
Behind her stood a creature as massive as a bear, with a head like a rabbit, its eyes glowing red.
"Laban..."
Laban swung its paw down, intending to kill, knock out, or injure its prey—a common hunting tactic.
Hunter rushed forward, pushing Jimmy aside, only to be grazed by Laban's claw, his cotton coat torn open as he rolled several times through the snow.
Spots of blood spattered across the snow.
"Hunter!"
Jimmy crawled through the snow towards Hunter, disregarding Laban behind her.
But she desperately discovered that there was now a wolf pack behind Hunter!
Jimmy's face turned pale, her lips trembling, thinking it was all over...
"Ha—" Laban emitted a warning growl, yet the three wolves pounced without hesitation.
Stunned, Jimmy watched the three wolves leap over Hunter towards Laban, not even noticing one had two heads.
The two regular wolves seized Laban's arms, while the two-headed wolf jumped, pinning Laban's shoulder and gnawing at its ears.
One regular wolf was flung away, but Laban quickly fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
Jimmy carefully crawled toward Hunter, only to see more Labans appear.
Laban... are communal animals.
Jimmy remembered what the villagers all knew.
She heard the wolves' howls, closing her eyes in despair, but the anticipated pain did not come.
Jimmy opened her eyes to see a tall figure's back.
The person's arm, like a monster's, was shielding her, blocking the attacking Laban's claw.
"Are you okay?" It was a deep, powerful male voice, sounding strong and reassuring.
Before Jimmy could respond, she heard another voice.
"Not good, this child is hurt and has lost a lot of blood. You hold them off for now." This time it was a relatively softer voice.
"This number is tricky, but... man up!"
Jimmy was astonished to see the person fling a Laban, as big as a bear, away directly!
"Crimson Marked Tree Monster!"
"Crown of Embers! That girl there... never mind, you get one too, Crown of Embers!"
Jimmy saw a red glow surround Hunter, and his wounds started to stop bleeding.
After the older brother pointed at her, she also emitted a red glow. Though she didn't know what was happening, she felt warm.
"Crown of Embers seems to be quite effective for treating external injuries."
Even Rhode himself didn't realize it could warm people, he wasted no time engaging the Tree Monster against the Labans.
The Tree Monster swung its forepaw, knocking three Labans flying.
The few flung away by Elfman and scattered managed to struggle a little.
But those struck down by the Tree Monster couldn't move once they hit the ground.
Though it seemed like a casual swipe, the Attack Power was formidable.
Still, Rhode painfully sent it back to the Summoner's Rift, swapping for another beast to combat.
This creature was too consuming, so Rhode had to conserve some Magic Power in case the boy had further needs.
With the beasts and Elfman entangled with the Laban pack, Rhode quickly retrieved bandages and ointment from his backpack, tending to the boy's wounds while comforting the girl:
"You must be Jimmy and Hunter, right? Don't be afraid; we are mages hired by your mom—we'll bring you back.
The bleeding has stopped; he just needs to sleep, and everything will be alright. We'll head back soon."
After quickly bandaging Hunter, Rhode wrapped him in a spare cotton coat to keep him from the cold.
Thinking for a moment, he fished out a chunk of chocolate from his backpack and gestured to Jimmy: "Want some?"