Darkness reign supreme during the night. No light could be seen on this mountain and there was only the presence of nature, devoid of any human settlements. On this mountain was a single woman resting underneath a tree. Claire had travelled for about 3 hours and when she arrived at the mountain range she had chosen to rest. If she was to go up the highest peaks, she had to be at her peak condition.

‘I’ve rested enough, where is the highest mountain.’

The range of mountains was extremely vast and called the Bal Go Mountain Range. This mountain range also had a legend attached to it just like all the other kingdoms. It was named the Bal Go Mountain Range because it was said that the mountains was once the home of the legendary dragon Bal Go. Bal Go had the power to fight kingdoms all by itself and was feared and respected by all the surrounding kingdoms. It was said that before the Kingdom of Shields was made there was a different kingdom living in that area but they had angered Bal Go and so Bal Go destroyed their kingdom. Some people even assume that the Kingdom of Shields is the remnants of the previous kingdom.

Even knowing about the legends surrounding the mountain range, Claire had decided to climb Bal Go Peak. Bal Go Peak was said to be the highest mountain in the range and was where Bal Go rested. Even if there were other tall mountains, Claire decided to go up Bal Go Peak because the higher the mountain the more likely the Blue Heart grass would grow.

‘I’ll head towards the middle of the mountain range. Legends say that Bal Go Peak is there.’

As Claire headed towards the middle of the mountain Range, her surroundings got colder and colder. She even had to start locking down the mana around her to stop the cold from attacking her body.

In front of her was an extremely tall mountain. Even as Claire looked for the top of the mountain, she could not see it. The peak of the mountain was shrouded in cold white mist. Now that she was in front of the mountain the coldness had also reached its peak. Even though she had locked the coldness down earlier, it was now useless on this mountain. The cold was penetrating into her body even though she tried to lock the coldness out.

‘This must be Bal Go Peak. This coldness is extremely different from any other I have felt before. It feels like it is trying to penetrate all the way through my bones. This cold doesn’t mean a thing if I can find a Blue Heart grass.’

Claire began to ascend the mountain. She slowly ascend upwards the mountain by creating platforms but every time she ascended, her speed got slower and slower. The coldness was taking a toll on her body. Her movements and circulation of mana was becoming stiffer as she proceeded upwards. The only thing she was depending on now was sheer willpower.

‘I have to go up. The higher I go up the easier it’ll be to find the plant. I have to go higher. I will save Clive. I have to go up’

“ROOAAARRRR!!!!”

An extremely loud roar had shaken the entire mountain. Even Claire who was in the air was not safe from the roar. The roar had blasted her from the air and she had crashed into the mountain. On impact with the mountain Claire had created a sizeable crater behind her. Claire coughed out blood and her ears were bleeding. She was totally unprepared for the roar.

‘Is that Bal Go? Wait, no, it can’t be.”

Claire was surprised at there being a creature this powerful on this mountain. Legends say that Bal Go lived on this mountain but that was tens of thousands of years ago. She did not believe that there would be any other animals living on the mountain so she was not prepared for a battle to occur.

“How dare a human come upon my mountain!”

The voice was extremely loud but it did not affect the surroundings. The dragon was directly speaking into Claire’s mind. Her entire body and mind was being rattled by the dragon talking to her.

“Find...Blue Heart.”

Claire could not speak clearly. Every single word that came out of her mouth came out with extreme difficulty. The pressure the dragon was exuding on Claire was incredible. She could barely resist it.

“Hah, just another greedy human. Everything on this mountain belongs to me. How dare you try and take something from me, Bal Vo.”

There was clearly disdain in Bal Vo’s tone. It did not like humans and it even held a strong resentment against them. It was ready to kill Claire at a moment’s notice.

“Now tell me. Give me a reason to not kill you, you thief.”

“Please...I need...Blue Heart...My husband...dying...Please...I love...him...I...don’t want...him… to die.”

Every single word was ushered with difficulty but Bal Vo did not care for Claire’s suffering. Bal Vo did not bat an eye at Claire’s situation.

“Hahahahahaha, how ironic. Hundreds of years ago I begged humans not to take away my child but what did they do. They took him away as I begged and begged them not to. You damnable humans called heroes had locked me down and stolen my only child. Many years later a human is now begging me for help. How hilarious, this is too funny. Why don’t we play a little game you foolish human. I’ll give you a slight hope of saving your husband but you’ll probably lose anyways. What do you say human.”

“I...i’ll...do anything.”

“Hahahahaha, i’m going to die from laughter. I’ll give you some hope and crush it in the end. If you wish to save your husband you have to grovel in this same spot for 7 days. If you can last for 7 days then I may or may not give you some Blue Heart grass.”

Claire slowly stood up. After standing up, Claire then fell to her knees and planted her forehead on the ground. She was now groveling towards Bal Vo. She had not hesitated at all, even if it was only a chance of getting Blue Heart grass, it was still a chance.

“Please...I need...Blue Heart...My husband...dying...Please...I love...him...I...don’t want...him… to die.”

“Hahahaha, you actually plan on doing this for 7 days. The coldness on my mountain is many times colder than any other mountain. I estimate you will only be able to last for 4 days before freezing to death. Hahahahaha, well see you in 7 days. I wish you the best of luck my dear little human.”

“Please...I need...Blue Heart...My husband...dying...Please...I love...him...I...don’t want...him… to die.”