Super Righteous Player
Chapter 475 - 16 Mind Thief_1

Chapter 475: Chapter 16 Mind Thief_1

The Razor Domain in Bronfield Province is one of the most important cities in the Winter Duchy.

Locals call it "Razor Ridge."

It’s not because its terrain resembles a razor... but because a dragon, nicknamed the "Hairdresser," resides in the mountains there.

It is more or less benevolent toward humans, has no particular hobbies, and does not ravage the human world. It doesn’t sleep for decades at a time like an old grandmother would... but is more like a primitive father figure, cooped up at home researching something.

Dragons are highly intelligent creatures with great intellect, hence they live in solitude. There are hardly any dragons that are enemies of humans—because the smart ones know that doing so would disturb their peaceful life.

In this era, there are not many dragons left.

It’s not because of a shortage of magic essence or any other reason... but because almost all the dragons that came to Aesirland had ascended to godhood before the Third Age.

Dragons are beings that existed before the First Age. The so-called "First Age" is a concept that came into existence after humanoid creatures birthed the notion of "history."

Those who did not ascend to godhood either died due to various reasons or left Aesirland.

The "Living Desert" is a deadly natural disaster for Elves and centaurs. But for dragons, it’s merely a difficult and dangerous terrain to traverse...

In today’s world, there are less than ten dragons who have not ascended to godhood. Among them, seven have disguised themselves as humans and formed the "Singers’ Alliance," becoming... a famous idol group within The Holy Nation and maintainers of order.

Winter has two dragons.

One is named "Hairdresser," and the other "Light Snow."

The reason why the Hairdresser is called as such is that he shaves anyone who offends him bald—those who dream of being dragon-slaying heroes or covet the treasures of a dragon’s nest, all get their heads shaved by the Hairdresser and thrown back to Razor Ridge. One glance at their suddenly bald forehead, and others know they’ve done something foolish.

Consequently, in Winter, there’s a saying "a man with a shaved head," meaning someone who is unaware of the dangers yet has the luck to survive.

The Razor Domain is also the main production site for Frost Beast products.

Whether it is extracting the blood of Frost Beasts to manufacture various semi-finished potions or preserving it through freezing; or skinning the Frost Beasts for their hairy pelts to be tanned, dyed, and processed, it’s all done at Razor Ridge.

Though the main value of farming Frost Beasts is for their blood and fur, their meat must not be wasted—whether it’s made into frozen meat slabs or sausages, both greatly improve the lack of food in the Winter Duchy.

These Frost Beasts are not the type distributed to the military for each person to adopt one as a mount and hunting animal—the large, strong, and muscular military-grade Frost Beasts.

Rather, they are domestic-use Frost Beasts bred by the strong emotions of serious offenders, death row inmates, and tortured spies in prison, whose claws are clipped regularly and who retain only their ability to devour emotions. They eat less yet grow fatter.

While it sounds similar to the Dementors of Azkaban, in reality, they look more like overweight orange cats.

At first glance, one might even struggle to tell whether it’s a cat or a pig.

"Oh, so this is a Frost Beast!"

A middle-aged man with black hair, dark eyes, deep facial features, and a friendly and open smile stood in the crowd, looking at the plump Frost Beast being transported in a cage, and couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement, "What a sight to behold!"

"Is this your first time seeing a Frost Beast?"

A well-dressed middle-aged lady wearing Frost Beast fur asked, "Are you a foreigner?"

"Ah, yes. Beautiful lady!"

The middle-aged man extended his hand in a friendly manner, "Hello, my name is Giralda David Buonarroti. I’ve just arrived in the duchy and the popular custom here is... a handshake, right?"

"Yes, you are quite right. Additionally, when shaking hands, it’s best to have your other hand open with the palm facing the other person, naturally spread out."

After receiving the compliment, the somewhat solemn and serious lady couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth turn up slightly.

After shaking hands with "Giralda," she instinctively offered a couple of pointers before realizing it was somewhat improper.

She cleared her throat and introduced herself calmly, "Leona Banyan. The third daughter of the Banyan family."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Banyan!"

"Giralda," chuckling heartily, cleverly decided to address her by her surname based on her phrasing.

He cheerfully said, "You know... at first, I thought Frost Beasts were terrifying creatures, like giant wolves! But upon closer inspection, they actually look a bit cute... If they weren’t so fearsome, I’d like to try raising one, haha!"

"Not all Frost Beasts are wolves, although the majority are."

Leona smiled helplessly and explained, "It’s just that in bountiful years, there are many wolves and foxes in the duchy, so the most numerous and commonly seen Frost Beasts happen to be of the lupine variety."

Frost Beasts themselves are magical creatures that have undergone physical mutations from being immersed in a curse-filled blizzard that doesn’t kill them. There are also Frost Beasts that take the form of bears, deer, and badgers.

But whatever form they had before the transformation, or whatever their body structure was, once they become Frost Beasts, only the differences in size and constitution remain.

The meat taken from them is dark, nearly purple, and even when kept indoors, it would form ice on its own—if sliced, it gives off a strong fishy and fresh-ice scent. The muscle is very tough and can be difficult to chew. Some gourmet food lovers with unusual tastes, or highly skilled chefs, would try to tackle this rare ingredient.

Of course, once cooked, Frost Beast meat almost becomes a harder type of beef jerky. That cold flavor would disappear as well.

"Did you know, if you shine a strong light on a juvenile Frost Beast, you can see their translucent body and the opaque, branch-like blood vessels and the shadowy mass right behind the heart."

Most of their internal organs had vanished by that point. Apart from the greatly enlarged heart, which had taken over the stomach area, there were the blood vessels connected to the skin and the ’heart sac’ hidden behind the heart.

Watching the long procession of Frost Beasts occupying the road and hindering free movement, Leona couldn’t help but chat idly with the especially friendly middle-aged man next to her: "Although Frost Beasts consume positive emotions, they don’t do so through lungs or stomach... but through their blood."

They absorb emotions through their skin and store the collected positive emotions in a gallbladder-like ’heart sac’ behind the heart. The more emotions they absorb, the more crystallization occurs within the liquid of the heart sac.

If, at this point, one were to cut open the Frost Beast’s abdomen and extract the crystals from the heart sac—these crystals could then be used as powerful curse-related materials, also known as ’emotional crystals.’ This process would greatly weaken the Frost Beast, but if the wound were well stitched, it might not necessarily die.

The color of crystals from different emotions varies. They can be separated by physical means. Consuming a processed ’happiness’ crystal, for instance, could directly induce feelings of joy... Likewise, emotions such as ’loyalty,’ ’hope,’ and ’bravery’ can also be sold."

This forms a unique underground industry exclusive to the Winter Duchy.

—Soul thieves.

Stealing happiness, courage, love, hope... and then selling them to those in need.

"Giralda" listened intently, occasionally uttering exclamations such as "So that’s how it is," "I see," "You really know a lot," and "Ah, what a learning experience."

He nodded thoughtfully.