Transmigrated as a Fat villain: All heroines are after me

Chapter 134 - 170- Valeriana

Inside the second portal, the temperature was chillingly cold enough to freeze water instantly, reaching well into the negative degrees Celsius, a stark contrast to the scorching heat of the fourth portal.

The atmosphere was filled with swift icy winds that lashed the surroundings, creating a starkly inhospitable environment. Snow lay three feet thick, and the intensity of the scene was heightened by the presence of ice pouring down instead of rain.

These were no ordinary ice pellets; they were hot enough due to friction caused by their motion to melt the snow beneath them without melting themselves, making them harder than steel.

Amid these harsh conditions, three sets of footsteps, forming a total of six, moved purposefully through the snow, leaving deep imprints in their wake.

Rumble Rumble

Every few moments, the ground seemed to shake due to collisions originating miles away, towards a cave. The intensity of the tremors kept increasing, as if two tectonic plates were colliding with each other.

BANNNG!

"Ughh! Don’t even think of hurting them!" Bruce cried out, his bulky frame standing defiantly against a huge black demonized polar bear. The red mark above the bear’s forehead and its crimson eyes revealed its present rampaging state.

’Damn it, I need to protect those juniors,’ Bruce thought, gritting his teeth.

His reputation had already taken a hit after an unfortunate incident involving a bathroom mishap with another guy.

Somehow, everyone found out he got beaten and thrown onto vomit.

To erase that stench, he had to seek help from a professor who claimed it to be dragon waste.

Bruce had run away after realizing how psychopathic that professor was, declaring vomit as dragon waste and even collecting samples from his mouth or teeth.

Indeed, he had never thought that the professor would be none other than Liamian himself.

A professor who seemed bewildered and excited after finding out about the dragon quickly made Bruce leave the place.

And today, he saw that professor again.

"Aagghhh, don’t you dare, bear!" Bruce cried out again, trying to instill fear in the bear. His veins bulged over his tight muscle fibers, showing negligible fat and steel-hard muscles.

Yet all this motivation was driven by the two maidens under his protection.

’I will protect you both, no matter what,’ Bruce vowed, gritting his teeth and pushing the bear back some distance, his body displaying its full potential.

Bam!

Bruce gave a punch to the bear’s head and in retaliation got himself one too.

-----

’Is he stupid?’ Thalia watched the bulky young man fighting the bear, which hadn’t moved until disturbed by Bruce.

Her emerald eyes blinked in disbelief before she turned to the other young woman beside her, seated on a wooden block with a bonfire in front of her, rubbing her palms together for warmth, seemingly unbothered by the wrestling match happening in the large cave.

"Um, Valeriana, shouldn’t we move outside and use mana to keep ourselves warm?" Thalia suggested as she approached Valeriana, who sat with her opaque eyes fixed on the fire. Her champagne-colored hair fluttered due to the air produced by the crackling woods, which kept crying out in the heat and bursting.

"...." Valeriana lifted her eyes to meet Thalia’s and instantly narrowed them before glancing back at the fire, ignoring Thalia for now while planning their protection from the pouring down steel balls.

And her reaction evident from the fact that in Thalia’s mind there were only one thought dominating her mind at this moment which was,

:: Will Zeph be fine? That bitch must have tried to pounce on him! Should I feed her poison this time!! What about that Craten! I shouldn’t have let them take Zeph away! Damn you Liamian! I will kill you, Bastard!!!!!! ::

"Valeriana?" Thalia inquired calmly, seeing her avoiding eye contact.

"I would suggest that we don’t leave this cave for today at least," Valeriana replied, calculating that their chances of getting stuck in the deadly downpour of stones would be high. She suggested staying put for now and also not meeting eyes with Thalia.

"Hmm," Thalia blinked while looking at her. Valeriana’s pupil glanced at her while adjusting the fire, curious about Thalia’s next move.

As the team leader, it was Valeriana’s responsibility to keep them protected, at least while they were here.

Indeed, the test or practical was designed for students to develop themselves in various areas such as unity, leadership, and problem-solving skills by surviving in this harsh environment.

:: Hedrian is right, but how to know if Zeph is alright ::

Valeriana turned her attention back to the bonfire after hearing Thalia’s anxious thoughts, which moments ago were filled with curses directed at a professor but now seemed to held emotion of worry and anxiousness.

Naturally, Valeriana had seen multiple faces of a single individual, hidden behind layers of makeup made with illusions, personalities could sometimes be facades, sometimes entirely true.

Initially, she had considered Thalia to fall into the facade category, but it seemed she wasn’t always like that or only acted that way in the presence of Zeph.

Something which seemed confusing for Valeriana since, from her thinking, it was clear that Thalia had a crush on him, yet she seemed to lie to him.

Like, isn’t it true that if someone loves you, they will accept you as you are? — said by Deventhia Hedrian.

’I should just focus on my studies,’ Valeriana turned her attention back to her work, warming herself through the fire she had burned there.

"Whatever, I’m going to sleep. Keep watch," Thalia announced, stretching her body. She didn’t fear the bear, as neither Bruce nor the bear seemed likely to move from their spots.

And, of course, the bear just wanted to sleep peacefully without being disturbed, but Bruce kept provoking it.

:: Sigh, where is my Teddy Bear ::

Valeriana’s eyes fell on Thalia, who lay down on the ground, covering herself with a blanket that Valeriana had brought in her dimensional ring.

As a contender for the throne, she had been provided a dimensional ring with a space of more than three square meters, a luxury not available to many individuals except those in the royal family.

She had also noticed a larger dimensional ring on Zeph’s hand.

"Valeriana," Thalia called out, causing Valeriana to break out of her thoughts and glance at her with a raised eyebrow, knowing that Thalia was anxious about Zeph’s safety.

"Yes?" Valeriana responded, pondering the reason for Thalia’s sudden closeness to Zeph. It was confusing, but Valeriana didn’t care who loved whom; her goal was to become queen.

"Don’t even think of lying beside me. I will cut off your hand," Thalia threatened firmly without turning around.

’....How insolent,’ Valeriana’s mouth twitched at the threat, looking at Thalia before another thought from her mind echoed inside Valeriana’s.

:: Where....are you, Zeph, damn it, I miss him sooooo much. Sigh, hope this watchdog does her job well. Good night, dear Thalia ::

Zzzz-zzz

’What’s with her?’ A frown formed on Valeriana’s face as she looked at the now sleeping woman, who, without any care, had already called her, the team leader, a watchdog.

At this moment, Valeriana again increased the ratings given to Thalia, placing her on Valeriana’s ’Avoid at all cost’ list, already on Rank 1 with twice the ratings of the second rank.

Thalia always hailed the flag.

But now, Thalia had even scored higher, becoming the most repelling individual in Valeriana’s list.