Traps on the Snowfield（EN） (Pixiv Fanbox)

A vast expanse of snowy landscape.

Laila gazed at it, exhaling white breath.

“What incredible snowfall.”

This was the first time she'd visited this land, having accepted a request from the guild.

Even Lira hadn't imagined it would be such a snow country.

“It's cold... I should've worn more layers.”

Though Lira, being half-werewolf, belonged to a race resilient to cold, it was still bitterly freezing here.

She regretted coming in her usual adventurer's gear.

But deciding it was too late to waste time fetching warmer clothes, Laila stepped straight into the snowfield.

After wandering through the snowy landscape for a while, she suddenly heard a cracking sound beneath her feet.

“Hm?”

The instant Laila noticed the sound, her body was sucked violently into the snow.

CRACK...!

“Yikes!?”

Laila was sunk up to her waist in snow.

The extreme cold made her grimace involuntarily.

As she tried to figure out what had happened, brown liquid gushed out from the gap where Lira had sunk, turning the area into a muddy mess.

“Could it be... I was walking on top of a marsh...?”

Her right hand, which she'd dragged free, was coated in thick, sticky mud.

Just as Laila had said, she'd been walking on a frozen surface covered by snow—a bog.

Unaware, Laila had carelessly stepped into such a dangerous place.

Laila struggled to move her body, trying desperately to crawl out.

But with every movement, she sank deeper, until finally she was buried in mud from her waist up to her chest.

“It's cold...”

It wasn't just the mud's stickiness draining her strength.

The mud, chilled by the freezing cold of the snow country, rapidly stole Laila's body heat.

Laila couldn't stop shivering, and her complexion grew increasingly pale.

“What should I do... If this keeps up...”

Would Laila truly vanish into this cold mud...?

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So, to wrap up this month, here's Laila's swamp illustration.

The scenario is “quicksand × snow.”

While struggling in a quicksand draining your stamina is standard fare, the real kicker here is adding the chill to pile on the misery. (The inclusion of status effects is a nice touch.)

Also, while the cold was consuming her this time, apparently there are “mud volcanoes” overseas—hot mud areas.

Next time, maybe sinking her into hot mud instead could be interesting. (sly grin)

Well, that wraps up this month's posts.

I'd like to post next month's as early as possible, but things are looking busy again, so it might be tough.

Still, I aim to meet the monthly quota of three illustrations, so I appreciate your continued support.

See you next time.