It was late midday, and with only an couple hours of sunlight remaining, we decided it was best to pack up and finish our journey towards Snowcape Peak. Not like I had any particular attachments toward this town. I had initially enjoyed the village chief's conversation, but that gotten irritating extremely quickly. His constant mentions of his son and possible marriage proposal between us were his main talking points on the way back.
Although Lita wasn't one for conversation, she tended to make her intentions relatively clear through her subtle expressions and reaction. Honestly, I had begun to fear for the old man's life.
“It was nice doing business with you.” Shaking Urila’s hand one-sidedly, Regan turned towards me, and I more or less already knew what he was going to say.
“R-”
“No, I'm good,” I replied, irritated.
We were currently at the gates at the back of the village. Regan had happily spilled forth plenty of information about the journey Urila would have been too lazy to Bring up unless I asked. With the speed of our Udines, we expected we would reach the town by nightfall. However, we would need to cross through a shortcut instead of taking the standard path.
It was called the Icemans Road. It was an excellent shortcut to save time if you were willing to hire the adventurers or mercs to traverse the monster nests in the location. We would also meet fewer people through that passage, so our udines would meet fewer eyes. However, after seeing what Lita did to those Ice wyrms earlier, I wasn't too afraid of what we would encounter there either.
Ugh, I want to leave already.
At the town exit and now during the peak work hours of the village, many curious gazes glanced at us as they passed by. Farmers moved to tow their fields, and the women went around on their household chores, either washing clothes or preparing for the evening meal by visiting the small local marketplace. The village felt far more alive than in any other period we had seen it.
A group of children not far from us were playing a game called Pryatki, where there were children who hid and children who sought those hidden. It was a popular pastime for young commoner children. The children who were all supposed to be seeking, though, were all staring at me. They probably thought I was a new kid or something. One young girl was shyly looking at me as her friends urged her to do something.
I took this as my queue to leave. The last thing I was doing in this town was playing with stupid dolls or children far younger than me. I would never be able to call myself an adult trapped in a child ever again.
“Be careful, I know you're all capable, but rumors have it that a group of Gold-ranked adventures went missing from up there– Wouldnt want future business partners dying on me after all. Couldn't be the normal Ice trolls or wyrms that caused that, that's for sure.” Regan said warningly.
“I appreciate the advice, but ill be fine,” Urila responded.
“Weeell be fine,” I added, taking the opportunity to glare at Urila in the process.
“HAHAHAHA— An interesting group, that's for sure,” Regan said.
“Sons a bit shy to say goodbye. If you see him at the academy, take care of him.” Regan said softly. I could hear the sincerity in his voice. Well, he did honestly care for his son. That was transparent.
“I'll consider it,” I replied, my opinion of him beginning to shift slightly.
“In more ways tha–”
“You are pushing your boundaries old man,” I replied.
I take it back, give me back my sincerity, you old miserly quack.
“Ok, ok, my bad. Have a safe journey, guys,” Regan said. Waving us goodbye from afar, we departed from the village through the large stone gates. Some disappointed gazes glazed across my back as we left.
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The journey over the last number of hours was arduous and lengthy.
Nope, it was far easier than even I expected. On our udines, we made short work of the snow and ice, almost as if the thick snow that halted our steps before was nonexistent. There was no vegetation in sight, just a world of white as far as the eye could see. It was common knowledge that the further north you traveled, the less vegetation you would encounter. Most goods and produce were imported directly from the South.
My Raatrox was shifting through space at an alarming speed, ignorant of the surrounding air pressure or gravity that defied such rapid movement. Each step he took allowed us to ‘blink’ through the atmosphere in a void-like space like we were entering doors that led further ahead in our path. Raatrox was faster than both Urilas and Litas udines, so I had to lower our speed to follow them. I did this by reducing the ‘doors’ in our path.
Either way, we had reached our destination. Icemans Road.
As we stood at the beginning of the narrow path, my eyes were drawn to the breathtaking sight of the two steep hills of jagged ice that towered above us. Made from what appeared to be Green ice crystals, the rays of the pink moon danced upon their surface, creating a mesmerizing spectacle of colors that ranged from vibrant green to soft pinks. The texture of the ice was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It appeared to be a delicate mesh of intricate ice crystals, each reflecting the light uniquely.
So this is Iceman's Road.
Marked as one of the most beautiful places in the north. According to the story books, it had once been a massive comet, hurled down in anger by the goddess to kill a human king that had long since lost his mind in greed. One of the king's most loyal followers had apparently split the comet in two, desperately attempting to save the kingdom. But, alas, he had been unable to save his country, the comets remnants obliterating all in its path. A wonder, how something that looked so beautiful had once caused such complete destruction.
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It was said that till this day, he still roamed the earth, engulfed in grief and anger at the goddess. It was a popular fictitious tale my mother liked to read to me about the consequences of greed.
Looking at the Mesmerizing spectacle before me, I couldn't help but be slightly envious of the goddess that had thrown such a beautiful gem away.
“Behind, young mistress,” Lita softly asked me to stay behind her. I guess things would begin to get a bit dangerous from here. Should I reduce any unnecessary risks and just transform?
No, I don't fully trust that uncle of mine yet. It would be better if I held it as a trump card in case of an emergency.
Although I didn't like the idea of hiding behind somebody, at the end of the day, it was just for appearances. Moving behind Lita, Urila at the very front led us into the majestic world of snow and sapphire ice.
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Lita's voice cut through the frozen air, "Ice Trolls." As her Udine dissolved into particles of light, she nimbly landed on her feet, a flaming dagger in her hand. We had been making good progress on our Udines, moving through the ice path for nearly an hour, when our luck ran out. Three massive ice trolls emerged from the shadows, blocking our path.
The think mana density in the area made Iceman Road home to many monster nests. So it was bound to happen sooner rather than later. It was a miracle we had even gotten this far uninterrupted.
Analysis.
Name: Unnamed
Age: 10
Race: Ice Troll
Class: Ice lance Troll [B]
Before us was an almost ten-foot-tall blue humanoid creature dressed lazily in wrapped cloth around only his private parts, a heavy, green lance made out of the surrounding crystalized ice was grasped tightly in his hands.
“HUUMANNNNNN! KILLLLLLL!!” the troll yelled as he glanced in our direction, intent to kill in his eyes.
He was clearly somewhat intelligent if he could speak our language, so why attack us?
Before waiting for the troll to take his first step, Lita threw her flaming dagger in his direction.
It was like a pillar of light had escaped her grasp, moving at a speed that caused the air to ripple. The blade drove through Troll's heart, a sizzling fist-sized hole appearing in its place.
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Troll]
The other two trolls become enraged at the death of their comrade. The ground shook heavily as their massive forms ran in our direction, clutching similarly made weapons of ice.
“KILL, KILL, KILL THAT HUMANNN!” It looked like their anger was now directed, particularly at Lita.
Nimbly jumping towards her knife, Lita quickly mercilessly dispatched the other two trolls with lightning-fast movements. I doubt any of the trolls even knew when or where Lita had cut them. She had dashed so quickly through them after images appeared in her wake. However, even in their dying breaths, they never stopped looking at Lita differently from when they appeared— with hatred.
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Troll]
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Troll]
Does their very hatred surpass their love for their own life? Or perhaps like bees or wasps, they are distinctly wired to act in such a way?
Uncaringly, Lita went to retrieve her knife before returning to us.
“...These monsters, I wonder if—they hated you for killing their brethren,” I asked hesitantly.
“Your life is my highest priority, young mistress,” Lita replied.
“When you try to take a life, be prepared to lose yours,” Lita said.
I couldn't fault her judgment. Even if it were humans themselves that attacked us, Lita would have similarly, unhesitantly killed them.
Continuing our journey, the blood of the Trolls stained itself darkly against the exquisite crystal walls.
Each Troll that attacked us after, as if it smelt the blood of its predecessors, ran at us with disregard for its life, flames of anger burning in its eyes. Other monsters occasionally showed themselves, but I assumed trolls were the apex predators in this particular area. Their wild screams of animosity probably scared off the weaker monsters.
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Troll]
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Troll]
…
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Troll]
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Lizard]
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Lizard]
[Your Party Has Defeated An Ice Lizard]
Honestly, I would've preferred bandits or goblins— their vile intentions would have made things more pleasurable. Something about the ice trolls vengeful screams of agony irked me.
Almost as if I had experienced something similar, it left a rising bad taste in my mouth. At times, it got so bad I felt like puking.
It seems that Lita had somehow sensed my distaste.
“Halfway there,” She said quietly.
Urila, as usual, seemed oblivious to nearly everything around him. I wouldn't be surprised if the dead monsters were almost like backdrops in the surrounding scenery to him.
The steep crystal hills surrounding us had begun to get darker and darker, almost resembling jade from its original light sapphire. The moon no longer reflecting off its surface. It got dark. A ball of flame floated in midair next to Lita. She had used this same skill on our journey to the village, probably a simple fire conjugation skill with lowered output. The flame, although small, was bright enough to cover a couple of meters of vision.
Urila and litas eyes, however, had a soft glow to them. I assumed it was a night vision skill, meaning the flame was intended for me. How thoughtful.
It had been a while since we ran into any trolls or monsters. An eerie air of silence enveloped us in the darkness. I couldn't help but be thankful towards Lita for the one source of light left. She knew me better than I thought. In all fairness, I did still slept with my nightlight every day, so it probably wasn't that hard to figure out.
“They stopped attacking you because I made the cavern's center my domain when I took residence here. Even complete hatred is useless before pure instinct,” an unknown voice echoed around us in our surroundings. A chill went up my spine. I couldn't tell from which direction it was coming from. The voice seemed to echo from all around us in every location.
Raising his hand, Urila signaled for us to stop.
“We just want safe passage through the road,” Urila said. He appeared to be looking in the direction in front of us. He was clearly able to pinpoint the voice's location somehow.
“...Normally, I don't bother with travelers. But one of you intrigues me.” The voice seemed to coalesce in a singular direction–directly before us.
Footsteps tapping on ice echoed louder and louder as the figure approached us.
“Nothing is intriguing about me,” Urila spoke. His tone was harsh. I couldn't tell who he was directing that harshness too.
“I'm not talking to you, child” Like a phantom, a man seemed to appear into existence before me, my chin firmly grasped in his palm as he floated in mid-air, meeting my eye level on Aatrox. He wore a strange mask shaped like a bird, with a long nose curved like a beak. A white coat surrounded his figure like a curtain, draping his body entirely so I couldn't even distinguish his height. His voice seemed to be under some spell, its shaky tone not giving away the user's gender.
“Let go,” Lita said coldly. Then, jumping off her Udine and lunging towards the masked figure, her flaming dagger materialized in her grasp.
“Know your place, Elf. Kneel.” As if she had lost control of her body, Lita slumped harshly to her knees, the impact creating cracks in the ice below. Struggling, she attempted to regain her footing, but to no avail. Her knees were almost glued to the floor. Unmoving.
“Unhand me.” Lita's voice was shaky as she spoke.
Urila simply glared harshly at the man, choosing not to act. Either because he knew he couldn't win or he saw no point in fighting him. Lita's distress was not bothering him in the slightest.
“You carry the signs of an unknown god. Outside her control,” he said. His voice was undulating. I couldn't tell what his intentions were in the slightest. His mention of a god, however, sprung my brain on high alert. Looking at Lita's current form. I knew I couldn't beat him.
Lita had begun to shiver, almost as if she was in intense anguish. I couldn't tell if she was in pain or if it was something else, but the expression that she showed as she knelt on the ice– was not the strong, unhesitant Lita that I knew. Neither was it the loving transparent Lita I knew either… It was the expression of a child that was waiting for its punishment to end. What had happened to her for her to show such an expression so easily to an enemy that humiliated her?!! I could feel my anger rising.
“If you mean my blessing, then yes, I do— let her go,” I asked. Not taking no for an answer. If he wanted to kill us, he probably would have done so already. I never wanted to see her like that. I never want to see her like that again.
“Become my apprentice.” The masked man said.
Become an apprentice to someone who made my companion kneel, hid his appearance and voice from me, and spoke to me like some specimen to examine? No way.
“Impossible,” I replied, intent to kill unmasked in my tone.
“Analyse me, child,” He asked as if his strength was the issue. I had already added him to the list of people I was going to kill. Well, if he was openly allowing me to peek into his status. I would gladly indulge. A name, after all, would be great.
Analysis.
Name: Rain Sadine
Age: 982
Race: Human
Class: Starshine Fallen Hero