The glacier cracked further, and a massive wooden arm, as thick around as a tree, shot from the ice.

There was another boom, and Steven turned.

Their own Snowzilla was already free. Its massive form hopped across the valley, its blue scarf flapping and the ground quaking from the impacts.

A wave of snowmen flowed around it, charging toward the enemy.

The Snowzilla hit one of the forts, and the structure crumbled before its bulk.

“Say,” Margie hummed. “If our Snowzilla is wrecking that fort instead of going around, what’s the one right in front of us going to do?”

They all turned as another stick arm broke free.

They all seemed to take a deep breath in unison.

“Run!” Micheal screamed.

They bolted, taking a brief moment to organize somewhat as they ran.

Tyler went first, with Buford right behind him, then they just moved, not caring about the order.

Boom.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

They reached a corner of the wall, which had a small guard outpost.

A snowman stepped out and caught Tyler’s spear through its gut.

The spear kept going, flying into the guard post. Tyler vanished into the light trail.

There was a crash, a few grunts, and by the time they made it in, half a dozen snowmen were on the floor.

The corner of the room had a staircase. They thundered down it, and not for the first time, Steven thanked his lucky stars that the floor had traction.

The staircase led to a long hallway lined with snowmen.

He acted on reflex.

As Tyler drew his spear back, Steven called. Three shields snapped into place half a second apart and slammed into snowmen, bringing them into the middle of the hall.

Tyler threw, and his spear crashed through the snowmen like a kebab.

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They bullied over the snowmen that were left as they ran.

More booms sounded, and they ran faster.

Steven liked to hike before the System. He’d been pretty fit if he said so himself. No athlete, certainly, but far from out of shape. Since the System, he had run and trained daily, not including fighting for his life.

And physically, he was more than before. Each level had strengthened him more and more, and then the First Threshold had pushed him even further. Now that he was on the cusp of the Second, his body was strong.

And then Micheal’s buff was added on top of that?

Steven could move. All of them could, which was why it really sucked that they still weren’t quite fast enough.

Just as they reached the courtyard, the wall behind them collapsed, sending massive chunks flying.

Steven spun, his toes digging into the snow as he slid.

He raised both hands and reached deep inside himself. His Tower-Shield snapped into place, and he would swear it was faster than normal.

The ice hit, and the crunch was so deep he felt it reverberate through his chest.

He turned and joined the others, who had begun to slow as they realized he’d stopped. “Don’t slow down!” He hollered. “Move!”

They bolted, but Del turned as she ran to point at him.

Power rolled through him as white light pressed into his shoulders. He raced out of the courtyard, snow and ice spraying around him, coating his neck in freezing mist.

Once out, they took a sharp left and kept sprinting. They kept going for a minute before slowly jogging to a stop.

The Snowzilla had completely devastated the fort, leaving a pile of crushed rubble in its wake.

Steven gawked at the thing. Easily thirty feet tall, it crossed the snowy ground with massive leaps that carried it dozens of feet with each jump.

The thing was so massive that just being near it when it landed would make you lose your balance.

Snowmen poured around the creature, those that were too slow getting crushed beneath its bulk.

And on its shoulder sat a pedestal, held in place by long icy cables. The Snow Lord glared down at them, her gaze pressing into Steven like an iron prod left out in the cold.

She pointed, and the Snowzilla started to turn toward them.

“Well…that’s a bad sign,” Markus said.

Before the Snowzilla could finish its turn, their own giant Frosty bellowed, the sound so loud Steven had to clap his hands over his ears.

The Snow Lord’s beast turned at the challenge and charged.

The two giants met, and the valley shook. Tree trunk arms crashed into one another and, just shifting their weight, crushed their smaller brethren beneath them.

“What now?” James asked. He didn’t sound curious, though. He sounded…resigned.

Steven glanced at the man. Was he good?

Tyler began to laugh, making Steven jump.

Over the crashes of the giants and the crunches coming from the very ground, the man’s laugh echoed out, full and free and utterly unafraid.

“Let’s go help our boy out,” Tyler shouted. “LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!”

He raised his spear and charged.