The ice spell froze the mountainside in a matter of moments. The rocks transformed into glassy ice spheres and the weeds were turned into thin frozen needles. Like the hands of a wraith, the frozen fingers crept down the valley faster than we could get away. As the Bernese Mountain Changeling entered the cave, I stopped on my tracks and turned around. Then, I summoned my mana and raised a barrier over the cave’s entrance.
I waited for the assault but instead, the frozen fingers lightly touched the barrier. For an instant I thought my spell was going to fade away. Instead, a hundred icy claws bonded together forming a wall of ice that sealed the entrance of the cave.
Completely out of breath, I heaved a monstrous sigh of relief. My lungs burned and the cold air did not help to make catching my breath a pleasing experience. I heard Elincia panting just behind me while the Changeling whimpered like a beaten dog. None of us dared to utter a word, as if the tiniest sound could disturb the spell.
We remained silent for a minute but nothing happened.
The cave was dimly lit by the scarce sunlight that managed to penetrate the ice wall. Gathering all my bravery, I walked closer to the entrance and examined the wall. I could tell it wasn’t normal ice, there was too much mana embedded inside.
I punched the ice. It felt like hitting a concrete wall.
My mind raced. I could try to go through it with my mana blade, but maybe the ice spell was still active on the other side. We were trapped.
“I can hear your brain buzzing from here.” Elincia pointed out. Despite the dire situation, her voice came out calm and collected.
“Buzzing!” The Bernese Mountain Changeling parroted.
The situation was so bizarre I could help but laugh.
“I’m sorry. I was trying to solve things on my own.” I said as I turned around and faced Elincia. I had to remind myself I wasn’t alone in this.
The woman gave me a big grin. “You make me so proud, Rob. Scholars don’t usually mature until they have gray hair and lower back problems.”
I couldn’t help but love Elincia’s unadulterated joking but, at the same time, I was glad she kept it to the minimum at the orphanage. The ankle biters were naturally troublesome even without external influences. I could only imagine the level of mischief Nokti and Virdian could reach if they knew Elincia’s wild side.
Thinking about the kids made me focus on the present. We needed a plan.
“Well, mature lady, we are trapped in a cave with little food. What do we do now?” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
The fact we were ignoring a massive ice spell that required far more magic than I could muster was comical. In my books, gallows humor was the best humor. We were unarmed and that was an improvement compared to our battle against the Stone Giant.
Whoever cast the spell would have to wait for us to solve our more urgent issues.
“So, how do we go back?” I asked.
“We’ll just have to hole up here until whatever this is passes, spending countless nights huddling together for warmth. If things get too dire we’ll have to eat the Changeling.” Elincia said grimly.
The Bernese Mountain Changeling backed up into a corner in the cave, loudly whimpering at Elincia.
“Just kidding, this cave has two entrances.The one in front of you, and the other goes to Mr. Lowell’s secret harvesting spot. We are right where we need to be.” Elincia said, stifling a laugh. “Unless the area spell can go through mountains, the other side will be safe.”
“Oh.”
Now I understood why Elincia was so calm.
“You must be feeling rather silly right now.” She gave me a friendly bump on the shoulder. For some reason, she seemed unfazed by the ice spell despite its magnitude.
“Shouldn’t we be worried?” I asked while we walked into the cave.
“If it’s a monster, the Sentinels will push it back into the deep Farlands.” Elincia replied. “If it’s something bigger… Well, we better hurry and return to Farcrest before it goes out of control.”
The fact Elincia considered the freezing area spell ‘under control’ was even more worrisome than the spell itself.
“Let’s focus on finding the Great Potato then.” I jokingly said.
Elincia gave me a wide smile and guided me into the cavern.
As we exchanged playful banter, I took a moment to scan our surroundings. The air inside felt heavy with mana. It wasn’t the same essence as the mana trapped in the ice wall. It was hard to explain, but the mana inside the cave felt natural, unadulterated, as if no mage had touched it ever.
I walked past Elincia and lit my hand with a blue mana flame. The walls of the cave gleamed with streaks of shiny green and blue like the insides of an opal.
“Mana Moss, the green one is very sweet.” Elincia explained.
“You just assumed I didn’t know?” I asked as I walked towards the stone wall to have a better look. The moss gleamed with the characteristic shine of a traffic signal at night. I couldn’t help but to grab a pinch and taste it. It was sweet like cotton candy.
“For a Scholar, you don’t know a lot of normal things. I wonder why that is.” Elincia teased me as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Can’t hear you, licking moss here.” I mockingly replied as I grabbed some blue moss.
Blue Moss. [Identify] Brewing ingredient. Cooking ingredient. Edible. Magic concentration: Low.
It was bitter and smelled like coffee. It had been months since I had a cup of coffee and the smell of it made me realize how much of an addict I was.
The ice spell be damned, this required a thorough investigation.
I wished the System gave me actual useful information for once instead of the usual snarky prompts.
While I was busy with the moss, Elincia sat on the floor at the opposite side of the tunnel and pulled out the blanket. The cave was cold to the point I could see my breath but I didn’t bother to figure out if the cave was naturally cold or if the change of temperature had to do with the ice spell. The Berne Mountain Changeling sat near Elincia’s feet and laid its head on its paws. I wished I could grow fur like it had.
I wished I was at the orphanage with a glass of berry wine in my hand.
I grabbed a chunk of moss and returned by Elincia’s side. It was hard to tell what hour of the day was, but I was hungry.
Elincia lifted the blanket and gestured for me to enter. The adrenaline had made me forget how bruised my body really was, but the hard wall helped me to remember.
“Found something interesting?” Elincia asked as she got close to me. The blanket was just barely big enough for two people to fit under it so we had to squeeze together.
“Coffee flavored moss. I think it will work well as an infusion.” I replied, proudly showing Elincia Blue Moss sample.
She gave me one of her usual worried glances.
“Is this a Scholar thing? Because I knew a man who loved his Blue Moss Tea. He was friends with Mister Lowell and he loved Blue Moss more than anything in this world. He even built a small moss farm during the time he lived with us at the orphanage.” Elincia said, leaning against my side and closing her eyes.
My eyes fell on her.
A long scratch on her forehead marked the place where the Stone Golem had hit her. The wound was almost healed but it was going to leave a scar. My stomach knotted up. A centimeter to the left and a different story would’ve been told. I closed my eyes but the picture of Elincia with her skull wide open vividly appeared behind my eyelids.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I felt like a fragile doll standing too close to the edge of the display table.
Elincia put her hand on my shoulder and I noticed I was tense like a spring ready to jump.
“If you are scared, you can hug me.” She grinned.
The idea of actually hugging Elincia crossed my mind but I quickly dismissed it. I didn’t want things to get weird between us when we should be focusing on surviving.
“I’m not scared, I’m a… slime?” I replied.
Suddenly, a slime appeared from the curve of the cave and slowly slid across the floor until it settled over a patch of Blue Moss.
“Scholars are slimy creatures, I admit it, but you are c—.” Elincia suddenly stopped talking and jumped on her feet. “A slime!”
Slime Scion Lv.7. Magical Abomination. Man Eater. [Identify] A spawnling from a Greater Slime designed to scout and eliminate threats to the main body. It is powered by a secondary core hidden within its body. Weakness: Fire magic, Ice magic.
The slime quivered for an instant. Then, it suddenly shot itself directly at my face. I rolled across the floor just as the creature splashed against the wall, sprinkling blue drops over my jacket. The smell of burnt leather reached my nostrils and I noticed small scorch marks all over my jacket’s forearm.
I scrambled to my feet, my heart pounded inside my chest with a mixture of fear and repulsion. The Slime Scion hissed and quivered with malicious intent as the splattered chunks merged together.
“Don’t touch it.” I said, and the Bernese Mountain Changeling scrambled between my legs. Slimes were supposed to be the weakest of monsters, not acid bags capable of flinging themselves like baseballs.
My heart skipped a beat when the Slime Scion surged forward again, this time aiming at Elincia.
The elven woman gracefully dodged the Slime that ended up splattered against the opposite wall. Immediately afterwards, Elincia drew her hunting bow. Mana quickly flowed through her hands and the point of the arrow shone in the darkness of the cave.
[Awareness]: Elincia is casting [True Shot].
A moment later her arrow was lodged in its core and Slime was turned into a steamy, gooey mess. Elincia knelt by the monster carcass and retrieved the arrow. I noticed small fragments of shattered crystal among the slimy remains.
“The body is virtually immune to damage but the core is fragile. Slimes are easy to kill if you know where to aim.” Elincia explained as she cleaned the arrow against her thigh and put it inside her quiver. There was no acid reaction.
The attack had been so sudden that it took me a moment to recover my composure.
“There has to be a Greater Slime nearby. Let’s hope it hasn’t reached our harvesting spot.” Elincia said with a worried voice.
Two more slimes appeared from the depths of the cave. I quickly grabbed my sword and stood between the monster and Elincia. My reaction had been automatic.
“You know I’m better at dodging than you, right?” She nonchalantly said.
“Trust me, I learned a trick during the fight against the Stone Giant.” I replied.
I wasn’t risking Elincia’s well being for underestimating a stupid slime.
The nearest Slime Scion detected us and, just as expected, it quivered and shot forward.
[Swordsmanship] reacted at the speed of light and sent a signal to my muscles just as the Slime moved. I stepped forward and cut the creature in half, while the acidic drops clashed against my mana shield. Compared to the Stone Giant’s attacks, the barrier barely needed mana to regenerate. With a second quick step and a diagonal slash, I cut the slime in half.
Elincia gasped.
“[Mana Shield], really?!”
Breaking the exposed cores was a piece of cake.
“I’m a man of many talents.” I replied with a winning smile.
“Talents!” The Bernese Mountain Changeling parroted as it revved around my legs.
“No, Rob, that’s no ‘talent’. Scholars are supposed to use their skills to light up dark libraries, write notes, and observe strange magic phenomena, not to summon mana blades or create impervious mana shields.” Elincia said as she helped me with the cores.
Our discussion was cut short by a third group of slimes. If I had to guess, they knew exactly our position inside the cave. I ran forward with my mana blade flaming in my hand before the Slime Scions could even try to attack us. Their attack patterns were easy to guess so we cleared the next wave with ease despite the increasing numbers.
I wiped my forehead before speaking again. “We better get out of here before they swarm us.”
Elincia nodded and she guided me deep into the mountain. The cavern meandered and the different passages forked but Elincia followed our path with confidence. I noticed not all the tunnels were natural, some of them were cleanly cut into the rock but there were no signs of the tools used for the work.
The tunnel screamed magic but I couldn’t imagine the reason someone wanted to dig through a mountain in the middle of the Farlands. A bandit’s hideout maybe?
There were no slimes in sight, just the glowing moss growing over the walls and the occasional root hanging from the ceiling. The more Slimes we found, the less moss there was. A rogue root whipped my face. We must’ve been close to the surface unless there were plants with really deep roots.
“This is definitely manmade. Was it Mister Lowell?” I asked after a moment of silence.
The wall was smooth and the floor perfectly flat.
“Not talking to you until you tell me about your shield skill.” Elincia replied with annoyance.
[Awareness]: She’s pissed.
‘Thanks, Captain Obvious. I’m perfectly capable of reading the situation.’ I silently replied.
I had the strange premonition of a second System prompt popping up, but in the end nothing happened. It was good to know the System was learning some manners.
I caught up to Elincia, who had gained quite the distance ahead of me, and softly grabbed her hand before we could reach the next corner. She was startled for a moment but didn’t pull her hand away.
“I have noticed you hate liars.” I said but the words sounded a lot dumber than I had anticipated. Everyone hated liars.
“How perceptive of you.” She replied, raising her thin eyebrow.
I let her hand go. Elincia leaned against the perfectly cut stone wall and pulled out her waterskin. If I had to guess, it was late afternoon. I could tell Elincia was definitely pissed.
I grabbed my own waterskin and leaned against the wall by her side.
“I experimented a lot with [Mana Manipulation] at the orphanage. Mostly failed. I couldn’t replicate anything like my mana blade until the Stone Giant attacked us.” I said, remembering how Elincia had been struck down by the Giant’s barrage attack. “Maybe it’s been the meditation that helped me to perfect the control of my mana. Maybe it was the adrenaline of the fight. Maybe it was the fact you were in danger. In any case, I was able to do things I believed impossible even if I don’t fully understand it.”
Elincia nodded and had another sip from her waterskin.
The first time I used my mana blade, I was also in mortal danger. I scratched my chin, deep in thought. The idea of the System cheating its own rules to help me survive popped in my mind. No. It couldn’t be.
Elincia’s voice interrupted my train of thought.
“I’m sorry, Rob. I just remembered how my friends abandoned me. It all started with small lies, and suddenly I was all alone with more than twenty orphans under my care.” Elincia said with a small, saddened voice. “The thing is, I kinda like you and…”
Suddenly a soft sizzling noise filled the cave and the smell of burnt leather assaulted my nostrils. I looked down to discover a tiny slime nibbling on my boot.
Slime Scion Lv.1. Magical Abomination. Boot Eater. [Identify] Weakness: Fire magic, Ice magic.
I used to be the best striker of my highschool soccer team and this time it wasn’t any different. I kicked the slime with the combined frustration of all the mishaps since the start of our trip into the Farlands. It felt like kicking an actual ball. The creature crossed the tunnel with the speed of an intercontinental cruise missile just to splatter against the opposite wall.
Slime Scion slain.
When I thought it was over, a deep rumble came from the corner.
Multicore Slime Scion Lv.11. Magical Abomination. Man Eater. [Identify] A spawnling from a Greater Slime designed to scout and eliminate threats to the main body. It is powered by multiple secondary cores hidden within its body. Weakness: Fire magic, Ice magic.
My blood boiled inside my veins and I had to take two deep breaths and count to ten to avoid entering full goblin mode. I barely made it.
Suddenly, a flash of light filled the cave and a [Piercing Arrow] went through the Slime’s body, cracking one of the crystalline cores. The creature quivered, ready to retaliate but a second arrow pierced cleanly cut through a second core before it could jump.
[Awareness]: Two cores down, six to go.
The main body divided itself into two equally menacing Slimes.
“I’ll take the left one.” Elincia said with an increasingly annoyed voice as she nocked the next arrow.
I nodded and charged at the Slime at the right. My mana blade shone over the cave moss. I swung, aiming at the nearest core but the Slime’s insides hardened, diverting the blade. For an instant I was stuck. Then, the Slime grew an appendage and smashed me against the wall.
The mana shield absorbed the hit and I was greeted by the freezing sensation of mana being drained from my mana pool.
“You messed with the wrong Scholar.” I grunted as I summoned a flying sword over my head. I couldn’t help but feel that the Slime had interrupted a very important moment.
The flying sword danced and swirled with anger, cutting the Slime’s body and exposing the cores. Getting rid of the pest was a pleasant walk in the park.
“The exit is near. Let’s hurry before the Slimes locate us again.” Elincia said.
We turned a corner and a bright light blinded me. Elincia yanked me by my hand and dragged me through the exit of the tunnel. I blinked repeatedly until my eyes became accustomed to the brightness of the outside.
My jaw fell.
An inner valley covered by a lush green forest and barely touched by autumn, appeared in front of us. A great cascade roared in the western side, dyed red by the afternoon sun, and a foamy, meandering river crossed the valley in its entire length. The air was sweet and the scent of blooming flowers and pollen assaulted my nose, prompting me to sneeze.
I gazed at the landscape but no words came to my mouth. I felt as if we had stumbled into a hidden world. A secret world among a secret world. The scenery reminded me of the times I had gone hunting with my father, hoping to find something like this, an uncharted piece of land all for us to explore.
Elincia smiled with satisfaction and offered me her hand.
“Shall we?”