“Huff…huff…!”

I sat on the ground and tried to catch my breath, Veldor and Arga weren’t much better.

It crumbled away literally under our feet as we ran and we only just made it off by the skin of our heels. What was left of the bridge fell into the endless void between the two ledges.

“That was crazy close…can we avoid doing that again.” Arga laid back on solid ice.

“You two shouldn’t get too comfy,” Veldor said nervously.

A large structure stood in front of us, its right side completely encased in ice. We were so focused on not dying from the fall that we must have missed it.

I focused on the side not covered in ice and snow, it looked like a massive castle. The shadow alone was large enough to warrant some fear. It reminded me of the Tower, only with the castle, we could actually see the top.

“I’m guessing the boss will be in there.” I aimed my finger at the castle’s top.

“It’s kind of like the Tower, isn’t it? Climb the floors and beat the monsters inside.”

“Except there’s no telling what monsters we’ll find in there. It’s different for every dungeon.” Veldor quickly replied.

“As long as it’s warmer in there, I’ll be good…Brrr~”

Arga gripped her sides and walked in, she practically led the charge as she rushed for the front entrance.

For once, the doors were quite average-sized. There was a bit of resistance trying to pry it open thanks to all the frost around the doorframe. Veldor charged at it with his shoulder and the door crashed open.

“Nothin’ to it.”

“Nicely done, now we clear this place out and head to the top,” I said as I placed my hand over his shoulder.

The first floor was quite lavish, it matched the theme of the outside and was designed like a castle ballroom. Blue tiled floors stretched out far in front of us, with clear white walls. In the corner was a spiral staircase that disappeared above us into the top floors and snowy white pillars that held it all up.

Veldor’s nose twitched.

“You guys smell something…funny? Sniff–sniff! It’s stinging my nose…I can’t find where it’s coming from though.” He covered his face and pulled away.

The further we walked into the room, the stronger it got. The pungent odour of rotted flesh assaulted my nose and made my eyes watery.

“Gaaaah…it’s so bad! I think I’d rather be cold outside than here with whatever’s making that smell.” Arga covered her nose as well.

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This castle’s completely engrossed in ice, there’s no way it's something from outside. If it was dead, the body would be frozen already…could it be something alive?

“Arga, how many more of those fire attacks can you do?”

She counted the potions tied on her belt and mouthed the numbers as she counted. Suddenly she looked at me with a disgruntled look, unsatisfied with the results.

“I can manage another two at most…I used three bottles on that big ball of scales outside.”

The potion she was referring to was ‘Inferno Charge’ and it’s quite a useful enhancement. One bottle gives the person using it enough magical energy to engulf their weapon in flames for one big hit. They made for excellent bursts of power, the only drawback was their cost.

Each bottle sold for a little under one thousand Rhan, so stockpiling them didn’t make much sense. Especially since the effects disappeared after one use.

“Keep one on standby, I’ve got a feeling we’ll need it.”

“Yaaaaargh!”

A bassy roar emerged from behind one of the pillars and brought all our eyes high up into the room. A massive beast towered over us.

It had lanky limbs, each covered in clumps of ice. Its skin was blue and covered in a thick layer of fur, nearly as white as its mangy fangs. It looked like a taller and much skinnier Orc and yet somehow it was even more intimidating.

Veldor stepped in front and raised his shield. All of us jumped into high alert mode as the beast and the foul stench that followed it approached us.

{Ice Troll Lv30}

The troll raised an arm and it felt as though it had a javelin hovering over us.

Arga and I rushed in for its sides, I bolted past her and used my chakrams to carve into its legs. There was too much resistance, it was like I had carved against stone. The scratch marks were shallow, I left a mark but it wasn’t anything to brag about.

“It’s too thick…I can’t get through with my blades alone!”

Arga was next, she had her sword raised at her side and swung it wildly but the troll reacted faster. Its leg shot forward and kicked Arga off the ground and into the wall of the room.

“Arga–!” The back end of the troll's hand spiked in front of me.

I braced for the impact but just like Arga, I stood no chance and was forced off of my feet. A sizable chunk of my health was chipped away as I rolled across the ground like a stone kicked off the road.

It’s strong…and fast?!

With Arga at the other end of the room, Veldor was left on his own. His shield rose to block off the troll's attack but even with the defence it offered, his arms buckled under the troll's weight. He was forced to his knees and the troll used the shield as leverage to hold him there.

It’s not just attacking randomly, it’s picking us off one by one! I can’t let this go on, I have to attack!

{Dragons Roar activated}

A beam of fire struck the troll and pushed it off of Veldor. He fell to the floor as the weight was lifted and his legs were free of that intense stress.

In a matter of seconds, that beast managed to take down all three of us. A wave of anxiety rushed over me but I didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to it.

The troll raised its ugly head from the wreckage of one of the pillars. It emerged from under the crystally shards of ice and in its hand was a club of ice. The corners of its mouth rose into a triumphant grin as the troll taunted me over with its new weapon.

“Why you little…I’ll wipe that smirk off your face soon enough.” My eyes softened and soon, I was smiling too. “I think someone else wants their payback first.”

The troll tilted its head to the side and suddenly a burst of fire exploded off the monster's back and toppled it over.

The tiles beneath the beast were smashed to uncountable shards of ice and smoke left the surface of its hairy back.

Arga emerged from the fiery cover of smoke with her sword resting on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong ugly, ya think I was just gonna lay there and take it?! Try it again and see what happens!”