The Ice Walker’s sword cut through the air like it was trying to clear away the mist. The edge of its blade hit Veldors shield and forced him into a corner.

The blade went around for another hit and connected. Strike after strike, they had found him and didn’t plan to let him go anytime soon. He tried his best to endure it but there was no gap for him to escape, not even a moment of rest.

The Ice walkers around him followed the collective sound of metal pounding against metal and gravitated towards it. I counted roughly ten surrounding him, with more on the way.

I closed in on the ones at the back and manoeuvred around them. My body felt light thanks to the Rush skill but I still had to deal with the enemies around Veldor.

I raised a hand,

“Serpents strike!”

Reacting to my command, white mana flowed out in the shape of a large snake and waved its tail over them. Three Ice Walkers flew through the air. That managed to relieve some of the stress off of him.

The snake let out a deadly hiss at the remaining skeletons before it faded to nothingness. By that time I had closed in already and drove my chakram in one of their spines. A large chunk of ice surrounded its ribs and blocked my attack. No matter how much force I put behind it, I only managed to chip away the ice in pieces.

I dodged a blade that swung my way and pulled back. Fighting from behind or even a distance made things easy but up close, the veil did little to nothing to hide my presence.

I was caught in a circle of them, more and more Ice Walkers approached from the other end of the room and wandered over to the sound of my struggles.

I can’t pierce the ice with my blades, I need something blunt. Where the hell is…Veldor!

I jumped back and flipped over one of the enemies, by the time I reached the ground I had cast out both blades. Two Ice Walkers were pushed over and fell to the ground.

“Veldor, to your left–strike the ones at your left!”

I had to balance talking with fighting. My breaths became heavier the more I ran around. I wasn’t sure if anything I said had reached him but I just prayed he got the message.

“I’m a little…busy here…!” Veldor struggled to get the words out.

His back was to the wall and the gap I created for him hadn’t helped much.

My body was getting tired and more and more of my mana had dropped each time I looked at it.

Sweat rolled down the side of my head. Things didn’t look good but I needed his help, it came down to a gamble.

“Do you trust me?”

“You’re asking that now…?!”

“Answer it! Do you trust me?!”

Veldor went silent. Only the sound of swords aggressively beating over Veldors shield could be heard. It grew louder and louder like a blacksmith pounding away at his blades. Each one etched him closer and closer to the floor.

“Yes…I trust you!” Veldor shouted back.

I guess he couldn’t take anymore, he suddenly shouted his reply with a hearty cry.

A grin formed and I backed away from the enemies. I fell back into the shroud of the mist and left their lines of sight. I became invisible to them and everything in the room.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

***

Veldor gripped the straps of his shield nervously. The strength in his arms had nearly all been beaten out, they felt numb.

The amount of strikes against his shield increased by the minute. The longer it dragged out, the more enemies showed up.

It created a vicious cycle that left him uneasy.

It had been some time since Rei’s voice went silent. His request came out of nowhere but for a second, Veldor thought there was something to it.

After that, their party leader disappeared and Veldor was on his own again. His teeth locked shut as the strength in his knees was chipped away and his balance faded.

“Strike the enemies at your left.”

The distinct sound of Rei’s voice pierced the mist, it wasn’t clear where it came from but Veldor was glad to hear it again. He followed the commands given to him and abandoned one hand off of his shield.

‘I have to be crazy to listen to him but what other choice do I have? This bastard pulls off miracles one after another. If he can save our asses even just this once…I’ll do whatever the hell he says!’

He grabbed the mace strapped to his waist and let it fly blindly to his left. There was contact, he was sure of it. The crunch that followed the hit was undeniably an Ice Walker's, possibly even two.

Thud!

“Run towards the noise! Go!”

Veldor ran straight towards the sound of enemies falling and stepped over an Ice Walker's arm. He nearly tripped but he found a second wind and kept his balance.

“Stop and spin around! Block!”

Veldor spun back using his heel and raised his shield. Something heavy bounced off his shield and the weapon of the attacker hit the floor.

Suddenly a burst of wind brushed against his face. It wasn’t natural wind, there were enough traces of mana behind it for Veldor to realise it was fired.

Veldor nearly dropped from the sudden rush of force but that second wind did wonders for him, he stood tall like it hadn’t phased him. If one thing could be said, it was that he played his part as a tanker to the fullest.

“A sword, no that must’ve been a longsword for sure…It came out of nowhere though, what if I don’t block the next one? I can’t see them after all…I can’t see anything.”

Veldors hands shook as he finically scanned the misty terrain around him. He saw nothing but white air and felt nothing but the cold touch of ice on his cheeks and neck. He was completely blind and without the comfort of his corner, he was out in the open, alone.

“I’ll be your eyes, Veldor. Trust in me and fight!”

Rei’s words continued to pour out from behind the mist and comforted his hands enough to stop shaking. He took a deep breath and readied his weapons.

“To your right. Now Throw a wide swing at your left! Back again, they’re behind you! Dodge to your left!”

One by one the commands were piled over each other and Veldor followed without question. His shield and mace worked in perfect harmony as he blocked and attacked one after the other.

Rei assisted from all around him, he cleared away the enemies before they could get to him and let Veldor deal with the ones that slipped through.

Rei directed him towards the centre of the room and closed the gap between them and Arga. Her fiery ponytail bounced around loosely as she threw out her sword. It blindly swung through the icy air in wide swings, occasionally knocking something away.

Rei hadn’t left her completely alone, while getting Veldor and him closer to her, he also provided ranged support. Agos and Bellos cut through the mist and slowed down any attackers before they had a chance to land a hit on her.

Arga only managed to notice them once they were right in her face, so by that time it was up to her. The most Rei could manage was to knock off their balance until then.

Fighting two separate battles at once, with nearly half a room between them stretched him pretty thin. He was forced to be moving constantly, what’s worse was that his mana bar had depleted fully three times over.

Thanks to levelling up and scarfing down mana potions, he was able to keep at it. His pace never dwindled.

“Arga, round swing. Veldor, raise your shield and mow them down!”

With both teammates together, things worked better than ever. The monsters had no idea where they were but with Rei as their eyes, the three of them were untouchable.

They cleared through the army of undead like it was child's play.

***

The last troll dropped to the ground and shook the entire castle. I knew it was heavy but hearing such a thunderous sound just from its collapsing body made me wonder how we managed to beat five of them.

The mist lifted and with it, my mana had been completely drained.

{Level Up}

{Level Up}

“Guaaaaaahhhhh!” I dropped onto my back and scarfed down every breath I could manage. For the first time in hours, I wasn’t moving.

{You have successfully cleared the first floor of the Ice Castle!}