On the top of the Oberon Mountains, battered by the frigid elemental weather, there was an ancient fortress. The black bricks of Dark Fortress were crumbling and barely holding it together, if not for a thick coating of ice the whole structure would surely collapse. Despite its dilapidated nature, the fortress was not abandoned. Maybe once it was inhabited by the Undead and held a Legendary item but looking at it now it would be hard to know that fact.

A small bunch of spiders were repairing the fortress with Kobold Bricks. The bodies of these spiders were clad in puffy squirrel fur suits to keep them warm. The fuzzy look gave the otherwise spooky spiders that cute look, it just made you want to nuzzle them; or at least, so the King thought. The frigid air here was no friend to spiders and even with the furry suits, the spiders needed a source of heat to keep their bodies going. Just like the visiting King they had a Heating Plate implemented in their gear. Currently, the heating magic was running on Fire Juice, it was a rather dangerous design, however, the Drow were already working on a different power source ­– Mana Crystals.

The King appraised the undergoing renovation, it was progressing smoothly. The person managing the work was a Drow Architect. The King went to the man’s office to express his thanks for the good progress and introduce a few improvements here and there. He found the man at the top of the highest tower, keenly observing reconstruction.

Their eyes met and the drow gave a bow. “As you can see everything is going according to the plan. How can I be of assistance?” He said between the tremors. The man was clearly cold.

Indeed, even the drow had found the frigid weather troubling. This assignment was by no means easy. The spiders too, even with all the protective gear, struggled to fight off the elements but it wasn’t in their nature to ever complain. The only ones who were naturally adapted were the Blue Kobolds, but they refused to go near the Dark Fortress claiming it had ‘bad juju’. He was sure it was all just a superstition, but he didn’t want to force the kobolds, since they were already helping with all the bricks.

Anyway, “We should set a fire for you here. It would make things more comfortable, no?” He suggested.

“Not a good idea.”

The King gave a questioning look.

“The wood would freeze in transport, and also…” The drow paused. “I’ve tried something like that, over there.” He pointed at the half-collapsed tower. “I’m not sure what it was. Was it because of the fire or the heat, but I’ve been attacked by a massive flying monster. I was lucky to survive.” The Drow Architect trembled.

“Oh.” The King had a hunch about what monster it was. “And the monster?”

“After destroying the tower, it escaped.” He trembled again. “After that we’ve been very careful not to set any fires outside or in nearby buildings. The Catacombs seem to be fine, however, but…” But he had to stay outside to supervise the reconstruction. Or maybe there was another reason. “Bad juju.” The drow parroted the kobolds.

No, no, the catacombs were cleared and cleaned completely, there was nothing in them. He himself had made sure of that.

“I see.” The King nodded dismissing the superstition. “That kind of brings us to the reason why I am here. I want to hunt those flying monsters, IceShard Birds, for their resources.”

The drow gave an obviously terrified look.

“I’m an architect I have no Fighting job or perks. I doubt I will be much of use.”

“You misunderstand. You do have Building perks do you?”

The drow nodded.

“Taking IceShard Bird isn’t an easy task, we’ll need something akin to siege engines. Lucky for you I have the designs already.” He produced the blueprints. They were the improved version of balista turrets the spiders used during the Darkness War.

The drow glanced at the blueprints. “Yes, I can make them.”

“I knew you can do it. And also, it seem we already know how to lure them out, no?”

“Setting fires…” The drow frowned deeply and then shivered.

“Huh, and here I thought you would be happy about some extra warmth.”

“But King…” He hesitated. “I’ve almost died.”

“True. It might have came out insensitive. Don’t worry, you won’t need to operate the turrets, the spider will help me, so you can stay warm in the Catacombs.”

“No! I mean, no I will stay outside.”

Was there really some bad juju there? Maybe he should investigate again. Nah, it was fine, the spiders would have reported if there was something out of order.

And thus, even if the fortress was not restored yet the construction of the turrets began. Of course, the King came with all the materials necessary so the ballista turrets were finished in no time at all. There were only three of them, but it will have to do since there wasn’t much manpower to operate more than that. Number one was in the highest and the only intact tower, the same one where the Drow Architect had his office. Number two was just above the fortress gate. Number three was inside the fortress proper, it was poking out of the top floor through the crumbled wall and overlooking the rather sizable courtyard.

“Okay, set the fire.”

A huge pyre came to life in the middle of the courtyard.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” The Drow Architect trembled while looking at his tower from the ground below.

“Are you worried about your tower?”

He nodded.

“It will be fine. I don’t think it will get knocked like the last one. After all, it was your idea to reinforce it.” And a good one at that.

“Even then…” He didn’t finish and ducked low to the ground instead.

“Wa-aaa-ah!” A wailing sound reverberated through the sky.

The bait had worked and the IceShard Bird was charging towards the fire.

“Clear the courtyard!” The King warned the nearby spiders.

Everyone ducked under the cover, be it a pile of bricks or a half-crumbled wall. The IceShard Bird was still far away, but it was clear it was charging straight to the pyre in a straight line. Right behind the massive monster was a blue cloud of icy weather, no, it was a mega colony of IceShard Plankton.

“Hey, why is it following the IceShard Bird!?” It didn’t make much sense. “This is bad. Does everyone have Ice Resistance potions?” The spiders waved their hand to indicate a yes.

“No, King, I ran out a long time ago.”

Understandable, it was rather chilly here. “I have a few. Here, have some.” He threw the bottle to the drow.

Drow Architect drank the potion pre-emptively; and maybe for the best.

“Hey, isn’t it rather large?” The beelining monster was bigger than the one he fought last time. “No, it is way too large.” It was two or three times bigger, maybe more since at the distance it was hard to tell. “This is bad.” He wondered if he should just put the fire out. But was it even a good idea? At least now it had a target, without the fire to draw its ire it might just decide to vent its anger on a nearby tower, so he left the pyre burning. “We can do this!”

The spiders cheered in affirmation and the Drow Architect was long gone, presumably to Catacombs; what a waste of good potion. Predictably so, the humongous monster attacked the pyre first. It opened its huge maw and a torrent of ice shards rained on the courtyard, freezing everything that wasn’t ice already frozen solid.

“This is new…” He didn’t know it could do that.

Regardless, the monster was now in range of the turrets and the spiders fired their first projectiles. The great bolts were imbued with a number of enchantments, including Fire elemental damage.

“Wa-aaa-ah!” The monster wailed in anger.

Three bolts were nowhere enough to kill the humongous monster.

“Keep at it, I will distract it.” He turned the heating of his armour plate to the max and drank a potion for good measure. “Hey, you, I’m your enemy!” He projected the Aura Of Hostility and fired a few shots out of the Bow of Darkness. Surprisingly the Dark infused arrows managed to get through thick clouds of plankton and even pierce the thick skin of the monster.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Did I somehow get stronger?”

This wasn't the time to ponder such a question. The monster opened its maw firing another freezing blast, now, directly at him. He could have run and ducked behind the cover, but that was entirely unnecessary.

[Status effect Frozen was negated]

But it wasn’t over, the blue cloud of IceShard Plankton had finally caught up with the monster bathing the entire fortress in frigid temperatures. The operational ability of the turrets were put in question. He glanced at the closest one, worrying about his spiders. They were fine, at least for now, the potions must have protected them. However, the visibility was significantly reduced.

“Plankton!” He cursed. “Why do you take the side of this monster?!” After all, it was the monster's food.

[Status effect Frozen was negated] – the message informed right after another attack.

It seems that the monster wasn’t wasting its time. He didn’t know if his equipment could hold out forever.

“I must act decisively.” He fired a volley of Dark Arrow. “To keep the aggro on myself.”

Three more great bolts wedged themselves into the side of the monster.

“Wa-aaa-ah!” It definitely wasn’t happy about the fire damage it was taking.

“Yeah take that, you fat slab of meat!” He blasted his aura desperately trying to keep its attention away from the ballistas.

Naturally, the bow wasn’t his only weapon, he had fire grenades prepared; he just needed to wait for the right time.

[Status effect Frozen was negated]

He retaliated with another volley of arrows. Three more great bolts pierced into the monster. It was beginning to leak blood, but even at the frigid temperatures, it didn’t freeze for some reason. He had to give kudos to the spiders. The IceShard Bird wasn’t stationary it was flying in circling patterns above the King and the plankton clouds limited the vision significantly, but even then the spiders haven’t missed a single shot yet. But, well, the monster was rather large so… He wondered just how long will he need to keep this up.

He didn’t need to wonder. “Duh, I forgot. [Inspect].”

Monster: IceShard Bird

Status Effects: Enraged

HP:9000/10000

MP:900/1000

STA:1000

Active Perks

[IceShard Blast], [Call Plankton], [Devour]

Passive Perks

[Floating], [Super Massive], [Minor Regeneration]

Resistances

[Fire Weakness: Greater], [Ice Resistance: Immune],

Right, it was safe to assume that a single great bolt did 100HP damage, so the battle would go on for… a while. While he was inspecting the monster the spiders managed to land three more bolts. Well done spiders! The enraged monster was flying right towards him. Its jaws were opened wide. Was it aiming to Devour him? If so he could use that to his advantage. He pulled out a cluster of Fire Grenades, however, he couldn’t throw them just yet; the currents of plankton clouds were rather strong and threatened to catch any thrown projectiles.

“Just a bit closer.” He stared at the approaching maw of the monster. It was so big it could swallow a Centauri whole with no problem.

The frigid wind increased in strength, it threatened to knock him off his legs. It was rather slippy but somehow he managed to keep his feet planted firm on the icy ground. He was waiting for the right moment, once it got close enough he would chuck the grenades and dart to the side with Shadow Walk.

A something blue pulled deep inside the mouth and not so surprisingly another IceShard Blast washed over him; there was no point in even trying to avoid that since the blast radius was huge and he needed to throw those grenades. But in retrospect, it wouldn't have hurt to try…

[You have been afflicted with Frozen]

His resistances had failed at such a crucial moment. He wanted to move, scream, or do anything but he was frozen stiff. He had those grenades ready, it was the right time, but his arms just refused to move.

‘I will be devoured...’ He stared at the dark abyss which approached him hungrily.

Three more great bolts had hit at the monster sending fountains of blood, but even when it barely dented its big pool of HP.

Was he afraid? – yes, a little.

Was this the end? – no, not really.

He believed in himself and his perks!

A familiar voice reached his ears. “No! King!” He was forcefully pushed out of the way.

Maybe, he should have believed in his allies and friends first and foremost and not in his Undying perk.

As he was sliding through the ice, still Frozen, he noticed that the cluster of Fire Grenades were missing out of his hand. The Drow Architect was clutching all of them close to his chest, his face was full of resolve and determination, and then… Then he and a good chunk of the iced bricks were swallowed whole.

“Huh, maybe he wasn’t a coward after all.” The King realised that he could speak, meaning the debuff was over.

He drank yet another Ice Resistance potion, hopefully further lowering the chance that Frozen will get through his resistances. He looked at the monster which was now gaining altitude again with resolve.

“I will get you out of there my friend!”

“Wa-aaa-ah!” It cried spewing flame out of its maw.

Oh… the grenades had detonated meaning…

“I will avenge you, my friend!”

He began running and firing arrows at the side of the monster, he had to get the aggro back on himself. The spiders too fired their shots with increased vigour. He used a quick Inspect to check on its health points.

[IceShard Bird: 3600/10000HP]

The grenades did a number on it, but it was still far from dead.

“Wa-aaa-ah!” It vailed again, further increasing the altitude.

He kept shooting but failed to get the aggro. The monster was no longer Enraged, that effect was gone from its status. It was intent on fleeing.

“No, you can’t do that. [Shadow Web]” He tried sending a web of purple threads towards the fleeing monster.

Predictably, the clouds of IceShard Plankton disrupted the spell and it fizzed out midway.

He knew that would happen. “Tch.” This was the reason why none of conventional magic or schools were used.

This meant that he had to resolve to physical vessels like bolts, arrows and grenades to pierce the cloud and deliver the Elemental damage. Or he could go himself and get close and personal.

“Plan A! Hurry!” He shouted to the spiders.

A special type of bolt was loaded into the ballista. Why Plan A? Because everyone after seeing the size of the monster naturally went for Plan B, which used normal Fire enchanted great bolts.

“I should have brought something for a speed boost.” He lamented while running as fast as he could trying to keep up with the monster.

The IceShard Bird was already outside the Dark Fortress wall, and it was a miracle that he didn’t slip on all the ice. Finally, a modified bolt flew out from the ballista placed just above the gate and pierced the thick hide of the monster. A long thread of blue rope dangled from the bolt.

“This is my last chance!” He ran up to the rope and barely caught the end of it.

The Plan A was to bind the IceShard Bird with anchored bolts in place and then promptly kill it, but the current specimen was too large for that. It was big enough to pull out the rope anchors. So anyway, the King was pulling himself up the rope and closer to the body of the monster. By the time he was done, they were rather high in the sky. If he killed the monster here there would be a long fall down.

“No, I must avenge our hero. I have Undying.” He put his trust in his perk.

He used Magical Inventory to swap the bow for the spear, “Die!” he jabbed it deep into the hide of the monster.

The special ability of the Devouring Spear activated and began draining the monster's HP pool ever so slowly.

“Wa-aaa-ah!” It obviously didn’t like that and began trashing in the air.

The plankton clouds assaulted him from all sides threatening to push him off, but his feet were planted firmly and the spear was wedged deeply. The humongous monster couldn’t do anything by itself, our King was like a flea on an elephant. However…

[You have been afflicted with Frozen] – the relentless IceShard Plankton assault managed to pierce his resistance.

Not that it mattered. The monster’s HP continued to tickle down. And after a while…

[IceShard Bird: 1/10000HP]

[Congratulations! You have defeated IceShard Bird], [Fighting +10000exp]

Compared to certain Worm the exp wasn’t that large, but this wasn’t about that, and…

[Exp Web caught enough exp], [You can upgrade your Skill Tree].

The humongous monster corpse was sailing down through the sky, a veritable mountain of flesh and bones was soon to splash on the frozen ground. However, the King wasn’t thinking about self-preservation at this crucial moment.

“Exp Web? Skill Tree”? Does this have something to do with that spider🕷️ in my status screen?

He pondered while standing on 300 tons of IceShard Bird Meat. The merciless gravity was pulling both of them down and closer to the loving embrace of the frigid frozen ground.