Ar'Kendrithyst

Oceanside had no Adventurer’s Guild branch. It wasn’t a big secret why, either. The Headmaster had total control of his island and he liked it that way, while the Adventurer’s Guild was a multinational organization that demanded certain things in order for a Guildhouse to open in an area. Oceanside met all the criteria except for allowing the Guild political power. The Headmaster did not like to share. He would never let someone else have any legal say in what went on in his domain.

So the Headmaster had opened up his own ‘Guildhouse’.

The world flashed dark blue, then resolved back into normal space, as Jane stepped down onto a solid ‘floor’ made of hexagonal stone. She was at the beginning of a cave entrance, in a cliff made of columnar rock. Salt spray scented the air, as waves crashed just outside the cave. She wasn’t too far from where she had just been. Maybe only a good two hundred meters?

Tinawa watched Jane from deeper in the cave. He turned and walked down. Jane followed, stepping down natural-ish hexagonal steps, into the dim, damp cave. It wasn’t long till lights appeared up ahead. They turned a corner in the cave system, and saw the ‘Guildhouse’. But there was no building. There was just a multitude of stone quest boards hanging on the walls, and two very odd receptionists, separated from each other by five meters of space and two separate podiums.

One was a shirtless, muscular man of dark skin and inner radiance, whose eyes glowed a pale gold. He had a masculine face and a kilt made of knives. He almost looked human, but if he were, he was putting on a show. A pale gold sword hovered behind his back, sized to his body. It was a completely impractical weapon, but Jane had seen more than her share of impractical weapons. Maybe he could actually use his well.

The other was an incani woman of red skin, wearing a slick black dress, with a different sort of inner radiance that was more like a dark gloom. Her eyes were dark rubies. A disk of dark red light hovered behind her head, almost like a halo—

Oh. It was an angel and a demon.

It had taken her a hot second to recognize what she was seeing, but yes, it was one angel and one demon. Working together, somehow?

The angel man frowned to see Jane, and asked, “Credentials.”

“She’s obviously with Ulogai,” said the devil woman, smiling. She leaned forward onto her podium to look at Jane. “I was wondering when you would show, Jane Flatt.”

The angel sighed off to the side, saying, “Betrayer.”

The devil stood up straight as she put on a frown. “How is she a betrayer!? She’s not even on your side! She’s not even from this world, you swording-jerk!” She turned to Jane, saying, “They’re always like that. Hardliners; the lot of them. Any deviant humans are cut off. It’s quite awful, really.”

“More lies from the demon.” The angel said, “How quaint.”

Jane asked, “How is this… How are you two not killing each other?”

“Contracted!” cheered the devil.

“Contracted,” sighed the angel.

“Why?” asked Jane. “How?”

The devil rapidly said, “So that we know Kirginatharp isn’t playing favorites.”

The angel frowned, then unhappily said, “So that we know Kirginatharp isn’t favoring the enemy.”

“Ah!” the devil said, “You changed it up there, Oteril. You are capable of change!”

“And you continue to abuse this space of enforced ceasefire in order to antagonize me, Aviza.” He looked away from Aviza, to face Jane. “Are you an Elite now, Jane Flatt? Are we adding you to the registry?”

“She is not.” Tinawa stepped into the conversation, saying, “We’re here for a 5 star melee quest.”

Oteril and Aviza lifted their hands at the same time. Gold and red glows appeared like small highlights across entries on each stone board, hanging around the room. Jane looked to Tinawa.

Tinawa said to Jane, “Take your pick.”

Oddness aside, Jane almost smiled. This might be some fun physical therapy. Jane turned to the boards, and began reading. Almost all of them were like quest boards she would have seen in any Adventuring Guildhouse, in any part of the world, with monster names and stars by the listing. There was one board that neither of them highlighted, but that was full of rewards, it seemed, with costs delineated in grand rads, and the rewards themselves written in code. She had no idea what anything was, but it cost between 10 and 1000 grand rads, which was interesting. But what was even more interesting, was that the angel and the devil highlighted different target monsters.

“Why the different targeting system?” Jane asked.

Tinawa said, “With their views from the moons, the Angels and the Demons are able to see almost every monster problem on the globe. They update these quests as the moons pass overhead, in the day. At night, Melemizargo is able to hide his actions from their eyes. We don’t get quests for Underworld targets, here. That’s a different location.” He said, “This is why the Headmaster has a contracted angel and demon working for him. They hate Melemizargo almost more than they hate each other.”

Aviza called out, “I do not hate the Angels! This war is their fault! His people’s fault!”

Oteril said, “And what of your Halls of the Dead and their Daydroppers? Was that not a call for war?”

“You asked for it.” As though speaking lines for a medical ad on the television, Aviza rapidly added, “Demon Lord Dinnamoth and the Nations of Hell are not responsible for the actions of people on Veird. To blame us for the actions of our descendants is folly, and incorrect.”

Tinawa said to Jane, “Pick something out on the boards.”

Jane almost asked about the ‘Converter Angel’ that appeared and disappeared from Candlepoint’s quest board a while ago. But she didn’t want to get into that. She walked to the nearest board, and read.

After reading for a minute, and being slightly concerned for another, she pointed to a red-highlight, and asked, “What’s this Lava Hydra doing here? That’s an 8, I know it is. These aren’t 5 star quests?”

Aviza spoke first, “We expect better from Elites than we do from adventurers. For almost everyone, a Lava Hydra is an 8, but if you can control fire then it’s only a 5.” She added, “A lot of the Elemental Body monsters are 5 star.”

“Okay… That’s... fair.” Jane said, “Let’s go with this Lava Hydra—”

Oteril interrupted, “That is out in the middle of nowhere. Pick something I highlighted, and help someone survive another day.”

“That’s a lie.” Aviza said, “Stick with the Lava Hydra. It’s good gold and resources, and you will make that bit of Nelboor safer by ending one of the larger threats in the area.”

“There is no benefit to eliminating a known apex predator, only to have an unknown take its place. And besides: the nearest settlement to that location is 129 kilometers away.” Oteril flicked his finger through the air, shifting the gold highlights around the room. “Any of these would satisfy a thirst for challenge and resources, and also help a community or group of people in the area.”

“Ugh! Fine.” Aviza dramatically collapsed across her podium, saying, “I’m changing mine, too.” She flicked a hand through the air. Red highlights shifted.

Jane scanned the board for a moment longer, but stopped when she saw a prize, where nothing was listed but monsters. “Primal frost owl. Yes! I pick this one.”

Tinawa nodded toward the demon and the angel.

Aviza stood straight at her podium. Oteril was already standing straight. As one, they lifted their hands toward each other. Jane felt a prickle of power rush across her skin, as threads of red and gold flowed from the demon and angel, to touch in front of a blank wall. A smile came unbidden to Jane; was this really happening? Were they doing what she thought they were doing?

Red and gold flickered in the air, as the dim light of the cave twisted into something deeper, brighter.

Yes! Jane almost hopped up and down. Oh my gods! The Headmaster had access to this sort of power? Jane rapidly corrected her thoughts, that of course he had this sort of power. But still! Amazing!

Red and gold pulled back the world, creating a [Gate], like a door opening to another part of Veird. A snowy mountain path opened up on the other side. Cold air and snow flurries rushed into the damp cave, freezing the ground on this side of the portal.

Jane’s smile turned into a laugh as goosebumps raced up her arms and frost stung her eyes. She couldn’t hold back her words any longer. “Oh my gods! A [Gate]?!”

Tinawa said, “I get [Gate]s. You would need to earn that right. But, yes. A [Gate].”

Jane asked, “You can really go anywhere?! And kill any monsters you want?”

“Once per day, yes; you and a small party can go anywhere you want.” Tinawa added, “You’re expected to get back on your own.” He gestured toward the [Gate]. “Let’s go.”

Jane gave one last look at the angel and the demon. Oteril gazed back, dispassionately. The massive sword at the angel’s back had never moved. Aviza smiled at her, waving with her fingers as Jane passed by. The red gemstone disk behind her head had never moved, either, even with Aviza’s exaggerated emotions. Jane smiled, mainly to herself, as she stepped through the [Gate], onto snow covered stone. Tinawa followed, close behind.

Blindingly white, snow covered mountains dominated the skyline. Cliffs and crevasses plunged down into frozen depths, while stony peaks scraped the sky. The red-gold [Gate] snapped shut behind Jane. The warm air of the tropical cave vanished in snow flurries and twisting gales. Everything was either white, or stone, and Jane had no idea where she was in the world.

And that was better than great. It was fantastic!

Tinawa conjured his yellow armor. Yellow fur poked out from the joints. Jane conjured her own reinforced gambeson, shifting the magic to fluffy furs and insulating gloves. A nice balaclava wrapped around her head, while polarized glasses appeared over her eyes.

Tinawa frowned a little at her.

“What?” she asked.

“No [Polymorph]?”

Jane smiled. “No. They’d all freeze up. But a primal frost owl wouldn’t!”

Almost all of Tinawa’s face was covered by thick, yellow plate armor, but his blue eyes were exposed, and they seemed to smile at Jane. “I expected you to ask for a break to reconjure your [Personal Ward], too.”

“Nope.” She said, “Wouldn’t help versus the cold, anyway. Primal frost owls are supposed to be able to freeze people solid, and—” Jane flickered with blue light, conjuring a [Personal Warmth Ward]. Instantly, the cold wind that poured into the tiny cracks in her armor, ceased. “— And you can’t have two [Personal Ward]s at once.”

Tinawa nodded slowly, as though locked in thought. After a moment, he said, “The Duo drops us in an area near where they last saw the target.” He pointed down the frozen path. “I’m guessing the bird is down there, but I’m just here to observe. This is your show.”

“What are you trying to observe, anyway?”

Tinawa stepped down the path, saying, “Walk and talk, and maybe the noise will attract our target.”

Jane followed.

Tinawa said, “And like I said: Physical Therapy. I need to see what the problems are, and a 5 star quest should be easy enough, while still accomplishing some good in the world.” He added, “I also wondered what monster you would pick, and if you would tell me why. You picked a flying frost monster in order to eat it, either because you lack that Familiar Form, or you’re looking for an upgrade. So you’re aware of your shortcomings, you’re improving yourself, you’re adjusting, and you’re rather practical. That all bodes well for your future. But you’ve been wounded something deep. Maybe it’s just lingering pain from having been locked asleep to a bed for a month and a half. Maybe it’s something more. That’s what I’m here to help you with.”

Tinawa’s voice rebounded off of mountains, but the wind carried most of it away. Jane kept her footing well enough, but whoever had made this path had not kept it up over the years. Or maybe it was winter, and people didn’t keep up mountain paths in the winter? Or maybe this was summer, and she was not where she thought she might be. So? Where was she? Whatever the case, rubble lay here and there; the results of rockfalls, no doubt.

Jane asked, “Where are we, anyway? I’m guessing northern Quintlan?”

Tinawa looked to the vague, white sky. “Somewhere around there, sure. Halfway around the world from Oceanside. Sun was setting back home, but it’s winter here… We might have an hour of sunlight, if that.” He gestured toward the empty air, away from the mountain, saying, “There’s probably a fishing village or town or something, down by the coast a few mountains over.”

“I thought Quintlan was too dangerous for most settlements?”

“That’s like saying Nelboor is an endless desert, or Nergal is a single jungle, or Glaquin is a warzone of the Quiet War.” Tinawa said, “But Quintlan is mostly abandoned. Doesn’t stop people from trying to settle—” Tinawa led the way past a bend in the mountain path. “Oh.” He stopped. “I know where we are, now. We’re not near the coast at all.”

Jane stepped to Tinawa’s side, and saw what he saw. The mountains ahead were not simple mountains at all. They were something more, and the sight of it all sent Jane’s heart fluttering. This was what she wanted. This sort of exploration. To see these sights, and know these places, and to know why the path under her feet was broken, as though from ages of neglect.

Amid the majestic snow peaks of an endless chain of mountains, stood one mountain above the rest. But it was not a mountain. It was a stronghold. Towers of crystalline latticework stretched up from a mass of fortresses and roads and walls and bridges. The city was abandoned. Jane could see that from here. But it still glimmered in the sunlight, like a frost covered jewel.

Jane asked, “Is it a crystal city? A wrought city, I mean?”

“No.” Tinawa said, “It’s just been preserved against all damage by Frost Oozes. I’m not even sure which city it is. There’s hundreds of them in this area. Could just be the former house of royalty.” He turned to Jane, adding, “Not sure why the Duo sent us here. Maybe there’s some settlement further in the mountains. Since you picked a highlighted monster, it means that they could set you down somewhere safe, near someone that might need help.” He turned back to the path, and kept walking. “But we don’t contract with people. We try to rescue people when we can, for sure, but we’re here for the monsters. Some Elites like to know where the people are and what help they need, but we don’t take anything for our services, and if you’re caught extorting the locals for monster kills, you’re fucked.” He added, “So don’t do that.”

Jane walked behind Tinawa, constantly scanning her surroundings with [Hunter’s Instincts]. She smelled no carrion. She heard nothing too alarming, beyond the wind. She saw no smoke trails lifting from the frozen city ahead, or from anywhere else nearby.

And now that her eyes adjusted to the light of the area, she reconjured her balaclava, without the goggles. It was getting too dim to see with her polarized variety. It had taken her but a moment to learn the polarization trick, once she picked up and studied one of the polarization lightwards her father had left for use in the light slime dungeon. But she didn’t need to use that trick right now.

With her eyes uncluttered, she looked again at the city. She saw something new. Birds hovered in the sky, high above the frozen buildings and towers. They didn’t look like primal frost owls; they were much too small for that. They were barely even visible from this distance. Maybe frost eagles? Or vultures? Jane knew that eagles and vultures circled. Owls were ambush, silent predators, that used their tremendous eyesight and wind control to sneak up on their prey. Or at least that’s what the book she read, had said. A frost bird of some sort had been on her short list of birds to look out for, while frost owls were higher on the list than most. Her current air slime form was not that great; she was already planning on ditching that for a razorwing, whenever she got the chance. Since she was here, now, would gladly give up her air slime for a frost owl, or, even better, a primal frost owl.

Jane smiled to herself. A question came to her. Why was she not happy with Polymage? She was happy with Polymage. Polymage was a great choice! She liked the entire idea of the Class. But… something kept her from taking that final step of accepting the Quest Completion.

She realized she had a question for Tinawa. She asked, “What’s the best Class?”

Tinawa laughed. “Any of them you can get.”

“… That cannot be true.”

He flashed her his Status, but it was smaller than most screens.

Ulogai Tinawa

Human, age: 75

Level 89, Class: Professor

Class: 9/9

Scion of Balance

“That’s a bit light on the information. And displayed differently, too.”

Tinawa chuckled. “I’ve been a Soldier, a General, and even an Innkeeper, but I think I’ll take ‘Professor’ to the grave.” He added, “This shortened Status is all I need to stop the youngsters from complaining too loudly when they think I’ve got some special Build.”

“Nine of nine, though.”

“Aye. One of the better parts of the Class.” He asked, “You’re not going to test if it’s a fake display?”

“Nope.” Jane said, “Tried that already when no one was looking. Got an ‘Error’ and woke up ten minutes later with a blinding headache.”

“Smart girl.” Tinawa said, “You’d be surprised how many students come to my Arena and think my Status is fake. There’s always one or ten who fall down, twitching. Once had a Prince of Nelboor try to summon a lightward facsimile of my Status, claiming I was a fraud. That kid fell down and pissed himself.” He chuckled. “Ah. That was funny.”

“You’re kinda vicious, aren’t you?”

“I say the same to you.” He said, “Nice to meet you, by the way.”

Jane said, “Nice to meet you, too.” She added, “Bit backwards there with the greetings.”

“It all comes out in the end. No need to rush life, or do it ‘properly’. Whatever in the Abyss that means.” He asked, “So have you noticed, yet?”

“Of course.” Jane said, acting like nothing had changed. “But what are we going to do about it? That certainly isn’t an owl.”

“Not ‘We’. Just you. I’m an observer.”

“I don’t have to guard you, do I?”

Tinawa laughed. “Not this time.”

The mountain path continued forward, turning into the remains of a broken bridge. The other side of the bridge stuck out from an open gate that was part of the outer wall of the frosted city. Between the two sides, was nothing but air and depths. Howling breezes tore up from the canyon below, bringing with it snow, and the sounds of leathery wings, beating against the wind.

Jane said, “I usually try to sneak up on targets, but being loud gets the ball rolling rather quickly.”

“I’m not surprised you never got [Erase Presence].” Tinawa said, “We can work on that today, if you want.”

Jane held out her right hand. Magic coalesced force into her hand, creating a three meter long, slightly curved blade. It was the perfect weapon for long, airborne slashing. Jane said, “I tried for [Erase Presence], but got nothing.”

“What method did you use?”

Jane walked forward, her heart hammering as she gripped her sword. The tip of her weapon held still, as air swirled around her body. One moment, she was there, the next, her legs turned to wind, then her torso flashed outward into the freezing gale coming from the canyon ahead. Her arms became the breeze.

She had become the air around her. Cold air. Very cold air. But that was okay. She was just air. [Air Body] was about the best insulation from bad weather one could have. Her sword still hung in her ‘hands’, but it was a soft sort of hold; she had to substitute her grip with [Telekinesis].

She spoke, and it was the sound of a twisting breeze, “I tried [Silent Movement] a hundred different ways. Nothing worked—”

The canyon air split apart with a horrible screech that sent snow covered mountainsides tumbling with tiny avalanches. Wings made of leather, stone, and frost, cracked like whips, as a monster wider than a building lifted from the darkness. Jane quickly glanced across the monster, making sure she knew what she was about to kill.

Two massive wings with grabbing claws at the carpal joint. Two back legs fitted with even more claws. One great maw. One long, long tail, tipped with a wicked barb. Wyvern. Frost wyvern, to be precise. They have a paralytic venom in the tail. Air control like all big flying monsters. Skin made of stone, though. Opportunistic far ranging hunters—

Jane’s thoughts continued to shift as she hovered into the air, controlling her body, and her sword.

Jane immediately twisted the wind to appear right inside the wyvern’s personal space. Swish-crack went her sword, the first hit deflecting off of the back of the wyvern’s head, Criticaling for more than enough damage to negate its Health, exposing the beast to real damage. The wyvern tried to get away, flickering its wings downward. It understood, instantly, that it had taken on something it was not prepared to face. Jane’s second [Strike] cleaved through the monster’s neck. The wyvern’s head tumbled away, onto the bridge, breaking stone before falling down into the canyon below. The body went straight down, crashing against the canyon walls, before disappearing from sight.

The monster was not high enough level to matter, but its venom might have been worth retrieving, if it had not fallen so far down. But Jane was already on a mission, and the wyvern wasn’t the target. Wyvern meat, once [Cleanse]d, was supposed to be really delicious, though. But! Eh! Jane dismissed her sword, then came back down to the mountain path. She reformed her human body, complete with all her conjured armor and everything else she had been carrying.

Tinawa said, “That was picture perfect.”

“Thank you.”

He gestured toward the canyon, and the gateway in the wall beyond. He flickered yellow, reappearing on the remains of the bridge, on the other side. “You coming?”

Jane blipped over, appearing next to him. “Yes.”

He pointed up at the frozen walls of the estate. “See that thin layer of solid ice? Oozes live here, like they do in every Quintlan ruin. So what I’m going to do, is this:”

One second, Jane was looking at Tinawa. The next, she was looking at the air. She frowned. “Funny.”

A voice came from somewhere close, “[Erase Presence] is just an extension of [Silent Movement]. It’s only possible to achieve when you know how to control your natural menacing factor.” He asked, “Do you know how to control that?”

“About a hundred different ideas, but none that have worked.” Jane said, “I even tried to focus my killing intent inward, but that did not work. Looking back on it, I probably did it wrong.”

“I guess that’s another word for it… ‘Killing Intent’. I like it?” Tinawa decided, “Yeah. I like it. I’m going to use that. But anyway. I could feel your killing intent the second I saw you. Have you ever tried to restrict your desire to kill your problems?”

“I’m not some monster.” Jane said, slightly put out. “I just wasn’t aware that’s what was needed.”

“There are two ways to accomplish [Erase Presence]. All methods start with [Silent Movement]. The better methods use [Silent Movement] and an Elemental Body skill, so that you are less yourself, and more an entity imposing your will upon the world. This leads to you being able to feel out where you are, exactly. You could also try using [Silent Movement] with pure aura manipulation, but that’s for mages, and we’re not mages.

“So pick the Elemental Body skill you want to use. Then, decide on a path. The first method involves pulling your existence into yourself, so that none may see you. The second is achieved by diffusing yourself over a large area. The effect of either method is the same; people lose track of where you are. Eventually, you must learn both methods, as they both have very different applications. But we will start with one before the other.” Tinawa said, “Condensation leads to stronger attacks, of all kinds. Diffusion leads to excellent evasive defense. Make a choice, and don’t hesitate.”

“Attack.”

“Then go ahead. Take up your elemental body, and go hunt. I’ll be nearby.” He added, “The oozes have heard us, so they’re waiting for us to get close. Keep that in mind going forward.”

Picking the Elemental Body skill to focus on first was an easy choice. Shadows licked from her hands, and her feet, as she activated her Old Faithful. Then she dropped into her own shadow. She slipped forward past the ruined gate, and into the city beyond.

The stone here was solid with a layer of hard, blue ice, that glittered in the vague light from above. Moving through ice was cold, but fine, and reminiscent of another time and place, when she was in Ar’Kendrithyst, hunting through the crystal. The ice that layered this unknown place of towers and airy construction was not as deep as the kendrithyst of the Dead City, but it was deep enough, and the shadows were getting stronger, as the sky darkened further. Night was coming on fast, up here in the wintry, far north.

Jane slipped down a frozen road, becoming one with the half-light just under the icy surface, hunting—

“I can feel you.” Tinawa spoke from somewhere a top the road. “You’re right there.”

The ice cracked above Jane’s position, splintering her shadow. “Ow,” she said, not entirely just to display her annoyance. “How did you—”

“I’m not going to answer stupid questions I already answered. Figure it out.” He added, “This isn’t magic school. There are no formulae here. There’s just you, the monsters, and how you deal with the facts laid before you.”

… Jane felt herself out. She had done that long before now, and knew well where her boundaries lie, but the thing about [Greater Shadowalk] was that it was not a simple spell. There was her main body, that was more or less a pool of shadow the size of herself. It was a non-precise sort of thing. There was also her ‘intention with the world’, for lack of a better phrase. That part was the portion of herself that desired to move in one direction or the other. If she activated the deeper parts of her magic, that ‘intention’—

It was just ‘intent’, wasn’t it? Her father was always going on about intention in magic, and Jane understood that, but it had never really helped her figure out spell creation. Maybe intention in Health-aspect skills was truly different than intention in Mana-aspect spells?

That made a lot of sense. Her father never had any skill with Health skills. Jane hadn’t either, but then again she was thinking of Health and Mana as just different resources. Not as truly different resources.

Tinawa said, “You’re dimming to me, which is a sign you are on the right track.”

… But she was just staying still, and thinking?

Oh. Was that part of it?

Jane thought about hunting. Of killing and harming and—

“Wrong.” Tinawa cracked the ice over her shadowy body. “Try again.”

Jane thought about… fluffy blankets and happy hearts and cozy warmth—

Three meters away, where a building’s doorway was covered in ice and the building itself was layered with the stuff, the door was not actually covered in ice at all. The not-ice slipped from the doorway, to ooze a tendril forward, onto the cracked ice where Jane had hidden. Jane just moved a bit to the right, still under the ice, avoiding the ooze’s tendril. The ooze slipped into the crack. It poked around. It found nothing. It repaired the cracked ice, restoring the road to ice-covered perfection, then moved back to the doorway where it pretended to be a part of the environment.

Tinawa’s voice came from directly above Jane’s new hiding spot. “You imbued the thoughts of fire into a diffusion of shadow, catching that ooze in your effect.” He said, “The best way to [Erase Presence] is to think like the people or monsters in the area, in a way that directly aligns with whatever Elemental Body you’re currently using. What is natural? What is normal? What bears no need for investigation? Shadow has feelers into every aspect of magic, so this is one of the better tools to start with, but this also means you must control your thoughts more. Do not think of anything outside of the background.”

… I am ice. I exist here. I am nothing.

Jane created a mantra and repeated it on loop as she moved down a city street. The road widened, as she moved deeper into dangerous territory. This walled city was tiered sort of like Kal’Duresh. It wasn’t long until Jane came to an intersection. To the right, lay a broken city gate, much larger than the side entrance she and Tinawa used to gain egress into the city. To the left, lay a broken road that wound back and forth, up to another tier. Barren planters rested at each side of the upward path. Since the winding road was right beside a main entrance, it had probably been full of greenery back when this place was still in use. Maybe it was something of a display of opulence? A lot of the city looked that way to Jane. But these days, a lot of the city was smashed, just like the entrance. Someone, or likely a lot of someones, had broken this place up right good.

And then the oozes came and frosted it all over, locking down ruins under thin sheets of ice.

Where to go, now? Well... Owls liked to nest high, so she would have to go up to find the nest and kill—

The ice cracked over her shadowy body. “I can see you again.” Tinawa added, “And you were doing so well.”

“Bite me,” Jane vibrated.

Immediately, three walls of not-ice that had been attached to nearby buildings, detached from those buildings and swarmed forward, rushing to the place where Jane had spoken. It was like glaciers crashing at sea. The oozes broke upon each other, breaking the stone and road.

Jane had already slipped away, under the thin ice, up the curving road, into the city proper.

Tinawa spoke above her moving shadow, “Those ones must have been hungry.”

Jane returned to her mantra.

Ice ice ice ice ice ice ice ice.

She crawled upward, moving fast enough. [Greater Shadowalk] cost 2.5 mana every second, but her Meditation-fueled Regeneration was 1.7 every second. She was losing mana, but the drain wasn’t too bad. What made the drain slightly intolerable, though, was [Silent Movement]. That cost 1 Health every two meters moved. The subsequent drain to her mana was thus increased, every time she used [Invisible Rejuvenation] to restore her missing Health.

But it wasn’t too bad. The owls had to be in the city, right? She had to be on the right track, and if she was on the right track, then she had more than enough time to practice pulling her body and her thoughts together in an attempt to learn [Erase Presence]. How often would she have the Professor of War personally guiding her growth? She was going to take as much advantage of this as she could. So that’s what she did, as she looked for birds besides the frost eagles that circled overhead.

Normally, she extended her shadowy self in every direction in order to ‘see’ in a large area around her body. But this method had her condensed down into her own shadow.

… Maybe she should have picked the ‘defense’ option. Defense was better than attack in a world like Veird, wasn’t it?

Eh. She’d stick with this, for now. She’d learn the other way, another time.

Jane slipped past crashed buildings, and old ruins. She flickered over gaps in the frozen road. She took a peek down a deep sewer hole, and decided that the only thing that lived down there were oozes. She got to half mana, and the temporary light of the sky was almost gone. Night was almost here.

She made it all the way to the top buildings, which were, as she expected, devoid of oozes. But there weren’t any owls anywhere. Just those same eagles hovering in the same sky up above. The last bits of daylight vanished.

Tinawa spoke from directly above her hiding spot, “You won’t get [Erase Presence] today, but a few days of this, and you probably could. You’re on the right path.”

That was all well and good, but where were the owls?

The deep greys of the sky flickered darker. A storm was moving in.

Jane saw the storm, and reluctantly asked, “Time to leave?”

“What? Why?” Tinawa asked, surprised. “The fight is just about to begin? Do you need a mana break?” He said, “Oh! Did you not— Look up! Use [Scry] if you have to. They’re pretty high up there. They should be coming down soon, though.”

Jane stared into the sky. And then she used [Scry].

… She should have noticed.

Those birds were not eagles, at all. And they had been much, much higher than Jane had thought. They had started close to the city, while there was still daylight, but as the light waned, and Jane crawled up through the city, they must have flown higher. But as night arrived, the flock descended, one followed by another. And they were huge.

Tinawa asked, “Were we not just taking the scenic route? Did you not recognize them?”

Jane grumbled, “I thought they were eagles. I’ve never seen a frost owl in person.” She added, “The book I read must have been wrong.”

“And now you get to see five.” He added, “Pull back that killing intent, girl. They might not sense it much, but I certainly can, and so can every enemy that matters.”

Jane frowned to herself, and then she spread her senses wide, imagining herself as ice, as she watched the flock descent.

Tinawa said, “That’s pretty good diffusion. Maybe we should have started with that.”

The frost owls were grey and white, with flat faces and large, black eyes. Ice tipped their wings. The first owl entered the city’s airspace, like a five meter wide silent predator of calculating frost. And then it began chittering; calling out with tiny echos. It dipped down into the streets, flying slower than a beast that size had any right to fly.

Oozes poked out from hiding spots, searching for whatever disturbed them. One ooze flopped directly into the middle of a road, marking itself as the owl’s target. The first owl dipped down from above, aiming directly at its prey. Jane watched through the shadows as the owl slipped through space around the ooze, jumping from one location to the next, leaving bisected goo in its wake. The ooze shivered in pain. It had no time to gather up its lost mass. The second and third owls slipped through the very same space, carving the ooze into cold, gelatinous treats. The final two owls, which were smaller than the first three, descended to the ground and quickly gobbled up the dead oozes. The first three came back and cleaned up the still-flopping remains on the ground.

Jane whispered, “Oozes should not be that easy to kill.”

“They’re not. The acid in the owls’s stomach does most of the work, but if they overeat the ooze can reform inside of them, consuming them from the inside out.”

“… I’m almost tempted to try killing them that way… but no.”

Tinawa laughed.

Owls 4 and 5 led the kill of the next three oozes, while the others ate their fill. It was full dark by the time the owls came down to nest, in the buildings right above Jane, at the top of the city. They chittered and chirped with each other.

Then one of them came out of their nest, almost directly where Jane was, and began heaving.

Bones and metals and other indigestible material landed on the ground, in the shadows, to join the other bones already there. Human-sized bones.

Jane whispered, “I need a break, then I’m coming back.”

“Back where we entered?”

“Yes.”

Jane blipped through shadows.

Tinawa still beat her to the mountain path, where the [Gate] had dropped them into this land. He stood there in his yellow armor, revealed for all the world to see. Jane stepped up out of the ground. Tinawa gestured to the mountainside, where the land slipped open, creating a small space to rest. Jane filled the minor cave with a [Weather Ward] and a [Warmth Ward]. Tinawa filled it with a [Silence Ward]. Jane only noticed his Ward when she stepped into the hole in the ground and the sounds of the wind disappeared.

With both of them inside the cave, Tinawa said, “You were doing well out there. You might be stronger at defense. Just something to consider.”

Jane nodded, still thinking about the human-sized bones.

After a minute of silence, Jane said, “I’m not going to practice anything against them. They move too fast. They need to die even faster.”

“A fair choice.” Tinawa leaned against the back of the cave.

Jane asked, “Is [Erase Presence] the way toward the Special Action you get when you get all the Elemental Bodies?”

“Yes and no.” Tinawa said, “I spoke of condensation or diffusion earlier. That is the way toward your desired Special Action. You can only pick one. Broadly, and incorrectly, they are [Prismatic Attack], or [Prismatic Defense]. You either focus your killing intent to a point, and the world conspires to enact your bloody will. Or you focus on your own well being, and the world conspires to make you safe.” He added, “The exact nature of the ability is different for each individual.”

Jane Meditated, recovering her mana, as she thought.

Eventually, she asked, “Is there a Class linked to that ability?”

“Nope. None. I changed my Class three times, but I completed that Special Action when I still had Soldier. The only thing I unlocked was a Class Ability that has been different for every Class I’ve had.” Tinawa said, “I’ve known others who have had empowered [Strike]s. One woman I knew, years and years ago, had an empowered shield. That was a strong ability.” He added, “And no. I’m not telling you what I have until you get yours.”

Jane nodded.

And she thought.

When she was ready to go kill the owls, she went. Tinawa followed.

She killed the first owl in a surprise beheading. Jane leapt out of the wall and swung her sword with all her might. The owl’s head flew to the other side of their nest.

The other four owls zipped after her, faster than the eye could see. Jane retreated, bloody and hurt. The owls gave chase, following Jane’s shadow as she moved across the city. She had not expected to be hurt in their counterattack, but that’s what [Greater Treat Wound]s was for. Jane managed to throw off the owls, losing them to the deep darkness of the frozen city.

She killed the second and third owl when she purposefully appeared to them, giving them a target in the middle of the street, between three very awake oozes. The oozes caught the second owl. Jane clipped a wing of the third. Jane didn’t actually kill the second and third owls, but she got 10 and 25% Participation, so she sorta did.

The fourth owl did the speedy thing that all the owls could do. In a moment of transition, she tried to strike the owl, but the owl countered her, managing to clip Jane’s leg. Said leg turned solid as ice , then cracked off, flying into one of the many awake oozes Jane’s battle had awoken across the city. That was okay, though. Jane was in pain, but she kept her mind together. She dropped her father’s rings and everything she was wearing into one of the nearby buildings, then rushed back into the fight. At the right moment, she transformed into a flame ooze, and used [Greater Treat Wounds] again, ballooning her body back up to full mass and size.

The ice oozes of the city almost attacked her, but they were suddenly very, very confused. The oozes oozed, as oozes were wont to do, just on the edge of the zone created by her lava-hot body, not daring to get closer, but not daring to let her out of their encirclement. Soon, Jane had at least twenty ice oozes circling her, not one of them getting more than ten meters closer.

The fourth and fifth owl tried to kill flame ooze Jane like they tried to kill normal oozes. That did not work, at all. They swooped in for their slashing kill technique, but Jane reached up, fully exposing herself to harm, but knowing she would be okay.

She was not okay, as the owls flew through her, but she’d had worse injuries. Her scattered, flaming body, was now attached to the owls, and doing a great job of murdering them. She helped along the process by turning into an airy, flying flame ooze, giving chase, inflaming her owl-coating remnants into an inferno.

Fire and air went together so, so well.

Jane retrieved her gear, while frost oozes raged across the lower levels of the city, looking for whatever was out there.

There was a sixth owl.

The first five were normal Frost Owls, according to the Kill Notifications. The sixth was the primal frost owl, for sure. She lay in the back of the owl’s nest. She was the mother of killers, sized like an SUV, but she was barely breathing. Someone had chopped off her wing, and recently, too. The stump was covered in red ice, and dripping blood. She would not survive. The other owls had been trying to feed her, to nurse her back to health, but she lay in the back of their shared cave, dying of wounds, both new, and old. A small ice slime the size of her clouded, white eyes, crawled across her face. She flinched at the disturbance, but did not do more than that. She had probably been dying for a long time.

Jane could definitely see that she had been a majestic monster, at one point in time. Her single intact wing was splayed out across the nest. It had to be five meters long. Her coloring was magnificent. Bright whites, all the way, except for nodes of blue ice here and there.

Jane ended her quickly. Then she carved out the matriarch’s grand rad, and her heart. Both of them were tangled up with each other, with the grand rad caught up in the veins and arteries just above the heart. She separated the organ from the grand rad, then used a [Cleanse] to wipe away the messy, tangled bits of flesh wrapped into the shimmering jewel, revealing a hunk of not-ice that shone with a bright blue glow. The brain was an easier extraction. For all the matriarch’s size, the brain was only the size of a watermelon.

One shadowspider transformation and meal later, Jane switched out her air slime for a primal frost owl. It wouldn’t be good for normal fights, but it would be great against bigger foes. Jane decided she still wanted a Razorwing. Maybe.

She changed back to human, and held up the matriarch’s grand rad, saying, “Quest complete. Your verdict?”

“You need to stop using [Personal Ward]s. They are holding you back. You need [Melee Reflection].” Tinawa said, “The two reflective [Ward]s prove themselves at all levels of combat, but especially at the higher levels. You could have killed those owls many times over, with a lot less stress, with a few properly timed, 50 mana counters.”

Jane immediately wanted to argue. “That’s!…” She stopped herself. She frowned. “That’s actually a really good point. But...” She asked, “Is Warder a good Class?” She could have more than one [Personal Ward] active at the same time, if she were a Warder.

“They’re all good! Just pick one.” Tinawa looked to the corpse of the matriarch. “You going to harvest the rest of it?”

Jane turned to the body. She was fine with her grand rad, but, she asked, “What does it have?”

“Air-aspect feathers. Great for making flying vehicles.” Tinawa rattled off, “Shame about the eyes, but each one would have made a great long-distance [Scry]ing orb. Take the blood and the talons and you can treat those talons to easily accept a [Hunter’s Instincts] enchantment. Cuts better, higher Critical chance. Hard to wield, though. A feather cape can be enchanted with [Fly], while a different feather cape can be enchanted with [Cold Weather Ward]. All of those enchantments last longer than if you’d enchant some other kind of bird parts with the same magics...”

Tinawa continued to list uses for the primal frost owl’s carcass, and Jane realized, again, how much money she left on the floor, with almost every kill she had ever made. It was an uncomfortable feeling. It was, in fact, almost the same feeling she had when they had to abandon the Ancient Unicorn’s corpse in the Forests north of Killtree.

Jane interrupted, “Let’s just… I don’t want to hang around for oozes to come up here. You can have anything else you want of the corpse, but I get the grand rad. I killed it.”

Tinawa acted offended, saying “What! No treat for your teacher?! I work hard, you know!”

“You can have the rads in the ones down below.”

“And brave all those oozes? No way!” Tinawa teased, “Besides! I’m not hauling that crap through thirty [Teleports].”

Jane grunted, “Hrm.”

Tinawa held out his hand.

Jane kept the grand rad in one hand, but took his hand with her other, saying, “[Teleport] in the correct direction, please.”

Tinawa smiled.

The world shifted yellow, once, twice, three times, and then a lot more. They took a break on the beach, in the dark. Jane conjured a backpack and put the grand rad inside of it, as she asked about magical martial techniques. Tinawa answered. Then they blipped some more. It wasn’t long before Tinawa pointed in a direction, and told her to start [Teleport]ing as far as she could, wherever she felt like.

Jane ended up in the ocean more than once. But that was fine. It was only a minor setback. Tinawa never touched the water. He just hovered in the air, laughing, each time Jane slipped down into the drink. He reminded her that using her single [Personal Ward] to make [Fly] was a good idea, since she shouldn’t be using a [Personal Absorption Ward] anymore, anyway.