With the Ice Devil dead, I fell to my knees, only to quickly get up again as the cold started to sting my limbs.
"Fuck, this is cold," I gasped, noticing most of my skin was turning ashy. Some parts were even turning purple, which didn’t make any sense given my complexion. But it wasn’t just frostbite. Ice was starting to grow over my skin.
I looked around, trying to find a good place to rest, and noticed Astrid’s state. She was covered in bruises, with a couple of cuts on her arms. Nothing too deep, but it was clear she had taken a beating during the fight. Maybe those narrow escapes from the Ice Devil’s swipes weren’t as successful as I had imagined.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Fine," Astrid said, glancing at the dead monster on the ground. "Happy."
"I told you we would kill it," I said with a smile, but I could feel my muscles tensing up. Even if I hadn’t been hit directly by the monster, that wave of ice had done a number on me, and the constant cold was ruining my body. But I came up with one possible solution.
Polar bears were warm-blooded creatures, despite everything. That meant the monster’s body should still be warmer than the frozen ground.
I approached the Ice Devil’s corpse and touched its fur. It was surprisingly soft, despite everything. It also didn’t emit the same low temperature as the ground. In fact, I could feel the fur acting like a coat, trapping heat inside while keeping the cold away. Turning to Astrid, I reached out as I climbed on top of the bear.
"Come here. It’s better than staying on that frozen ground."
Astrid looked down at her feet before nodding and following me up. She had a small smile on her face, and it wasn’t hard to understand why. Standing over the corpse of the creature that had killed her father had to be cathartic for her.
Even though we still had problems, like how we were supposed to get out of here if the tunnels were still blocked by ice, we had earned this small reprieve.
"You should use {Body Regeneration}. You don’t look that good," I told the Frosted Lumberjack after we sat down on top of the monster.
"Can’t. No Energy," she replied, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
I nodded. We were both in the same boat. The fight had taken everything we had. But there was one thing we could still do.
Pulling out the water skin filled with Eater blood, I took a small sip. It was just enough to recover a single point of Energy, which was all I needed. There wasn’t much left in the skin, so I passed the rest to Astrid.
"It’s better to be safe than sorry. Drink it and use {Body Regeneration}. The last thing we want is to die because we didn’t notice an internal injury."
There was no need to ask twice. Astrid took the waterskin and finished the rest of the blood. I guessed there were still a couple of points of Energy left in it, but she clearly needed it more than I did.
Leaning back, I lay down on top of the Ice Devil. Its long fur covered parts of my body, helping me warm up.
'Sys, I’m going to use {Body Regeneration} now. Can you make sure I don’t have any internal injuries and help fight off the frostbite?' I asked in my mind.
[System is able to check for internal injuries. However, frostbite is not a problem that can be solved by the use of the skill {Body Regeneration}.]
[Early stages of frostbite change the structure of the cells affected by the condition. However, that structural change is not something that requires the regeneration of cells. It requires a change in temperature. Once frostbite progresses to the point of necrosis or gangrene, then {Body Regeneration} can be utilized to replace dead cells.]
'That makes sense, but it kind of sucks for me right now. Still, make sure I’m not missing any wounds that might cause problems later. I need to figure out a way to warm up first. This fur is helping, but I don’t think it’ll be enough.'
[Would you like to check the skills gained through leveling up? One of the skills might assist user’s predicament.]
'Might as well. I’m too tired to talk or move right now, and I can’t go to sleep or I’ll be in trouble. Let me check the new level first. I got to level 9, right?'
[Correct. User currently has 3 attribute points available for distribution between Mind or Body.]
Cassandra Ydorf - Level 9
Titles: Enduring Heart
Tier 1 - Formless Monk
Memory - 9 Energy - 0/12 (5 Reserved)
Energy Storage - Passive - 1 Energy
Memory Bank - Passive - 1 Energy
Predatory Sense - Passive - 1 Energy
Ice-Veined Strength - Passive - 2 Energy
Body Regeneration - Active - 1 Energy/10 minutes
Compression - Active - 1 Energy/5 uses
Glacial Rend - Active - 1 Energy
Formless Series - Passive
Mind of Possibility - Unavailable
'Two extra Energy and one extra Memory? Nice. For the points, put them all into Mind. I want it to reach 10 already.'
'Now, for the fun part. Show me the skills.'
[Since user leveled up three times, six skills are available to be picked.]
Formless Ripple - Active - Fledgling
Your movements create a ripple effect, like a stone tossed into a still pond. Each strike disturbs the air, creating a force that disrupts your opponent’s balance.
Deliver an attack that causes a resonance effect on the target, disrupting their movements.
'I can’t use Proxy to see what this one will do, can I?' It was hard to keep my eyes open, but I forced myself to focus on the glowing orb at the top of the cave. That had to be the dungeon core. The one thing that shaped this entire mine system, and the thing that had created the Ice Devil.
[Currently, skill {Mind of Possibility} is unavailable. User is unable to call Proxy.]
'Figured. That one doesn’t sound all that interesting. But I don’t want to make any decisions right now. Let me see the next.'
Formless Rock's Endurance - Passive - Fledgling
Reserved Cost: 0 Energy
Steady and unyielding like a boulder, you withstand incoming forces with ease.
Reduces all incoming damage grants increased resistance to knockback effects.
'That's more interesting. I never expected the Formless skill to be a passive one. But for some reason it makes me think I shouldn't try to dodge the attacks, and honestly, that just sounds like a bad idea. Again, let's see what else we got,' I continued staring at the light. It was kind of pretty now that there wasn't something trying to kill me.
Adaptive Flow - Passive - Fledgling
Your body and mind adapt seamlessly to the rhythm of battle, allowing you to anticipate and counter your opponents' actions.
When you see an attack coming your way, you are better able to understand this trajectory.
'I really don't like that one. Sure, it might help, but it feels like a crutch. I'm not going to be learning how to evade an attack. I'm going to let the skill take care of that. Next,' the blue light covering the area was kind of soothing. I could feel all my muscles relaxing. Maybe {Body Regeneration} was helping with that.
Spinning Staff - Active - Fledgling
With a burst of momentum, you spin your weapon in a wide arc, creating a defensive barrier that also strikes nearby enemies.
Deals minor damage to all enemies in a 2-meter radius and reduces incoming damage as the spinning motion deflects attacks.
Astrid's breathing rang in my ears, a constant rhythmic sound almost like white noise.
'That sounds like a worse Formless Nodus Swipe. At least as an attack. If I was going to get something defensive, it might be better to pick something that is just defensive instead of something that does both things half baked,' I said as my eyes already started to flutter.
Formless Ice Devil's Lunge - Active - Aspirant
Drawing on the ferocious might of the Polar Bear known as the Ice Devil, your lunge strikes with the cold inevitability of a frozen tide. Frost clings to your target, biting into their flesh and slowing their movements.
Dash forward up to 5 meters, dealing physical and cold damage to the target. Enemies struck are slowed for 5 seconds and take minor cold damage over time for the duration.
I yawned, closing my eyes, 'That one sounds nice. And it is an Aspirant skill? I thought I could only get them when I got to tier 2.'
[Aspirant skills can only show their true power once user reaches tier 2. In addition, System was unaware of the possibility of acquiring an aspirant skill while still being at tier one. However, due to the nature of users' class, Formless Monk, and the nature of the {Formless Series} Formless Ice Devil's Lunge was developed.]
'I think I'm going to get that one. Maybe in the place of {Glacial Rend} since it is formless and all,' I twisted my body getting more comfortable in between the Ice Devil's fur, 'What's the last one?'
Firestarter - Active - Unranked
Harness the simplest of forces, the spark of life. With a small burst of energy, ignite a flame to bring warmth or light to your surroundings.
Creates a small flame that can be used to light fires or ignite flammable objects. The flame lasts 10 seconds if not sustained by other materials.
Reading that skill made me jump up, "What?!"
"What?" Astrid jumped to her feet, her hands already grasping the Frosted Axe.
"Sorry. I just got a skill."
"Oh. Good skill?" she asked as she sat back down.
"Yeah. I can make fire," I was grinning from ear to ear.
"No. Just a little bit and lasted for 10 seconds. But as long as we can find something to function as fuel, we won't have to worry about freezing to death."
"Should we go?" Astrid asked.
I glanced towards the tunnels that were still blocked by ice. Even after the monster's death, the effect of its skills was still there, "Something tells me that compression will not be enough to open that. So I don't know how we could get out of here."
Astrid smiled, "I do."
She jumped off the Ice Devil and walked towards one of the closed tunnels. The same one where our temporary camp was located. She took a deep breath, holding her axe with both her hands and delivered a blow directly into the chunk of ice. I saw how some of the particles formed almost like a giant snowflake around her weapon just before the impact.
Once the skill was over, the ice shattered in an explosion. Several shards of frozen water shot out in a spray that covered most of the tunnel. Each of those icicles embedded itself into the walls. The only difference between the ones that hit the tunnel entrance and the ones that fell all the way down the passage was how deep they went into the rock.
"How much energy did you need for that?" I gasped.
"Just one. When hit ice, stronger."
"You can say that again," I climbed down from the Ice Devil's corpse and confirmed my decision with the system. Adding both {Firestarter} and {Formless Ice Devil's Lunge} to my available skills, while Glacial Rend was gone. I didn't want to specialize in ice-based attacks. Never liked builds that did that. Even in games, I would search for the more unique types of attacks. Gravity, blood, shadow, sunlight. Things like that. Never the basic fire, ice, lightning, wind, rock. And although {Firestarter} was absolutely invaluable for survival, I didn't want to follow that path for my combat abilities.
Astrid walked back to the corpse of the Ice Devil and started hacking away at the one leg she had already cut. I was about to ask what she was doing when she removed a large chunk of meat and fur, "For food, blanket, and skills" she said.
I nodded and with the two of us, we were able to carry that piece of the monster towards the tunnel. Before we left this area of the cave, I also triggered {Compression} using the final cast I had available to create a door to this place. The last thing we needed was for the other Bears to realize the Ice Devil was gone and take over its lair.
Back in the room where we had set up camp, the first thing I did was use my new skill {Firestarter}. The particles traveled through my hand and reached between my index and thumb, making a bridge between the two fingers. I watched as the particles seemed to vibrate and rub against each other until a tiny flame appeared. It was barely bigger than a candle's, but it was still enough for me to ignite some of the shavings of wood in our bonfire.
All the while, Astrid was skinning the part of the Ice Devil she brought along. The meat would be our food, but the fur would be a blanket to help us warm up. By the time I could leave the fire alone, I had managed to recover a single point of Energy from {Energy Storage}. And only after I closed the door to this campsite that Astrid and I were truly able to relax and enjoy the spoils of our victory.