Dead zones or mana voids are taboo. If you find yourself in an environment void of mana - run.

  — Excerpt from On the Nature of Mana

  Day 245, 3:00 PM

  We steadily made our way in, taking a few turns as we descended the mildly sloping tunnel. Right on cue, the ground trembled. The girls noticed it too, and Newstar took a moment before he too sensed it.

  “They are coming,” he said, unsheathing his swords.

  I already had Batsy in my hands, while the girls had drawn their weapons a fraction of a moment before he did. Soon the tunnel started shaking, and loose pieces of ice fell from the ceiling. The ice chips cracked and clanked as they struck my and the girls’ defenses, but hissed and sizzled upon striking Newstar’s fiery shield. A moment later, his shield changed, and a rocky layer appeared beneath the flames.

  He had wisely prepared for physical contact just as the frostworm appeared around the corner.

  The creature was fairly large and reminded me of a worm-like elder abomination from Everrain. It was around fifteen feet tall, a hundred and seventy feet long, its maw split in four sections, each lined with countless dagger-long, hooked teeth.

  Following the theory of saurian evolution, the creature before us sank all its potential into size and strength, mutating to adapt to the cold environment. The thing had obviously evolved from a venomous snake, its poisonous fangs shifting outside its body onto tentacles, which they capped like massive stingers glistening pale blue.

  The beast rushing towards us had slain Newstar the loop before last, and it made sense. It was the fourth realm guardian of the floor, which had sensed our intrusion. I was fairly certain it was Newstar’s fiery aura attracting it, but since it patrolled the floor, the encounter was inevitable, and it was better to have it at the start than suffer a potential surprise attack later.

  Fortunately, while massive, the frostworm was dumber than a doornail.

  “Draw its attention, Newstar,” I shouted, and he jumped towards the cavern’s left wall.

  Bursts of hot air melted the ice where he had stood, forming puddles, which froze again a moment later, turning smooth like glass.

  The frostworm hissed again and rushed towards Newstar in a frenzy. It took two seconds to pick up ridiculous speed, spraying a cone of ice at its target just as Newstar jumped away, avoiding the frigid blast.

  The frostworm slid beneath him, smashing headfirst into the cavern wall. Ice and rock exploded, sending a ripple that blew Newstar away. He struck the far wall, cracking and melting ice, then bounced back down, landing on his feet. Newstar performed so well, I was tempted to give him another shot against the frostworm, but I knew it could only end with him dying a miserable death.

  Fortunately, I didn’t need to make the decision. A pair of three-foot-long lances of ice struck the snake’s side, shattering on impact and failing to pierce its carapace.

  The monster slowly withdrew its head from the pit it had made, rumbling hisses, and I seized the moment. I charged towards it and leaped from ten yards away, reinforcing my body for the imminent blow.

  Just as the frostworm freed its head from the wall, I was upon it, Batsy’s end blazing as I smashed her at the base of its stinger-tentacle, rupturing the poison sack. Venom splattered the air, and my staff smashed into the frostworm’s bulk, cracking the frozen carapace.

  “That was amazing,” Newt said as I landed next to him.

  “I failed,” I muttered. “The idea was to shatter the toxin sack, break its armor, and poison the frostworm with its own venom, but its carapace is stronger than I expected.”

  Not entirely true. My attack was weaker than I expected. It was the first time attempting the maneuver, and the poison gland proved much better at absorbing shock than I had expected.

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  While we chatted, the girls were serious. They summoned another pair of ice javelins and hurled them at the patch of armor I had weakened.

  The frostworm hissed in pain as the icicle struck true, but they failed to deliver much venom, if any.

  “Not enough,” I charged back into the fight. “Newstar! Less sitting, more hopping!”

  The wounded frostworm went mad, charging towards the ladies instead of its natural enemy. Fortunately, the Everfrost ladies were agile enough, sliding on ice without moving their legs and avoiding the monster’s brutish strike.

  Having missed, it lashed out with the last remaining tentacle-stinger, aiming to pierce Everlast, but she summoned a wall of ice to shield herself.

  Ice sprayed as the stinger struck it, the wall bursting as the poisonous stinger pierced all the way through it. From where I stood, it looked like she was done, and I was already planning to see how to save the woman in the next loop, when she twisted her body and moved out of the way thanks to the miniature delay her shield had bought her.

  I jumped, landing on the frostworm’s back before smashing it once more with Batsy. Fire surged from my staff as its end stabbed the space between two frozen plates covering its body. The snake shrieked. The sonic burst exploded all the stalactites above our heads, unleashing a deafening torrent of ice.

  In a fraction of a second, the visibility became nil, my Grandmaster Rider the only thing letting me remain atop the frostworm. And that gave me an idea.

  “Whoa, boy,” I said, and like every mount ever, the frostworm woahed. The frostworm was under my control, and slaying it would be easy. Too easy in fact, as it could make girls suspicious.

  I sat on the frostworm’s back and directed it to bash and smash the frozen tunnel.

  Once we had caused enough destruction, I had it slam around with less and less force, until I ended its misery by stabbing its brain with burning Batsy.

  “Are you all right?” Newstar asked from the mist glowing green.

  “We’re fine. You?” Puresnow said in a surprisingly neutral voice. Considering the hostility she had been concealing all the while, it was a giant leap in the right direction.

  “A bit dusty.” Newstar said, followed by the sounds of him patting his clothes. “Otherwise fine. Do you think Dandelion killed the snake?”

  “That seems to be the only reasonable explanation.”

  Is that a hint of worry I detect there? Perhaps she wasn’t as bad as I thought.

  After listening in on their conversation long enough, I took out my own glower vial and approached them.

  “Is everyone unharmed? No broken necks or limbs?”

  “We are fine. Thank you for your concern.” Everlast, unfortunately, took my question too seriously. After all, nobody would idly chat had they broken anything.

  “I’m fine as well. What about you, Dandelion? Did you kill it?”

  “It was a bumpy ride, but somehow I managed to finish it off,” I said with a chuckle, while they gaped at me.

  “We defeated it together,” I said. “Newstar distracted it, creating an opportunity for all of us, and you, noble ladies, have enraged it and pumped some poison into its body, allowing me to exploit its weakness.”

  “Which weakness?” Puresnow frowned.

  “I used the chance and climbed close to its head. There I struck it with everything I had, opening a crack in its carapace. The frostworm tried to get rid of me with its stinger, but stabbed itself in the open wound, injecting poison into its own body, and its momentary confusion allowed me to stab its brain and fry it with my staff coated in sweltering flames.”

  While slightly embellished, that was more or less what had happened.

  While they nodded, thinking about my words, Newstar made an ugly face.

  “I deserve no credit for this,” he said in a calm voice. “I merely acted as bait. The three of you have done all the hard work.”

  Everlast was about to say that they didn’t do anything either, but I had to root out such thinking. While I would lose some loot, I believe it would improve everyone’s mood if we shared the rewards equally.

  “Do you agree that your actions and you acting as bait have bought us two to three breaths’ time during which the monster was dazed? Enough to land several blows, and shatter its stinger,” I said, not letting Everlast speak.

  Newstar still wanted to argue, but I kept talking.

  “Do not sell yourself short, Newstar. You are by far the youngest amongst us, and for you, this trip is about gathering experience. But if you think you have earned no part of the treasures, we can get from this frostworm, and you do not want to use them to lessen your debt…”

  I could see the conflict. Greed fought with his honor, and lost. He shook his head, making me smile. He really was a good kid.

  “Even if you think you are unworthy of your portion,” I said, “I still believe you have earned it. What do you think, noble ladies? Has this young man earned his share?”

  Everlast looked at me, conflict in her green-illuminated eyes, before speaking. “He has earned his share.”

  “Excellent,” I smiled. “In that case, we proceed as we have originally agreed, splitting all our gains in four equal portions. I promise I will not steal the last hits against third realm frostworms.”