Chapter 165 (1/2)

Randidly grimaced. He fucking hated the cold. And this was not the invigorating cold of Aether, this was a restrictive, controlling cold that tried to devour him, frost beginning to form in restrictive waves on his body.

As it did so, it became harder to move, but then a skill deep within him pulsed, coming alive, refusing to be tied down by the ice. The effect eased somewhat, enough for Randidly to move and remove some potions and drink them. It was the Rejection skill that he had obtained with Oathbreaker Path. It was interesting that it could be used in this way, but Randidly didn’t have much time to be thankful, because another blast of cold surged outward, even more powerful than the first descent. The cool mist billowed outward, pressing him towards the edge of the tower, and Randidly dropped down onto his stomach to keep his purchase on the durable, but not very friction causing, material.

A strange, low horn sounded, and Randidly rolled his eyes and stood, pulling the giant obsidian spear out of his ring, and several mana potions. After a brief grimace in the face of the swirling wind, he put two of those back and removed a few stamina potions. After all, he still had a few hundred of both mana and stamina in his storage rings. Now that he had been here for two years, his store of materials was running low.

Better to save potions where he could. Although he wouldn’t hesitate to burn them if it was necessary to escape, it was hard to tell if that would be possible yet. Better to save his cards for a more important moment.

The bitingly cold wind was still carried an edge of frost, and there was a definite effect on his movement, but Randidly was still able to lower himself into a stance, the passive version of the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil engaging to boost his mana and health regeneration. Out of the swirling mist, several tiny yetis hopped forward, their furry bodies covered in a thick layer of crystal clear ice armor.

Snorting, Randidly used Ghastly Slash to rip through the armor and their bodies beneath it, but not before one of them was able to shriek. Immediately, clicks and whistles filled the dense air, and Randidly began to glide to the right. Until he saw what he was up against…

But very quickly, he encountered another, larger group of little yetis, waving axes and greatswords of ice. Randidly quickly cut down those enemies too, but not before cursing coming to this world. Not for any grand reason, but just that he had become incredibly used to fighting against enemies who used spears.

He had lost a bit of his edge against monsters from constantly fighting against people these past two years. It was an annoying reminder about the limits of training with Shal. At the same time…

Randidly’s feet blurred as he pushed Spear Phantom’s Footwork to its limit, almost seeming to teleport a meter to the left and right as he continued to rush through the mist. The clicking gathered behind him, and he felt confident that he escaped the encircling yetis. His speed wasn’t something they were prepared for.

Shal was very good at one area, and Randidly had progressed tremendously under him in that area. For now, that was more than enough, even though the time sink was quite something. Without the light of the real world, Randidly was secretly very worried that his sense of humor had died. Withered and wizened, it now was a corpse of its past self-

Randidly stepped on something and froze, his move instantly doused in frozen water. The mustached man was beneath him, covered in a slowly growing layer of snow, the right side of his body crushed, by what must have been a giant hammer. His face was already blue, and not the blue of Shal’s dyed skin, but the blue of frostbite.

A chill that had little to do with the descent of the Judgement ripped through him.

Although they could simulate it as well as possible, Shal and Marco could not give him this strange feeling. The fluttering heartbeat, the quickened breath. The strange thrill that you could only experience if your life is on the line. Dancing on a knife’s edge, over the precipice of failure.

“Foolish warrior, you have allowed me to return.” A low, familiar voice rumbled, and Randidly looked up to find the Yeti’s huge, hulking form above him, looming out of the snow covered wind. This time, he was already covered in his ice armor, holding two hammers of ice. “For now I will end your sacrilege. Your sins will bind you to the ground like chains.”

As the Yeti raised its hammers, Randidly hopped backwards, skidding slightly over the icy ground. He winced; not this shit again. He briefly considered using Circle of Flame to melt the nearby ice, but based upon the continual dropping of the temperature, that wouldn’t be much help. Randidly couldn’t imagine it would continue forever, but…

Even this much was enough to significantly impact his movements in a fight.

Surging forward the Yeti swung with his right hammer, which glowed with a strange golden swirl of energy that Randidly vaguely recognized: it was an Engraving. Randidly didn’t want to find out what sort of effect it had, but his extremities were already numb, and his rapid mental calculations made him feel like there was a small chance to dodge, but a much better chance to block the power of the block. Even if the Yeti’s power had doubled or tripled since their last meeting…

Yet Randidly still hesitated, until it was basically too late to dodge, and then raised the spear to block with a frown. There was something he didn’t like about that Engraving. But finding out sooner was better than waiting until he had to experience it a time that might cost him his life, so…