Chapter 18: Winter is Coming

Pov of Abby

Abby sat in her makeshift chair made of tree branches, nervously tapping the armrest. Nobody knew what was coming better than she did.

Nobody felt what she felt: the deadly winter that would freeze everything, even energy. It would only get worse based on her skill. She believed that only those at level 100 and above would survive this winter.

Everything else would die, and she would go so far as to say that wasn't the worst part. It was the winter monsters—monsters that didn't rest.

"They don't know what's coming. They are all fools. But still, they were her fools. 'Henry,' she said, in an almost begging tone.

In response, Henry's blue eyes stared into her face. 'This is not a battle you can face alone. This winter will be cold, a level of cold that you are not prepared for.'

Henry stopped what he was doing, leaned back into his chair, and straightened his suit. He took off the black gloves that surrounded his hands.

'You have told me that seventeen times, and I have heeded your warning. I have created an army. I have found potential royal primordials, only the lightning fellow and the priest, that are something close to me. The hundreds I have found are all fake. What is one man to an army that I have created?'

Thick mana burst out from his hand, cracks appeared all over the cement wall, and his office vibrated. But through everything, Abby wasn't fazed.

The mana was so thick it started to overlay in the air, creating a blue substance everywhere. Without even its command, it began to push against anything in its presence.

Chips of cement appeared between the rocks, and the door of the office crushed in response.

'Now leave. I have judgment to cast upon the sinners. I do not need your warning anymore.'

Throughout everything, Abby wasn't fazed. She looked at this prideful bastard with pity. Arrogance would be his downfall. She was saddened by how power had corrupted him. Even the mighty fall—had he not seen it?

How long had they been here? Six or eight months? How many prideful primordials had fallen? Abby stood up from her makeshift chair, walked towards the plant, and touched it. She disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Pov of Gob

Recently, the knight Gob wandered through the forest, searching for the hairless black bear. Gob's intelligence grew by the day, and he had a nagging feeling that this monster would return. He had warned his king, but the king had not heeded his warning.

Gob had never encountered such a beast, filled with an insatiable will for power and a relentless force to dominate. It was something he hadn't seen in anyone other than himself.

Gob stood atop the mountain that separated the two forests. He was composed, with a longsword at his waist and a suit of iron armour that fit his body perfectly.

His green eyes pierced the flourishing forest below him. The hairless black bear was nowhere to be found.

And that made him furious. He had tracked its movements down there, but the monster didn't seem to know where it was going, Gob analyzed.

But what made this monster special was its constant movement and killing. By doing so, it grew stronger each day and Gob had a nagging feeling it was coming for its head.

Gob turned around and walked towards the village, leaving a trail of bloodied footprints behind him.

Goblin Level 50 - Royal Knight

POv of Connor

We found ourselves in an arena of sorts, with walls extending as far as the eye could see. Unlike a typical arena, there was no crowd. No shouting, no screams, and, more importantly, no music.

In this arena, I could feel the heat seeping through my feet. I knew better than to waste essence on protecting myself.

I gazed at the kid, Jacob. His eyes were locked on the gate in front of us.

This gate was no ordinary gate. It had a swirling substance inside of it that looked like fire from a distance but seemed to be liquid that was under control.

4th Floor

Survive the Arena of Flames

A monstrous foot stepped through the door, melting the floor beneath it. Two red horns slowly emerged from the gate as well.

Three demons exited the door, identical in appearance. Each had a pair of orange eyes, skin as red as blood, and clothing that only covered their lower bodies.

Four towers of flames rose into the sky upon their entrance, and the heat they produced was intense against my skin.

I stood where I was and waved at them to come forward. I could have used Identify on them, but what would be the point? I had to kill them regardless. Did it matter if they were strong or weak?

Or perhaps I was just being prideful. Pride was never one of my sins.

Either way, I made sure to use it this time.

Demon, level 25 - Fire Warrior

Demon, level 25- FireWarrior

Demon,Level 35 - Fire Warrior 

The demon that stood at the back, with her arms crossed, looked at us as if we were ants. It didn't seem like she intended to move.

The two level 25 demons dashed towards us. I blocked one's attack easily with my left hand, pulling it towards me and connecting its face with my right hand.

He dropped to the floor, blood running down his nose. I bent my knee, grabbed his horn, and brought it to my face. "You know you can't win. Why fight?"

He stared into my eyes, not responding. Internal destruction.

His head went lifeless. I dropped it to the ground, watching it wobble in the air until it made contact with the floor. The level 35 demon came running.

I had been watching its every move from a distance. He threw a high kick, which I planned to block, but it turned into a blur.

It connected with my arm, sending me flying into the arena wall.

Boom. I dropped from the wall without even causing a dent.

With a quick step, I appeared right in front of the demon and slammed my fist into its face. It flew into the air until Jacob arrived behind it, placing his hands on either side of its head and saying, "Fire Burst."

The demon's head turned to crisp, and it dropped to the floor as blood leaked from its body.

1 Minute of Rest 

"Hey, Jacob," I called out to the kid to get his attention. He turned around and gave me a questioning look. "I have a question for you. When you were given the chance to choose your race, why did you choose human?"

"I didn't choose human because I wanted to," he replied. "As a matter of fact, my first choice was a primordial Titan or a primordial element, but the system said, 'request denied due to race limit met.'" Jacob looked at me doubtfully as he heard my question.

A look of surprise spread across my face. Race limit met? I didn't get that message. I didn't know the trade-offs involved so I didn't choose the other race, It wasn't just that, to be honest. What good would it be to be born overly powerful without any struggles?

"I thought you would have tried other classes, just like me, old man," he said, starting to question my intelligence.

"I didn't. I thought there was a trade-off I wasn't aware of, so I did what any logical person would do: I picked the race I was most familiar with," I explained.

"That's just plain old stupid, you old fossil," he said with a smirk, knowing that he got another nickname to use.

"Thats not nice kid

"Ohh please, nobody gives two fucks"

"Thats right" I nodded.

Time Over

The same procedure happened again: three demons walked out of the gate. One stayed at the back, doing nothing, fire also burst in the sky as they entered the area.

Demon, Level 35 - Fire Warrior

Demon, Level 35 - Fire Warrior

Demon, Level 45 - Fire Warrior

I smiled at the enemies I was facing. This time, I moved first. With a quick step, I arrived right in front of the level 35 demon. He raised his hands, as if knowing what was coming.

I spun around and smashed my fist into his face, causing his head to explode, recoil hit me, but I didn't show it. I kicked his body away and grabbed the other level 35 demon.

It screamed as my hand dug into its face. It tried to pull my hand away, but it was too late. Its brain splattered across my hand, and its body dropped lifeless to the ground. I kicked its body, sending it flying into the level 45 demon.

Seeing me treating his comrade like that, he hit level 35 to the ground. I took a step towards it, readying my internal destruction. I punched at its face, which it blocked.

I grabbed its hand with my punching hand and forced it down, exposing its face. I planted a knee into its face, expecting to discombobulate it.

Unexpectedly, it blocked my knee and pushed my leg down into the ground. It punched at my face, but I ducked in time. Simultaneously, I broke its knee.

In rage, the demon smashed me into the ground with both of its hands, creating a shockwave upon impact.

It repeated the action, and the ground cracked. I phased through its attack and struck it on its head with internal destruction, causing it to drop dead.

With a quick step, I closed the distance between me and Jacob's opponent. Surrounding my hand with essence, I ripped its head off. The level 35 demon I had kicked before wasn't dead. None of the demons I had killed were dead.

Immediately, I realized that their heads weren't their weak spots anymore.

One continued to attack Jacob with a barrage of punches. I kicked its feet off the ground, causing it to flip in the air. With all my strength, I smashed into its chest, my hand going right through its body. I pulled out its heart.

Alert

The level 35 demon I had fought earlier, before I killed the one attacking Jacob, hit me with a fire spell, knocking the air out of my lungs. Its actions took me by surprise

The level 45 demon arrived right in front of me with such speed it was as if it had used a quick step; I couldn't even track its movement. It raised its hand, intending to finish me off. I raised my hand in defence.

I screamed out in pain as all the bones in my hand were either shattered or crushed.

The pain was excruciating, and my arm dangled uselessly at my side. The demon's eyes gleamed with malevolent satisfaction as it prepared for another strike.

I pushed essence into my legs and kicked the demon off me. Flipping backwards, I landed heavily, my feet digging into the ground. I gazed at the level 45 demon in anger. Somehow, it had copied two of my skills: Quick Step and Internal Destruction.

It even mimicked my method of attacking the head. I surrounded my hands with healing essence and took a deep breath. "I don't want to use Death Mana or Soul Strike. I don't know how many more rounds there are."

Before I could finish my thought, the demon struck. Bang! I was sent flying through the air. Using essence to cover my feet, I braced myself against the wall, then pushed off and landed back on the ground. The demon hadn't used Internal Destruction; its attack felt like my Recoil Punch.

I glanced at Jacob. He was fighting for his life, his flames seemingly useless against the relentless demon.

Determination surged through me. I couldn't let Jacob down. With my hands healed enough to fight, I called upon the essence within me. This time, I would end it.

I advanced on the level 45 demon with renewed fury. It was time to show it what true power looked like. As I closed the distance, the demon mirrored my Quick Step, appearing right in front of me. But this time, I was ready. I feinted to the left, then struck with a powerful right hook, enhanced with Internal Destruction. The demon's head snapped back, but it quickly regained its balance, its eyes burning with rage.

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