A Cold Fight

Inian and Burt woke up shivering the next day. They looked around and saw that the guard was still awake and watching them.

Burt asked, "did you get any sleep, mister?"

The guard shook his head, "I was required to watch you, so I did."

Burt and Inian looked at each other, then shrugged and stretched.

Inian got up and packed his things, "we should get on the road quickly. I don't want to encounter any early morning monsters."

"I'm with you there, friend."

Burt carried the bag of food they were given, and they walked out of the hut with the guard.

The people around the village were already up and moving. They were carrying tools, food, or supplies. It reminded Inian of a small ant colony.

The elder walked up to them, "I hope you both slept well last night."

Burt remarked, "it was a tad bit cold but other than that, a good night. Thank you, elder."

The elder nodded back. He motioned for the guard to leave them, so the guard watching them left with the elder.

"I guess our time here is up Burt, let's go."

They hiked up their packs and headed up North.

"Hey, Inian, how can so many tribes live up here out of the safety of the iron walls? There are still plenty of monsters out there. It just doesn't make sense."

"They've had plenty of time to figure it out. But the tribes' survival techniques are nothing we need to worry about. All we need to do is focus on finding Janae."

Burt nodded as they kept walking.

Soon, clouds became thick over their heads.

"Hey, Inian, this seems like a bad storm coming. Do you think we should get somewhere safe?"

Inian looked from where the storms were coming from, "this storm seems unnatural. The clouds are all coming from a single point, do you see that?"

Burt squinted his eyes, "hold on one second," he pulled out a pair of glasses.

"Since when do you wear glasses?"

Burt looked offended, "since always! I just never like to wear them because they look stupid."

He put on his large circular glasses and Inian chuckled when he saw how ridiculous they looked.

His laughing stopped abruptly when he saw a monster rolling towards them at a swift pace.

"Be careful Burt; this monster is a high-tier!"

"S**t!"

Burt began running the other way. He had zero chance of fighting off a high-tier monster.

Inian dropped his pack and faced the oncoming monster.

He used his senses and felt extreme hostility coming from the beast. Inian smirked, 'I've got you!'

The monster was armored from head to toe and was rolling towards them in a somersault fashion. The storm clouds were following the beast, and so was the snow that came with it.

'This high-tier monster's ability has to do with the cold.'

Inian stomped his foot down on the ground, and the whole earth shook. Burt was stumbling behind him and fell into the half-meter of snow.

The mini-earthquake also disrupted the monster's role, so it had to unroll and begin walking. Its pace slowed down dramatically when it started walking on all fours to them.

Inian smiled; he had acquired a few new powers after his fight with Marc when he realized how much he still struggled to fight other monsters and specific individuals in version 3 or 4 exosuits.

The monster came closer, showing its row of teeth in its pointed mouth. It roared, and a breeze of ice and snow rushed towards Inian and Burt.

Burt's feet froze to the ground, and he couldn't move, but Inian was able to break free from the ice holding him down.

Inian held his hand out, and a ball of lava accumulated in his hand. He threw it forward towards the monster who quickly jumped to the side to dodge it.

The monster was confused as it spoke, "these abilities come from you? You must be the king! My lord, the Dragon, wishes to see you in his presence if only to torture you!"

The monster smiled and roared once more, trying to capture Inian in a block of ice.

Inian struggled as the ice accumulated around his body, then a couple of icicles were formed in the air, then came launching down no Inian's limbs, piercing through them.

Inian grunted as each icicle stabbed through his limbs, and the monster laughed.

"Not all monsters can do what I can. My abilities are almost at the level of a Titan monster! You will not beat me!"

"Don't be so sure."

The monster looked at Inian with confusion, only to see that the image of Inian had disappeared within the ice.

"WHAT?!?!"

The monster was extremely confused as he saw Inian disappear then reappear right in front of him.

Inian grabbed the monster's face and aimed it towards his own. He had acquired one ability more deadly than any other from a small and straightforward beast.

He would have died if this monster had not served the king. The ability was known as 'Death's eyes.'

Inian's eyes changed to pure black with speckles of light emanating within them. He looked into the monster's eyes, and after a few seconds, the beast screamed, "RAAHHHH!"

The monster collapsed after it screamed with a loud 'Thud!' The storm clouds also disappeared, leaving the light of a disappearing sun over the horizon.

Inian brought his eyes back to normal then clutched his forehead as a raging headache kicked in.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that," Burt said as he came trudging back.

"I don't think I will either," Inian said, clutching his head.

He formed his arm into a sword and stabbed into the beast. After feeling around for a moment, he pulled out the core of a high-tier monster, then swallowed it.

"What are you doing?! We could use that to barter!" Burt cried out in a panic.

Inian shook his head, "I want the monster's ability, but I found out that I can learn the ability much easier and more quickly if I swallow its core."

Burt nodded but still grumbled, "I get it, but still..."

Inian smirked and sat down in a meditative position.

Burt groaned and sat down next to the body of the monster for warmth. "Better hurry up then!"

"I won't be too long."

Inian focused, feeling the cold run through the inside and roam the outside of his body. He felt the piercing wind and the snow melting beneath his body.

After an hour, he breathed out and held out his hand. Several snowflakes formed and floated in mid-air.

"Nice!" Inian said, but he also noticed something else too, "I don't feel the cold anymore, Burt."

"WHAT?! Unfair!"

Inian laughed, "I guess the favor goes to the king. Let's head back out and find another tribe."

Burt gave a thumbs up and stood back up.

The pair then headed out, looking for someone they genuinely cared for.