The Frozen War

  The two sides clashed. The most bloodshed came from the Ice Bears, for each Shadow destroyed, two Ice Bears fell. The mages on the back line build up their power into one attack, burning the battlefield. "Mages with powerful fire magic, and infantry with quick regenerative abilities," Winter thought. "My Shadow Soldiers are much stronger than I expected. Their insane regenerative capabilities make them immortal," Winter mumbles to himself. "Although, it drains a lot of my mana," he added, watching his mana bar fall. A much larger, and stronger-looking bear came out of the cave, roaring. "You must be one of the bosses here," Winter watched it pummel through several of his infantry knights. "It wiped out quite a large amount of my Soldiers already. They're no match... And being out of mana makes it worse," Winter thought with a sigh.

~>System<{" The [Player]'s [Mana] Has Been [Depleted]. [Shadow Soldiers] Cannot be [Regenerated],"}>it rang<~< p>

  "Igris... I think this is a job for you," he watched Igris walk past Winter. He stepped up to the Boss Bear, his long, black sword drawn. The Boss Bear roared as Igris charged at it. Within seconds, the bear was already damaged. Blood fell from the arm it tried to strike Igris with. From running up its arm, Igris landed, and pushed off a nearby tree, dodging another attack from the Boss Bear. He stabbed its other arm and started to drive his sword up its arm, cutting its thick fur and skin open. Before he got too close, he leaped off, taking his sword with him. The Boss Bear attempted to follow, but Igris quickly rushed behind it and slashed its legs. "Woah..." Winter watched in awe. The Boss Bear was all bloody and cut up. It began to wobble and fall over. Igris returns to the front side of the Boss Bear, and in one fluid motion, he cuts it up. Going through the bear's neck as it fell onto his blade. For a moment, the Boss Bear's head flew in the air, spinning. Just as the Boss Bear's corpse fell on the snow, Igris had caught its head and was returning to Winter. "If Igris had taken me more seriously, I wouldn't have stood a chance... But since I've leveled up, I think we might be even now," Winter thought. Looking down at the bear's lifeless head that was plopped down on the snowy ground before him. Igris knelt, paying respect to his Liege. "Maybe I'm still weaker than him," he thought, patting Igris's shoulder. "Good work," he commented as he walked past Igris. "I should make this guy into one of my shadow soldiers," Winter thought to himself, getting close to the Bear Boss's corpse. "Arise," he commanded. The bear began to move, its corpse consumed by the shadows underneath it.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Successfully [Extracted] a [Shadow Soldier],"}>it rang<~< p>

  The bear rose once more, standing on its corpse. The bears that had been raised from the dead roared in unison, paying respect to their new master. "Nice," Winter grinned softly. Outside the dungeon, Erik turned his head to Jonah, "How long has it been?" He asks, "About three hours, sir," Jonah replies. "It has already been three days inside the dungeon," he added. "I wonder how many of them are still alive," Jonah thought. "The environment inside a Collapsing Dungeon is anything but normal," Erik began. "Their skin might've burned under the scorching sun, they might've gotten frostbite from the extreme cold, or they might even be battling poisonous insects. The weak ones will be the first to go," Erik explained. "Oh no," Chul faced a monstrously large yetis. "Even if they somehow manage to get used to the environment, they'll need to find food and water too," Erik continued. "The low-ranking Mythics are going to have a hard time eating the corpses of beasts because of the high rank of the dungeon," Erik began again. "C-rank Mythics or lower are probably dead by now," he added. "That means Winter Greats is probably dead as well," Billy yawned. "Looks like coming here was just a waste of time," he sighed. "Oh, by the way. Winter Greats isn't a member of the White Lion Guild, right?" Billy asks his back facing Erik. "Then Why did he enter that gate?" He asked, deeply annoyed. They awkwardly stood there. "He's an old acquaintance of mine. He asked if he could participate in a c-rank raid, and I couldn't turn him down," Jonah half lied. "Jonah is covering for Winter Greats. That's how problematic it'd be for people to find out about him. Why even is an S-rank Mythic like Billy Bob looking for Winter Greats, a weak mage," Erik thought, looking at Jonah. "Oh, well. I guess there's nothing more I can do," Billy turned around. "Is that what you expected me to say?" Billy asks, grabbing Jonah by the neck. "It's a strange talent of mine, but I've always had a knack for sniffing out lies," his veins popping on his face. "Something's not adding up," Billy added, looking up at Jonah. "C'mon, spit out the truth! What are you hiding from me?" He asks. Erik clasped Billy's arm tightly. "Billy Bob. Let go of my Employee," he growled. "You have no right to order me around," Billy replied, his face deforming into a wrathful amalgamation. "Stop acting like a big shot, man," he added. "What did you just say?" Erik asks. Heavy, dense mana erupted out from the two in waves, Jonah fell onto his ass and stay there. Most if not everyone around the two weren't able to move freely because of the endless, heavy waves of mana rushing over them. "If we're not careful. There's going to be a face-off between these two!" Jonah thought, unable to stand up from the weight of their mana combined.

  Returning to the cold of the Collapsing Dungeon, Charles was exhausted, panting as he stood up against a large, ape-like monster. Frost had built up on his face, hands, and feet. His large battle axe was broken, and now it was nothing but a bent pole. His shield was torn to strips of metal. His armor was broken, and what was left was small, incomplete pieces of it. "No way... There's just no way!" He thought, glaring at the yeti. His eyes were tired, with black circles under them. "The great Charles has been defeated!" He thought. Just in the background, behind Charles, his squad of B-rank Mythics were being torn apart, and even eaten alive. "I'm set to become an elite member of the White Lion Guild!" He added. Who was alive to scream and claw, they called out to deaf ears for any kind of help. "I even received special training to become one of the top Mythics in the guild! How could this happen to me?!" Charles thought to himself. "If only I had some food... Water... Anything!" He panicked. "This is unacceptable!" He added in thought. "The food shortage isn't my fault, though," he mumbled to himself. "No... I'm the squad leader. It's my responsibility, that's right... I'm the squad leader," he repeated to himself blind to the death around him. He mumbled more to himself, but he was awakened to his surroundings when arrows buzzed past him. It struck the man who stood to his right, killing him in one strike. "Hyakki!" He thought watching a group of them approaching him. "First it was Yetis, now it's Hyakki?!" He asks himself. He glanced behind him, and another Hyakki stood on a body, making sure the b-rank was dead. In terror, Charles quickly ran. A Hyakki who sat upon a horse watched him run, smiling sinisterly.

  Charles made it to the tree line, pending. He blew into his cupped hands. "It's all because of the cold... No, if we hadn't starved for the past couple of days, we wouldn't have been defeated," he walked through the snow. He came across a clearing and found a field of dead Ice Bears. "So this is why I haven't seen any Ice Bears since I've been in the forest!" He gasped with surprise. "Did the other team kill all these bears? No way! They aren't capable of this," Charles convinced himself. Running in the opposite direction. "It must've been Hyakki! That's right! There must be Hyakki nearby!" He ran. "Crap, I gotta get out of here fast!" Charles added Erik began to transform, his nails elongating, and his skin growing fur. "Are you looking for a fight?!" Erik asks through his growling. "You bet I am!" Billy grinned sinisterly. Both brought their free hands back, condescending their aura into their hands. In one motion, both threw a jab at each other. An explosion of magic and mana waves destroyed the ground. The ground lifted and concrete began to fly with the sudden rush of massive amounts of mana waves. Dirt and dust clouded the area. "Not bad. You Stopped the both of us," Billy smirked. River stood between them, with a hand on each. His suit was torn from the sheer force, but his arms stayed intact. They backed off, as River felt his hands tremble. "If you two didn't hold back at the last second, both of my arms would've been broken," he explained. "Regardless, I was the first one to suspect Winter Greats of being an evolver. So around two months ago he went through an evaluation, and he's the same rank. E-rank, with pretty much the same stats," River explained. "That's not possible!" Jonah thought. "It's a shame that Bobby Bill passed away, but Winter Greats isn't strong enough to wipe out an entire strike squad on his own," River added. "I know... But I have to know what happened," Billy tossed his glasses to the side. "If you know this, sir, then why do you feel the need to pin Winter Greats down?" He asks.

  "It's just an excuse. An excuse to kill someone," Billy explained. "Forget it, you killed my vibe, anyways," he walked off. "I'm gonna get some sleep," Billy added. The others stared at him, fearful of another outburst. "What? You've never seen two S-ranks go at it before?" He asks angrily. "It seems I'm the only one who knows about the Winter Greats' capabilities," Jonah thought. "He'll make it back. I know it," he added. Winter's camp had already expanded, with a larger campfire, and a partial roof over their food, water, and firewood. They were gathered at the campfire, talking and laughing. Charles had just gotten into the clearing, he stood there confused, watching them. "What the hell is going on over there?! They're all low ranks!" He thought, his anger building. "How are they still alive?" Charles asks himself in thought. "Thick clothes, warm blankets, tents, all kinds of equipment... They even have food!" He added, his rage boiling. "If only my hands weren't frozen. No! If I'd eaten properly, I would've been able to take on those Hyakki!" Charles thought, gritting his teeth. "They brought all this equipment, but took it all for themselves?" He asked himself, his rage reaching the surface. "Those shitheads..." He grumbled. "You bastards!" He yelled, catching their attention. "Charles? What are you doing here?" Parklin asks. "My team was wiped out because we didn't have enough food and equipment. Hope is it that you guys have all of these supplies?!" Charles asks, walking up to them. "Well," Yon began awkwardly. "Why can't you explain yourselves?! Cat got your tongue?!" Charles asks, furiously yelling. "I highly doubt all of you were behind this together. Who hid all of this from me?" He asks, "If you tell me who it was, I'll let the rest of you off the hook," he explained loudly. "Who hogged all of the equipment and left their teammates to die?!" He asks, his hand moving down to his sword. "Parklin," Stella watched in fear, getting close to her. "I'll give you till the count of three. If nobody speaks up, I'm gonna assume that all of you were in on it together!" He threatened. "One," he began. Gon gritted his teeth, holding his tongue. "Two," Charles continued, drawing his sword. "I see. That woman volunteered to switch teams. She must've had something up her sleeve!" He thought, glaring straight at Parklin. "She didn't have the confidence to survive alone, and she wanted to preserve as much food as possible. That's why she decided to go with the other team!" Charles thought, finding a fake, strange answer to his questions. "Are you the culprit, Parklin?!" He thought to himself. "Three!" Charles yelled, bending forward to dash towards them. "Four," Winter added, a balled-up fist coming down onto Charles' head. With one swipe, Charles' face went into the frozen ground. His body crashed into the snow face-first. With the force Winter placed into his fist, Chasles tumbled, and rolled across the ground, only stopping under a tree. "Winter!" One yelled. "Mr. Greats!" Another cheered. "Who was it that left us to survive on our own?" Winter asks calmly. "Your whole speech was bullshit," he added. "By the looks of it, you even brought some monsters along with you," Winter explained. "Brought monsters?!" Parklin asks, awkwardly.

  Winter started walking down the clearing. "It's useless to hide now. Not that you could hide in the first place," he yelled, with his hands in his pockets. A horse began to appear, and with the Hyakki on top, their entire army appeared with him. "Damn. You're quite strong," Winter commented calmly. "That's the boss alright," he thought. "I-Ice Elves!" Yon yelled in fear. "There are so many of them!" Parklin added. "There are more than twenty!" Gon added. "So it's true. Not all of you are trash. There's treasure amongst the garbage," Baruka began. "Hold on. Who are you calling garbage?" Winter asks in confusion. Baruka becomes confused as well. "Do you understand our language?" He asks with surprise. "Huh? How am I able to communicate with them?" He asks himself. "Winter, you speak their language?" Parklin asks. "This must also be possible because of the System," Winter thought. "Looks like we can communicate, very good! I am Baruka, the leader of my tribe, and there's someone I would like to introduce to you," Baruka began, his right hand moving down to another Hyakki to the right of his horse. "You've met each other before," he added. Just then Winter remembered this Hyakki, the same Hyakki that threatened him before. "They're the ones who informed us there was someone powerful amongst the humans," Baruka explained. "They would like to duel against you, so-" he continued, but was interrupted. The Hyakki that stood beside him had lost his head within the time he was speaking. Winter stood behind Baruka, head down, and a dagger in his right hand. The Hyakki's body falls lifeless to the frozen ground. "Anything else you wanted to say?" Winter asks, turning back to face Baruka. The Hyakki looked back, with a blank expression. Then, it twisted and folded into a sinister smile. "I like you," Baruka replied with a truly monstrous smile.