Two shadow-backed axes sunk into Fluer’s flesh. She stymied a pained grunt and returned the favor with a cyclone, ripping the two away from her and dragging the monsters in a straight line back to their original resting point.

  The Reaver saw visible relief wash over her face once Fleur regained distance. Able to better concentrate on her spells, she summoned twin twisters again, forcing one of the two to the blood-stained stonework while blasting the other with repeated wind gusts.

  Focused on her two unrelenting enemies, she said, “I could use your help, you know. Do you mistreat every lady like this? Hopeless man.”

  Unperturbed, Luke answered, “Sorry, I didn’t expect you glorious level fifties around here to be this incompetent. But you’re right, being this laid back has done its job. I believe I know roughly what you’re capable of—unless you’ve been holding back.”

  “Incompetent? I’ll show you incompetent.” Fleur’s staff point became white hot. Luke could see the mana swirl around her. A vertical twister slammed into the two monsters, shredding them. Both creatures died in pieces from the torrent of slicing winds attacking them. Jutting her staff to Luke, Fleur boasted, “See that? It’s my Apprentice level Spell Overload technique. I’m able to make a spell multiple times more powerful than usual-“

  “But you can’t do it again for a while, and it has other drawbacks.”

  Fleur blinked a few times, then said, “How did you know that?”

  “I’ve tried the same thing with my lance ability. I’m not as good at it as you through, even with Xera’s help. Each time the cooldown increases and I feel a backlash from the attempt, even if I fail with it.”

  Most of Fleur’s negative emotions flowed away like snow against the sun at the indirect compliment, “Well, it took me years of practice. This technique will be my ticket to the top. When I first showed Veyri, she was impressed enough to promise me a spot on her team if I reached tier 2.”

  The Reaver decided not to burst her bubble. Despite Fleur’s recent clashes with him, most hunters appeared not to have a technique at all. Fleur using one at the Apprentice level did put her a cut above the rest.

  Based on the recent fight where he offered half-hearted help, he believed a single group here would kill her, technique or not. At best, she’d murder half of one group before being eaten alive by the Shade Vampire or drained dry by the Acolyte. Hacked to pieced by the Thralls, maybe blasted apart by the Void Sentinel. Whatever the end result, the point was the same.

  Luke tried to steady his expectations. She may be level 50, but these monsters aren’t too far behind. I need to stop believing it’s normal to take on multiple monsters or groups at once.

  Before responding to Fleur, he checked the other candle, keeping the nearby monster party in check, based on its melting speed, they had around five minutes. The organ’s musical notes kept playing in the background, with a hiss piercing through the darkness, invading the entire Gothic Cathedral.

  “Fleur, is reaching Apprentice anything impressive? Don’t get me wrong, that technique is useful, but I did the same around Elementalization at level fifteen or so. Why is it that all these hunters get stuck at Apprentice or worse? Hell, plenty of teams seem to lack one in the first place.”

  Having a prideful nerve pinched, Fleur rammed her staff onto the floor, cracking the stone, “Shut up, genius. You have no idea how hard I worked to get this far. Seeing you accomplish what took me years and months, in days—is infuriating. All you Defiers are insane.”

  “I agree. Definitely insane, I found my people.” Luke swept the boiling tension under the rug. He asked out of curiosity, not to provoke her.

  So fine then, most hunters failed to advance a technique at a respectable pace. Luke thought it was a lack of effort, but perhaps talent also played a role. Wayfinder also shortcut the process with insight, something he couldn’t ignore.

  There must be other factors, Luke vehemently believed.

  Pointing Xera’s wand tip at the next monster group in line, Luke said, “Well anyway, let me give you a tip from my own experience. Play it safe, and your techniques rarely ever grow. Never set aside time to improve them, and of course you’d stagnate.”

  “I work on it daily, for hours after a dungeon clear or quest run,” Fleur rebutted.

  “Then work on it some more. If you thousands of hunters stuck at Apprentice on some random technique got to Expert, maybe those Defiers wouldn’t be feeling the pressure of the Tides so squarely.” Putting a hand over his chin, Luke continued, “Seeing your technique and comparing it to mine is a night and day difference. You could be a tier above me, and I’d still crush you. Evolve or die, and before you say anything, the same applies to me. Plenty of my own troubles would be resolved if I mastered Elementalization and stepped beyond that.”

  “Stop making it sound like it’s easy. What struggles have you ever undergone!? Pampered by the other eight Defiers, given the best resources, how else could you have afforded the tome? You’re practically the up-and-coming star of this entire Duchy.” She pointed a finger at him, “If you survive the Tide, you’ll have nobles and royalty trying to butter you up day and night for the next ten years. Everything so far has been easy for you, from what I see.”

  “…”

  Well, that certainly struck a nerve. I wonder what she would say if she knew anything about me. Am I any different toward her? Meshing with this elf has been difficult.

  “Xera.”

  Frost spread across the Cathedral, with Luke as the epicenter. Too close to the Reaver, Fleur became encased in a thin layer of ice, breaking out of it strenuously. The brown haired elf started to say something but kept back when she saw Luke’s face.

  Xera, called upon, said, “Yes boss, blast and point me wherever you like. The prissy elf can get a front row seat. We’ll stop holding back, right? Right?”

  Biting back the flash of anger, Luke sighed, “I miss Sooty. So much more reliable and reasonable.”

  Caught into the line of conversation, Fleur moderated her tone, “The file on you said you have a companion, a bird. Where is she, anyway? You upset her too?”

  “Training. I’ve run into a problem with her.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “What, you’re too weak? Some of you companion types get carried by your pet. It’s common in the early levels. No shame in that being your case.”

  “Have you gone blind to the last few hours with me? No, I’m too strong, and the gap is widening constantly. I love that bird either way, she still seeps out through our link about how she really feels about it. The Beast Crystals are all for her. Let me show you the reality, elf.”

  Frost began to pulse out in waves. Rather than moderate it, Luke took off the limiter.

  All of it.

  A snowflake image formed under the Reaver’s feet. Arctic winds called to the Cathedral, rushing against the candles; tattered drapes fluttered, and ice came out, growing by feet per second. It started white, became blue, then indigo, before stopping an inch away from black. Streaks of the color decorated the frost, and it bashed up against the three monster groups within the Frost Domain.

  Fleur became frozen from the waist down, her winds unable to free herself, “Hey, calm down, I can’t help you like this,” she begged, a crack entering her voice.

  “I won’t need it.”

  “Look, I know I probably overstepped, but-“

  “Shut up and watch. Stay a spectator, like you’ve always been.”

  Ready, Luke cast his dual buffing abilities to Xera—Infusion and Essence Bond.

  Frost coated all twenty beings within Luke’s range, the candles burning furiously to keep them back. Luke came up to the one most in his way. A frost creation covered his whole body by now, and he extinguished the flame, clutching his hand over it. Shadow Born Thralls, three Shade Vampires, and two Acolytes already powering up the monsters bulldozed toward Luke. The Shade Vampires flowed through their pools, the Thralls stepped in the shadows, and Acolytes kept summoning more blood servants, bats, and buffing with blood magic. Luke tracked three shadow bolts being turreted out by each Shadow Sentinel.

  “So noisy, silence.” A domain spread from Whispering Tome, cutting the casting from each Acolyte, stopping the summons or further buffing. The Shade Vampires forcibly became corporeal, out of their pools, and the throng of Shadow Born Thralls stopped their movement a foot away from where Luke stood ready for them. Following the vision displayed through enhanced sight, Luke expertly dodged the shadow blasts coming his way. Swept out Xera and applied Essence Bond to a central target to activate Ruinous Echo to lower the magic resistance of all creatures in combat with him. Layers of frost blasted back the Thralls nearest him, except for two he intentionally let charge.

  Taking Xera into a two handed group while forming her into a sword, Luke cut one monster’s head clean off in a single strike. The cavity was frozen over, and without vital heated blood to resist it, the body became a frozen shell—ammunition for the Reaver. He kicked it, let it fly into the middle of the group, and commanded the ice to shatter, shredding all monsters within range.

  Swerving to avoid another volley, Luke sliced into another Thrall before fulminating the ice coated on Xera to force momentum to his favor, bisecting the creature. From the natural speed agility gave him and the boost from a permanent Infusion, multiple swipes failed to touch him. Aware that the sixty percent slow from Silent Domain allowed him a more layered approach, Luke pushed for the remaining ability duration.

  Executing Triple Step, he appeared next to the most isolated Acolyte, stabbing into its neck with Xera, then shoving down an Essence Lance point blank.

  The creature shattered into ice shards. Luke manipulated said shards to scatter out, targeting the eyes of each Thrall and Vampire closing around him. The momentary control limit slowed him down enough to finally receive two Shadow Blasts from the Sentinels constantly trying to shoot him apart. Subtly activating Polar South, Luke found his pattern availability skyrocketed.

  Sliding on his ice, he came behind another vulnerable Acolyte, shoving Xera through its heart before ripping across its neck with a clawed gauntlet. Luke used its body to take the incoming blasts and swipes from nearby Thralls. Friendly fire killed the creature.

  Two down, one more to go. Luke immediately found his last vital target with his eyes, the misting blue ice orbs more monstrous than the undead around him.

  He jumped, then commanded the ice around his leg to shatter pushing him forward in the air. In a tackling motion, Luke crashed into the last healer-type monster, and had a hay day with Xera, stabbing in rapid action. Two strikes in, it died. Snapping his fingers, the forming ice under the dead body forced up the cadaver, blocking most of the incoming attacks.

  Keeping ahead of the Shade Vampires, Luke jumped back, thrusting Xera behind him into the mouth of a snarling Thrall. He twisted the sword, ripping off the head. Taking the continually generating ice, it moved like a wave at his command, lampooning some creatures while blasting back others. In the current situation, only the Void Sentinels, invulnerable, could offer any resistance.

  Moving like water, yet using ice, Luke dispatched Thrall after Thrall, only encountering trouble when Silent Domain finally wore off. Each Shade Vampire screeched, causing Luke’s ears to bleed; balance now in shambles. Shadows tried to entangle the young man. They froze at the slightest contact. Layering Xera multiple times, the Reaver swung the artifact, and an ice gust cut into the Shade Vampire’s necks, the damage to their throats interrupting their annoying tactics. As one would credit a high elite, each formed blood bolts en masse, pelting their target.

  In an instant, Luke took stock of the current situation. Four Thralls, Three Shade Vampires, Three Sentinels. The vampires move fast enough even with my frost on them, I need full concentration to deal with three at once.

  Adapting to a reckless style in exchange for the fastest possible killing speed, Luke felt pain as blood and shadow blasts started to find their mark more. His frost armor around his body reduced the damage but failed to eliminate it. Straining for Triple Step yet again, a moderate speed burst allowed Luke to zoom past two Thralls at once; each decapitated as he passed by.

  A heavy clawed hand shredded into his shoulder. Luke grabbed the offending Shade Vampire and forced its position to take the incoming spells intended for him. Acutely aware his health was dropping faster than what he replenished through life steal, the Reaver clamped shut the mouth trying to dig into his neck.

  Fully using his over-leveled stats, Luke crushed the Shade Vampire’s neck next, discarding it. The world’s rules kept it alive, yet it may as well have been an obstacle for its allies, uselessly clutching at its throat on the floor. Rushing around, Luke zigzagged, just as he was trained to do to dodge bullet rain—instead it was for spell rain.

  The Reaver used the predictive sight to its maximum, weaving in between thin gaps, slaughtering the last two Thralls through a combination of friendly fire and his sword strikes. He breathed heavily, blood flowing from his sides—his frost armor broken in multiple locations.

  Yet all one would find is a smile on his face and fire within cold eyes, blazing with vigor, able to release himself more. A last shred of sanity kept back Essence Fissure from being used, but Luke decided to take another liberty.

  Refreshing Essence Bond and Infusion onto Xera, Essence Lance came about right after. He formed one and chucked it at the pair of Shade Vampires ravenously swiping and blasting at him. The formed mist and ice explosion gave the Reaver enough cover to finish off the crippled Shade Vampire heaving on the floor. With its death, one of the three Void Sentinels was vanquished.

  Another Essence Lance formed—from the reset Temporal North provided—using up the three shards for acceleration, the Lance bore into a Shade Vampire’s head, and went out the other end. Diving to avoid shadow blasts while still covering distance, Luke rolled toward the end of the trajectory, then exploded ice on his arms to sweet Xera through the Shade Vampire’s knees and cleanly separated its lower legs. The near dead vampire fell forward, and Luke shoved an ice covered arm into its chest, commanding the ice to freeze within.

  It died an iced husk.

  Gripping the insides, Luke threw the husk toward the last Shade Vampire and treated its former ally like a bomb, and the resulting blast flash froze the vampire into an ice statue, one that remained alive.

  Shoving an injured right leg, Luke forced a Triple Step again, feeling a severe recoil—that he pushed past—taking Xera into a madman’s reverse single handed grip, Luke stabbed the last vampire to death, taking several shadow blasts in return.

  Dealing damage faster than what was being dished out to him, Luke won the race, killing the Shade Vampire and forcing the last Void Sentinel to close. By the end, the battlefield became a picture of blood, ice, gore, and shattered stone.

  Shoving his back to a nearby wall, Luke began to gasp, remembering to slow his bleeding by commanding ice to cover his wounds. Smiling with one eye closed, Luke spoke to Fleur, who had a mortified facial expression.

  “Did you enjoy the show? You spectator elf.”