Each day brought with it a new lesson. My skills grew incrementally, and levels were few and far between in the 2nd tier, but my survival skills burgeoned. I learned much about the mountains I had never known before, and Nathlan and I were weathered by the experience, wisdom taking root despite our best efforts.

  Some of the hard edges were sheared away by constant howling winds and vicious sub-zero temperatures, and I stumbled upon a strange phenomenon I’d not encountered before; hardship bringing people together. It sounded obvious – a trite expression that anyone could chuck about without care as if a discarded piece of food. But my experience usually ran counter to that.

  Acute moments of stress, like fighting side by side with someone or traversing the treacherous terrain of grief arm in arm, was of course a great way to create fast bonds between people, but I had found that when you subjected a relationship to chronic, low-level stress…it tended to wither rather than strengthen.

  I had seen it in the glum moods while we trekked through mile after unending mile in the Wandering States during the monsoon rains, sharing barely a word all day, and I’d seen it more recently during our travels through the low hills of the Dragon-Spines before we had reached the Titan’s Crown – frustration had started to set in, and people had less patience for one another than before. Small arguments flared up, charity and grace were no longer extended with ease but instead held tightly to one’s chest and only given out with great reluctance.

  Not so in the high places though. When we had to venture up through snow-drowned passes and grapple with frozen ridges and icefields, our group pulled together. Perhaps it was because to do otherwise was to risk death. The benefit of the doubt was a requirement in this harsh jagged world we traversed, and each of us realised new depths of compassion and empathy for one another.

  Storage devices went a long way to making the journey more tolerable, and magical skills were a godsend – Vera’s fire lighting pebbles saw heavy use in speeding up the process of drying our boots at days end. Fires were easy to start and keep burning through the night, despite the lack of firewood or heavy snows. Shelters were easy to construct – an igloo raised and lined in less than a bell by a single person – and Jorge’s old map, that I had seen so long ago back at Outpost 13, made navigation trivial.

  There were still trials and dangers, however. Just because the usual hazards were tolerable with magic, preparation, and experience, didn’t mean that the environment could be ignored or underestimated. Crevasses, avalanches, rockslides and flash-floods were all genuine concerns, and that is to say nothing of the fauna that littered the land.

  Nathlan was closing in on the peak of 1st tier after only a week, and I had gained 4 more levels from fighting the denizens of the Dragon-Spines. Sadrianna sometimes joined in, though most of the fighting was left to Nathlan, and then myself if he needed support. Vera had only stepped in twice, and both times I was reminded of how powerful she truly was. It was a definite strategy though, to allow the weakest members of the party to farm the experience they could, in the hopes of raising our group’s power in total.

  A few hundred 2nd tier creatures would do little to help Vera advance, and even Sadrianna would struggle to gain more than a dozen levels during our month-long journey, but Nathlan could reach the peak of the 1st tier easily, and likely gain a score of levels in the bottom of 2nd tier as well. Similarly, I could advance my power markedly with the bounty of this land. Sadrianna also didn’t possess a combat class, and so her and Jorge both would receive minimal gains from fighting wild creatures compared to the rest of us.

  The world was dangerous, but it was made safer by our skills. We travelled relatively quickly through the broken land, scaling mountains with ice-axes and crampons, ropes linking us to one another so that if one fell, it would not be their end. Those ascents were invigorating, and I loved the feel of exposure as the biting wind tried to nuzzle my hair while we climbed steep cliffs of ice and rock in a chain of bodies.

  Not all crossings were so fun though. There was a weary drudgery in setting up and packing down camp each day, and the climbs from low valley to high pass, through thick snowbanks and scree slopes, were gruelling and lonely. No conversation could be exchanged when every step was hard work, and the wind would snatch the words from inside your mouth and cast them away into the open air.

  Despite all of this though, we pulled together. We shared stories around the fire at night, helped one another with the thousand boring tasks of travel, and solidified our connections in a way that only living with somebody can do.

  All of this within the first week of our journey, but that was the way of things in the mountains; fast friends and fast lives. It was because of this growing closeness and trust that nobody died when I discovered we were being followed.

  We began the day in a deep valley, sliced through by a thin mountain stream. The water was bitterly cold, with a freshness that seared the throat and cooled the belly but after a few breaths, left you feeling rejuvenated and eager for more. It was only a meter or so wide and it was a wander that such a tiny thing could cut a mountain in half, but such is the power of deep time.

  It was a grey morning, wan sunlight straining to break through the low clouds but never quite making it. The grass took on a yellow hew, and the seemingly endless boulders and rocks that stacked together to form the mountainside were slippery and moss-covered.

  Our trek through the valley took time but was surprisingly pleasant, despite the moody weather. There was little wind, shielded as we were by the high ridges to either side, and it was warm enough for us to discard our heavy furs, winter hats and snoods covering our faces, which did wonders to promote conversation – it was hard to talk through a few inches of fur, after all.

  Nathlan, Sadrianna, Vera and I were all jogging together, Nathlan expounding on some esoteric nonsense and us mostly humouring him. It had started off interesting, but I quickly became lost in all the academic jargon, though Vera managed to keep up admirably as far as I could tell. Then she whipped her head around to stare at one of the ridgelines for a few moments before calling to Jorge and speeding over to him.

  That put us on edge, and we hurried to catch up and overhear, but whatever conversation they were having was not for our ears. They sped up further, and we were in the comical position of chasing after them with intensity while they whispered back and forth, easily keeping pace ahead of us despite their casual demeanour.

  Although Vera did look to be clenching her fist at her side, and the way Jorge was laying a hand on her arm almost looked placating. I slowed and looked back to where Vera had focused on, hoping to see anything out place, but it was just an empty ridge.

  I shrugged to myself and decided to trust them once again. There had already been occasions that we’d changed course to avoid the territory of some great beast, shepherded expertly by Jorge and Vera through this dangerous land. Perhaps this was similar. No point in telling us exactly how fucked we were if whatever was tailing us decided to attack, perhaps. Though it surely couldn’t be worse than the guessing. My imagination was a powerful tool, but it seemed to be in somebody else’s employ most of the time.

  We continued on for another bell or so until I heard Sadrianna gasp, and her spear appeared in her hand. I followed her gaze and saw a black lump dropping below the ridgeline to our right, perhaps 200 meters away and above us.

  “What was that? What did you see?” I asked, my own spear slapping into my right hand from where it had hung on my belt. I couldn’t see the cool blue glow of the rune on the back of my fist, but I knew it was there, reassuring like an anchor at sea.

  She hesitated a moment before speaking out of the corner of her mouth, unwilling to turn away from that ridgeline. “A figure, I think. Humanoid. We’re being followed.”

  I frowned and looked up the valley to where Jorge and Vera were in discussion. They’d noticed something earlier too but hadn’t shared what with the rest of us. At the time I’d assumed it was for our peace of mind, but now I was starting to wonder if this was some sort of test.

  That wasn’t quite right. As annoying as the whole ‘mysterious, wise, not-telling-you-all-the-details-of-my-master-training-plan’ philosophy that Jorge seemed to subscribe to was, he didn’t really test Nathlan and I. He often withheld information to give us the opportunity to gain experience without constant supervision, and let us make mistakes and solve a problem as we saw fit, but if there was legitimate danger, he would let us know.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  That didn’t mean a given situation was safe, by any means, but it usually meant it was within our power to handle if we weren’t stupid. “Check with Jorge, see if we can check it out,” I said, “I don’t like being followed, and Nathlan is right on the cusp too – one more level and he’ll be ready.”

  She nodded and then shot off, catching up to the two older fighters within moments while I kept a wary eye on the ridgeline as Nathlan and I jogged after them. I slung the shield that was strapped across my back onto my arm, tightening straps and securing it carefully. It was surprisingly light, given its strength, and so I’d decided to carry it with me most days – partly to get used to the weight and feel, and partly because it felt like the proper thing to do. I still didn’t have a storage device yet, though I expected to pick one up in the Sunsets, and didn’t want to rely on whoever I gave my shield to for storage being close if we were to be ambushed.

  Sadrianna slowed up ahead after exchanging a few words with the other two and we caught up quickly. I cocked my head in question at her and she sighed.

  “They want to observe a little longer. If anything happens, defend yourself, but don’t escalate for the moment. We’ll reassess tonight if there are no further updates.”

  And so we did. I travelled with half an eye behind us, and instinctively we scrunched tighter together in formation. Jorge led the way, followed by Vera, Sadrianna, Nathlan and then myself. I was unwilling to leave Nathlan at the rear given our unwelcome shadow, though Vera and Jorge clearly thought it was not an issue. Reassuring then, that the danger was within the realm of the 1st tier. Still, a lucky shot could take almost anyone out, so I stayed on guard.

  Two days of constant travel had lowered whatever guard I’d had up, and that was of course the moment that our shadow announced itself. I’d seen no further glimpses myself, but I’d caught Vera looking off into the distance occasionally, though whenever I’d try to make out what she was seeing, I saw nothing but grey rocks and the odd tuft of grass if the snow was light on the ground.

  Nathlan and I were out scouting ahead after Jorge had pointed out the broken and abandoned nest of some feathered creature, coated with discarded scales shimmering in vibrant green and silver. I had assumed that a large serpent had found the nest and either killed the occupants, or driven them away, hence the mess, and when I’d answered as such to his question, Jorge had simply smiled mysteriously and told us to go hunting.

  Naturally, it meant we kept our eyes on the ground, searching and scouring the rocks around our feet for any further sign of the slithering creature that had destroyed a nest dozens of yards wide. I imagined that the Titan-Rooks may have nested in such places, when very young at least, and shivered to imagine the creature that could kill those, even the juveniles.

  Still, if Jorge said we should hunt, then it wouldn’t be a fatal unless we were stupid. As someone who had been known to dabble in stupidity from time to time however, it wasn’t necessarily a reassuring thought. Hence why I kept our eyes peeled and senses sharp.

  My mana sense had grown sharper still with my ascension into the 2nd tier, and it was seeing profligate use throughout our travels so far. That sense was the thing that saved us from a nasty surprise, as I twisted to look to the skies above moments before disaster.

  Break-Step brought enough time for me to raise my shield and yell a warning to Nathlan even as I jumped into his back, knocking him to the ground beneath me. Claws scrabbled on the angular surface of my shield, leaving no mark but letting out an awful shriek as keratin scratched against unyielding carapace.

  I was rolling to my feet immediately, arm snapping out and Resolution leaping from my belt into my hand, enlarging to its spear-form in an instant. Nathlan was only a half-step behind, a flash of steel as his sword pointed to the sky as well. We instinctively moved back-to-back, with our eyes to the sky before we heard a keening whip of a sound, and I once more interposed my shield between us and the oncoming projectile.

  Unlike a moment before where I’d fended off the strike of a creature above me, this time I saw nothing but 3 feathers come slicing through the air. The impact they made against my raised shield, like 3 arrows hitting home in staccato rhythm, showed that they were far from harmless despite their appearance.

  A flash of green and silver in my peripheral vision and I turned, just in time to see a long, sinuous body like a serpent circling above and behind us. Rather than wriggle through the air in some snake-like dance, it instead flew on two great wings, feathered and coloured like those of an owl. The wingspan must have been four meters at the least, and I was amazed when it suddenly tucked those great wings along its belly and dropped like a spear towards us.

  I focused and hit it with Axis-Shift as it dived towards us. It was shockingly effective, and the creature spun out of its barrel-roll into an ungainly writhing fall, correcting itself only a dozen meters from the ground.

  It unfurled its great wings and beat them frantically in an attempt to escape, but it had brought itself within the range of my spear, and I no longer had to fear discarding my weapon in the melee. I heaved back and threw with all the grace and might that my newly enhanced attributes gave me – each level in the 2nd tier provided me 15 new attribute points to spend thanks to my rare combat class, and I had put the majority into strength and agility.

  As such my spear arced through the air as swift as a swallow in flight, and it struck the flying snake unerringly. Resolution pierced clean through its serpentine form and flew out of the other side of its neck, leaving a trail of blue blood falling in its wake.

  Nathlan, meanwhile, had circled around behind me to climb a boulder several meters high, and now stood above me, rocking forwards and back on his heels with bent legs and sword low behind him. The serpent faltered in the sky as my spear made a mess of its throat, and as it dropped a few more meters towards the floor, Nathlan leaped.

  His legs, while no match for the strength of my own, were nevertheless still powerful, and he soared through the air above me, blade catching the light as it was wreathed in the golden glow of one of his skills. It sheared clean through the creature’s neck, and he landed a few meters to my left on another boulder, already spinning and raising his blade should his strike not have been true.

  It was though, and the serpent fell to the ground in two pieces, blue blood fountaining from its open neck and its long body twitching as its life bled from it in gouts that raised streamers of mist into the cool air.

  You have killed a ‘Winged Uraeus’ (Level 84). Experience gained.

  The notification came along with the expected ringing, and we kept our senses peeled for long moments, eyes on the sky rather than the floor. Our caution paid off, as several shapes resolved themselves soon in the glow of the afternoon sun. I had to squint before I could finally identify 3 distinct pairs of large wings flapping in unison, attached to the bodies of three more flying serpents.

  Nathlan and I traded a look, and then he was leaping down to me, ensconced as I was between two large boulders. I flexed my hand, mana activating the artifact link within my soul and causing the scar on the back of my fist to glow a dull blue as a red blur shot from over the top of the boulder and a meaty smack echoed out as Resolution returned to rest in my grip once more.

  “I think three might be more than we can handle out here in the open Nathlan – have you got eyes on the others from back there?” I asked, still squinting into the sun.

  “No. Jorge and Sadrianna are too far back to be of any use, but I do not see Vera at all,” he replied. “Wait, they are moving. Running this way, and fast.”

  I frowned to myself, “That can’t be good. Are these unwelcome guests more of a danger than the one we just killed?” I didn’t wait for him to reply though and started backpedalling quickly, spurring him on behind me.

  “Back up mate, let’s get as close to them as possible before this all kicks off, yeah?”

  It was no use though, the speed that the creatures were growing in my sight was telling me two things. One – they were moving much quicker than us and would be on us within less than 30 breaths. And two – they were much larger than I’d originally thought.

  “Shit, okay. Nathlan, I want you to hunker down there on the left, below that shelf of rock. Don’t argue, just get fucking down there!” I shouted, pushing him for emphasis. Luckily, he clearly trusted me enough to follow the instructions at least, and I turned to survey the terrain with a practiced eye, willing A Frozen Pyrre to do its work and feed me its secrets.

  We were in a boulder field, large rocks strewn about as if a few giants had decided to have a shot-put competition and not bothered to clear up. Broken shelfs, likely from the cliffs above, littered the field, and in some cases protruded out over other boulders to form pseudo-cave systems. It was into one such small bolthole that I’d encouraged Nathlan, and once he had slipped inside, I confirmed the second step of my cobbled-together plan.

  Mana flooded from my core in a torrent and a moment later, a star was born below the shelf of rock. Lines of silver starlight sprung into existence as The Mountain’s Gate was written across reality, a thirteen-pointed rune of protection enveloping Nathlan and the boulder he hid within.

  It was in some ways more of a distraction than anything – sure to draw the attention of the three creatures winging their way swiftly towards us. But given their clear position as aerial hunters, I was confident that their eyesight was more than impressive enough to make out Nathlan despite his best effort to hide. Add to that mana senses and possibly some more obscure form of heat-sensing that many reptiles possessed, and it was practically a given that his position was already known to them.

  This at least conferred some protection, until I died, anyway. Though if they were strong enough to kill me that easily, then it’s likely they could break through my skill as well. Either way, the board was set.

  I chanced a look back down the valley and saw Jorge and Sadrianna speeding towards us from well over a mile away. Jorge had already pulled ahead substantially, and I expected him to arrive soon, though not enough to save us from the creatures’ first charge. Vera was still nowhere to be seen, and turning back to the sun, I saw I had only a handful of heartbeats before my foe arrived.

  I set my feet, tucked myself back into the gap between two large rocks, and readied myself for violence. There was a strangely quiet few moments, where all I could hear was the blood rushing through my veins and my breath loud in my ears, and then the world roared into a storm of shrieking, gusting chaos.