What the HELL is a ‘Frostael Aetheric’?!

  Zaelen soon had other things to worry about, however. For example, a very sharp shard of ice the length of a tree branch. A very large tree branch at that. Zaelen looked above him and saw a white bird wreathed in swirling ice-blue mist. With its wings opening and closing from where it was hovering in the air, he could see more shards of ice tucked into its wing feathers. Shards that would inevitably try to spear him through. The piercing blue eyes of the aetheric were focused solely on Zaelen.

  Oh great, so THIS is what Aurora’s been up to?! Zaelen melted a shard of ice headed straight for him with a [Dragon Breath]. Aurora emerged from the cave behind the aetheric, eyes tired but glinting triumphantly.

  “Nyx, I did it,” she started to say. Then she paused, glancing around. She must’ve noticed there was no Nyx. Well, besides the puddle on the ground, that is.

  Zaelen hissed, ducking under another ice shard or two. The aetheric, apparently growing impatient now that no more ice shards had hit, swooped in low, talons outstretched. Zaelen crouched, waiting until the aetheric was almost on him. Then he leaped, using [High Leap] to increase his momentum. He and the aetheric crashed in midair, sending both spiraling to the ground.

  Owwww! Why does the aetheric ITSELF give off frostbite?! How has it not turned into an ice cube yet?! Zaelen clamped his jaws around the aetheric’s neck. Aha! Got you! However, it turned out that the aetheric wouldn’t be so easy to kill. Zaelen glanced up in time for spears of ice to appear from some sort of magic circle. He scrambled off and away the aetheric, blasting a [Dragon Breath] to melt the spears, which were going after him like missiles.

  The aetheric staggered upright. Besides the ruffled feathers and bleeding neck, it seemed fine. Zaelen, on the other hand, currently had crackling ice slowly creeping all over him. And quite a few injuries from the fight with Nyx. He spat a [Dragon Breath] onto the ground, letting the flames creep over some of the surrounding vegetation so it could burst up, engulfing most of him. Paired with Zaelen’s fire resistance, it turned out ot be very effective in melting away the ice.

  The aetheric shrieked again, sounding pissed. More ice shards stabbed the ground around Zaelen. A few sunk into his flesh. Zaelen summoned a [Lightning Strike] in return. Considering there hadn’t been any prior warning so the aetheric couldn’t react, the lightning struck exactly where Zaelen had aimed it – on one of the aetheric’s wings. Another [Lightning Strike] in quick succession brought it down to the ground, wings sizzling and feathers blacked. The smell of charred flesh drifted into the air.

  Oh, of COURSE the flying ice chicken has regeneration too. But the regeneration would take a while, meaning that there was still time in-between where the bird would stay grounded. Zaelen intended to use that time, breaking into a run to lunge at the aetheric, intending to bowl it over. However, while he was in midair, something else crashed into him. Of course Aurora ruins my beautiful chance to murder the bird.

  Zaelen crashed to the ground, Aurora on top of him. He managed to dig his hindclaws into Aurora’s belly before he pushed her away, sending her rolling to the ground. However, he glanced upward just in time to see four ice spears before they impaled him.

  HP: 84/160

  WHY DOES THAT DO SO MUCH DAMAGE?! HELLO?! WHY DON’T I HAVE ANY OP SKILLS LIKE THAT?!

  Zaelen then remembered ‘the skills which sound overpowered but might possibly be trashy’, as he now liked to call them. He wasn’t going to try one of them till it was absolutely necessary though.

  Zaelen wriggled against the spears, which pinned him to the ground. Just as he managed to roll around and get to his feet, the damn bird brought its talons – which were glimmering with some sort of strange light – down on him.

  HP: 46/160

  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT SOMETHING THAT TAKES A FOURTH OF MY HP PER HIT?!

  Warning, pain setting is close to being turned on automatically

  WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT LIKE FEELING PAIN IS GOING TO HELP ME?! I THINK I CAN REALIZE THAT A GIGANTIC ICE CHICKEN IS FLAYING ME WITHOUT HAVING TO FEEL PAIN, THANK YOU!

  Zaelen considered that ‘the skills which sound overpowered but might possibly be trashy’ might have to be used sooner or later. Zaelen opened his jaws, firing a [Dragon Breath] straight into the aetheric’s face. It shrieked in pain; its ability to dodge was disenabled now that it was literally on top of him. The aetheric flapped away, the flames still eating away at its face.

  He’d managed to get upright while the aetheric was distracted by its face burning off – okay, anyone would be distracted if their face was burning off, even if they knew they had regeneration – when Aurora conveniently appeared and tackled him to the ground. Just. As. He. Had. Finally. Gotten. Himself. Un-impaled. By. The. Ice. Spears. Just great.

  Zaelen was seriously about to lose it. Aurora was flung violently away from him with a well-aimed blow from his tail, the blades on the tip cutting deeply into her flesh. The wolf skidded across the earth, crying out in pain. Zaelen lunged, sinking his claws into the wolf before she could dart away. He slammed her into the ground, sending [Wind Slash]es with barely any pause in-between each one. Aurora struggled desperately; clawing at anything within reach. But Zaelen was careful to keep his head out of range while he pinned Aurora down with a paw, which was in such a position that Aurora couldn’t reach it with her claws.

  Finally, Aurora’s movements began to slow, and Zaelen unleashed another [Dragon Breath]. However, he didn’t get to watch the flames in satisfaction for long as the aetheric, lo and behold, soared in and violently crashed into Zaelen.

  HP: 28/160

  ...I’m so screwed.

  Status: Frostbitten applied.

  Movement slowed.

  Pain setting turned off

  Oh, THANKS for the invigoration right there. Helps so much, thank you system. Zaelen then gave a yelp as waves of pain flowed through him. He’d almost forgotten how it felt to have gashes in your sides and ice eating away at you. He was pretty sure that had happened once or twice in his last life.

  He staggered to his feet, the aetheric observing him with a smug look at his obvious pain. Seriously, I am going to roast that chicken no matter how many lives it takes me. He dug his claws into the ground to keep from falling back to the ground. Then the aetheric waddled over in such a nonchalant way that Zaelen didn't have time to react before it struck with its beak, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

  It pressed a foot against his chest, its talons cracking and splintering his scales. He winced in pain. The aetheric’s look, which had already looked smug, grew even smugger, if such aa thing was possible on a bird’s face.

  The white bird squawked “Krael!” (smugly, if I might add) and wiggled its talons in front of Zaelen’s face. This chicken’s ego truly had no end. It was time for ‘the skills which sound overpowered but might possibly be trashy’.

  Horned Phoenix Drake (Medium)

  Name: Zaelen

  Status: Ash-Risen, Frostbitten

  Level: 87/1500

  HP: 20/160

  MP: 45/120

  SPD: 55

  STR: 65

  Skills: [High Leap Lv1] [Observe Lv--] [Dragon Breath Lv2] [Space Pocket] [Wind Slash Lv5] [Lightning Strike Lv2] [Roar Lv1] [System Interference] [Phoenix’s Light Lv1] [Flare Wind Lv1] [Blaze Strike Lv1] [Inferno Wings Lv1] [Shadow Tentacles Lv1] [HP Regen Lv2] [MP Regen Lv1]

  Resistances: [Traumatization Lv5] [Fire LvMax] [Lightning Lv3] [Wind LvMax] [Light Lv15] [Death Lv5]

  Zaelen glanced through the skills that were lumped into the ‘the skills which sound overpowered but might possibly be trashy’ pile; AKA [Blaze Strike], [Phoenix’s Light], [Inferno Wings]. and [Flare Wind].

  He browsed through the skills quickly before selecting the one that sounded the most OP in his opinion: [Phoenix’s Light]. I seriously hope I have enough mana for this.

  It turned out Zaelen didn’t have enough mana. Just great.

  Insufficient MP

  Selecting skill available with current MP in the selected: ‘the skills which sound overpowered but might possibly be trashy’ pile

  Skill: [Blaze Strike] selected

  Skill: [Blaze Strike] activated instead of Skill [Phoenix’s Light]

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  Flames the same color as [Dragon’s Breath] flared into life around Zaelen and the aetheric. It squawked alarmedly, flapping away from Zaelen. The flames surge after the bird, writhing as if it were alive. The aetheric screeches, breathing a white mist which crystallized the air around it into ice crystals. Zaelen watched in amusement as the mist was to no effect, the flames overpowering it. In fact, the flames didn’t seem to just overpower it; the flames seemed to actually strengthen from the mist. There were flashes of bright white light as the flames wrapped around the ice bird, engulfing it entirely in purple-white fire.

  If the flames actually grow stronger from touching ice, then that would mean that it would be especially effective against the aetheric since the aetheric itself is extremely cold, not to mention the shards of ice hidden under its wings. I really hit the jackpot with these skills.

  Zaelen continued to watch as the final enemy of the ‘war’ was burnt to ashes before his eyes.

  All opponents have been killed. Battle ended. You now have control of [Pack]

  Outer Interference restrictions lifted

  [Pain] disabled

  MP: 1/135

  Force-activating sleep to avoid death from lack of MP

  The pain flooded away from Zaelen’s body as if it were a liquid swirling down the drain. But soon, tiredness settled over him like a thick fog. Zaelen’s eyelids drooped close, and he felt his head slump onto the ground. Everything faded away into a dark, peaceful void.

  ??^?/-\?^??

  Zaelen, WAKE UP!

  ZAELEN!

  ZAELENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

  ZAELEN ZAELEN ZAELEN ZAELEN ZAELEN ZAELEN ZAELEN!

  SHUT IT, OLD MAN. LET ME SLEEP! UNLIKE SOMEBODY, I HAD TO WORK MY ASS OFF THESE PAST FEW DAYS!

  I WARNED YOU, DIDN’T I?! AND FOR GOD’S SAKE, GET UP!

  WHY?! LET ME SLEEP MORE! I’M TIRED!

  ALL YOU DID WAS MELT A FEW WOLVES INTO SLIME AND FRY A CHICKEN! GET UP, IDIOT!

  DO YOU WANT TO TRY THAT?! AND IT WAS A VERY POWERFUL CHICKEN TOO!

  NORMAL CHICKEN, POWERFUL CHICKEN, WHATEVER! ITS STILL A CHICKEN! DO YOU WANT TO ADMIT TO ANYONE THAT YOU GOT BEAT UP BY A MERE CHICKEN?!

  ...I’m going back to sleep.

  DON’T YOU DARE! DID YOU FORGET YOU FELL ASLEEP IN THE SLIME WOLF CAMP?! DID YOU FORGET YOU’RE CURRENTLY SURROUNDED BY SLIME WOLVES?! SURE, SLEEP IF YOU DON’T CARE FOR YOUR OWN LIFE – THAT’S NOT MY PROBLEM.

  ...huh?

  Zaelen’s brain took a few moments to process this information. Then he practically threw himself up, his eyes flying open. He lashed his tail, glancing around. Indeed, he was surrounded by slime wolves.

  “AWOOOO?!” A blue wolf scrambled back, only to trip over his paws and go sprawling over the ground.

  Zaelen roared, scaring away the last of the few slime wolves that hadn’t already scattered from their tight ring around him seconds before.

  [Roar Lv1] -> [Roar Lv2]

  But sadly, the slime wolves weren’t deterred enough to truly go away and simply formed a larger circle around him. Should I just... burn all of them to ash... Zaelen was seriously considering the idea when the blue wolf edged forward again.

  “So, um, h-how are you feeling...” The blue wolf managed to push out a few words before it fainted on the spot.

  There was a groan from behind Zaelen and an orange wolf padded into Zaelen’s line of sight. She grabbed the blue wolf and screamed “WAKE UP!” into one of his ears. The blue wolf yelped, but it had done the trick. Zaelen liked this wolf’s attitude. He decided that if he was going to roast the wolves, she would be spared.

  The orange wolf turned to Zaelen, bowing her head in respect. “I greet you, alpha of the pack.” Then she frowned. “What should we call you?”

  “Zaelen?” offered Zaelen.

  The orange wolf blanched. “Just... Zaelen?”

  “Yes, just Zaelen,” confirmed Zaelen.

  Maybe you should study their traditions first.

  What do I care about their traditions?

  ...Of course. I forgot your only goal in life is to murder slimes.

  “Alright... Zaelen. May I ask when you shall choose the new alpha and beta?”

  I have to do that?

  The ring of wolves drew closer, ears pricked and eyes glinting in anticipation. Even if he didn’t know much about the wolves’ traditions – he hadn’t even known the traditions in question had existed until the system said it – it was clearly a very important task. A very important task that was no doubt going to be ruined by him. Oh well, it’s fine. I mean, no more roasting slime wolf, but it’s fine.

  “You and you.” Zaelen pointed at the orange wolf standing before him and the blue wolf who had fainted earlier. “Alpha and beta.”

  There was a very long pause of silence. The blue wolf fainted. Again. The orange wolf simply stood there, face frozen in shock. The other wolves stared, their eyes bugging out. Zaelen was pretty sure that this was probably supposed to be done more ceremoniously.

  I LOVE how much effort you put into those decisions. Must’ve been so hard for you.

  Shush. What else do you expect me to do? Zaelen prodded the blue wolf back into wakefulness. The orange wolf was still staring blankly at Zaelen. He waved his claws in front of her face, and the wolf startled.

  “Oh, yes, yes... I’m an alpha...” muttered the wolf.

  Title: Alpha of [Pack] gained.

  Modifying [Pack] due to new [Alpha]’s skills and titles

  Well, I guess I’m an alpha now... sounds like too much work. Am I going to regret this? Maybe I should’ve roasted them instead. And what’s that about modifying the pack? Oh well.

  “So, do you have a name?” If they didn’t have a name, Zaelen was not going to go through all the trouble of giving each and every wolf a name. Maybe perhaps the alpha and beta. Maybe.

  “Yes. I am Iceria, and this is Cryos.” Iceria nodded toward the beta. “That’s Fang, Relius, Canik, Blizzard...”

  Zaelen had to go through the entire process of Iceria pointing to every single wolf in the pack and introducing the pointed-at wolf. By the time she was done, Zaelen wanted nothing more than to go back to the plains and kill off some slimes. He was about to do just that when the system interrupted him with a message.

  Modifications complete

  Now preparing to Rise [Pack]

  Would you like to revert modifications and therefore cancel the Rising?

  (YES/NO)

  Zaelen stared at the message. That’s crazy... a Rise just because of a new alpha? Then again, there was something about my skills and titles too. Too bad it’s for the pack and not myself, but I’d be crazy to pass on this chance. After all, the pack works for me now.

  (YES) selected

  Rising [Pack]

  Iceria poked Zaelen with a paw. “Zaelen? Hello – ack!” The wolf’s paw was now glowing with a bright light. The wolf stared at it in confusion, then alarm as the light rapidly spread to the rest of her body. The other wolves were having the same trouble. Meanwhile, Zaelen was chilling in the center of bright glowing slime wolves without a doubt in the world besides eradicating slimes from the face of the world.

  Showing changes

  [Pack]’s species have been changed to [Phoenix Wolf]

  Extra benefits have been given to [Iceria] and [Cryos] due to superior ranking

  [Iceria]’s species has been changed to [Infernal Lupis]

  [Cryos]’s species has been changed to [Infernal Lupis]

  Extra benefits given to particular wolves

  Skills of [Pack] have been altered to be compatible with their species

  Ranking colors have been edited:

  Yellow = Subordinate

  Gray = Mid-Ranked

  Orange = Pup

  Black = Omega

  Violet = Elder

  Red = Beta

  White = Alpha

  Blue = Healer

  A sudden realization struck Zaelen. I-If their species have changed, does that mean t-that they aren’t s-slime wolves a-anymore?

  Yes...? And why are you stuttering?

  ...I’m so proud of myself; I’ve de-converted an entire pack from slime-ism...

  Slime-ism isn’t a thing, idiot. Being a slime isn’t a religion.

  Zaelen harrumphed and glanced around the clearing. The wolves’ pelts had changed to match fire-related colors. Iceria now sported a white pelt with gray markings while Cryos was a bright, blazing red with a blue underbelly. Zaelen wondered how the wolves would hunt with fur that contrasted so starkly with the surrounding forest.

  “D-did you do this?” asked Iceria in awe. She looked at her newly white paw in amazement.

  “Pretty much, yeah.” Zaelen looked toward the camp entrance. “Well, I’m off. Time to murder some more slimes.”

  Iceria nodded, then motioned for some more wolves to step forward. “They can go with you – bring some food back if you don’t mind as well. The rest of us will stay back and try to rebuild the camp.”

  Zaelen frowned. “I’m not coming back here.”

  Cryos gasped. “But most of us have lived here our entire lives!”

  “It’s not exactly livable, if you can see what I mean.” Zaelen motioned around. Where the camp wasn’t charred to ash or had transformed into black scorch marks on the ground, ice crept over. There was barely an untouched place. Crrrkkk. Zaelen gave a roar of warning and wolves leapt out of the way as the overhang above the camp crashed down, spraying shards of rock everywhere. Zaelen protected his face with his claws. “See?”

  “Yes... I see...” Iceria looked at the jagged piece of rock now in the center of the camp. “If it hadn’t been for your roar, some of the wolves would’ve been crushed. And if that’s unstable, then the rest of the rock might be unstable as well.”

  Zaelen eyed the walls of rock suspiciously.

  “Well... I suppose that you are the most sensible of all of us. I now see why we should not live here any longer.”

  But all I wanted was to kill some slimes?

  You poor wolves... Zaelen never thought beyond killing slimes...

  Zaelen glanced around at the large number of phoenix wolves around him. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a ‘few’ more helpers. In fact, they would probably be able to kill more than Zaelen could on his own, as much as he hated to admit it.

  And that was how Zaelen ended up trotting out of a certain decimated camp with a whole pack of wolves cheerily trailing after him.