Point-of-View: Fuo Wesroh

  During: Infiltration Arc

  ———————————————————————————


  I did not encounter any monsters for about an hour, I kept a steady pace so that I could retreat if I ran into a group of monsters that were too much for me to handle. It had gotten rather cloudy, with a strong breeze around to create a slight blizzard, making it tough to see too far ahead. It was still manageable, I can keep going on.

  Not long after that, I spotted something in the distance. I cautiously made my way forward while straining my eyes to see what it was……there looked like there were a group of monsters, but I could not tell how many. There were two Abominable Snowman in view, and a few other monsters around them……I could not see exactly what the smaller types were with the blizzard around, but I think I should be able to handle this much.

  I dropped my rucksack on the ground, took out the healing scroll and strapped it to my waist, and then formed a pair of ice blades in my hands as I steadily made my way forward, preparing myself. As I got closer, I could see the monsters better……I spotted three Lesser Cyclops, five Icemen and ten Snow Imps. I do not see any black mist……does that mean a Vampire is not possessing any of these monsters? According to the reports, these monsters were no longer territorial and worked with other monsters even without having to be under the control of any Vampires.

  I kept a sharp eye on the snow in front of me, looking for any Snow Serpents……but there did not appear to be any. Alright, then, two Abominable Snowmen might be difficult, but not impossible. My main concern was my lack of long ranged attacks to be used to counter the Icemen, my only option was to get close. Like before, the Lesser Cyclops' were standing in front of the Icemen, though out of the line of their projectile attacks.

  The Snow Imps were in front of the Lesser Cyclops, they were weak but there were ten of them, I will need to kill them first, whilst avoiding any attacks by the Icemen from the back. The Abominable Snowmen were unlikely to step in till later, but I must keep an eye on them to avoid being caught off guard like last time. I was approximately fifty meters away from the group of monsters, this was my only chance to run away……but I was not going to. I can do this.

  Now, then, I suppose I ought to get started. I sprinted forward at full speed, flinging my daggers forward. The first one slashed off one of the Snow Imp's arms, and the second one struck one in the middle of the head, killing it. Four of the Imps then flung their own daggers at me, blunt and rusty blades.

  I formed a staff of ice and spun it in front of me, deflecting the daggers away. I then snapped the staff in half and formed blades tips at the end of both halves, before launching them forward with all my might. The first one missed, but the second skewered through three of the Snow Imps in one go. I was now around twenty meters away, I need to kill all the Imps before I close the gap……

  I formed three sharp ice boomerangs, holding one between my teeth, before flinging the two in my hands at the Imps, slicing off two of their heads. I then threw the third one, killing another. The Icemen fired a barrage of ice needles up high, at an angle that would rain down on me. I sprang off to the left to avoid them, sprinting across as fast as I could, letting out a stifled gasp of pain as one of the needles deeply grazed past my right shoulder, leaving a heavy gash.

  The instant they finished firing and needed to wait before they could fire the next volley, I shot forward, reaching the three remaining Snow Imps and getting in close. I formed a long blade and swung it across, decapitating two of them, the blade snapped in half, and I drove the jagged end through the head of the last one, before rapidly backing away as one of the Lesser Cyclops sprang at me and swung its claws at me.

  I formed a short spear and flung it forward as I jumped back, but with my body's momentum moving back, I could not generate much forward momentum into the spear as I flung it, and as a result, the monster was able to catch it before it could pierce through its chest. It then flung the spear back at me, I sprang off to the right as fast as I could, but could not avoid it grazing past my left side above my waist. Damn it, it was not very deep, but it was painful. I sprang back further and reached down to my waist, touching the healing scroll and running my Mana through it, healing the gashes on my right shoulder and left side.

  Tch, I was feeling a bit weak……perhaps I ought to retreat after all……a massive crash from behind interrupted my thoughts, I spun around in surprise, my eyes widening in shock. Behind me were……two Ice Wyverns, blocking my path of escape. Wh-what……?

  I looked up at the sky, to see a couple of clear spots in the cloudy sky……I see, they had been above the clouds, waiting for the right moment to glide down and cut off my escape route. There was black mist around one of the Wyverns' heads……it must be possessed by a Vampire, and commanding these other monsters.

  This is not good, not good at all. What should I-?

  I didn't get to finish my thought, as the Icemen rained down another barrage of ice needles at me while both Wyverns fired their ice breath from behind me. I quickly ran away from where the trajectory of the ice needles would land, before swiftly dropping and laying flat on the ground to avoid the ice breath.

  I then got up and dashed towards the Lesser Cyclops as fast as I could, before the Icemen could fire again. A fairly strong breeze was blowing towards the Wyverns, so their ice breath attacks did not have as much force, and were relatively ineffective at long-range. I had a strong resistance to the cold since I primarily use Ice Magic and had gotten used to it overtime.

  I flung an ice dagger at one of the Lesser Cyclops as I closed the gap, it blocked it using its forearm, the dagger piercing into its arm. I then ducked low as I neared it, swiftly pressing my hand against its chest and created a shard of ice inside it through its heart.

  As it disappeared into dust, one of the remaining ones swung its claws at me, I leapt back to avoid it, the claws nicking my chest, but only leaving small tears in my armor without breaking my skin. I then lunged forward and got in close, rapidly raising my palm and planting it against the bottom of its jaw, creating a shard of ice straight up through its head.

  The last one then sprang at me before I could evade, grabbing my arms and pinning me down with a roar. Not good, I need to break free. The monster's claws were digging into my arms, piercing through my skin and drawing blood profusely. It opened its mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and in my peripheral, I could see the Icemen lining their arms up to rain down their ice needles on me.

  I did not want to use this move again, but I do not have a choice……I swiftly spat out another frozen saliva needle, which pierced through its eye and killed it. I then rolled and jumped onto my feet as fast as I could, narrowly avoiding the barrage of ice needles. The Abominable Snowmen were now starting to move closer, I need to kill the Icemen quickly!

  I formed a pair or ice swords in my hands and sprinted forward as fast as I could, slashing one of the Icemen in half, before lobbing off the head of another. Both swords cracked and shattered after my strikes, I still was not very good at making weapons besides arrows and spears, the latter was easy since it was essentially like creating a larger arrow.

  I then sprang back as the two Abominable Snowmen neared me, one of them picked up the Iceman and flung it at me, but I was ready for it this time, ducking and rolling forward, before sprinting towards the Snowmen at top speed. I should not have any trouble evading their attack, I just need to get close and……to my dismay, the Wyverns began rapidly flying towards me, firing their ice breath at me.

  This is a dire situation, to say the least, I was pincered between the Snowmen and the Wyverns……one of the Wyverns swooped down at me, opening its mouth and raising its front claws. It snapped its jaws and swung its arms at me. I formed a thick block of ice and jammed it into its mouth to avoid getting bitten, before ducking backwards as much as I could to avoid its claws. The instant it flew past me, one of the Snowmen leapt towards me, balling its fists together and slamming them down at me.

  I was off-balance, but did my best to roll forward and spring towards the monster, attempting to press my palm against it, when the second Snowman swung its foot at me. I planted my foot against the first monster's knee and kicked off, narrowly avoiding the kick, as the monster ended up tripping the first one, knocking it down onto its front. Now's my chance-!

  Before I could attack the fallen monster, one of the Wyverns swooped in and grabbed my shoulders, digging its claws in and lifting me into the air as I let out a cry of pain. Damn it, these monsters are too well-coordinated, I could not keep track of all of them at the same time.

  The Wyvern then turned its head down towards me, opening its mouth and ice beginning to emanate from it. In desperation, I raised my right arm, resulting in the claws digging in further into my skin, I let out a stifled hiss of pain as I touched its neck with two of my fingers and channeled as much Mana as I possibly could through them, forming a long needle of ice through its throat, killing it before it could fire its ice breath at me. It then disappeared, and I began plummeting down, one of the Abominable Snowmen positioned itself below me and opened its mouth.

  I formed a sharp and long blade of ice, making it as sturdy as I possibly could. Using all the strength I could muster, I twisted my body across right before I could land on its teeth, jamming the dagger into its eye as hard as I could, piercing through it before it could shut its eyelid and killing it. As it disappeared into dust and I began falling down, the remaining Abominable Snowman swung its fist at my while the remaining Ice Wyvern swooping down.

  I formed thick blocks of ice around both my forearms and crossed them in front of me, as the Snowman's fist slammed onto my defensively-positioned arms, sending me flying back as a sharp pain went through my right arm, the ice around it shattering. The Wyvern swung its claws at me, I extended ice across my left fingers and swung it to counter the monster's claws.

  My ice claws clashed with the Wyvern's claws and……shattered, as the monster flew past me and I crashed onto the ground. My right arm is broken, and two of my left fingers were literally hanging on by threads, a simple tug would rip them both off. I gritted my teeth and tentatively grabbed my partially-severed left fingers and pressed them back, ignoring the sharp pain in my right forearm as my eyes welled up, my body trembling. I then used the healing scroll again, healing my broken bone and injured fingers, before desperately springing across to the right as the Wyvern swooped down at me again.

  I did not have a second to rest, as then Snowman sprang up and slammed its feet down at me, I managed to roll away but the shockwave caused by the impact of its stomp sent me flying back and crashing onto the ground several meters away, cracking a couple of my ribs on the right side of my chest.

  I healed myself again and stood up shakily……using the healing spell so many times in quick succession was making me feel light-headed and worn out. My injuries may be healed, but it had definitely taken a toll on me.

  The Ice Wyvern was hovering above me, and the Abominable Snowman was approaching me from behind. There was no way to escape, I was well within the range of the Wyvern's ice breath, which it was poised to unleash.

  The Abominable Snowman then shot towards me as the Wyvern blasted its ice breath all around me to prevent me from escaping……if it wanted to just kill me, it could have fired its breath straight down at me, but it simply trapped me instead……does it want to toy with me?

  The Snowman roared as it neared me and swung its hand down, grabbing me and lifting me up, I had no chance of evading it. The Wyvern began gliding down as the Snowman started to strengthen its grip around me, slowly crushing me. I let out a stifled scream of pain as I felt one of my ribs cracking, before clenching my teeth and wriggling out my right arm free. I then planted my palm against its wrist and created a shard of ice inside it, the monster's grip on me loosening and I began to slip out……

  I felt a sharp pain in my shoulders as the Wyvern swooped down and grabbed me, holding me in front of the Snowman's face. It let out a roar and opened its mouth, baring its teeth at me and moving in to bite my head off. Before I could think, I jammed my hand into its mouth and began creating and ice shard as fast as I could, right as it started shutting its mouth……a sharp pain burst through my right arm, as the monster's teeth sunk into my skin, through my flesh, and reached the bone……but before it could bite it off, I managed to kill it, forming an ice shard straight down its throat.

  The Wyvern then began to fire its ice breath at me, I quickly flung a hastily made ice dagger at it, which left a shallow gash in the underside of its neck before shattering, causing just enough damage for the monster to loosen its grip on me, I desperately struggled and twisted my shoulders, breaking free of its grasp. A bit of its ice breath escaped its mouth before I broke free, freezing my right forearm.

  I landed on my left shoulder painfully, fracturing the bone. I rolled away while ignoring the pain in my arms as best I could, the Wyvern firing its ice breath down at me in full force. I sprang to me feet and leapt away, before quickly healing myself again. I felt like I would likely lose consciousness if I used the healing spell once or twice more……

  My vision was starting to get blurred, my head felt light and my body felt heavy……I barely had any stamina left. I could possibly muster one more strike, which meant that my only chance was when the Wyvern reaches the limit of its continuous ice breath and swoops down……assuming that I could both evade its strike and then counter with a fatal blow……

  I continued evading its ice breath with everything I had in me, finally stopping as it ceased its attack……

  No, it's not swooping down! Is it simply going to wait till it can fire its ice breath again? What do I……wait, that's it, this is my chance. This is my chance to run away……if it still refuses to swoop down, I will be able to escape, I spotted a cave on the way here, not too far back……and if it does swoop down, I shall attempt to kill it.

  I turned around and ran back, while keeping an eye on the Wyvern above me……it seemed to hesitate at first, but chased after me before too long, rapidly swooping down towards me. I formed a short ice spear in my hands as I continued running away, before turning around and planting my feet, bracing myself for the monster to reach me. I need to dodge the slash of its claws and then stab it through the neck or chest, where it did not have the protection of its scales. As it neared me, it suddenly shifted its body weight upwards so that its back legs were aimed at me instead of its front legs. Oh, no-!

  Before I could get out of the way, it grabbed my shoulders and viciously pinned me to the ground, digging its claws in. It was keeping its body upright and out of the reach of my spear, I could only reach the base of its back legs and tail from my current position, and neither of those would be fatal points to strike. It then pulled out and raised one of the claws digging into my left shoulder and moved it down, positioning the sharp talon directly above my heart……

  _____________________________________________

  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

  Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.