Azrael spent the next month and a bit like that. In the mornings he would be up before dawn, white clouds rising from him in billowing veils as he went through half remembered forms. Sometimes with daggers, sometimes without. He would glide through the forms; a dark shadow in a silent world of white.

Then, he would shower and join Alena for meditation, followed by breakfast. It was a companionable silence, both during meditation and during breakfast. Winter had that quality to make people draw into themselves, escaping the cold world without, by living within.

Mock battles were still a regular routine for the two of them, but they became shorter due to the cold. Hide and seek was replaced with the occasional snowball fight, after particularly heavy snowfall, but otherwise they dropped it.

It was too easy to find the other, simply by following their footprints. He tried misleading her by leaving false trails, but both of them could find each other through the soul-link. They still did the occasional hunt, but many animals had either migrated, or were in hibernation. The ever-thickening snow had also slowly begun to block off their path to the village. Azrael still did the occasional supply run, blasting the snow out of his way, but as it piled up, he simply didn’t have the mana capacity to get through it all.

Azrael looked out the window, the white snow falling thick and fast. The edge of the clearing didn’t seem to exist, as the snowflakes seemed to separate his house from the rest of the world in a white snow globe. The ground itself was no better, the snow piling up high. It was already up to the windowsill, threatening to spill inside.

He closed the window again and sat back down on his chair. The blizzard had set in a few days ago, rolling down the mountains. At first the heavy snow had been a novelty, piling up to his shins.

The next day it had been up to his knees, and he’d taught Alena how to build an igloo. They had used the frozen ice from the surface of the water barrel to make little window. Since it was also his first time building an igloo it took a bit of trial and error, but they got there in the end.

By the fifth day it was up to their waists, making it difficult to pass through. Last night it had risen to chest height. Each day he cleared the snow around the house twice, mornings and evenings, blasting it into vapor with [Fire Bullet]s.

Other than that, everything had come to a stand still. They couldn’t go out for training, or hunting. Their connection to the village had been cut off and they’d already gone through nearly half their food supplies. Light and warmth was provided by runes, but the water pipes had frozen up. They now melted snow on the stove to get water.

The most pressing problem though was food. If the blizzard didn’t stop in the next week they would starve. Either that or he would have to find another way to the village. Would tunnels under the snow work? Maybe if he used [Reinforcement] on the snow while running across?

He got up, restless. He didn’t like being cooped up in here like this. Sure, he’d stayed in his house for longer periods of time in the real world, but there was a difference between can’t and won’t. He at least had a choice. The lack of internet, or any other sort of entertainment was equally infuriating.

Alena looked up from where she was sitting at the table.

“Pacing again” she signed.

He sighed and sat back down “I know. Sorry.”

Her fingers flicked again. “Chess?” She asked.

He grimaced and sat down. “Maybe later” he said. She accepted it with a nod, returning to playing the game with herself.

Due to the absolute boredom of the situation he’d introduced Alena to various board games. Chess, checkers and reversi were amongst them. Nothing special, but Alena had taken a great interest in them, playing those games against herself. He wasn’t sure how interesting it was, but she seemed to find it a worthwhile past time.

He noticed her looking up at him again, an eyebrow raised. He noticed he’d gotten up again and started pacing. He ran a hand through his hair. Was it just him, or had she gotten cheekier lately? She continued looking at him with her raised eyebrow and he relented, sitting down again.

A moment later he found himself on the other side of the room, picking up one of the two horn’s he’d gotten from the ram. It really seemed he was unable to sit still.

Over the last few days he’d taken to cleaning the thing, extracting the core and polishing the outside. With the midwinter festival just around the corner he was intending to gift it to the village, however he wasn’t finished yet.

Picking up an engraving tool – a scalpel – he used [Stone Shaping] and [Reinforcement] simultaneously, to give the blade an impossibly thin and sharp edge. Then, after a deep breath, he began carving. Barely any horn was shaved off as he ran the scalpel along the smooth sides. This was just for defining the outline.

The second time he ran the blade over the horn small swirls fell to the floor, just like the snow outside. On the third run the figure of a beast could be seen. On the fourth go he let his breath go, focusing solely one the image that he wanted. The claws, fangs and tail of the mighty dragon became visible, drawn out by his blade. The fantastic beast coiled around the item like a jealous guardian.

On the next go he began adding the details. Horn was shaved away to expose hundreds of simple scales, while fangs, claw and tail point were all carved to sharp precision. It was a fearsome beast, trapped in a roaring position, fated to stay silent until somebody blew the horn.

Satisfied he held up the horn to admire his work. It wasn’t elegant but carried a simplistic beauty that told of rugged strength and dominance. He’d played enough crafting classes to at least make something simple like this.

Two blue screens appeared, blocking his vision.

Congratulations!

[Crafting] (Lv.14) has advanced to [Crafting] (Lv.15)

Congratulations!

For appraising a work of your own make you have gained the ability [Craftsman’s Eye]

Craftsman’s Eye

By looking with the heart, one can see what is hidden to the eye

By looking at an object you will gain an understanding of it.

This skill is affected by contact, distance, sight and knowledge of the appraised object.

He smiled. He’d forgotten how good it felt to gain a new skill. He used it on the horn.

Dragon Horn of the End Village

Crafted by a beginner craftsman this horn is engraved with the figure of a dragon. Despite the simple design it was crafted from the heart and radiates the feeling of strength and protection.

He shrugged. It was good enough. He joined Alena at the table.

“Game of chess?” he asked. She nodded.