Nature is a force that should have everyone cowering in front of its might. However, everything it creates is terrifyingly beautiful, and instead of fear, we find inspiration and awe. The Draoidh have always revered the natural order because everything else is a pale imitation.

~Mother Danu, The Primordial Goddess of Nature

“Follow me,” Crow told them as they left the Shrine. He approached the fairy ring and confirmed with Lily once more that it was safe. “Walk across this ring, and whatever you do, don’t stop until you reach the other side.”

“Wait. What is this?” Hooligan asked, but Munro stared at it in surprise. He’d heard about fairy rings but never thought he’d come across one.

“Is this really a fairy ring?”

“It is. Remember what I said about not stopping because I can’t help you if you do.”

“What will happen?”

“Your teleportation will become unstable and—worst case? You die. No matter what, you won’t come out of it unscathed at your level. Imagine your arm going to one location while your body going to another…”

“Fuck. I’ll pass,” Hooligan said and stepped back.

“The alternative is to go back through that forest.”

“She could use the Shrine,” Munro supplied and got a nasty look in return. Either way, Crow didn’t wait for them. He stepped into the shallow waters and walked to the other side. Halfway across, he disappeared from their sight.

The transition was so smooth that Crow didn’t realize he’d teleported until he was stepping past the ring on the far side of the pool of water. Not wanting to be in the way, he walked another few meters and looked around. Based on his spatial awareness, he quickly figured out they were on the other side of the stone wall that the three-room cabin was built next to. The connected fairy rings weren’t all that far apart, and if he had to guess, it was probably less than three hundred meters. Granted, that was through solid stone.

On this side was a small cove, and a stone pier ran parallel to the shore. Since this wasn’t an ocean, the water was close to the lip of the pier, which made it easy for fishermen to tie up their boats—if there were fishermen here. Honestly, the pier confused him because he didn’t understand why anyone would bother putting all this in… unless it was built by previous contenders. If that was true, then those that failed didn’t die. They were just trapped here indefinitely.

“What has you so distracted?” Hooligan asked from beside him, startling Crow from his reverie. “You scared me with that shit. The fairy ring wasn’t that bad.”

“I was telling you the truth. Never stop while crossing one.”

“And your thoughts?”

“What do you think happens to those who fail this trial?”

“They die?” Hooligan queried, unsure what Crow was trying to ask.

“What if they don’t die?”

“Then where do they go?”

“Nowhere. Or, more accurately, they are still here.”

“We’d have seen them. If they lived here, why would they ever leave Sanctuary?”

“Because,” Munro said, catching on to Crow’s line of thought. “They lost their artifact, which is the only way they can enter the Shrines and pass under that Colossus’s legs.”

“You mean to say you think this pier was built by them?” Hooligan finally realized what Crow had been staring at this whole time. “It makes sense. This place is dangerous, and a cove like this with that fairy ring is a pretty damned good hideout. However, if that is true, where are they now?”

“Dead—maybe. But not because of the trial. How often does this place open? And all of us going through the trial now are about the equivalent level of power, meaning our lifespans aren’t that much greater than an ordinary mortal. Also, before this thing ends, I’m guessing less than ten percent even survive.”

Hooligan was lost in thought and understood there was also a subtle warning in Crow’s words. While they hadn’t seen anyone yet, that didn’t mean they weren’t here. “Do you think they could kill us and take our artifact?”

“I wouldn’t rule it out. Now come on, let’s go find that glacier.” Crow summoned his boat, and they were cruising on the lake once again. This time, their destination was clear—he just had to go toward where it was the coldest.

Thump!

The boat, and everyone in it, was bumped hard enough to send it into the air. Weirdly, the fins Crow created with the vines helped stabilize the boat and create wind resistance, allowing the boast to land gently back on the water.

“What the hell was that?” Munro asked. He’d already stored his armor inside his Shield because he wasn’t about to become an anchor. Dying at the bottom of the lake was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Not sure. Only caught the shadow of something big under us, and it dove back down after it hit us. By the way, does your Nature’s Growth have a shrinking option?” Crow asked while thinking about the ability that Otto had.

“No, but it has these circles that augment it.”

“What kind of augments?”

“Elemental Flesh. Giant Stomp. Bull Charge.”

Crow could already guess what they were and was surprised at the versatility. Especially the Elemental Flesh that Munro explained and was pretty much as Crow thought. It turned the target into a giant with elemental skin. Hence, if cast with stone, the giant was practically impervious to most physical attacks. Bull Charge was the one that was the most frightening because a giant was already good enough, but a charging one could destroy a city.

After another few hours and a half a dozen attacks from monsters deep in the lake, they reached a frozen wasteland. The boat outlived its usefulness, and they could hear the ice pop and vibrate under their weight the moment they stepped on it.

In the distance, the only landmark was the massive mountain made of ice. The three trudged toward it but kept quiet. Even though their bodies were tempered, extreme conditions would still affect them. Opening their mouths caused the saliva inside of them to freeze, so it wasn’t safe to talk. Crow wasn’t impacted like the other two since he could bring Night Fire up to keep warm.

It took them two days to reach the glacier, and its irregular shape left them staring at it in awe. It looked more like a crystal cluster, with the clear ice and the hexagonal cylindrical shapes sprouting from its base. Crow felt it looked like a frozen explosion. If the crystals weren’t varying colors of blues and greens, he’d even argue that it was one.

They didn’t even need to search where they needed to go because one of the ice crystals that punched up out of the frozen lake looked like it had the tip chopped off. The lower part of it was still below the lake’s surface, but that smooth end had a tunnel bored through it. No matter how they looked at it, the tunnel was clearly not a natural formation.

“After you, fearless leader!” Hooligan croaked out and pumped her fist as if cheering him. Crow and Munro stared at her as if she’d lost her mind, but Crow was the first to crack as her ridiculous comment seemed genuine. Yet they all knew what she really meant. No way was she going to enter that dark entrance first.

“Munro, suit up. It should be safe here, but I’d rather be prepared for anything.”

The nemesis of yore just nodded as if he was already prepared for it. Munro knew that he didn’t contribute much, but he was a capable meat shield. Crow didn’t immediately choose a weapon because he couldn’t decide what would be the most effective in this situation. His vines were useless here since there was little to no Wood Mana present, and he doubted they’d be able to bore into the ice. Underground, a bow wasn’t helpful, so he drew his falcata in the end.

Tapping Munro on the shoulder, the man walked into the entry, and Crow backed him up, letting Hooligan enter last.