"G̶̬̗͎͆̾̽ͅr̸̢̙̜̽͋͑e̶̫̽è̵̥̝͎̜ẗ̵͓́͊̌ï̴͉̆͊̓͊n̸̬͘g̴̢̣̲̿̀͊͊͝s̴̳̳͚̫̉͝"

Michael and Jelly whirled round to face the speaker, Hazel tried to whirl but tripped on her own feet. She scrambled back up almost instantly but Michael still made note of it so he could chuckle at the memory later. Right now, his attention was focused on the being in front of him. The person in front of him looked like a beautiful princess that was frozen. Unfortunately, her expression was also cold as ice.

P̸̢͈̳͈͒̌̐̃͆͠ṷ̸̩̥͓̙̎͆̀͗̌͝ͅt̵̢͚̣̻͇̀̈́̊ ̶͈̬̫̀̒̊̋y̴̢̳̪̥̓ơ̵̼̍̅̽͝͝u̷̮̲͐́͝ͅr̵̭̦͉͉̗̞̔̔ ̸͔͖͚̅̅̽̚͝ͅw̴͚̟͆̚̚è̶̯̰̳̅̚ā̶̡̫̮̭̮͓̾̑̽̌p̶̠͑̾͛o̸͚̯̠̗̣͋ͅṇ̷̱͛͠s̸̞̃̾͂̽ ̷͇̆͑͛̈ḁ̵̢̼̓ẅ̸͖̓̎͜ȁ̶͉̲̼̘̬̫̉y̷̧͐͆ ̷̮͇̮̭̺̙́͛̓͂̑̈́m̴̡͖̮͍̝̜͠o̸̧͖̣̮̩͖͗̒̑͒ŗ̶̺͖͗t̶̝̤̦̯̠͕̀a̸̗͓̲̔̈́̽͊̊̚l̸̟̣̃͑ͅṡ̷̙̻̹͍̞̓̾,̷̟͖͎̜͚̀ ̸͎͍́̾̏̚͝Ḯ̵̧̖͇̀͝ͅ ̴̫̩̰̥͇̈́͛ä̴̖́̉̅̉̄͠m̶̟̩̮͎͝ ̵͚̈́̏̃͌Ḩ̵̢̰̰̺͙̋̈́ę̷̙̞̃̂̈ͅl̶̠͚̦̔̓̂̈́͝'̵̳̏́̈́̏͂s̴̗̦̗͍̿͜ ̴̢̲̮͛̉A̶̖̋̓̉n̷̳͊̀͠g̶̛̬̲̭̊̏͒ḙ̷̠̓l̶̡̖̫̓͊̕ͅ,̸̬̮͎͙͊̅̿́ ̵̺̭̑͜h̶͇͔̓͑͐̈̔ë̸̯̥̹́͆͛̊͘͝ř̷͓͈̲̄ ̶̫̌͆͑̑͋͝r̸̺̟̭̹̼̳̓̓͐͝ȇ̷͈̈͐̎͜͝p̴̠̀̔r̴̨̫̩̪̈́̔̆͒̍é̵̩̻̗́͝͝s̸͔̠̤͒̈́̅̇͝e̶̫͚̊̂n̷͎̦̋t̶͇̗͚̽̑ḁ̶̿̉͘t̶̼̅͌̌̌̽i̴̢̗͚̎̀͐̕͠v̸͈͉͍̟̦̀͝ĕ̷͇̯̃̃̇̈́ ̷̧̜̖̞̑̈́͆ͅͅị̷͔̬̀̾̐͊̚n̷̝̯̰͗̃̈ ̶̧̭̟͈̼͔̅͑̓̔̊ṱ̶̎͐̀̂̇̃h̸̹͚͑̾̈́̇̑i̴̢̬̹̘̝̪͆̍͘s̶̪͓̞̱̍̃̓͌ ̶̖̺̅̒́̒̕b̴̧̮͕̾͆͋͝a̴̡͍̗̮͗̂̅͆͐č̷͔͎̘̬̪̿̽̉͆͠ḵ̸̲͔̘͛̏̒̔̚͘ẃ̷̬̇͑́͝ä̸̡̮̖͇͜t̵̮͙̖̯̗̎̊͛̀è̸͖̘̆̇͜r̷̪̯̥̉̄͝ ̵͉̚ṕ̵̲͇͔̋l̵̤̺͚͉̠͋̋͠a̸̫͙̻͑͜ṋ̴̲̟̠̈́̎̓͐͝e̵̜͖̳̯͈͑͂͆͝͝t̶̛̝̗̮͈͉͇̐͠.̶̢̝͈̉̋͠

The trio stared at her, ready for anything. The creature was clearly trying to communicate, but they had no idea what she was saying, only that it carried an air of disdain and self-importance. It did not put them at ease.

"À̸͈͎̪̔̓͑r̸̭̭͗e̵̗͙͈͛̍̐͜ ̴͔̇̆̋y̷̳̥̱̹͖̌̈́̅̕̕o̸̧̫̹̟̫̝̐u̴͐͐̀̈́͜͝͝ ̶͓́̆d̶̰̳̬̜̻̿͜e̷͚͎̜̊̋̒á̶̪̑̃̈̓̋f̵͍͕͋́,̴̘͖̅̀͜ ̶͖̞̓ǫ̶̪̠͈̞͓̔̒̆̌r̴̼͚͉̺̥̦̆̑͝ ̵̲̜̰̽́̏͘̚j̴̡́̌̇ú̷͉̘͚̱͔̞s̶̢̡̟̣̽̓̀ṫ̶̪̠͈̎͊̂͊ͅ ̵̛̘͎̲̩͔͖͒̋̈́̚s̷̨̻̫͎̥̟̊̈t̵̢̜̀̈́͊̀̊u̴̧̧̫͙͂̃͝͝p̴͎̠͋̑i̵͓̮͇̭̻̅̉̑d̴̫̗̝̼̥̑̒.̵̠̰͙̙̭͊͜ ̵̧͔̬͍̅͒̌͆̊ͅI̴̼̜̭̖̥͊̐̕̚͝'̸̨͎͚͉̼̉̎͐l̸̤̳̼͖̱̋̈͋͘l̸̹̿͠ ̷̢̡̯̠̂͝p̷͖̭̃ṳ̴͖̒͋͋̾̉̉͜ṯ̵̢̲͗ ̶̥̈́̚̕͝͠t̵͔̘̾̋̾̌h̶̦̥̝̺̓ȋ̵̠͖̬̹̿̚s̶̠̺͂̿ ̷̛̖̗̦͚̐̏i̶͓̝̅͒n̸̻̝̒̌ ̸̡̡̺̯̜̤́̿̄͂̽ẅ̵̢̡̥̠͉̻́͋̽̈́̔ǫ̷̥̘͐̓̀̇r̷̖̻͖̫̣̰̿̔̂́d̴̨̪̩̖̓͑͆͘s̸͙̝̼̘̈́̕ ̴͈̗̝̝̇̑̍́ͅy̶̧̬̥̐o̵̤̟̗͋̑̔̍́̏ư̵̡̱̮̎̉̐̽͘ ̷̗͍̀̆p̴̤̥̗͋̍r̶̙̔̐̓̚i̵̢̦̰̓̒͛̈́͂̄m̶̛̜͙͓̈́̿i̴̭̩̖̟͔̺͝t̸̟͍̔̃̐́̉͝į̵̖̳̗̳̩͌̅̚͠͠v̵͍͍͎̥͆͑̏̚ȩ̶͕̠̗̞̋̿͜s̷͔̀̉̆̐͊ ̴̛͎̙͋͊̀͠m̶̜̜̹̾į̶̞͔̥̞̜̅̽͆̕g̶̬͇̰͙̰͆͑̚h̴̭̤̮͕͋͠t̶̜̭͑̒̈́ ̴̩̈́u̴͉͖̟͖̤̖͌̊͌̉͌ṇ̵̩̬̙̮͉̽̌̽̌͆̕ḋ̵̠̦̿e̵̡̅r̵̡͈̻̕ś̵̀͛̍̓͛ͅt̶̫̞͑̽̂a̵̘͉͇̟̎̐͛̏̕͝ņ̶̧͇̜̪̩̂̍͝d̵̤̤̦̩̚;̶̱͓̦͙͓̐̀̐͝ ̵͎̫̫́͂̽̃̑p̷̪̻͉̓̌͋ủ̶͙̗͓̪̠̜̊̄t̵̗͓̪͖̭̒̏ ̸͔̭̠͔͒͑͒̕͜t̵̫̘͖̥̬͐̋̈́̊͝h̶̞̯̤͓͓̬̽̊̚͘ê̸̢͇̘̖͙̜͝ ̷͎͓̲͑͑̆̓̆̽w̴̠̱̫̠̾è̴̝̰̤̆â̷͓͓̝̘͊̊͂̐p̵̢̨̠̤̮̔͌͐ȯ̵̱̳̠n̷͎̲̣͚͕͒̈́s̸̢̠͍̐̈́͐̈̊̌ ̸͉̽͋a̶̠̪͔̰͂͐͑w̴̘͉̮̄͊́̓ă̸͔̹̍̌y̵͖̏͒̌̔,̶̘͖̓͂̕͝ ̴̧̛͉̤̞̣̰̽͊̈́͌̿ơ̵̯̹̞̈́͊̉̽͝ř̴̦̫͇͑̓͐͝ ̵͎̼̽̂ͅͅI̶̛̺̪̼'̷̯̊̈̇̈̿̚ļ̴̠̗́l̷̤̈̽̈́̉̀̅ ̸̺̤̝̻̞͚̀̓̓̏͝d̷͖͐̽̔͗̅̒ȩ̴̧̧̛̭͖͊̆͒̈͛s̵̩̤̜̲̓́̃͒̄ț̶̹͖̓̐͊̃͆r̶͓̫̗̠̜̀̑͒͆́̍o̶̧͔̜̠̐̃͌͌͗͘ͅy̷̗̬͘ ̶͖̬͎͓͈̎̿̊̓͂͝y̸̻͖̓͌̏̚o̴̧̬͚̓̐͆ȕ̶̠̼̣̲̅.̷̢͕̲͐̍̉̆"

The tone had changed, going from disdain to anger. Hazel interposed herself between Michael and the creature, activating every defensive spell she had available.

"F̷̢̣̲͂͊̽̐̿͜͠ị̷͚̎̈̈́͛͝n̵̠̉̆̋͒̓̊e̸̟̲̦̼͙̅,̵̟͆ ̴̰̭̲͍͎̀̀͜y̴̨̻̌ó̶̳̰̯̳͋̉̃u̸͕̰͐̆̓̔̒ͅͅ ̷͎̝̋̿̆̄̏a̵̡̜͓͒͐͜s̷̳̹̬͒̀͘k̶̲̝̳̠̯͐̈́̚ë̶͙̖̮́͑͂d̶͇͈̊͊̊̈ͅ ̴̹̣̻̝͈̈́͂̔̀̈ͅf̵͔͎̌̀̈́̋̌͗o̵̝̽̊̌ṛ̵͐͒̈́̾͒͂ ̵̛̺̜̈́̒͑͒t̶̼̝͓̗̤̃̾̈͊̓͐ͅh̸̨̳̳͙̍͋̾͜i̵͎̗̠̞͛̀-̷̪̠̈́̔͂̀͜ ̷̘̙̰͖̱̬͂̓́͊̄̈O̶̩̘͖̠̘̥̔̽h̴͔͔̍̔͋̄͘,̶͎̒̉̚ ̸̛̯̈́͋̍͒̚d̵̢̺͇̲̜̘͐à̵̬̠̟͛͐̈͑͐m̶͇̬̲̟̭̘͌̔̿m̶̺̿̈́i̷̭̙͇̽̑͆͘t̷̖̽̀̔!̶̦̩͋̑̄ ̸̹̼̭̖̋͒͝I̵̧̮͂͛͐͘'̴̢̋͒́̎̒͐m̵̪̲̝̞̦̻̐̀͑̑́͐ ̶̟͍̙̦̬͑͝s̸̡̩͖̹͍͓̅ṱ̵̛̑͛̊̊̚i̶̠̤̬̝͈͌̓͐͛̋ļ̴̛̫̬̋̋͆̈l̷̨͙̺͉̑͗͠ ̴̺̲̾͂̊͠s̵̡̻̟̅p̴̨̩̭̣̖̄͜ẹ̶̢̧̻̒a̶̡͖͔̥̼̤̔k̴̝̲͔͖̆͆̕͜ͅi̵͖̮̣̩̝͋̊̈́̆̓n̵̳̎̊͊g̷̲̟̀̂͐̈́̾͜ ̷͖̘̘̔ͅí̵̬̏̅͌̋̚n̸̬͈͓̤͗͝ ̴͇͓́͋̋̍̈̈H̶͚̳̙́͋̔̄͝ë̶̖͎͉̞̈l̵̤̲̏͂̏̉̂ ̴̧̡̙́͗̽͋̾̕Ṣ̸̭̗͆ͅţ̸͔̼̼̝̂͋̃ȃ̴͔̒͋̈́̾n̸̰͖̙͇̭̏͗̐d̸̡̤͇͆͌̐̉̉â̴̩͉̠̈̈̇̚r̶̼̫̼̗͛̋͘d̸͚̋.̶͓̜͓͐ ̴̦̔̎͠Y̸̘͇͎͗͘o̸̻̎̎ǘ̷̺̘̤̳̺̑̍̑̅̚ ̸̢͚̲̯͉̑̒̿͝l̷̨̎ǐ̴̭ṯ̵̬͚̎e̵̞̩͙̳̮̎̾̐̈́͝r̴͕̓͆́̎̚a̶̛̫̳͚̼̓̎̐́̒͜l̵͖̺͌̈́̈̔̂͂l̴̡͕̫̘̊̈́ÿ̴̢́̏̾́ ̷͍͈͕̜̟̯͒̚͠d̵̼̒ö̸̯̹̯́̃n̸̞̬͍̗̤̏̌'̷̭̖̟͑̓̈́͜͝͝t̷̡͔̗̯̟̏̿̓̓ ̵̯̗̰́̏͆ư̶̱̞̰̼̿̈́́́̅n̷̪̠̟͚̽̐͝d̸͕̗͉͊è̸͇̪̻r̵̛̙̦̈́́̉͘s̸̪̩͈̟͔͎̓̾̚t̵̩̼̪̎͛̒͊͘à̴͎̺̍̈́́̄̿n̸̪̦̦͇̈̅͝d̴͚̰̺̝̂̒̃͝ ̵̜̳̗̠̼̓̔̓͌̐͌a̵̤̠̪͔͐͋̚͝͝͠ ̶̩͙̩̫̻̀͜t̸̺̲̔̔̊̇̋h̸̛̙̳̦̩͌͂̈́̍̊i̸͉͕̯̬̔̔̿̇̔͠n̶͎̤̆̋̋́̄͑g̴̗̭͓̾̓̾̂ͅ ̷̨̛̩͔̹͊͒I̶͍̞̊̉͋'̴̮̫̤̰͖̰͂̃̾̋́́m̷̱͈̰̪̣͇̓ ̷͔̋͊͝s̷͙̮̟͔̟̥͂̾͝á̵̻̯̠͈͊͋̿ÿ̶͓̲̳̣̥̩́͆́i̴̧̙̝̱̋n̵̙̻̍̇̍̕͝͝g̴̱͈͇̓̋̏͠.̷̦̘̎̍̓̄͝͝ ̶̭̗̊͝W̵̡̹͓̙͚̆̈́̎̓͊e̵͇̱͔̓͜l̸͓̥͆͝l̸̖̩̖̂̑̀̍̐͝,̷̛̹̗̞̺͎͕̈́ ̷̢̫̟̼͚̊a̶̫̍͑̎͒͘͝ṭ̷̨͙͇̈́͒͊̓͆ ̷̪̝̣͈͚̺̈̇͗̿̽̽ļ̴̢̥̼̚͝è̸̘̹͈̥̺͊͒̊͘ͅa̸̛͇̠̓̉͑̚s̵̢̽͊t̸͕̤̝͛ ̷̩̪̤̬͕̅̇̑͜ǹ̴͎͔̬͊ő̴̫̤̼̟͒͝ ̶̱͑̑͋̅o̴̲̓͑̌̂͐n̴̩̦̦̗̱̎̉͗̓͠ͅȅ̴͖͈͐̇̊̐͜ ̷̝͒̔̽̍̚͝ẃ̵̢͕̜̺͇̥̊͝o̸͇̪͓̟̬̟͛̎̉̈́͐r̷͎͎̓̇͒̀t̷̮̣̓̑h̸̞͕̀̂̀́̈́͘ ̴̩̥͖͊̌͒̚͜ȧ̵̯̼̿ͅ ̴̛̠̹̺̼̙͎̀̓͑ḏ̸̛̰̝̀̏͌a̵̡̰̖̼̺̕m̸̮̣̤̉̈́͜n̶̥͇̻̗̅ ̴̮̬͔̌͗̆̃͝s̸̝͖̲̰̈́̂́͠ả̴͙̖̱̰͛̓͝͝ẉ̸̹͖̘̀̀ ̷͔͛̀̚͜t̴͚̻̄̈́̈̈́̽h̶̢̩͈͉͑̅ì̷̡̪̭̬̥s̵̢̗͖͇̖̋.̸̬̲̙̙͖̭̾͋̀"

The creature, which refused Michaels Identify skill, seemed to suddenly calm down. Michael thought he even caught a hint of embarrassment before it spoke again.

"Greetings, I trust that you can understand me now?" The three nodded. "Good. As I was saying earlier, I am Hel's Angel, her representative on this world and the source of your quest within this dungeon." She pause to see if they were suitably impressed. They were not. If anything, they looked even more confused. "What? What is it that has gotten you confused? Are you actually stupid?"

Michael spoke up. "No, at least not by Earth's standards. We're just confused about Hel, what an angel is within this context, how the quest works, how you got here and what you taste like. That last one was Jelly but I think that's more like idle wondering since she also wants to know what Hazel and I taste like."

The angel stared at them before putting her head in her hands and muttering "Oh my dear Hel please give me strength, I feel I may murder these fools." She looked back up and took a deep breath. "Okay, to answer your questions in order: Hel is a minor goddess of Ice and Death, An angel is the term for the representative of a god or goddess, the quest is a quest; you complete the quest and get the reward and I have no idea why I have to explain this to you it should be self explanatory, A part of my consciousness has descended and that is what you are speaking to, My actual body is not here within this Dungeon. Is that all the questions you have or can I move on?"

Michael opened his mouth to ask more questions but the Angel cut him off. "That was a rhetorical question. Now, the Quest. You must find the inner sanctum and Destroy the Source of Frost within. The Vitr Einvaldskonungr has captured and corrupted it and its very existence is now an affront to Hel's eyes." As soon as she finished speaking a quest window popped up in front of Michael. Unfortunately neither Hazel or Jelly received it since they were only animal companions and as such they had a very limited version of the System which only allowed them to access their Status. So that they wouldn't feel left out, Michael shared the quest screen with the two of them.

Source of Frost Quest

Objectives:

Destroy the Source of Frost within the Inner Sanctum of the Vitr Heimr Dungeon

Rewards:

- Increased Ice Affinity

- Increased Ice Resistance

- Decreased Dungeon Difficulty

- Class Related Armor Piece

Failure Conditions:

- Leave the Vitr Heimr Dungeon before the Source of Frost is Destroyed.

Failure Penalties:

- Decreased Ice Affinity

- Decreased Ice Resistance

- Lose 1000 Class Experience

- Hel's Angel will slap you. Hard.

Michael looked up at the Angel as he read that last bit and the smile on her face startled him. "I wish you all the best in your quest, though you should know there's no shame in failure." She said, the smile never leaving her face. Michael was suddenly reminded that Hel was a goddess of Ice and Death, two very worrying aspects, and that her Angel would no doubt enjoy those aspects. Turning around as nonchalantly as he could he grabbed Hazel and Jelly and walked back over to the door they were going to enter and went through it, the prospect of fighting a Frost Giant suddenly becoming much more appealing. At least he knew where he stood with those.

The room he entered followed the lavish pattern from before, a bedroom big enough to fit a house in complete with a four post bed, several beautiful wardrobes, several armchairs and two Vitr Ulfs, napping in front of a fireplace complete with frozen flames. The Vitr Ulfs looked like silver Wolves except three times the size and with an extra pair of legs. As soon as the three were completely in the door slammed shut, waking the two wolves.

Michael and Hazel had worked out a plan in the moments before the door slammed shut. As the Ulfs approached Hazel blasted one with a Stone Spikes and Michael took the other with Vine Trap, their coordination and teamwork impeccable. They definitely did not panic and blast out the first spell that came to mind, hitting separate targets due to sheer luck. And that is what they will tell anyone who asks, not that anyone would ask as this particular story wasn't really worth mentioning to others.

With one wolf trapped in vines and the other limping from a nasty wounds on two of its paws it looked like it was going to be an easy fight, but looks can be deceiving. The vines froze, ice spreading from where they contacted the Ulfs fur, a simple flex of its muscles shattered the ice with ease. The limping Ulf stood still an howled, ice spikes appearing in the air in front of it before launching forwards. The spikes were fast but Jelly was faster, a wall of ice appearing and blocking the spikes completely.

Behind the safety of the wall Michael asked Jelly to keep one Ulf busy whilst they focused on the other. Jelly nodded before dropping the wall and unleashing an Ice Spear at the hobbled Ulf while running off to the side. The targeted Ulf barely managed to roll out of the way before sending another wave of ice spikes howling at Jelly.

While the two of them were busy Michael and Hazel were facing the other. Michael started with a double Boulder Throw to create some space before following it up with a pair of slowing Wizard Arrows. He wanted to save his Thunder Shot for an emergency; the skills power and speed was great but the minute long cooldown made it a one time use in most fights.

The two boulders crashed into the Ulf but only sent it sliding backwards ten feet, the icy floor somehow helping the creature stay on its feet, but it meant the Ulf wasn't prepared to dodge the Wizard Arrows. The two Mana formed arrows plunged into the side of the Ulf, damaging it and slowing the creature by 5% each. The original spell would have slowed the Ulf by 10% but the Monsters Icy element combined with the Tier advantage reduced the effectiveness by half. Still, it was enough to let Hazel close in and give her own attacks. Michael had been worr- scratch that- terrified to let her go toe to toe with the Tier 3 beast but Hazel Hazel had basically told him to shut up and get out of her way.

Michael needn't have worried though, as this was a completely different fight. The attack that almost killed Hazel had been a full powered attack made by a monster that was already known for its fearsome strength even before said strength was doubled. The Ulfs weren't even in the same league when it came to physical attacks. In truth, their danger came from their primary ability 'Hoarfrost Coat' that had the effect of applying 100 Ice damage to anything touching the Ulf every second. In a physical fight this ability made it a beast, both literally and metaphorically.

Hazels shields made it a much fairer fight, preventing the Ice damage from hurting her though it did take chunks out of her shields durability. Despite fning she was still slower than the Ulf she was delighted to discover that she was actually stronger than the Tier 3 Monster and used her superior strength to her advantage, smacking the poor creature around like it was a ping pong ball. With Michael providing heaps of damage in the form of infused arrows the Ulf still managed to last an impressive 93 seconds before it collapsed, its head and shoulders looking like a pin cushion. Once the Ulf was dead they turned to help Jelly only to find the fox like creature waiting for them, a bored look on its face and a dead Ulf at its side.

Michael felt a bit sheepish, it wasn't like he expected to find Jelly at death's door or anything but it would have been nice for it to have at least pretended to struggle. Mentally patting his wounded pride on its metaphorical back michael went over the notifications for the battle.

Tier 3 Level 2 Vitr Ulf Killed!

Participation: 7%

Modifier for Perks: 100%

Ranger Experience Gained: 140

Bonus: Furry Skates

Treasure Hunter Experience Gained: 1000

Tier 3 Level 2 Vitr Ulf Killed!

Participation: 61%

Modifier for Perks: 100%

Ranger Experience Gained: 1220

Michael was overjoyed at the Treasure Hunter experience as it showed that even Profession experience was affected by the Tier gap, the Tier 3 treasure giving ten times the usual experience, twenty if the Dungeon modifier was included. If only the treasure wasn't so ... Fluffy. The Skates appeared to be named for their effects rather than their form as they had neither blades nor wheels, they simply looked like a really fluffy, furry pair of boots. Looking at the boots he couldn't help but remember his grandmothers disco boots with a tinge of horror.

Furry Skates

Tier 3, Normal Quality, 100 / 100 Durability

Passive Effect 1: Increase Agility by 8

Passive Effect 2: 25% Increased movement speed when moving over Ice or Snow.

The boots were decent enough but there was no way that Michael was going to wear them, not with the flashbacks that came with them. As he put the fuzzy slipper wannabes back into his inventory Michael looked through the room to see if there was anything they might have missed. The furnishings looked ornate but everything was made from ice, even the bed, which meant nothing was useful. Shrugging, they left the room and went on to the next. Cracking open the door and poking his head through Michael saw another bedroom, a carbon ice copy of the last, with a Vitr Jötunn snoring away on the bed. Michael stared at the Giant for a second in a mix of fascination and disbelief. He'd tried the bed in the last room and he knew for a fact that those things were made of ice, yet this Giant was somehow under the covers.

Michael walked into the room along with his two companions and continued to stare in wonder. A short strategy session later and everyone got into position, Hazel moving round to the other side of the bed from Michael. Letting Jelly take the first shot an ice spear seemed to erupt from the sleeping Giants face. Waking up to immense pain the Giant bellowed and started scrambling from the bed when an equally loud roar sounded out behind it and a force pushed it from behind. The force wasn't great but in its awkward position the giant couldn't brace and ended up falling out of the bed face first. Thanks to some quick reactions it managed to put a hand out and prevent itself from slamming face first into the ground. Unfortunately, that meant that when the spikes erupted from the ground they skewered the Giants hand rather than its head. It was unfortunate as it meant the Giant was in that much more pain when Michael put a Thunder Shot through its head, killing it and ending its considerable pain.

Tier 3 Level 3 Vitr Jötunn Killed!

Participation: 63%

Modifier for Perks: 100%

Ranger Experience Gained: 1890

Bonus: Ice Resistance Potion x1

Treasure Hunter Experience Gained: 1000

Michael danced a little jig in his head before he opened up his Status an entered the Treasure Hunter skill space, the glowing orbs springing up in front of him. He took a brief look at Trap Dismantle and Pickpocket but decided that Analyse Treasure was the better option. Michael almost chose Pickpocket instead, the skill was potentially amazing.

Pickpocket

Treasure Acquisition Skill, Active, 10 Mana Cost

Steal credits and even items from unaware enemies but be wary of getting caught.

If the skill worked like Michael thought it might then it would awesome, but he would only know when he used it. In some of the old rpg's he played the character could use pickpocketing-like skills on any old monster and steal gold and items even though there was no feasible reason for a three headed wolf to carry 38 gold and a bow. At the time he had thought it wildly unrealistic but now he was hoping that his younger self didn't jinx it, he didn't want to have to go through the trouble of inventing a time machine just so that he could go back and slap young Michael.

As usual, once he made the decision the skill orb glowed and he was immediately kicked from the skill space. Michael was a little annoyed, he had been hoping to see what the unlocked skills behind Analyse Treasure were, but he got over it quickly when he pulled up his new skills information.

Analyze Treasure

Tier 2, Level 1

100 Mana Cost, Touch Range, 5 Minute Cooldown

Spend Mana to thoroughly analyse a treasure. Treasure must be personally claimed within the last 24hrs. Amount and accuracy of information gained increases with each level.

Looking at the 24 hrs restriction Michael cursed his own bad luck. He had been hoping to use the skill on the Anything Potion he had gotten for finding a Mysterious Ruin but that was over too long ago. He checked anyways but the skill refused to activate, an 'Invalid Target' message appearing whenever he tried to do so. Shrugging away the annoyance he tried again with the recently acquired Furry Skates gaining a small notification.

Furry Skates

Tier 3, Normal Quality, Worth 3800 Credits

Looted from an Ice aspected Monster in a Tier 3 Dungeon. Contains multiple aspects.

Michael considered the information but couldn't decide if it was worth it yet. What it revealed already showed that the skill had a lot of potential but the problem came in what to do with the information. If he was planning on selling the skates, and to be honest he probably was, then the information was undoubtedly useful, but if he had wanted to use the item then it wasn't all that great. The only hope was that the skill would start to reveal more useful information at higher levels. After Michael put the Furry Skates back into his inventory the trio moved on.

It was in the 13th room that they explored that they found the first puzzle room. If Michael had been counting he might have straight up Noped the thirteenth room, especially after discovering the sudden lack of visible enemies, but unfortunately he did not and ended up stumbling into the room unaware of the potential misfortune. The room was roughly the size of a football stadium and appeared empty at first until Jelly spotted a large block of ice near one corner of the room. Michael walked up to the block an Identified it but found nothing special about it. The block was roughly 1 meter squared and made of near completely clear ice, part of the reason why Michael hadn't seen it at first. After giving it a push he found he could just about budge it but other than that there was nothing special about it.

Exploring the rest of the room the group spent almost half an hour before Michael spied a small depression in the ground at the exact center of the room. A quick look confirmed that the size of and shape of the depression matched the ice block exactly. Having already determined this room to be a puzzle room, or the world's worst safe room, Michael couldn't help but wonder what exactly the puzzle was supposed to be; it couldn't be as simple as pushing a block.

It wasn't.

Michael managed to push the block all of two meters, his companions watching bemused on the sidelines, before the block thunked into something. Surprised, Michael went round to the front of the block to see what he had hit, but found nothing. Thoroughly confused, Michael bent down and carefully Identified the ice in front of the block but found absolutely nothing to suggest that there was anything different with this patch of ice. Pushing the block backwards a bit he asked Hazel to come and push the block back towards him. The bear was a bit annoyed at the weird human doing weird things but did so anyways. Michael watched like a hawk, his high Perception attribute straining to catch anything, as the block moved forwards. Despite his efforts Michael was still unable to see anything as the block thunked into something.

A thought hit Michael, a possible explanation as to what the puzzle was, but he dearly hoped he was wrong. Going to the side of the block he pushed, enlisting Hazels help to make it quicker, but they only got three meters before the block thunked to a stop. Michael didn't bother to look for whatever it hit and instead got back behind the block and resumed pushing it towards the center. The block went three meters, going past the original blockage and raising Michaels hopes, before a thunk stopped the block and brutally murdered Michaels hopes. Body parts decorating the walls kind of murdered.

Michael slumped to the floor, his back resting against the block as he started crying. When Hazel asked what was wrong Michael raised his eyes and said, with a voice devoid of hope and happiness "It's a _____ ___________ _____ ______ Invisible Maze!"