The Inner Sanctum was, to put it simply, a Scrooge McDuckian vault of the worst kind; Cursed. The door opened up to a vast hall, similar to Smaug's lair but built for Giants rather than Dragons, so about half the size. High vaulted ceilings with a veritable forest of pillars descending into an undergrowth of gold, jewels and various pieces of fancy ornate weapons and armor, all gleaming and beautiful and so very, very cursed. To the point where Michaels Idiotic Soul Achievement rang out several dozen warnings when he tried to pick up a single coin.

Identify showed that every piece of gold, every jewel and every weapon, all contained the same tag; Cursed – Those who take this will immediately die in several horrific ways. Looking around Michael felt like he was Harry in the goblins bank, walking through a treasure trove and unable to touch a thing for fear of a curse.

Still, Michael was really happy. After they cleared out any enemies in this place then he could spend a few days in here simply levelling up his dismantling skill. The trio moved through the piles of gold and came upon a clearing of sorts. In the middle of the vast vault lay a platform enveloped in a bright white light. Floating a foot above the platform was a mostly white crystal star with pieces of ice crystals slowly orbiting it. The Crystal was largely white but had jagged black lines running clean through it. The closer the trio got the colder the surroundings became, their breath fogging 20 meters out. Michael couldn’t get within ten meters of it, even with his various cold protections. Hazel managed to get to five meters but had to stop as well, the cold being too much even for her thick fur.

Jelly on the other hand, felt like it was bathing in luxury, the crystal producing an aura that simultaneously made it feel refreshed and hungry. The crystal, the source of Frost, called to is being in a very primal way. If it weren’t for the corruption, he would have already tried to devour the treasure. But the corruption was an anathema to it, the foreign Mana tainting the item would be both inseparable from the rest and lethal to a being of pure ice like a Gelidreynard.

As Jelly suffered under an internal war between its hunger and its survival Michael was busy searching for the enemy. He had serious doubts the Vitr Einvaldskonungr, who had apparently stolen the Source of Frost, would leave the item, and all this lovely gold, unprotected. The Traps outside, which could kill any Tier 3’s under level 20, didn’t even enter his thoughts.

This is a trap that a lot of people tend to fall in, that of perspective. From Michaels perspective the traps were easy to circumnavigate and therefore barely a hazard never mind an actual defense. In reality, the deadly nature of the traps, which is far higher than the average Tier 3 Level 10 Dungeon, were more than enough to count as a decent defense.

Anyone who didn’t simply skip past the traps would have to follow an incredibly complex pattern of different symbols that changed for every person that entered just to get through. Worst, the hallway was under a permanent spell that cancelled any flying skills present. To most parties the hallway would have counted as a near insurmountable deathtrap.

After twenty minutes of searching, along with some agonizing courtesy of Jelly, Michael was forced to admit that there was likely no monsters in the room. He returned to the Source of Frost in the middle of the room. Or rather, he returned to a spot just over twenty meters from the source. He tried calling Jelly but it took several tries to get the beast to respond.

{That. Want. Wrong. Death}

Michael blinked, that was officially the most Jelly had ever said to him. This source must have really shaken it. He smiled, that just made what he was about to do even better.

“When we bonded I promised you that anything from this dungeon that could help you would be yours. Will that thing help you?”

{Yes. No. Death}

“Let me guess, it’s bad for you because of the corruption, right?”

Jelly didn’t say anything, just nodding as he stared at the Source. Michael's smile turned into a grin, and he pulled out the best item he owned, The Cleansing Soap. Pouring a thousand points of Mana into it he activated the soaps third effect, Purify. After he sacrificed all thousand points, the sudden loss giving him the weirdest sense of vertigo, he received the worst prompt; the soap required him to touch the soap to whatever it was that needed purifying.

Despite the corruption the Source was outputting so much Ice Mana that Michael wouldn’t be ble to get anywhere near it. Even with four pieces of armor, Spell Arsenals current limit, imbued with a level ten Fireball he could only get three meters away. Fortunately, Jelly would have no such issues. Michael gave the soap to Jelly to use, the soap surprisingly activating in the process and apparently ‘purifying’ Jelly.

Fortunately Jelly could activate the skill, despite technically being a monster and not connected to the System, or so Micael thought. In reality, something quite special happened when Michael accidently purified Jelly. Despite Jellys soul having started the process of birthing he was still affected by the Systems Monster Compulsion, the set of orders imprinted in a Monsters psyche that made it want to kill any other beings. With the purification Jellys nascent soul was purified and the compulsion stripped. Jelly would have felt this, if he weren’t currently under a different compulsion of a more biological nature.

Jelly approached the Source of Frost and used the Soap, gently touching the item to the crystal. The Soap glowed, releasing a bright and pure light that gently enveloped the source. Despite the light being bright enough to light up the entire vault Michael could still look at it without straining his eyes.

When the light receded the black marks on the Source had vanished under the gentle light. Michael only saw it for a second though, as Jelly almost immediately leaped up and swallowed the Source of Frost in on gulp. Michael blinked, surprised by the suddenness of the action. He was about to ask if Jelly was okay when the Gelidreynard started glowing a bright white light before floating up into the air.

Jelly remained there for a few seconds, long enough for Michael to wonder if Jelly had gotten stuck, when Ice rapidly exuded from Jelly's form and created a perfect sphere around him. As soon as the sphere finished forming and the ice finished hardening it crashed to the ground.

“Um, okay. Did you kn-” The light surrounding the central platform suddenly winked out.

“Uh, please don’t tell me this room is abou-” The room started to shake, as if struck by an earthquake. Michael rolled his eyes, his suspicions confirmed almost immediately in the most cliché fashion.

“Alright, I’ll grab the Jelly egg.” he said to Hazel. “Let’s head to the door, the rooms going to collapse.”

They made it out of the room just as the back end of the vault started to collapse in a roar of smashing ice. There was no last second leaps or jumping from falling floors or any of the silly movie tropes. They simply walked out calmly without looking back. Michael even took the time use his dismantle skill on a rather nice-looking sword near the entrance. The sword predictably disintegrated into dust and Michael simply left without a word. There was no dramatics or heroic actions as this was not a movie, or even a halfway decent book that gets some mixed reviews, it was real life.

Once they were out, and the door was closed, all Michael said was “_____, I knew that was going to happen.”

The trio had a problem, namely that one of them was an egg. The way they saw it they had two options, either wait for Jelly's egg to crack or continue with the dungeon while hauling the world's biggest bowling ball. In the end they went with the bowling ball option. Jelly was a powerful addition to the team but with their skills getting stronger and their levels getting higher the danger had been getting less and less. The dungeon that had once been fraught with danger was becoming almost boring. There were still dangers but the two of them knew what to expect and could handle whatever came at them.

But now on to the important part. When Jelly had swallowed the Source of Frost Michael had gotten a quest completion notification but hadn’t had time to read it with Jellys ‘Eggification’ and the subsequent collapse of the Vault. Now that he had time though …

Source of Frost Quest Complete!

Hidden objective – Purify the Source – Complete!

Additional reward given.

+10% Ice Affinity

+10% Ice Resistance

+Ranger Jazerant

Additional Rewards

+5% Ice Affinity

+5% Ice Resistance

+5 Hel’s Approval Patch

Michael was surprised by the additional rewards. Moreover, he was surprised that the additional rewards remained even after Jelly ate the Source. He figured that Hel would want the Source of Frost back if it was purified. Michael had been fully expecting the Angel to appear and slap him for letting Jelly eat the Source.

“Greetings Mortal.” Hel’s Angel said, from right behind Michael.

“Aaagh!” Michael let out a small scream and jumped forwards. “Will you stop doing that!”

The angel turned to Michael and smiled. “No.”

Michael wanted to tell the being off, but the predatory smile on the angels face dissuaded him. “Um, what do you want, other than giving me a heart attack?”

“As much fun as it is to see you squirm, I am not here for you, I am here for the Gelidreynard that swallowed the Source of Frost.” The Angel drifted over to the sphere containing Jelly. “Rather a fascinating thing. A Monster that is no longer a Monster, a being of Purity that can perfectly bond with the Source of Frost. Truly fascinating.” She turned to Michael and asked “What do you know of this?”

Michael answered honestly, “Very little. No idea what you mean by a monster that is not a monster. As for the whole purity thing, I think that’s because I accidently purified Jelly.”

The angel looked confused. “Jelly? What does the food have to do with any of this?”

“Not the food.” Michael answered. “Jelly is what I named the Gelidreynard.”

The angel stared at him for a few seconds, its expression frozen. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it spoke. “This creature is one of the most unique beings in the universe, a Monster that has somehow, against all known possibility, grown a soul, and you named it Jelly?”

Michael gulped, “Yes?”

The Angel stared at him for a few seconds more, each moment sending Michael into a deeper metaphorical hell. Then it shrugged and turned back to scrutinizing the egg. “As good a name as any I suppose.”

Michael's heart started beating again and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Whenever he faced the Angel he could feel this sort of existential dread, like he was standing on a beach facing a hundred foot tall tsunami. It made his conversations with the Angel feel like walking on a razors edge.

After the Angel finished inspecting the ball of ice it turned back to Michael. “Due to this Gelidreynard eating the Source of Frost it is currently undergoing a metamorphosis, one which must not be disrupted. Under Hels authority I hereby issue you a quest to protect this Gelidreynard until it has completed its transformation. As we speak there are multiple Ice attributed Monsters and beasts converging on this dungeon to destroy Jelly and take the Source for themselves.” As the Angel finished speaking a quest window popped up in front of Michael.

Protect Jelly Quest

Objectives:

Protect Jelly from all harm until his transformation is complete.

Time limit: 1 hour 31 minutes 27 seconds

Rewards:

- Hel's Blessing

Failure Conditions:

- Jelly's transformation is interrupted.

Failure Penalties:

- None. The loss of such a creature is punishment enough

Michael smiled at the angel. “You don’t need a quest to save Jelly, we were going to anyways, right Hazel?” Hazel nodded, her eyes already trained on the door they came in, helpfully marked by a nice big X. “But we’ll take the rewards anyways.”

Michael shifted his ring of Elements over to Earth, gaining the Earthen Wall spell. He didn’t need any more firepower, what he needed was to keep Jelly safe. To that end he put Jellys egg behind him and an Earthen Wall between them, the level ten producing a four foot thick wall that completely filled the hallway from top to bottom. The Dungeon monsters were all sealed in their rooms, the angel confirming it, so as long as they kept the monsters on this side of the wall then Jelly would stay safe.

Since they likely had a few moments before the first monster arrived Michael took out the Ranger Jazerant, the armor he had gotten as a quest reward, and inspected it.

Ranger Jazerant

Tier 3, Rare Quality, 500/500 Durability, 150 Defense

Passive Effect: Increase Magic and Perception by 10, Increase Vitality by 5

Passive Effect: Increase overall Defense by 25% when in nature.

Attached Skill – Tough Hide: Increase the Defense of your skin by 50% for 1 Minute. 10 Minute Cooldown, 250 Mana Cost.

Michael loved it. The Jazerant itself was a lovely piece of armor, a thick dark green coat with a layer of metal plates between the inner and outer layers. The attached skill was okay at best, but the passive effects were really nice. Michael immediately equipped the armor and settled down to wait.

They didn’t have to wait long for the first monster to arrive. The door burst open as a pack of Arctic wolves barreled into the hallway. They managed to get all of two meters before three out of the five were impaled on Spears that shot out of the ground underneath them. Two well placed arrows took out the remaining two before they even got another five feet.

Unfortunately, the wolves were just the low levelled appetizer, the weakest of the bunch. The nest to come through was something that looked like an armadillo with blue skin. The armored hide of the monster made Michaels regular arrows simply bounce off but Hazel managed to keep the beast ocuppied long enough for Michael to charge up a Power Shot, the arrow smashing through the monsters armor and sending the corpse flying backwards to smack into a poor penguin that just happened to enter the hallway at that moment. The penguin was a Magical Monster, much like Gelidreynards, and its low physical stats meant the flying Frost Armadillo flattened the unexpecting Monster through sheer force.

The next monster to come through, wasn’t actually a monster. The Snowfall Owl, the evolved version of the Snowy Owl, was a rare beast that wasn’t driven mad by the influx of Mana and was labeled by the system as a Magical Beast. The Owl had stumbled on the stretch of snow laden shrubland by accident several months ago and simply decided to make its home here in the snowy landscape. When Jelly started his transformation he began releasing a form of energy that was like a beacon to Monsers and beasts of the icy persuasion, even hidden in the Dungeon.

When the Snowfall Owl felt the energy it was drawn to it, but it had enough intelligence to realize that many other Monsters would as well. It also knew the likely culprits behind the energy as it had seen one of those humans along with a bear and a Gelidreynard walk into the dungeon several days ago and never walk out. The Snowfall Owl live up t the stereotype and was quite wise. It knew that the group was strong and wouldn’t have initiated such a transformation without sufficient preparation. It also knew that it could not defeat all the Monsters that would resistance come for the source of the energy.

With these thoughts in its head it flew through the air and arrived at the dungeon. The outside was chaos, dozens of Monsters fighting each other in order to enter the Dungeon. With swift wings and a few nimble maneuvers the Owl managed to enter the Dungeon, placing a Glacial Fortress in front of the entrance as it flew through. Once inside it was just in time to see a penguin get flattened by a flying Armadillo, something that shocked it to its core. It had seen that same Penguin demolish another Monster twice its size with few spells, the sight leaving quite the impression. To see this fearsome Monster be flattened without the slightest made the Owl wonder at the power of those who awaited it.

The owl stuck its head through the door and caught the briefest glimpse of the Human and the Bear before it pulled its head back, an arrow flying through the space its head had been moments ago. It gave a screech of peace, signifying its intent and poked its head back through the door. An arrow almost took its head off, again. The Owl was annoyed but it understood, they were obviously not taking any chances. Poking one wing through it waved it up and down hoping to portray its sincerity. When no arrows came the Owl slowly entered the Hallway.

Michael had been quite surprised by the owl head popping through the doorway but had still managed to fire an arrow, though the owl did dodge it. When he heard the screech Michael assumed it was some sort of battle cry, so he was once again surprised when the head, and only the head, popped through the door. Firing an arrow just to be safe he wasn’t surprised to find the owl dodging it by retreating once again. When the owl popped its wing through the door and started waving it like a flag Michael decided to hold off on shooting the beast. He had no idea what was going on, but the Owl didn’t seem to be hostile.

Once enough of the Owl was visible Michael popped off an Identify, the skill once again working on the first try. Ever since his Luck had passed twenty, and Identify had reached level 4, the skill had rarely failed on the first try, despite having only a 40% of working.

Snowfall Owl

Tier 3, Level 12, Magical Beast

1000/1000 Health, 1150/1500 Mana

Michael was surprised at the small amount of information but quickly forgot that when he realized the Owl was a Magical Beast, rather than a Monster. As the beast approached Michael took a proper look at the beast. The owl was surprisingly small, at least by the Manapocalypses standards. The Owl was over a meter in height and covered in pure white feathers that sparkled like freshly fallen snow.

Once the owl got to a spot five meters away it started hooting, clearly trying to communicate with them, but neither Michael nor Hazel could understand what it was saying. With that being the case Michael gently approached and, once he got close enough, tried to initiate a bond with the Owl. Once the skill activated both Michael and the Owl appeared in another space, one present not in the physical realm but in the metaphysical. In this space the Owls intentions were clear, it was willing to help them fight off the monsters as long as they were willing to give it the pieces of ‘shell’ left behind by the transformation. The barrier it left outside was a show of good faith to prove its intentions.

Michael was quite surprised by the Owls well thought out plan, and by its willingness to give up the chance of a bigger prize for the relative security of a smaller prize. He was more than willing to make the trade, the Owl had already helped them somewhat after all. Once he sent his agreement to the Owl he cancelled his skill, the Owl was clearly unwilling to bond even if it was willing to cooperate.

Once they left the metaphysical space the Owl took its place next to Michael, ready for the onslaught of Monsters. The Owls third Tier spell, Glacial Fortress, was a powerful barrier spell capable of withstanding a lot of punishment but it wouldn’t be able to hold for long in the face of the Monsters outside.

It was quite a surprise therefore, when the first monster only arrived 23 minutes later. Unbeknownst to the three inside the dungeon the Monters outside the Dungeon were too busy fighting each other to make a concerted effort at cracking the fortress. At least, for a while. Eventually the Monsters came to the gradual realization that the mor tie they spent fighting each other the less time they had to get to the actual prize. Once the first monster arrived, a large creature that was decidedly inspired by the myth of the Yeti, the battle commenced. It was a hard fought victory, but it was a victory, nonetheless. Taking advantage of the Hallways door to set up a chokepoint Mihael, Hazel and Hooters (Michaels idea, neither of the animals knew enough about human culture to understand why he found the name funny) kept the Monsters at bay, focusing on stopping them rather than killing them.

Eventually however, the timer ran out, and the egg cracked. The trio cleared out the remaining Monsters inside the hallway, largely thanks to Michaels overwhelming firepower, before returning to the egg. With the transformation over and the Source of Frost fully consumed, the Monsters outside the Dungeon no longer had any reason to enter and simply scattered.

When Michael, Hazel and Hooters returned to the Hallway and Michael cancelled the Earthen Wall he had placed, they were greeted with a sight that shocked Michael and Hazel, Hooters not having the context require to be shocked.