“During the history of our world, we've noticed the manifestation of many strange phenomena. Most of these have been caused by powerful monsters whose simple existence caused waves rippling across the whole world. In particular, we have repeatedly observed an increase in the spawn of peculiar and more powerful monsters each time the Omnidragon reincarnated.

The capture of the Omnidragon will allow the gathering of precious materials en masse, but we recommend executing it as soon as it reaches maturity, as the expenses of keeping a strong Omnidragon captive would far outweigh the benefits.

And, of course, we all know how dragons react after being exploited and set free.

-Head-researcher Dalissio, a scholar of the Infinite Library.

Nashariel pov

The group stood in front of the Quest board, examining the various bounties available. They almost had to headbutt the Handler, since their level was ‘so low that a boar’s sneeze could kill them all’, but the token given them from the Elder helped in that regard.

They went in the least attended moment of the day. There were a few dozen things to choose from, and they frequently changed from day to day. They needed their time since they weren't experts in the local fauna.

“I don’t know, boss, I’ve seen enough flames for a while, ya know?” Grimaced Dan.

"I guess… but I thought you were getting chilly!" Replied Nashariel. She had picked up a Quest to kill some sort of flaming boar that loved to set things on fire. This was their mating season, apparently.

The rogue scoffed, then put the paper aside. “What about this?”

A large electric bird was painted on the piece of paper. It was a rough sketch, but its form looked nimble and deadly.

Dorel shook his head. “Too fast for me, plus it flies. Pass.”

They proposed and shot down several more things, until…

“What about this? It doesn’t look too powerful.” Wrote Veliel.

The group huddled together.

The monster depicted in the picture looked a lot like a deer, only azure-white colored and two meters tall at the shoulder. It was as bulky as a bear, with jagged ice for fur, but it maintained its elegance. Curiously, it had hooves armed with glacial claw-like spikes.

The description stated that it was unusual that such a monster emerged from hibernation before winter or late autumn, and it was considered a priority to deal with, as its early awakening meant that it would likely evolve before spring.

“Recommended level: 220. Vel, what the heck?”

She shrugged. “It’s the average level here, and this one lives close by. I figured that having our... advantages, we might want to capitalize on that.” Her eyes stopped at Nashariel.

The dragokin furrowed her brows. “I’d rather pick Quests that help with closing the gap between us, instead of increasing it. Plus, I don’t have much expertise in fighting Ice-attuned monsters, and my Fire isn’t something I focused on.”

“But it’s weakened by the season." Dorel chimed in. He expanded on that, seeing the curious looks from his team. Nashariel had an inkling of what he meant but remained silent. "This monster goes out during winter, so without ice around…”

“He’ll be weaker.” Concluded Veliel for him.

“Exactly. Worst come to worst, we heal and retreat.”

Nashariel picked the paper. “There doesn’t seem to be an expiration date…good. We could pick it now and use a day or two to get the rust off of us, what do you think?”

They nodded.

“I’m very close to a merge, actually. I’d like a few more points.” Supplied the siren.

The dragokin nodded. “We’ll funnel everything to you, then.” That decided, Nashariel went to the counter.

Funneling meant that a team focused on restraining a target to let the funneled deal the most damage and, possibly, the kill. It awarded more points, but no tried and true method existed to give literally everything to a single person. This was why her father's hunts hadn't awarded Nashariel that much, considering the level difference between her and the Shadow-jaguars when she had been almost thirteen. And the reason why hunting by herself was much more rewarding.

The elf behind the counter looked bored. He picked up the paper, glanced at it, then nodded towards Nashariel. “Good choice.” He commented, sending out the System-version of the Quest to her and her team.

The moment Nashariel accepted, the paper vanished.

“You have three days to face the beast. If you don’t at least confront it once, you’ll automatically fail.”

Nashariel raised an eyebrow. “You could’ve told us next week.” She joked.

The elf shrugged. “It’s common knowledge. The closer the target, the less time you have to prepare. Do you have a map?”

The dragokin brought up the sphere and activated it.

“Nice artifact. Anyway, the target should be around here. If it isn’t, you’ll have to track it down on your own or pay someone to do it for you. Good luck on your hunt!” The last part contained an ounce of excitement.

“Thank you.”

Nashariel went back to her friends, ignoring a group of hunters entering the building. She repeated what the elf told her. “We can go now, help Veliel, and hunt the monster tomorrow. I don’t want to risk if it decided to roam around.” She added.

“If we’re this pressed for time, I can upgrade later. I’ll need a bit to figure out the changes anyway, and doing that during a serious fight is unwise.”

Nashariel shrugged. “As you wish. Let’s eat something first.”

An hour later, the Templars stepped past the area covered by the barrier. The sky threatened rain, so they had decided to rush it.

The place marked on the map was three hours from them, give or take, and they didn't want to find out how long they would need by crawling in the mud.

That said, they all needed to fall back into their practice. The forest was more than happy to provide everything they needed and more.

The Astillians funneled everything they could to Veliel. Later or not, she needed those points.

“How are your levels?” Asked Nashariel, once they got closer.

Surprisingly, they were only a few levels behind herself. She looked bitterly at [Omnidragon kin] for that.

“Remember, if this one is too strong…”

“We fall back. We know, boss.” Dan answered, rolling his eyes. “It’s only the fourth time you tell us that.”

The dragokin flushed. “Better safe than sorry.”

They arrived at the place marked on the map, just in time for the rain to start. And a quick check on the area confirmed that there was no monster around.

Ducking wonderful. “Dan, your time to shine.”

Grinning and rubbing his hands, the Inquisitor went to work.

The humidity in the area soon rose, making the rain feel more like glacial needles against their exposed skin.

Dan indicated a trail upon which the rain seemed to freeze. “Unless there’s another Ice monster, I bet that that’s the one.”

The large prints on the ground suggested as much.

“How long ago?”

“I don’t know enough about the monster to tell. The water is still freezing. Not too long.”

“Let’s hurry. This rain is freezing my feathers.” Wrote Veliel. She shivered.

“Buy [Ice resistance],” ordered Nashariel, “if this temperature is cold enough to make you uncomfortable, then fighting the monster will be… complicated.”

The group let out a grumble at that, but they complied. She was the leader, after all. Dorel looked particularly smug since he didn't buy anything.

“For the future, I’d like all of you to buy all resistances.” Racial influence or not, diminished damage from all sources was too good to pass up.

This time the groaning intensified. Dorel’s smug-face… smuggened some more.

Good. "C'mon, we have months to build up points!" I’m not sure if they consider it a good thing, but it is for me. And they’ll be safer later, so…

The first thunder echoed in the forest.

Well, duck.

The trail remained somewhat visible, but the ground slowly softened into mud, which slowed the group’s advance to a crawl. To avoid precious delay, Nashariel transformed into her true self, transporting her friends on her back. Dan stood on her head, guiding her from there.

The dragoness had to slow her speed, as her scales became slippery. That said, her increased weight secured her footing, and the Earth form liked mud.

The rain poured on them mercilessly. Should I have asked them to buy [Water resistance] too? Nashariel chuckled internally.

Not a moment too soon, she caught a whiff of something different than the earthy scent all around her. “I got it.” She announced. After two hours of wondering, she was feeling restless. More than one tree had paid the price for being too close to her tail.

Mere minutes later, she saw something glowing behind the trees. The dragoness stopped, allowing her passengers to step down. They carefully stalked their objective, hiding behind every bush and tree.

The monster was resting under a natural shelter, a half-demolished hill. The ground around him was a singular sheet of ice that extended by the second. It seemed that the rain was helping him more than what the Templars assumed.

*Ice-Juggernaut Lvl 142.

This monster is unusually agile for its build. It uses its magical talent to cover itself in a thick layer of ice, more resistant than most mundane armor.??? Can be harvested from this monster quite easily, while??? Requires the hands of an expert and a frost immune carver. It can??? Beware its natural weapons and???

Blunt damage is recommended, as are high resistances against Ice and Frost side-effects. Fire-attuned damage is valuable, but???

??? Attunement is also powerful, but beware??? Avoid Ice and Water affinities. *

“Upgrade your resistance.” Whispered Nashariel.

The other did so immediately. This was a powerful monster, more than what Nashariel’s friends had ever fought. She too, of course, but the memory of the Burrowing storm was still fresh in her mind. Will it be easier or harder with my team? The girl wondered.

She glanced at her sheet, pondering if following her own recommendation. She had accumulated a lot of points during the travel to the Trophy of the Huntress and took a break once there. Forgetting to spend them was a mistake that she hoped to not regret.

In the end, the choice was taken from her.

Something nearby screamed their death cry, instantly alerting their prey. Its gaze wondered, stopping on their bush. It stood on its thick four legs, roaring in anger.

"Dan and Veliel spread out! Dorel, stay here, I'll go behind it!" Nashariel shouted. The dragokin unfolded her large wings, taking the sky.

The Defender shouted something, beating on his shield. The monster’s ire locked on him.

The ice beneath the Juggernaut’s heavy hooves shattered like glass, shooting deadly fragments all around it. The monster lowered its head, pointing its deadly-looking horns at Dorel.

He summoned his shield, bracing for impact.

At the last moment, Nashariel let out her [Taunt].

The beast’s confusion weakened the strike. It shook its head like a madman, before standing on its hind legs.

Dan used this moment to launch a flurry of poisoned daggers at the exposed belly. They struck, bouncing off the monster's thick armor.

It’s like my Armor skills! “Veliel, focus on weakening the armor!”

The priestess chanted a song about summer’s blazing sun. The armor let out small whiffs of vapor, but it held. Seeing this, Veliel used her staff to redouble her spell’s potency, before taking flight.

The Juggernaut growled at the priestess. Its body glowed, and the ice sheet grew in size. In a burst, the pillars of ice extended from beneath Dorel and Dan. The latter easily rolled away, but the Defender was sent flying against a tree.

Nashariel shifted into Fire. Counting on the rain to prevent unwanted damage to the forest, she charged her Breath, unleashing it on the monster.

Steam rose from the Juggernaut's figure. Despite Dorel's Taunt, its attention snapped on her, and its eyes darkened with fury. A glacial aura exploded from the monster, turning the downpour into a hailstorm.

With Nashariel being the primary target.

Did the [Taunt] wear off? The dragokin activated her personal aura, countering the skill to a great extent. Some ice still thunked against her armor, but the steel easily resisted.

The monster bellowed. It thrashed the ground it stood on, intensifying its skill even further.

Nashariel noticed that the frost was freezing the leaves and covering the scorched ground in another layer of ice. Veliel still sang, and the humans were ready to battle once more. “Dorel, attract its attention!”

The Defender obliged, but the monster didn’t react, save for a snarl. Its focus remained locked on Nashariel.

So that’s why Fire was recommended but not really. It despises heat above all things! New plan. "Dorel, go on the offensive, I'll be the Defender this time." The other nodded. Its tower shield resized to a medium-sized one, then he extracted a one-handed Warhammer.

Finally! Dad’s attunement, here I come! The dragokin shifted to Protection, dropping from the sky. While going down, she activated all her attuned skills. A significant hit on her mana bar, but Nashariel couldn’t contain herself. The Defender dragokin landed in a crash, her body significantly heavier.

To add the last touch, she Taunted the monster, who happily ran to Nashariel.

Having lost the benefits of [Metal fighting style], Nashariel secured her footing and prepared to hold the monster's body. She could sense her friends, thanks to the bonding effect from [Defender’s fighting style].

At the last second, she activated her Bastion stance.

Her wings instinctually snapped closed in front of her, forming a pseudo-tower shield, while a projection similar to Dorel’s locked her in place.

The Ice-Juggernaut rammed its horns against her.

The ground itself trembled, but…

He flinched, one of its horns barely holding it together.

The outer defense shattered, yet the dragokin's wings held without a scratch. Nashariel felt their soreness but watched as the glowing tattoos on her body glowed brightly.

*Hp: 12.198/14.000

Stored damage: 254/610 *

The monster shook his head, voicing a pained growl.

"Let's see how you like this one!" Nashariel abused its distraction to exit her stance and punch him straight on the muzzle.

The tattoo on her left arm absorbed the light from the rest of her body, infusing her strike with all the accumulated potency.

The Ice armor on the monster’s face shattered. It recoiled from the hit, roaring against her. It raised one of its hooves.

Its retaliation ended when Veliel started singing. The priestess dropped a pair of [Sound bombs] on the monster’s neck and torso, while Dan appeared seemingly from nowhere, launching a pair of knives to blind the monster.

Unfortunately, the monster had other plans.

As soon as the siren’s spells dropped, the entire armor shattered in a thousand lightning-fast shrapnel.

Dorel was just about to strike the Juggernaut's hind legs when the first fragment hit him. He paled, widening his eyes to an impossible degree.

Nashariel processed everything as swiftly as dragonly possible. She entered in the Swift defender's stance, activated the Beacon with all the mana she dared to consume, then rushed in front of her friend.

The quickened movement cost her dearly, since the hail went in all directions, and in her hurry, she traveled right into it. She wasn't fast enough to block all the sharp ice flying toward Dorel, but most of it shattered on the back of her armor and wings.

She felt her Armor redirecting most fragments possible on her, and the damage of those slicing into her friends was reduced by the Beacon.

Her Stored damage skyrocketed, unlike her health.

*Hp: 9.839/14.000 + 0/700

Stored damage: 610/610 *

Uh, this skill gives me additional health. Nashariel idly noticed, glancing at her friends while ignoring her back riddled with shallow holes. The bond told her that they were mostly fine. She saw each one of them enveloped by a bright armor made of solid light.

She activated her Presence, set on Inspiration. “It’s vulnerable! Hit it with all you’ve got!” The dragokin rotated on the balls of her scaled foot, infusing her leg with all her stored damage. Her side-kick slammed onto the monster’s leg, bending it with a sickening crunch.

A grimacing Dorel put away his shield, growing his hammer into a two-headed version. He beat the unholy out of the monster’s other leg.

Dan jumped on its face, sinking his main daggers deeply into its eyes.

Veliel glared at the monster with a glowing purple glare.

Outside of the leg struck by Nashariel, the monster fared pretty well. Dan discovered that its eyes were more similar to a malleable type of glass than the usual gelatin. He shook the rogue down, then gored him from up-close.

The Dragokin taunted it once more. She ensured that her friend was fine, but her mana was getting dangerously low. She repositioned to be out of Dorel’s way.

The monster was starting to resist her Skill. Seeing that it was surrounded, it summoned its frost aura once more.

Nashariel gritted her teeth, feeling each needle falling on her friends as if it dropped on her head. The cold herself didn’t bother her too much, but everything around her froze. She decided to keep the thing locked in melee with her, so she charged. Only, she forgot one thing.

Ice is slippery.

Putting her considerable weight on the wrong angle, Nashariel slid on the ground, just under the monster. Oh, ducking duck. She was pretty sure that the monster laughed in her face.

It still stomped her under its hooves.

Nashariel rolled on the side, shifting into the Water. Ignoring the rumbling of the frozen soil, she lunged her stinger on the monster’s chest, injecting most of her [Venom] available. She then used its leg as an impromptu pole, climbing atop its head. Holding tightly, she slashed repeatedly with her toxic claws. Her mana was gone by now.

The Ice-juggernaut gave Nashariel a cold rodeo. It jumped, shook, and tried to freeze her over. Eventually, the rain made it slippery enough that Nashariel lost her holding.

Still, her distraction had given enough time for her group to heal and prepare.

The siren willed a wind strong enough to shield them from the rain and move the water already on the ground.

Weakened by the second, the monster’s movement slowed to a crawl.

“Finish it!” Shouted the dragokin.

Through metal, light, and fangs, the Astillians hammered the beast down until it stopped moving for good.

As soon as the notification rang, they sighed in relief.

Nashariel clapped her hands once and loudly. “No time to relax! We made a lot of noise, more monsters might be on the move! Dan, guide us. The rest of you, mount on me!” She had to shout through the storm to be heard. The dragokin threw the sphere at the Inquisitor, then transformed into an Earth dragon. She lowered herself for the humans, while Veliel flew on her back. In conclusion, Nashariel grabbed the slowly warming monster’s corpse, then dashed towards the direction pointed by Dan.

It was a long walk back to the Willow, especially once the girl had to return to her dragokin self and dragged the monster by hand.

The four Astillians dropped inside the warm water.

“Ooohhh, Astill’s mercy I needed this.” Murmured Dan.

The rest of them grunted in agreement.

They had arrived soaked to the bone but had to quickly bring the corpse to the Hut. Ice monsters' organs needed cold, and they needed it quickly. The Hut had both the necessary techniques to properly dismantle the Ice-juggernaut and the cold environment. Their service wasn't cheap, but since the Templars had no alternative…

The gang had then stumbled into the inn, where they asked for the bath they were currently enjoying.

Veliel was obsessively scrubbing her feathers. She was also puffed up to double her normal volume, much to the team’s mirth.

Under the water, Nashariel’s tail couldn’t stop swishing. I did it! I was finally like Dad! Her smile extended from ear to ear.

In short, they enjoyed a nice, loooong bath.

Until a familiar earthquake shook them away.

Duck.

The morning after, the group went to the Quest board to claim their reward.

They met with a skeptical-looking elf. “How did you bring it down under that rain?”

Nashariel pointed at the priestess. “Sound attacks and a solid beating.”

The guy whistled. “I'm impressed. Here’s your reward.” He handed the group a sack filled with coins. “Would you like another Quest?”

“Not until Astill decides to stop flooding us.”

The elf snickered. “Some monsters only come out during storms like this one. Their parts are particularly prized.”

She hesitated. “We’ll think about it. Thank you!”

They parted ways.

Nashariel glanced at [Draconic hoard]. Not gonna lie, I like how that sounded.

The group went to the Hut, retrieving their reward in coins.

“It’s… a lot less than I expected.” Commented Nashariel.

The elven woman gave her an unamused look. “It was filled with poison. You wasted a valuable resource, Astillians. Consider yourself lucky to have brought it here immediately. And that you have the Elder’s blessing.”

Whoops.

Even other elves glared at them.

They quickly walked away.

Finally, the Templars rested near a garden on the first ring. How the grass and the flowers managed to grow on raw, still living wood, was a mystery that Nashariel chose to ignore, especially when sitting on it. Yep, everything’s normal. Totally.

They exchanged various feedbacks on the fight.

“I didn’t expect Sound to work like that.” Admitted Veliel, scratching her hair.

“That’s why I insist on reading about our enemies.” Nashariel couldn’t resist the jab.

The others visibly winced.

“That said, that saved us a lot of time. Good job, Veliel.”

The priestess nodded.

“How did you get those skills?” Asked Dorel.

“A Racial Quest.” She replied evasively. It’s the truth, I think. Unless Astill gave it to me.

“Can you tell me how to get those skills? They’re useful.”

Thank the Goddess he doesn’t mind! "Hold on a second." Nashariel fell into her status, summoning to her side all the skills of her Protection self, even those consumed in the process. She listed all of them, yet noted that some requisites belonged to her racial self.

The guy’s look became distant. He scrolled down a list, silently selecting everything. A minute or two later, he let out a grin. “I got it!”

“What else had you focused on?” Asked Dan.

“I mostly reinforced defenses, improved my [Taunt], and learned how to store damage. I thought I had more time before… you know…”

“So, Veliel, what merge were you planning to get?” Dorel sent a grateful glance in Nashariel's direction.

“A racial skill called [Song of the Siren]. My mother said that it will merge again in the future, once I develop my Light affinity. For now, I’ll be able to switch between songs without pausing, and it’s a prerequisite to evolve my Sound affinity to Song.” The priestess’ back straightened.

Nashariel held back a smirk. And here I am, having to buy every affinity to have a chance to do just that. This time the Quest didn't even say anything about any evolution being free!

Dan quietly clapped his hands. “Seems useful. Anything that doesn’t make our ears explode when you screech?”

The siren rolled her eyes. “Later.”

“How are you faring, Dan?”

“This humble human was debating to buy his second affinity.”

“Dan, that’s an important step! How long have you been thinking about it?”

Humanoids had no limit when choosing an affinity. However, once they did, they had to forgo another attunement in the same branch, as in Basic, Aspect, and Hybrid. In the case of the latter, they had to give up two.

This caused the people living near sources of power to have an innate affinity, such as the Astillians born in Andriel with their Light or Water one. This fact forced the newly awakened kids to immediately forgo a Basic affinity.

This wasn’t too big of a deal for the normal people, but for a team?

“Since Althei. Phillia and Althos taught me a lot of alchemy, and, with my mother’s work…” he trailed off, “only thing is: I like being stealthy. A lot. So I was torn between Earth and Darkness first. Earth to evolve in Wood and Poison, and Darkness into Shadow. Thoughts, boss?”

Quite a large project, uh? Nashariel subtly shifted into her Mind affinity. She let all the possible connections run inside her quickened brain. “You already have the Light affinity; if you combine it with Water you’ll get Illusion and that’s a pseudo-stealth set.” No one born in Varastill willingly dropped Water affinity. No one. “You’ll save an entire affinity’s worth of value like this.” A Hybrid attunement weirdly didn’t require both basic elements, so nothing barred Dan from buying Darkness later on unless he threw it away now. "Still, Earth might be what you want right now since you wish to evolve two different things from that."

He slowly nodded. Then he nodded twice more. “I think I like that more. Thanks, boss!”

Nashariel smiled. “Happy to help!”

Veliel wrote. “What about you, boss?”

Good question. The dragokin sighed. “I don’t know. I have so many things to choose from… I’ll take tonight to think it over.”

Dorel chuckled briefly. “And that’s the boss for you.”

“C’mon, I’m not that indecisive!”

All her team stared at her. “Yes, Nashariel, yes you are.” They echoed.

Nashariel pouted.

She did not argue back.