The bear charged again.

I dove out of the way, and it rumbled past. Staying down, I tried to conceal myself in the snow.

You have failed to hide.

So much for that, I thought, rising to my feet. Stealth wasn’t going to work. I needed another plan.

The bear skidded to a halt and swiveled about. Then, predictably, it charged again. An instant before impact, I cast shadow blink.

You have teleported 9 yards. You have evaded a cave bear’s attack.

Emerging from the aether, I dropped onto the beast. This time, I barely reached its back. It better not grow any bigger, I groused. Before the creature could react, I slapped my left hand down.

A cave bear has passed a physical resistance check! You have failed to stun your target.

Well, that isn’t good. I tried again, this time using the blade in my right hand.

A cave bear has passed a physical resistance check! You have failed to cripple your target.

Urgh. Double fail. The bear’s head swung around and with no other choice, I fled its snapping jaws using two-step. Landing in the snow, I backed farther away while I considered my options.

Hiding was out. Mental assaults, too. And the bear’s physical resistance seemed too high for either stunning or crippling to succeed.

What did that leave? Short of slicing away at the beast until I penetrated its skin, there was nothing else to try. Such a strategy was fraught with peril too. A single hit from the bear would be fatal. Did I dare take the—

—wait.

What about astral blade? The spelled dagger dealt psionic damage and should bypass the bear’s physical defenses. It’s worth a try, I thought, weaving psi.

The bear turned around and began another charge, setting the ground rumbling in time to its stride. Simultaneously, my left hand flicked forward, releasing the newly materialized psi dagger.

The violet blade streaked through the air, striking the bear squarely in the chest.

You have injured a cave bear, inflicting psi damage. Nerves at the point of contact have been weakened. Inflict further psi damage to deaden them entirely.

For just a second the behemoth’s stride faltered, and I could almost read the confusion in its eyes as the tiny pinprick of violet hurt it.

I smiled even as I dodged out of the lumbering beast’s way.

Now, I had a plan.

~~~

The cave bear was fast, but with two-step and shadow blink, I was faster.

Using both abilities to good effect, I kited the beast. Circling the creature, I kept the distance open between us while I hammered it with a constant stream of psi daggers.

I focused my assault on the bear’s left foreleg—I would’ve preferred trying to blind the beast, but its eyes were too difficult to hit with any regularity.

It took dozens of successful attacks, but eventually, the Game message I’d been waiting for arrived.

You have inflicted irreparable nerve damage on a cave bear. A cave bear’s left foreleg is permanently paralyzed.

The beast lurched.

Suddenly deprived of one of its legs, my foe crashed into the snow. It got back up, of course. Eyes blazing with fury, the beast limped after me. It’s determined, I give it that. But with one of its legs paralyzed, the bear was no longer a threat.

Forming another astral blade in my hand, I flung it at the bear’s broad chest.

It was time to end this.

~~~

You have killed a cave bear.

Your telepathy has increased to level 64. Your meditation has increased to level 95. Your telekinesis has increased to level 61.

Minutes later, the bear thudded to the ground, never to get up again.

Elated, but exhausted and cold, I slipped my leopard coat back on and approached the corpse. The bear was notably smaller. The spell that had enlarged the creature had dissipated, and it had shrunk back to its normal size.

That still left a few tons of bear sitting in front of me, though.

The beast would feed me for weeks to come, if not longer. But the bear was good for more than just meat. Its fur, fat, sinew, and even bones were just as valuable.

I glanced up at the sky. The day was still young, but I didn’t think I was going anywhere today. Harvesting the corpse would take the whole day.

Hefting my blades, I began cutting.

~~~

Dissecting the bear was laborious and tedious work.

But I didn’t rush. On the icy tundra, time was the one commodity I had no shortage of, and I took pains to preserve as much of the bear’s fur and insides as possible.

Cutting away the meat in long strips, I buried them in the snow. The bones, I cleaned and polished. The furs, I scraped clean, stretched out, and staked down on the ground.

I was only three-quarters done by the time the sun set, though. The darkness didn’t bother me, but I’d learned the hard way that the temperature plummeted even further during the night.

I didn’t want to be out and about when that happened.

Abandoning my work, I set about constructing my igloo. I’d gotten better at it with practice, and now, I fancied my icy abodes were almost homely. But only almost.

Sealing off my igloo, I lay down on a bed of furs and closed my eyes. I was well satisfied with my labors today. Tomorrow was when the real work began, though: transforming the material I’d harvested into usable gear.

~~~

I awoke to the sounds of a whimpering whine.

My eyes snapped open, and I rolled free from the heap of bear furs I had buried myself under.

What is that noise?

My gaze roved over the igloo’s interior. It was free of threat. But on my right, bits of snow were falling away from the wall.

Something was trying to get in.

Drawing my swords, I waddled silently to the spot in question. A paw appeared. Small, doglike. The paw withdrew and a moment later, a brown snout shoved through the hole.

Excited yelping followed.

I frowned. Was the creature friend or foe? Blades held at the ready, I reached out and analyzed my nighttime visitor.

The target is a level 105 young arctic hyena.

My lips turn down. A scavenger. Foe, then.

The snout disappeared, only to be replaced by two frantically digging paws. It was no great mystery what had attracted the hyena. Although, even if I had thought to do so beforehand, there was no way I could’ve secured the bear’s remains.

But the question now was: how many scavengers did I have to contend with? Unfurling my mindsight further, I scanned the surroundings.

The hyena was not alone.

A pack, at least a dozen strong, had gathered around the bear’s remains. Briefly, I contemplated my response. It was just after midnight, I thought, and achingly cold outside. I could not afford a prolonged fight. Whatever I did, it would have to be quick. And vicious, too. Drawing on my psi, I buffed myself.

You have cast reaction buff, increasing your Dexterity by +4 ranks for 20 minutes.

The hyena trying to get in stopped digging.

Its entrance now large enough, the beast stuck its entire head through. I didn’t hesitate. Ramming ebonheart downward, I pinned the beast’s skull to the ground.

You have killed a young hyena with a fatal blow.

Shoving the corpse back out, I sealed the gaping hole—no sense in letting the igloo’s remaining heat escape. Then I blinked out.

You have teleported into the shadow of a level 115 arctic hyena. You are hidden.

I emerged out of the aether in the heart of a raging storm. The wind howled and snow flew sideways, each a tiny ice shard of biting cold.

This is a true storm, I realized. One that made the constant snowfall I’d witnessed since entering the level seem like a spring rain by comparison.

The wind tugged at me, doing its best to push me off-balance, but I retained my footing. Snowflakes swathed my face, deadening my face and distorting my sight. I didn’t let that dissuade me, though. Shutting my eyes, I turned instead to my mindsight for guidance.

Twelve bubbles of awareness snapped into view.

Like all its fellows, the hyena in front of me remained unmoving—the storm had to be confounding its senses as much as mine—and though I couldn’t see it, I suspected the beast’s head was buried nose-deep in the bear’s corpse.

Estimating where the hyena’s vital organs lay, I struck.

You have cast whirlwind, piercing strike, and crippling blow.

You have backstabbed a hyena for 4x more damage!

You have killed a hyena!

Before the rest of the pack could react, I blinked away and into the shadow of another target.

Then struck again.

You have backstabbed a hyena for 4x more damage!

You have critically injured your target.

You have killed a hyena!

It took a few more blows the second time around, but my third victim died nearly as quickly as the one before.

The pack finally realized they had a killer in the midst. Abandoning their feast, they converged on me. Standing tall and guided by my mindsight alone, I swept ebonheart in a wide arc at the closest beast—a lunging shape on my right.

The blade connected with something. It kept going, cutting through with barely any resistance.

You have critically injured a hyena.

The creature collapsed, alive but gravely injured. Kneeling on the beast, I pinned it in place and stabbed blindly downward with the sword in my left hand.

You have killed a hyena.

By luck, more than anything else, I hit something vital, and the creature died without protest.

Another beast was hurtling towards my exposed back. The hyenas could obviously see better in the storm than I could. Not waiting to meet the attack, I blinked away.

You have teleported 8 yards.

I emerged on the flank of another of the scavengers—a beast running full tilt towards where I had been. Yelping in surprise at my sudden appearance, the hyena wrenched to a halt and turned to attack.

I was quicker.

Swinging and stabbing wildly, I beat at the creature. My assault lacked any of my usual precision but was effective, nonetheless.

You have injured your target.

You have injured your target.

You have critically injured your target.

You have killed a hyena.

The kill had taken too long to execute, though, and another beast was already airborne, leaping at me from the right. I turned to face the creature, but before I could raise my blades to ward off the attack, the beast bowled into me.

A hyena has struck you a glancing blow.

I landed flat on my back and half-buried in snow. The beast was on me in flash, its salivating jaws searching for my neck. Dropping the blade in my left hand, I slapped an open palm onto my foe.

You have stunned your target for 1 second.

I didn’t waste the opportunity. Thrusting ebonheart upwards, I impaled the beast straddling me.

You have critically injured a hyena.

The blow didn’t kill my foe, but I wasn’t about to stay to finish it. Stretched out on the ground, I was too vulnerable. Picking another hyena at random, I teleported towards it.

I dove out of the aether, poised to strike.

But the pack had had enough.

Yapping and howling at each other, the surviving scavengers fled into the storm.

Standing stock-still, I observed their retreat through my mindsight. Then shivered.

Now that I’d stopped moving, the cold penetrated. Even through my leopard cloak, its effects were biting. Sheathing ebonheart, I raced towards my igloo and shelter.

Come morning, there would be enough time to clean up.