As the System’s voice faded from his ears, Markus waved at the approaching trio.

The man on the raised platform jumped down, a flash of orange and the impression of greaves appearing over his feet as he landed.

They faded after a beat, and he waved back.

His expression was friendly but cautious.

Smart.

The other two came up from below, the gently sloping ice giving them no trouble.

It was odd that a snow-themed Scenario had such good footing so far, but Markus wasn’t about to complain.

The red-haired woman nodded to them as she stood next to the man.

The last member of the trio arrived, and his tan skin looked sickly in the gentle lighting.

He swayed on his feet slightly as he stopped, but his dark grey eyes were alert.

“Thank you for the assist,” the first man said. He clasped his hands in front of him. He was trying to appear relaxed, but Markus could read the tension in his shoulders.

Again, smart. Markus was feeling a little tense himself, though he certainly wasn’t about to let it show.

This wasn’t like the contest, they didn’t have the System motivating them to attack each other, but that didn’t make them trustworthy.

Fighting these people could give a massive load of experience, and some groups would view that as a good enough reason to fight.

Markus didn’t want to assume these people would attack them. He didn’t like to assume the worst.

But life had taught him that caution rarely steered one wrong.

Markus studied the group. Tense, but not too tense. They were ready for something, but they didn’t look like they were about to start it.

Starting something would be stupid, not only because the group was outnumbered and exhausted, but because attacking them would be against their own best interest.

The big snow fort needed to be stormed and the enemy snowzilla slain.

Fewer people to do that would make everything harder.

Cynical people incapable of trust often said that the only thing you could rely on was that people would act in their own best interest.

But an even more cynical person would understand that people weren’t smart enough to understand what was and wasn't in their best interest.

Many a man had been stabbed in the back because the person with the knife was too stupid to realize they’d go down with them.

That was a rather dark line of thinking that Markus didn’t particularly care for, but it could be useful at times.

He couldn’t know how savvy this lot was, so the best thing was to point out the obvious and hope this gang had a brain.

And if not, well, Markus was wasn’t too tired yet.

“What do you say we go help the people in the other forts, then group up and attack the big one?”

To his relief, the trio looked relieved.

The man at the front spoke. He seemed to be the leader if Markus’s instincts were on point.

“That sounds like a plan to me.”

The woman nodded and gave them all a wave. She spoke, her voice soft and reserved. “I’m Delilah, and this big lug that forgot to introduce himself is Richard.” She nudged the leader with her elbow.

She pointed at the last member, who seemed to be pulling themselves together. “And this is Bug.”

Markus didn’t blink, he’d heard stranger names.

They had their own round of introductions, and then the two groups made their way out.

As elves with blue robes started appearing, they reached the exit.

The icy dome overhead had vanished, leaving a blue sky without a cloud in sight.

Markus frowned at that. Where was the dome? Where exactly was this Scenario taking place, a pocket dimension?

He shook his head. No matter. He had snowmen to fight.

~<>~<>~

The next fort looked like a World War II bunker with a massive trench surrounding it. That trench was partially blasted out, with chunks of snow and ice spraying the ground around it.

Steven didn’t take much more than that in before the dome overhead cracked and then shattered.

Snowy soldiers with blue sashes rose from the ground a moment later and started marching toward the glacier.

“Well, shit, they didn’t even need help,” Margie chuckled.

Steven shook his head. “Works for me. And I don’t see any more domes, so I think we can move in towards the big one.”

“We should wait for these people to come out, try and make some kind of plan at least,” Del added.

The trio from the last fort stood a little ways from them. They were a bit tense, not that Steven could blame them. His own group outnumbered them and looked much fresher.

A bit of caution was warranted.

But they didn’t look hostile, just aware.

He turned his attention back to the fort in time to see two groups emerge.

One consisted of two women, both of whom looked like they’d just run a marathon, and then a group of four people. Two women, two men.

The man at the front was tall and lean, with an athletic frame, narrow features, and short blond hair. He had a spear propped on his shoulder and an easy smile plastered on.

To his left was a woman with coal-black hair, round cheeks, and bright eyes. She carried a chain over one shoulder, and Steven had no idea what it was made from. Each link was a different color, and some of them hurt his eyes to look at.

Next to her was- Steven froze, then a smile burst onto his face. “James!”