When the ground stopped shaking her about like a snow globe in the fist of an angry child, Margie crushed the panic that tried to rise up, took a deep breath, and got her bearings.

She was in a… bathhouse?

Pillars of marbled ice rose toward the ceiling next to rocky outcroppings lining pools in the ice, and Margie could see chairs and partial beds carved into the pools.

A gentle mist hung above the pools, weaving its way over the narrow walkways.

To her right, Buford sat, his gaze wary. And to her left stood Tyler, looking at the pools with open curiosity.

Said pools would have been lovely to dip into if it weren’t for the fact she could see the bits of ice floating in their depths.

One dunk, and she’d be on a fast track to hypothermia.

Tyler whistled. “This is cool! No pun intended.”

Margie eyed the man. He was enjoying himself far too much.

But she’d admit that, under her worry, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder.

The fact that the System could just snap something like this into existence was awe Inspiring…and terrifying.

Tyler spun his spear in a lazy circle. “Welp, what’s our goal here? Is this a puzzle room?”

He stuck his spear point in a pool. Nothing happened.

He shrugged. “Worth a try.”

Margie pursed her lips and inclined her head. “I like the idea.”

“Are we supposed-“ she cut off as the sound of an instrument echoed through the room.

Tyler widened his stance, bringing his spear up to a ready position. “The hell…”

The sound echoed again.

Margie was pretty certain it was a string instrument, but why the hell was one playing? And from where?

Buford whined as the sound repeated.

Margie turned, then sucked in a breath. A snowman stood less than five feet away. Its stick arms crossed as it studied them.

Its carrot nose stuck out from a black wrap, and a long black scarf hung down its back.

It looked like…

Margie blinked, and Tyler pointed like a kid at the fair. “Holy shit, is that a ninja!?”

He started laughing, the sound utterly unconcerned. “He looks so goofy; what the hell!”

The snowman turned its head slightly to regard the man, and then its arm blurred.

Metal sailed, and Tyler barely reacted in time to smack away the projectile.

The throwing star clinked against the ice before bouncing once and splashing in a pool.

Tyler looked from the star to the snowman and then back again. “Well, shit. Those stick arms can move!”

The snowmen charged, gliding over the ground like a snail. That is if a snail could move faster than a human sprint.

Tyler swiped out, and the snowman bent, dodging the swing and stabbing out with a dagger.

Tyler barely managed to dodge it as the snowman slid past.

Margie was caught between laughter and panic. That thing was fucking goofy, but it was also fucking fast, and Steven wasn’t here to stop a throwing star from getting to know her forehead.

As the snowman rushed by, Tyler pivoted, cocking back with his spear and hurling it in one smooth motion.

It didn’t even look like a Skill, but the damn thing still whistled through the air like an arrow.

Without looking, the snowman burst apart into a dense cloud of snow.

The cloud writhed and parted around the spear.

Then it snapped back into the snowman.

Tyler stared. “Goddamn. Frosty’s got moves.”

As the snowman circled them, Tyler walked over to his spear. He hooked his foot under it before kicking it into his hand, the shaft landing with a thwack!

“Come on then, Margie, was it? We can’t be outdone by walking ice!”

Margie snorted as she readied herself. Her hands twitched. She missed her guns, dammit.

Buford chuffed and widened his stance, his crimson shroud mixing with the cool mist, causing the air to blur around him.

The snowman tensed, but instead of charging, it vanished into the mists.

…oh, right. Ninja.

“Back to back!” Margie barked.

Tyler listened, putting his back to her and Buford as she did the same.

Her heart started to pick up, but a few deep breaths forced it back down. She was too old to be panicking like some brat.

Micheal’s Skill glowed ever so faintly on her skin. The strength it gave her helped, but was it enough to be useful here?

If she saw an opening, could she even take it?

The mist swirled, and the pools rippled, but the snowman didn’t show himself.

The strings sounded out again, echoing across the bathhouse with an eerie tune.

Twang.

Twang.

Twa- the snowman appeared from the mist, slamming its bottom circle into Buford as it hurled a knife at Tyler.

The spearman jerked back, his weapon blurring as he smacked the knife away.

Tyler stabbed out lightning quick, but the snowman was already a cloud. Before they could do anything, it vanished back into the mist.

Tyler growled and hurled his spear in the direction the snowman had gone.

Its tip ignited with white light as it cracked through the air.

It didn’t hit anything, and Tyler descended into a torrent of cursing. Margie had certainly heard—and said—worse, but it was a good showing.

She nodded. “Not bad. But I don’t think telling it what you did to its mom will stop it.”

Tyler held his hand out, scowling something fierce. There was a hum, and then his spear smacked into his palm, a trail of light tracing its path.

He gave her an embarrassed grin. “I’m usually stronger than this, I swear!” He sighed. “It’s a bad match-up for me. If this was a big burly bastard, I’d already have a hole through his chest.”

Margie hummed as Buford shifted slightly. “No worries. Well, unless it kills us. Then I’ll have hard feelings.”

Tyler laughed, the sound full and honest. “I-“ the snowman appeared again, but this time Buford was ready.

The dog lunged, his jaws flashing as the snowman burst from the mist.

The damn thing curved around the dog mid-air, its body partially clouding as it moved.

It slammed into Margie, causing her to stumble and nearly fall into a pool. Her eyes widened as Tyler caught her hand.

He pulled her back, and they regrouped, staring at the mist with suspicion.

She shuddered. If she went in that water, the clock would start ticking. It wasn’t bitterly cold out, probably in the mid-20s, but that was more than enough to kill her while wet. She wasn’t stupid enough to be wearing cotton, but still.

Cold and wet didn’t mix, not if you wanted to stay alive.

And the damn snowman was trying to dunk them.

“It’s waiting us out.” She glared at the mist, indignation burning in her chest. “Shove us into the water, then hide.”

Tyler frowned. “God, dying from hypothermia would be such a lame way to go.”

Margie arched a brow, her gaze scanning back and forth. “And what would be a good way to die?”

“Well, assuming the System has something like raid bosses planned, dying to one. A proper blaze of glory, yeah?”

Margie cackled. “I’m not sure if that’s a healthy or incredibly unhealthy way to view your death!”

The snowman dashed from the mist, sailing over a pool, a club swinging in one hand. Tyler blocked the strike, but the force still sent him sliding.

Margie reacted, reaching out to Buford’s shroud, she made it stick to Tyler’s side as he slid past.

The crimson veil stretched as Buford moved back. The pull was enough for Tyler to catch his footing mere inches from a pool.

“Thanks for the save,” he breathed.

Buford chuffed, his eyes locked on their surroundings.

Margie frowned. The thickest bits of mist and snow were sticking to his shroud, staining it white and grey in spots.

What a minute.

“Tyler, hold your next throw until my signal. Imma try something.”

He shrugged, his blue eyes curious. “Alright. What’s the signal?”

“Signal.”

He chuckled, and just as Margie suspected, the moment of seeming distraction was when the snowman struck.

It burst from the mist, a knife in each hand and its black scarf trailing into the mist as it flew. It passed through Buford’s shroud as it sailed for her, knives raised.

Margie dropped flat, trusting Micheal’s Skill to help protect her from the ice as she reached again to her boy’s shroud.

The snowman stuck to the crimson light. It wasn’t tight enough to restrict its arms, but as it missed with its knives, it tried to burst into snow, and couldn’t.

Its form got a little blurry, but the sticky shroud kept it mostly intact.

Tyler’s spear was already drawn back, its tip blazing with so much energy that the air cracked and popped around it.

“SIGNAL!”

He threw, the air splitting as the point drove home, impacting the snowman’s wrapped face with a boom!

Cloth and snow gave as the spear blasted forward, leaving a massive hole in the center of the cloud.

Bits of snow gently drifted to the ground as Margie sat up. “Did we get him?”

“You sure did, Senpai!!! You were amazing!!!”

Margie sighed, letting herself fall back on the ice.

“I’m too old for this shit.”