Unbound

Bloody Gnaw is level 81!

Hurricane Rasp is level 81!

Cold Resistance is level 40!

Pit darted between the oversized rocklegs, nimbly avoiding the thrusting horns of stone as he slashed through joints and bellies with abandon. Ichor rained down behind him in a silver wake, but Pit didn’t pause to relish his victories or even finish off all that opposed him. Some gave chase, but the weakened were finished off by his mere presence—his feathers and fur crackled with the close held might of storms.

Mantle of Tumult is level 78!

You Have Killed An Obelon (x48)!

XP Earned!

Pit felt the experience well up inside him. He was not yet near a quarter full on his current level, but there were so many monsters ahead. Without Felix around, they were all his. The temptation to grind his Skills and advance his level on this layer was high, but that was not the reason he wished to remain separate from his Companion.

I am strong. Wings or no wings. Pit shoved his claws through the belly of another rocklegs, and they fell with a basso screech. I will prove it.

The Path of Rule!

The Frostfather sees your efforts and accepts your drive, challenger! You now walk the Path of Rule, Stormwing Tenku! How high will you climb?

That drew Pit up short, but only for a moment. Mostly it was kindling to the flame that burned in his breast as he set it against the endless cold. For a moment he even forgot the ceaseless pain of his wounds, replaced by a wrathful exuberance.

He would fight.

Pit was fast, almost as fast as Felix himself, and the size of the second layer seemed smaller than the first. He crossed it quickly, eradicating all the monsters in his path that tried to engage with him. That number was higher than normal, however, thanks to the Title he shared with his Companion, Ironskin Nemesis. All of the monsters treated Pit as if he were a hated rival and went mad whenever he drew their attention. He considered employing his stealth Skill, Gloaming Shroud, but it wasn’t necessary.

The rocklegs and smattering of icewings proved to be of little consequence to Pit. His sheer speed made him a nightmare opponent of the slower rocklegs, able to maneuver around them and attack from their blind sides. Repeated uses of his stun Skill, Howl At The Dark, brought the icewings low and often finished the fight for him in many cases, as the huge creatures would smash themselves apart on the rocks below. And all the while, he flung frozen lightning and blinding blades of light at every opportunity.

Howl At The Dark is level 74!

Dawn's Advent (E), Level 79!

Tempest Fugit (L), Level 83!

The cold grew worse the further Pit ran, until it drove aching pains up through his paws each time they touched the ice. There was nothing to be done about it—Pit simply endured.

Cold Resistance is level 44!It helped that each enemy he defeated contained an Elemental Core inside them, which Pit devoured with relish. They were bitter and small, but after several dozen he received a notification.

You Have Digested An Ice Elemental Core (x62)!

You Gain:

+2 VIT

+2 END

The boost wasn’t much, in the end. Maybe when the monsters grow stronger, he mused as the path opened up before him. The spires had grown dense as a forest now, and he could barely see the sky through it all. Ah. The exit.

Ahead, several spires leaned against one another and formed a triangular opening. Unlike the glacier from before, this exit appeared to be completely open—Pit could even see the shimmering curtain of energy inside. Yet as he drew closer, the wide open field began to quake.

“What now?” he squawked, hopping back just as the icy earth split apart.

A huge creature ripped itself free of the ground, its body formed of craggy stone and gleaming metal deposits formed loosely into the shape of a Human. Or perhaps a giant, as the thing was easily fifty feet tall. A lump of a head sat atop wide, angular shoulders, and two massive arms hung from its side like malformed clubs. Its feet and torso rolled and shifted against one another as it reared up to stand directly opposed to Pit…and right in the way of the portal.

“You can’t stop me,” Pit growled.

As if in answer, the monstrous being slammed its hands atop him.

Yet Pit was gone.

Instead, he raced atop the creature’s arm, flaring his Agility to its utmost. The monster reacted, grabbing at him with its other hand, but Pit refused to be stopped.

“Tempest Fugit! Dawn’s Advent!”

Frozen lightning crashed into the creature’s fist, doing little more than stalling its advance. Lightning and ice was clearly less than useful on metal and stone, but blades of light proved far more effective. They cut deep, slicing lines into the creature’s palm and even separating a finger. The hand still dropped, grasping at its own elbow and bicep as Pit sped up, but it missed by a dozen strides.

Pit shrieked in triumph, channeling his power through another Skill. The creature jolted at the sound and its shoulders slumped.

Door Guardian Is Stunned For 3 Seconds!

Howl At The Dark is level 75!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+30 DEX

+20 AGL

+15 PER

System energy flooded his veins as he flashed up the Guardian’s shoulder, and nimbly leaped over its craggy upper back. The creature twitched as the countdown on his stun ran out, but by then Pit was in position. He straddled the joint between the Guardian’s featureless head and its torso, and unleashed his fury.

“Dawn’s Advent!”

Blade after crescent blade flashed into the breach, light Mana tearing out chunks of stone even as it melted them. Again and again Pit cast the spell, until it blurred beneath his paws and the stone all around him heated to a cherry red.

New Skill!Heat Resistance (Uncommon), Level 1!

Heat Resistance is level 2!

…

Heat Resistance is level 15!The Guardian’s hands reached up the moment the stun wore off, but it was too late. Dawn’s Advent drilled down, melting stone and steel until Pit spotted a bright purple-white orb through the haze of molten heat. He screeched, and with a final strike blasted it in two.

The Door Guardian froze, hands inches away from Pit’s feathers, before it collapsed with a deafening cacophony.

Pit rode the rubble down, easily able to keep his feet. His sides heaved as he recovered from the sheer amount of Mana he’d expended, but otherwise he felt good. Strong.

I’m strong. I can fight. He hopped off, and walked toward the portal to the third layer. I am enough.

He hesitated just outside the shimmering portal and looked back at the rocky remains. The gleam of the white-purple core was there, buried under a few tons of stone. He snorted and turned back toward the fallen Guardian.

I…am hungry.

Felix dusted his jacket off as he landed among the split open fields of ice. “Tch. It tore my sleeve.” He funneled a bit more Mana to his Garment and the split seam sealed itself.

All around him was the rubble of three Door Guardians, their bodies shattered and returned to the craters they had risen from. It had taken him more time than he expected to dispatch the Lesser Elementals, mostly because he underestimated them. A single punch had shattered legs and fists, but it proved less than efficient for their armored torsos. He’d had to shape the stone away and melt them with acid in the end. Though he had to admit, the method had its benefits.

Hand of Calamity is level 63!

“Chthonic Tribute,” he whispered, and let the stone, metal, and glimmers of icy cores turn to a dark smoke. When it vanished into him, Felix was left with a fissured expanse of ground and three Witches. He cleared his throat. “Let’s keep moving.”

He ignored their pale faces and shocked Spirits.

Challenge Continued!

Path of Rule II!

You have taken the second step upon the Path. The beasts before you cannot stop your ascent, yet their blood stains you. Weighs upon you. How far can you climb?

“Keep up,” he commanded over his shoulder, before passing through the portal.

“He conquers them too easily,” Fornis hissed. There was little chance of her being heard over the sound of combat, but none of them were willing to raise their voices above a whisper. “Are you positive he is Human?”

“Do you think the System lied to us? Analyze him yourself,” Sitri snapped back, her rheumy eyes wide with anger.

Naberius slashed a hand through the air between the two Witches. “Enough, both of you. It is clear that this would-be king is hiding depths from us. It is also clear how Grimmar and our people were defeated when they went south. Against one such as him, I doubt the full might of our coven would stand a chance.”

The three of them trailed Felix Nevarre as he took on the Path of Rule. It had been the only surefire way to determine the strength of Kimaris’ new leader, one that the Cold Rock Coven would accept without question. Naberius had not expected him to succeed so incredibly, however. In the first layer he had benefited from his Companion’s aid, but then the Frostfather saw fit to separate them. Naberius had eagerly waited to see how easily he handled the foes in the second layer, only to be shocked as he mowed through them all without rest. The Door Guardians had been the true indicator that something was off. If Felix Nevarre could best three Lesser Elementals within as many heartbeats, then the third layer would pose no challenge to him.

And she was right.

Brumalbats and Obelons existed in the third layer, but far more prevalent were the Ice Drakes that commanded the sky. Not true draconic Types, but Lesser Elementals fashioned by the Frostfather into vicious, winged horrors. Each one was the size of the greatest of giants, with wingspans more than double that, and talons and teeth sharp enough to pierce all but the greatest of armor.

They had descended upon Felix Nevarre with the fury of an avalanche, but he had beat them back with magic and pure, brute force. Ice shattered beneath his black fists where it didn’t outright betray the will of the Ice Drakes. He could command it, the ice, forcing their bodies apart or ripping their wings from their backs entirely and letting them plummet to the earth. There was no stopping him, not even when the monsters fled.

He followed them into the sky.

Now the man, garbed in nothing more than enchanted cloth, tread over the remains of a thousand foes…and devoured their remains.

What power is this? Naberius had never seen its like, not in a mortal. He was eating his opponents, gaining strength from them as a monster would. How?

The man in question gave no answers, even when they mustered enough courage to ask one. He continued on, angry but resolute as they passed over the increasingly rocky terrain. An oppressive weight followed him like a cloak, forcing all three of them to strain themselves to simply remain upright. It was lessened when the man was off fighting, so there was no question as to its origins, only disbelief that such naked aggression could come from a creature so pink and small.

“The exit is ahead,” Sitri said.

“Let us wait here,” Fornis suggested. “The Door Guardian will come shortly, and I do not wish to be near that Human when the fighting begins.”

“Perhaps they will stop him,” Sitri said. The oldest of the Witches Naberius had brought with her, Sitri was typically dour but confident in her own power. It was strange to hear her so uncertain. “If not…”

“If not, then we shall proceed, as we would for any chieftain,” Naberius added. “We always abide by the results of the Path of Rule.”

A metallic shriek echoed across the landscape as, from the sky, a massive Greater Ice Drake descended. It was easily three times the size of a normal Ice Drake, and, more importantly, it was Evolved.

A true Ice Elemental. Naberius would never tire of seeing them; their sheer power was intoxicating. Let us see how you do against—

A bolt of blinding lightning tore up from the earth, and the Greater Ice Drake exploded into ten thousand, glittering pieces.

“Frozen winds,” Sitri cursed. “What is he?”

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