Frostbitten Wayfarer

Zoe leaned against the cavern wall staring at the massive slab she created, blocking the goblins from retreating any further. Behind it was silence, as far as Zoe could tell. Maybe something had noticed, maybe there was some commotion behind as the denizens of the dungeon panicked from the sudden appearance of the wall.

But at least for now, she had silence, disturbed only by the sounds of water flowing through the cavern dipping into small holes in the floor or falling from the ceiling. She shoved the corpses of the goblins to the opposite side of the room with a slab of Earth and then covered them with more rock to get them out of her sight. After decades of being surrounded by zombies, dead animals and even an entire city ravaged by a wandering elemental, Zoe found she wasn’t as bothered by death as much as she might have been before.

Human corpses might not be quite so simple but a goblin, created by mana for the sole purpose of challenging her in a dungeon? There was some ethical conundrum somebody far smarter than her could poke through there, she supposed. If Zoe left, what would happen to the goblins? Would they be reclaimed as mana, or sent back to whatever planet they were pulled from to inhabit the dungeon?

Was she even on Abyllan anymore, or did the teleporter send her to another planet somewhere so far away the light bouncing off it hadn’t even reached Abyllan yet? Did the goblins deserve to live, were they truly intelligent or just following some inane programming pushed into them by the system when they were created?

Zoe didn’t know, and as more time went on, she found she didn’t care much either way. The goblins at the Springs of Gir spoke to her, they communicated and shared stories with her. These goblins screeched and hurled weapons at her. It just didn’t matter if they were intelligent or not, the bottom line was that they were hostile. And maybe that’s because she’s here, invading their home and pillaging their supplies.

It was simpler on Moaning Point when the zombies’ bones were claimed back by the dungeon. They were summoned beasts, owned and operated by the dungeon’s mana, and that was simple to justify. But these weren’t. And she found she still didn’t care all that much anyway, but felt that maybe she should care. That maybe she lost something so fundamental to who she was.

If she ever made it back to Earth, would she even be able to relate to the people who lived there? Did it matter even if she couldn’t? How many of the other people living on Abyllan would be able to relate to the people living on Earth?

Zoe shrugged. It didn’t matter, she supposed. The goblins wouldn’t have hesitated to rip her apart and eat her for dinner. And maybe questioning that, maybe thinking about these kinds of ethical concerns were what set humans apart from the other species. Or maybe that was just blatant racism, ignoring the issues that other races had to deal with and pretending humanity was somehow superior.

There was no way to know, Zoe thought. Not without exploring a lot more dungeons and figuring out what made them click. What caused a dungeon to be created? If the system is artificial, then were the dungeons planned? Did each planet have a dungeon designer floating somewhere up in space, plopping down different dungeons in different locations?

Or were dungeons something natural, and the system worked around the dungeons, creating a better interface between user and dungeon? Or maybe the dungeons were created by the system through some automatic process, whenever certain conditions were met. But what would the purpose of a dungeon be, then?

The Springs wanted mana, that much was clear as day. But what was it used for? Did the mana that dungeons harvested go towards powering the system itself? Without dungeons, the system would fall apart? Or did the mana go towards expanding the dungeons as some kind of invasion, helping the system bring more species and races to different planets for some goal Zoe couldn’t understand?

Zoe shook her head. There were always too many questions about the system, but maybe it was like questioning why oxygen existed or why humans needed water to survive. Maybe there wasn’t some underlying plot developing below the surface threatening to take over the universe. Maybe the system was just convenient, maybe it just existed.

She looked at her skills list. Enchanted Mirror would be a useful general skill to get if she planned to take on more challenge dungeons — or repeat her assault of this one if the rewards were good. But replicating Enchanted Mirror was something Zoe didn’t even have the slightest clue of where to begin. The skill created a structure in her soul, in the very essence of her being.

She could feel around in her soul, poke at the structures within it. But creating an entire structure on her own and embedding it within herself… Zoe paused.

Were skills just enchantments? Was her list of skills not a list of system granted magical abilities, but a list of enchantments the system has enchanted her with? If she enchanted somebody with one of her skills, what would happen? A lot of pain as Zoe’s mana overwhelmed them and forced their soul into a new shape, just like when the system gave somebody a new class.

Zoe made a note in her head to talk to Eliza about the thought next time they met and pushed it to the side. There were a number of skills that would be useful if she planned to tackle more challenge dungeons — Cosmos or at the very least Space would be an excellent addition if she could manage them. If Time was anything to go by, Space wouldn’t even be all that difficult to get, and might combine into Cosmos anyway.

For most challenge dungeons, Zoe expected to be a step above the power level expected even after she was scaled down. But the exception would be very early on in her Cosmic Mystic class. As she got more levels and managed to fill out her mana more, it would be much more competent. But early on, the class was far too mana hungry to be useful beyond the normal class bonuses.

Which meant that she could enter any challenge dungeon that restricted her to her first class, or any dungeon that restricted her to maybe level forty five or higher and be confident. Would this dungeon always restrict her to twenty, or did it change each time she cleared it?

Zoe looked to the wall that separated her from the rest of the dungeon and pulled the earth away, revealing the rest of the cavern behind. It split in two directions, to the right and the left. She continued hugging the right wall and peered around the edge to a wide cavern that stretched a dozen feet to the left and right.

Piles of crates and barrels were strewn about the room with dirty papers and rotted wood covering the ground. Silence embraced the space, the only sound a constant dripping from the ceiling just outside. Zoe walked in and was assaulted with a dingy, dusty smell of an old library.

The crates were filled with books and piles of scrolls, while the barrels were filled to the brim with various liquids and two barrels of sharp metal weaponry that looked like it hadn’t been maintained in centuries. Most of the books were in a language Zoe couldn’t recognize, something of a mix between the bouncy circles of Korean and the long strokes of Arabic. There were a few that were in English — or whatever language it was that Zoe spoke now, most of which were fantastical stories of adventurers or ledgers from restaurants and inns.

She stored away as many of the books as she could fit in her storage items as she continued rummaging through the crates. Two vials of liquid were at the bottom of one of the crates, one red hued liquid and the other orange. Zoe was tempted to drink them just to see what they did, but stored them away in her bracelet.

When she was satisfied she’d explored everything, she turned back to the previous long hallway and continued straight forward towards the opposite end. The cavern took a wide, twisting path as it continued deeper into the ground before the tunnel narrowed so much that Zoe needed to contort her body just to fit through.

At the other end was a wide staircase leading down to a much wider opening. Zoe stopped and took the time to enchant a Frost projectile with Archery and an explosive Elemental Arsenal before she continued. Without her Enchanting skill, it took far longer than she’d like but she wanted at least one for a last resort, just in case.

Zoe crouched as she descended the stairs and the room at the bottom came into view. It was a long room, about forty feet deep with opulent marble pillars every six feet leading up to a large golden throne at the back of a sprawling purple carpet that ran the length of the room.

In the throne sat a towering bipedal bear with dark black horns jutting out from its bird’s skull, and deep red wings swaying behind it. A ryz bear hybrid, Zoe thought. Next to the throne were two more of the owl bear hybrid creatures she fought earlier on in the dungeon and six well dressed grungy goblins sat in chairs along the carpet. Zoe’s identify showed them as dark green level thirty five, with the ryz bear being level forty.

All of them looked at Zoe as she walked down the steps, staring at her with their beady red eyes and devilish grins filled with sharp teeth. Just before Zoe stepped on the purple carpet, the ryz bear raised its paw and spoke.

“You dare step on our royal carpet?” The bear questioned, unbridled fury radiating from it.

Zoe paused, and stopped just before the carpet. “And what if I do?”

“Then you shall be slain where you stand.” The bear answered.

“And if I don’t?" Zoe asked.

“You push your luck, human.” The bear snarled.

Zoe shrugged. “We could have dinner? I’d love to chat with you if you’re up for it.”

“You will not leave this room alive, human.” The bear looked to the goblins and gestured with its paw, silver daggers with blue gems embedded in the hilts appeared in front of each of the goblins. “Feast.”

The six goblins grabbed the daggers and ran down the carpet, chattering to each other as they spread out. Zoe covered herself in her Elemental Arsenal, and summoned a towering wave of water and sent it crashing down on the goblins, but with a wave of their daggers the water was pushed out of the way and formed into small pellets of water that flew back at Zoe. She created a wall of earth in front of her that the bullets smashed into with loud thuds, forming cracks and craters in the surface of her earth that she worked to repair.

When the barrage finished, the first two goblins jumped from around the wall and swung their daggers at her. She dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding the silver blades but another blade of water was created as they slashed, slicing deep into her frosty armour. She ran forward, slamming her fists into the goblins and pummelling them into the ground.

The remaining four goblins leapt at her, and Zoe smiled as she stepped forward. They swung their daggers at her, but she caught their weapons with coils of wood that sprouted from her body. Zoe summoned a dome of earth around herself, trapping all of the goblins in it with herself and then pushed all of her mana into her Aura of Elements. The goblins screeched as the storm tore into their bodies, and in moments they fell limp.

Zoe pulled the earthen dome away, reclaiming some of the mana within it and nodded at the bear sitting on the throne.

The bear snarled, a slight hint of fear cutting through the fury that slammed into her Vampyric Empathy. “You have killed our council.”

“I offered to have dinner, and I’m still down to have dinner with you. I’d love to chat.” Zoe suggested.

The ryz bear hybrid waved its paw at the two owl bear hybrids. “Do not let us down.”

Zoe summoned a bow of frost and drew back a thunderous arrow made of cinders, gales and torrents. She aimed it at the bear on the left and let it loose. The arrow cut through the air while the owl bear created a powerful gust of wind in an attempt to blow the arrow off course. The ripping winds that made up the arrow pushed through the bear’s attempt, and the arrow pierced into the bear’s shoulder, with Zoe’s Elemental Echo arrow following close behind.

The bear keeled over coughing as it was burnt and drowned from the inside, and collapsed onto the floor as it lost balance from the ripping winds that destabilized it. Zoe drew another arrow and fired it at the other bear, but it stepped aside rather than trying to block it, and the arrow smashed into the side of the throne. The ryz bear scowled at Zoe as it ripped the arrow out and threw it to the ground.

Zoe fired another arrow at the owl bear that was already knocked down, piercing into the back of its neck as she ran down the purple carpet. She dropped the bow and summoned a sword and shield made from a tumultuous storm of elements. The still standing owl bear ran at her, powerful gusts shoving it forward from behind.

The bear swung its hefty paw at Zoe as it approached, pushed forward by powerful winds, but Zoe deflected its claws away with her shield and slashed her blade across its leg. The bear howled and summoned a powerful gust of wind that pushed Zoe’s blade back as it swung its other paw at her. Zoe tried to step aside but struggled to manoeuvre among the powerful winds and the bear’s claws scratched across her armour, shattering it.

Zoe grimaced from the sudden surge of mana and failed to avoid the owl bear’s beak stabbing into her leg. She cursed and stepped back, summoning a cloud of burning ash that drifted down onto the owl bear, singing its fur and sending streaks of flame rushing through its body.

She stepped back and replaced her armour with Elemental Arsenal then stared past the owl bears’ bodies at the ryz bear that still sat on its throne. It snarled and began to speak, but Zoe fired off her lone enchanted Frost projectile which smashed into the bear in a cloud of ash and frost, covering the throne in a pool of water.

*Ding* You have cleared the Kliggig dungeon. Would you like to claim your reward?