After breakfast, the whole team started on their daily chores. Luna went out to replace Janshai, Robert left to harvest more woods, and Alice worked with the laundry.   As everyone was pretty much occupied with their tasks, Arth just stayed outside the hideout, waiting for his cold-blooded mentor to arrive. He was feeling uneasy, so he tried walking in circle, shaking his hands.   'This is a bad idea,' Arth thought. 'How in the world am I gonna work with that … that rude guy?'   A few minutes later, he finally spotted Janshai walking from afar, appearing amidst the white snow and trees. He still wore his black coat from last night, with his hands hidden inside his pockets. Even though Janshai had been up all night, it was surprising to see him still actively moving.   “He really is not human,” Arth concluded in a soft whisper.  

  “What do you mean something awaits us there?!”   “Enough talking … just walk.”   Arth crossed his arms, biting his lower lip to prevent himself from speaking further. He just saved all of his curses inside his mind.   As they reached the foot of the high mountains, Arth had to use Glacies Materia to have the tools for climbing the steep mountain. It took them almost an hour to finally reach the top. From there, the Blood Tower Janshai had mentioned could be spotted ahead.   Arth wondered why it was called the Blood Tower, as it was only made of black slab of stones. But asking the question to Janshai would be out of the option.   It was a dark circular tower. The top could not be seen as still it soared through the dark clouds. There were no arch windows or loopholes in the walls. The inside was indeed completely sealed.   “This i

  The wrath of the hellish Underworld had come upon them. Swirling red fire blasted towards Arth like a tornado, coming from the dragon’s breath. Everywhere it was burning.   Arth raised both hands into the air, casting ice materialization, blue light illuminating above him. A wide shield made of ice instantly appeared as the light faded. Despite its massive weight, he managed to use it to block the raging fire blast from the red dragon.   “Gods, help me!” Arth grunted as the shield was melting so quickly from the tornado of fire, wilder than any catastrophe. Clearly, mere ice weapons wouldn’t stand a chance against its weakness element. But he had no other choice, as there were no ways he could dodge the dragon fire in time.   Arth stood hard against ground to keep himself from getting blown away, his entire body washed by the water dripping from the melting ice. With all luck, the blazing fire had stopped

  It had been a long night of traveling nonstop, as the Frostguarde might have tried to chase them. Good thing, Alice managed to hide their tracks with her magic. Heading far north of White Forest, they finally arrived in the village of Winterrun.   It was a cold dawn with an early snow fall. The group stopped at the gate entrance of the village where several armed guards stood on the path. The high walls were made of stone, and two archer towers stood on both sides of the gates. Several bowmen could be seen at the top, aiming their bows towards the unidentified group below.   “State your name and your business here,” one of the guards called out.   Lucas, who had a mask and a hood on to avoid being recognized, reined his horse forward and then handed the guard a scroll. It only took the man a few seconds to read before he turned his back, signaling the men on the other side to open the gates.  

Arth awoke by Robert’s loud voice in their room. He grunted in frustration, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “I told you. Arth’s still not awake yet!” Robert said, who appeared to be talking to someone through the door. “Oh, he’s awake now!” “Yeah, I’m awake now because of you, dammit.” Arth eyed him sharply. “My bad,” Robert said, smiling apologetically, scratching his brown hair. “Alice is here looking for you. Should I—” Arth sprang out of his bed right after hearing her name. He almost stumbled as he hurried towards the door, making Robert laugh out loud. “Move,” Arth said, pushing Robert’s face away. “Yes, what is it?” He raised his eyebrows, smiling with his teeth while looking at Alice. She was dressed on her white cloak, standing outside the door. “Uh … Are you going somewhere?” he asked. Alice surveyed him from head to toe before she spoke. Her cheeks blushed, eyes looking away. “Dress up. We’re going on a mission.” Then she walked away all of a sudden. That was when Arth took