"This is not what I expected," Master Lanton yelled over the tormenting storm of wind and snow. He and Mask stood outside the city walls in what would have been the meadows. Beneath them was quite possibly a dozen metres of snow.
"What do you think the city needs most now?" Mask asked over the blizzard.
"Hope?"
"Ha, I didn't think you would answer with something so corny," Mask smirked.
"Oh shove it," the Guild Master replied. "I'm right though."
"Yes, and hope can stem from a good meal. What we need is a reason for them to end the blizzard."
"You're not thinking of hunting them down? If you're right and they are prodding Hormunjur, it would be at least a two week journey to the ice caps."
"Oh not at all. We just need to show them that even with a blizzard the city's heart will not break." And, Mask thought to himself, to stop the dungeon evolving.
"You intend to supply the city with food?" the Guild Master frowned. "We're sealed from the rest of the world here. If you plan to hunt in the forests you would need to kill hundreds of beasts to even feed the city for a week."
Mask held up the package he had been holding for a while now. A distinct pungent odour emanated from it, powerful enough to fill the air despite the whirling winds around them. A tremor began to feed into their feet. The snow was shaking.
"A hundred beasts or just one very large one?" he threw the package ahead of them, seconds later a monstrous figure exploded from the snow. Two metres in diameter, its mouth opened like a flower revealing spiralling sets of teeth. It rose to the height of two combined men, most of its body still beneath the snow.
The Guild Master let his mouth fall open, "You baited a fucking Ice Wurm!?" He turned to Mask only to see that his figure had already vanished.
The man's voice however resounded clearly, "I would prepare to fight if I were you."
Lanton swore and drew his sword. With the package eaten, the wurm turned its attention to the only living creature nearby. It reared its large body, pulling more of itself from the ground and towered a dozen metres. White flesh like scales ran down its entire outside and beneath powerful muscles designed to burrow through the icy caps of the artic tensed ready to pounce. A moment later it did. The mouth extended open like a flower in spring, the centre however a nightmare of bloody flesh and jagged bone.
The Guild Master jumped to the side avoiding the wurm. He swung his blade filled with aura and splashed red against the snow, a slim line struck against the white of the wurm. It shrieked and span its body. The hidden tail beneath the snow whipped out catching the Guild Master by surprise and sent him tumbling into the depths of the powder around him.
A voice echoed as if next to him, "You should get out of the snow. Ice Wurms are at their most dangerous when burrowing."
"I know!" Lanton growled and expelled his aura it from his feet launching him back to the open air. Not a moment later, the wurm burst from the ground where he had been. "Are you going to help or what?"
"Consider it training," Mask replied still nowhere to be seen. "Ice Wurms are lower tier Master level threats. I'd be hard pressed to kill one myself."
"And you expect me to?" the Guild Master complained as he yet again played bull with the wurm.
"Of course," Mask was serious. "I heard stories of how you could slice through wurms in a single motion."
"That was when I was in my prime, with two arms!" Distracted Lanton failed to see the wurm's tail end strike from the snow, and again he was sent flying, this time into the trunk of tree. He coughed and cursed, rubbing the blood that had dripped form his mouth.
Mask's voice resounded from above him, as he sat in the tree, watching, "If you can't surpass your limits here we have no chance against the Paladin. Show me what you've trained for. Show me the hope that Chloe burned into your soul."
"One be damned!" the Guild Master finally became serious as the aura he emitted peaked to a new high. The snow that surrounded him began to melt. The Ice Wurm reared its body, intent to finish off its wounded prey. It launched forward like an arrow, mouth open and ready to snap shut.
Master Lanton breathed in. Out of all the techniques Mask had showed him, there was one he favoured the most. Created and coined by the current God of Flare. Two hit combo. Sky's End. The moment the wurm entered his range the first strike rang. An upward stroke that forced the wurm's large frame to rise high, its head suddenly pointed to the sky. The second strike, paired with the first, then exploded forth. A horizontal swing. The power in his action surprised even himself. It was power he had not felt since he had lost his arm. True power birthed from the focus of his skills and attribute. While before he could barely pierce the wurm's scales, now he had cut clean through. The wurm fell into the snow, bisected two metres below its still open mouth. The snow behind it had vanished, evaporated by the heat that resonated from his strike.
Mask landed beside the Guild Master as he fell to one knee, breathing roughly.
"Sky's End. Not quite the move I would have gone for but certainly impressive. The technique was created to expose the necks of heavily armoured opponents, which begs the question, does a wurm have a neck?"
"Well it cuts the same," Lanton heaved another deep breath before rising. He laughed, seeing his handiwork, "It seems I've still got it."
"On a creature this large, I would be shocked if you missed. Wurm's aren't known for dodging, the Paladin on the other hand...."
The Guild Master smiled, "I'll be fine. Thank you for bringing me out here. This is proof I'm not all washed up just yet."
"I didn't only bring you here to kill it."
"You needed something else?"
"Well it's not going to move itself," Mask slapped him on the back. "Every part of an Ice Wurm can be used, and this one is a superb specimen. Better start pulling."
"You're helping this time aren't you?"
Mask remained silent.
"You're helping aren't you?" the Guild Master pressed further.
"I'll take the top half."
"That's not half!" though he bickered, Lanton hadn't felt so free in a long while. A smile remained plastered to his face as they trudged back through the snow.
**
Ron waited anxiously outside the eastern gate of the city. He had received a message from Mask in the morning asking him to come out. His friends at the gate had thought he had gone insane, finally deciding to cast himself into the blizzard from guilt of Tarken's death. It was only upon the promise to return for his family did they let him go. Half an hour however had passed since Ron left the walls and even with his Attribute of warmth, the cold was beginning to ebb into his clothes.
Finally he saw a figure merge from the swirling winds and snow.
"Sorry for the wait," Mask nodded to him as he approached.
"It's fine," Ron replied stiffly. He still wasn't sure how to act now he knew who Mask worked for. "What did you call me for?"
"To become a symbol. Now hold this," Mask hefted the mass that had been hidden behind him.
Ron barely managed to hold onto the massive object that was far bigger than he was. As someone who had reached the Advanced level of Martial Arts he could strengthen himself with Aura but the weight of the mass was almost too much. Then he realised what it was and almost dropped it.
"Y-you killed an Ice Wurm!?" Ron shouted flabbergasted.
"No, that was him," Mask gestured to Master Lanton who slowly appeared from the blizzard. Strong ropes circled his body and behind him, the far greater remainder of the Ice Wurm was being dragged.
Ron gulped, "Is this for the City?"
"Yes," Mask replied easily. "And you are the one who is going to distribute it."
"M-me? But I didn't do anything."
"Not yet, but you will now. Unlike me or Master Lanton even, you know who needs what the most. You'll become a beacon for the people. Someone to look up to."
Ron couldn't speak for a moment, his mouth hung open. Finally he nodded but a question still remained, "Why me?"
"Because you're willing to do what others won't," Mask clapped his shoulder. "Here's the story. From your standing at the Gate, you spotted the signs of an Ice Wurm. Then, you reported it Master Lanton who with me and yourself, slayed the beast."
"Is that what we're going for?" the Guild Master huffed as he reached the other two. "I'm fine with that. The Guild will also help with the processing of the meat and materials."
Ron grit his teeth, eyes beginning to water, "Thank you."
Mask let out a rough laugh, "Don't thank us yet. This won't be easy and to be honest your life may be in danger."
"If we can help the City, if I can help my family live a better life, then I'll do whatever I have to."
"That's the spirit," Mask again gripped his shoulder. "Keep that flame lit. You'll need it."