“There's actually snow…” Gator had warned me about this. A strange phenomenon to believe—snow falling only on that small mountain. The scout had been visiting this place at different hours during the last two days, and it had been snowing the entire time.

  I get closer to see more clearly. There are several caves around; I can count about eight from where I am. Several monsters are guarding them, all of them with white fur and over three meters tall. They remind me a lot of yetis.

  “Most of them are at the limit of grade 3, they’re not easy opponents.” I feel a gaze lock onto me from the distance and disappear in a blink. “One of them has sharp senses.” There’s a slightly bigger monster with a massive axe scanning the area where I’m hiding; it doesn’t seem to have found me yet.

  The presence of this monster is definitely grade 4. Is it still grade 3? Hard to believe. I can’t properly gauge its strength from afar; all I feel is that its Banner is far more developed than normal.

  “This won’t be easy for the owl group.” I only feel ice mana from all of them. I’ll be fine with my high tolerance due to sharing the affinity, but I don’t know how the rest will fare.

  “Time to go back…” I stop for a second before returning to the group. I feel an even stronger presence—the ogre lord from the school dungeon is a child compared to this.

  This yeti-like monster is completely different, even wearing a crown of ice on its head. How is it still a grade 3? Wait… maybe it already evolved to grade 4? That’s not good.

  Neither case is good. If monsters can stay in rank 3 and grow to the point of becoming rank 4, it's terrifying. And if they can ascend in rank while the dungeon restricts only sapphire-rank people from entering, that’s even worse—these could only be hunted by massive groups in both scenarios.

  I move away quickly to return to the group. I must finish this dungeon as soon as possible—if the monsters improve at such an alarming rate, this will get harder each day.

  “That’s the situation. Do you want to come with me?” I already told them everything I saw; I’m leaving it to them whether they join or prefer to wait. I’ll complete the dungeon with or without them. Their help is welcome, but I won’t force anyone to go to a place where the chances of dying are high.

  “We’ll go.” Joaki’s serious response makes me smile. “But we’ll handle the small fry. Trust your back to us—we won’t let anyone approach while you’re engaged with the leader of the white monsters.” Trust my back? Yes, I can do that—they’ve proven themselves reliable, and this will be a trial to see if I can consider them friends.

  “Yetis, let’s call them Yetis.” They all stare at me blankly for a moment.

  “I like that name. We’ll crush those Yetis at dawn.” Joaki raises his fist, and his whole group steps forward to bump it. That’s their motivation ritual; I’ve seen it several times these days.

  They look at me when all their fists are united. I smile and place mine with theirs. A faint Imra comes out of each one as we make contact, and then we separate.

  “How was your area?” Most of the night I stayed near one of the entrances, while Gator and his partner took turns watching the other one.

  “Only one confused monster came. It left after a moment. How was your side?” Gator has small formed ears and looks a bit tired.

  “Two monsters arrived; they didn’t have the same luck as the one on your side.” I killed them quickly, took their cores, and froze their corpses to avoid the smell of blood in the area. “Are you ready to storm that mountain? You look tired.” I don’t want to lose anyone today, and his physical condition could throw off his team.

  “I’ve slept enough, don’t worry. Once a bit of adrenaline hits me, I’ll be at my best.” He pats my shoulder before walking off. I hope he can rest during this hour before heading for the mountain.

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  “If things get bad, just run. I don’t need babysitters—I can take care of myself.” I want to make my intentions clear—they’re smart enough to understand.

  “My team’s safety is my top priority, you don’t need to say it twice.” I raise my fist to Joaki and he bumps it with a wide smile.

  “I’ll go first.” I start running, and they follow behind. The plan was discussed long ago: the owl group will find a place where they have the terrain advantage to fight several monsters at once and an escape route if needed. I’ll go find the leader and wreak havoc on the way.

  The first Yetis appear when they see us and start shouting something unintelligible. More and more come out from the cave—they’re calling reinforcements. I dodge a punch aimed at my face; my sword slices its stomach, the next one loses its legs, the third one an arm—and that’s the first nine monsters on the path.

  I don’t take the time to finish them off; Joaki’s group will do it. Killing wounded monsters of this type is easy for them.

  I’m going side to side looking for a different path; everything looks the same in these tunnels. “This will just take longer.” I go wild taking down each yeti-like monster in my way. I try to kill them in the first or second strike—that way I don’t lose time and save mana.

  I keep moving through this natural labyrinth searching for something different or a clue. Finally, a different place enters the range of my personal world; I head there at full speed, killing two Yetis that tried to intercept me.

  I’ve taken cuts and hits—I didn’t pay attention. I’ve already healed my body; I’ve used more mana than planned both to kill them and heal myself. “A tough one appeared.” There are four normal Yetis and one that looks like a mini-boss with them.

  The presence of this monster is undeniable—it’s a grade 4 inside a grade 3 body. We lock eyes for a fraction of a second. We have the same thought because we both rush toward each other—its massive white axe against my Thundersnow Fangs.

  The impact pushes me back half a step. Is that monster stronger than me? I’m boosting my body with almost everything I have. There's a mutual understanding between us without speaking—neither of us moves from our spot; the only things in motion are our weapons.

  This time I go all out, without fear. My Gravity Burst activates and gives me the force and speed I need. The next clash pushes him back a step this time. He looks a bit confused, while I’m smiling like a kid with a new toy.

  He manages to block the following blows just barely, his enormous weapon serving as both axe and shield. He’s doing everything he can to stop my offensive. Even ice spells try to hit me from behind. My Imra and control over ice mana are far superior; I destroy them before they reach me.

  “Got you.” A downward diagonal strike forces him to block poorly; his weapon rises just enough to leave an opening in his stomach. My other sword aims for the gap, but before I can hit him, I have to dodge and reposition—the group of Yetis behind me acted at the exact moment to stop me.

  “If you want to play like that, I don’t mind.” I create 15 Joyeuse to keep the small ones busy; I want to stay focused on the strongest Yeti.

  I get close again and feel that same strange sensation as before—the affinity of these monsters is colder than mine. Their attacks feel more frozen. It’s unheard of; I’ve already lowered the temperature of my constructs enough to be considered unbearably cold.

  I’m still far from absolute zero; it will take years to be able to freeze anything on contact. Maybe I can discover some improvement by fighting these monsters.

  One slash, two slashes, three slashes. I’ve only managed to cut him three times in two minutes. The bastard has gone full defensive, with barely any openings left, and I can’t use too much mana. The true leader is still ahead, and I’m wasting mana on these lackeys, who are already close to death.

  Before continuing the fight, we both stop for a moment—not only us, but the lackeys and my constructs freeze as well.

  I turn toward the entrance I came from—three monsters walk in as if the attack on their base means nothing. The three newcomers stare directly at me; I don’t move my eyes away either.

  Two of them are as strong as the one in front of me, and the other is the leader—the yeti with the crown finally makes his appearance. That saves me the trouble of going to find him.

  “Took your time to show up. Welcome to your grave, king of the mountain.” Why am I talking if he can’t understand me? Am I stupid?

  “Human, you are strong. I would like to speak with you after our battle… of course, only if you survive.” He spoke? Did this crowned monster just speak? Maybe I’m not so stupid after all.

  “I’ll ask you as many questions as I can once you can’t move anymore.” As soon as I finish speaking, the temperature drops a bit; my movements slow slightly.

  Is this coming from the Yeti? It feels like a domain-type ability. I’ve wanted to do the same for a long time—when Professor Melany explained the Banner, I understood it was possible. I can feel how his Banner is the core of this strange ability.

  Now a monster has achieved it—now I have one more reason to defeat him. This is getting interesting! I coat my body with a thicker layer and get ready to fight.