“A Sn?!” the panicked voiy not-so-helpful prinpani out in my mind as I turned on the video.

  If I die here, at least it ts.

  “Uhm, hello, dy spirit. o meet you?” I tried, f an awkward smile despite the icy terror crawling up my spine. “I’m called Charlie.”

  The t spirit exhaled a frosty breath, a hurrie of id wind that sent me skidding backward, my heels barely catg purchase on the frozen ground.

  I love these new heels!

  “o meet you, Charlie,” she intoned, her voice a chilling melody that echoed through the air. Her translut form shimmered brighter, her ethereal gaze log onto me. “Take the art of Frost Weaving... And now... survive..”

  [Error!] [Error!] [Error!] [Error!] [Error!]The system’s warnings fshed wildly in front of me, spewing some nonsense about an illegal approach. Yeah, yeah, I’m not supposed to be here. Got that already.

  “Silence,” I hissed, using the keyword to shut it up.

  Her power struck me like a drunken Irishman, the sheer force smming into my body and flinging me backward. I felt the air rush past me as I flew at an impossible speed, the world around me a blur of frost and snow.

  And then… something tugged at my mind. A surge of mana coursed through me, raw and ferocious, a torrent as wild and unquerable as the Sn herself.

  “Wait, wait, wait!” I finally shouted, twisting midair to orient myself. The power stopped me; my feet hit solid ground—barely—heels digging in, and I gnced around, my heart pounding in my chest.

  We were standing on a frost-bitten pteau, the vast expanse of an arctid spreading out before me. The grouh me atchwork ed id snow-covered rock, glittering like a fractured crystal. Shards of frost jutted upward in sharp, unnatural formations, as if the earth itself had frozen mid-battle.

  Probably did.

  To the east, t gciers loomed, their icy faces refleg the light like massive mirrors. The wind howled through the ndscape, carrying with it the frightening sound of ice groaning and shifting.

  I had little time to admire the stunning ndscape because the Sn decided I needed pany. Five frost statues began to take shape in front of me, their is shimmering like shards of broken gss uhe light.

  Eae was different, but they shared the same unnatural threat, like frozeors waiting to strike. “Go,” Sted.

  So they did.

  The first shard whistled past my ear, so close that I swore I could hear the air scream in protest. A sed wave came from the left, icy projectiles that blurred as they sliced toward me.

  I stumbled, slipping on the slick, frozen ground, and barely mao throw up a shield of i time.

  What? Since when… The Sn!

  It was created on instict; the impact sent vibrations up my arms, and I winced. My barrier cracked but held, the shards splintering harmlessly.

  The cold wasn’t just biting now—it was alive. It ed around me, g at my skin, seeping into my bones, and stealing my breath. Above me, a blizzard howled down with a ferocity I’d never felt before. Eaowfke wasn’t soft—it was sharp, like tiny bdes eager to carve me apart.

  “Great! Love a fair fight!” I shouted through gritted teeth, my voice barely audible over the roar of the storm. I rolled to the side as another barrage of shards came hurtling my way, the icy missiles embedding themselves in the ground where I’d just been.

  I had no time to think.

  My body reacted on instinct. I smmed my hands down, and a wall of ice erupted in front of me, defleg atack. The force of the impact shattered the wall, sending shards flying into the air, glinting like diamonds before they vanished into the snowstorm.

  That’s new.

  “Okay, Charlie,” I muttered, trying to catch my breath as I dodged another volley of attacks. “Stop being impressed by yourself and focus.”

  The first statue lunged forward, wielding jagged bdes of ice for arms. I decided to Shardy, because why not? Shardy was determio turo a human pincushion, and I wasn’t in the mood to oblige.

  I ducked, narrowly avoiding one of its swings, but my feet slipped on the frost-coated ground, sending me sprawling. “Ugh, e on!” I groaned, scrambling to my knees.

  A sharp pain shot up my side where I’d nded—only to be fixed by quick heal.

  Shardy wasted no time, leaping toward me with both bdes raised. I thrust my hand forward, willing my mana to respond, and a cluster of shards erupted from my palm. The projectiles struck its torso, sending it staggering back, but it didn’t fall.

  Behind me, I could hear the blizzard intensifying.

  A cye of frost was f—Blizzy, I decided to call it—its swirling winds pulling at my dress aih shards of ice. The cold stung like needles against my skin, and I could barely keep my footing.

  With a growl, I smmed my foot into the ground, and a pilr of ice shot up beh me, ung me clumsily out of Blizzy’s grasp as I desperately csped the edge to not fall.

  If I keep this power, this o be polished.

  “Up we go!” I shouted, my breath visible in the freezing air. From my perch, I could see Melty—aatue—leaving a trail of slush in its wake as it advanced.

  “Melty, I hate your stupid puddles!” I yelled, juring a storm of shards and hurling them toward it. The shards collided with its body, crag its icy surface, but it kept stubbornly moving.

  Below me, the pilr crumbled uhe bined assault of the statues. I leaped down, nding awkwardly and skidding on the frozen ground. Pain shot through my ankle, but I forced myself to keep moving.

  Pointy—the most annoying of the lot—was cirg me, firing a barrage of spikes that I barely blocked with a hastily jured shield. “e on, Pointy!” I gritted my teeth, hurling the shield at it like a battering ram.

  It strue, sending shards of Pointy’s body flying, but it wasn’t enough to take it down.

  The blizzard thied, the air so cold now that it burned my lungs with every breath. My fingers were stiff, my movements sluggish. I crouched low, ing a shield of frost around myself to block the relentless storm.

  You do this, Charlie. Just keep moving.

  The first crack of victory came when one of my stray shards struck Jumpy—the most agile of the statues—dead ter. Its form splihe cracks spreading like spiderwebs before it exploded into a fine mist.

  “One down!” I shouted, spinning to face the others.

  Shardy lu me again, its bde sshing through the air. I ducked just in time aaliated with a spike of ice that pierced its torso. It froze—literally—for a moment before crumbling into shards.

  “Two! Who’s ?” I taunted, breathless but determined.

  Blizzy’s cye was still raging, but I could see its core now.

  Raising both hands, I focused a sizeable k of my mana into a barrage of ices ahem hurtling toward the swirling mass. The first few bounced off, but the rest struck true, pierg the heart of the storm. The winds faltered, then stopped entirely as Blizzy shattered into glittering fragments.

  “Three! I’m on fire!” I quipped, dodgiy’s test attack. “Or… ice? Whatever. Yoing down too, puddle-boy!”

  I smmed the ground with both hands, creating a slick surface that sey skidding untrolbly.

  Before it could recover, I unched a shard straight at its core. The impact sent cracks rag across its body, and it colpsed into icy debris.

  That left Pointy.

  Pointy was fast, darting around the battlefield aih shards.

  I could feel exhaustioing in, my mana reserves running low, but I wasn’t about to let it wear me down. Summoning every ounce of strength, I jured a wall of frost to trap it.

  The wall closed in, halting its movements.

  With a final, desperate effort, I hurled a massive shard at its frozen form. The impact shattered Pointy into glittering dust, the sound like breaking gss eg through the still air.

  I stood there, panting, surrounded by the icy remains of my attackers. My breath came in ragged gasps, visible in the freezing air.

  The Sn watched silently, her expression unreadable.

  “That’s five,” I muttered, leaning on a crumbling ice pilr for support. My limbs were trembling from the cold aion. “Who’s ?”

  “Splendid, Charlie,” the Sn said, her voice giving a frosty melody that echoed through the icy air. “After the year-long journey, you’ve defeated the st challenge. Well done.”

  I g her t form, her ethereal figure gleaming like ice caught in the first rays of dawranslut features softened into something that might’ve been pride—or amusement. Giving her a small smile, I managed, “Yes, totally. It was… uhm…” My mind scrambled for a believable story, but exhaustion had drained me of all creativity. “Uhm… a perilous journey indeed.”

  “You wield the power of ice as is proper,” she said, ining her head slightly. As she moved, tiny fractals of frost spun in the surrounding air, catg the dim light. “But know this—it is only half of your power, hero. The spell I lent you—Frost Weaving—you used it well, as I expected.”

  Wait, wait. Hold up. Wasn’t the reward for pleting this entire ordeal supposed to be a nice passive upgrade to my ice magic? What the hell is Frost Weaving?

  I wobbled to my feet, finally rested enough to stand without leaning on my crumbling ice pilr.

  My clothes, battered and dirtied from the fight, still looked det. The wish magic must’ve been real because they were showing no tears or perma staie everything. “Lady Spirit, I am… uhm… in awe,” I said, eling as much reverence as my fried brain could muster.

  “As you should be, mortal,” the Sn said, her crystalline voice cold. “For being the first to plete my minor task,” she tinued, her frosty aura growing brighter, “and for defeating my five guardians, I grant you the choice to evolve your ice magic. Yod gifted you a spell of great power, but I feel this one—Frost Weaving—is better suited to you.”

  “Upgrade? Like… an increase in grade?” My tongue slipped out iement before I could stop myself. “So cool!”

  “Pretender!” the prin my ring grumbled, his voice filled with disdain.

  The Sn’s gaze shifted to my hand, where the faint glow of the ring pulsed. A curious smile spread across her lips. “You carry a Greater Spirit with you. Tell me, mortal, are you imprisoning him?”

  “She refuses to release me!” the prince immediately ratted me out, his tone indignant.

  “What? Yes, that’s true,” I admitted, throwing my hands up. “But without me, you’d still be stu that closet for another hundred years! ’t you wait a bloody few days?”

  The Sn tilted her head, as though listening to some far-off melody. Her expression didn’t ge, but I could sehe weight of her judgment. “The matter is yours to resolve, hero,” she said finally, dismissing it with a wave of her frosty hand.

  “Now,” she tinued, “tell me, Charlie—do you wish to make Frost Weaving perma?”

  Her words hung in the air, as heavy as the ice crystals f at my feet.

  “Repce Ice Dance?” I asked, my voice carrying a hint of sadness. I’d grown attached to that spell, even if it wasn’t the most practical. The Sn only nodded, her gaze steady and unyielding.

  There was no real choiake. “Yes,” I said firmly.

  [New Skill Acquired: Frost Weaving (7-legendary)][Previous Skill: Ice Dance has evolved][Frost Weaving]Type: 7-legendaryThe threads of winter bow to your will, weaving frost and ito creations limited only by your mastery. The frost is not your ally nor your servant—it is yours to and, shaping the frozen world as aension of your i. With each weave, your bond with ice deepens, and its untamed power awaits your touch.Legendary skills. I stared at the cryptic description, rolling my eyes. Of course, the system stops holding your hand when it matters most. The description is as useless as ever.

  Before I could voice my thoughts, the prince’s voice rang out from the ring, full of indignation and desperation. “Please, Sn! Punish this elf and release me! I plead with you!”

  My heart skipped a beat as I noticed the Sn tilting her head slightly, her icy gaze shifting to me with new i. Her expression, though calm, hi the possibility of her taking him seriously.

  “Thank you for the skill, Sn!” I blurted out, bowing slightly as I tried to diffuse the situation. “But I really o go!” My words tumbled out faster than my mana reserves after a boss fight.

  She regarded me for a moment longer; her flickering form radiating an almost palpable cold. Finally, she spoke, her voice like the first crack of i a frozen ke. “Be well, Charlie,” she said, her tone more a and than a farewell.

  I wasted no time. Fog on the ring’s power, I pictured the st pce I wao visit today.

  When I opened my eyes again, the sharp chill was gone, repced by a soft, weling warmth. I stood in a serene meadow, the air alive with the gentle hum of life. The transition was so stark, so sudden, it left me momentarily stunned.

  The calm was almost unnerving. No threats. No golems. No Sn t over me, scrutinizing my every move. Just a meadow where everything was still and tranquil.

  “Oh.”