Travelling the swamp on a walkway made from ice made Ethan question his current skills, he had multiple skills related to ice but was using none of them to create this path, it was only his will and magical energy that created it. So why didn’t he use it like this all the time and relied on the skills that pushed his magic into a specific form?
He was aware that skill helped a lot, his caltrops wouldn’t be possible without system assistance, the amount of mana and concentration he would need was insane. But what if he could work on a more general skill, something like ice shaping or ice manipulation? It should be possible for him so he put it on his list of things to work on. With his intelligence and wisdom stat so high it was becoming easier to remember things and his thought process became so much faster, a kind of hyperfocus that brought all the little pieces of the world into pure clarity if only for a fraction of a second.
Curious he wonders how a god like Ouroboros saw the world, his level and stats must be astronomical compared to him. He shook his head, while it was fun to think about those things he needed to stay alert. Nora was keeping watch but she couldn’t be aware of everything. So Nora, what do you think of the swamp so far? We’re staying close to the border but I’m a bit concerned nothing is showing up. Their telepathic link was strong; he felt her different emotions that felt a lot colder and he expected. Being a snake dampened her feelings a bit, Ethan was still worried he would become a cold machine like being but it wasn’t a serious concern so far.
She didn't answer him immediately, her thoughts seemingly occupied by something he couldn’t feel. I think we will see something sooner than later. I was curious too and instead of checking our surroundings I focused on the water below us. While I don’t notice warmth I feel something cold, almost freezing and it’s moving. Ethan looked at the water and raised an eyebrow.
That doesn’t sound good if you ask me, why didn’t you say something until now? He stopped walking and looked at Nora before focusing back on the ice path beneath his feet. Because it didn’t move a few minutes ago, I think we should get away from the water. He nodded and raised a pillar under him and squats down once it stops moving, the staff resting on his thighs while he inspected the water. “There is noth-” he said out loud for the first time and like his voice was the trigger for the attack he saw them. Creatures crawling from the water, some swam around but most clawed their way up the ice path and scratched the pillar.
“You can’t be serious, the system is fucking with us, right?” He continued to talk while watching the creatures scratch and bite the ice pillar, hoping to break it. I think not, why do you know those things?” Nora slithered down his legs to get a closer look. Brown and black fur, small claws, big teeth and a flat tail, their eyes a milky weight.
“Yeah, I know them…fucking zombie beavers? I feel like watching a bad horror movie.” He inspected them with a thought.
[Beaver(Zombie) - Level 2]
[Beavers are large, semi-aquatic rodents known for their dam-building skills. They enhance ecosystems by creating wetlands and feed on tree bark and aquatic plants. These zombie versions instead ambush travellers along their path, using corpses to build dams that force people to walk through the water. Even in death they’re still cunning beasts.]
Ethan sighed and rubbed his face with one hand. “This feels so cheap, like fucking beavers. Why no regular humanoid zombies? Or wolves, even a bear would be better.” He focused on the ice pillar and made ice spikes shoot from the base of it, piercing the beavers rotten bodies, the ones that didn’t perish. He finished with some small ice needles he shot straight into their brains.
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“Crocodiles would have been cool…” he mumbles before jumping over the zombies and continuing on his path. While he felt better about seeing some enemies instead of having to guess what would happen he was still disappointed.
When they walked for quite some time they both decided to head further into the zone, Nora because she believed there wasn’t a strong monster in this part of the swamp and Ethan because he still struggled with the fact that zombie beavers are the first thing he encountered in the swamp.
Further inside the amount of enemies increased, from more beavers, to lizards and finally some human zombies. But they died rather quickly, their levels never going higher than Level 5. Ethan was wondering if this was intentional, the ogres he fought were Level 7 and quite tough but these zombies died nearly instantly. Looking back he saw the large ice cubes floating on the water. Dead-dead beavers and lizards inside while the human zombies lined his path pierced through in various places.
While it felt cheap to kill them off like that he couldn’t complain, using every opportunity to experiment with his mana, forming spikes, using it like a wave attack to freeze an area in front of him, even freezing the water inside of the zombies. Their favorite ambush location being under him made their dead bodies soaked through, inside and out.
They walked for a few hours already but there was no end in sight, the swamp just continued seemingly forever. Ethan looked over the still water, there was nothing in sight and Nora couldn’t detect more corpses. I think we should rest for a while, even with my new body I still get exhausted and tired. Where do you t-
His reflexes rescued him, he jumped to the side when a spear appeared from the fog and ripped his hip open instead of piercing his midsection. Ethan groaned in pain and pressed a hand on the wound, freezing it shut before pulling his hand off. He looked into the fog but it was still covering everything in front of him. Nora wrapped around his entire arm, hugging him tight while scanning the area.
Before they could catch their breath a creature jumped towards them, covered in rusty armor The exposed skin was dried out and looked like paper-thin. Its eyes glowed red and sharp teeth filled the thing's mouth. In its hands it carried a sword and shield.
Ethan jumped further back on his path and shot some ice spikes towards the monster. It blocked two of them with his shield and sidestepped the rest, it stepped forward and stamped on the ice path, his sword hacking down towards his shoulder while he kept the rest of his body behind the shield.
Another jump, two more ice spikes launched towards the monster but before it could evade him again he forced his mana into the path, two larger spikes piercing his feet and locking him in place. Out of its range he tried freezing it over with a stream of frozen mana. The thing tried to get it’s feet free and blocked the ice stream with his shield, it held for a while before cracking down the middle.
With a war cry Ethan slammed his staff against the shield, watching it break apart into tiny pieces that dropped into the muddy water. He jumped back twice, first to evade the next blow of its sword and the second to gain distance. His small projectiles didn’t work so far so he tried something different, summoning three ice spikes he formed them into one, the construct looking like an oversize drill bit, he smiled. His adrenaline making him focus even more, Ethan started to spin the ice drill with magic until it was sucking in air.
With a cry he launched the drill and watched it cover the distance in the blink of an eye and clash with the monsters sword before the rusty weapon broke and his drill penetrated the things chest, leaving a head sized hole behind before flying further away until the magic stopped working and it dropped into the water with a loud splash.
Ethan grinned and looked quite smug with himself. It only lasted for a moment when he heard groaning behind him, multiple red eyes visible through the fog. “You gotta be kidding me…”
