There are many things under the ice flow. Not much on top of it, but things, dangerous things thrive underneath. I wouldn’t stay in one spot for long. Whatever lies down there has ways of finding you as you walk above the ice.

  – Therian Traveler

  “Oh, it’s just me and my little rubber ducky

  Singing and splashing in the tub!

  Oh, my days are peaceful

  And my nights are fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine,

  As here I rub-a-dub-dub!” I sing.

  If I had to guess, it’s been about a week or so since the staircase fiasco. Those first few hours after I woke up from mana deprivation were the scariest of my life, right after nearly dying in the blizzard. I kept thinking that something was going to pop through my open entrance. Nothing ever happened, though. Well, unless you count the massive snow drift that had come in through the entrance. Nearly gave me the cold status again. It took some experimentation, but I finally figured out that I could spin ice in a way that it resembled spider silk. It gave me my very first achievement! Here look.

  |Ice Silk| is pretty strange. I put a whole bunch of it in layers hanging down from the entrance as kind of a door. It does pretty good keeping the snow and ice out. It’s pretty to look at, too. Water droplets form when I first make a strand of silk. I’m not sure the reason why that happens, it just does. They slide down the silk and then freeze, creating bead like ice. Every time the wind blows hard enough to move the silk strands around, they tinkle against each other, making a nice sound. And the rare times the sun peeks over the horizon and shines through my door, specks of light shine across my room from the ice beads. It scared me the first time ’cause I’d never seen the sun before- it only rises like once every 21 hours, and then only for 3 hours. I must have been asleep the other times it rose. Now I look forward to when it does. Something about it… warms me. I hate when it sets.

  On another note. I’ve been up since I woke up a week ago. I don’t think I really need sleep unless I’m over stressed. So, I’ve mostly just been making stuff while trying to make my mana last as long as I can. That involves a lot of eating ice. I haven’t had to resort to digesting yet because at the moment, my mana regeneration’s better than my digestion rate. Waiting four hours to completely refill my mana is better than waiting five, though I have a feeling that’ll probably change if I keep leveling [Incorporation].

  It’s easier to level skills, I think, than to level up. I’m not really sure what the requirements are for leveling up. So far, they kind of feel like milestones. So, later on, it’ll probably be harder to level up. On the other hand, to level a skill, all I need to do is keep working on the skill.

  Well, thinking about random things like this hasn’t been all I’ve done. I’ve created an |Ice Silk| chandelier in my entrance room to complement the door. That’s right. My entrance room. I have another room now. Beat that, Sucker! Well, it’s not really different than my other room, besides the floor.

  I started the short hall between the two where I abused my wall with projectiles. It slopes down a ways, so the second room is completely underground but otherwise the same dimensions as the first. After creating another |Ice Silk| curtain door, I made a circular impression about 3 ft away from the edges of the room that’s about a 2 feet deep and 9 ft in diameter. I managed to first weave rugs out of |Ice Silk|, then pillows. stuffing it with a form of |Ice silk| I call Ice Cotton! Sadly, it didn’t give me anything when I made that. I guess it was too close to |Ice Silk|. I did get a skill in [Ice Manipulation], though after that.

  Well, that’s all I’ve done this week. Not very much, you say? Hey, that took me a really long time! First I had to carve out the room, then I had to figure out how to weave all the pillows and stuff. It took me quite a while to figure out what pillows and rugs were! All I had were vague impressions of fluffy stuff. So, forgive me if I pout. I did a lot.

  …

  I really think I need someone to talk to. I’m going to start going crazy soon. Whatever. I can find a conversation partner later. Today’s task. Fire pit. hehe. It’s amazing how many ideas keep rushing to my head once I started creating stuff. Of course, it won’t be real fire. I don’t know how to make that. I’ll just have to settle on putting my aura into a sculpture.

  I start with a small ice ring about a foot high in the center of my pillow nest. I left a spot when I ended yesterday just for that reason. I carve the ring to look like it has stone plastered to it’s sides. I’ve kinda figured out how to color the ice, mostly different shades of white and ice blue, but still, it’s enough for the ring and the pillows and rugs and the wall decorations to have a bit more life to them.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  After that, I start building the fire in the center of the ring. I start with logs, then work up to the flames. Honestly, this is child’s play compared to making rugs. The tricky part is actually implanting my aura in the sculpture. I’ve done it to the berries, but for the fire, I want it to feel warm, or at least have that illusion. I want it to flicker.

  It’s hard. Almost harder than creating |Ice Silk|. I didn’t think it would be. Every time I try, It’s not quite right. I get frustrated, and as I get frustrated, as weird sense of melancholy flutters through my mind. I miss the warmth of a fire, I realize, and then, for the first time, my aura flickers.

  A breeze sneaks in through the front door, brushing past my skin. In my mind, I shiver. I can almost feel the warmth in the other room. It felt like home, the one I can’t remember. Oh, how I long for it. If only I could move. I strain towards the warmth, and suddenly, I’m there, nestled in the pillows near the fire pit. The sculpture almost seems alive, a dancing orange flame.

  Okay, cool. That’s worth it, in my opinion. That means that as I build more rooms, I can bring my core further and further from the entrance. I wonder if I can move rooms around, too. Would that be too convenient? I like this room a lot after all. I guess I can just make a whole bunch of them, but I also have other ideas I want to try. Hehehe, get ready for some serious building!

  …

  Tomorrow. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow, I guess. I’m not willing to risk it while my mana’s not regenerating. I don’t really want to see what happens if I deplete my mana while it already can’t regenerate. That said, it’ll be a long 24 hours. I’m warm though, finally warm.

  Suddenly, I felt a slight rumble. What the heck is that? It’s getting louder. Something’s coming! I’m scared. I have no way of protecting myself. Except… except my projectiles. With the mana that I have, I can shoot off maybe a total of three. That’ll have to do. It can poke a hole through hardened ice, so I’m sure it can do a lot of damage to whatever’s coming. I just hope whatever it is, it doesn’t try it eat me.

  The ice of the floor behind me bulged and then smashed open with a bang, shooting ice into the walls and scaring the crap out of me. Something burst out of the hole and landed like a beached whale inches from me. I held my mind’s breath, hoping it wouldn’t notice me, my light that I constantly radiated noticeably dimming.

  Whatever it was, it was huge, it's body only half fitting into the room, the rest still down the hole. It looked like... Like a killer whale, but with fur. Slick, waterproof fur marked with the black and white killer whale pattern. Scars decorated its body. The head, a weird mix between a whale and a dog or maybe a seal, twisted to look at me.

  Little one… let me rest here… for a while.

  I froze.

  Don’t be startled, Little one… I mean… no harm. I just needed a safe… haven… for but a little while. I apologize… for intruding.

  “What are you?” I question.

  Little one must be newly hatched. I could hear the grin behind its voice. Will Little one allow me safe haven if I answer?

  “If you don’t try to eat me.”

  Huhuhuhuhuhuh, it made a slight wheezing noise, and it took me a second to realize it was laughing.

  Oh, ’tis been long… since I last laughed. My name… ’tis Ah’m. I am an Akhlut. Ah’m pulled itself up off the ground and dragged itself further into the room, curling itself in a large circle around the fireplace. I stare. I don’t mean to, but I can’t help but notice Ah’m’s legs. While like a killer whale, Ah’m also vaguely resembled a wolf. It was cute… in a vicious sort of way.

  What… ’tis this thing Little one has created? ‘Tis… warm.

  “Uh, it’s a fire pit.”

  Little one… lie not. That is no fire.

  “It’s a sculpture! I made it out of ice and put |Aura of Warmth| in it.”

  /Aura of Warmth/… ’tis interesting, Little one. ‘Tis what… drew me here. I thank Little one for it.

  “Are you hurt? You sound in pain.”

  Little one need not worry. ‘Tis old pain… Rin Khult reopened.

  “Whose Ren Kilt?”

  Rin Khult… ’tis Naitaka… big snake with horse-like head and nasty teeth… Mean thing.

  “Oh my gosh! Are you alright? It sounds scary!”

  Little one, there are worse things down below than Naitaka. Be careful. Little one… ’tis very vulnerable.

  I shiver. “But what do I do then? I can’t grow any faster than I already am!”

  Thank you… Little one. I must go. I may return sometime. ‘Twas pleasant… Little one’s company. Stay safe… Little one. Ah’m lifted itself up and lumbered to the hole.

  “Wait, Ah’m. Don’t go yet!” I yelled, but Ah’m was gone.