Chương 339: Chapter 325

They charged out of the room, ready to strike down whatever met them on their way. Outside the cell, they found a corridor which had dozens of doors, each of them leading to the same kind of room where they had appeared. Some kind of rumble could be heard from a distance, but for now, everything was covered in creepy silence. Which was broken when a grayish-blue leg stepped into view, coming from the bend in the corridor.

The leg was followed by another leg, then a body covered in tattered leather armor with a few metal scales stubbornly holding on for their dear lives. The body belonged to a humanoid figure, probably two heads taller than even Dan, the tallest of the team, with shaggy ice blue hair that was missing clumps and deep red eyes that glowed with madness. In its hands, it was holding the stump of a greatsword that, when it was whole, was probably taller than Clarissa, the smallest of the team.

The moment the monster turned the corridor – probably following a preset patrol – it froze for a fraction of a second, then its mouth opened in a silent scream – its tongue was visibly missing - raised its broken greatsword over their head, and launched itself forward. Katie met the strike with her own weapon, metal crashing on metal, the sound echoing around them.

However, as big and strong the monster looked, it was a simple monster, and Katie was Katie, which led to her overpowering the monster, sending it crashing backward, but before the monster could land on the ground, Katie moved and brought her own greatsword, wreathed in eldritch black-yellow lightning, down on the monster, cutting it in two.

"Nice!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist.

"Easy!" The rest of the team, who had followed her, just pointed in the direction from which the patrolling monster came. There, already enraged, was a group of similar monsters, scruffy armors, broken weapons, and eyes that screamed endless rage, rushing toward them like a mob.

"Oh… well, more for me to play with..." came the careless answer from the crazy girl. The others looked at each other and shrugged. Within a second, the corridor was a whirlwind of swords and flame, as the team tore through the opposition. [You defeated Frozen Undead Fighter…] The notifications kept popping up, but nothing could stop them. They fought through several corridors, a room that was once a lunchroom, another that was probably an old gym, before they arrived in a stone hall, covered with even more ice.

And at the end of the hall was a giant door, made out of ice. Deep in the ice, they could see all sorts of patterns, some of which Sam recognized as runes, but most of them were line art of various fights. Humanoids against humanoids, humanoids against monsters, and monsters against monsters…

"Ohh! I read about this!" Isabella called out as they stopped in front of the door after dispatching the last of the mobs.

"An arena fight with waves of monsters! The longer you survive, the better the reward. Right?"

"Indeed," Sam nodded.

"The gate opens every five waves after the mini boss is defeated."

"Let me guess… we aren't going to leave," Clarissa stated more like asking. Sam just smirked.

"The current record is around wave thirty-five. We are going until at least fifty." Before anyone could comment, he stepped forward and raised a hand.

"Here is the strat." Everybody fell silent, waiting for the instructions.

"Dan is the VIP. He stays alive no matter what. Clarissa, you stick to him. If it is between anyone and Dan, you save Dan. Got it?" Both Clarissa and Dan nodded. Sam then continued.

"Katie and I are going to move clockwise around the room on the opposite end. Pure DPS, Katie. Whatever appears, it must be killed, but don't waste your ultis on small fry."

"Yes! This is going to be such fun!" Finally, Sam turned to Isabella.

"You're going to float around. If we miss something or need help, you jump in. The familiars are going to do the same." He looked around.

"Any questions?" There were none. They all summoned their familiars, and soon the hall became much more crowded. Hawky, the fire spirit hawk, sat on Dan's shoulder, rubbing its body against his head affectionately. Puffball instantly began to wander around the hall, looking at things with clear disdain and disinterest. Sable, Isabella's wooden shadow spirit, took the form of a formidable bear, looking ready to tear into monsters.

Melody, the spirit arcane goose, the personification of murder and mayhem, instantly began eyeing her own reflection in the icy walls, ready to unleash the aforementioned murder and mayhem if the reflection even blinked wrong. And finally, Lucky, the gentle giant, emerged from one of the corners and instantly began running around, greeting all the other familiars, giving them a lick on their faces. He only stopped when Melody, the grumpy goose, honked at him threateningly.

Sam looked around, taking in their little group that could probably destroy a smaller guild, and called out.

"Ready?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Yes!"

"Leeeet's go!"

"Sure, boss."

"Don't die."

"HONK!"

"Wuff wuff!"

"Screeech!"

"ROAAR!" They stepped through the giant doors into an arena that was originally built on a stone foundation, with a sand pit in the middle and wooden seats around. However, time, weather, and the constantly encroaching ice had changed it. The floor was made of tightly compacted snow; the top layer had the consistency of a slushy. The stone foundation was cracked with vivid blue ice growing between the stones, pushing them apart.

The wooden stands looked rotted, yet they stood there, supported by the freezing weather and ice covering them. On them sat countless numbers of the same monster that they had been fighting so far. Granted, there were variations. Some were bigger, with bulging muscles. Some were smaller, with a lithe build, wielding wicked-looking daggers. Peppered between them were giant constructs of ice, golems made out of see-through ice, joints made out of powdered stone, standing there like eternal guardians, unmoving.

However, the most eye-catching thing wasn't them. It was the woman sitting on a throne of ice shards, leaning to one side onto her palm, looking at them with a disinterested look. She also had the grayish-blue skin color, her hair looked as if she had come from the hairdresser, wearing a thin circlet made out of a silver-colored metal. Her dress was a mix of metal and white, silk-looking fabric, artfully covering her body, yet showcasing the talent that went into making it.

In Sam's opinion, if the creators of the game sold the same dress in the real world, it would have been an instant hit. It just had that wild, northern I-don't-give-a-shit-but-I-look-hot-doing-it attitude. The moment they were through the gate, it slammed closed behind them, and a powerful female voice echoed around them.

"Ah…new…aspirants…We…shall…enjoy…your…struggles…" The voice was hoarse and came in small gasps, yet the unmistakable power of someone who is used to being obeyed could be heard clearly. The monsters sitting on the stands began to stamp their legs, creating a dull roar as several of them stood up and began jumping into the arena, surrounding the team.

"Remember the plan!" Sam called out, his right hand holding the Sword of Severance, while his left was already glowing with the unmistakable light of the void. A screen appeared in front of all of them as they began to position themselves. [Ice Rumble: Wave #1!] Glancing around, Sam counted ten Frozen Undead Warriors, two with intact greatswords, one dual-wielding daggers, and the rest were holding a mix of maces and swords, all looking like they would give someone tetanus after looking at them too long.

There was no signal. No sound to start the battle, but for a short while the two groups looked at each other under the disinterested gaze of the royal woman on her throne, then the clash began. It ended ten seconds later, with only Katie and Sam moving, cutting down the monsters before they could even move an inch. Silence fell on the arena, the stamping sound quieting just a bit, as if even the undead were confused at what happened. Then, another screen. [Ice Rumble: Wave #2!] Twenty more undead jumped down from the stands, their landing sending slushy snow splattering everywhere, while looking at Sam and his friends with murderous gazes. Katie let out a cackle, and the battle was on again. So went the second, third, fourth, and finally the fifth wave, where one of the giant ice golems also joined the undead in the arena. And was instantly melted under Dan's plasma. With the fifth wave defeated, a new screen showed up in front of them. [Congratulations! You defeated Wave #5 of the Ice Rumble!] [You can continue challenging further waves or take your reward and leave!] A small box made out of wood with no embellishments or decorations appeared at the foot of the throne while the royal woman looked at it with amusement. Sam looked directly into her eyes.

"We are going to continue!" There was a small, almost imperceptible nod from her, and the screen vanished, replaced by a familiar one. [Ice Rumble: Wave #6!] More monsters, more golems jumped off the stands, filling the space under the walls of the arena, agitated and ready to fight.

"This is where it really starts!" Sam called out. Katie, opposite of him, was almost vibrating with excitement, eying the biggest undead while Isabella stood in the middle to be able to see everything, ready to unleash her own buffs and power. Dan and Clarissa stood back-to-back, one looking stone-faced, the other shining with barely restrained urge to experiment. Their familiars were just sitting there and watching the proceedings with interest. Well, except for Puffball and Melody.

Melody, the murderous goose, was standing in front of Clarissa, wings spread out, looking at the monsters with come-at-me-bro energy. And Puffball? Well, the eldritch cat was currently sitting in the royal woman's lap, getting her back scratched by a bemused undead. Wave after wave, they fought an endless number of undead fighters and ice constructs. They flew through the next fifteen waves at record speeds, Katie and Sam, a tornado of magic and sword in the arena.

Dan bathed everything in glorious plasma while protecting them from the undead shamans that showed up around wave ten, flinging around ice spells. Their familiars were rampaging around happily, with the exception of Puffball, who was constantly pampered by the royal undead. The moment a musclebound shaman, wielding giant fists made out of ice, fell, another screen appeared. [Congratulations! You defeated Wave #20 of the Ice Rumble!] [You can continue challenging further waves or take your reward and leave!] The box in front of the throne had changed from its simple form into a metal chest, decorated with silver and blue gems. Sam took stock of the situation, eyeing his teammates one by one, receiving a nod from each of them.

"Next!" he called out, raising his sword in challenge. The royal undead sitting on her throne stopped for a moment, brushing Puffball's fur, and nodded.

"A…remarkable…showing…We…have…not…seen…in…a…long…time…" came the raspy voice.

"Prepare…yourself…" [Ice Rumble: Wave #21!] Another wave of undead monsters jumped down, their armor of much higher quality, their weapons glowing with magical runes. The ice golems were more sophisticated, their bodies sculpted in imitation of their creators, creating bulging muscles out of ice. Sam grinned.

"Now this is fun!" His sword sang as it cut through an approaching sword-wielder, while he pivoted to the side, sensing a missile of ice shards that soon shattered on a fiery shield, while his hand lashed out with void energy, catching a dagger-wielding, cloak-covered assassin type jumping from behind another monster straight at Clarissa, vaporizing them. Another step, another monster cut down.

He bowed down, avoiding a slash, transitioning into a roll, which resulted in him popping up with his sword directly thrust into an undead's brain. Behind him, Lucky, in a giant form, fell onto one of the golems, tearing away with his rune-covered claws, shedding ice everywhere. Sam suspected the wolf was having the time of its life. He couldn't fault him; this was pretty fun!