The boiling water was hot, and Mash felt the rush of another level up. He hadn’t intended on hitting such a wide area. He had only wanted to disrupt the biggest group, not cook everyone alive. It was a more horrific way to die than they deserved. Mash felt something within his domain. The mana was acting strangely, but it was familiar. The water shifted oddly as if it were pushed out of the way by something. An instant later, Jill and Arthur were thrust into the water. The still boiling water!

“The water is boiling!”

Mash yelled the words. He could still speak despite the wooden form he had taken. His voice didn’t carry the same way in the water, though he was surprised to hear it work. The words came out deeper and louder than he had ever done before. His warning was unneeded. They noticed the water before his words could get to them. His brother’s blade formed in his hand and the boiling water was no longer bubbling. As soon as the blade formed the water stopped boiling. The warmth was swallowed by the blade and Mash felt colder.

Arthur swung his sword in a wide enveloping strike. It wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular, and Mash watched as everything froze. The water started freezing, and Arthur stood at the epicenter of it. The ice grew from his brother and perfectly froze everything in place. The ice continued to grow until it completely trapped Mash and everyone within the ocean. Only a few people had worked through the initial surprise and tried to flee from the ice. It didn’t work and everyone ended up trapped in a glacier.

Mash could still see his brother. The ice was surprisingly clear, and Arthur was well within his domain. The ice didn’t seem to impede his brother at all. He seemed to move it and expanded the space around him until he could breathe freely. Arthur walked over and dug Jill and Red out of the ice too and gave them ample space to move as well. Once the two were free they teleported away. Mash assumed they had simply gone to the top of the new glacier. Arthur turned to Mash and spoke. With his brother’s unchanging expression, Mash struggled to understand what he had said. His voice didn’t carry through the glacier.

Arthur walked over slowly and calmly. None of the other people could even move. His brother didn’t rush, but Mash thought that he was angry. Even though Mash couldn’t hear his brother’s words there was something about his casualness that made him seem angrier to Mash. The ice around Mash began to shift as Arthur got closer. The ice around him slowly started to dissolve, and Mash was able to move soon. He could’ve destroyed the ice with magic or a skill but decided against it. Now that the ice was weakening, Mash took that as permission. He moved the wood and separated himself from the imitation.

Mash walked out of the wooden construct and let his transformation drop. It was at that moment that he received the consequences of his creation. He collapsed onto the ice and just lay there with his face pressed against the cold ice. Hunt had triggered at some point, and he collapsed to the ground now that it was over. He shifted his head upward and rested his chin against the floor as his brother approached. The ice sent a chill through his jaw, and his words came out a little forced.

“Hey Arthur! Perfect timing!”

Mash didn’t yell the words, but they echoed loudly in the icy caverns. His breath was visible in the cold temperature. His brother hadn’t held back at all, had he? It was so cold that even Mash could feel it. The normal people would end up with frostbite or worse. Mash couldn’t help but stare in fascination at the frozen sea. Animals and people were frozen in place. The ice was so pure and clean that it felt like time itself had frozen. He had meant the words as a joke, but his brother didn’t take it as one.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve been there. Don’t worry, I won’t let any of them get away.”

Arthur was definitely angry, but it seemed like it was mostly directed inward. Mash wasn’t the best at reading people, but his family was an exception to that. Even if he hadn’t spent all that much time together, there was this connection between him and his family. That had always been there, and now his domain let him get a small glimpse into their emotions too. He needed to stop his brother from doing anything hasty.

“Wait, it's not your fault. And I’m fine.”

“Yes, I know. We will still need to capture everyone we can and find out the exact situation. Priscilla told me a lot, but I still need to hear some things from you.”

His brother’s emotions hadn’t changed, but he wasn’t doing anything hasty either. Mash forgot; his brother wasn’t as prone to making rash decisions as he was. His brother didn’t leave immediately but occasionally sent his mana out into the ice. Mash was a little curious about what Arthur was doing. His brother noticed and explained. He could tell when someone was trying to break out or escape, and he was just reinforcing the ice to keep them trapped.

They talked for a little bit. Mash explained some skills and about how many people he had seen. He told Arthur of the one who had the Thronebreaker. They only talked for a minute or two. Just enough time for Mash to recover enough to get out of the ice. His brother carved him a staircase out of the glacier, and Mash happily escaped from the prison of ice. It took over a minute to walk out of the glacier. Once he approached the top of the glacier, the chill of the ice started to lessen. It was coldest around his brother.

The final step carried him onto the glacier, and Mash looked around in awe. The glacier stretched beyond the limits of his vision. It was almost like his brother had frozen the entire sea. Mash didn’t that was possible, even with a legendary weapon. Not all weapons were equal, but that still sounded like an impossible feat. The glacier was still enormous. The waves had frozen and made the sea's surface of the water seem like the back of a monster. Mash slowly spun, taking in the incredible sight.

He spotted Jill and Red but didn’t stop his spin. He just kept spinning, and only stopped after two more revolutions. After the first one, Jill and Red teleported beside Mash. It didn’t stop him, and he did one more revolution. The frozen landscape was truly an amazing sight. The casual display of power reminded him of himself. It seemed like Arthur enjoyed showing off just as much as Mash did. Although he probably wouldn’t admit it.

“How are you?”

Mash was a little startled as Jill grabbed his shoulders. She spoke after meeting eyes with him. There was some worry in her voice, but Mash felt fine. He shrugged his shoulders and replied easily.

“I’m fine.”

The words came easily. It was the truth after all.

“Arthur said you were tortured. Are you really, okay?”

Mash had spoken honestly, but the calmness he felt probably came off as forced or unnatural to her. There was no false bravado at all. He was genuine. This whole incident, everything felt kind of small to him now. The deaths would weigh on him, but he didn’t care all that much for what had been done to him. That was strange. In the past, he would’ve been angrier and wanted vengeance or something. Now, he just wanted to head back and go to the frost lands up north. He sat back on the ground and began using inhuman hibernation to recover. It felt slow compared to his chimeric reconstruction. Although, he didn’t think he would use it on other people unless he needed to. His skill had left nothing behind. It turned a person into nothing. It was much more extreme than he could’ve expected. He tried to stop thinking about it and responded to Jill.

“I’m fine. It’s not like physical wounds really matter. I can heal them in a few seconds. Plus, I had Priscilla with me the whole time.”

He was never really scared of the constant updates from Priscilla. Not to mention he had been fairly distracted by the seal. Breaking it had taken a while and drew all of his focus. It helped push away any other thoughts or worries. Even without that, he wasn’t really concerned about torture. He had a high tolerance for pain. The memory of his missing arms was just another injury. One of many, and he was certain to receive worse. Jill looked hesitant, but Red changed the subject.

“How many levels did you get?”

Right. She had reminded him to check his status. He didn’t know how or why he kept forgetting to do that, but it really did happen far too often. Most people treated their status as the most important thing in their lives. It was just as important to Mash, but he just forgot to check it. That didn’t make sense to him either, but he just sighed and focused inward.

Name: Mash Stellumbra Class: Chimeric Vagabond

Level: 108 → 112

Health: 3300 / 3300

Energy: 4400/ 4400

Fortitude: 330

Endurance: 210

Strength: 275

Agility: 275

Intelligence: 230

Wisdom: 120

Charisma: 110

Free Stats: 0 → 40

Skills: Hunt, Thunder-wood Creation, Inhuman Hibernation, Chimeric Transformation, Thunder-wood Imitation, Chimeric Reconstruction, Vagabond’s Path, Chimeric Domain, Adaptable Monster Core, Chimera’s Constitution, Wooden Body, Mimic’s Avarice, A Touch of Nothingness, Golden Body

Golden Body (Passive): Having stolen the techniques of another world, your body evolves beyond its old limitations. However, even this transformation is incomplete. Seek out the next Step and truly make this power your own.

Trial of the True Body: 25 → 27 / 100

Mash had gained more levels than he expected. Four levels felt like a lot considering how weak the other people had been. Even the strongest of them were probably lowered level than him. The bonus to his leveling speed seemed to apply to people as well. That was a bad thing, and he wondered if others had figured that out too. He remembered his brother’s warnings. Arthur had said that people might hunt Mash and his friends, and this might be the reason why. Being above level 100 could make him more desirable to some, but it would probably be a deterrent for most. If people were gaining levels more easily then that would explain the increased demand for level 100s. More people were getting to the threshold and needed ways to overcome the wall. Mash shook himself out of his thinking as his focus drifted away from status.

“I gained four levels. Plus, I progressed my golden body. I think the reconstruction skills work for that.”

He left it at that, and Red nodded her head. Jill whistled softly, impressed by the gains. Mash felt similarly. It was way more than he deserved for the fight. With all of the fighting he was hoping for some stats, but there was nothing. It was a bit of a disappointment but he could understand why. Neither fight had pushed him Or rather, he didn’t push himself in either fight. The first he had been arrogant, and he had fought poorly. The second time, he had won easily, by overpowering the people with raw power. Neither fight had been enough to strengthen his stats or push his boundaries. He should try and challenge himself more like he did with the wolves.