Once Orrin gave the go ahead, the party lined up in front of the second ice door.

“Why are they called floors?” He asked as Madi got into position next to him.

“Sometimes the doors actually lead down,” Brandt answered as he readjusted his helmet. Daniel and Jude both strapped their weapons to their backs. “Ready?”

Orrin held his hand out. “Ladies first.”

“Scared of getting hit?” Madi stuck her tongue and hit the door with her shoulder, bouncing inside at a run.

Orrin took off after her.

At level ten, I should put some points into constitution...or would it be dexterity. I need to ask which one makes running easier.

Just as Brandt had described, they ran through a valley. Large cliffs seemed to swallow up the ground, rising into the air on either side. The lightly-snow-dusted grass had craters the size of basketballs pockmarking the otherwise serene view ahead.

Madi was already a few dozen yards ahead and running hard. Orrin started jogging and pulled up his [Map]. He saw red dots on the cliffs ahead but the first was almost a quarter mile away.

They ran for a few minutes before the red dot nearest on the map moved a little.

“Get ready!” Orrin yelled and not a moment too soon.

A chunk of ice the size of a football fell from the cliff on the right at high speeds. At the front, Madi was the first target. She moved to the side and dodged. The spray of dirt from the impact went up into the air. If Orrin had been closer, he would have taken the shrapnel in the face.

More red dots started to move slowly and Orrin dropped [Map] to concentrate on running.

If Orrin hadn’t been forced to play dodgeball so much in the past few weeks, he would have been taken out by the first missile that targeted him. With all that practice, he calculated the distance and where it would hit, naturally avoiding the projectile.

At least, that’s what he had hoped would happen. The block of ice clipped his thigh. Luckily, his [Ice Ward] took the brunt of the damage. The attack most definitely did not tickle, as Jude had described the newts’ attacks. He stumbled and almost fell.

“The attacks still count as ice magic,” he shouted over his shoulder. He didn’t look back and prayed the others could hear him.

Orrin ran and dodged. He watched Madi deftly maneuver over the snowy terrain. She occasionally stepped on spots of ice and would skid for a moment before catching herself.

Orrin considered casting a few [Increase Dexterity] buffs on himself or Madi but with how much the first hit had taken off his [Ice Ward], he wanted to save his mana.

[Ice Ward] 145/230

[Ward] 230/230

His quick check of his status was a mistake. A block of ice hit his right shoulder and Orrin spun before bouncing on the ground. He scrambled back up and started running.

“What are you doing?” Daniel was in front of him, running at him.

“What are you doing?” Orrin yelled. “When did you get ahead of me?”

“You got up after getting hit and are running the wrong way.” Daniel was closing in fast. “Turn around.”

Orrin could have hit himself. He dug his foot down and pivoted. Madi was a speck in the distance.

I can’t be a burden again, he thought.

[Increase Dexterity], level two x 5

The extra 15 points of dexterity hit his legs and Orrin almost went down again. He adjusted and began to lope along faster and faster. The apes missed every shot by larger margins. The wind was singing in his ears, as for the first time in his life, Orrin enjoyed running.

He caught up to his previous position behind Madi. He could just make out the ice door at the end. They would make it there in just another minute and nothing could stop hi-

Two apes on opposite sides of the ravine threw perfectly timed shots at Madi. If there was only one, she could have dodged to the side. With two, she hesitated and took a hit to her leg and chest. Orrin watched as she flipped head over heels and landed on her face.

He was only four steps away. He could pick her up and-

As Madi laid stunned, with dirt up her nose, four apes let out a wild howl and let loose.

Orrin was three steps away when four more missiles fell from the sky. He pumped his legs harder than he had ever run before.

Two steps away. One.

The first ape had thrown too fast. The ice block hit Madi in the head. Her face slapped back into the ground and she let out a cry.

Orrin slid and grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her and casting another [Ward] on Madi and [Ice Ward] on the party. Or anyone within 50 feet.

“Can you-“ he started to ask, but got hit by the other three blocks of ice.

[Ice Ward] 0/230

[Ward] 20/230

Direct hits do a lot more damage. Orrin put another [Ice Ward] and [Ward] up.

He didn’t wait to see if Madi was ready. He yanked on her arm and half-dragged her to her feet.

“Run.”

They stumbled together for a few feet. Madi mumbled and tried to talk, but Orrin concentrated on the door just fifty to sixty yards ahead of them.

Madi hit a slick of ice and her feet went out from under her.

“Fuccckkkk..” Orrin tried holding her weight but started to go down.

[Increase Strength], level two x 5

He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. The half-spear strapped on her hip dug into his neck. Ice boulders continued to rain down around them.

Orrin slammed into the door and hit the safe room ice floor.

Seconds later, Brandt burst into the room.

“Madeleine!” He bellowed and took her weight off Orrin. Daniel and Jude entered behind and stood to the side.

“She took a few hits but I put new war-“

“Heal her. Now,” Brandt shouted. His helmet had been tossed to the floor and his brown hair stood up from the sweat.

Orrin looked at Madi and choked back vomit.

One of the ice projectiles had scraped her face raw, teeth were missing, and an ear was hanging on by a small flap of skin. She looked dazed and uncertain of where she was.

Orrin pulled up his status to check his own mana.

MP 54/230

Then, he used [Identify] on Madi, cutting off to only the important bits.

Madeleine Catanzano Prism Conjurer Level 14 HP 26/110

Orrin started stacking [Heal Small Wounds], level two on Madi, healing over 20 HP for each cast. He got four off before his own MP was too low to push further. Even with her health at full, the damage to her face was slow to heal.

“Should I keep healing her? She’s at full health now, but her face...” Orrin watched as the skin of her ear slowly grew back together. Brandt gently held it in place.

“It’ll come back slowly,” Brandt whispered as Madi moaned. Thankfully, she had passed out. “Overhealing would fix it faster but you don’t have to-“

Orrin chugged another mana potion and threw more magic at the problem. Teeth grew back and skin scabbed over into fresh flesh. The bruising reduced and Madi’s moans of pain turned into the heavy breathing of a deep sleep.

“Thank you,” Brandt said as he looked up at Orrin. “I saw you carry her. You took the brunt of those hits. You picked her up and saved her life.”

“How did she get so hurt?” Daniel asked from behind. He’d been quiet and waiting but took his chance. “We all took one or two hits, but... nothing like that.”

“I didn’t see what happened.” Brandt looked to Orrin. “Did you?”

“She got clobbered by two at once and ate it hard,” Orrin explained. “Four more snowballs came in fast but I blocked three of them. One hit her head before I-“

“Shit,” Jude cut in. “A direct hit to her head? A critical hit?”

“What’s a critical hit?” Daniel turned to Jude.

“A natural twenty,” Orrin said. Brandt gave Orrin another look.

Jude continued talking as if Orrin hadn’t interrupted. “A critical hit is when you target a monster... or person’s weakest spot. For a magic user like Madi, her head. There is no hard and fast rule, but a critical hit can do anything from double damage to instant death. It’s why most people don’t start fights, even with a much lower level person. Anyone can get lucky... or unlucky,” he said as he waved a hand at Madi’s form.

“But she’ll be okay?” Orrin asked uncertainly. A blow to the head that hard...

“She’ll be back up and being a pain in my ass soon enough.” Brandt smiled. “Get some rest, you earned it.”

“Anyone else need healing?” Orrin looked around. The three fighters shook their heads. I guess my wards did a good job.

Orrin helped Jude put down the blankets. He noticed Brandt hadn’t tried to start a fire, so he pulled two torches out of his [Dimension Hole].

“It’s not much, but they’ll give off some heat, right?”

Brandt gave Orrin a hug and then turned back to keep Madi warm with the small flames.

Jude walked up and put his arm around Orrin’s shoulder. “I think you just made a friend for life.”

Orrin watched Brandt tenderly tilt Madi’s head and splash a small stream of water on her lips. He dabbed her lips with a corner of the blanket.

“Two torches for a friend,” Orrin replied. “Not a bad deal.”

Even fully healed, or ‘overhealed,’ Madi wasn’t back to herself for four hours. She thanked Orrin for his help.

“And of course, I’ll reimburse you for the mana potion you had to use,” she finished.

“Shut up.” Orrin retorted. “We’re a team. I’m sure you’ll have to save my ass a few times before we leave. And I’m not taking anything from you. I was happy to help.”

They chewed jerky and drank water, waiting for Brandt to give the final okay.

“First, this party has made it further in than a lot of teams, so be proud.” Brandt started. “The gauntlet turns back a lot of parties. But the next level requires patience and teamwork.”

“And hopefully killing something?” Daniel asked.

“Don’t be so experience hungry,” Orrin joked.

“Yes, we will encounter monsters,” Brandt said. “This next section is actually Jude’s favorite, so...” He waved the conversation to Jude.

“I’m flattered that you remembered.” Jude took off a small knife from his hip and drew two long lines on the ice floor. “The third floor is a frozen river. It’s a mile wide at all points...or at least it is as far up or downstream as anyone has ever reported. All we have to do is get to the other side, and the door will appear.”

“I could [Teleport] us all across,” Orrin suggested. “Damn, I could have done that back in the last room too.”

“[Teleport] doesn’t work in dungeons.” Brandt said.

“Good idea, though,” Jude continued. “So, to get across the frozen ice, we just have to test each step in front of us for weakness. If it can hold the weight of my hammer, we can walk on it. Follow the footsteps of the person in front of you, and we can make it all the way across.”

“You said monsters,” Daniel reminded nobody.

“If my hammer breaks the ice, Frozen Carp will jump out and try to pull you back into the freezing water to either drown or be eaten by their razor sharp teeth.”

“Ok, I vote no getting eaten.” Daniel shook his head.

“Same,” Orrin said.

“We can pull the fish out of the water and beat them to death on the solid ice,” Jude said. “It’s all really just a puzzle or maze of where you can stand out there. The fish themselves aren’t a problem if you don’t get pulled under the water. If you do go under...you are on your own, because nobody is jumping in after you.”

“Why?” Orrin asked.

“Once you go under, it’s impossible to find where you are or know how many enemies are under the ice,” Brandt said. “It’s suicide.”

“But I have [Map]. Couldn’t I just point out how many fish are down below and follow where the person who fell in went?”

Brandt and Jude whispered to each other.

“What if it’s you that falls in? We still won’t know where you are. But if anyone else does, we can use that to our advantage.” Jude answered.

“After this floor, we’ll hole up for the night in the next safe room.” Brandt slapped his hands on his knees and stood straight. “Let’s go.”