"Tyler," my father looks at me, the disapproval he has for Colt clear in his gaze. "You two have trained for two weeks in magic and Aura. It is time for you to receive your Quest of Heirs."

I was planning on performing the ritual tonight, but him telling me to makes me not want to. Time is running out to save the mountain, though, and I need to swallow my hardheadedness and just do it. The Quest could take me weeks to do, and we only have a couple more months before the demon is freed.

"Whatever," I say. "I'm only sticking around until the demons are slayed, then Colt and I are leaving. We had to stop our training for something because of you."

"You won't be leaving," Father tells me. "You need to remain here and prepare for the day in which you will take my place."

"Which is what?" I ask. "Twenty years from now? Thirty? I'm leaving, and you won't be able to stop me."

"Yes, I will," he says.

"You do realize," I say. "That had Colt remembered when you were arresting him, he could have killed those guards with ease. He and I both know Instinct Magics. Your attempts to force me to do what you want – to follow tradition – only make me want to leave. Learn that. I will be leaving, and, should I decide to return, I will. Now move out of my way, Father – I was already on my way to the ritual chambers, and had already ordered the staff to be prepared."

I walk past him as he stares.

So annoying. Sometimes, I wish one of us would snap and just put our hand through his heart.

But that would cause even bigger problems, so for now, he can live.

When I'm King, I'm abolishing this stupid way. They need to stop controlling everyone's lives, especially their princes. We need to be able to be free, to do what we want and grow. It's stifling. I can't believe my predecessors leave it in place when they become King.

Father told me, when I demanded to know why, that it's because it's the system that works, and it has protected our people for more than a thousand years. Anytime outsiders become involved, things go bad.

It's bad enough we've got the Frost Giants who like to launch attacks at us, and occasional demon attacks, but letting in outsiders who'll want to steal our secrets, learn our ways, abuse them, use them against us, steal our precious resources?

Apparently, all outsiders are that way, and we can't defend against them. I hate this.

I reach the preparation room, where three staff await. One of them strips off my clothes, and the other two begin to paint markings over my entire body with a cold, pale blue liquid. It's the only time I've ever felt cold in my life, and it's… unusual.

I don't like it, and am glad for my peoples' ability to resist it.

Once they have finished painting the marks and runes onto my body, I leave the room, making my way to the Dream Hall.

The Dream Hall stands fifty feet tall, eighty wide, and one hundred long. The walls, constructed of a stone carved from deep within the mountain, hum with a trace of power.

I make my way to the sigil set within the hall's center, lying on my back, arms and legs spread, and closing my eyes.

For what feels like hours, I lie awake, wishing sleep would come to me, so that I may learn what my Quest of Heirs will be.

Eventually, I find myself in the cold, surrounded by the Frost Giants. Beings twenty feet tall, with skin as pale as snow, and eyes an icy blue, dressed in furs, they are quite the formidable foes. A few moments after finding myself surrounded by them, I find myself standing in their castle, before their king. He speaks in language rich with magic, its words unfamiliar to my ears.

Moments later, I wake. When I leave the chamber, the first thing I notice is light filtering through the windows, the sun barely begun to rise.

I went to bed just past dusk, which means I spent twelve hours in the chamber.

Making my way to my room to wash and dress, I contemplate on what that could mean.

The Frost Giants have always been our enemy, and yet, the dream has me in their throne room. Am I to kill their King? He is said to be hundreds of years old, as his kind can live for many more years than we humans.

The Frost Giant King is said to be one of the few beings still alive from before the System was implemented. I have not a doubt in my mind that he is of the third or fourth Tier – or higher. Surely his Level would have been converted, yes?

Does the mountain wish for me to end the threat of the Frost Giants before the sealed demon is freed?

How? I'm only allowed one companion, and I doubt that even our Instinct Spells could kill the Frost Giants – not at their current power. It takes a team of magicians casting a spell together to wound a Frost Giant.

The only reason we've been left mostly alone by them so far is their distance from us. For us, it would take a week to reach there. For them, maybe two. It's too much effort for either side to really bother the other, and we usually only run into hunting parties, and that's if we go too far from here.

I whisper a thanks to the mountain for allowing me to wake refreshed, then track Colt down. He's currently in the dungeons, challenging the guards to rock-paper-scissors, and winning every match.

I know how he does it, though the guards haven't caught on yet. He's fast enough, and his perception is good enough, that he can see what they're going to use and hit them with its weakness.

"One more game!" Colt says without even looking at me.

I approached from behind him, and yet I'm pretty sure that was directed at me.

He does one more game and wins, then gives the guard a cheeky grin, then looks at me.

"They can't beat me."

"Can I try?" I ask, and he holds out a hand. We play five rounds, and he wins all five of them. He's just a tad bit faster than me – enough to make a difference. "Damn, I can't win."

"So you got your Quest of Heirs?" He asks. "Whatch gotta do?"

"It isn't that clear," I shake my head. "The Quest of Heirs typically is given to us in a series of dreams, but they never tell us what, exactly, we have to do. Sometimes, it's obvious – my grandfather's dreams showed him the ruins of a castle and a dagger. He had to retrieve the dagger. There wasn't much else to it. Mine… showed me a place, but gave me no context."

"So where are we going?" Colt asks.

"I'll tell you once we leave," I answer. "If Father gets word of it, he'll want to send troops with me, and I'm only allowed one to accompany me."

"Alright!" Colt says. "Let's get going, then!"

I nod, and we make our way up to the throne room, where Father is speaking with some of his advisers.

"What is your Quest of Heirs?" Father asks as we approach.

"As dangerous as any," I answer. "Colt and I will be leaving, now."

"Where are you going?" Father asks.

"Don't forget," I say. "What happened the last time a King sent someone to tail their son as he worked on his Quest of Heirs."

I turn and walk away, Colt following behind me.

We leave the palace, then the city, and Colt doesn't say anything for more than an hour, though from the way he bounces as he walks, I know he wants to.

"So where are we going?" He finally asks. "What's your Quest? What do we gotta do?"

I laugh, and he stops walking and stares at me. I stop and turn to face him.

"I was wondering," I grin at him. "How long it would take you to finally ask. Let's get further away from the city, before I tell you. We'll go past the soldiers and people who are probably out and about, first."

He nods, and we start walking again.

After four days of traveling and hunting, I tell Colt what my dreams were.

"So giant people with blue skin who are resilient to the cold and have ice magics?" He asks. "And we have to fight them?"

"I'm not sure what we have to fight," I say. "But your world has a really weird view on them. The Frost Ogres have blue skin, the Frost Giants have skin as white as snow. We both hate the Frost Ogres. The Frost Giants hate us, and we hate them. All the dreams did was show me the Frost Giants, then their King. I honestly have no idea what we're supposed to do. All I know is that I need to see the Frost Giant King. Kill him? I don't know. Probably, but I don't think I have the power for that."

"Oh, okay," he says. "Race you to the big tree over there!"

I take off running, and he matches my pace, bursting ahead just before reaching the tree and tagging it, then sticking his tongue out at me.

"You know," I say. "We still haven't picked our Classes. We can take on two."

"I know," he says. "We don't have Knight available, and I really want that. Other than just the standard Rogue II and Thief III, there really isn't much that's interesting."

"We could do Martial Artist II," I say. "For the strength and endurance."

I pull up the Classes we have available, and look at the Advancements we have available.

Martial Artist II: +2 STR, +1 AGI, +2 END

Squire II: +3 STR, +2 END

Thief III: +3 AGI, +2 INT, +3 PER

Rogue II: +3 AGI, +3 INT, +2 PER

Ruffian II: +3 AGI, +1 INT, +1 STR

When did Squire get a second Level?

"Squire II is available," I tell Colt, and he narrows his eyes the way he does when he's looking at his windows, his brow furrowed just a little, his lips pursed just a tad. "We could take on Squire II and Rogue II."

"Let's do that," he nods, and I take on the Class as well. He frowns, looking past me. "Uh… Tyler?"

"Yeah?" I ask.

"There are a bunch of Frost Giants and wolves that have icy fur coming this way."

Crap!

I turn, and he's right. There are a dozen Frost Giants, and probably eight Frost Wolves, and they're charging this way, looking ready for a fight.

"What should we do?" I ask no one in particular, not sure how to handle this. I was thinking that maybe we'd come across one by itself, and try to talk to it, to see if he'd take us to its king. "I don't know what to do!"

I'm panicking right into my Quest of Heirs. I'm going to die on it. I'm going to fail, and Colt is walking past the tree, a determined look on his face. What is he doing? We can't fight them! Our Instinct Magics – our most powerful spells right now – aren't powerful enough at only Level 1! We don't have a chance!

"Blazing power that sleeps within, waken and shout, call and rise, and heed my call. Burn even the bones, and incinerate all that exists. Rise, O Fiery Heart! Rising Flame!"

Once more, Colt's magic fills the air, crimson specks drifting up from the ground, flames swirling around him.

The Frost Giants and Frost Wolves stop in their tracks, only barely quick enough to register his power.

Then… his fires rage, burning the air itself as his flames devastate the land before us, burning outwards, the snow not even having time to evaporate, the air filling with boiling steam. Hastily, I throw up an Icy Barrier in a bubble around myself.

Just as before, his spell lasts only a few seconds before the damage is done, the steam evaporating yet again from the sheer power of his fire.

The Frost Wolves are mostly gone, only the ones in the distance remaining. The Frost Giants caught in the blaze have actually sustained damage, their furs burned away and their skin charred. The two in the front are screaming a deep, bellowing sound that shakes the ground and the forest beside us, their flesh burned away, muscle and bone beneath revealed.

Even with that damage, the Frost Giants live on. To think that our spells are powerful enough to do that. They'll heal, being one of the few species to be considered immortal due to their long lives and powerful regeneration rates.

The Frost Giants and remaining Frost Wolves halt in their tracks.

Colt isn't done yet.

As soon as his spell has faded, he's run forward. A couple of Frost Wolves dart ahead of the Frost Giants, and Colt jumps up, literally using them as jumping pads to propel himself, pushing his hands behind him, shouting out 'Flame Burst!'. Flames blast out of his hands to propel him even further as I stand here in shock at Colt's stupidity. He couldn't possibly think he could kill a Frost Giant, could he?

He lands with his feet on the chest of a Frost Giant, holding his right arm with his left hand, right hand turned upside-down, palm facing the Frost Giant's face in the stance he takes for Firebolt.

"Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt!"

He calls out the name ten times as everyone stares at him in shock, and it isn't until the eleventh Firebolt – which he didn't even say the name for – that I realize that he's standing in an impossible way.

How is he standing on the Frost Giant's chest without falling off? Quickly, using all the Mana Sense I have, I sense him, realizing that there's some sort of foreign magic swirling around him. It seems to alter the laws that determine whether or not we are bound to the world.

How?

Then I remember that Colt comes from another world. He has knowledge of things we don't. Did he just go and use it – in the middle of a fight – to try a new magic? I've never heard of someone using Flame Burst – a spell designed for short-range burning – to propel themselves with magic.

He says that his world only has magic in stories, but his peoples' stories are fucking crazy.

And yet… he used it to use magic in a way I'd never thought of before. A way our people have probably never thought of before.

Combine that with his sudden ability to defy the laws that bind us to the world, and I have a whole new level of curiosity about his world.

Colt keeps hitting the Frost Giant with Firebolt (why not use Flame Burst? It's designed for close-range attacks like that), and I realize that he's stopped saying its name altogether.

He's already using silent casting for that? Most people spend decades before doing that! No way am I falling behind him on this!

The Frost Giant topples to the ground, and Colt flips backwards, jumping impossibly high and landing in a crouch beside me. He stands up and grins at me.

"That's a shitton of Experience!"

Did he seriously just kill a Frost Giant?

WHAT THE FUCK IS HE?

"I hit Level 25."

I'm not going to catch up to him, am I?

Not unless I kill a Frost Giant, too…

Channeling my magic, I lift a hand, aiming it at the other severely-wounded Frost Giant.

Here's hoping that I can be as crazy-impossible as my friend.

"Icy power that sleeps within, waken and shout, call and rise, and heed my call. Chill through the bone, and halt all in time. Rise, O Frozen Heart! Rising Frost!"

Snowflakes swirl around me as an icy mist radiates from me, and I continue to focus on a single target, on channeling the full power of the spell into a single spot.

Snow begins to rise up around the single Frost Giant I am focusing on as it continues to scream in pain from Colt's own magic.

Then, my magic bursts forth, blasting from me and into it, freezing it instantly, all the way through.

+xx Experience!

---Value too high to show, just gonna show your new Level

Level is now Level 25!

Title Earned!

Frost Giant Slayer: One who has slain a Frost Giant, an old being resilient to any damage, be it physical or magical. You have proven your prowess in combat against them, and are a foe to be feared.

As the Frost Giant drops to the ground, the others stare at it and the other fallen, and Colt cracks up laughing.

(Colt)

Oh, my goodness! That was awesome! I thought our Instinct Spells were just massive Area of Effect spells, but it looks like we can channel them into a single target, too!

I can't believe Tyler actually did that! I'm so happy about it, though, since it means we're back to the same Level, I bet!

That was just freaking awesome!

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" I tap Tyler on the arm. "I have enough Mana left for another one, and I bet you do, too! Wanna see how many more we can kill? I bet we'll be able to hit Level 50 again if we kill the last ten! I'll take the five on the right, you take the five on the left!"

"WAIT!" One of the Frost Giants yells, and I look at him.

"Tyler and I are going to kill you!" I yell back. "Do you have any last words before we do?"

"You're fucking crazy, Colt!" Tyler laughs.

"So are you!" I grin at him, then look back at the Frost Giants and slam my fists together, letting flames burst out of them. "So! Last words?"

"CAN WE TALK?" The Frost Giant yells back to us, and I look at Tyler.

"So want to talk with them, or no?" I ask. "If we ask nicely, they might let us talk to their King."

Especially since we were able to kill the Frost Giants! From what Tyler told me, that's not something he knows of anyone having ever done, and our Titles prove that it's tough!

Plus, we can both cast another Rising Flames or Rising Frost, so if we got closer, we could probably wipe them out. Me, first, to wound them and open their bodies up, then Tyler, his frost penetrating their bodies through the wounds and freezing them despite their resiliency.

"You are fucking crazy!" Tyler laughs, then looks at the Frost Giants. "WE WANT TO TALK WITH YOUR KING!"

"Oh, by the way," I hit him on the arm. "I took Thief III for my third Class."