Chapter 179 Ice Flames (1/2)
Group and Guild Chat has been disabled.
Personal Messaging has been disabled.
All Gating and summoning skills have been disabled.
All personal skills and artifacts have been disabled.
Your binding point has been temporarily changed to your current location.
Nix found himself floating in the air, the temperature around him was beyond cold. He read the system messages that scrolled in front of him. ”That sounds really bad.”
Slowly he looked around, he was surrounded on all sides by Nefi's Ice Flame. ”I'm trapped inside some sort of cube. It's hard to think clearly with these injuries.”
He glanced down at his badly damaged body. ”Guess there's no choice.” He found himself able to move with just his will. Bracing against the pain, he moved toward the walls of the Ice Flame prison. A searing cold caused his body to blister, the cube echoed with the sound screaming.
You have died.
No death penalty is allowed.
No equipment damage is allowed.
A moment later Nix respawned in the center of the Cube, still in salamander form but his body was uninjured. ”That's a good start.”
*********************
Semmi looked upward, a large portion of the Ice Cavern ceiling had been blown away. The sudden change in the structure caused delayed collapses in many of the passageways. ”How are we doing?”
Tully pulled out another of his crewmates from their ice prison. ”That's eleven Semmi. There should be nine more.”
The mood had turned somber a few minutes earlier when Pon had joined them and reported the death of Captain Yor. The passageway that the Fire Mage used to find them collapsed shortly after his arrival.
/Alpha Team: Fajii: Nix's info is grayed out and his status says unavailable.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: Let's stay on mission. Recover the crew of the Moon Goddess, then find a way out of these tunnels.
Eron healed the sailors as they were uncovered, the black fox seemingly unaffected by the missing Guild Leader. He stood quietly on Fajii's shoulder, his soothing voice reassuring everyone. ”This is Nix we are talking about. He is worthy.”
Pon nodded in agreement. ”How about me? Am I worthy?”
Eron looked away from the old mage. ”No.”
Wind laughed at the look on Pon's face and continued digging through the ice. ”How about me?”
”No.”
Semmi smiled sweetly at the black fox, her own companion was part of his race.
Eron glanced at her before she could ask. ”Not worthy.”
The blond officer didn't let his words bother her, Eron was the primary reason they were able to pinpoint the sailors buried deep in the ice. She continued to chip away at the ice. ”I feel like this Worthy and not Worthy scale is biased. How about you give us a fair benchmark so we know when we are getting close.”
Eron stared at her for a moment, his black tail swishing from side to side. ”Single-handedly fight off a dragon that's fifty levels higher than you and I will admit you are worthy.”
”.....” Pon.
”.....” Wind.
”.....” Semmi.
*************************
Nix's laughter echoed within the cube. It was not a laugh full of mirth or joy, but one born of anger and crazed will. He looked down at his salamander body, both of his arms were burned off by the frigid Ice Flames.
He rammed it again, using his head and shoulder. An agonizing scream marked his passing.
You have died.
The Salamander respawned at the center of the cube and sighed in frustration. How many times had he died? Fifty? Or even a hundred?
”Maybe I should take a break. Or wait for help.” Nix stared at his Ice Flame prison. ”Prey waits.”
He slammed into the walls again, this time not backing away he put all his strength into moving forward. One arm crystallized and shattered with the effort. He roared in anger, desperately trying to push his way through.
You have died.
[Your Resistance to Ice Flame has improved to 1]
********************
/Fire: Nunzo: Captain?
Vooni and her recruits continued to watch the Ice Flame Cube. It had been more than three hours, no one had spoken in nearly half that time.
/Fire: Vooni: Nunzo, take the team back.
/Fire: Omak: We don't want to leave either Captain. You said it yourself, it's an infinity curse. Pon's just a 50 level Salamander.
”I know... perhaps in a bit, I will leave. I can't bring myself to go back at the moment.” Vooni's voice was thick with emotion, ”he didn't have a single reason to help us. Pon the Magnificent beat me fair and square.”
Aja moved beside her trainer and took a seat on the frozen ground. ”I don't mind waiting a bit longer. There's no time limit on thi...” Her voice trailed off, a portion of the cube seemed to be bulging outward.
The smallest bulge formed on the side of the cube, A moment later, emerald fingers pushed through the Ice Flame wall. An accompanying roar of anger resulted in the appearance of two hands gripping the flames and tearing them apart. The air vibrated with power as the wall warped out of shape.
/Fire: Vooni: SHIELDS UP!
An instant later the prison cube ruptured sending the power of a dragon death curse outward in all directions. The wave swept up the Archons and tossed them into the air like leaves. A small jagged crater was blasted into the ground where the cube had been, slowly a weary Emerald Salamander climbed up the side.
The fire team returned quickly on silver flamed wings. A myriad of different emotions crossed their faces when they spotted the Emerald Salamander, bathed in an aura of Ice Flames, Pon the Magnificent collapsed on his stomach with a loud groan.
[Awakened: Ice Flame]
[You have slain a Legendary Creature]
[Beast Slayer Title has been Updated: 4/6]
[You have been given the title of Dragon Slayer]
[Your Skills have been restored]
[Group, Guild and personal messaging have been restored]
[Your hidden class has been upgraded]
[New Guild Quest Options are available]
Guild Quest: Lift the Curse
Guild Quest: The Forgotten Race
Guild Quest: The Moon Goddess
Nix let the flames drop and he lay there panting on the ground. A moment later he felt himself picked up and hugged tightly. He resisted the urge to lick Captain Vooni's face when she pressed against him. ”We here on a bonus mission? Can I have points for this?”
Vooni stroked his head a few times before sitting him down gently, she didn't trust herself to speak coherently so she just nodded.
Aja knelt and patted his head. ”You awakened another flame?”
The Flame Knight stared at him, Nunzo's usually stoic face showed surprise. ”You broke an Infinity Curse.”
/Fire: Nix: Sure... Took a while though.
A half-hour later, Vooni and her group reluctantly left. Nix had told them that he had a personal mission deep in the caverns and that outside help would result in his failure. He waited until they were out sight before he dropped his Salamander form.
He walked slowly toward the corpse of Nefi.
[Do you wish to skin the Ice Dragon?]
Nix considered the question for a moment. ”Yes.”
[1 Large Ice Dragon Skin has been added to your inventory]
He breathed a sigh of relief and looted her corpse. ”I'm just glad it was a dragon and not human skin.”
You have received [Proof of Death]
You have received Ice Fang
You have received the Ice Dragon Robe.
You have received the Ice Crown.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: You okay there boss?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Sure, the dragon used some sort of binding spell on me when she died. It took me a while to break it.
/Alpha Team: Pon: She's dead?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Yep. Where you guys at?
Nix pulled out the item he removed from Yor's corpse during his fight with Nefi, it had changed with her death.