Crack! Kaboom!

Lightning flared, and a deafening thunderclap erupted nearby! A Green Goblin Spider was thrown into the air in a flurry of spindly legs, trailing acrid smoke as it rolled back down the slope. It flopped onto the ground, twitching, as arcs of electricity continued to crackle across its body.

It was a dire warning for the Aquamancer not to go any further than this.

After his initial discussion with Violet Orchid, Qin Ruo felt that he mostly understood the dangers involved. An unnaturally deadly lightning storm, and thick stormclouds which might be concealing unseen, flying, lightning-elemental monsters. Flying was not an option, but he had to move quickly when he crested the hill!

From his observations of the catastrophe that had befallen his Green Goblin Spider from the Soul Stone, Qin Ruo had learned two things, one good and one bad:

The bad news was that he and Violet Orchid had guessed correctly, in that mounting the summit of any hill would definitely attract a lightning strike.

However, the data he’d received from the Green Goblin Spider’s sacrifice revealed something unexpected: Powerful though the lightning may be, its destructive potential wasn’t absolute—just over four hundred Magical Damage—less than either he or Violet Orchid had anticipated. This was a ray of hope for him.

The real headache was the monsters that stood in the way. That the lightning-elemental flyers overhead had yet to reveal themselves at all only made them all the more terrifying.

“What the hell! This is insane,” Qin Ruo muttered under his breath. “If everyone has to face a trial like this, I’ll be impressed to see fifty people make it through by the end.”

Little did he know that his private monologue had caused an entire group of observers to exchange looks with each other. The almighty overseer even commanded for this line to be edited out of the recording later. After all, with his face obscured by his hood, no one would notice he’d spoken—perhaps even Qin Ruo himself might not remember it.

***

All this while, Qin Ruo had kept Poochie safely hidden away, but now he summoned his Pet onto his shoulder. As though sensing its master’s unease, Poochie squeaked encouragement into Qin Ruo’s ear. Then it looked around with bright eyes, as though standing sentinel for him.

Now that he had Poochie with him, Qin Ruo hesitated no longer. With a wave of his hands, he produced three hexagonal diamond blades, as intricate as the finest jewelry.

“Let’s go!” And then he raced towards the summit!

***

“What’s that spell?” The people in the research facility were only just recovering from the implication of Qin Ruo’s earlier words. Now they stared in bewilderment at the icy diamonds which hung before him, like oversized Divinity crystals.

Even the overseer lifted his eyebrows, eager to see what the Winter Demon, widely regarded to be firmly among the top ten players in H&G, could do in the face of a 97% mortality rate and a 99% difficulty rating.

How long could he hold out, and how good a show could he provide them?

The scientists watched the skies above the peak, where lightning was already converging in the clouds directly overhead. In that moment, they were perhaps even more focused on the game than an actual player might be.

***

Thirty meters… twenty meters… fifteen… twelve…

Qin Ruo gave it his all, pushing himself to the limit as he sprinted towards the summit. With resolute eyes he gazed up at the stormclouds above, already churning in their depths. The three Fatal Frost Crystals rotated around him, ready to intercept.

Suddenly, a familiar white light flashed past the clouds!

Dazzling light illuminated the lone figure racing up the hillside, a bleak portrait of desperation. The instant he set foot upon the peak, a stout column of lightning crashed down onto him, impossible to defend against.

Struck by lightning!

Darkfrost Shield: Lost 176 Guard!

Frost Barrier: 17 Guard, lost 17 HP!

Meticulous feedback details filtered through Qin Ruo’s mind.

Despite having made every preparation for it, there was nevertheless no way for him to stave off the lightning. Even as Qin Ruo was informed of the damage his Shield had suffered, his footsteps never dared to slow. Dashing past the narrow peak, he immediately plunged downhill, a wry smile adorning his face.

Now that was a lightning strike!

If every Electromancer could attack like that, the rest of the classes would be completely at their mercy.

As this thought crossed through his mind, a never-before sense of foreboding and danger pressed down from above, so that Qin Ruo could feel every hair on his body standing on end!

Here they come!

The guardians of this storm-wracked land, the killers hidden within thunderclouds!

Qin Ruo hurtled down the hillside, glancing back over his shoulder at the sky as he fled, cursing inwardly at the sly cunning of the game. They had remained hidden during his ascent, so that they could take him from behind on his way down, for maximum excitement.

Now that he was finally seeing them, Qin Ruo’s heart sank.

A flock of giant golden birds, filling the sky. At first glance, they appeared similar to Gryphons, but looking closer, one could see that they had the faces of people! Even more terrifying was the way every feather was needle-sharp and neatly arranged, like rows of javelins, sparks dancing along their length.

As they dove in perfect unison, they looked like a fleet of golden fighter jets—no, battleships from outer space!

Oh no, they were too fast!

The lightning-elemental flyers were swift beyond belief. Qin Ruo had barely turned his head to spot them, and they were already within fifty meters of him. With an oath, he slung all three of the Fatal Frost Crystals at them.

These flying monsters were obviously both Physical and Magical attackers! If they managed to tie him down, he would be coming out of this with a few blank spots in his wardrobe.

There was no such thing as an Elementalist who could survive a fight against a group of high-tier Melee-type monsters.

***

Within the research facility which housed High Wisdom:

The overseer and company were all somewhat disappointed by the Winter Demon’s performance so far.

In a critical moment like this, all he’d done was throw out some multi-attack spells. If he had used Compressed Frost Bullets, with their powerful Chilling effects and area-effect damage, it might have been possible for him to slow down or kill off enough of the Thunderbird flock to make it past a couple of hills.

Instead, he’d used a multi-attack spell. Even if he managed to take down three of the Thunderbirds, he’d still be torn apart by the rest, meeting a similar fate as Death Jesus had.

That wasn’t really what they’d been hoping to see.

“Eh!” As one, the crowd suddenly cried out in surprise and amazement.

As he was halfway down the slope, the ‘Winter Demon’ Qin Ruo turned back and did something that left everyone simply astounded.

***

The truth was that before he’d started on his charge towards the summit, Qin Ruo had worked together with Violet Orchid to figure everything out, including contingency plans for the unexpected.

And by some incredible stroke of good fortune, despite the extraordinary dangers inherent in this area, when he and Violet Orchid put their heads together, they’d managed to predict the upcoming hazards for the most part.

Although he hadn’t been able to do anything to prevent getting struck by the lightning, Qin Ruo hadn’t lost himself to panic afterwards.

Waiting for his moment, as he reached the halfway point down the hillside, he let fly with the Fatal Frost Crystals, then suddenly halted, turned around, and began casting a spell.

Meanwhile, an ear-splitting shriek erupted from his shoulder!

It was Poochie’s new Tier 5 skill: Shadow Howl!

Qin Ruo hadn’t been able to react in time to the lightning, since it struck at the speed of light. The Thunderbirds, however, were a different matter. No matter how fast they could fly, they weren’t too quick for Qin Ruo to handle. This time, his timing was perfect.

As Poochie’s sonic attack hit the first of the incoming Thunderbirds, they slowed down, so that the ones following behind nearly collided into them.

And that was the exact moment when the Fatal Frost Crystals reached the flock of flying monsters.

‘Shunk!’

The projectiles pierced deep into the bodies of the Thunderbirds.

“Burst!” Qin Ruo roared the command.

The Fatal Frost Crystals split open.

The sound of shattering glass rang through the research facility. Three bursts of scintillating light threw innumerable fine streaks of white in all directions, catching every single one of the Thunderbirds in the area.

What happened next was even more horrifying to watch!

Two dozen Thunderbirds, impaled upon the silken snow-white strands, seemed to freeze solid in mid-air, their bodies instantly covered with a visible layer of white frost.

It was as though they’d been caught in some phenomenally advanced sci-fi weapon.

The two dozen Thunderbirds, suddenly transformed into ice sculptures, dropped right out of the sky.

“That…” The overseer, like the rest of the spectators, was stunned speechless. “Which spell is that?”

Threads of ice as fine as silk, yet able to immediately release such an overwhelmingly powerful Chilling effect upon piercing their target… it was an unthinkable thing.

“Right now!” The momentary stupor didn’t hold the overseer for long, and he shouted commands at those around him, “Someone tell me how much damage the Thunderbirds have taken!”

“At the very least, just under four thousand damage! But nearly all of them have taken well over six thousand damage! Heaven help us! The Winter Demon’s Magical Attack rating has exceeded five-hundred and fifty! This is impossible! This kind of damage shouldn’t be possible with anything less than a Tier 6 single-target attack spell!”

As the numbers were reported at high speed, the other staff members continued to stare in dumbstruck awe.

“Chilled for five seconds!”

“How is this possible? He isn’t even using any attribute-boosting potions! And the Thunderbirds should have enhanced Magical Resistance while within the Field of Annihilation!”

“How in heaven’s name did he do that? What in the world was that spell?”

All eyes turned in disbelief to watch the screen again. The Field of Annihilation’s lightning dance of death had yet to even begin, and this man was already wiping the battlefield clean.