They climbed for two hours, their path winding through narrow passages between ice-covered rocks and treacherous slopes where one misstep could send them tumbling down the mountain. The temperature dropped with each meter of elevation gained, the cold biting through even their thick bear fur coverings.
Moon kept his senses sharp, scanning for threats while Selene navigated, using her experience to find the safest routes upward. They were scouting, moving carefully, avoiding anything that looked like it might house a predator.
BOOM!
A creature erupted from beneath the snow without warning, exploding upward in a spray of white powder. It was massive, easily four meters long, with a body like a scaled serpent covered in ice-blue armour plating. Six legs ending in razor-sharp claws dug into the rock face. Its head was all teeth and hunger, jaws wide enough to swallow a person whole.
[Frost Serpent]
[Level:12]
[Details: A non-venomous serpent that uses its stealth and overwhelming body strength to strangle its prey and feast on them.]
Moon's body reacted on instinct. "Left!" he shouted to Selene.
Selene dove left without question, trusting his call completely. They'd spent more than a week fighting together, learning each other's rhythms, developing coordination that only came from life-or-death combat.
Moon's right hand gathered fire while his left channelled water. The Frost Serpent lunged toward where Selene had been standing, its massive jaws snapping shut on empty air.
Moon released his fire attack.
The fireball that launched from his palm was enormous—as large as a car wheel, compressed and volatile, the result of his evolved Elemental Attack skill combined with his rare Four Element Affinity. The +200% damage boost made the attack devastating beyond anything a normal level ten awakener could produce.
BOOM!
The fireball struck the serpent's armoured head directly, exploding on impact with enough force to shake loose snow from the rocks above. Fire washed over the creature's ice-covered scales, steam erupting where flame met frost. The serpent shrieked, its head snapping back from the impact.
Selene was already moving, her staff glowing. Earth responded to her call, the mountainside itself seeming to shift as stone spikes erupted beneath the serpent's body, driving upward to pierce its vulnerable underbelly.
The creature thrashed, trying to retreat back into the snow, but Moon didn't give it the chance.
His hands moved in rapid succession. Another fireball, this one aimed at the serpent's midsection, where Selene's earth spikes had already weakened its armour. Then a lance of pressurised water, striking like a spear into the same wounded area.
The combination was brutal and efficient. Fire to deal massive damage, water to exploit the openings and earth to control positioning and create vulnerabilities.
Selene added her own attacks—more earth spikes, a blade of compressed wind that sliced across the serpent's flank, and another fireball that struck its tail.
The Frost Serpent had ambushed them, expecting easy prey. Instead, it found two abnormal awakeners: a mage that could control four elements and a grim reaper that would harvest its life five times over.
The battle lasted less than ten seconds.
Moon's final attack was another massive fireball, this one striking the serpent's head as it tried to retreat. The explosion shattered what remained of its ice armour, and the creature went limp, sliding down the mountainside before coming to rest against a rocky outcropping.
[You have killed a level 12 Frost Serpent.]
[You have gained 40 lives.]
[You have reached level 11.]
—
[ Name: Moon ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: Classless ]
[ Level: 11 ][ 2%]
[ Lives: 180 ]
[ Strength: 20 ] [ Agility: 22 ] [ Constitution: 25 ] [ Mana: 27 ]
[ Attribute Points: 5 ]
[ Skills: Elemental Attack(Uncommon,Lvl.Max), Four Element Affinity(Rare, Lvl.1)]
[ Talent: Grim Reaper ]
[ Class Skill: Class Slot {1/1} ]
–
Moon lowered his hands, breathing calmly. His evolved Elemental Attack, coupled with his own growing experience, made the spells more mana efficient.
Selene walked over to stand beside him, staring at the dead serpent with wide eyes. "That fireball...was really strong."
"I know," Moon said quietly. He'd already confessed to Selene days ago about his class, though he'd been strategic about what he revealed. He'd told her his class was similar to hers—an Elemental Mage variant that gave him command over three elements instead of four.
He'd chosen to claim water, fire, and earth. Water and fire for attack versatility. Earth for defence and battlefield control. He'd deliberately omitted wind, because claiming to have a four-element affinity identical to hers would have been too suspicious. The chances of two people having the exact same rare class in the same batch of awakeners were essentially none.
His true nature—the Classless anomaly that could mirror any class, the ability that let him learn skills permanently—remained his deepest secret. He trusted Selene more than anyone else in this cursed realm, but some truths were too dangerous to share unless absolutely forced.
He had already learnt not to trust people easily, after his girlfriend of two years left him at his weakest moment.
"Three elements are already incredibly rare," Selene had said when he'd told her. "I've never heard of anyone else with multi-element affinity besides full Elemental Mages like me."
Moon had simply nodded, letting her believe what made sense to her.
Now, watching the results of his evolved skill, Selene seemed to be reassessing just how powerful his variant class actually was.
"We make a good team," Moon said, deflecting from the implicit question in her gaze.
"Yeah. We do."
Selene smiled slightly, then looked up the mountain. "If we can handle a level twelve ambush that easily, maybe we actually have a chance at this temple."
"Maybe," Moon agreed, though privately he wondered what kind of horrors awaited them if a level twelve beast was just an appetiser.
They harvested what they could from the Frost Serpent, some of its intact scales, a portion of its meat, and continued their ascent.