8th of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd imperial era

Newt's jaw dropped as Dandelion swished past him and the two Everfrost Order mageknights.

"You can do it," the immature sagely man mouthed, smiling and winking like a mischievous imp, before disappearing in a sudden burst of speed. His head was turned towards Newt, the message and the thumbs-up for him alone, since the women couldn't see it.

Newt's mouth cracked open a bit more, but before he could process what had happened, a giant snake followed a hundred yards behind the former townlord, slithering so fast it kicked up shards of frozen dust. The creature was five feet thick, its pair of ten-foot-long stinger-tentacles poised to strike while the cloud of ice following in its wake made it seem infinitely long. Newt didn't know why, but to him, for some inexplicable reason, the featureless, alien worm seemed infuriated to the brink of insanity.

'Get back here, tail-burner!' the creature hissed, thundering straight for them when it noticed Newt, hissing, 'Flamespawn!'

The trio dispersed, Newt jumping to the monster's left, the girls to its right, but the frostworm still lunged towards Newt, unstoppable like a raging trihorn.

It opened its complex maw and spewed a cloud of ice. The ensuing hailstorm much weaker and its spread narrower than that of the more evolved specimen. Still, the finger-sized chips of ice spelled death for the unprepared or weaker awakened.

Newt was none of those. The chill burned upon contact with Magmin Scales, the shrunken ice shards exploded into flakes after hitting Granite Crust. Shrouded by a cloud of steam, Newt soared out of the frostworm's way just as the beast was about to slam into him.

Much like its bigger cousin, the frostworm crashed into the rock with a boom, shattering ice, but unlike the fourth realm saurian, it failed to damage the reinforced rock. Newt landed on the dazed beast's back, and following Dandelion's explanation, thrust his sword between the frozen plates at what he guessed was the frostworm's head or upper neck.

He was about to unleash Magmin Flames, but the frostworm reared and lashed out with its twin stingers. Newt cursed under his breath and allowed himself to be thrown off. With a burst of scalding air, he did a backflip and steadied his body before landing on his feet ten yards from the frostworm.

The air screamed, and a tail thicker than a tree appeared from the icy mist. Newt tried to jump out of the way, but the thick appendage slammed into his flank, catapulting him across the cave.

He smashed into the wall face first with all the elegance of a sack. The unexpected attack and the sudden collision with the cavern's ice-crusted wall made his world spin.

'Death!' the serpent hissed, and Newt turned around to see the four-segmented maw open, lined with countless rows of needle-sharp stakes. He stared at death, failing to comprehend what was happening, when a volley of spear-like icicles stabbed into the exposed softer flesh of the snake's mouth.

The maw closed with a hiss, and the worm crashed into Newt, ramming him into the wall. Luckily for Newt, he projected Granite Crust an inch from his skin. The rock-hard formation bent, deforming and digging into Newt's skin.

Panicked, Newt conjured another layer, just against his skin, but to his dismay, the outer shell disappeared into motes of earthen mana. Magmin scales still hung beyond his skin, failing to protect Newt from the bone-chilling frost now inside the barrier.

He dropped the pointless barrier, only to discover it was far from pointless. The world of ice assailed his body from every direction, biting and cutting without mercy, snapping him out of his daze. Before he could gasp, he activated Salamandra's Skin, the third realm version, and flames burst around him, drowning the frostworm's head in fire.

Ice and fire fought for a moment, then Newt's runes of Empower, Eruption, and Explosions showed their worth. The thick sheet of ice protecting the frostworm's carapace burst, and the monster reared once more, freeing Newt just as its stingers were about to reach him.

Gasping for air and smelling roast, Newt covered himself in Magmin Scales, dispelling the paralyzing chill. He sent a blast of heat beneath his feet, jumping a dozen times in a row until he opened enough distance from the brush with death he had just suffered.

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The ladies of Everfrost Order rushed to his rescue. The cold, indifferent creatures from the previous hours suddenly became fairies of ice and slaughter. Puresnow's frigid sword struck the super-heated shell. The sudden changes from freezing to boiling and back to freezing shattered the carapace like glass, and the pale-blue blade slashed deep into the monster's flesh.

The frostworm let out a shrill hiss, its water-aligned mana rumbling like a storm through its body, forming a wall of ice to protect the exposed flesh. Puresnow ignored the effort, her glacial sword severing ice like mist, the element parting before a tool designed to slash frost-subtype enemies.

Suddenly, the frostworm spasmed, thrashing blindly with its tail and rolling on the massive cavern's frozen floor. Puresnow and Everlast slid away from it, watching the monster's death throes without emotion.

After confirming that the frostworm really was dying, Everlast skated around it and reached Newt.

"Are you all right?" Her face was frosty, but she still graced Newt a smile. "I was afraid the frostworm would flatten you when it smashed into you."

Yeah. You and me both.

"I'm alright." Newt smiled back, dropping Granite Crust, but keeping Magmin Scales for warmth, the few moments of intense cold still clinging to his skin and bones. "Thank you for saving me."

His face was pale, his smile nervous, and Everlast couldn't help feeling sorry for the child.

"Maybe you shouldn't be here. You're not ready yet." She wanted to say more, but Dandelion appeared out of nowhere.

"He has to be here precisely because he is not ready and should not be here. He needs proper training." The man's grin was insufferable and infuriated Newt while Everlast nodded hesitantly, but still spoke her mind.

"The frostworm could have crushed him."

"That is what I said. He needs proper training." Dandelion said, his grin unswayed by the prospect of Newt's horrible demise. "That frostworm should be unable to crush a properly trained mageknight of equal realm."

"What did you do to anger it so much?" Newt asked to confirm his suspicions. He was going for a curious voice, but the words unfortunately came out as an embarrassing squeak.

"I wonder." Dandelion shrugged the very image of innocence. "When I found that frostworm, it was slowly burrowing into the tunnel wall, struggling with a section of tougher rock. To grab its attention, I lobbed a ball of fire into the tunnel. Then I kept repeating it until the worm got out."

Newt frowned, confirming his guess. He could somehow understand the frostworms' hisses.

Is that because Magmin lives inside my realm or is there another reason?

Aloud, he pretended he didn't know what had happened. "You roasted its butt until it came out of the hole?"

"You said that, not me." Dandelion smiled. "Frostworms seem to have real issues crawling backwards from what I could tell. I hazard that they rarely have to do it."

Newt was speechless, but the mental image startled a laugh out of Everlast. The woman covered her mouth while Puresnow stared at her in shock.

"Did you arrange all this for the sake of his training?" Everlast asked, pretending nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Well, you saw how bad he was. He stabbed the thing in the head, then needed a whole second to remember he should order his flames to burst into the wound and cook the thing." Dandelion spoke as if Newt wasn't there, and the youth's face turned red as he listened to the conversation.

"And when the frostworm hit him, he just stared at those teeth, waiting to be devoured—"

"Wait!" Newt screamed again, his face turning into a tomato. "You were watching the whole time!"

Dandelion nodded, suddenly serious. "Luring a monster here, dumping it on you, and just running away is irresponsible, and since I am the leader of this group, my job is to make sure we all get out of here alive, preferably in one piece, without wasting my healing potions."

Dandelion drew a breath after rapidly delivering the leader speech.

"Anyway, your skills with the sword are lacking. I could teach you, but you would owe me a favor, of course."

Newt was about to ask what favor Dandelion wanted, but Everlast spoke first.

"How skilled are you with the long-sword?" Newt and Dandelion snapped their heads toward her.

For some reason, Newt's heart jumped with joy whenever someone or something wiped the stupid grin off Dandelion's face. The mature man recovered almost instantly, overwriting shock with a serious face as he scanned Everlast from head to toe, but that moment of surprise was precious to Newt.

"I would say I am good enough to show you some tricks, if you are interested. If you find my effort worthwhile, you may reward me however you see fit."

"I would like that." Everlast's face bloomed with a smile, and Newt wondered what had changed. Apparently, he was not the only one. Puresnow glared death at the former townlord.

"You're just a hedge third realm wanderer! What could you possibly teach Sister Everlast?"

Without warning, the woman pounced at Dandelion. She raised her sword and held it in both hands as she slashed downwards to cleave him in half.

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