SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling-Chapter 70: Into the Ice

The gate stood in the center of the valley like a wound in reality, a vertical tear in space that shimmered with blue and white energy, frost had spread from its base in a perfect circle, covering everything within a hundred feet in crystalline ice that looked like frozen lightning captured in the ground.

Luthra, Khorvash, and Misha stood at the perimeter, studying the entrance, the temperature difference was noticeable even from this distance, creating a visible boundary where warm air met the supernatural cold.

"It’s beautiful," Misha said, her breath already fogging despite the distance, "in a terrifying, unnatural sort of way."

"It’s a hole in the world that spits out monsters," Khorvash countered, smoke curling from her nostrils as her dragon nature reacted to the cold, "nothing beautiful about it."

Luthra stepped forward, feeling the temperature drop with each step closer to the gate, his breath coming out in visible clouds that dispersed slowly in the still air. "Lilith, any readings?"

[The gate is stable, B-3 classification confirmed, internal environment reads as frozen tundra with crystalline formations, estimated monster density is high but manageable, mana saturation is excellent for conversion purposes, I’m detecting ambient energy levels that exceed typical B-Rank parameters.]

"How long do we have before the Association or a guild tries to claim it?"

Misha checked her communication crystal, the device glowing faintly in her palm. "Maybe two days, three if we’re lucky, B-Rank gates are valuable enough that someone will come to harvest it soon, there’s probably already a claim being filed right now."

"Then we don’t waste time, in and out, six hours for the ritual plus travel time to find the right location, we should be done in twelve hours total if everything goes according to plan."

Khorvash cracked her knuckles, small flames dancing between her fingers in preparation. "Finally, some action, I’ve been bored just sitting around the settlement playing security guard, watching people mine rocks and build houses."

"Try not to enjoy yourself too much, we’re here for a specific purpose, not a hunting expedition."

They stepped through the gate together, Luthra leading with Khorvash and Misha flanking him on either side.

The transition was instant and disorienting, one moment they were standing in a rocky valley under a clear sky with the sun warming their backs, the next they were in a frozen wasteland where the sky was a swirling mass of blue and white energy, like an aurora permanently frozen in motion, the light it cast was ethereal, making everything look slightly unreal.

The ground beneath their feet was solid ice, perfectly smooth and reflecting the strange sky above like a dark mirror, in the distance, massive crystalline formations rose like twisted trees, each one pulsing with internal light that created shifting shadows across the frozen landscape.

"Temperature is negative fifteen degrees," Misha reported, her staff already glowing as she activated warming charms, her breath fogging heavily, "my warming charm is handling it but we’ll need to be careful about prolonged exposure, frostbite can set in fast at these temperatures even for hunters."

Luthra scanned the area, his eyes adjusting to the strange light, everything had a blue tint to it, making it difficult to judge distances accurately, there were no monsters visible yet, but he could feel the mana in the air, thick and almost tangible, like breathing in liquid cold that settled in his lungs with each breath.

[Beginning environmental scan, the mana density here is extraordinary, much higher than typical B-Rank gates, this will be perfect for the conversion, the energy signature is pure ice and stone type, no corruption detected.]

"Which way to the middle zone?"

Misha pointed toward the largest cluster of crystal formations, a forest of frozen spires that reached toward the sky like grasping fingers. "Gate geography usually follows a logic, the deeper into the structure, the stronger the monsters and the higher the mana concentration, we need to head for the center, follow the largest formations."

They started walking, their footsteps echoing on the ice in an eerie way that made it sound like they were being followed by invisible companions, the sound bounced off the crystal formations creating strange acoustic effects, Luthra kept his hand on the chain wrapped around his arm, ready to deploy it at a moment’s notice.

The silence was oppressive, broken only by their footsteps and breathing, no wind, no ambient sounds, just the occasional creaking of ice as the formations shifted microscopically.

The first monsters appeared after about ten minutes of walking.

They emerged from behind one of the crystalline trees with surprising stealth, three creatures that looked like wolves made entirely of ice, their bodies were transparent, showing the frozen organs and bones inside like anatomical models carved from crystal, their eyes glowed with pale blue light that left trails in the air when they moved.

[Ice Stalkers, C-Rank monsters, pack hunters with moderate intelligence and coordination abilities, weakness to fire and blunt force trauma, caution advised as they typically hunt in larger groups.]

"I’ve got this," Khorvash said, stepping forward with confidence, flames erupting along her arms as her dragon nature asserted itself, the fire creating steam where it met the frozen air.

The ice wolves charged without hesitation, moving across the frozen ground with perfect traction like they were born to it, their claws leaving deep gouges in the ice that glowed briefly with displaced energy.

Khorvash met them head-on, her fist connecting with the lead wolf’s head and shattering it instantly, superheated dragon fire met frozen construct and the result was a small explosion of steam and ice fragments that sparkled as they fell.

The other two wolves split up immediately, showing tactical intelligence as they tried to flank her from both sides, but she was faster, her tail whipped around with incredible speed and caught one mid-leap, the impact sending it flying into a crystal formation where it shattered on impact with a sound like breaking glass.

The third wolf tried to go for her throat in a desperate lunge, but Luthra’s chain caught it mid-air, the weighted metal wrapping around its frozen body and pulling it to the ground where Khorvash finished it with a stomp that cracked it into dozens of pieces.

"Too easy," she said, flames still dancing along her scales, painting the ice around her in warm orange light.

"Don’t jinx it," Misha warned, her staff glowing as she maintained detection spells that pulsed outward in waves, "there are more coming, lots more, my scans are picking up movement in all directions."

She was right, Luthra could see movement in the distance now, shapes emerging from behind the crystal formations like ghosts materializing from fog, dozens of them, all converging on their position drawn by the scent of fresh kills or the heat from Khorvash’s flames.

"We need to move, standing and fighting will just attract more and we’ll get swarmed, we push toward the center and only engage what we can’t avoid."

They ran, boots slipping slightly on the smooth ice until they found their rhythm, Khorvash taking point and smashing through any ice stalkers that got too close, her fists and tail creating a path of shattered crystal, Misha threw up quick barriers to slow the pursuing pack, walls of sovereign space that forced the monsters to navigate around or waste time breaking through, and Luthra used his chain to trip and tangle monsters that tried to flank them from the sides.

The crystalline forest grew denser as they pushed deeper, the formations becoming larger and more complex, twisted structures that looked almost organic in their growth patterns, some of them had monsters frozen inside, preserved specimens from whatever ecosystem existed in this frozen hell, wolves and stranger things locked in ice for eternity.

[You’re entering the middle zone, environmental hazards increasing significantly, be aware of unstable ice formations and crystalline growth that can impale, the monsters here will be stronger and more aggressive.]

A massive crack sounded above them, loud as thunder in the still air, and Luthra looked up to see one of the crystal formations breaking apart, structural failure sending giant shards of razor-sharp ice falling toward them like spears thrown by an angry god.

"Move!"

They scattered in different directions, the ice shards impacting where they’d been standing with enough force to embed themselves several feet into the ground, creating a field of deadly spikes, one of them caught Misha’s warming barrier and shattered it with a sound like breaking bells, causing her to stumble as the full cold of the environment hit her like a physical blow.

Luthra grabbed her arm and pulled her behind cover as more shards fell around them. "Can you fix the barrier?"

"Give me thirty seconds," she was already chanting, her staff glowing brighter as she reconstructed the warming charm, her teeth chattering from the sudden temperature drop.

Khorvash held off the approaching ice stalkers, her flames creating a perimeter that the frozen creatures were hesitant to cross, heat and cold warring in the space between them, but more were coming from other angles, and these ones looked bigger, more dangerous, evolved variants with thicker ice armor.

[Warning, B-Rank variant detected, Ice Alpha approaching from the northeast, threat level significant, recommend evasion over engagement.]

The Alpha was twice the size of the regular stalkers, its body more solid, less transparent, muscles of compressed ice visible beneath its crystalline hide, and its eyes burned with intelligent blue fire instead of just glowing, it padded toward them with the confidence of an apex predator that had never lost a fight.

"That’s the one we need to avoid," Luthra said, assessing it quickly, "it’ll be too tough to kill quickly and fighting it will waste time and resources we can’t spare."

"Then what’s the plan?"

Misha’s barrier snapped back into place, warmth returning to her immediately as blood flow normalized. "I can create a wall of sovereign space, it’ll block the Alpha for maybe two minutes, but then we need to be gone, the energy cost is substantial."

"Do it."

She slammed her staff into the ice and shouted a word in a language Luthra didn’t recognize, something ancient and harsh that made the air vibrate, the space between them and the Alpha solidified, becoming a visible wall of distorted space that shimmered like heat haze and refracted light into rainbow patterns.

The Alpha hit it at full speed and bounced off, its momentum completely arrested, it looked confused and angry, clawing at the barrier with massive paws, each strike creating ripples that spread across the wall like water but not breaking through.

"Go, now!"

They sprinted deeper into the crystal forest, leaving the Alpha and the pack behind, the sound of frustrated howling echoing through the frozen landscape, mixing with the creaking of ice and the distant sound of more crystal formations breaking under their own weight.

After several minutes of running, their lungs burning from the cold air, they emerged into a clearing, at its center was a massive crystalline formation that pulsed with so much internal light it was almost blinding, the mana emanating from it was intense enough that Luthra could feel it pressing against his skin like physical pressure, making his teeth ache.

[This is perfect, the mana density here is ideal for conversion, and the crystal formation will provide natural cover and act as an amplifier for the process.]

"This is it," Luthra said, breathing hard, "this is where we do the ritual."

Misha immediately began setting up defensive formations, creating barriers at key choke points around the clearing, using the natural crystal formations as anchors for her sovereign space walls, Khorvash scouted the perimeter, checking for immediate threats and memorizing the terrain.

Luthra walked to the center, to the base of the massive crystal that hummed with power, and sat down cross-legged, his back against the cold surface that somehow felt warm with concentrated energy.

"How long until you start?" Khorvash asked, returning from her patrol.

"Once Misha finishes the barriers, I’ll begin immediately, the longer we wait, the more monsters will find us, we’re a beacon right now with all this mana."

Misha worked quickly and efficiently, her staff tracing patterns in the air that left glowing lines of force hanging in space like burning wire, she created three layers of barriers, an outer perimeter to slow attackers and give warning, a middle zone where she could manipulate the rules of physics to make movement difficult with increased gravity and friction, and an inner sanctum around Luthra that would require serious force to penetrate.

"Done, the barriers will hold for about four hours before I need to reinforce them with fresh mana, you said six hours total for the ritual?"

"That’s the estimate, could be longer if there are complications with merging the cores."

"Great, love complications in hostile environments surrounded by monsters that want to eat us."

Luthra closed his eyes and focused inward, feeling for the two cores inside him like finding your heartbeat in the dark, one was the comfortable darkness of his negative energy, cold and infinite like the void itself, the other was the bright chaotic light of the stolen positive power, warm and aggressive and fundamentally wrong for his nature, they orbited each other like hostile stars, never touching but always on the edge of collision.

’Lilith, I’m ready.’

[Beginning conversion sequence, this will be painful, you need to maintain focus for the entire duration or the cores will destabilize catastrophically and tear your soul apart.]

’No pressure.’

[Exactly, now, reach for both cores simultaneously, you’re going to force them together against their natural repulsion.]

He did, and the pain was immediate and absolute, it felt like someone had poured acid directly into his soul and then set it on fire, the two energies screamed as they touched, warring against each other with enough force that he felt his physical body convulse involuntarily.

Outside, Khorvash noticed him seize up, his body going rigid. "He’s started."

"Then we hold, no matter what comes, for six hours we keep everything away from him."

And things were coming, drawn by the massive release of conflicting energies like sharks to blood, monsters emerged from the frozen forest in waves, ice stalkers, crystalline constructs that looked like walking statues, and things that defied easy description.

The battle for the clearing had begun.