“Lady Lire! What is the meaning of this? Did these mongrels capture you—”

  “Prepare yourself, Gannicus. My patience has run thin.”

  The Gargoyle, which looked as if it could lift a truck up and down multiple times, stepped back. Its hand lifted in surrender.

  “Lady Lire, I don’t know what these thralls have done to you—”

  “Thrall!” Lire snapped. The Succubus seemed genuinely angry with the monster. “How do you, who were born and displayed… forget it. I will rip you apart and confront—”

  “Leave that creature to us,” Paxwell said, cutting off the tense exchange.

  “Old man? What are you talking about? Just let them fight it out!” Ilyrin hissed the last part to the old man.

  Rue inclined his head. It was obvious. In fact, the very next thing the Gargoyle said…

  “Old Human! I commend your bravery. For that, I will take three of you at once.” Gannicus the Gargoyle declared.

  “This is too risky,” Lire clutched her whip and shook her head before turning on Paxwell.

  Paxwell, who was still meditating, motioned for Lire to his ear level.

  The Succubus knelt. In a low voice, Paxwell said, “If you truly want to help us, then go out there and see what you can do. It will be far more useful than you being here stuck with us.”

  The damp air of the prison brushed through Rue’s cheek. At the very least, the old man was actually making sense; this was not some foolish plan he had thought of earlier.

  “Go, we will be fine,” Rue told Lire. The moment those words left his mouth, he hesitated. But, compared to earlier, there was just much more they could do. For example, if they were losing, then they could just gang up on this Gargoyle.

  Rule can be damned.

  Lire’s gaze switched between Rue and Paxwell before she finally nodded and stood.

  “Gannicus is a brute; his wings could not support his body for long. So use that. His Authority is claws. His core is Apex just under Arch—core, so please be watchful of his magic.”

  [Gargoyle Warrior—Level 25]

  “Wait, are we really doing this?” Emily’s eyes widened in fear.

  Lire walked toward the Gargoyle. Gannicus laid his scaly hand upon his chest and bowed deeply, letting Lire pass. The Succubus threw one last glance at them and gave a nod before disappearing below.

  “All right, Paxwell, what is the plan?” Rue asked.

  “We fight to the best of our ability. I shall be one of the three.”

  Rue blinked, not expecting that answer. He glanced at the Gargoyle, who crossed his arms and huffed. It looked like this: Gannicus was allowing them time to talk.

  “Three only!” The Gargoyle snapped, making it clear.

  “I’m going then? With the old man and you?” Ilyrin shivered.

  The air around them was a bit warm thanks to the after-ember of the firespitter, which still danced across the damp, dark prison’s hallway, but that did not stop her stuttering.

  The Gargoyle’s wings flapped, sending a draft of air to blow Rue’s hair, an intimidation act.

  “My name is Rue,” Rue said. “And no, I’m not going. I'm going to wait for my Obsidian armor and then jump him.”

  “What? You want to cheat?” Yom half-shouted.

  “Why the hell should we play fair? Look at its level.”

  “Wait, wait, then it's better that long ranger like Ilyrin, and I not join in, right?” Emily asked sheepishly. When everyone's gaze went to her, she quickly stood with her back against the cell. “I’m not trying to run, just saying the obvious. So we could do a surprise attack.”

  “Hold on a second. This is stupid. Agi and I only level one and three.” This time, Yom did not bother to hide his frustration.

  “No, not necessarily,” Agi smiled.

  “Let's not listen to him,” Yom said, but Agi still cut him off.

  “Both you and I are summoners! And we already invested Creation point to our summon,” Agi faced the Gargoyle, then shouted. “Creature! I assume summoners will be allowed to use their summons?”

  “That goes without saying, one should be proud of their own strength and use it to maximum potential!” the Gargoyle said.

  “A wise plan, buy time with the summons, and three of you strike when time is right,” Paxwell murmured. The old man rose. His sword slithered through the air as he unnecessarily dragged its steel across the brick wall.

  Why would he do that?

  “I will fight you, Gargoyle.”

  “And I,” Agi stood beside Paxwell.

  Rue, Emily, and Ilyrin looked expectantly at Yom, who in turn gazed down on unconscious Gilbert and sighed. “Fine, let's do it.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Before the three of them walked to their duel, Paxwell put his hand on Rue's shoulder and said, “Meditation helps to feel the new magical power inside us. These resources called Mana. We, who spend most of our lives unmoving, can tap into our sense of self much faster. So use it.”

  “We do?”

  “Yes, I had a spell that allowed me to practice my swordsmanship further in absolute darkness.”

  Further?

  “But that requires me to expend Mana. I think you could fix that armor of yours faster. So try not to be distracted by our fight.”

  Rue nodded, appreciating the new information. “That’s great to know.”

  Paxwell strode forward, standing between Agi and Yom.

  “Good luck.”

  As soon as he finished speaking, the battle started—the Gargoyle wasted no time; it flapped its wings.

  In a sudden rush of wind, it blitzed straight at Paxwell. The old man was able to get his sword up and clashed with the Gargoyle’s claw. Ripples of wind blasted through the room as the Gargoyle hovered up, above Rue, and turned mid-air to face the three again.

  Rue crouched with Ilyrin and Emily, who shielded Gilbert's sleeping body.

  He quickly glanced at the entrance; no imps were there waiting. His hand fumbled sideways, took a Mana Vial, and stuffed two into his pocket—time to do these meditations.

  Wolves and earth golems formed around the two summoners; the latter caused a deep rumbling beneath, which did not matter for the Gargoyle. Gannicus growled and dove forward, claws flaring, cleaving through one golem and swiftly dodging a golem’s punch that almost smashed it.

  Five wolves and three golems had been summoned. By the stance of both summoners, they would summon more. Furthermore, Paxwell, the guard, clashed his sword with the long, thin claws of Gannicus.

  They would last for quite some time. Although it was clear that Gannicus would eventually overpower everyone, he kept killing those golems and wolves with a swipe of his claw.

  “Inside!” Rue commanded the two young women. They snapped into action and dragged Gilbert in. “Get your magic ready, I will charge soon.”

  Rue quickly took to Lire’s bed and began meditating, copying Paxwell’s form.

  The moment Rue closed his eyes, cold went through his chest. Breathing along brought a ghastly chill to spread across his entire being.

  Inside his body, a raging cold went unchecked. Messing around with a pattern that should be controlled. Rue reached the pattern; it was like forcing an unruly rope to tighten. He pulled with both hands, straightening it, and at once the cold settled. His body was no warmer, but Rue could tell he was capable of directing this power.

  Ah, this was one of his skills.

  [Heart of Frost Knight] [Uncommon]—Frost Knight power often requires Frost property to use; hence, the capability to generate it inside the Frost Knight's body is a great boon. Generate frost within Frost Knight's body and start adapting to a new influx of frost inside. Enable smoother mana transition into any Frost-based Magic, saving more mana and strengthening the Frost property.

  Rue read it over again. If his theory was right, his body was currently still getting used to the Frost property generated inside him. One part jumped on him immediately. Could he smooth the mana transition to Frost magic? Could he pour his Mana into his armor? To fasten its recovery?

  He needed to try.

  Rue reached for his Mana, which was this rope he held. With his entire being in nothingness, he stumbled around for his armor. He saw it, still in complete darkness. It was mostly fixed, but the middle part still cracked.

  He poured in mana. The rope had grown weaker in his hand, but Rue did not care.

  Keep going.

  Potion he could drink later. For now, Paxwell, Yom, and Agi were fighting for their lives.

  After coming to this world, despite everything, Rue knew he had been blessed. And this blessing he would only be able to keep if he obeyed the new world's rule. And that was to get stronger.

  Sleek dark ice encased Rue’s skin.

  They smothered everything, including his emotions.

  Opening his eyes, he reached for a Mana vial and drank one. This armor, or skin, whatever it was, earned a startled look from both Emily and Ilyrin. Then Ilyrin grinned, a confident glint shone in her eyes.

  “Let’s do this,” she said.

  Rue gave a nod, unable to speak.

  Leaving the cell, he was in luck. Gannicus the Gargoyle was too busy shearing apart the wolves and golems for it to notice him.

  Ilyrin then whispered, “Wait for mine and Emily's attack, then you charge in close combat.”

  Rue preferred to throw his Frost Blast and for the two of them to use their respective attack, but doing so would put the others on friend-fire. So, he summoned his sword. A dark obsidian ice sword manifested out of thin air, and cold vapor breathed out from its steel.

  “Now!” Ilyrin shouted.

  An Arrow whizzed forward, and with it, brambles of vine split in two like a V. Rue ran with it, dragging his sword behind as he tried to hide the vapor of cold.

  The arrow was off target and would have hit Yom, who was hiding behind his golem. Then it suddenly veered toward the Gargoyle. The monster sliced through a golem's head, shattering it with fast swipes.

  It must have noticed something.

  Gannicus turned and was hit by the arrow, which slammed straight into its chest. The Gargoyle roared—vines shot up from the floor and tied around Gannicus's hand, lifting the Gargoyle, then slamming it back down.

  Dust rose from the Gargoyle’s fallen form.

  Paxwell and Rue did not miss their chances.

  Gannicus screamed, “Coward!”

  Paxwell upon him, but Gannicus was able to get one arm up and slashed at the old man. However, the swordsman switched into defence in time and stopped his charge. The old man held his sword in a crescent and clashed against the Gargoyle’s claw. The grating of steel rebounded. Gannicus was about to lunge at Paxwell, but by then, Rue had already cleaved his sword down.

  The Monster must have had a second sense, because it suddenly flapped its wing at Rue. The edges of its wing turned into small, bony claws.

  It hardened.

  But Rue did not care. His sword hacked down and sheared through one of Gannicus’s arms.

  Dark frost crept into Gannicus’ stump. The Gargoyle then slammed his wings into Rue, who raised his left hand in time. Still, the force sent him rolling, almost crashing into Paxwell and Yom.

  “Help! Enter! They betray!” the Gargoyle screamed, stumbling with blood still spraying down.

  Rue whipped his head at the entrance. Figures of red muscular imps entered. The laborers were here.

  “Coward!” Agi declared.

  Rue tried to look where he was—it turned out Agi had turned into a bat, flying atop them. “My Wolves! Go! To the entrance!”

  The Direwolves did not need a second order. They ran to counter the emerging Laborer.

  “Yom, lad, you and your golem are going there too. Don’t let any in. The rest will kill that creature,” Paxwell said, tapping at Yom’s shoulder.

  “Got it,” Yom said, sighing in relief. “Leave it to me.” He eagerly stood and ran toward the exit.

  “One of its wings cannot be used to fly again, it seems,” Paxwell remarked, observing Gannicus.

  Rue did too. One of Gannicus’ wings, the one whose edge did not turn into small bones, attempted to flap, but the Gargoyle couldn’t seem to gather enough strength.

  “This is how you respond to a fair duel!” Gannicus demanded, turning, anger carried his voice like a blast. “Did honour mean nothing?”

  “Its dying; don’t play its games,” Paxwell said to Rue.

  Rue stood beside the old man, readying his weapon, and they walked forward to end the Gargoyle with Emily and Ilyrin to support them from long-range.

  Amidst this, Rue was excited for the level-up he would gain once he killed this monster.

  -Power Information-

  [Participant:

  Rue Hazard—16 [ArchMage-Knight] [Authority of Frost]

  Paxwell Hazard—11 [ArchSword-Fighter] [Authority of Swordmaster]

  Ilyrin Hazard—8 [ArchWitch-Druid] [Authority of Vine]

  Agi Hazard—1 [ArchDruid-Summoner] [Authority of Beastwill]

  Yom Hazard—3 [ArchMage-Summoner] [Authority of Earth]

  Emily Hazard—6 [ArchRogue-Archer] [Authority of Truestrike]

  Gilbert Hazard—3 [ArchPaladin-Beastmaster] [Authority of Light]