In the dungeon to the north of the forest is a vast frozen landscape with dunes of snow and spires of… living ice?. It looks exactly like ice, but it's actually a huge... something, it's almost like a fungus.

Living Ice (Grand), Level 3 Heat Eater (Minor), Level 23 Ice Bond.

It doesn't say that it is a fungus, but it is certainly similar to one, maybe very distantly related… or maybe it was never related to fungi at all, magic plants can be incredibly weird sometimes. Like most plants, it's very weak and low level, probably getting its kills through passive heat consumption; the danger here will likely be environmental, as much as active.

Thinking about it, these Living Ice are probably the reason for the cold climate in the area: while each individually isn’t producing a lot of ice mana, there are of them, all actively reducing the temperature, so the combined effect is far greater than their levels would indicate.

I have my clone walk up to one of the spires and cut a chunk out with my Pack Fang Dagger. The flesh is meaty, like a mushroom, and I store it for testing. If it's not poisonous – like almost everything else in the Dungeon is – then we may have another potential source of food.

I move on, noting a distinct lack of life other than the Living Ice. For almost an hour, I fly across this white desert, an eerily silent and still place, until I come across a tall stone tower reaching high into the sky. Living Ice crawls up its sides like vines climbing a building. Atop it is a large floating diamond, perfectly cut and saturated with what I think – although I’ve never seen it before – is winter essence. Snow falls constantly around it and a serene humming can be heard from the diamond, calling out into the otherwise silent landscape.

Inside are winter fairies, flitting around with tiny snowflakes falling off their buzzing wings.

Snow Fairy (Grand), Level 524 Snowgrace Dancer (Major), level 566 Snow Bond.

Checking quickly, their bonds are mostly winter, ice, snow and beauty, with a rare few having other things.

I enter the bottom of the tower where a Dungeon Waystone is and attune the key to it, then proceed to the next room, where many fairies are dancing and giggling and a large group is occupied with a game of tag. They all stop and look at me curiously as I enter, showing no signs of hostility and instead slowly wandering closer, like they've never seen a Runalymo before.

Curious as to what they'll do, I summon one of my fairy imitations and then, observing these real examples, I add glittering dust that falls from its wings in addition to a few other minor changes.

Ting! Your Bond skill, Fairy Soldier, has evolved into Fairy Avatar!

The fairies all jump back before realizing what I have done. They all get close to my fairy, making small chittering sounds, before twirling and making excited noises. One of them touches my fairy before running away.

{Play with them} I order my fairy, who runs off to play tag.

These monsters don't seem hostile, so I continue onto the next room. This group seems to recognize me, and they gesture for their own new friend to play with.

How do they know what happened in the other room? I ask myself. I didn't see any spell being used, so it must be some sort of skill that allows them to communicate with each other. I summon a friend for these ones too and continue up the tower, giving out 'friends' like Santa Claus.

At the top of the tower, under the giant diamond, is a large fairy, almost two meters tall, with beautiful butterfly-like wings on her back. She has long pointed ears and hair as long as she is tall, flowing down behind her. A crown of ice adorns her head, and a dress of snowflakes covers her body.

Snowfairy Mother (Exalted), Level 1223 Snow Queen (Heroic), Level 1098 Everwinter Blizzard (Heroic), Level 857 Royal Gracedancer (Heroic), Level 1685 Snow Bond.

Behind the Snowfairy Mother is a statue much like one I've seen before, but for a different entity.

Likeness of Varath (Legendary) (Ancient):

Made by Kayafe in dedication to the god of war, Varath, as a symbol of one of the three aspects of society.

"Welcome, friend," the Snowfairy Mother says. "I am Queen Sylanna, the ruler of the snowlands."

I curtsy respectfully. "Pleased to meet you; I am Alysara."

"I have met your kind before, but they hunted us down. That was thousands of years ago, though, and I wonder if your people have changed. You look different: larger ears, longer tail…more tails… and more beautiful, certainly. You also seem to be well in tune with beauty, but to what degree I cannot say, your clone does not give me such insight."

Well, she knows I have a clone.

"I am sorry for what my ancestors have done," I say with a lowered head. How anyone could hunt these friendly, beautiful things is beyond me, although I really shouldn’t be shocked, I suppose.

”There’s no need for that: I will not judge you for the actions of your ancestors, only for what you do in the future.” Queen Sylanna’s voice carries the serene beauty of winter, but with a freezing undertone making it perfectly clear what form her judgment may take if we repeat the mistakes of the past.

"I will inform my people that you are friendly and perhaps, in time, our peoples can become friends, and the ugliness of the past can be overshadowed by the beauty of the future," I channel a little of my diplomatic role.

“Be yourself, friend, there is no need for pretense here,” Queen Sylanna giggles, her serene presence flipping on a dime to a sudden, almost childish, whimsy, “unless you want to play!”

"I can play a game or two,” When in Rome… “what do you want to do?"

"Let's race! I saw you coming with those gorgeous wings of yours; let's see who can fly the fastest!" Queen Sylanna grins excitedly, a rather strange expression on a being as tall and graceful as her. All of a sudden, the fairies in the tower start moving upward, emerging from the top of the tower and flying around us like a whirlwind, laughing and giggling.

"We fly around the tower. On three! One. Two... Three!" Sylanna yells, and we take off.

I push my wings as hard as I can, but Sylanna easily keeps up, giggling musically before zooming ahead.

"I win!" she declares when I return to the tower.

I give her a smile. Somehow I have made a new friend.

"I can tell you're not like most who enter this world," Queen Sylanna says. "You seek beauty and peace; it will be sad to see you go, even if you aren't actually here." There is a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I can always come back," I say. "I need to study that statue anyway."

"That old thing? But it's full of war and strength essence. Kind of ugly if you ask me."

I can't help but chuckle at that.

"If you don't want it, then can I take it?" I ask.

Queen Sylanna pauses for a few moments before answering, a mischievous smile on her face.

"No. If you take it, then you have no reason to come back."

I give her a warm but amused smile and continue playing games with her. Meanwhile, I have another clone scouting the west: a vast grassland with grass standing over three and sometimes four meters tall.

I see many burrows, and rodent-like monsters scurrying about, cat-like creatures with exceedingly tall bunny-like ears that appear to be wrapped in light mana: probably some sort of invisibility. Preying on the local wildlife are antlered snakes that flash bolts of lightning at the small rodents. Scurrying ferret-like beasts with long sickle-like claws run back to their dens, where large families of around thirty hide.

Cloaked Loopradin (Adept), Level 232, Grassland Jumper (Minor), Level 98 Grass Bond.

Lightning Grass Snake (Adept), Level 264 Flash Striker (Adept), Level 133 Nature Bond.

Meracin Scout (Adept), Level 199 Grass Reaper (Adept), Level 126 Earth bond.

The grasslands seem to be rather low-tier, and I wonder if the Dens here are the same or if they are stronger. Environmentally, this place may prove a challenge, with the tall grass and small monsters that can utilize their home environment to harass people, although it is less immediately dangerous than the freezing cold of the snowlands.

I continue to look around the endless grasslands, eventually finding a cave with light crystals growing in it. A Dungeon Waystone stands to the side of the cave mouth, indicating that this is an intended Den. The ground is uneven and the ceiling is low, making fighting in it difficult; some parts are even so low that it will force people to crawl to the other side.

Large centipede-like monsters skitter around with their numerous legs, long antennae waving around with balls of light mana shining from the ends, likely a lure with which to attract prey. Three sets of mandibles, stacked vertically, tear the meat off a recent kill.

Dark Hunter Skitterer (Major), Level 343 Nocturnal Lure (Adept), Level 159 Light Bond.

I look around the skitterer den, taking notes of what I find and writing them down on the map I am drawing.

In the middle of the grasslands, I find an overgrown, abandoned city made from stone Grass sprouts from between the stones of what looks like a road, growing tall and obscuring the Runalymo-sized praying mantis. These praying mantis have an additional set of arms tipped with four long talons, spiked carapace, and some are flying between rooftops with their beetle-like wings.

Grasscythe Predator Mantis (Major), Level 612 Urban stalker (Major), Level 455 Grass Bond.

The ‘Grass City’, as I label it on my map, has many treasure chests within the houses. In the city center is a massive nest with dozens of large fleshy eggs, near which a building-sized mantis leisurely takes a sip from a grand fountain.

Grasscythe Mantis Matriarch (Heroic), Level 789 Broodqueen (Grand), Level 636 Grass Archmage (Grand), Level 602 Grass Bond.

After looking around the Grass City, I continue on through the grasslands, finding an enormous nest like that of a colony of weaver birds... if the birds were the size of people, and built their nest on and slightly into the ground rather than in a tree. The grass nearby looks to be shorter, but, considering that the nest is built from the grass, that is to be expected. The overall size of the nest is almost equivalent to the Grass City. Next to the nest, hidden in the grass, is the Dungeon Waystone.

Inside the oversized nest I find many large rooms where the birds can easily fly. Taking a look at the birds themselves reveals that their Bonds heavily favor the eight elements, although without an apparent bias towards any over the others, and their feathers are conveniently color-coded to match their Bonds. Essence Bonds are much rarer; not entirely absent, but it seems only the bosses – and only a few of them – have essence Bonds.

The monsters have long, sleek feathers and parade in courtship rituals: I could hear them – which I can’t, because only my perception entered the nest, not my clone – I would probably hear their singing chirps. They are quite beautiful, although that’s undermined somewhat by their long whiplike tails with a barbed stinger on the end, and sharp talons like knives on their feet.

Siren Jewel Bird (Major), Level 534 Charm Caller (Major), Level 351 Dark Bond.

Windstorm Jewel Bird (Grand), Level 703 Windblade Singer (Grand), Level 587 Wind Bond.

I send my clone to fetch the Waystone Key to attune it to the Dens of the grasslands. There's probably more to find in the snowlands, but for now I've done enough exploring. Maybe one day, when they’re old enough for their parents to not murder me for it, I'll walk Lotis and Kyhana through some of the easier Dens and help them level up.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Lotis and Kyhana sit at a table with a beautiful golden book in front of them. Sounds of cooking and sizzling Domr emanate from the kitchen as her Momara cooks dinner, the air filled with sweet caramelized butter as it is seared into the butter-marinated Domr meat.

The book has some weird split circle on it, with black lettering standing out from the golden cover: Sense Mana: Skill Guide. Alysara says it's still incomplete, but has said that it should be enough for now.

Lotis opens the book to the first page; it lists the table of contents, showing what page each chapter starts on. She flips the page to the introduction, which outlines how to obtain [Sense Mana] as well as gives an overview of how sensing skills work in general. She has already obtained the skill but, reading through it again; she realizes that some things were skipped over, like how other sensing skills work on the same fundamental 'feeling out' method.

By reading the introduction, Lotis gains one knowledge level in her base skill, but she has already gained three from one of Alysara's lessons. She turns to the first chapter after finishing the introduction and starts reading on the first breakthrough. Kyhana sits close so she can read it too. The chapter talks about mana pressure and how it 'acts like air' to form currents, like how air has wind. The more Lotis reads, the more she is fascinated by the amount of information written and frustrated by the parts she doesn't understand.

She doesn't understand several things and will have to ask about them tomorrow morning, but she has already gained two knowledge levels by reading half the chapter! Her reading session is interrupted when her Momara sets dinner down at the table.

"You can continue reading once you are done eating," Momara Yla says. "You don't want to get your teacher's book dirty."

"Yes, Momara," Lotis says, obediently closing the book and setting it aside.

Her plate is served with a butter-marinated and seared Domr claw, one of the more delicious parts of the Domr. The shell has been removed, already letting her cut into the soft meat. A bowl of melted cheese sits next to her plate for her to dip the meat into while sliced Fuchy fruit and roasted nuts decorate the plate as a side dish.

After dinner, Lotis and Kyhana go back to reading the skill guide, learning as much as they can until it is time to go to the Lojyo, at which point Kyhana meets up with her parents so they know that she is well while Lotis waits for her so they can play some games together.