As all the Floaters swarmed at me, fighting the entire group was too much to handle, even for my cheat-like damage. I ignored their awful stench and focused solely on my defense. Floater on the left stroked at my left side, and other two surged from behind to surround me.

The shield was supposed to protect me as I pushed to the left, but that left open my other side.

Awfully sharp pain paralyzed my shield hand even though I ingested liters of the wine. One fast dash moved me to the safe side, but I stumbled upon a downed floater, which resulted in my heroic fall.

“Fire Cleanse!” Istvan’s voice cut through the cries of monsters and howling of the storm. His flames burned fiercely, and after a few seconds of raging, it left only an ash. Famous sight of my past life flashed in my mind - the siege of the Sky City, Istvan was the commander of our little group; one of the best mage NPCs in the imperial army, loyal to the Duke.

Ominous sounds of cracking of the white shield, which was still hugging the ship, made the combatants casting nervous glances at the enemy.

The tentacles pounded on it without stopping, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over me. I scrambled to my feet and climbed up to the deck; all Duke’s retainers greeted me standing in their classic formation - Warriors with Paladins in front, Mages and Priests at the back with thiefs guarding them and Duke in the middle.

The younger Duke already had a scar on his right face, but my heart paused when I had to look up to see his face. I used to think about him as a small person, and I wasn’t that tall.

Istvan was still as old as ever, and he watched me with his signature stern look. It was only the glint of his eyes that gave him away in the dark and stormy night, his black robe and staff hiding him from view. “Hero! Fall in the line, to the backline!” he commanded with a serious voice.

Oh yes, the standard Imperial formation, although flawed. He helped to develop it - male close combatants to the front, female squishes to the back. If you were a male Archer, or a female Paladin, like Lucy, you were out of luck. She used to complain about it during our talks endlessly, while sitting in her favorite window. I wonder how is she now? I need to contact her soon.

“Hero! Move!” he ordered again.

“I can’t, commander Istvan, sir! I need to fight with them at close range and let them damage my shield. My skill-”

He grasped the edge of my robe and hauled me to his side. “You will do as I say, or you won’t fight at all. Insubordination in time of crisis is not tolerable, even for the Hero.”

“Sir, please! In order for me to be effective-” I wanted to run to the frontline, but he clasped me with unexpected strength for a mage. Wait, priest’s strength is even more pitiful.

“No! You will stay back and heal the soldiers. Your comrades are risking their neck to save yours.” After casting one quick rune for a sound spell that amplified his voice, he said, “Attention for all! I need to lower the shield for the floaters, prepare for the battle!”

The shield cracked, just as Istvan moved his staff and created a beautiful line of runes in the air. I gazed at him with cloudy eyes; he drew all the ten complicated runes like he was on an afternoon stroll. Then he turned the shield more transparent and let the Floaters in, but it still held the tentacles out.

“Soldiers, hear me, you must hold them before we finish the [Spear of Destiny],” he said and rummaged in his inventory. What?! This early?

When he found a plain-looking spear, he placed it on deck and motioned the other mages to chant. One by one, they drew runes in front of them, and the spear hungerly sucked all the mana in.

“The Elite Floaters!” one warrior shouted and intercepted an attack. Horde of monsters rushed at us from all sides. These were bigger and uglier than the regular ones and wielded crude bronze weapons. I ignored his orders and blocked one attack of the elite, to keep my [Ice Blood] going, but the force of impact was so strong I staggered back and crashed to a Paladin.

“Hero! Last warning!” Istvan saw my reckless charge, even though he was busy with the spell. Terrific. I stepped back and swung the whip between two Warriors and the poor [Elite Floater] lost his right arm with a beautiful supersonic bang.

My new comrades near were smiling and subconsciously guarded area near me, because of the slow effect of the Ice Dance.

Even the non-agile warriors could dodge the enemy's attacks thanks to the hindrance caused by the Ice Dance. In another four minutes, I held my breath and tried my luck just as a warrior in front of me stumbled. In three big strides, I jumped in front of him and the Floater scratched at my shield. Success!

“That is the last straw!” Istvan hit me on my head with his black staff and dragged to the center where they were chanting. “You won’t join the fight! You are only a civilian helping during the crisis, but you are hindering our efforts. I will not tolerate any insubordination. Stay here and don’t move or face execution.”

Fine. As I sulked on the ground beside him, a big idea invaded to my head. One giant, stupid idea. It had only one catch - Istvan would kill me for it. Whatever.

The counter of Ice Blood expired, and my exceptional damage vanished; I could only blame him. Istvan ignored my angry glares and chanted the runes. The spear changed color to a pure gold and hundreds of runes, engraved by the magic of mages, enveloped it. I held this weapon only once in my previous life, but that immense power intoxicated me.

That was the purpose.

As the mages stood in a circle around the spear, they etched more and more runes onto its surface, causing a violent surge of mana to escape. The experience bags, in form elite monsters, were at arm's reach, but I didn’t want to anger Istvan; not yet, that is.

Naturally, the constant battle raged, and the tentacles hadn't stopped attacking the shield. Amid it all, I took out ten cauldrons and prepared another potion on this shaky ship. It wasn’t easy, but what else I could do? Stare at them?

When the spear’s hum intensified to a point where it almost hurt my ears, Istvan spoke in a low but strong voice.

“Spear of Destiny.”

As he uttered his words, the spear came to life, pulsating with a golden light so intense that it seemed to touch the heavens. The heavens responded, and a gold light stroked the spear like a lightning. My time had come, so I drank the potion and snatched the spear as soon as the light from heavens dispersed.

“No! You can’t-” Istvan’s desperate plea couldn’t reach my ears, because the golden light coming from the spear enveloped me completely and cut out the world. For a moment I saw the familiar Ice realm where I got my Hero powers. The sound of God's laughter echoed in my ears, and I felt an overwhelming sense of energy washing over me, like instantly drinking an entire bottle of whiskey.

I looked around the frozen plain, noticing the silence that was only broken by the sound of my footsteps crunching in the snow as I wielded the spear. This time, though, I walked both here and on the ship at the same time. The realm of God and the realm of the mortal world seemed to be one.

After I blinked, the raging storm and the fierce battle on the ship's deck were back. I blinked again, and the calm realm of God appeared once again.

“Is this a heroic moment? May I use the talent, oh mighty God?”

“You want to use your powers to kill this poor creature? This is not worthy of a hero. The magic that the spear contains is enough. I grant you part of the powers,” the voice laughed and my connection to a God’s realm closed.

The strength in my body exploded, and I had a problem to hold all the mana inside the spear; same feeling as in last life. But unlike the last time I had experience in working with mana, so almost nothing escaped. The violent power concentrated and formed a gentle golden light around me while I checked my stats with a grin on my face.

Drawing the runes for Ice Dance was easier, thanks to the spear. The mana flew and guided my hand; with that power dwelling inside me now, it was like a child’s play. The golden light turned into a blue frozen bubble and expanded a few hundred feet to all sides. It froze the sea; it formed a frost on the creatures and slowed them to a crawl.

“We will talk about this. Kill that monstrosity,” Duke said in an amused voice.