Magus: A Supernatural LitRPG Saga (Apocosmos Book 2) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (ebook offline reader txt) 📗

reach. Despite the storm around us, I could see the precipice when I looked up. If we were lucky, that would be where the flower would be blooming and we'd be able to return quickly. Hopefully, the way down would be easier.

"Is that black snow?" I muttered to myself, as I stared up absentmindedly.

"Spread!" Rory shouted. "Someone's throwing boulders at us."

8

Aesis lilim

I shifted my weight, holding on to Louie's legs, and jumped to the side, hoping the snow wasn't covering the edge of a small cliff. Thankfully, I hit hard ground and looked to my left where a boulder the size of Rory had just landed where I'd been standing. Whoever was up there didn't want us to get any further up the mountain. But that was exactly what we were going to do.

"Run!" I shouted and with their actions, everyone agreed with me. "Leo, you and Louie cast your wind spells to open the way."

"No," Leo said as we ran. "Louie has a better viewpoint. He should do it. I'll keep my mana in case someone needs healing."

"Dammit, elf!" Rory yelled. "If a boulder hits one of us, there won't be anything left to heal."

Regardless of their disagreement, they both dashed forward, following the openings Louie had since created with his spells. The next couple of stones that were hurled at us were no larger than my head, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have proved lethal if we were hit by them.

Usually, the damage someone could cause by throwing something would be connected with the person's Physical Attack stat, but once gravity got involved those numbers meant nothing. Physics hurt in the Apocosmos just as much as it did in the Cosmos.

"There!" I shouted and pointed toward an alcove.

The recess was barely large enough to fit all of us, even with Louie between my feet. We pressed our backs against the wall and waited for the falling stones to stop.

"What kind of creature could do this?" I asked Rory. "It seems to be able to see through the snowstorm, and can hurl such huge rocks."

"A fucking ice giant," Rory said, before spitting on the thick snow in front of us. "Them fuckers are smarter than other giants. They take their prey out from a distance."

"Oh, fucking great. Ice giants," I sighed. "What's next? A blue-eyed white dragon?"

Yet again Leo ignored my reference. He brought his shield forward. "It's only one of them. Ice giants are very solitary."

"Correct," Rory agreed looking surprised that Leo knew that fact. "We need to move fast, but we can't all avoid the attacks. I can handle me own with me hammer."

"Then Louie will open the way for you, and I'll cover us as we follow," Leo added.

"How are you going to cover us?" Louie asked, as another large boulder landed only a few feet in front of us.

"With this," he said and scooped up snow with his shield. "The giant will have trouble seeing us if we're moving under my snow-covered shield. But we need to be close together and synchronized."

"Got it," I said. "Louie, open the way."

Louie barked and cast the wind-based spell, opening a corridor wide enough for Rory to run through.

"Here goes, lads," Rory said. He threw a white cape over his shoulders and burst forward.

For a moment, all we could see was his red hair in stark contrast with the snowstorm and the only sound around us was that of the raging wind, pushing snowflakes and ice toward us. But then Rory swung his hammer up with a primal scream. It looked like he was going to throw it into the air but the moment his swing reached its peak, a rock crushed onto it.

The dwarf stood his ground, though the sheer force of the impact pushed him deeper into the snow. The rock, on the other hand, exploded into pebbles when it met with Rory's powerful blow, a sign that he'd used a skill to further enhance his damage.

"Now," said Leo, in a strangely calm voice.

He held the snow-covered shield over us with both hands. I put my left arm around his waist while holding Louie with my right, and we walked together out of the alcove. We tried to move as quickly as possible without letting any of our limbs show beneath the shield. And it all worked well until we inevitably caught up to Rory, who had now reached the end of the path opened by Louie and was struggling to move forward.

"Help me out here, boy!" Rory shouted as he smashed another large rock that had been thrown at him.

Louie cast his spell again but this time the tunnel through the storm opened into a lush green crevice. At first, I thought it was some kind of illusion cast by our enemy above, but the closer we got, the clearer it became this was no trick. With each step toward it, the temperature rose and the snowstorm eased down.

Until it was quiet and warm again. Our aggressor was nowhere to be seen and the weather was as pleasant as the first days of summer. The icicles on our hair, beards, and clothes began to melt, leaving us with what must have been the most miserable of soggy-cat looks. The path ended a few feet in front of us, opening up to a large level area that overlooked the rest of the mountain.

"Is this the top of the finger?" Louie asked.

"It seems so," I replied as I looked down the cliff at the snowstorm that was raging below us. "Where's the giant, though?"

"Don't matter," Rory bellowed. "We can't fight him, can we?"

"He's right," Louie agreed. "Let's find the flower and get out of here as fast as possible."

The sudden temperature change had made my limbs ache as if pierced by a thousand needles. My hands were blue and my cheeks were burning, all signs that my body wasn't ready for the cold again so soon.

"Shouldn't we at least try to find somewhere to rest?" I