Infinite Classes in the Apocalypse

Chapter 71: Black Ice Banshee

Before the monster could reach them, Damon sent four shards of black ice straight at it, but the moment they were supposed to strike true, they simply passed through the half-translucent body of the banshee-like creature.

CLANG!

The monster’s claws clashed against Damon’s Jian sword for just a second later. The creature didn’t leave a second to waste, retaliating with a swing of its other claw.

’My ice bullets passed through, but my sword can block it?’

Damon’s thoughts spiralled as he blocked another of the monster’s attacks.

He’d had this strange feeling since he arrived here at the black mountain. It felt eerily familiar, like a half-remembered dream clawing at the edges of his consciousness. Now, seeing his black ice simply pass through the black banshee while his physical blade connected, he was on the verge of understanding why.

BANG!

Nyla’s hammer smashed loudly against the side of the banshee, sending it crashing against the rocky wall on their left. The creature’s form rippled like disturbed water where the weapon struck.

A loud shriek escaped the monster’s maw, but before it could scramble back up, Damon’s Jian was already midair.

[You have slain a Level 45 Black Ice Banshee]

[New Monster Index bonus: +15 Dexterity, +12 Stamina]

[You have reached Level 48. You have received 1 Stat Point.]

The other members of the team frowned as they weren’t able to get a hit in, while Nyla smiled joyfully, forgetting about the biting cold for a moment.

"Two level ups!" she exclaimed, making the frustration of the others even deeper.

Damon raised a brow at the notification. ’Already a level 45 monster...’

The dungeon was closer to evolving than he thought.

’We need to wrap this up quickly.’

***

The more they ascended the black mountain, the worse the wind became.

What had already been a strong wind transformed into a violent gale, its roars cutting through the entire mountain with each second. Large chunks of black snow obscured their vision, making it almost impossible to see the jagged lines leading toward the rift core.

Luckily, Damon had already memorised their direction, keeping it in the back of his mind as they climbed the ever-narrowing mountain passage.

Suddenly, a loud thunder-like rumble cut through the air above, freezing each of them midstep.

Damon’s head snapped upward, but instead of a thunderstorm, he saw something else entirely.

Damon’s head snapped upward, and his eyes widened at the sight above.

Instead of a thunderstorm, he saw something else entirely. It looked almost as if the entire peak of the mountain began to fall and was heading straight at them.

"Avalanche!" Elias’ voice cut through the air, followed by a command from Damon.

"Run!"

The group didn’t need to be told twice, as each of them ran after Damon, who was ahead of them, scanning the mountain path ahead for any shelter.

His eyes darted all around them, scanning their surroundings through the thick pellets of snow while the rumble coming from above grew louder with each second.

’There!’ he finally saw something.

A small crevice in the mountain wall.

His head snapped back to his group, still a few paces behind, then back to the avalanche above.

’They won’t make it-!’ he realised, then raised both his arms upwards.

Black ice erupted from his palms, taking the shape of a massive slope.

BANG!

Damon gritted his teeth as the avalanche struck it, his mana draining at an extreme rate to keep the avalanche away.

"Here!" he screamed as his group finally arrived, diving into the small crevice on the side of the wall.

Then, just as the last person, Amber, found her way in, he let go of his black ice ability and threw himself inside the crevice.

The remaining wall of black ice shattered immedietally and the avalanche struck the narrow passage they were on.

The sound was horrifying, if they hadn’t found the opening in time, they would’ve been done for.

For a little while, Damon didn’t see anything. The black ice filled everything around them, blocking out all light. He could hear loud gasps and ragged breathing all around, the loud pounding of hearts that narrowly avoided death.

Then, he felt something else. A faint warmth which felt entirely foreign in this frozen hell.

As the snow inside the crevice scattered, he finally saw where it came from.

Nyla lay just beneath him. When he threw himself inside, he hadn’t even realised the girl was there before he landed just above her. Her head lay on the cold ground, with his arms on either side of it. Her cheeks were flushed red despite the biting cold, but what caught Damon off guard was not the girl’s face but her legs.

Her legs were locked around his back in a position which was rather... unexpected.

"Do you mind...?" Damon began, and Nyla quickly realised what he meant and let go of him, turning her gaze away.

Damon moved back slightly, giving the girl space to sit up before he looked around the cavern.

The rest of the group was right beside him, their breaths ragged, small cuts around their arms most probably from throwing themselves inside the crevice, but other than that, everyone was alright.

"Should we get back out there?" Elias suddenly asked.

Damon lingered for a moment, taking a look at the mountain passage, which was mostly covered by thick snow.

But it wasn’t exactly the snow that made him doubtful, it was the strong wind. Even if they get back out there and push through that snow, who’s to say that another avalanche just like this one won’t happen? And what’s worse, what if they can’t find a place to hide?

After a moment of thought, Damon answered.

"No. We will rest here until the weather conditions get better."

Everyone seemed to let out a faint sigh of relief, except Nyla, who had her hands pressed against her face and sat unusually quietly.

The first few moments passed rather peacefully, at least compared to the chaos outside the crevice, but then the atmosphere around them suddenly changed. As if the air, or perhaps the gravity, grew stronger.

But unlike his group, which stared at one another wide-eyed, Damon knew immediately what was happening.

"The rift... it’s evolving."