[The Frozen Spire – Floor 5: The Reflection Chamber] [Time: 11:00 AM]
We stepped into the Sub-Boss room, and for a moment, I thought we were back outside.
The room was a perfect sphere of polished, mirrored ice. The floor reflected the ceiling, the walls reflected the floor. It was a kaleidoscope of confusion. Everywhere I looked, I saw a hundred versions of myself—tired, holding a hammer, looking like a grim janitor.
In the center of the room stood a statue.
It was a faceless humanoid made of diamond-hard glacial ice. It held a long, jagged sword that looked suspiciously like Seraphina's staff, but sharpened.
[Sub-Boss: The Mirror Knight] [Rank: A-] [Ability: Spell Reflection / Mimicry] [Note: Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself.]
"It's a Mimic Type," Seraphina hissed, stopping abruptly. "Don't cast any projectiles. It will bounce them right back at us with double the velocity."
"So we hit it?" I hefted my hammer.
"No. Look at the floor."
I looked down. The ice was perfectly smooth. Frictionless.
"It moves by skating," she explained. "It has zero traction issues. We, however, will be slipping like baby deer."
As if on cue, the Mirror Knight turned its faceless head toward us. It raised its sword.
ZIIING.
It didn't run; it glided. It accelerated from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat, crossing the arena instantly.
"Shield!" Seraphina shouted.
She slammed her staff down, summoning a wall of ice. The Knight smashed through it like it was glass, its momentum unchecked.
I dove to the right. Seraphina dove to the left.
The Knight drifted into a perfect u-turn, carving the ice, and zeroed in on Seraphina. It knew who the threat was. It ignored the Porter.
"Ash!" Seraphina yelled, scrambling to get her footing on the slick floor. "I can't lock it down! It's too fast!"
She fired a Frost Bolt. The Knight simply angled its shield, reflecting the bolt into the ceiling, where it exploded in a shower of snow.
The Knight lunged, the sword tip aiming for her heart.
[System: Combat analysis. Enemy velocity: 80 km/h. Friction coefficient of floor: 0.01. Recommended action: Change the variable.]
"Hey, Shiny!" I yelled.
I didn't run at the Knight. I ran at the spot in front of the Knight.
I activated my boots' grip, anchoring myself to the floor, and slammed my hand onto the ice.
[Active Skill: Friction Manipulation] [Target: Floor Surface (Sector 4)] [Setting: Maximum (Sandpaper)]
The Knight was gliding beautifully, expecting the ice to be slick.
It hit my patch.
Physics is a cruel mistress. When an object moving at 80 km/h on a frictionless surface suddenly hits a surface with the friction coefficient of concrete, momentum has to go somewhere.
SCREEEEEECH.
The sound was agonizing. The Knight's feet stopped instantly. Its upper body, however, kept going.
It face-planted with the force of a car crash. The impact was so violent that its ice-arm snapped off at the shoulder, sliding away across the room.
"Now!" I roared. "Hit it while it's grounded!"
Seraphina didn't waste the opening. She didn't use a projectile. She used an Area of Effect.
"Glacial Tomb!"
A massive block of ice materialized above the prone Knight and slammed down, pinning it to the floor.
The Knight struggled, its remaining arm flailing, trying to break free. It began to glow, gathering mana for an explosion.
"It's going to self-destruct!" Seraphina warned, backing away. "Get back!"
"No," I gritted my teeth. "It's vulnerable."
I engaged the thrusters on the [Gravity Hammer]. The back of the hammer head hissed as the gravity drive spun up.
[System: Gravitational Mass increased to 4,000 kg. Don't miss. You'll break your spine.]
I stepped onto the high-friction patch I had created, pivoted on my heel, and swung the hammer like a golf club.
"Fore!"
The hammer connected with the Knight's head.
CRACK-BOOM.
There was no resistance. The heavy mass of the hammer, combined with the momentum, shattered the Mirror Knight into a million glittering diamonds. The shockwave blew the snow back from the impact point, clearing a perfect circle in the room.
[System: Critical Hit. Target Eliminated. EXP Gained.] [Level Up! You are now Level 18.] [Strength +2, Agility +1, Intelligence +1.]
I dropped the hammer, panting. My arms felt like jelly. Swinging that thing at full weight was exhausting.
Seraphina walked over, her boots crunching on the diamond dust. She looked at the crater, then at me.
"You changed the floor," she said. "I felt the mana shift. You turned ice into sandpaper."
"Something like that," I wiped sweat from my forehead.
She looked at the shattered remains of the Knight. Something glittered in the pile of ice. She reached down and picked it up.
It was a key. A literal skeleton key made of blue crystal.
"The Key to the Upper Spire," she said, her voice filled with relief. "We're halfway there."
She turned to me, and for the first time, her guard dropped completely. She smiled. A real, genuine smile that reached her eyes.
"I couldn't have done this alone, Ash. I would have died on the first floor. You're... you're incredible."
My stomach twisted.
Kill her. The Chairman's voice echoed in my head.
She was trusting me. She was looking at me like a partner. Like a friend.
"I'm just doing my job," I said, looking away. I couldn't meet her eyes.
"Well, you're doing it well." She patted my shoulder. "Let's loot the chest and move. We have 10 more floors."
She walked toward the treasure chest that had appeared at the back of the room.
I stood there, gripping the handle of my hammer.
[System: Warning. Emotional attachment detected. Analysis: You are catching feelings. Corollary: This will make the stabbing part significantly harder.]
"Shut up," I whispered to the blue window.
I watched her open the chest, laughing as she pulled out a new robe. She looked happy. She looked like a daughter who was about to save her mother.
And I was the monster waiting in the dark to take it all away.
I followed her, forcing a smile onto my face.
"Nice robe," I said. "Does it come in black?"
[End of Chapter 18]