It wasn't hard to find the Winter Spire. She shot up high into the sky, and there it was—off to the west. The tower of ice jutting out of the ground and the smaller buildings around it.

If the last planet required dancing with dragon fire, then this one would involved playing with ice. She figured this would be easier. The Cultists were easier to deal with. After all, she hadn't seen a single one that was higher than level five hundred. Unless the Cult was holding back its true monsters. There was no way to know the truth of it. Well, there was one way to know, but she didn't trust Lainor, not one bit.

She blasted off towards the Spire, and true to what the daughter of Aksha had said, the Cult had cut all the trees close to its boundary wall. It was in a horseshoe shape, starting from the Mantle and ending at the Mantle. Almost as if the Cult or Elrasil had pushed it out of the Pale Mantle.

It didn't take her long to reach the treeline. She dropped amongst the trees, well in advance of reaching the final trees. The boundary wall must've been tens of feet high.

Why make it so high when you've never been attacked? Meera wondered.

It was as if Elrasil knew that one day he might be attacked. If one made enough trouble, then someone would eventually come to knock your house down.

She leaned against the tree and zoomed in with her Mirrorbound Sight and noticed no movement up on the wall. It wasn't strange, but she had hoped there would be something after her battle with Valan. She hadn't been entirely subtle with all that lightning. But no, there was no one.

She rose to the top of the trees, but kept herself hidden amongst the foliage. The trees were not nearly high enough for her to see over the walls, but she did notice something peculiar. The ice wall was almost all blueish-white, but in the ice, there were scars, which was the best way she could describe it. Scars that seemed to form symbols of some kind. They could even be letters, and they ran the length of the wall. She wasn't sure what purpose they served, but if she knew something about these worlds, it was that they weren't random.

They were there for a reason, but for what, Meera didn't know. Maybe one of the sorceresses would know.

Strange how the Sorceress of Rebirth missed this.

She shook her head at the daughter's uselessness and decided to get a bird's-eye view. But before that, she wanted to check her notifications to see if she had gained a useful skill from the severed head.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror's Affinity (III) has gained 1 level and reached Level 95. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 576% boost.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Heaven's Wrath (I) has gained 3 levels and reached Level 41]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Shroud of Shadows (II) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 84]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Greater Vitalize (III) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 30]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Spectral Resilience (III) has gained 3 levels and reached Level 4]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Iron Skin (II) has gained 4 levels and reached Level 80]

There was no other skill that had gained any level, which was fine as she had hardly used any other skill. Next came the part she was really waiting for, and she hoped that she had earned something good from the giant, or something she could combine with one of her other skills.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Frozen Cleaver – Level 213. Frozen Cleaver – Type: Active. Affinity: Ice Affinity. You can send a jagged wave of ice erupting across the ground with a stomp or a strike of your weapon. Ice spikes tear through enemies in a line, impaling and freezing them in place as the ground behind them fractures and frosts over. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Hailstorm – Level 178. Hailstorm – Type: Active. Affinity: Ice Affinity. You can call down a barrage of razor-sharp ice from the heavens, pounding the battlefield in a deafening cascade. Each shard slams into the ground with brutal force, staggering enemies and leaving the area coated in jagged, hazardous frost. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Meera rubbed her chin for a moment as the answer came to her quickly. Oh, this'll be good.

She accepted Hailstorm and let go of Frigid Wave. The skill was good, but Hailstrom was better, and since she was going to be fighting a lot of Frostweavers, she had a feeling she would be seeing that skill again.

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Hailstorm (II) – Level 62]

Then she did a quick look around, making sure there was no one in sight. There wasn't, but still she couldn't be too sure. She walked to the shadow of a tree and activated Shroud of Shadows, and turned invisible. Then she reached into her Belt and took out the Impure Crystal of Darthin—the ultimate creation of the professor.

The crystal merged two compatible skills, and she figured that Hailstorm would be compatible with another sky-related skill.

She sent Mana through the crystal and picked Hailstorm and Heaven's Wrath.

The crystal shone a little brighter, and then there was a slight flash, and the two skills merged into one another.

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Heaven's Storm (II) – Level 2. Heaven's Storm – Type: Active. Affinity: Lightning & Ice. This skill is an extraordinary fusion of Lightning and Ice. You can summon a storm of lightning bolts and electrified hail, unleashing death and destruction of such unparalleled level that it would seem the gods themselves had unleashed their fury. Enemies will have nowhere to cower as they are pelted by hail that will shock them in place while lightning rains down upon them.]

Meera grinned from ear to ear. She couldn't wait to unleash this skill. She kissed the Impure Crystal and put it back in her Belt. This was the greatest gift anyone had given her, ever.

Can't get any more skill slots. Take that, Darthin. I'll open up my skill slots while getting even more powerful skills.

Now, she had an open skill slot for a new skill, which more likely than not would be some ice skill. Well, she could use them for now and then drop them when she gets off this snowy planet.

When that would be, she didn't know, but she knew that until the Hierarch lived, so did the Glacidrak. There wouldn't be any way she could cross the White Ember until then. Not to mention, she still didn't have any way of surviving the cold.

One problem at a time, Meera. She sighed. For now, let's see what sort of defenses these Cultists have.

She flew through the trees, keeping low so that no one in the tower would notice her. It didn't look too tall from where Meera was standing, but up close, it must've been a hundred feet high, if not more. How high, she wasn't sure. She was about to go find out.

Once she was far enough away, she flew out of the trees and headed straight for the Pale Mantle. It didn't take her long to reach it. Then up and up she went. But this time, she didn't go all the way up. She stopped when she was much higher than the Spire. She figured she must've been more than five hundred feet high. From here, she could easily survey the enemy's home, for she could see everything.

There wasn't much to see. The main building in the entire complex was the tower that jutted out of the ice of the Mantle. There was a tunnel that led to the Mantle. She figured it must've been an escape plan. There was a lift of sorts for the Cultists to travel up the Mantle. It wasn't like a conventional lift. It had no ropes or pulleys; it was an ice bucket that could hold four people at most. She figured the Cultists would manipulate the ice to move it up or down.

As for the other buildings, they were significantly less substantial than the tower. They were scattered around the complex. Some close to the boundary wall, others close to the Spire, and one that came out of the Mantle itself.

Meera zoomed in further, and she was reminded of how much she loved Mirrorbund Sight. She could zoom in enough that it seemed she was there, standing amongst them. From her vantage point, she couldn't see into the other buildings, but she could see through some of the windows of the Spire. She saw some bedrooms, a room that looked like a laboratory, and an armory of just ice weapons.

Why do they need these ice weapons when they can make more on the fly?

Other than that, she didn't see much, aside from one peculiar thing. At the very top of the tower, sat a man on his desk, sculpting what looked to be a dragon ice sculpture, about the size of a small dog. It was hard to get a look at the man's face, but when he was done, he stepped back and snapped his fingers. The miniature ice dragon came to life.

The dragon moved slowly, taking in the room, and then looked up at the man. A few moments passed, and then it bowed its head. The man petted the dragon's head.

Was that Elrasil? Meera wondered. She wanted to go closer and investigate what he was doing. If it were another beast that he had just created, and if so, it might bring trouble for them later on. Better to nip it in the bud.

But she also knew that if she went in there trying to battle the leader of the Cult by herself, she would be doomed. So, she decided to leave it for now and do something else—leave a little spy to survey the enemy whenever she wanted.

Meera hugged the Mantle and activated one of her armor's abilities that she hadn't used in a long while—Chameleon. With it, the armor mimicked the colors and features of nearby surfaces, letting her blend into her surroundings.

When she activated it now, she was practically invisible. She flew slow enough that no one from below should be able to spot her. Once she crossed the boundary wall, she turned towards the Mantle and activated Druvis Might. Moving her hand into a straight sword-like motion, she swiped at the glacier. Making a deep straight hole in it. Then, when it was deep enough, she activated Mirror Tower Shield, which would fit in the cavity she had just made. It took her a couple of tries to get the Shield right, but when she did, she shoved the Shield in the hole, and it fit snugly.

Then she repeated the process two more times at regular intervals, ensuring she covered all sides of the complex. And she shoved them deep enough that only a sliver of them was visible. At the height they were at, she could spy on the entire complex with these.

With Mirrorbound Sight's ability, she could look through them whenever she wanted and see what the enemy was cooking for them. The mirrors are deep enough and high enough that unless the cultists travelled up the Mantle on the lift, they shouldn't be visible.

Hopefully, they don't shimmer in the sunlight too much, or all this hard work goes to waste.

With that, she flew out of there and back towards Drysa's village. When she was far enough that the Winter's Spire was no longer visible to her, she closed her eyes and activated the secondary ability of Mirrorbound Sight.

Three mirrors popped up in her vision.

She chose the middle one, and she could see all that was happening directly behind the Spire. She tried zooming in, and she found that she could. It was like she was there looking down at the ground herself. Directly below her was the tunnel that led to the Mantle. She tried the other two mirrors, and they worked fine as well. Even with the little sliver of the mirrors, she had complete surveillance of the Cultist's home.

She grinned and flew off to report her findings.

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