Reinhard clutched the rock in his right hand before then moving slowly close to it. And then he launched himself up, grasping onto the Frost Serpents. His left hand instantly shivered as he grasped the creature before he pulled it down. He didn't know where he grabbed but it didn't matter as he began hammering down with the rock in his hand.
Even as the Frost Serpent shook and tried to escape his hand, Reinhard kept on swinging the rock onto it. Over and over he swung with cracks forming on the serpent body before one final smashed. The serpent body shattered into pieces with the rock in his hand also breaking apart.
Reinhard then grit his teeth as he felt the pain through his hand. Just holding the serpent for a little bit was enough to make him feel like he was crawling through snow barehanded for a while. It was enough that he tried to rub his hand together, rub his left hand on his shirt before then stuffing it in his pocket.
"I have to keep going." Reinhard muttered, trying to encourage himself. He stood up and began running forward through the root tunnel.
He didn't know when the other serpents would be back but once they did come and find one of their own missing. Well, it wouldn't take long before they went crazy and started searching around.
And he didn't want to still be here when they do.
Ahead, the root tunnel continued for perhaps another hundred yards before opening up into a much larger space. Reinhard saw light was filtering down from somewhere far above and illuminated the area around in the cavern.
Reinhard reached the end of the cavern that was covered with snow and then he looked up to see the source of the light. Above him was a hole with snowflakes drifting down and he saw roots that he used as leverage to climb up on.
He took out his left hand from his pocket and then began checking on its condition. Most of the cold had died down but there still remain some stiffness in it.
Just then an ear-splitting screech and hiss resounded through the cavern!
Reinhard's expression shifted as he quickly rushed to the root and began climbing. He pulled himself up with his hands while using the spiral pattern of the roots as steps to help push himself up. The climb was easier than the others, as the roots provided easier footing for him.
And it gave him some moments of resting before continuing climbing up higher. While climbing he could feel the light shining brighter with the air growing colder with more flakes falling down on him.
After a minute of rest and climbing, he fully pulled himself up. Reinhard then found himself in another snow-covered area with a complex network of massive roots extending out of the ground.
Reinhard ran up to the roots and quickly reached it before reaching out to touch the bark. A smile appeared on his face when he felt it was easy to grab and when he glanced around.
There was no ice around, which meant he could climb the roots unlike the previous floor. He gripped the hard roots before pulling himself up and then he began climbing.
Some of the rooms had extended out, making it possible for him to use it as a platform and stand on it to catch his breath. The climb felt more manageable as he could put less pressure on his arms and time to rest. After ten seconds of climbing up the roots, he paused as he looked up and his heart sank.
"No…" Reinhard frowned as he saw the upper section of the tree was covered in ice and snow. He could even see the branches and roots that were extending out were fully with cracks and had holes in them.
Reinhard rested against the root as he thought about his options. He looked to the right to see the massive roots spreading out in that direction and saw the horizontal pathway.
Then he looked down to see a snowy pathway similar to the previous floor. He saw it pushing through two great roots with leaves and bushes scattered around.
"More than likely there will be Phantasm Monsters down there." Reinhard muttered to himself. He thought back to his experiences of the floors he had moved through.
From what he can tell, there is a pattern of monsters always being on snowy paths and ground levels. He wonders if he they were drawn there or because it's the only area where they can remain. Regardless of the reason, it's most likely he may run into trolls or those serpents from before.
He might even run into both of them at once.
"But using the roots will put pressure on my arms and legs even with the resting spots." Reinhard muttered as lean more into the roots. "And trying to rest may have them spot me..."
After a few seconds of pondering, Reinhard made a decision with a plan.
He began climbing down and headed to the snowy ground. The plan was he would walk the ground-level path but if he heard any noise and saw any monster. He would quickly rush up the roots to avoid them and if he saw an area above with no ice, he would climb up.
Truthfully it was a risk, but it was his best way to conserve energy and not put strain on his muscles.
After dropping onto the snowy ground, he began walking on the path. The snow around was deeper than before as it rose up to his ankle and forced him to trudge through.
Sometimes he had to side-step around roots, and rocks before then ducking branches from above. Then he would raise his hands to shield his face from blizzards which only became harder in narrow areas.
After several minutes of navigating through the interweaving roots, he entered an open area with bushes around.
He continued walking towards him seeing water dripping from the ice-covered branches from above. Then he paused as his ears twitched, as he began hearing distant roars and heavy foot-steps.
Reinhard quickly rushed to the nearest root on his left. He trudged through the deep snow before he reached the roots and he began climbing up. His arms and legs worked together as he pulled himself up, going higher and higher.
This continued until he reached close to the snow above with the roots under him stabilizing him.
Then Reinhard began moving across the roots pathway, focusing on stepping on the extended roots. While doing this, he glanced down constantly to see what monsters were making noise and where they were. There was nothing at first but then he began seeing figures moving down and then after a couple seconds, he saw them.
Reinhard saw eleven Frost Trolls moving around down below him with their weapons. But that wasn't all as he saw strange white horses with ice blade wings that shine from the sunlight above.
Accompanying the horse were several snow wolves that were trailing behind the horses and moving in front of them.
"It's as if they are protecting the horses…"