Pax jammed the sharp edge of his crude ice dagger into the spot on the side of the ice golem’s left knee he’d been chipping away at for what seemed like an eternity. A sudden crack sounded and the leg cracked, the lower part falling to the ground with a heavy smash.

  Pax gave a weary grin as the golem, missing a half leg now, stumbled while reaching out with clawing limbs toward him. And then Pax yelped as he saw the thing falling toward him. Tired beyond belief, Pax was just a hair too slow dodging out of the way.

  The golem’s right hand caught his shoulder, driving him to his knees as his tired legs gave way. Before Pax could wriggle free, the thing had latched both arms around him, pulling his shivering body in tight for a crushing hug where they struggled together on the ground.

  The cold pressing into his exhausted body was the final straw, sucking at the last reserves of heat Pax still had in him. Death by freezing wasn’t the way he wanted to go. Whoever had said it was peaceful, like going to sleep, hadn’t had an ice golem pummel them and grab so tightly it made their ribs creak.

  “Solani! That’s it. I’m done for the day.” Pax felt the control of his mana slip as his yell came out mostly muffled. The golem pressed Pax’s mouth into its icy chest with ever-increasing force.

  The expected reprieve didn’t come.

  “Solani!” Pax couldn’t keep the desperation out of his voice. His body was shaking with exhaustion and felt as if it would never be warm again.

  Silence, except for his ragged breathing.

  I’m an idiot. Pax shook his head at his own stupidity. Of course, she wouldn’t rescue him. And why should she? How else would he train for the real thing? And why did he even ask for saving? He’d let the training aspect of the room lull him into a false sense of security. It wasn’t as if Solani 2-nine could show up on the battleground and pause things for him to catch his breath the next time he got into trouble.

  With renewed determination to find a solution, Pax flexed his muscles, tightening and loosening them to chase away both the exhaustion and the chill. As a last resort, he could cycle some of his light and magma mana to warm himself. But for now, he wanted to triumph using only his ice. And just maybe this last desperate struggle would give him enough insight to bump his understanding of ice to the next level.

  In the brief break, his mana had ticked back up a few points, allowing him to trigger his Ascendant Mana skill again. To start, he just used it to look. The golem looked even scarier once the swirling power sustaining it snapped into focus.

  As he’d discovered earlier in the fight, Pax searched for weak points where the energy narrowed to a channel weak enough for him to target. He hadn’t gotten this close to the golem yet and immediately saw the advantage. With contact, he could see so many more nuances. The golem flexed again, pulling Pax’s entire body even tighter against its icy torso.

  Sudden inspiration struck Pax as he realized how similar this felt to Taming a beast. He’d been focusing so hard on fighting against the ice golem that he hadn’t considered working to change or disrupt its mana instead.

  He still didn’t want to use his light mana, but there had to be a way his ice mana could interact with the golem’s, right? A dull squeezing pain made his chest ache and Pax wasn’t sure he could feel his fingers anymore. He needed to hurry.

  He flattened his palms against the golem’s thigh and arm where the thing had trapped Pax’s hands. Then, with what felt like an awkward movement compared to using his light mana, he shoved a thin thread of ice mana into the golem through both palms. His improved mana skill made the manipulation flow a lot easier than expected.

  He sent his vision with his mana, focusing on the ice mana inside the golem as soon as he could. It was amazing.

  The inner workings of the ice golem came into sharp focus. Pax could see intricate networks of ice mana. A crystalline bloodstream somehow flowed despite the cold and powered the golem’s form.

  He scanned the immense body in front of him, frantic to find a weakness he could exploit. The first thing he tried was draining the mana, tugging at it like a string that he hoped would unravel whatever held the golem together.

  It resisted, the portion closest to him barely disrupted by his efforts. He focused closer, comparing the thread of his ice mana with that of the golem. It was difficult to see, but when he squinted, he noticed subtle differences.

  He realized again how powerful and versatile his light mana was. It usually smoothed over this type of process, allowing him to mess with many types of mana.

  Now that he was only using his ice, it forced him to pay closer attention. The two versions of ice mana hummed with energy. But the energies thrummed in slightly different ways from the other, like two singers who didn’t quite sing at the same pitch.

  Maybe the minor difference was why he couldn’t drain the ice mana from the golem. But maybe he didn’t need to. It was common knowledge that destruction was always the easiest form of change. It was much easier to smash a chair to pieces than build a new one from scratch.

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  Pax could feel his chest burning as he struggled for enough room to get the tiniest bit of breath against the pressure of the golem’s arms. He had to work smarter, not harder with how limited his mana was. He really needed a potion or a sip from the storage in his spectral mana mirror. Still, he was so close, he could feel it.

  Pax used his remaining ice mana, not to brute force a confrontation with the golem’s but to enhance the differences. He felt like trying to make his mana sing even louder off key as he focused on disrupting the smooth and even flow of ice through the golem’s channels.

  For a few long moments, it didn’t seem to work, and he wondered what Solani would do when he passed out.

  And then something changed.

  A slight imbalance made the golem’s flow of ice mana quiver and shake, an infinitesimal amount. Pax forced his thread of mana even closer, pressing it up against the golem’s main channel with its incompatible wavelength. Pushing harder, he didn’t bother to try breathing anymore as he watched the two streams of ice shudder and shake against each other.

  And then it happened. Ice, by its nature, might be strong, but never flexible. With a spreading and vicious snap, the discordant energy of Pax’s ice mana shattered the golem’s channel in front of him. Like a row of game pieces carefully set up next to each other, it only took a single one falling to knock all the others down.

  Pressed up against Pax, the golem’s chest vibrated violently, cracks spider-webbing out from the epicenter of damage. The icy grip on its arms trapping Pax’s body finally slackened. With a final push of his will, Pax increased the discordant pattern one more time. The conflicting energy he’d created intensified, speeding the cascade of damage that the golem couldn’t contain.

  With a thunderous crack, the golem’s chest exploded into shards of ice, its head and limbs falling to the side as its mana network collapsed. Pax rolled away from the destruction, panting and shivering, but triumphant. He had not only defeated the ice golem but also unlocked a new understanding of ice mana and the structure and harmony necessary for it to stay intact.

  His mind was already thrumming with more ideas for using his newly expanded mana skills. If he could disrupt a golem’s mana, could he disrupt a person’s or beast’s? Would he need to be in contact with them or could he eventually do it from a distance? What if he could just disturb the flow enough to break a mage’s concentration and have their spell fall apart at a crucial moment?

  A huge grin split Pax’s face as he lay shaking next to the fast-disappearing piles of shattered ice golem. His chest heaved, reveling in the ability to breathe freely, something he vowed to never take for granted again.

  He couldn’t stop smiling. The powers his new mana skill offered were incredible!

  “Well, did you level your ice?” Solani’s curious voice came from above him, making his eyes pop back open.

  Pax stifled his instinctive flush of anger at Solani abandoning him when he’d asked for help. That was a petty and childish response. Besides, if she had stepped in, he wouldn’t have reached his breakthrough about disrupting matching mana types.

  His awe about the new possibilities returned, sweeping aside any lingering negativity. Besides, it was time to check and see what he’d gained in another long training session.

  “Let me look.” Pax didn’t have the energy to lift his head, much less sit up, so he lay on the freezing floor, muscles limp as he checked his notifications.

  ***

  Improvement to your Path of Understanding Ice: +26. Level 1 - 109/100

  Congratulations Light Mage! You have completed Level 1 of the Ice Path of Understanding!

  Through dedicated study of the element of Ice, you have gained a rudimentary comprehension of its properties and powers, have unlocked the ability to share the gift of Ice with other mages and increased your mana capacity. Continue studying the magical elements of your world to better enlighten those around you, unlock more spell slots and continue to increase your mana capacity.

  Secondary Paths of Understanding: (Hidden)

  Ice: Level 2 - 9/200

  Mana: 13/147 (+1)

  Congratulations! You have increased Agility from 14 to 15.

  Skill Boost: +10 to Ascendant Mana Integration Level 1 (Legendary-evolved) - 22/100

  ***

  A flush of excitement at the achievement was just enough to push Pax to sit up. His head immediately began swimming and he set a hand on the floor to keep himself from falling back again.

  “I take it by your smile that you did?”

  “Yes, and I got another point in Agility from dodging all the crazy attacks of your minions. Plus, figuring out how to make an ice dagger out of mana and mess with the golem’s mana gave me more points in my new mana skill.” He shook his head in tired amazement.

  “I aim to please.” Solani 2-nine gave him a proud smile. “And congratulations. You’ve set a new headquarters record, at least for a first-year light mage.”

  He drew in a satisfied breath, pleased to make progress on his magic again. Now he needed to share the good news with Rin. If he could help her get her ice unlocked, she’d have a new spell slot to fill. If she could show control of a third element to the committee, it might be just the thing to make them do what Pax wanted.

  “How long did that second session take me?” Pax asked, suddenly worried as he remembered everything else he had to get done.

  “Just under two hours, so you’re getting faster.”

  “Is lunch still being served in the dining hall?” Pax pushed himself to his feet as he pulled out a low-level health potion and swigged it.

  She paused briefly before nodding. “Yes, but only for another half hour. However, you need to take a few moments to recover your strength before you go racing through the base. I’d recommend you take the day off to recover after an ordeal like that if I thought you’d listen.”

  “Sorry.” Pax gave her a sheepish shrug before he closed his eyes. Enjoying the freeing sensation of using all his mana types together again, Pax tapped into his Meditation, Healing and Ascendant Mana. It was simple enough to follow and augment the soothing spread of the potion’s energy.

  Despite how exhausted he felt, the damage he’d taken was pretty minor. A few cuts, skin deep bruises everywhere and a cracked rib were a cheap price to pay for his new control and understanding of ice and mana itself.

  Just as Solani 2-nine had implied, Pax wanted to race out of the training wing and get busy with everything else on his to-do list. He knew Rin would feel the same once he shared his news. Then he planned to be back down here, training up his other three elements as soon as Tyrodon and the crafters got the other rooms working.

  Knowing he’d soon be able to share all his secondary elements with his crew and other mages was a heady feeling. It was another ace that they would have over any of their enemies. With that thought, Pax pulled out his notebook and read over the list, smiling when he saw the one he’d made a crucial bit of progress on.

  Power level my crew, Titus’s crew and Team Tribal as soon as possible.

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