Personalized potions come with the benefit of being cheaper and more effective on the intended user, but requires greater skill to brew and cannot be used on another, unless their mana signatures share similar traits.

  — Excerpt from Thoughts on Pots and Brewing

  Day 253, 8:00 PM

  I lured a third realm frostworm up the tunnel, and much to my surprise, Newstar slew it in a single move.

  “I… killed it?” Doubt filled his shaky voice before he jumped and did a fist pump. “I killed it!”

  “Yes, yes, good job,” I brought him back to earth. “Grab the stingers while Everlast checks whether its core is still intact.”

  “I have explored a portion of the fourth floor,” I said as they worked. “I found seven fourth realm frostworms and two dozen third realm ones. I retreated when I caught the air of a fifth realm one, so we will have to move with great care down there.

  “Good news is I confirmed the ice jade marrow’s location, and neither the fourth nor the fifth realm monsters are anywhere near it. The bad news is that I will probably need a whole day to fish out the worms and clear a path, which might alert the elder worm, and if that happens, we will lose our prize.”

  I looked at Newstar, waiting for him to make a decision based on the information.

  “I think we should go down and head straight for the ice jade marrow. It would be best if we could get there stealthily, and let Everlast mine the ice jade while we keep guard, since she is faster and more precise than you are, Dandelion.”

  Everlast nodded, but I had to point out the flaw in that plan.

  “Buuuut?”

  “We will be in serious trouble if the frostworms find us. They can surround us, block our escape route, and that might be the end of us. Maybe it’s not worth the risk?” Newstar reminded me of a boy called out in class to answer a question he didn’t really know the answer to, trying to intuit his way through the problem. Finally, when I noticed that was all he could scrape up from the barrel of his thoughts, I spoke.

  “While that is correct, we have an immediate problem with your plan. Everlast and I can shield ourselves from the glacial mana with water-aligned techniques and blend in. You, however, have to keep yourself warm through flames, and the disturbance in mana will probably draw the more sensitive, meaning higher realm, frostworms to check what is happening.”

  “But you have a solution?” The youth’s eyes sparkled with misplaced hope.

  “Yes. You go guard the door with Puresnow, while Everlast and I handle the middle portion of this warren.”

  Newstar nearly stumbled with shock, but Everlast backed him.

  “Dandelion, all Everfrost Order disciples have enchanted robes for low temperatures, much more extreme than this cave.” She blushed, seemingly regretting she had opened her mouth. “If Newstar wishes to wear my gear, I will let him borrow it.”

  Newstar bobbed his head up and down like a chicken. “Thank you, of course I will wear it.”

  The next moment, Everlast drew a sparkly white gown from her spatial pouch, and Newstar clamped his mouth shut. I clenched my teeth too, nearly bursting into laughter at the sudden change of his facial expression.

  “I have to wear a dress?” Newstar said after a long moment of silence.

  “No. Nobody is forcing you to do anything.” I said, hiding my amusement. “And if it helps, I have worn much more ridiculous things than that dress when I had to.”

  The statement drew two sets of eyes on me, but I ignored them. I really had worn stranger things, burning clothes for one, baboon butt wedding pants for another, but that wasn’t something to share with them.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Can I tie it around myself or carry it like a cloak?” Newstar trailed off as Everlast shook her head.

  A short while later, Newstar wore a dress, his overly thin frame carrying it rather well.

  “It looks good on you.” I kept my face straight. “Seems like a new fashion trend, warrior’s clothes beneath a fancy dress. You are prepared for everything life throws your way. You just need to find a booth—”

  “Shut up,” Newstar grumbled, then his eyes went wide, and he turned to Everlast and offered a respectful bow. “Thank you, Lady Everlast. I will keep it safe and return it to you in one piece.”

  “You should at least have the decency to wash it,” I grumbled, and Everlast chortled through her closed mouth.

  “Are you done yet?” Newstar sighed.

  “Not even close, but I will hold back, since we are in a hurry. Newstar, dear, white is not your color. It makes your butt look like a balloon.”

  Everlast snorted while digging into the frostworm’s flesh, and Newstar facepalmed.

  “There. That was my last remark about your dress-sense.”

  “Maybe if you twirled around a bit.” Unexpectedly, Everlast poked fun at Newstar before continuing with a sigh. “The core is gone, I’m afraid.”

  The woman was getting relaxed around us, which was great. It also meant the loop would be the final one. No real issues occurred, and we were socializing quite well.

  “We should go down without wasting time, and, Dandelion,” Everlast glanced at me. “You should help with the frostworm slaying. We are past training, and we should focus on stealth and quickly dispatching the monsters so they don’t alert the others.”

  Dandelion held Newstar’s gaze. “What do you think, Newstar?”

  “I would appreciate the practice, and we all know I could use it, but Lady Everlast is right. Finishing the job safely is more important than training.”

  “All right, here we go.”

  I said that, yet, as soon as we entered the tunnel leading down, Newstar slipped and fell. With his power denied to him, the icy floor had become an ice rink.

  I picked him up and offered him to Everlast. “Everlast, could you carry our princess here?”

  “We can just tie some ropes or fine chains around his shoes. It’s a cheap trick our first realm disciples use when heading out. It sounds silly, but it gets the job done.”

  It wasn’t silly at all. In fact, it was common sense, when a mundane solution was available, don’t reach for magic. A few minutes later, Newstar had rope looped around his feet.

  “Are we ready?” he asked.

  “We need to make you a horned helmet to complete the set.” I said while examining the incongruity between a ball dress and hobo shoes.

  “Cut it out,” Everlast said. “You’re beating a dead spikeback.”

  She motioned Newstar to lead, and I shut up. Perhaps I was making too much fun of the youth.

  “Sorry for causing trouble,” Newstar whispered. “But I want to be there if something happens, and this plan is risky. A lot of things could happen.”

  “You’re no trouble. I’m confident Dandelion can handle whatever comes our way, as long as the fifth realm frostworm doesn’t appear.” Everlast remained confident, apparently having seen through a part of my strength.

  “And if it does?” Newstar asked.

  “And if it does, you are sixteen years old, and maybe you should be up there, watching the entrance with Puresnow.” Newstar tensed at the words, but Everlast kept talking. “But I won’t force you, nor will Dandelion. I think he tried to talk you out of joining, but I believe you have the right to risk your life, and this section of the burrow is definitely lethal for all of us.”

  Everlast gave him a nervous smile while I took note of the time in case a Redo was needed.

  “One wrong step, one mistake, and we’re gone,” she continued. “But that is what separates great awakened from the rest; honing yourself, pushing your limits, and proving to yourself that you are brave, and that risking death while struggling to earn and achieve more beats not taking any chances and wasting away as a mediocrity.”

  “Be quiet. We’re approaching the lower level.” I shushed them, moving forward to lead, as we took the fifth and final loop of the downward spiral. The odds of lower realm frostworms hearing us were nil, but I wouldn’t put it past some weird echo to betray us and carry the words straight to the fifth realm monster.

  The warning made the atmosphere somber, the weight of death pressing on Newstar and Everlast much more than it did on me. Despite Redo still being red, I was confident in my ability to escape the tunnels should the fifth realm frostworm go after us. Doubly so with two decoys.

  We skulked our way through the icy gloom, Everlast and myself making no sound, while Newstar’s rope shoes squeaked with each step.

  I was tempted to make a swirl of air around his feet to dampen the sound. Unfortunately, no matter how weak, the aura of air mana would be so out of place so deep underground. It would have revealed our position more clearly than the barely audible squeaks.

  Two minutes later, while navigating the cavern, I caught a crunching sound and motioned the others to stop.

  A third realm frostworm was wandering about instead of burrowing. I moved towards it, then took the air in a silent jump propelled by an ice platform and pure muscles, unwilling to risk leaking auras of other elements.

  The frostworm didn’t even notice me until it was too late. My staff buried its way into its flesh, close to its brain, and a flash of fire and electricity cooked it alive, none of the attack’s aura leaving its body.