Frostbound

Hendricks

The mana in the air was so thick he could almost taste it. The thickness clogged his throat and made him struggle to bring air into his lungs. There was a suffocating weight it held, turning the air into a viscosity he had to fight through. The area had transformed into one of the highest concentrations of mana in the world and they had returned right in the middle of it.

Ever since they had been returned, fighting for their lives had taken up every second of every day. Even months after, they were still clawing and struggling to eke out a place to live. It felt like fate was playing tricks on them as they barely had a chance to rest. Monsters seemed endless and multiplied faster than they could cut them down. People fell daily trying to hold the line.

There were even some they couldn't cut down and retreat was the only option.

If this was a joke, Hendricks wasn't laughing. Transporting them into a tutorial to get them used to the new world for a nice few months, and then throw them into the deep end in an area with mana so thick it hurt to breathe.

"Gonzalez! How much longer 'till impact?!" He screamed over the sound of battle. The wrappings on his mace were running low and he only had a few left. Same for his shield.

The walking horrors ambled this way and that, their grotesque limbs swaying as they walked, only to whip out unexpectedly at the nearest person when they stepped in range. Their grey skin was slick with a liquid slime that made it look even worse as it shimmered in the dull gloom of the area.

Even the sun had to fight for control here and the celestial body was struggling against the environment, let alone humanity.

If that wasn't enough, the liquid covering their form was highly corrosive. It could eat through metal, leather, and bone in seconds. No matter what their weapons were made from, they would quickly deteriorate after the first few strikes. His sword found itself quickly melted to goop during his first fight with them.

He had learned from that first day and now his group hefted maces and clubs wrapped in various cloth and leather.

The wrappings would both soak up the liquid and peel off before the weapon started eroding. Keeping the weapons intact while also removing what little of the coating they could.

"Impact! Impact! Impact!" Gonzalez screamed from behind him.