Azaroth looked at the door with the warning. It looked so suspicious, but showing it to them must mean something. There was no way they had placed the door there for decoration.

"Rewarded," Alex snorted. "Yeah. After you threaten death, you talk about rewards! You think we’ll fall for something like that?"

Azaroth wasn’t so sure. If thought through properly, the training case was all about death anyway. It was made to train them to death, or come as close as possible.

Stallus frowned. "If it’s really death at the end, then they wouldn’t have shown us. They want us confused. Or split up."

"What’s there to think about?" Alex asked. "We choose the one without the promise of death. It’s that simple!"

Actually, it’s not, Azaroth thought. A wrong choice might affect them for the rest of the training. They had to choose carefully. As he looked at the doors, Azaroth already knew which one he would choose.

"I’m going here." He pointed at the door that was sure with the promise of death and rewards.

Alex snorted. "Why am I not surprised? You’d choose it even if there was no promise of rewards. That’s just like you."

No, he wouldn’t have.

Azaroth knew the rewards must be something important to their survival in the training. Since they were just beginning, the crypt must be testing them to see how they react to things.

"I’m going to that door too." Stallus shook her head. She knew the easy path presenting itself beside a hard one was just wrong, and besides, she didn’t believe in easy ways too.

"Not you too! Stallus, are you seriously going to choose a path that will probably kill us before the day is over? You don’t have to copy him. Be serious!" Alex snapped.

But Stallus had already made up her mind. Nothing would change that. So Alex appealed to Catena next, but the tall boy just shrugged and pointed to the others.

Alex finally threw up his hands. "Alright! Alright! But if anything happens to me, I’m holding you all responsible!"

Azaroth didn’t wait around after that. He walked through the door and was immediately on the other side. It felt like walking through sunlight, but when he looked around, there was nothing but snow.

"Well, shit!" Alex said. He turned back and meant to return to the other side, but the door was already gone. "I knew we were going to die! But I never thought it would be through cold!"

Neither did Azaroth. The cold was already taking effect as his skin shivered and goosebumps rose. They had to find shelter—and fast.

"We should find a place to stay," Azaroth said.

He looked around. They were on a mountain of sorts, but everything was covered in thick layers of snow. He couldn’t see or sense anything around them.

"I agree!" Stallus said as she used her essence to cover herself in a full cloak. That at least held back the cold a little and stopped her from shivering.

They began searching for shelter. Azaroth told them to use the Dawnbreaker skill so their footprints wouldn’t show in the snow. Who knew what predators might be lurking in this place?

They began navigating down the mountain. It wasn’t easy, and Azaroth nearly went sliding down on slick ice where water had frozen over.

The wind howled at them, and the weather battered their essence-covered bodies with bitter cold. Still, they pushed forward—and then they saw a cave in the side of the mountain where the wind didn’t blow as hard.

Alex immediately lit up and wanted to rush in, but Azaroth stopped him with his drawn sword. He gestured for them to draw theirs as well, and then they slowly approached the cave entrance.

They cast their light into the cave. It was large, but they could see the end. Piles of snow lay inside, but nothing seemed out of place.

They began entering, and Azaroth absently noted how the wind had lessened on this side of the mountain. He stopped suddenly, and the others behind him froze as well.

If the wind wasn’t as strong, why was there a pile of snow inside?

They had just stepped in when Azaroth lunged forward and struck the first pile of snow to the right. Instead of slicing through, his blade hit flesh, and a sharp, painful shriek split the air.

The pile of snow burst toward him, claws and fangs snapping. But he was ready, and with precise strikes, he brought the monster down.

The others reacted just as quickly, cutting down the rest before their shrieks could echo too long in the cave. Soon, silence returned. There were five of the creatures.

They examined them. Their bodies were dry and stringy, covered in fur that resembled snow. They had long snouts and curved fangs.

Azaroth shook his head. If they had walked in fully before realizing these were monsters, he didn’t want to imagine the outcome.

Azaroth pulled out his knife and began skinning the creature. Its fur came off surprisingly easily, and he worked quickly.

"Don’t tell me you are going to eat those," Alex said.

"Don’t be stupid, Alex," Stallus replied. "Can’t you see the fur? It’s the best camouflage we can hope for here and protection against the cold. The training robes we’re wearing can only do so much."

After that, they each took a monster and got to work. Before long, they had four snow-like fur cloaks wrapped snugly around them. It was still wet and a bit cold, but it was much better than what they had. Plus, it would help to camouflage themselves.

The creatures looked much smaller now without their fur, but Azaroth wasn’t done. He used his knife to carve open the chest , ripping through bones and blood until he reached the heart.

"Wait..." Stallus said, but Azaroth only set the heart aside and moved the body away.

"What is Azaroth doing now?" Alex demanded.