Dear diary, now we move on to the next day. I couldn't sleep at all. The day before was when Mary came back from that meeting. Honestly, when she said she was an orphan and that she grew up in an orphanage, I wasn't surprised; I had imagined it already, since in all the time we had known her, she never talked about her family.

  What I didn't expect was for her to come back the way she did. She was deeply depressed, but she didn't tell us what had happened. I felt a knot in my throat; I didn't know how the hell I could help her."If someone hurt her... I'm going to torture them and kill them," I thought.

  Jake and I tried to come up with something to cheer Mary up. The only thing we could think of was taking her on vacation. Our parents had left us their fortune when they died, and we hadn't really spent much of it over the years, so we could definitely afford a luxury hotel trip. We spent hours searching online for a place that would be nice for her. After many searches and a lot of coffee, we finally found a hotel that had just opened. It was called "The Aquatic Paradise."It was built right under the sea and was filled with pools, slides, jacuzzis, and all kinds of stuff.

  The little we knew about Mary was that she loved swimming, so we assumed it would be a fun experience for her—or at least we hoped so. After several minutes of me being unable to decide whether to call her because I was so nervous, Jake was the one who called her... but the moment she answered, he handed the phone to me.

  "Motherfucker," I whispered.

  I heard her sweet voice:—Hello?

  I was extremely nervous and didn't know what to say, but after a full minute of silence, I finally spoke:—Mary, hi... umm... look, umm... we were just calling to ask you something.

  She answered in a cheerful tone; I assumed she was trying to hide that she was still sad. I could tell.—Oh, hi, Tommy. What do you want to ask me?

  I slapped myself and asked as directly as possible, without stuttering:—We wanted to know if you'd like to go on a trip with us. Don't worry about the expenses—we'll pay for everything. We just want you to have fun. The hotel is full of slides and pools, by the way.

  She didn't say anything for a long minute, though I heard her mumbling. I got really nervous, thinking I had screwed it up. Finally, she replied:—Okay... umm... sure. I'd love to go with you guys. I guess I can't really say no.

  After that, Jake explained some details she suddenly asked about—things I had no idea how to answer. Once she hung up, Jake and I high-fived in celebration. She didn't seem very excited about going, but she still accepted. I wondered if everything would turn out okay.

  The next day we met her at the Great Kingdom airport. We had to fly for several hours since the hotel was very far away—literally in the middle of the ocean. Even so, I wasn't very excited, because I hate airplanes: I get dizzy easily, and it's boring and uncomfortable to sit there for 500 hours. But hey, if it was for Mary, I was willing to endure it.

  At first glance she looked cheerful, but Jake and I could tell she was pretending; she was still pretty depressed. I hoped this trip would help her forget, at least for a moment, whatever had happened.

  "Everything will be fine," I told myself.

  After going through a bunch of boring airport formalities, we finally boarded the plane. The bad part was that the three of us were seated far apart. For some reason, that airport had a weird policy where seats were assigned randomly. I still don't understand why, but whatever. I ended up sitting next to a grumpy old man and a kid who wouldn't stop screaming. From what I could see, Jake was sitting next to two beautiful women. Mary ended up way in the back; I couldn't see who she was sitting with. I wanted to sit next to her to try to cheer her up, but it wasn't possible, so I was pretty pissed.

  After several hours on the plane, I woke up and realized my head was resting on the old man's shoulder. Luckily, he was asleep too and didn't notice. So embarrassing. The kid, after hours of being annoying, had also fallen asleep. Everyone on the plane was asleep. I took advantage of that to get up and go check on Mary.

  After walking for a bit in the dark, I ran into a flight attendant who was taking a break, and I told her I was heading to the bathroom. She believed me—luckily the bathroom was close to where Mary was sitting. After squinting in the darkness for a while, I finally found her. She was asleep and looked so cute. She seemed fine. Thankfully, she was sitting with a boy and a girl; if she had been sitting next to a pervert, I would've lost my shit.

  I got lost in my thoughts, trying to imagine why Mary was so sad. Suddenly, there was an explosion. It was so loud it woke everyone up. I heard screams and babies crying. Smoke started coming from nearby. I rushed to see what was going on. I entered a room in the back of the plane and saw nothing but smoke and fire. I had no way to put out the fire; the best thing I could do was get everyone out of the plane.

  Suddenly, I was attacked from behind and fell to the floor. I felt a sharp pain in my back—something was biting me hard. I tried to get it off, but it was too heavy... actually, they were heavy, because there were several of them. I could hear their growls.

  Then, suddenly, the biting and growling stopped. I could hear those creatures being killed. Jake—who saved me—helped me up and asked if I was okay. I told him I was. Mary came too. I told them we needed to get everyone out of the plane before it exploded, and we did just that. As we left the room, Mary suddenly turned back with a look of terror and shouted:—Wait, there's no time—it's going to explode!

  After hearing that, the only thing I could think of was using Electric Tornado to save everyone. A second after activating it, the plane exploded, but I managed to catch everyone. I imagined some were injured, but the important thing was that they were alive.

  "Oh shit, I forgot the pilot," I thought.

  We landed on a mountain. Right after setting everyone down, I decided to go try to save the pilot, but suddenly I saw a giant figure emerging from the burning wreckage. I thought it was one of those creatures that attacked me. I flew toward it as fast as I could using Electric Tornado and grabbed it—or so I thought. Everything happened so fast that I suddenly realized I was falling. Luckily, Mary and Jake saved me from the fall. I wouldn't have died, but I definitely would've gotten hurt.

  The creature landed in front of us, with the flaming wreckage behind it. Thanks to the light of the explosion, we could finally see what stood before us. It wasn't one of those creatures. Before Jake killed them, I had seen them briefly: they were short, thin, with completely light-blue skin. Their claws and fangs looked like ice, and they had ice spikes all over their bodies. I had never seen creatures like that—especially not one like the one in front of us.

  "Is that a human? He looks human, but I've never seen someone that big," I thought. He was around three to four meters tall, completely hairless, but absolutely covered in muscle. It was terrifying... until you saw his face. He had a huge smile—childlike, almost adorable. Despite looking like a savage, he wore clothes: leather-like pants with a belt, boots made of the same material, and two straps crossing his chest in an X shape.

  At first, I was scared. This guy had sent me flying with barely any effort, even while I was using Electric Tornado—one of my strongest abilities. But if he had wanted to kill us, he already would have. Under his arm was the pilot, screaming like a little girl. It was obvious to us three that this giant had saved him.

  All the people behind us were screaming in fear; the pilot joined them too, since the giant had let him go. The giant made a confused face. The three of us decided to calm everyone down by telling them that the guy was harmless. What they really should be afraid of was the fact that we were in the middle of the night on Frost Mountain, the most dangerous mountain in all of Totium, and on top of that, it was snowing heavily. We had to get out of there, or we would all freeze to death.

  Some people shouted at me, asking why I couldn't use the same ability I used to save them before. I answered:

  "Unfortunately, all my electric abilities have a time limit. The Electric Tornado can only be used for three minutes, and every time I finish using such a powerful electric ability, I need at least ten minutes of rest. So using Electric Tornado to escape isn't an option."

  Well... the ten minutes thing is true and not true at the same time. Technically, I can use Electric Tornado again immediately after the time limit ends. The problem is that using such a powerful electric ability multiple times in a row causes extreme exhaustion, so I'd just pass out after five consecutive Tornados. So escaping the mountain that way wasn't an option.

  Mary suggested we look for a cave to take shelter in. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the giant—who at first didn't seem to understand our language—started speaking fluent Spanish. With a voice that was both gentle and firm, he said:

  "Uh... good evening, everyone. Umm... my name is Krok. I've lived on this mountain for many years, so I know it like the back of my ass. If you want, I can guide you to a shelter over there."He pointed north."I can also protect you from ice demons, if you want. And even if you don't want to, I'll do it anyway, hehe."

  Hearing a voice like that was... bizarre. It was endearing, but at the same time it made me want to laugh my ass off because of everything he said and the way he moved while talking. Apparently, I wasn't the only one—everyone started laughing, including Mary.

  "Okay, I like this guy," I thought.

  Obviously, everyone accepted Krok's offer. Even though it was already very late, he guided us toward what he called his "little house." It was in the same direction as the shelter he mentioned, so we started walking. We weren't a very big group—around thirty people. I didn't expect to end up freezing my ass off like this.

  Most likely, the creatures that attacked me earlier and the "ice demons" Krok mentioned were the same thing. They probably caused the accident. We couldn't communicate with anyone, since there was no cell signal up there, so all we could do was wait for people on the other side to realize the plane never arrived and come looking for us.

  "Shit... if only I hadn't stopped training all these years, I could get everyone out of here easily. I'm such an idiot. This trip was supposed to cheer Mary up, but now everything's gone to shit."

  While I was lost in my thoughts, I started hearing a strange noise approaching.

  "Where's it coming from? Right? Left? ...No. From behind."

  I didn't have much time. I raised my sword and summoned two lightning bolts as fast as I could. I turned around and saw a giant snowball about to crush all of us. I summoned Electric Fist and punched it, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Everyone was shocked.

  "Wait... it's not over yet."

  The pieces were falling. They were big enough to seriously hurt people.

  "The three of us can't protect everyone..."

  Suddenly, Krok moved at an unbelievable speed and destroyed every single deadly chunk of snow. I was stunned.

  "The last time I saw someone that fast was years ago... Alfred... Who is this guy? He's not just strong—he's insanely fast..."

  After all that, we finally arrived at Krok's "little house." It was basically a cave with several torches and a campfire. There were tons of animal skins—probably the same material he used to make his clothes. In one corner, there was a huge pile of frozen meat. I assumed that was his food.

  Krok said:

  "Here we are, my humble little home, haha. Come in, make yourselves at home!"

  Surprisingly, the place was much warmer than it looked thanks to the fire. Krok gave everyone blankets made from animal fur—they were incredibly warm. He also offered us a strange black drink that smelled amazing. He called it "Krok Juice." He said he made it using different fruits that grow on the mountain.

  It was my first time trying that stuff and... holy shit, it was delicious. I saw Mary drinking hers—she looked fine.

  "Guess I worried too much," I thought.

  Suddenly, one of the passengers—the old man who had been sitting next to me on the plane—started yelling:

  "What the hell is this?! It tastes like shit! PUAJJ!"He threw the drink on the floor."This blanket smells like shit, and this place isn't a house, you stupid giant! It's just a stupid cave! I thought it'd be a real building! TAKE ME TO THE SHELTER YOU MENTIONED RIGHT NOW, DAMN IT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAUSED THE ACCIDENT! YOU ALMOST KILLED US ALL!"

  When I looked at Krok, I saw sadness on his face. He didn't know what to say.

  "I see... this guy is an innocent angel. On the other hand, that old man is a complete son of a bitch," I thought, furious.

  Krok looked like he was about to cry, but I stood up from the wooden seat my ass was resting on and walked toward the old bastard. I looked him in the eyes and said:

  "Apologize to him."

  He replied:

  "Or what? You gonna hit me? Aren't you supposed to be a hero, you stupid kid?"

  "You're not going to apologize, huh?"

  "NO!"

  "Alright."

  I grabbed him by the neck, dragged him to the entrance of Krok's house, moved the rock blocking the entrance with my other hand, and threw him outside.

  "IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE SHELTER, GO BY YOURSELF! YOU'VE GOT LEGS FOR A REASON!"

  As I was closing the cave entrance, the old man suddenly came running back, screaming:

  "I'M SORRY! I'M REALLY SORRY! PLEASE LET ME IN!"

  I said:

  "Those apologies are obviously fake. You're just saying that to save your skin, you damn worm."

  Suddenly, I felt a giant hand on my shoulder and heard Krok's voice—this time, very firm.

  "Thank you for defending me, friend... but that's enough."

  After saying that, he pushed the rock back and let the old man in. The old man was hyperventilating on the ground. Krok approached him and looked down at him. From where I stood, I could see the terror on the old man's face.

  "Oh shit... I judged this guy wrong. He's going to kill him!"

  Or so I thought.

  Instead, Krok gently placed one of the blankets over the old man and walked away with a sad expression. The atmosphere became incredibly awkward for several long seconds... until Krok suddenly shouted:

  "FOOD IS READY!!!"

  We all gathered around a table that stood in the center of the house, and Krok brought out a giant plate filled with meat. I hadn't realized he had been cooking this while we were sitting there, but... it smelled AMAZING!!! We all started eating, and just as we expected, it tasted incredible. The flavor was similar to fried chicken, but much, MUCH better. Even the old bastard was enjoying the food.

  After we all finished eating, the old bastard stood up from his chair, walked over to Krok, and said:

  —Forgive me for everything I said to you, Krok, on behalf of all of us. We're very grateful to you for letting us stay in your home and giving us all these comforts.

  After hearing those words, we were all shocked. Krok simply stood up from his chair and killed the old man... killed him with kindness, that is, by giving him a huge hug while saying:

  —HAHAHA, it's nothing, little people. I always help those who need it. You're not the first ones to get stranded on this mountain.

  After that tender moment, we went to sleep, since the next day we'd have to wake up early to reach the shelter. According to Mary, it would take us between 5 and 6 days to get there. Luckily, Krok had several "houses" on that mountain, so during the day we could walk, and at night we'd rest in one of Krok's houses, repeating this until we reached the shelter.

  It was pretty cold, but with Krok's blankets it wasn't much of a problem. The "lights" were turned off; the only thing left on was the campfire so we wouldn't freeze to death. Little by little, everyone fell asleep. Before I knew it, I was the only one still awake. I couldn't stop thinking about the anger I felt over everything that had happened.

  "Right now we should be at the hotel having fun, but instead we're stranded on this stupid mountain," I thought.

  After making sure everyone was asleep, I got up and went outside. I wasn't sleepy at all, so to make use of the time, I started training a bit. The cold didn't affect me too much, so training like this wouldn't hurt me. I wanted to make the most of every second.

  Well, there's something I have to explain about myself. Thunder Knights, generally at the age of 5, have a lightning-shaped mark appear on their body. That mark means the True?ioion chose you to be the new Thunder Knight, and after a long ceremony at the "Crystalnium" temple, the former bearer passes the True?ioion on to the new one. From that day until their 18th birthday, the Thunder Knight must train relentlessly to level up. The higher the level, the stronger the Thunder Knight becomes and the more electric abilities they unlock.

  At that time, I was 17 years old, and I should already have been at level 4, but because I stopped training for several years, I was stuck at level 2. That meant that before turning 18, I had to train everything I hadn't trained in all those years. I was even sleeping very little to make the most of my time. It was torture, but I deserved it for being so useless.

  While I was minding my own business, I heard footsteps approaching. I quickly got up from the ground, but luckily it wasn't anyone dangerous. It was Krok. Well, yes, he was dangerous, but I mean he didn't want to attack me. He looked at me with a smile and said:

  —Looks like you're working pretty hard, but you should sleep or you won't wake up tomorrow, hahaha.

  I replied:

  —Don't worry, I'm a Thunder Knight. We're much tougher than normal people.

  He smiled again and handed me a cup of Krok juice. At that moment I thought: "What a nice guy."

  We sat on the ground for a while while I drank the delicious juice. He said to me:

  —You've got something on your face, lil guy.

  I replied:

  —Huh? What is it? Is my face dirty? No one told me —I said while wiping my face.

  Krok replied:

  —HAHAHA, you didn't understand me. Your face looks like you're about to cry. What's wrong?

  I looked him in the eyes and thought: "Hmm, this guy seems like a good person, maybe I can tell him."

  —Well, you see, my brother and I came here with Mary, the beautiful blonde girl. Supposedly, we came on this trip to cheer her up a bit, since she's been sad about something lately, but well... you already know what happened. We got stranded here.

  He looked at me, laughed a bit, and said:

  —I see, you like that girl.

  I blushed and said:

  —No no no no no no, that's not true, we're just friends.

  He replied:

  —HAHAHA, don't try to hide it, lil guy. I'm very old, I can tell these things easily. But don't be embarrassed, it's normal. From what I understand, the three of you spend a lot of time together fighting bad guys and stuff like that. She probably likes one of you.

  I replied:

  —Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it were Jake, but me? I really doubt it. Wait a minute... I'M NOT LITTLE, YOU'RE THE GIANT!

  We both laughed.

  After chatting a bit more, I went back to training, but Krok decided to accompany me until my energy completely ran out and I passed out from exhaustion. Luckily, Krok carried me inside.

  The next day—or rather, the same day in the morning—everyone woke up. Well, I was still asleep, but at the same time awake. I couldn't get up from how tired I was, but Jake made me get up with a punch to the stomach. Even though I was angry, I thanked him, since without that I probably wouldn't have gotten up at all.

  Before leaving, we all had breakfast. Krok somehow pulled out fresh bread. According to him, his mother taught him how to make bread in case he ever needed it, and honestly, I won't lie: it was pretty good, and it went even better with Krok juice.

  After that, Krok gave us all coats made of animal fur to protect us from the cold, along with gloves and boots. Jake had helped him make them the night before, since Krok said it would take him several days to do it alone, and Jake is an expert at those things, so they worked together.

  Once everyone was ready, we finally left the cave—well, Krok's little house. Luckily, the storm had stopped, so the cold wasn't as brutal as yesterday, but I was sure the walk would be a nightmare, especially for me, since I had shitty stamina. I always got tired quickly when walking, jogging, or running.

  The first hour of walking went by relatively fast thanks to Krok, who, seeing the children in the group crying, decided to start singing a children's song. I wasn't a fan of that kind of music, but it was entertaining at least, and the little brats finally shut up. According to Krok, his mother taught him that song.

  At that point, I thought about asking Krok several things. He was a pretty mysterious guy, and I was very curious, but also embarrassed to ask. Luckily, Jake and Mary took the initiative and started a conversation, asking him several questions: how old he was, what species he was, how long he'd been living on the mountain and why, etc.

  Surprisingly, he answered all of those questions, even though the two of them were pretty annoying with their questions. But Krok was such a nice guy that he never got annoyed or anything. According to him, he was 51 years old. Everyone in the group was very surprised, since he didn't look that age at all.

  He then answered the next question: he was half human and half Yeti. As far as I remembered, the Yeti species had almost gone extinct years ago. At the present time (back then), it wasn't known whether they were extinct or not. Going back to Krok, that would explain his great strength, his strange appearance, and his resistance to the cold, since he was the only one in the group not wearing a coat—the cold didn't affect him at all. Though, for some reason, he didn't have any fur. According to Mary, combining human DNA with other species sometimes gives results you'd never expect.

  After that, he changed the cheerful tone of his voice to a "serious" one and said:

  —Well, little people, answering the other question... my mommy... umm... she was a villager who lived on this mountain with her family. They were all happy and lived a peaceful life without hurting anyone, until the Yeti—the only one left of his species—attacked the village. All the village's warriors, including her, defended the village, but he killed everyone except her. He took her to his cave and there... that bastard... he...

  It seemed painful for him to talk about it, so Mary took his hand and told him it was okay, that he didn't need to continue. The whole atmosphere suddenly died down, and silence returned for a while, until Krok spoke again, this time with his usual cheerful tone:

  —Don't worry, little people, I'm fine. How about I tell you some stories I've lived on this mountain, huh?

  The children immediately gathered around Krok and enthusiastically told him they wanted to hear his stories, and that's how the long conversation that lasted several hours began.

  While all of that was happening, most of the group started talking among themselves, and some of them approached Krok to listen to his stories—Mary and I included. Jake, on the other hand, went over to one of the beautiful women who had been sitting next to him on the plane. He told me that since the first time he saw her, he had fallen in love, so he had been trying to win her over on the plane until the accident happened. According to him, that girl was "a tough nut to crack." I simply wished him luck, since he had always been a ladies' man who seduced every girl he approached. It was the first time he hadn't succeeded on the first try.

  While Krok was telling his stories, Mary and I were walking side by side. It took me a while to gather the courage to talk to her. I said:

  —Ummm, Mary, we haven't really had many chances to talk since yesterday. I just wanted to know how you're doing.

  She looked surprised for a second and then went back to her usual cheerful expression. She took a few seconds to think about what she wanted to say, and then she said:

  —Oh, Tommy, thanks for asking. Don't worry, I'm fine. Actually, all of this has been pretty fun so far.

  I looked into her eyes while she spoke. I believed her when she said she was fine, and I immediately felt relieved. After that, I turned my gaze back to Krok to keep listening to his stories, since I was terrible at conversations. I thought Mary had understood that I didn't know what else to say, but surprisingly, she continued the conversation. It was the first time she had ever done that.

  Normally, our conversations lasted a minute at most, since we were both terrible at keeping them going, but this time it caught me completely off guard.

  —Ummm... and you, Tommy, how are you?

  When I heard those words coming out of her beautiful mouth, my mind was screaming like a madman from happiness, but in real life I managed to control myself enough not to show it in front of her so she wouldn't think I was some kind of weirdo—if she didn't already think that.

  I replied:

  —Oh, thanks for asking, haha. Umm... I'm doing pretty well, honestly. Krok's little house was a nice place, and he's a good guy, so everything's fine.

  She replied cheerfully:

  —Right? Krok is such a sweet guy.

  "Wait... did she say sweet? Hold on, don't tell me she likes Krok... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Well, I can't blame her. Even though he's not my type, I can see how someone could like him. Oh my God..." I told myself.

  And very surprisingly, our conversation kept going for hours and hours, talking about trivial things. Before, we were way too shy to keep a conversation going for more than a minute, but now it flowed so naturally, and that made my heart feel amazing.

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  And well, the same thing had happened with the whole group. The walk, which at first seemed endless, had finished in the blink of an eye. Sunset was approaching, and the snow was starting to fall more heavily, but about five meters ahead we could see Krok's second little house. Everyone ran excitedly toward it, since the cold was getting stronger and stronger.

  We repeated the same thing as yesterday: we took off our coats, and after a few minutes of waiting, the delicious food was ready. This time Jake helped Krok cook, since thanks to our mother he was an expert in the kitchen, and along the way he had managed to find several ingredients to "improve" Krok's meat. And honestly, it was delicious—so much so that it didn't even take us half an hour to finish that feast.

  Mary, I, and some other people from the group helped them in the kitchen or by serving the food and stuff like that.

  Well, while we were eating, Jake—just like he always did with his former girlfriends—kept telling me everything about his relationships: how he seduced them, how he kissed them, how he fucked them, etc. It was pretty annoying, but over time I got used to it, and every now and then he would tell some funny story. But this last one was the funniest of all, because Jake failed once again with the beautiful woman; by the way, her name was "Jane." Yes, I know—even their names are similar—but apparently that woman wanted nothing to do with my brother.

  According to Jake, the first excuse she gave was that he was too young for her; she was 25 years old. Even though it wasn't such a big age gap, according to Jane, Jake was still just a kid. But my brother had always had a thing for older women; I even thought it was some kind of weird fetish, though I was wrong. But well, I can't blame him—honestly, that woman was very beautiful and attractive (though not as much as Mary).

  After Jake kept insisting, the woman revealed that she was actually a mother: she had an 8-year-old son, and even though she wasn't married, she still preferred not to make her son uncomfortable. But the funniest part was that, even so, Jake said:

  —It doesn't matter, I'm single too. I'm willing to be the kid's new father and marry you.

  I couldn't help but burst out laughing at what he said, though I quickly stopped when I realized that most of the group was looking at me, and I nearly died of embarrassment. Suddenly everyone started asking what I was laughing about, but obviously I wasn't going to tell them about my brother's business. Still, I couldn't help laughing again when I saw Jane giving my brother a threatening look. I hadn't laughed like that in years.

  And well, Jake had helped in the kitchen simply to impress the woman, but it didn't work. Everything was so funny but also very exhausting, so I decided not to train that day and went straight to my "bed" (the floor). Before going to sleep, I told Krok and Mary what had happened, and Krok told everyone else, and laughter erupted. And something happened that only occurs when the planets align: my brother was embarrassed. It was a good night.

  I was trying to fall asleep, but once again I couldn't stop thinking about Mary. I wanted to get closer to her.

  "Maybe I'm doing well so far... or maybe she'll end up falling in love with another man? AGHHH, I'd better go to sleep," I thought.

  Third day.This time I woke up in a good mood, which was great, since I was one of the first ones to wake up. I had the great opportunity to see Mary sleeping; she looked so cute that I stayed staring a bit too long, and suddenly she started to wake up, so I ran away pretending to go to the bathroom. My fucking heart almost jumped out of my chest.

  Well, same as the day before: after putting on our cold-weather clothes, we left little house #2 and headed toward the third one. As we started walking, Jake whispered in my ear that today his strategy would be to get close to Jane's son so the kid would talk well about Jake to his mother and help him win her over. I seriously doubted it would work, but I just gave him a high five and wished him luck.

  Meanwhile, I decided to talk to Mary, but unfortunately she was talking with Krok. Don't get me wrong, dear diary—I liked Krok, but that really pissed me off.

  "Well, that's it. I guess I'll be alone for the rest of the day..."

  Or so I thought, because I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard the word "Hey." It was a girl... a redhead, and quite pretty. Not as pretty as Mary, but pretty. I didn't know her at all; I think she was the other beautiful woman who had been sitting next to Jake on the plane. I'm pretty shy, especially around women; the only thing that came out of my mouth was:

  —Uh? Hi.

  She replied with a smile:

  —Oh, sorry, haha, we don't know each other. Well, you don't know me. My name's Katy. You're Tommy, right? The famous Thunder Knight.

  I got a bit nervous:

  —Ummm... yeah, that's me.

  What I really wanted to say was "Do you want something?", but i thought that sounded rude. She laughed and said:

  —Ahhh, you're pretty different from what the rumors say. How cute.

  I thought, "Wait... cute, me?" I blushed and replied in a low voice:

  —T-thanks.

  I thought she wanted my autograph or something, but she just kept talking, asking me a bunch of questions and telling me about herself. That girl was, so to speak, very straightforward. She was very different from Mary; she scared me a little, but at the same time I liked her. After a while of talking, I finally managed to feel "comfortable" and speak naturally. She, of course, pointed it out. Before I realized it, I had already forgotten about Mary.

  After about an hour of talking with this girl, I felt another hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw someone I didn't want to see: the old bastard.

  "I swear if he starts fucking with me, I'll break his face," I thought.

  "OH SHIT, DON'T FUCKING TELL ME," I screamed in my mind when I heard Katy say:

  —Oh, hi, daddy.

  I thought: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, WHY????"

  The old bastard said:

  —Katy, what the fuck are you doing with this kid? Didn't I tell you not to get close to him?

  She replied:

  —Haha, I know what you said, but it's not my problem that this boy taught you a lesson for being so rude.

  He shouted back:

  —WHAT DID YOU SAY!? DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU SPOILED BRAT!

  She shouted back as well:

  —I'VE TOLD YOU ALREADY THAT I'M NOT A KID, YOU STUPID OLD MAN!

  At that moment I thought, "Oh no, this can't be happening. I'm stuck with two loud people—the kind I hate the most..."

  The old man kept shouting and tried to drag Katy away. She resisted and said to me:

  —TOMMY, PLEASE, DON'T LET HIM TAKE ME!

  I knew she was joking, but I'm a very nervous person; in situations like that I don't think straight. Suddenly I realized the whole group was turning to look at the three of us, including Mary. The first thing that came to mind was to step toward the old man and say:

  —Please, sir, let her go. She clearly doesn't want to go with you. She's not a child anymore—let her make her own decisions.

  Immediately I thought: "I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAID, I'M DYING OF EMBARRASSMENT!!!"

  I quickly looked back at Mary, and she looked away.

  "Wait... did she look angry? Did I see that right? Is she jealous? Maybe I imagined it."

  Right after that, Katy pulled away from her father and grabbed my arm, sticking her tongue out at him, while he just shouted:

  —HUHH!? WHEN WE GET HOME, YOU'LL BE PUNISHED!

  Then he stormed off, angry and grumbling. Katy looked back at me with a smile and kissed me on the cheek. Immediately, everyone in the group screamed excitedly like an elementary school class watching a couple kiss. That made me blush like crazy.

  "I hate my life," I thought.

  The rest of the day can be summed up as me dying of embarrassment and trying to keep talking with Katy, while secretly wishing that a giant snowball would appear and crush me. After many painful hours, we finally arrived at little house #3. Katy said goodbye with another kiss on the cheek. Luckily, by then everyone had already gone inside and nobody saw it—well, everyone except Jake, who was waiting for me. He said the usual bullshit:

  —What a ladies' man, huh.

  I just kicked him in the balls and went inside. Dinner went the same as always, except for two differences. First: Mary didn't speak to me at all.

  "I WANT TO DIE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," I screamed in my mind.

  The second difference was that Jane's son, whose name was Vincent—the annoying brat who had been sitting next to me and the old bastard—was glued to Jake. They looked like best friends. I guess he succeeded, which didn't surprise me, since Jake had always been good at getting people to like him, especially kids. Still, It didn't work the way Jake wanted, because the kid's mother came over and took him away, saying:

  —Come on, Vincent, I already told you not to get close to this man.

  And of course, the kid threw a tantrum.

  "My ears hurt. I hate everything."

  After a while, there was finally peace and it was time to sleep. Aaaand, of course, I was the only one who couldn't. I had insomnia after everything that happened. It was a shitty day. I decided to go out and train again, but this time I went a bit farther from the house. In the distance, I could see a frozen lake. Tomorrow we'd have to cross it, since there didn't seem to be any way around it without wasting too much time.

  As always, I started doing push-ups on the ground, thinking about all the stupid things I had done that day. I heard footsteps. I was so angry that the first thing that came to mind was to throw my sword with all my strength. Suddenly I realized what I had done and tried to stop it before it hit whoever had appeared, but it wasn't necessary—standing in front of me was Krok, and he stopped the sword with his hand before I could.

  I dropped to the ground when I realized how awesome Krok was.

  "She's probably in love with him," I thought.

  Krok came closer and handed me a cup of Krok juice. I took it reluctantly while listening to what he said:

  —Rough day, huh? You screwed up, buddy, hahaha.

  I replied:

  —Shut up. I know. I don't need you to tell me.

  —HAHAHA, relax, lil guy, it's all good. As long as you apologize, everything will be fine.

  —Wait, apologize? Why would I do that? Is she jealous? I don't think so. I can't believe she'd like me. I probably imagined it, and besides, we're not even dating. If she's mad, why? I don't get it. You're an awesome guy—she probably likes you.

  He patted me on the back and said:

  —Listen, lil guy, you really underestimate yourself. You're the coolest guy here. You've got her wrapped around your finger, you just don't realize it. Don't overthink it. It's obvious. You're both great. I've heard about what you've done, and trust me—you're popular with girls, you just don't notice it. Look at that girl Katy—she likes you too, haha... Man, I wish I were like you.

  I blushed hearing all that. It was hard to believe that someone as cool as him thought that way about me. I replied:

  —But you're already amazing. When we met, you beat me without even trying. If you were a Thunder Knight, you'd be way, WAY better than me. Anyone would be...

  Krok sighed and replied:

  —You're... wrong, lil guy... I've spent almost my entire life living on this mountain—not because I want to, but because my father, the Yeti, lives here. I've devoted my whole damn life to trying to defeat that bastard, but I've always failed... again... and again... and again. My mother would probably be disappointed in me for being so weak...

  I could see tears coming out of the kind giant's eyes.

  "I see... even people this amazing can feel like this..."

  After a few moments of silence, I said:

  —I'm sure your mother is very proud of you—and also worried. Despite everything, you've never given up, right? That's what makes you amazing. I'm sure you'll succeed someday.

  Those words, which came out of my mouth naturally, made the giant cry. I simply hugged him—not just for him, but because those words were also meant for myself, to encourage me not to give up no matter what. I couldn't help crying too.

  Fourth day.I woke up this time neither happy nor sad—just calm. Talking with Krok had helped me let everything out.

  "Today I'll try to stop making mistakes like always," I told myself.

  At breakfast I tried to talk to her, but I didn't get the chance. She was glued to Krok. Even after we left, I still couldn't talk to her. Even though I was close to her, the words just wouldn't come out...

  Katy approached me again, greeted me cheerfully, and grabbed my arm, but I pulled away and said:

  —Don't do that, please.

  She didn't say anything—she just looked upset and walked away.

  "Oh shit, I thought she'd take it worse."

  We kept walking for about two hours. I was alone. I could see Jake talking to the kid and glancing at Jane—it was pretty obvious, haha. I could also see Mary talking with Krok.

  "I wonder what they're talking about. Does she really like me? Or did Krok just say that to cheer me up? I really want to approach her, but I'm so scared she'll tell me she hates me or something..."

  Suddenly everyone stopped. I quickly realized we had arrived at the frozen lake I'd seen yesterday. I was about to shout to let everyone know we'd have to cross it since there was no fast way around, but Mary spoke first. She said we'd cross the lake in groups of five to prevent the ice from breaking under everyone's weight.

  Everyone chose their groups. I saw Jake getting pulled by Vincent into a group with his mother. The other two in that group were a friendly young couple. Mary joined a group with Krok. I was about to go over there when someone grabbed my arm. It was Katy.

  "FOR FUCK'S SAKE," I screamed in my mind.

  To make things worse, her asshole father joined the group "to keep an eye on me," and along with him came two men who had traveled alone and didn't know anyone else, so they asked if they could join us. Out of politeness, I said yes.

  From where I stood, I could see that three assholes (including the pilot) joined Mary's group, and they had rapist faces.

  "I can see their intentions. I want to punch them..."

  After a while, once all the groups were set, Mary decided the order. Mary's group, Jake's group, and mine would go last, obviously. The other three groups would go first.

  The first group was an elderly couple. They were very cute. The other three were their son, his wife, and their grandson—a very heartwarming sight. Luckily, they crossed safely.

  The second group was a schoolteacher with her four students on a field trip. Again, everyone crossed safely.

  The third group was a bunch of teenagers, about our age. Unlike the first two groups, these guys were scared shitless. It took them a while to cross, and the ice started cracking a bit, but they made it.

  The fourth group—Jake's—was even funnier. He acted like a full-on "knight." It was hilarious; he looked like he'd stepped out of a damn cartoon, and the poor couple's faces were priceless. Everything seemed fine... or so we thought.

  Just as they were about to finish crossing, the ice broke and Vincent fell into the water. Without hesitation, Jane and Jake jumped into the freezing water to save him. I wanted to go too, but I trusted Jake to handle it.

  The couple froze in shock, but I yelled at them to run to safety—that my brother would take care of it. From where I stood, I could see Jake fighting a giant fish—some kind of predator native to the mountain.

  "Wait... is that Jane? She's fighting it too, but she's struggling."

  I saw Jake punch the fish with all his strength, making the water shake, and then he emerged with Jane and Vincent in his arms.

  Jake quickly took off his soaked coat to give it to Vincent, but the other man in the group—his name was Allan—offered his dry coat. Jake accepted immediately, wrapped the kid in it, and hugged him tightly.

  Jane hugged her son, and I saw a green light. I shouted:

  —Hey! Are you okay over there!?

  Jake and Jane shouted back together:

  —Yes! Everything's fine! Vincent is safe!

  We all sighed in relief.

  The first four groups decided to go ahead to reach the shelter faster so the kid could warm up. After that, Mary suggested a plan: the two remaining groups would hold hands while crossing. If anyone fell, the others would pull them up. Krok would stay in the middle—if the ice completely broke, he'd throw us all to safety.

  And so we began. I was somewhat close to Mary, though Krok stood between us, and one of the assholes was holding her hand.

  "I'm so fucking angry..."

  Katy was next to me, extra clingy that day, and her father was glaring at me. We walked sideways. As we got near the hole Jake's group had made, we could hear the ice cracking.

  The three assholes and Katy panicked. Katy jumped on me, screaming for protection. The assholes threw themselves to the ground in fear, causing the ice to break and drop them into the water. Mary was about to jump in, but I beat her to it—using my True?ioion to propel myself telepathically.

  One of the predatory fish was about to swallow them in a single bite, but I managed to cut it into pieces, although I didn't realize that another one was right behind me, about to gnaw on my head. Then, all of a sudden, Mary was between the beast and me and killed it with her axe.

  We were about to get out of the water, but we could see Katy and her father falling into the water as well. Before we could even react, Mary rushed off to rescue them. I threw the three assholes toward Krok so he could take them to safety, and I launched myself—propelled by the True?ioion—toward about three predatory fish that were approaching at full speed, while Mary rescued Katy and her father.

  Everything ended with everyone, except Krok and the kids from my group, completely soaked. We shared our coats with those who had fallen in and kept moving as fast as possible to reach the little house before nightfall, since these people could die from the cold.

  After half an hour, we managed to reach little house #4, completely exhausted. The others were already inside, warming themselves around the campfire. When they saw that some people were freezing their asses off, they got up and helped us. What a day...

  Luckily, after a few hours, those who had fallen in were already okay. The three assholes came up to thank me for saving them."I think I judged them wrong. They're not bad guys, but I'm still sure they wanted to hook up with Mary..." I thought.

  Surprisingly, the shitty old man also came up to thank me. I also saw how he thanked Mary first. He said to me:

  —Listen, kid, I'm sorry for how I treated you before. I really regret judging you so poorly. Thank you very much for helping me and my daughter. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  I couldn't help feeling like mocking the old man to his face, but that's not what a hero does, so I just told him in an angry tone:

  —You're welcome.

  He made a sad face, and that felt satisfying at the same time. I also felt a bit of pity for the old man, but that didn't matter, because Katy suddenly appeared behind me and scared the shit out of me. After laughing at how badly she scared me, she said:

  —Come on, Tommy, forgive my dad. Yeah, he's a grumpy old bastard, but he's not a bad person. He's the best father in the world. He's always taking care of me. The first day we were here, he was angry because the trip he'd been looking forward to so much for my birthday was completely ruined. He really is sorry for everything he said and did. Please, forgive him.

  After hearing what she said, I thought about it calmly."She's right. I think I'm just like this shitty old man. Most of the time I let myself be carried away by my negative emotions and end up doing or saying stupid things."

  I decided to smile at the old man and apologize for throwing him out of the cave on the first day. We made peace and shook hands, although... I still didn't like him very much.

  Before leaving, Katy gave me her number, but I told her I didn't want to go out with her. I told her I already liked another girl. She was sad, but I told her we could be friends. She accepted, though she was still sad. I felt a bit bad, but well—if I had never met Mary, I would definitely go out with that girl; even though she was kind of annoying, she was nice at the same time.

  Well, after a lot of talking, everything finally calmed down. I was exhausted, but guess what, dear diary: I couldn't sleep again. And like the previous two nights, I decided to go outside for a while.

  "I might catch a cold, but I don't care. I can't stand lying down doing jack shit," I told myself.

  Instead of exercising, I lay on the ground, looking at the sky. My plan was to train, but I was mesmerized by the beauty of the sky. Of the few things that have caught my attention throughout my life, space is one of them."I wonder what's out there..."

  Suddenly, memories of what happened with the Martians came to my mind. I clenched my fist and punched myself in the face."I deserve it, I'm useless..."

  I heard footsteps, but this time I didn't panic. I simply focused on my sense of hearing, which was pretty good. Just by listening to those feet touching the snow, I could guess who it was: Mary.

  Suddenly I became extremely nervous. I couldn't decide whether to greet her or pretend i didn't knew she was there. By the time I made up my mind, she was already lying down next to me. The only thing she said was:

  —The sky is beautiful, isn't it?

  I simply smiled and said:

  —You're fucking damn right.

  She just laughed and replied:

  —You have such a foul mouth.

  Suddenly, the words I had wanted to say all day finally came out of my mouth:

  —Hey... I'm sorry.

  But at the same time I said it, I heard the same words coming from Mary's lips. We both went silent for a moment. She asked:

  —Why are you apologizing?

  I answered with the same question:

  —Why are you apologizing?

  I heard her growl softly.

  —Well, I wanted to spend time with you, but out of nowhere you started hanging out with that redheaded girl.

  I was left speechless. She really was jealous... I was so nervous and happy that I didn't know what the fuck to say. Suddenly, I decided to say the first thing that came to my mind:

  —Well, you were always hanging out with Krok.

  She looked like she wanted to answer immediately, but she shut up right away. We stayed silent for a few seconds...

  —You're right, but I really wanted to spend time with you. I was just waiting for you, and then Krok showed up. We started talking and you never joined us. I thought you liked him. Are you jealous?

  She laughed sweetly. I blushed and got angry. I stood up and said:

  —You're jealous of Katy.

  She stood up too. I could see her beautiful face blushing, and frowning.

  —Yes, I'm jealous, so what?

  My heart was beating really fast. The only thing I could think of doing was kissing her... It was the first time I had ever done it. I remember that when I was a kid, I thought that if I ever kissed a girl, it would be a disaster, because I'd have no experience. But honestly, I have no idea how I did it.

  Everything happened so fast, yet at the same time it felt like an eternity. How can I describe it... it was magical. The girl of my dreams, the one I had been waiting for my whole life, I was kissing her at that moment. I could feel her soft lips touching mine. I couldn't see her face, because instinctively my eyes were closed. I didn't want to open them; I wanted that moment to last forever.

  We were both hugging each other. I could feel her warm body. We were one. Nothing I had ever experienced before even came close to that moment...

  Sadly, it was interrupted by Krok. He tapped us on the shoulders. We screamed at the same time, but luckily he covered our mouths so as not to wake anyone up. He just looked at us with a huge son-of-a-bitch grin and whispered:

  —You finally did it, huh?

  "I want to die," I thought.

  We were both redder than a fucking tomato. Nobody said anything and we just quietly went to sleep, happy, but very, VERY embarrassed...

  Fifth day."If we hurry, today or tomorrow we'll finally be at the shelter. I can't believe how much has happened in just a few days... I feel like a completely different person," I told myself.

  The first thing I did when I woke up was touch my lips, remembering what had happened last night. I got up and went to the table. Most people were already eating. We all said good morning.

  Suddenly, Jake sat down next to me. He had a huge smile."Don't tell me..." I thought.

  When he saw me, he immediately said:

  —Guess what? I finally got her number.

  My usual reaction to this kind of thing he told me was a sarcastic "good for you," but this time I was genuinely happy for him. I replied with:

  —Seriously, bro? Come on, tell me everything.

  We spent the entire breakfast talking about it. I also told him what happened with Mary. Luckily, she was still asleep.

  Well, according to Jake, after arriving at the little house, Jane thanked him with tears in her eyes for helping her son. He simply replied with a "You're welcome." At that moment I realized that the asshole Jake had really grown attached to the kid. He looked very worried when the boy fell into the water.

  After that, while the two of them were taking care of the kid, they started getting to know each other better and, apparently, Jane started to "like" Jake. So, well, he got her phone number.

  That reminded me of when we were kids. He always talked about how someday he wanted to find the right one, get married, and have a family. I wondered if Jane really was "the one."

  Well, going back to Mary and me, Jake, as always, gave me his "big brother advice." He told me to just ask her if she wants to go out with me. I answered with a firm:

  —NO. I don't know what I'd do if she rejected me.

  He just said:

  —Don't be an idiot. There's no way she'll reject you. You just have to say it. It's basically a formality. You're already dating anyway. We've been together for more than a fucking month. I'm 110% sure you two are made for each other.

  I couldn't help filling my head with doubts again. I'm always like this, I can't help it. I was really afraid of her waking up.

  Before I realized it, she was sitting next to me and greeted Jake and me. I couldn't help getting a bit startled and greeting her nervously. We didn't talk much during breakfast; the tension was in the air...

  Everything continued like that until it was time to leave. Mary was standing outside, with her back turned. I guess she was waiting for me. I decided to grab my balls really hard (figuratively) and go over to her and take her hand. I could see her blush very sweetly and smile at me.

  "Well, if everything goes well, when we get to the shelter I'll ask her out. I hope everything works out..." I told myself.

  "It feels strange, but also relaxing, this atmosphere. This whole group is, so to speak, very united," I thought.

  Most of the group was listening to Krok's stories, including Katy's father, talking about her. It seems she decided to forget about me, since she was flirting with one of the three assholes. And my brother was talking with Jane and Vincent.

  Several hours passed, and the walk felt very short, at least for me, since I had been happily chatting with Mary. Everything was really great.

  A few meters ahead, I managed to see some strange trees. Krok told us those were the trees from which he collected the fruits for Krok juice. Most of the group took a few of those fruits, which tasted delicious. We stopped for a moment to rest next to the trees.

  Everything was going great, until I heard some strange noises approaching."Are those giant snowballs? No, wait, I remember that sound. It was the sound made by the ice demons that attacked me on the plane."

  I quickly stood up and warned everyone about what was happening. Jake, Krok, Mary, and I prepared for combat. There seemed to be many of them. They finally arrived... there were too many, around 40–50. We were surrounded.

  I told everyone not to worry, that we would protect them. Those hungry beasts jumped to attack, and so did we. With my True?ioion, I sliced them as fast as I could. Jake crushed them with his mace. Krok, with his immense strength, killed them easily. Mary, with her axe and great speed, decapitated them.

  Everything was going relatively well, but there were still a few left on my side. I was starting to get really tired. Those guys were so strong that I needed to put all my strength into my arms to cut them. I lost focus for a moment, and one of them took advantage and attacked me. It scratched my face and I fell to the ground.

  The other two remaining ones lunged at me."They're going to kill me," I thought.

  Suddenly, I saw a green light on my face. The next second I saw an arm crushing the face of one of the demons. I quickly got up and cut off the heads of the remaining two. The one who helped me was Jane. She looked like a normal woman, but apparently she was quite strong."Is she like mom?" I thought.

  I said to her:

  —Thanks, sis-in-law.

  She yelled at me. I started laughing, but my expression changed immediately...

  When I looked back at the others, I saw a horrible scene. A scene that made my mind go blank. My blood was boiling."Mary... Mary..."

  She was being injured by the demons. Jake and Krok couldn't do anything for her, since they were protecting the others. Her whole body was being wounded by those damned monsters... she wasn't moving...

  "YOU BASTARDS, HOW DARE YOU!!!"

  I jumped forward with all my strength. At the same moment, I raised my True?ioion into the air and summoned two thunders. The next second, I summoned controlling lightning. With it, I electrocuted all the ice demons that were hurting Mary. I electrocuted them so strongly that their heads exploded.

  I quickly ran to Mary. I couldn't help but cry. She was covered in blood."It can't be... I'm so fucking useless. I thought she would be fine, but I let those bastards hurt her. These wounds are very serious... Please no, please no... PLEASE, NOT YOU, DON'T LEAVE ME TOO!!!" I kept telling myself while crying.

  Suddenly I was pushed aside and someone grabbed Mary. I was about to punch that person, until I saw it was Jane. She said to me:

  —Don't worry, she'll be fine. She'll survive. She's very strong.

  As she said that, she healed Mary. A green light came out of her hands. It was the same light my mom produced when she used her witch powers. I thought all witches had gone extinct, but apparently I was wrong.

  I quickly started crying again, but this time from relief. I decided to kneel down and thank Jane through tears. After a while, she told us that Mary would be fine, but that she couldn't fully heal her wounds, since her powers weren't strong enough. She said we needed to hurry to reach the shelter, because if the storm caught us, Mary could die.

  I thanked Jane again, while taking off my coat and my shirt and wrapping Mary in them so she wouldn't get too cold. She was unconscious.

  After walking for a couple of hours, night was almost falling. I was carrying Mary in my arms. They hurt like hell thanks to the fight with the ice demons, but I had to keep going. My body was also starting to feel the cold.

  Krok told us we were practically ten minutes away from the shelter. He was right. From where I was, I could see the large building.

  But not only my arms hurt—my legs did too. They felt very heavy. The wind was starting to blow harder and harder. The sun was beginning to set."Just a little more..."

  Krok, who was in front of everyone, suddenly stopped. I said to him:

  —Hey, what's wrong, big guy? Hurry up!

  He answered in a firm voice:

  —He... he's here.

  At first, I didn't understand what he meant, but when I got closer to him, I saw his face full of pure terror."The Yeti."

  Krok's father—the one he had never been able to defeat—was standing in front of us. We all froze in fear. I drew my sword. I saw Jake pull out his mace. Jane also activated her magic.

  I said to Krok:

  —We probably won't make it out of this alive, but at least we'll be defeated after fighting with all our strength.

  Krok's face changed again when he heard my words. He put on a determined expression and said:

  —You all run to the shelter. I'll hold him back long enough.

  Before I could refuse that proposal, he instantly jumped toward his father and punched him in the face with overwhelming force, knocking him to the ground. From his mouth came a kind of wind that turned his father into a giant block of ice.

  He shouted at us:

  —NOW'S THE TIME, GO, YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!!!

  Suddenly, the entire group started running toward the shelter. I couldn't decide. I looked at Krok; just by seeing his face I could tell he was using all his strength to hold back the Yeti. But then I looked at Mary. So I decided to run as fast as I could toward safety.

  We managed to reach the shelter. We quickly banged on the door and shouted for help. At the top of the building, we could see a person through the window. He saw us and waved cheerfully. Then he noticed the Yeti and his expression changed to shock, and he quickly pressed what seemed to be several buttons, causing the energy-made door to start opening.

  These shelters were designed so that no kind of beast could enter them, so once we got inside, we would be safe.

  The door finally opened completely and the whole group went inside. Before I could enter, I heard the ice that Krok had created starting to crack. I turned back to look at him. He was still struggling...

  I made a decision. I told Jake to take care of Mary. He tried to stop me, but I yelled at him to hurry up. I wanted to help Krok.

  "He's an amazing person. He doesn't deserve to die for a useless guy like me. I have to help him. If I manage to be useful, we can win," I thought.

  As I ran with all my strength toward Krok, I managed to hear an avalanche approaching. It was probably caused by Krok's blow to his father.

  Krok looked back at me, while his damn father's arm grabbed him by the neck with tremendous force and started shaking him. Krok winked at me.

  After a few seconds, I said in my mind:"I think I understand Krok's plan..."

  I summoned three thunders. Meanwhile, his father completely freed himself from the ice. Like all Yetis, he could control ice and created a kind of ice gauntlet with which he struck Krok.

  Krok... was an amazing guy. When I first saw him, I didn't think he would be so intelligent and strong. The second night we talked, I told him about my electric abilities. He told me that if we ever encountered his father, I should use fire bolt at maximum power, since the Yeti's weakness was high temperatures.

  But this time the plan changed slightly. I wasn't just going to use fire bolt to attack the Yeti, but to turn the massive avalanche into water.

  Krok also told me about one of the abilities he inherited from his father: ice breath. With his breath, Krok could turn that immense amount of water into ice and trap his father."He'll be able to escape after that," I thought.

  And just as Krok wanted, I shouted with all my strength:

  —FIRE BOLT, MAXIMUM POWER!!!

  The huge blast hit its target, damaging the Yeti and, unfortunately, Krok as well, but at the same time turning the massive amount of snow into water.

  All that enormous amount of water slammed into the three of us. I couldn't see anything. After a few seconds, I could feel myself being pulled with great force...

  When I opened my eyes, I was inside the refuge. A few minutes had passed. The one who saved me from drowning was Jane. I quickly asked how Krok was...

  She pointed toward the window with a sad expression. I immediately realized that the whole group was crying.

  "It can't be... IT CAN'T BE!!!" I shouted as I ran as fast as I could toward the window, and all I saw was a mass of ice. Not just ice—there were also giant spikes made of ice...

  "I see... Krok knew that my fire bolt wouldn't be enough to seriously damage his father, so he created these giant ice spikes to do it," I told myself.

  In the distance... inside the ice, I could see the shattered bodies of Krok and the Yeti. I couldn't help but cry uncontrollably...

  "Krok, you did it, big guy. You avenged your mother. We're all proud of you. Rest in peace."

  That night... I will never forget that night. The night a true hero sacrificed himself. The only thing that could be heard in that place was crying, as we waited to be rescued and to also recover his body.

  End of Chapter 6.