Conquering His Cold Heart

"Met them hah! You've succeeded them Findlay hahahahaha." Frost swiftly moved forward and aided Findlay to his feet. He then squeezed Findlay's arms and slammed down on his shoulders before turning around to face everyone else.

"Well what do the rest of you think?" He asked with a bright smile. Frost was currently over the moon and did nothing to hide his emotions.

Maya who was wary of Findlay's newfound power let out a small sigh and shook her head before smiling.

Kiba and Khuno who were previously forced to their knees thanks to Findlay's aura looked at one another before smiling wildly. Kiba chuffed and arched his chest out roughly translating as 'I'll be at his level soon'. While Khuno had clenched fists and fire in his eyes, desperate to launch himself into battle so as to progress through to his max level.

Their jealously was obvious but it wasn't negative in anyway, they thought only the world of Findlay.

Nanna and Loki didn't really understand the change in Findlay's power due to Maya protecting them but given Frost's expression it was clear that he succeeded in his evolution.

They quickly popped out from behind Maya before dashing forward to Findlay.

"You've gotten shorter." Loki instantly pointed out his new height.

"Your face is different." Nanna being a little bit more tactful chose to focus on a more vague comment.

"Hahahahaha I suppose I have gotten shorter Loki but I'm still more than twice your height." Findlay teased Loki back with a gentle expression. He placed his hand over Loki's head before bringing it back to his own body marking where the little phoenix kin reached.

This caused Loki to be speechless before growing red in his cheeks and stomping the floor, looking absolutely adorable as he did. He repeatedly mumbled that he was still growing making him look even cuter. Maya had catch herself from a stumble as she was completely taken by his actions.

Having dealt with Loki, Findlay then turned to look at Nanna who trembled when caught in his gaze, wary about him retorting her comment back to her someway.

'No I'm fine, I was neither negative or positive.' She complimented her forward thinking as she returned Findlay's gaze.

"Is it a good different or a bad different?" He asked teasingly.

"....Good" Nanna though about her answer before replying honestly, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. Findlay looked a lot better appearance wise. Though there were still some rough parts, and he was still clearly a troll he couldn't be considered ugly in anyway. Of course he still paled in comparison to Frost, Maya, Loki and herself but it was a definite improvement.

Findlay's smile stretched from ear to ear at her shy response before he ruffled her hair in an affectionate manner.

"Thank you for the praise lady Nanna." Nanna with still red cheeks nodded in reply before hiding back behind Maya, causing the Fenrir to swoon once again, cuteness is power.

Findlay turned back to his master before speaking "It seems I pass in terms of appearance but that's obviously secondary….shall you do the honours or shall I?" His expression portrayed a clear arrogance.

"Oh! I'll be doing it of course." Frost smirked and responded teasingly before moving a little away from the group and bringing up an enlarged version of the dungeon menu.

"Let's take a look at your brand new status." With an exaggerated flourish Frost manipulated the dungeon menu to bring up Findlay's brand new status for everyone in the room to see and marvel at.

Name: Findlay

Race: Ice troll lord

Rank: B

Level: 1/60

Weapon Skills: [Axe slash], [mountain cleave], [boomerang axe], [whirlwind slash], [glacier crash], [holmgang], [spinning blizzard], [giant's axe]

Racial Skills: [empowering shout], [greater ice stomp],[ice breath], [focused power], [Focused rush], [ice blanket protection]

Passive: [greater war buff], [high ice resistance], [aura], [advanced axe mastery], [minor regeneration]

Magic: [ice bolt], [ice shield], [ice partisan], [ice fog], [frost nova], [summon ice axes], [protect], [ice enchantment]

The new status screen was a fair bit more developed especially in the magic section which used to house but a single 1st circle spell.

"An ice troll lord huh?" Frost was cupping his chin as he read the information outlined on the status screen. From what he knew of the troll species, Lords were of very high status. Their intelligence and leadership qualities usually made them chieftains of large prosperous tribes or part of the ruling class in city states and monster focused countries.

He could surmise that Findlay's next evolution would likely make him either an ice troll king or emperor the very peak of the ice troll's ruling archetypes and a position that seemed to suit Findlay to a tee.

He couldn't help but nod in agreement as he imagined his right hand man's future potential.

Findlay twitched nervously as everyone examined his status in depth. He felt as though every part of him was exposed, an awkward feeling.

Thankfully after a few minutes Frost asked him to display some of his new skills allowing him not focus on that uneasy feeling.

He started with his weapon skills. [Boomerang axe] and [whirlwind slash] were both adept level skills. The former was a long ranged skill that saw Findlay launch his axe at a distanced target before it returned to his hands. It was a delicate skill that needed a fair amount of practise to easily catch the returning weapon.

[Whirlwind slash] was a spinning skill, Findlay and his weapon were covered in a green energy before they started rotating at pace like a dangerous top. A skill that was very violent and lacking in control, seeing everything nearby as an attack target.

[Holmgang], [spinning blizzard] and [Giant's axe] were advanced mastery skills. The first was the same skill Bastion used to pull Rock towards him and away from Frost a couple months ago. A chain of energy from his axe would wrap around the intended target and violently pull them towards the user.

[Spinning blizzard] was an enhanced version of [whirling slash] adding the ice element to the attack and being even more destructive. Whereas [Giant's axe] had the energy used coagulate around his weapon and extend it to three times its original size i.e. making it the size of a giant's weapon.

Nanna and Loki both cheered as Findlay displayed his skills, awed by their overwhelming power whereas Khuno looked on with an analysing gaze, gaining personal insight into his own moves.

For his racial skills there was only really a single new skill, the rest were just powerups of his previous ones. [Ice blanket protection] was a very unique skill that matched well with Findlay's traits as a leader and support class. Whereas [empowering shout] increased the strength and offensive based abilities of his allies, [ice blanket protection] was a defensive enhancement.

A blanket of ice aspected energy would cover the intended allies, providing some magic resistance as well as keeping their muscles cool and sapping out their exhaustion.

With this Findlay really became a true military commander. With him on the battlefield even if he didn't fight personally his forces would see a dramatic improvement in their capabilities.

Finally there was the much anticipated magic. Findlay was never much for using magic except for when he could only attack from a distance, that however was now a thing of the past. The silver gem embedded in his forehead was not just aesthetically pleasing but of a practical nature. It naturally enhanced Findlay's ability to control and absorb mana, making him a powerful wizard.

His magic spells were thus expanded to accommodate this change.

None of his magic were spells that Frost didn't know about or even knew himself but the fact that they were attached to Findlay made him a veritable jack of all trades, perfect for any situation.

Frost was more than pleased with the outcome, Findlay went beyond his expectations once again. He was all smiles and head nodding while Findlay openly displayed his capabilities.

"Hahahahaha perfect absolutely perfect, with your new archetype I'm no longer even remotely worried about our defences. Let the late stages throw their worst at us, we can handle it hahahahaha." Frost laughed out loud as a heavy weight lifted itself from his shoulders. He no longer needed to think about blocking off the dungeon's entrance.

Even if a B-rank monster came he was confident that with Findlay by his side they could deal with it.

His raucous laughter spread amongst his warriors, Findlay, Khuno and Kiba all looked forward to the next wave and those that followed after. Nanna and Loki also looked forward to it but more to the fact that with Findlay's new strength they wouldn't have to say goodbye to as many friends.

Maya however felt as though Frost and the other men were getting a bit ahead of themselves, arrogance leads to downfall after all, but she kept silent for the moment. Right now was a time of celebration, she can lecture them later.