Conquering His Cold Heart

The ground trembled and the snow underneath compacted from the man's sheer weight. He stood even taller than Dulan, roughly ten metres and chock full of bulging muscle.

He was adorned in beast skins and hides that still showed off much of his blue skin, creating a rather primal and wild image. Yet even the lowest quality hide was from that of a C-rank monster making him kitted out in some very high end armour.

A massive hammer multiple metres in length and likely weighing north of a 1000Kg descended alongside this man. Its composition was of pykrete, dense, heavy and of very, very high quality. It hummed, glowed and even emitted a chilling presence whenever it passed through the air.

This was a 4 star weapon.

"Let's see what all the fuss is about then shall we." The man's smile grew, and his nostril flared as he gradually walked towards the dungeon's entrance alone with his hammer in hand, fully extending his aura as he did.

Frost, Khuno and Findlay had arrived near the dungeon's entrance and each of them sported goosebumps and nervous expressions. They didn't need the dungeon's evaluating system or direct line of sight to know that the person coming was strong, stronger than all of them.

"A frost giant." Frost spoke out the name of the entity.

Frost giants: powerful monsters of the giant caste that rival the infamy of dragons. High up in the giant hierarchy, frost giants once fully grown are at the very least B-rank monsters, with many achieving A-rank or even S-rank.

There was a legend within the glacial mountains about a frost giant named Ymir who rose to such power that he ascended to godhood. The long crevasse that extended through the external regions and even into the inner regions was said to be made from a slash from his mighty axe the day he became a god.

Many Frost giants live in reverence to this Ymir, dwelling within that crevasse, fiercely guarding it from outside interference. A holy land for the frost giants.

Frost giants are natural physical powerhouses that can carve up mountains with their bare hands and sport a rather tenacious life force making them that much harder to kill.

Their ice borne bodies allow them to survive even the lowest of temperatures and grant them a natural resistance to magic -not including fire based magic of course.

This frost giant that came with the war mammoth called Dulan was likely a mid-tier B-rank. A young adult among the frost giants who had unfortunately succumbed to the expunged mana corruption, driving him from his home and towards the south.

It was rare for a frost giant to be affected by the monster stampede given their natural resilience as well as proximity to other high levelled giants. Proof that this monster stampede was anything but normal and bad news for Frost.

Frost's arms were trembling, and his heart rang with fear and trepidation. A frost giant wasn't something he could hope to beat even with Findlay by his side, not at least without a great amount of luck and likely sacrifice.

Giants and dragons were the crème de la crème of monsters, their innate abilities allowing them to be far stronger than their assigned rank.

He looked towards his two generals, Findlay sported a similar state to himself, but Khuno was visibly sweating buckets and was having to fight against the urge to step back.

Frost let out a repressed sigh before moving forward and releasing his aura shielding both Findlay and Khuno from the majority of the pressure. This act painted a target on him that the frost giant immediately noticed.

"Hoh!" He stopped in place about 20 metres from the dungeon's entrance the moment Frost's aura flowed out from the stone arch in an attempt to threaten him, warning him to back off.

"A newly crowned B-rank but that's not all." His smile stretched from ear to ear before his own aura grew, solidifying its form and presence.

A moment later with deft control the frost giant's aura smashed apart Frost's aura like a swing of his hammer making Frost wince and feel blood rushing up his throat. He couldn't even last a single blow in terms of an aura battle.

The frost giant's aura then moved passed Frost, examining Findlay, Khuno and then finally the dungeon itself.

"So intriguing, a monster lair that isn't a monster lair. An ice troll lord that feels like one from Leblya instead of a mana creation. A species of tiger kin that I've never seen nor even heard of and then." The frost giant's aura immediately swarmed around Frost, analysing him from head to toe far more in depth that what mere eyes could do.

"You are something very special, an enigma that's connected to this strange monster lair." The frost giant suddenly felt an intense desire to feast, he licked his lips before muttering.

"How delicious." The frost giant instantly took a step forward eager to taste Frost's succulent flesh and feast upon the mysterious power dwelling within him.

In response Frost and Findlay nodded to one another before activating their auras to their full strength and preparing their weapons.

Khuno still only had a pseudo aura that could at best protect him from some of the frost giant's negative effects but nothing more. However that didn't stop him from wielding his halberd and standing beside his lord. The frost giant would have to go through him to get to Frost.

The frost giant instead of feeling curbed by this display increased his pace, he liked food that put up a fight.

However the moment he placed his right hand upon the stone arch way (the entrance was a bit small for him after all) he immediately stopped in place.

Crunch!

His hand that was on the dungeon's entrance clamped down crushing the stone arch like it was made of snow.

"This damn stupid voice arghh!!!!!!!" Suddenly his face portrayed immense fury before he ripped apart the archway and instead placed his hand on his head in attempt to silence something inside.

Frost and his generals who were about to launch a pre-emptive attack suddenly stopped in place and instead observed the actions of the frost giant who's body could now be partially seen through the archway.

The Frost giant repeatedly tried to force his way through the dungeon's entrance but ever time he tried to take a step a voice would scream in his head forcing him to back off.

"Is this an extra protection granted by my father?" Frost asked while tilting his head in confusion.

"No Dark's only protection after the one month barrier is me. This is the mana corruption and the machinations of whoever is behind the monster stampede." Maya spoke out through the dungeon menu answering Frost question.

Maya was correct, the pall that the monster stampede forced upon the affected monsters was the cause of the frost giant's current predicament.

The giant wished to feast upon Frost and devour the essence of the dungeon since that was what his instincts wanted however the directive for the monster stampede especially for the B-rank monsters was to head south and destroy the sapient lands. A clear conflict.

The frost giant eventually gave up his attempts and retreated about 20 metres from the dungeon's entrance, releasing him from the painful voice. His expression however was clearly one of disappointment and frustration.

"I can't believe a frost giant like myself fell victim to this damn corruption." He audibly complained but it was clear in his tone that he felt no small amount of fear towards the voice, to its origins as well as the pain it brought.

He stared hard at the dungeon's entrance that was partially destroyed thanks to his right hand. He still desired to feast but not enough to overcome the voice of corruption.

Dulan his trusted warrior mammoth arrived by his side and nudged him in an affectionate manner.

"Haaaaaa fine then let's head back Dulan. The only way we can be rid of this enslavement is to complete our orders until the corruption has passed." The frost giant sighed and gave a long hard look through the archway spying some movement before climbing onto Dulan's back.

"You the one connected to this monster lair; do you have a name?" He asked once he was secured on Dulan's back.

There was silence from the other side of the dungeon before.

"Frost, my name is Frost." Frost answered with a loud voice laced with his aura, refusing to be intimidated.

"Frost then, my name is Valend, a frost giant of the Ymir sanctuary. When this damn stampede is over I'll return here and devour whatever power hides within you. Have fun until then hehehehe" Valend cackled evilly before tightening his legs around Dulan and riding off back from whence he came.

Frost kept his aura on full whack until Valend and Dulan were no longer anywhere near the dungeon's purview. The moment the tension was over he felt a drain on his strength and nearly stumbled. Fear had powerful effects on the body.

"Master?" Findlay called him in concern.

"I'm fine just a little bit shocked." Frost replied honestly while looking at his hand that was once again trembling.

'Valend'.