Dungeon of Niflheim

Several of his monsters managed reach their max level, unlocking evolution. The cool goblin that drew first blood was the very first monster to reach its max but since he already granted Findlay a name, he didn’t think it wise to grant another so soon.

The goblin had a few options available to choose from;

· Frost Goblin Fighter, F-rank, 55DP: an improved version of the frost goblin, slightly larger in stature with improved strength. Comes armed with an iron short sword and wooden shield.

· Frost goblin rogue, F-rank, 55DP: an improved version of the frost goblin, increased speed, and dexterity. Comes armed with two iron daggers

· Frost goblin archer, F-rank, 50DP: Improved version of the frost goblin, greater arm strength and dexterity. Comes armed with a wooden bow.

All three looked decent but none were overly impressive, each one seemed to push the goblin down different paths. One focusing on strength, another on fast sneak attacks and the other on ranged attacks. There wasn’t an option for a goblin mage or hobgoblin, Maya mentioned that it was probably due to his innate ice affinity, limiting the options available to him.

Frost felt a little annoyed about that, he was quite fond of his goblins and would love to expand the types he could employ but the bog standard was all he got. Eventually given the goblin’s own tendencies in battles he went with the goblin rogue option creating a new monster in his catalogue to choose from.

Another two goblins also reached max rank a few days after, he evolved them into the remaining choices to maximise his monster roster. None of the other G-ranks managed to kill enough or cause enough damage to rank up, or they died before reaching it. His common use frost dwarves and frost wolves although reached past level ten they needed to reach 30 to rank up. still a bit off before they could evolve. The highest was level 21, it took stronger opponents to level up the higher one got.

.....

Only one other monster reached max level, one of the artic boars, it reached level twenty this very day and Frost was busy trying to figure what to choose. There was two choices this time, each both had clear positives and negatives.

· Frost tusked boar, E-rank, 170DP: Large boar creature armed with large tusks covered in dense ice. Deadly charger and tough hide.

· Spiked artic boar, E-rank, 180DP: evolved form of the artic boar, larger and covered in sharp hard spines to deter attackers. Very high defence for its rank.

One focused on defence and the other on offense. Frost was inclined to choose the frost tusked boar given that it felt more special. A different evolutionary path to the standard spiked artic boar. However, he chose the spiked artic boar instead due to having several monsters that specialised in attack, and not many in defence. Together with the group of artic boars the spiked artic boar cut quite a figure and greatly increased their overall power. Even the frost wolves kept their distance, afraid to tangle with the beast.

A few groups of wild monsters entered the Dungeon on occasion, none of them however willing to submit to Frost’s rule. None of these monsters had much intelligence, relying upon instinct and their violent tendencies. Frost couldn’t even talk with them before they’d either run or attack so they were eventually killed. Frost wasn’t adverse to the increase in DP but was really looking forward to placing a non-summoned monster under his control.

Thanks to the large stash of books Frost bought back in Furano, his knowledge base expanded greatly. He learned far more about the different empires, countries and even races of Nova as well as information on a whole range of monsters and plants. He became well educated, with a diverse set of skills. The many books -once understood- unlocked many new items, materials, environments and even a few monsters in the dungeon menu. Nanna and Loki also successfully learned how to read thanks to Maya’s tutelage. Their writing skills still needed some work, but it was a step in the right direction.

The second day that they returned, Frost called Leo with the communication locket that he gave him. Leo was over the moon to receive his call and they happily chatted about many unimportant things. Frost then received calls from him every so often, Leo kept him up to date with the happenings of the territory, signs of the up coming monster stampede and most of all the movements of the royal family.

Frost’s actions of taking in Nanna and Loki was not strictly legal, a grey area if you will. Even with Ryuu’s and Sebastian’s backing this was a hot debate due to it involving the Church of Light. The Northrend empire and in particular the royal family were entirely against everything the Church of Light stood for. Centuries ago, the royal family of the Northrend empire led their nation in the grand war against the Church of Light and their Holy White empire along with the other nations of Nova. The emperor of that time was the direct ancestor of the current emperor, they were of the same bloodline and held the same beliefs, well most of them anyway.

Not all of the royal family supported Frost’s actions, the second prince in particular was against it, saying that it was an insult to their prestige, and he should be brought justice. Fortunately, the second prince was not much liked. His argument held very little ground giving that technically no law was broken. It was the crown prince that stated this aloud, forcing his younger brother to hold his tongue. The two of them had recently been at odds, with the crown prince in a much superior position among the government officials, the populace as well as the current emperor but the second prince had the backing of very old and powerful nobles. Eventually the emperor stepped in a made his declaration.

‘Frost and those involved in granting him ownership of the phoenix kin, Nanna and Loki would not be penalised and would instead have the gratitude of the Northrend empire.’ Of course, this gratitude didn’t have any physical quality and Frost still couldn’t become a citizen given the fact that he had child slaves, but he wouldn’t be ostracised or have it be used against him in any forms while in the Northrend empire. Once the emperor had spoken all the voices either in favour or denial were silenced. The emperor was the sole ruler, his words were the law. The second prince was clearly not happy with the outcome but had to acquiesce to his father’s ruling. He left the hall of governance with forceful steps, fury on his face with an entourage of powerful nobles families behind him. His father frowned as he watched his son leave but kept silent.

The crown prince however was all smiles, happy that he got to knock his ambitious younger brother down a peg before bowing to his father and leaving with his own entourage. The emperor smiled to his eldest son, proud of the man he had become. Far better than his second son, who consorted with the less savoury members of the empire however although he knew some of his son’s dealings, he lacked sufficient evidence. Plus, he hoped that his eldest would deal with his brother, that way he’d prove to have what it takes to rule.

“Frost, an unknown elf from the Glacial mountains?” The emperor muttered under his breath once all his subjects left. His curiosity in regards to this young man was peaked. Thanks to him the Furano family was saved, the emperor had a lot of respect for the Furanos and appreciated Douglas greatly. When he heard his old friend was bed ridden from illness, he almost stormed down from his throne to go and help. Luckily his prime minister set him straight, stating that the emperor couldn’t show such favouritism to a Viscount...at least not on the surface. The emperor and prime minister thus sneakily provided several powerful medicinal plants to his old friend. Unfortunately, none of them worked so he was quite on edge for the past year or so.

The relationship between the Furanos and the Northrend royal family was long and intricate. The Furanos over many generations had contributed so much to the empire, far more than even the standard Duke yet their title remained that of Viscount. This was actually agreed upon by previous generations of both houses, for the prosperity of the empire. All the previous and current royal family tended to have a very close relationship to the Furanos because of this. Leo and the crown prince were good friends, continuing this tradition.

Frost successfully saved not just his loyal subject but his friend and his family. Of course, he wouldn’t punish such a great young man, regardless of what those hypocritical self-serving nobles desired. After the meeting he summoned his prime minister to his private chambers to come up with some legitimate excuse to allow him to go and visit the Furano viscounty.