Dungeon of Niflheim

The massive broadsword zoomed closer at an incredible speed, the very air was pierced and pushed aside as it loomed nearer to Frost’s face. Yet for Frost this process seemed to happen in slow motion, it was not at the limits of his speed capabilities thanks to the repeated beatings of Maya. Even if the opponent was B-rank he’d be able to follow and track its movements....enduring and or avoiding them however would be a different story.

The moment the broadsword reached Frost’s circle of influence, his brow furrowed, and his body sprung into action, with a deft rotation of his glaive, the blade met with the broadsword. Pushing against it with horizontal force, the massive broadsword was sent hurtling to Frost’s side, smashing into the ground. The blade narrowly avoiding piercing him, part of his chakra armour and robes were severed near his hip as there was more force contained within the broadsword than expected but Frost eliminated the threat smoothly.

Ice dust sprang up from the point of impact, once again obscuring the area. The broadsword with the aid of the glaive pierced deep into the floor, almost an entire foot below. It’d be hard to remove quickly. However, that situation worked perfect for the ice revenant.

The moment it thrust out with its broadsword the ice revenant began running after it. He was already quite close to Frost, the ice dust however helped to obscure his position. The revenant’s hand was still grasped around the broadsword’s handle and was the reason for the unexpected force contained within the blade. The hand fought against the glaive’s force and even tried to redirect the broadsword but ultimately it failed, time for part 2.

With the broadsword deeply encased within the floor the ice revenant yanked with his entire strength, using his ethereal like body and the sword as an anchor point he catapulted himself towards Frost. His remaining arm was encased in thickening ice chakra, aiming to pummel Frost into the ground like a hammer.

The movements and timing of the ice revenant was almost seamless, giving Frost very little time to react. The revenant was on him within a fraction of a second. Sam and Lola who looked on couldn’t help but have contorted expressions as they worried about their young student. For such a large monster it certainly was fast.

Frost was as ever still within that calm state, his motions smooth like water and unfettered. His eyes reflected the image of the revenant swooping in for the kill, his smile ever growing as the thrill of battle continued pump within his heart. Goosebumps formed on his body and the hairs on the back of his head and neck stood up in alert, the pressure building, this was what he was looking for.

With a smooth movement, the glaive blade resting on the revenant’s broadsword was replaced with his left foot while the glaive itself started an upward trajectory, aiming to carve up the heavily chakra encased fist coming his way.

.....

Boooooooooommmm!

Frost’s glaive met with the chakra encased fist with great force, neither of the two were holding back in the slightest, using their full physical strength to crush one another. At the point of impact, layers of ice chakra were shattered one after the other as the glaive’s blade cut deep into the revenant’s fist. But at the same time the fire enchantment placed on the glaive was all but annihilated, the blow too much for it to endure.

“Ugh!” Frost groaned as he felt the full weight behind the revenant’s punch. It was even heavier than the blows Sam had to endure with his great sword. Frost’s hands that gripped his glaive, split between his fingers from the pressure, blood dripped down his hands and his knees threatened to buckle as the floor beneath him cracked like a spider web. This was the heaviest blow he’d ever endured and not just physically, the ice revenant’s killing intent was suffused within the blow, carrying with it an extreme pressure. Even Maya’s attacks that shattered his entire chakra armour and sent him flying across the training room felt lighter. Frost couldn’t put his finger on the exact reason but surmised it had to do with the ice revenant’s killing intent as well as the pseudo aura it emitted. Maya never battled against him with her aura as he was not ready to endure such pressure, her killing intent even less so. The only time he experienced her bloodlust was when he mention the church of light. Just speaking three measly words almost suffocated him.

Crack!

A loud crack reverberated throughout the room as the ice revenant and Frost continued their struggle. The revenant’s fist pushed down against Frost’s glaive, slowly gaining ground. Frost’s knees grew imperceptibly closer to the floor as he refused to kneel, the floor taking the most damage as it cracked and fractured more and more.

Frost’s eyes revealed a strong fighting spirit, glaring into the revenant’s eyes with animosity. A large wild smile adorned his lips even as blood slipped out and his body groaned in protest. His arms tensed harder than they ever had before, his leather shoes burst apart at the seams, unable to endure the pressure. His scholar like robes were stretched against his expanding muscles, even his height seemed to grow a few inches as Frost gave his all to push back the revenant’s fist with his glaive.

Frost wished to do the impossible, beat a C-rank monster in terms of physical strength. A foolish notion, especially considering the monster was a 4 metre tall giant filled with anger and aggression. But Frost was no normal person, he was a dungeon core and one with great potential. His fighting spirit was ignited, and his body responded in kind. The ice revenant’s oversized fist was slowly pushed back.

The revenant’s killing intent covered the entirety of Frost’s body yet instead of hampering his foe it now seemed to empower him. Frost’s legs and back straightened, as his strength increased, his body becoming used to the pressure and his own pseudo aura started to be strongly emitted. Melding with the revenant’s killing intent, it grew and evolved, slowly overpowering it, before moving to cover Frost’s body.

Once again Frost could see and feel the path to the next level of power before him, just as he did 3 days ago against the frost lizard bosses. However instead of chasing after the path he ignored it entirely, focusing solely on the opponent before him. The revenant’s fist continued to be pushed back as Frost’s aura grew. It now covered his glaive and started reaching for the ice revenant. This invisible force seemed to enlarge Frost in the revenant’s eyes, causing them to open wide in shock. Frost who was around 2 metres tall, less than half the size of the ice revenant now looked huge before him, making the revenant feel weaker and smaller than his elf looking opponent. Madness he thought, this insect couldn’t possibly be stronger than him, yet his instinctual reaction was fear. This was the first stages of a cemented aura, the ability to instil fear and pressure into ones foes. Frost was merely on the border of achieving his aura, the invisible wall that blocked his path 3 days ago, cracked and started to fragment into pieces and as it did the pressure on the revenant continued to grow as did Frost’s image.

Sam and Lola who were anxiously restoring their strengths on the side couldn’t help but shiver as they witnessed the change in Frost. His presence and demeanour underwent a great shift, goosebumps appeared on their forearms as they felt the change in Frost’s aura. Even being several metres away from him they could still feel the pressure, it was heavy and cold.

The husband and wife duo looked at one another, their mouths agape and shock in their eyes. ‘Impossible’ was the thought running through both of their minds. After being by Frost’s side for 3 days they understood his strength as well as potential, but this was something else entirely. Frost’s capabilities were still a fair bit off from B-rank, yet he’d already developed his own aura, for the two veterans this was unheard of. And not only that, a newly formed aura shouldn’t be this imposing nor come with such a biting chill. The two of them had met a fair few B-rank fighters and experienced their auras as well as understood the transition of a pseudo aura to a developed aura.

Sam and Lola both had developed some means of a pseudo aura, similar to what Frost had before this battle. Allowing them to slightly control it and protect themselves from pressure yet not affect external targets physically. It was just one step away from achieving that level, yet that last step was what stopped so many.