Dungeon of Niflheim

“Hehehehe interesting.” He chuckled and stared at his trembling hands, feeling both fear and excitement. It’d been a while since he was so directly threatened, an act that he found rather enticing.

Findlay and Khuno who were still wary of Valend looked at their lord with confusion, taken aback by his sudden laughter.

Frost clenched his fists and revealed a steely gaze before speaking out in a determined tone.

“I guess we’ll see who triumphs in the end little frost giant.” His smile now stretched from ear to ear and a strange madness could be seen in his eyes as he looked beyond the broken archway.

“Haaaaaaa he’s got his battle junkie expression on.” Maya suddenly teleported to the dungeon’s entrance. She sighed the moment she saw Frost’s expression and shook her head before gently smiling.

She was worried about his state after being faced with something beyond his capabilities and being so aggressively threatened but it seems she was worried for nothing.

Frost though clearly able to sense the danger and the fear in his body saw Valend and his threats as nothing more than a challenge. And challenges were things Frost greatly enjoyed.

Though she’d likely never admit it -given that she never her saw herself as a battle junkie- Maya and Frost were very alike in their personalities.

.....

Findlay and Khuno looked towards Maya as she spoke before returning their gazes to their master and his wild expression.

Crack! Crack!

The ice troll lord and the ronso captain clenched their fists hard as they too started to view Valend as their next challenge.

Clap!

“Alright that’s enough of the aggressive stares, the frost giant’s already vamoosed, time to get back to work.” Maya loudly clapped her hands together drawing Frost and his generals away from their thoughts.

Frost turned to face his guardian. His eyes weren’t filled with his usual affection or blatant lust but instead he viewed her as his teacher, his combat trainer.

“Training.” He spoke a single word that was both a statement and an order.

“Haaaaaa.” Maya sighed again and shook her head before walking towards Frost.

“Not even a please?” She coyly asked but was met with a cold gaze that caused her spine to shiver.

Frost’s right hand silently rose up at her coy tone and instinctively Maya placed her own hands on her ample backside, protecting it.

The relationship between them that started out with her clearly being in the more dominant position had now completely reversed. Frost had developed a nasty habit of spanking her whenever she was thinking of being mischievous or acting coy.

She stared at Frost with a mixture of threat as well as daring expectation. She actually loved Frost’s burning touch but there was a time and a place for everything. It wouldn’t do for her powerful image if Frost engaged in such actions in front of Findlay and Khuno thus she held her tongue, not saying another word.

Frost lowered his hand before turning to face Findlay and Khuno.

“I’ll be training for the next 12 hours, so I’ll leave the dungeon’s management to the two of you. Regardless of this Valend the plan remains the same. In fact his arrival pretty much confirms that the dungeon won’t suffer any more monster waves thus continue preparing the construction teams.”

” After 12 hours Kiba and I will make our way to Furano to aid in their defence and you will begin construction of the external camp. If you have any questions ask them now.” Frost spoke with a determined tone; his decision to leave would not be swayed.

Findlay and Khuno picked up on this and held back their concerns.

“Understood master.”

“Loud and clear milord.” They answered back with military salutes, their bodies screaming reliability.

Frost smiled in response before placing a hand on Maya’s shoulder and opening a space warp, the destination the training space.

When the two of them disappeared into the spatial warp Findlay and Khuno looked at one another before nodding and setting off in differing directions, preparing to follow Frost’s orders.

The training space.

Frost and Maya appeared within the training space side by side, one with a focused look while the other warily keeping an eye on the other’s hands.

Maya swiftly separated herself from Frost the moment they arrived causing Frost to briefly chuckle before donning a serious expression. This was no time for playing.

“Maya I need some intense training, no holds barred, put my body through the wringer. Valend likely won’t be the only one at that level present at the Furano battlefield.” His wild smile threatened to return as he imagined the glory of such a battlefield.

He wouldn’t be able to beat Valend by himself but in Furano he wouldn’t be alone. There was at least 8 B-rank fighters present when he left roughly a month ago let alone now that the late stages had begun.

The moment the late stages begin, powerful adventurers, soldiers and even nobles make their way to Furano and the other bastion towns to take part in high level combat and reap the rewards from such battles. Frost’s heart fluttered at the mere thought of fighting side by side with Douglas, Ryuu, Bastion and the other B-ranks. An exciting prospect that he refused to miss.

Maya quickly changed her attitude, a smile rapidly forming on her enchanting face.

“With pleasure young master.” She replied in a joyful tone before summoning a set of ice hammers.

Frost’s lips twitched and a shiver ran down his spine as a primal fear far stronger than what Valend made him feel sparked in his heart. Training was the only time wherein Maya reaffirmed her dominance.

Without a single moment to prepare himself Maya appeared below him, her hammers already in the upswing.

Bang!

Frost was sent careening into the air, the violent impact knocking the wind out of his lungs and shaking his bones.

Maya the demoness drill instructor then suddenly appeared above him with a sadistic expression many times greater than what he could accomplish before smacking her hammers upon his shoulders instantly reversing his momentum and firing him back down to the hard floor.

Boooooooommmm!

Frost body smashed into the floor and a painful groan escaped his lips before he was once again sent flying by Maya’s hammers. He wanted no holds barred intensity then he was going to get it and then some.

This brutal training continued for 12 hours.

For 12 hours Maya destroyed every inch of his body, breaking his bones, tenderising his organs, muscles and spilling so much of his blood that it could have filled a swimming pool, all with a damn smile on her face. Truly a demoness who got off on causing him physical pain.

However despite the nightmarish methods the results were fruitful. Maya attacked with such speed and intensity that even a frost giant like Valend would struggle to keep up thus Frost was now prepared to at least defend and track the movements of those several levels beyond himself. Winning was still out of the question but at least he’d be able to survive long enough to receive aid from allies.

Maya casted a high level healing spell swiftly bringing Frost back to life for the umpteenth time. The sadistic smile however was now gone from her face, replaced with worry and anxiety.

The training was over which meant Frost was set to leave soon. To a battlefield containing enemies and allies stronger than himself all without her by his side. As his guardian but more importantly now as his girlfriend she couldn’t help but feel worried about his safety.

She bit her lower lip and clenched her fists as she tenderly watched as Frost rose from the floor, his many wounds (that she caused) quickly healing, returning him to his impressive handsome self.

“I should have gone even harder or refused to cast healing magic.” She muttered under her breath, but Frost was still able to catch it.

He sighed and rose to his feet even quicker before walking towards Maya and wrapping her up in an all consuming hug.

“I’ll be fine I promise.” He pulled her head into his chest and rubbed the back of her hair in a soothing manner.

“I’ve still got the teleportation talisman that father rewarded me so you can teleport to my side at a moment’s notice whenever my life is in serious danger.” Frost summoned the talisman from the dungeon vault with a flick of his hand.

He still needed the opportunity to infuse his mana into it and then rip it apart before Maya could teleport to his side but thanks to her dire training he was confident that he could use it even when faced against an A-rank opponent wherein a single second could mean the difference between life and death.

Maya felt a little better after hearing Frost’s words, but her arms remained firmly locked around his back not wanting to let him go.