Chapter 173: Frost Scholar

Max’s eyes widened. The potions were exactly what he needed.

At this point, he was certain that he would reach B-rank once Malveris returned.

His worries appeared superfluous now. Without hesitation, he proceeded to the adaptive combat courtyard to train with his Radiant Knights.

His Radiant Knights drastically improved. As he continued to level up, his Radiant Knights level up as well, increasing their stats.

Although their skills remained at the advance level, their overall combat strength increased a lot.

If they could fight their past self, they would definitely emerge victorious in the matter of seconds.

Max was deeply satisfied. But, at the moment, he knew he had to get stronger.

After all, the first world’s event gave a glimpse to the players of the demon’s forces.

At the same time, monsters would take advantage and invade the humans in different direction, often clashing with demons on their path.

For them, humans were tastier than demons.

The Empire would suffer greatly from the first world’s event and there would still be four other more in every year.

Given that there were 24 months in a year, it meant that it was exactly two years every now and then in the real world’s time.

The Empire would eventually collapse.

Hopefully, before it would occur, the players had long surpassed them and would be able to defend against the apocalypse descent.

As Max proceeded to the adaptive combat courtyard, his eyes shone with determination.

He must reach B-rank at all costs...

...

In the Frostfang Peninsula, an isolated stretch of frozen coastline where towering cliffs meet an endless field of fractured sea ice, a Frost Scholar walked upon the thin ice leisurely.

Behind him were four other players, thrilled to participate for Lieutenant’s Aldric quests.

It was a Local Military Quest—a local village level quests, solely triggered by the person leading upfront.

Whenever they gazed at his back, admiration appeared on their faces.

They recognized him—Enzo Grant, younger brother of Maximus Grant.

To this day, Maximus Grant’s identity as the first player was already publicly revealed.

Even his younger brother would always be mentioned whenever they read Max’s background.

However, it was not only because Enzo Grant was popular because of his elder brother, but also because of how his reputation in the Frostmere Village were widespread.

Not only he possessed a legacy class with unknown rank, his skills and combat strength were top-notch among the mages.

Even against the other combatant of the warrior class, they could not swing their weapons near him.

The fact that he reached C-rank in a single month since he appeared and had already developed a high level of relationship status with the village’s Commander than any others proved that he deserved to be basked in glory, not by his brother’s achievements.

Although the other players were envious for Enzo, they couldn’t help but feel admiration towards him.

At the same time, both the brothers became popular in the real world.

Some even bet that Enzo would eventually surpass his elder brother, while some believed that it was impossible to surpass the first player.

The players who followed Enzo would often question him about the possibility of surpassing his elder brother, but Enzo simply shook his head.

Although he had not seen his brother at the moment, the fact that his elder brother could continue to provide a steam of potions, coins, and equipments he needed proved that he was far ahead of him.

His current party were only consisted of players that Kate trusted.

Indeed, he only trusted Kate, who was beside him.

He was extremely introverted, leaving behind his social interaction with other players to Kate.

It would be difficult to deny that his relationship with Kate was quite close to a friend.

Enzo didn’t necessarily need them to complete the mission.

He recalled Lieutenant Aldric’s words after issuing the mission to him.

"Three patrol boats have failed to return from the northern shoreline over the past six days. Initial reports suggested rough weather, but survivors from a merchant vessel claim to have witnessed dozens of ice-covered beasts emerging from beneath the frozen waters.

Scouts have confirmed an active nesting ground near the Frostfang Peninsula. If left unchecked, the creatures will continue attacking our patrol routes and eventually threaten Frostmere’s harbor.

The Imperial Navy cannot spare a warship while escorting merchant convoys. I require capable adventurers to eliminate the infestation before it matures into a larger colony."

It was the first time he traversed in the Frostfang Peninsula.

He was the first to jump down from the cliffs to provide a stable ground for others. Although his skill, Frozen Ground, made the area slippery, he specifically asked the party members to enhance their boots with spikes for this mission.

Gazing ahead, he recalled how Lieutenant narrated the history of the Frostfang Peninsula.

It was once connected to the mainland by solid glaciers, but centuries of melting have transformed it into a maze of frozen channels and submerged rock formations.

Jagged ice pillars rose from the sea like enormous spears, while violent ocean currents continuously shifted floating ice platforms.

Dense snowfall and freezing mist often reduce visibility to less than thirty meters.

The environment was harsh, but they were not in a disadvantage. Kate went as far as buying coins using her own money to equip herself.

Her party members were not being frugal as well, they also belonged to a wealthy family across the globe.

Apocalypse Online had a feature of adjusting the language spoken by the players straight to the Empire’s language—players were simply not aware, not until they learned that every word spoken by a japanese players seemed to be translated to english for a native american players.

Likewise, for the japanese players, hearing the language from other players and NPCs into their native language.

So, it wasn’t difficult for players coming from different nation to form a party without facing a language barrier.

Enzo and the others spent ten minutes searching for the possible nests of the monsters. Just when they thought that Lieutenant might have made a mistake, Enzo stumbled upon underwater channels hidden beneath the frozen surface.

They were connected to several caverns, possibly their nesting grounds...

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