Chapter 1018: Sparring struggles

Chapter 1018: Chapter 1018: Sparring struggles

With wars kicking off both at Icethorne and within Northrend, Niflheim was akin to an oasis, undisturbed by the world around them.

Refugees started passing through its gates in mass, the guards stationed welcoming them all with smiles on their faces.

Women, children and men not affiliated with the military or adventuring fled the danger zones within the Empire to reach this place, a unknown city that would be their sanctuary during this time of turmoil.

"Accommodations have been provided as well as basic food and supplies for your first week here in Niflheim but after that you’ll have to purchase what you need like everyone else." A lesser Yuki-onna in charge of welcoming this group of refugees explained the situation to them, outlining the rules of the city as well as the benefits of this place.

"Miss what if we don’t have savings how will we manage here?" A destitute woman asked, she was forced to flee in haste, failing to bring much in terms of assets.

"Don’t worry since this is a developing city there’s always work available. Those confident in their strength can enter the Dungeon to hunt monsters or serve as labourers for the mines inside while those with tradecraft skills can offer your services to the many shops or even open up your own if you have the means." Niflheim was never want for work no matter how many refugees pass through their gates.

This sermon as well as the questioning and answering that followed was going to happen several times as day from now. As long as the war continued people would always flock to areas of safety, thankfully Niflheim was in need of manpower and was receiving material aid from Douglas and the neutral nobles for his efforts otherwise these people would never be granted such generous conditions.

Frost would generally start his day with a visit to the training space where he’d either face off against Maya and get his butt kicked or enlist Findley or Khuno or sometimes both to act as his sparring partners.

Don!

Frost was sent skidding across the floor as Khuno swatted him with his halberd, a weapon not all that dissimilar to his glaive. They were both pole weapons, but the halberd was larger and heavier thus slower in its attacks but by the hells it packed a wallop.

"Damn I can barely feel my fingers." Frost muttered under his breath as he opened and closed his left hand.

"This is no time to be distracted Master." Findley suddenly appeared on his flank with his massive axe in hand, another weapon that was relatively slow but devasting once it lands.

"Distracted? Me? Never." Frost was fully alert the entire time, with a strange cadence of steps he vanished from his current position, appearing several metres behind Findley. He’d have to be a lot faster than that to ambush him alas this wasn’t a simple one vs one but rather two vs one.

"Hyyaaahh!" The moment his steps came to a halt a massive shadow loomed over his body as Khuno with his halberd held high above his head, wreathed in cold flame chakra thundered down without the slightest sign of mercy.

Dong!

Frost wasn’t shocked fully aware of his subordinates movements. With a smile on his lips he raised his glaive in defence, utilising his greater speed and his mastery over both his weapon and the weapon art he’d been practising practically every single day since he left the Realm of Niflheim to absorb and deflect the blow sending Khuno’s halberd on a collision course with the floor.

"Impressive, your synergy has gotten even better. If I didn’t know the Niflheim royal family spear arts I would be powerless in the face of such aggression but..." With Khuno’s halberd striking the ground a few centimetres from his right foot Frost jumped and spun his body, picking up rotational strength before lashing out at Khuno with a devasting kick, dense ice chakra protecting his more tender flesh.

A dull thud echoed as Frost’s leg smashed against Khuno’s hastily brought up arm. The mighty ronso winced in pain, his arm feeling as if it was struck by a sledgehammer, bruised at the very least.

Ignoring the pain and relying on his instinctual sense of danger Khuno kicked the floor, forcing himself to flee and it was a good thing he did because Frost’s glaive materialised right where his abdomen once was.

"Tsk it’s not quite the same when I use a glaive." His mastery and familiarity was higher with glaives when compared to spears, but his weapon art/style was better suited for the latter. He was faster and perhaps stronger with the former, but his movements weren’t as smooth thus giving Khuno a chance to anticipate them and evade.

Swoosh!

While clicking his tongue and bemoaning the discrepancy between reality and what he envisioned a massive, great axe flew at his chest, the force behind it being strong enough to bend the surrounding air but instead of feeling a sense of danger or at least surprise Frost frowned.

He raised his glaive before his chest and planted his feet firmly against the rock hard floor ready to endure the blow.

DONG!!!! It was another dull thud when the axe collided with the glaive’s shaft, and it was swiftly followed by the sound of Frost’s feet skidding across the ground. If the floor wasn’t as hard and as durable as it was there would surely be large pits left in his wake.

Frost was pushed back over 3 metres before the axe finally lost all its momentum falling to the ground like an arrow at the end of its flight.

"Stop." The young Dungeon core muttered as he spotted Khuno moving in to take advantage of his slight instability. "Findley your timing is impeccable as always but again you’re holding back too much. You’re blows hold no killing intent and the force behind them is at most 70% of your true power." Frost looked at his right hand man and shook his head, disappointed by his performance.

If Findley struck him with his true strength there would have been no way he could have kept his body upright. He would have been send flying through the air, spinning and thus greatly disadvantaged when Khuno swooped in for the kill. But thanks to the lack in force he was at most slightly off balance, hardly a disadvantage given his current level. Such pressure was nowhere near enough to get his heart pumping and set his instincts ablaze. Without a sense of danger and without pushing himself beyond his limits such sparring served as merely exercise nothing more.

"Sorry Master I’m trying but the thought of inflicting genuine harm upon you makes my heart twist into painful knots. My body and mind reject the premise." The strength of Findley’s loyalty was without question, so strong that he struggled to spar properly with him despite being ordered to do so.

"Hmph I’ve never seen you hold back during our spars." Khuno grumbled as he remembered having his left arm nearly shattered by one of Findley’s mighty swings, the bloodlust contained in that blow was enough to be palpable.

"Why would I hold back against you? You’re not Master." Findley turned to face his colleague, his expression riddled with confusion and innocence.

"Why do I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my heart?"

"How should I know you dumb tiger."

"Oi I’m not a tiger I’m a proud Ronso isn’t that right Master?"

"That’s enough, we’re here to fight not bicker....Findley if it’s too hard to summon your full strength against me try and picture yourself fighting someone different."

"I’ll do my best Master."

The three thus continued their sparring, fighting tooth and nail against each other hoping to force Frost and maybe themselves to the next level but such results wouldn’t happen over the course of just a single session.

Frost did however feel a few chains start to loosen as a result of their fight, measurable improvement but through his eyes improvement that moved at a glacial pace. Others however would spit on his disappointment, cursing him for his genius.

Growth was supposed to slow to a crawl once a person reached B-rank as unlike the previous levels it relied heavily on natural comprehension. Frost’s pace was reminiscent of those of an ancient and hallowed bloodline, rather than improving through study and effort it was closer to merely growing older and accruing the strength naturally which wasn’t exactly far off.

Dark when he designed his children blessed them with immense potential, potential that would be further unearthed as they aged. Give them a few years or decades and they’d likely be rivalling the most talented Godlings....it was no wonder Light frowned upon their existence. Strength was fine but in such quantities and alongside their Godlike ability to manipulate life energy it was as if a hundred Gods had suddenly appeared.

For reference Nova usually welcomed a new God once every several hundred or perhaps even every several thousand years. A hundred suddenly in a single day, unheard of even during the most prosperous Eras. Any semblance of balance, fairness and respect for the efforts of those who climbed to Godhood a single step at a time shattered....at least that’s how Light viewed the situation and it was exactly how he explained it to the other Gods as he tried to garner support.

Unfortunately given the current average strength of the Dungeon cores and their limited effects on the world as a whole few agreed with his views, seeing him as paranoid, making a mountain out of a molehill.

They may have the ability to create but they couldn’t be considered Gods, they were far too weak and far too restricted.

Thus despite his ardent attempts most Gods Lord Light visited dismissed his worries, either rejecting his premise outright or suggesting waiting, to assess the situation in a few decades or centuries, a mere blink in time for a God.

While Lord Light failed to bring many Gods in tune with his line of thinking that didn’t mean others viewed Dungeons in a good light in fact a certain faction were already making moves against a few of them.