Chapter 113: Meet Shiro

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Meet Shiro

Damon reached out and gently rubbed the Qilin’s head.

"I’ll call you Shiro."

The Qilin’s eyes immediately brightened.

A happy feeling came through the bond.

Damon smiled.

"You like it?"

Shiro nodded quickly.

"I thought you would."

The little Qilin moved closer and rubbed its head against Damon’s hand.

Damon laughed.

"Alright, Shiro."

He stood.

"Let’s see what you can do."

Damon felt the changes inside himself as soon as the contract settled.

His cultivation had reached the very edge of Master rank.

He could feel the breakthrough waiting for him.

It wouldn’t be long.

His Aether Veins also felt different.

More stable.

More connected.

His control had improved as well.

Damon looked at Shiro.

Then he understood something.

"So you’re a support type."

Shiro looked proud.

Damon smiled.

"That’s actually perfect."

He had enough offense.

Freya could fight at close range or become his spear.

Sylphie could attack from the air and fight at long range.

What he lacked was something that could keep all three of them fighting longer.

Now he had it.

And there was something else.

Damon felt the Ice element inside his second core.

He had waited for this.

Ever since the Frost Seed appeared, he had wondered what it would feel like to wield Ice himself.

Damon raised his hand.

A small amount of Ice Aether gathered around his fingers.

The temperature dropped.

Frost spread across the ground.

Damon stared at it.

"So this is Ice."

He smiled.

"I’ve been wanting this."

Shiro gave a happy cry.

Damon looked at him.

"Don’t worry. I’ll learn it properly."

A roar interrupted them.

Damon looked toward the battlefield.

"Looks like we have something to test."

Shiro didn’t hesitate.

He charged forward.

Damon watched carefully.

Shiro wasn’t strong enough to kill B rank beasts yet.

That was fine.

He wasn’t supposed to.

A B rank beast rushed toward Freya’s afterimage.

Shiro raised one hoof.

"Frost Guard."

Ice instantly formed around Freya’s afterimage.

The beast struck.

BOOM!

The barrier cracked but held.

Freya’s afterimage survived.

It immediately retaliated with lightning.

Shiro moved again.

Another beast charged from the side.

"Frost Guard."

Another barrier appeared.

Damon’s eyes lit up.

"Good."

Shiro continued.

He wasn’t only protecting them but he was controlling the battlefield.

Several beasts rushed together.

Shiro lowered his head as Ice spread beneath their feet.

The beasts suddenly slowed. Then their legs froze.

Damon understood immediately.

"Freeze them there."

Shiro nodded.

Damon drew Sylphie’s bow.

"Good."

He pulled the string.

Wind gathered.

"Wind Sovereign’s Gale."

WHOOSH!

The arrow flew through the frozen group.

BOOM!

The beasts were destroyed.

Damon laughed.

"That’s it!"

Shiro’s tail wagged.

"Don’t get too excited."

Damon smiled.

"Although..."

He looked at the battlefield.

"That was really useful."

Shiro quickly became more involved.

Whenever Freya’s afterimages were about to disappear, he reinforced them with Ice barriers.

Whenever a group of beasts tried to surround Damon, Shiro froze their feet.

When several B rank beasts charged together, he slowed them enough for Freya to strike first.

He didn’t need to kill them.

He only needed to make sure they couldn’t fight the way they wanted.

And that made a huge difference.

Damon began giving him simple instructions.

"Left."

Shiro moved.

"Hold them."

Ice spread across the ground.

"Protect Freya."

A barrier appeared.

"Now freeze that one."

Shiro’s horn glowed.

Ice wrapped around a beast.

Damon immediately fired.

"Good."

Shiro became even faster.

Damon smiled.

"He learns quickly."

Freya gave an approving cry.

Sylphie sent a proud feeling through their bond.

Damon laughed.

"Everyone’s already treating him like the youngest."

Shiro looked happy about it.

Then Shiro used his first major Art.

The Qilin stopped.

His body lowered slightly.

Ice gathered around him.

Damon felt the change.

"Oh?"

Shiro raised his head.

"Frostbound Sanctuary."

BOOM!

A wave of Ice spread across the battlefield.

It didn’t simply freeze everything.

It created a large area of controlled Ice.

The ground became stable.

The air became colder.

The beasts entering the area slowed immediately.

Some had their legs frozen.

Others found their movements becoming sluggish.

Then pillars of Ice rose from the ground around them.

Not randomly.

They formed exactly where they were needed.

One beast tried to escape.

A pillar blocked it.

Another charged toward Freya.

Ice wrapped around its legs.

A third tried to attack Sylphie from below.

An Ice wall rose in front of her.

Damon stared.

"You’re controlling the whole area?"

Shiro nodded.

The Art continued.

Freya’s afterimages became harder to destroy.

Sylphie could remain in the air without worrying about sudden attacks.

Even Damon felt the pressure around him decrease.

The beasts were still coming.

But now they were entering Shiro’s territory.

And inside that territory, every movement became harder.

Damon grinned.

"This is good."

Very good.

Shiro hadn’t increased their damage, instead he had made everyone else more effective.

That was exactly what Damon needed.

He raised Sylphie’s bow.

"Let’s use it."

Sylphie understood.

Freya moved into position.

Shiro froze the beasts.

Freya attacked.

Damon fired.

Wind and lightning crossed through the battlefield.

BOOM!

The frozen beasts were destroyed.

Damon laughed.

"Nice!"

Shiro jumped happily.

"Again!"

The three spirits responded immediately.

Damon felt his excitement rising.

This was why he loved getting stronger.

There was always something new to figure out.

Something new to combine.

Something new to improve.

He looked at his three spirits.

"You three have worked hard."

Freya’s tails moved.

Sylphie’s wings shook.

Shiro looked up at him.

Damon smiled.

"When this is over, I’ll give all of you something good."

The three spirits became even more excited.

Damon shook his head.

"Don’t get distracted."

They immediately returned to the battle.

Damon laughed.

"That’s better."

The scouts were no longer amused.

They were terrified.

Another Spirit Elemental had joined the battle.

And it had appeared from nowhere.

An Ice Qilin.

A mythic beast.

A support Spirit Elemental that could control the battlefield and protect the others.

One scout stared blankly.

"Where did that thing come from?"

Nobody answered.

Another scout slowly shook his head.

"He already had two."

The first scout swallowed.

"Three."

"Three?"

"He now has three Spirit Elementals."