Chapter 104: Second Meeting With Borus Frost

’Just how do I keep running into him all the time...’

"It is Lady Frost, not Boros! And don’t call me Lady!" she fiercely warned Arlo, who merely smiled.

"My apologies. But you know, you’re pretty high up there and wasting mana just to maintain your flying art, which looks pretty cool, by the way."

"Still, are you sure you don’t want to come down and conserve some mana?"

"Come down to where? Have you gone mad, Arlo!? She’s trying to kill me, and you want her to come even closer!?"

Vael whispered frantically behind Arlo, who merely shrugged.

"Sheesh, you idiot. Ladies aren’t to be run from but to be persuaded and talked to, no? That’s exactly what I’m doing."

"You! Tch, what do you even know about girls!? For your information, I’ve had experience with ten girls already."

"No wonder you’re getting chased by one..." Arlo mocked.

"Idiot. She’s a completely different breed!"

"Hmph, we’ll see about that," Arlo replied quietly.

’I guess he’s right?’ Frost thought to herself.

It really did consume a considerable amount of mana to maintain her Frosty Chaos Wing Technique.

Now that her prey was standing still, there was no reason to continue wasting mana unnecessarily. Who knew when she might need to use it again?

Sure, almost no one dared challenge her, knowing full well who she was, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"Shit! Arlo, you’ve completely lost your mind!" Vael muttered behind him once again.

Frost slowly descended onto the rooftop before walking toward the two of them.

"Hmm-hmm. So, may I ask the reason behind this sudden friendly visit from you, my lady?"

"I didn’t come here for a friendly visit. I’m here to torture that uncouth and disrespectful bastard standing behind you!"

Frost replied. Stretching her hand to the side, a pale white sword immediately appeared in her grasp.

It resembled a katana, though it was slightly longer, with strange purple runic lines carved across its surface in the shape of a creature that Arlo couldn’t recognize.

The instant the sword appeared, the air around them seemed to freeze.

A faint illusion of a beastly yet strangely brisk roar echoed through the atmosphere, followed by an unbelievable wave of pressure!

"What the hell!?"

Vael screamed in shock.

A chill ran down his spine as he stared fearfully at the sword, while even Arlo’s eyes flashed with a strange light.

[Wow. That’s an Epic Grade Sword right there, Arlo!]

[That thing can slice through entire mountains with nothing more than the simplest infusion of mana!]

[Bingo! You now have a Mythic Grade Sword in your hands!]

The System excitedly exclaimed, and Arlo’s expression immediately dropped.

’What do you mean I now have it?’

[I mean you’re going to take it from her. A sword like that would only find its rightful place in your hands!] the System replied.

Arlo rolled his eyes.

’Tch, you’re a thief! You know that, right?’

[No, I’m simply a guardian meant to keep dangerous things away from people. One of those things happens to be the sword in her hands.]

[It’s dangerous for her, you know.]

’Yes, I know, you thief!’

"Lady Frost. I know this good friend of mine can sometimes have a few screws loose, but I can assure you... he’s a seriously good guy," Arlo said.

Frost stopped around three meters away from them, her brows furrowing.

"Why do I somehow feel bad and good at the same time, Arlo?" Vael whispered with a confused expression.

"Do you even know the level of disrespect he showed me?" Frost asked, slight anger creeping into her voice.

Arlo’s eyes immediately turned toward Vael.

Vael’s spine went cold.

"This isn’t the first time you’ve displayed your idiocy, Vael, but I’ll give you one final warning."

"Not everyone will be magnanimous enough to tolerate your nonsense like I or Lady Frost."

"One day, you’ll get your head sliced clean off because of it! Do you understand!?" Arlo yelled.

Vael’s expression immediately turned gloomy.

"I... I do."

"Good! Now apologize to Lady Frost!"

"Uh?"

"Now!" Arlo ordered before turning toward Vael and giving him a meaningful wink.

Vael immediately understood.

"I... I... I... I’m really sorry, Frost. I was blind and couldn’t recognize you at first. I never would’ve done something like that if not for that."

"Please forgive me! You’ll never see my face again!" Vael apologized.

Frost furrowed her brows.

She couldn’t help wondering why the same bastard who had been cursing her throughout the entire chase had suddenly turned over a new leaf.

Her suspicious gaze slowly shifted toward Arlo.

"Just as I told you, my lady. He really can be a lousy idiot sometimes, but he’s a good person who knows how to own up to his mistakes and apologize."

"What do you say? Forgive him just this one last time, hmm?" Arlo quickly added.

Frost turned away from him and stared at Vael for a long moment before finally making her sword disappear.

"Fine!"

She returned the sword to her storage space.

"Thank you for your benevolence."

"Now, you can leave..." Arlo said, turning toward Vael.

Vael nodded. However, his gaze soon landed on the bags in Arlo’s hands, and a shameless smile slowly appeared on his face.

"What do you want now?" Arlo asked as Vael scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Hmm-hmm, you know I don’t have a bag, right? And... is that two bags you’re holding?"

Arlo rolled his eyes.

"So?"

"So, you wouldn’t mind giving me one, right? I mean, we’ve been lifelong friends for years now. And just as you said, I’m a very good and trustworthy person."

"The same goes for you. You wouldn’t want me to fail the test, would you?" Vael shamelessly asked.

Arlo stared at him for a long moment, his teeth grinding within his mouth before he finally gave up.

"Okay, fine. You can have one of my bags. But you owe me a big one!"

Arlo handed one of the bags over to Vael, whose face immediately lit up.

In the next instant, he hurriedly jumped off the skyscraper, his retreating figure quickly disappearing into the distance.

The shameless bastard simply couldn’t risk Arlo changing his mind after remembering his, um, good but somewhat questionable treatment of him.

[And there goes your advantage!] the System’s cold voice echoed inside Arlo’s head.

Arlo could only sigh.

’I can’t just stand here and watch him fail the test.’

’Vael is definitely a jerk, but if he had two bags, he would’ve given me one as well. I can still pass the event, so why not...?’

Arlo replied, though he knew the System would probably argue that he was merely comforting himself over losing the bag.

"Seems you two are really close..."

A voice suddenly rang out, and Arlo froze.

He turned around and saw Frost, still standing there.

’I can’t believe I forgot she was still here...’ Arlo thought.

"Yes, we are. I didn’t resume school alongside the others and arrived a little later than usual."

"Still, I had no problem quickly fitting in and catching up with the class, all thanks to Vael."

"Believe it or not, he’s a really good guy, even though he gives off jerky boy vibes all the time."

Arlo replied, staring into the distance where Vael had disappeared.

"I’m pretty sure the last time I saw Stellan, he was coming for your head. Yet you still have your neck attached to your shoulders."

"Just how did you survive him and his lackeys?" Frost asked curiously.

Arlo smiled shamelessly.

"Let’s just say I’m really fast. Faster than them," he confidently replied.

"Oh, you’re fast, huh?"

The mocking tone in her voice didn’t escape Arlo’s notice.

He stared back at her suspiciously.

"Yes, I am. Well, at least fast enough to leave you eating dust in a race," Arlo replied with a challenging smile.

Frost immediately took the provocation personally.

"I don’t believe you," she said, clearly confident in her own speed.

"Okay, then. How about a simple race? First person to touch that tower and return wins."

"The sore loser will have to let go of their bag for ten seconds."

"What do you say?" Arlo proposed, pointing toward a distant tower that stood far away yet remained clearly visible.

"Hmmm..."

Frost hummed as she stared into the distance.

Then she nodded.

"IN THREE..."

She began the countdown herself.

"TWO... ONE... GO!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The skyscraper beneath their feet shook violently as both of them exploded forward at horrifying speeds, moving slightly faster than bullets as they shot into the distance.

[Wow, she can actually match your normal speed. So cool.]

The System snorted inside Arlo’s mind.

Arlo raced forward at tremendous speed, and right beside him was Frost.

Her eyes gleamed with slight surprise as she noticed how relaxed Arlo appeared despite their current speed.

"You might end up being the sore loser if this is your highest speed, Lady Frost," Arlo playfully mocked.

Frost snorted. Then, in the next instant...

VROOOOOOOOOOM!

A powerful wave of mana erupted from her body as two gigantic wings formed behind her once again.

In the next instant...

SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!

The air screamed violently.

Frost’s speed instantly exploded, leaving Arlo behind in a cloud of dust.

With her ability to fly, she could freely move through the open air, while Arlo had to maneuver around countless buildings, slowing him down even further.

[That wing doubled her speed, and she’s still getting faster! You have to get that technique too, Arlo! It would be incredibly useful to you!

[She has an Epic Grade Sword and a powerful flying technique. Hehehe, you really do have quite the luck, Arlo!]