Raon was barely able to hold back his laughter. He only expressed a small amount of curiosity as he looked at Wrath.
‘Does it take a long time?’
It doesn’t only take a long time, but it’s impossible for an average human being. But it should be possible for you since your ice has a high purity.
Wrath cleared his throat and continued.
This ability is called Glacier. You should be honored that you are being personally taught by the King of Essence.
‘Okay, okay. I got it, so please start.’
I admit that you have a feeble talent, but you should never get lazy. It will require a tremendous amount of time. This is a secret technique created by the King of Essence…
‘I don’t wanna learn it. I’m just going to scout with the Blade of Requiem instead.’
W-wait! I get it! I’ll start immediately!
Raon quickly turned his head, and Wrath followed him in a hurry.
Calm your mind first.
‘Okay.’
Raon closed his eyes. He inhaled and exhaled extremely slowly, to the point that it felt boring. As he repeated that simple action, the inside of his head was dyed white, like drawing paper.
You need to connect now.
‘Connect?’
Yes. Connect your ice with the ice covering the earth. Open your eyes.
Raon opened his eyes and saw Wrath spreading his deep blue frost.
Look closely at the King of Essence’s ice.
The frost spread from Wrath’s flame and sank into the snow-covered ground. It looked as if the snow and the frost were combining harmoniously with each other.
Did you see it?
‘It looked like your frost and the snow were merging.’
Hmm, that’s just what it looks like on the outside. It’s not the snow and frost, but the ice from both that is being connected. If you give me your body, I can tell you more properl…
‘I don’t wanna learn it.’
I-I get it! I get it, so look at this again. I won’t say that ever again!
Wrath swallowed his saliva and stepped back. Unlike before, Wrath was the one that was asking him to learn.
Ahem, the point is to harmonize your ice with the ice in this land. Doing that will allow you to sense something that happens far away, as if it were touching your skin. The snow and frost covering the space all around you will become your eyes, ears, and skin.
‘Ah, I think I have a rough understanding of it.’
Raon nodded. Despite his expectations, the straightforward and concise explanation allowed him to easily understand it.
‘However…’
It looked difficult.
Connecting the ice was something he’d never thought about. Listening and understanding was one thing but putting it into action seemed rather difficult.
It will require a lot of time. But if you do learn it properly, the result will be more than worth the time.
‘Hmm…’
The scouts were busily running around to teach Dorian. Since it was blowing snowy winds, he judged that he wouldn’t be found out if he tried it right then.
‘I’ll try it right now.’
I’ll teach you the spell, then.
‘Spell? But I can’t use magic.’
Spell doesn’t necessarily mean magic. It’s similar to the mnemonic chant that you humans murmur during aura cultivation.
‘I see.’
Let’s start. The god submerged in the lake of ice where the flower of frost blooms…
Raon used the Ring of Fire to enhance his focus and mind, completely memorizing Wrath’s chant.
Since you shouldn’t have memorized it yet, I’ll tell you once ag…
‘I’ve memorized everything.’
Ugh, what a monster…
Wrath glared at him, asking if he was really human.
‘I’ll start, then.’
Raon closed his eyes and used the Coldness of Frost. The frost spreading out from his body sank onto the ground, scattering over the snow.
Whir!
The frost kept flowing from him, to the point where his hands started feeling numb, but nothing special happened except for the way the snowballs in the surrounding area grew stiffer.
‘I don’t understand how I can make the connection.’
Connection doesn’t mean to actually connect the snow with you. It is just an image.
‘I’ll try it again.’
Raon nodded and caught his breath. The frost slowly flew from him as he chanted the spell.
‘Harmoniously.’
Mix the ice with ice.
He restlessly emanated the frost by rotating the Ring of Fire.
‘He said image is important.’
He tried thinking about the best image to mix them.
‘The image of merging into one…’
As he thought about harmony and mixture, he remembered the northern sea he saw earlier.
The endless ocean, where all water in the world gathered.
It felt like that ocean would allow the ice to mingle with each other in harmony.
‘But that ocean isn’t the northern sea.’
The ocean he imagined was a great, calm ocean without any tidal waves.
Imagining an ocean as calm as a lake, he chanted the spell.
The Coldness of Frost spreading out from the tip of his finger grew thinner. It was thinner than a hair, covering the entire space.
Thud!
The world slowed down.
No, it was himself that was slowing down.
His limbs were heavy, as if he were buried in the mud.
On the other hand, his senses were so sharp that chills ran down his spine.
He could hear the small sound of waves.
Ocean. Raon was currently floating on an ocean. No, he’d become one with the ocean.
Splash!
Waves occurred in the calm ocean.
Left side.
The scouts and Dorian were moving together. Radin asked Dorian about the mark on the ground. The mark was the footprint of an ice troll that disappeared a long time ago. Dorian took out a huge ruler and rubbing tools to start measuring the footprint.
A small wave flowed from the right side. A bearwolf was hiding, alert and catching the scent of humans from the wind. It was carrying food, which looked like an orc, in its hand.
‘Huh…’
He laughed bitterly.
The ability not only allowed him to find out who was around him, but also what they were doing.
“Haaa…”
Raon exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
‘I did it.’
He couldn’t maintain it for a long time, and the distance was short because it was his first time, but he had a hint. He just needed some practice to clearly understand it.
Don’t be so sad. Glacier is a trait of perception that the King of Essence created personally. It’s obvious that you can’t learn it so easily. You should be able to learn it after practicing diligently for the year that you’ll spend here.
Wrath told him that it was natural it took some time, thinking Raon was obviously clueless.
‘A year sounds too long.’
But that’s a short estimation considering the fact that the King of Essence is helping you.
‘Hmm. Then, shall we make a bet?’
A bet?
‘Whether I’ll learn Glacier in six months or not.’
Hmm, six months…
Wrath was unable to respond immediately. It looked like he was worried about the ‘just in case’ scenario because he’d lost all of the bets so far.
‘Fine, how about five months?’
Bet!
He immediately accepted.
[‘Wrath’ is suggesting a bet.
Condition: Acquire Glacier in five months.
Success: All stats +4, increase the rank of one of the traits.
Failure: Creation of 10 points of the emotion of ‘Wrath’.]
“I accept.”
The bet has been established.
Raon forced himself to keep a straight face and nodded.
‘Well, regardless of the bet, I think Glacier is an outstanding ability.’
Obviously, since the King of Essence made it personally.
As soon as Wrath heard the compliment, he nodded with a bright expression. Raon thought that he really liked getting complimented, and it wasn’t the first time he thought that way.
‘Are there other ways to use ice?’
Of course! Spreading frost is the most basic thing. Alright, the King of Essence will teach you how to handle ice today!
Raon smiled slightly, looking at Wrath burning inside the freezing flame.
The fish had so much flesh to eat.
* * *
* * *
“Recruit!”
As Wrath was about to start the lesson on how to use ice, Radin gestured for him to come to him.
“Since it’s late, we will sleep around here tonight.”
Radin pointed at a leafless tree with his thick finger.
“Obviously, we can’t make a bonfire. The animals run away from fire, but the monsters rush into it instead. Then, how can we survive this cold weather?”
“Lay out a thick mattress and cover ourselves with a duck-down blanket, then sleep!”
Dorian raised his hand without hesitation.
“……”
Raon and the scouts fell speechless and stared blankly at Dorian.
“How are we supposed to have such a thing?”
“I do have th…”
“You! What’s your answer?”
As Dorian was about to take out mattresses from his belly pocket, Radin quickly pointed at Raon.
“We need to dig underground.”
“Yes, that’s the correct answer.”
Radin murmured that they were polar opposites and sighed.
“Then, where do we need to dig? The ground is frozen stiff here because of this insanely cold weather.”
“I’ll look for it.”
Raon nodded and lowered his posture. He checked the ground by sweeping the snow with his hand.
‘I should find that soil.’
The ground of such a cold area was mostly rock solid, but there were some gaps mixed in between.
That was called the empty soil, since it was a soft soil with empty space underneath, making it easy to dig.
‘I found it.’
The soil was slightly raised on the left side of the tree, with a lighter color. The soil must have been soft with some empty spaces underneath, making it easy to dig a tunnel.
“It’s here.”
“Tsk…”
Raon tapped on the empty soil and Radin pouted.
“Why should we dig here?”
“The light color and the slightly protruding shape, like a hill means, that it's classic empty soil…”
“You are really smart.”
“Sorry?”
“Since you are so smart, you must also have lots of things you want to eat!”
“Uh…”
“You really know about everything!”
It was difficult to describe Radin’s eyes as he wrinkled his nose and complained.
“Shall I start digging if he was right?”
As he trembled, Dorian came up to them carrying two big shovels and a sack.
“Where did you get those shovels and the sack?”
“I brought them with me.”
He tapped on his belly.
“What the hell are you?!”
Radin’s face became completely red.
“One guy knows everything, and the other guy has all kinds of objects! Seriously, what the hell are you?”
“Hehe, I’m not that amazing.”
Dorian smiled like a fool, thinking that it was a compliment.
“Ugh, my stomach hurts…”
“Leader, let’s save the scolding for later. We need to settle ourselves before it’s too late if we are going to sleep here tonight. It’s getting dark, just like you said.”
Raon took one of the shovels Dorian had brought.
“You don’t need to! There’s a place we use each time we come out to scout.”
Radin said that they were disgusting bastards, then entered the forest decorated by the white snow.
“Don’t mind him. He is complimenting you.”
“He just got angry because he has nothing to teach you.”
“He is really childish.”
“Pretend you don’t know sometimes. He looks so pitiful.”
The scouts giggled and followed Radin.
“He is such a peculiar guy.”
Dorian licked his lips, putting the shovel back into his belly pocket.
Raon shook his head.
‘You are the most peculiar one…’
* * *
They went to the outskirts of the forest, following the scouts, and there was a snow-white fabric covering the ground.
They cleared away the fabric and went inside the tunnel. Inside, there was a space large enough for all twelve people to sleep.
Raon and the scouts organized their luggage and filled their stomachs with the soft bread Dorian had brought.
Because they were able to eat bread instead of hard beef jerky, Dorian’s popularity shot through the ceiling.
I guess it’s only natural, since even the King of Essence finds the bread decent.
Wrath murmured that it was a relief, since he expected him to eat some beggar’s scraps for a while.
“We need to decide on the night watch now…”
Radin put the remaining piece of bread in his mouth and stood up.
“I’ll do it first.”
Raon raised his hand.
“Don’t you dare take the first shift when you’ve just joined! It’s ten years too early for you!”
Radin shook his index finger without missing the opportunity.
“The first shift and last shift are decided by how long you’ve been here. Your shift will be the exact center, so stop stepping up.”
“I see.”
“And don’t give me that easygoing smile, either! You are making me look like your junior.”
“Okay.”
“Ugh…”
Raon smiled lightly, and Radin was speechless again.
“I’ll decide on the night watch now. The first shift is…”
Radin personally decided on the night watch. However, despite him saying it was decided by how long they’ve been, he got the third shift along with Raon instead of the first or last shift.
‘He isn’t a bad person.’
From the way he spoke and acted so far, he looked like he craved to teach his juniors. It seemed he’d exploded because he had nothing to teach him, as he knew everything already.
“Erm, young master.”
As Raon was thinking he was a funny person, Dorian secretly came next to him.
“He is really peculiar. Let’s not get on his bad side.”
He said, drinking a steaming tea.
You are the most peculiar one of all.
Wrath responded instead this time.
* * *
During the night watch, Radin glanced over his shoulder. The weird guy, who he didn’t know anything about except for his name, was blankly staring at the dark forest.
‘What an unusual guy.’
It wasn’t just his knowledge, but he was also excellent at putting it into action. It was difficult to judge him because it was his first time seeing that type of person.
“Hmm.”
Radin left the camp and approached Raon. He just wanted to talk to him, but Raon had his eyes closed.
‘Huh? I got him good this time!’
Apparently, even such a monstrous guy couldn’t help but sleep during a night watch. He was about to wake him up, thinking it was a great opportunity.
Raon suddenly opened his eyes. Radin fell speechless, witnessing his furiously burning crimson eyes.
“Ah…”
“Leader.”
He stood with a chilly voice.
“Uh, what?”
“Monsters are approaching right now.”
“M-monster?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it.”
There was no sign of wavering in Raon’s voice.
“How do you know that?”
“I have some pretty good senses. Water-type monsters came up from the northern sea and are currently moving underground.”
“Water-type monsters moving underground…”
Radin swallowed. It must’ve been the shark mole, the water-type monster with shark head and mole claws.
‘But they don’t come this way…’
It was true that they were capable of moving underground, but they’d never come close to the forest next to Stallin Mountain.
“Hmm…”
He tried putting his ear to the ground just in case, but he couldn’t hear anything. It seemed Raon was mistaking his dream for reality.
‘I knew it.’
Even though he was acting nonchalantly, there was no way a recruit wouldn’t feel nervous. His sloppy appearance finally made him look like a human being.
“Are you talking about the shark mole?”
“Yes.”
“Shark moles don’t come here because this forest is the territory of the monsters coming down from Stallin Mountain. Just wake up already.”
Radin tapped Raon’s shoulder with a light smile. However, his expression, frozen stiff like tree bark, didn’t change.
“I’m serious.”
“I’m serious, too.”
He shook his head and pointed at the ground.
“The ground shakes when shark moles move, yet there’s not the slightest vibration right now.”
“You will be able to feel it soon enough.”
“Haa, since it’s your first day, I’m not going to scold you for dozing off during the night wa…”
Radin swallowed and stood up in surprise. The frozen ground had started vibrating.
“Wh-What! Was it for real?”
It was clearly the vibration and sound of approaching shark moles.
“Like I said.”
“Th-This can’t be…”
“Please wake up the others for now. They will be here at any moment.”
“Wh-What about you?”
“I’ll buy time here.”
“Ugh, y-you…”
“Go, quickly.”
“Okay! Don’t push yourself!”
Radin went down into the cave.
“Wake up! The shark moles are coming!”
“What? What’s coming?”
“Sh-shark mole? Why would shark moles come here?”
“I’m not sure either, so wake up for now!”
The scouts woke up immediately despite their doubts and prepared for battle.
“D-did monsters really appear?”
Dorian was the only one that didn’t know what to do in a panic.
“Get prepared quickly and come out!”
Radin went outside the cave holding a crossbow and a sword. As he was about to seek out Raon and the shark moles’ location, the ground in front of him split apart like a spider web and a huge monster popped out.
“Sh-shark mole!”
It was the north sea’s monstrous shark mole, with a shark’s head, a mole’s claws, and a human's body.
“Ugh!”
He tried to step back to shoot his crossbow, but he fell, tripping at the cave’s entrance.
“Kieee!”
With a grotesque scream, the shark mole tried striking at him with its hand, which was covered with dozens of claws.
‘Damn it! I need to give up on my arm and… huh?’
Just as he decided to give up his arm as bait to buy time for his retreat, a red line appeared on the shark mole’s neck.
Psh!
The shark mole’s head was cut off like a fish head.
He raised his head with chattering teeth, and he could see two red moons floating in the dark sky.
“Ah…”
They weren’t moons. They were Raon’s red eyes.
“Don’t move from there.”
“Wh-who are you…”
“Since you didn’t trust me…”
Raon turned around, holding the sword that was dripping with warm red blood.
“Please trust my sword, at least.”
