Chapter 145
Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Abandoned Land of the Frost Giants
Every step sank deep into the snow, my feet plunging in up to the ankles.
The bone-chilling cold made my body shrink instinctively.
A knife-like wind sliced across my cheek in that moment.
The sharp pain caught my breath in my throat.
When I finally managed to breathe again, the icy air felt like it would freeze my lungs solid.
This was the forsaken land of the frost giants, located in the northwest of the continent.
Long ago, mighty frost giants had dwelled here, but now it was a wasteland they had abandoned.
Blizzards raged year-round, making visibility nearly impossible, and the temperature perpetually below freezing constantly drained one's stamina.
Simply surviving in this place was a challenge to human limits, so even renowned adventurers rarely dared to set foot here.
No wonder they said returning alive from the abandoned land of the frost giants was a miracle in itself.
There was only one reason we'd come to such a harsh place.
“What kind of tournament arena is entirely made up of extreme wastelands?!”
First the sea floor, then a volcano, and now this frozen hell.
I'd known it beforehand, but there were limits.
My complaining voice was quickly swallowed by the blizzard and vanished.
As a player, I hadn't thought much of it, but now I was convinced: Mullat Contio was utterly insane.
Of course, they had basic safety measures in place, but that didn't mean there had never been deaths among past participants.
This tournament was particularly grueling.
Our goal was to retrieve the Golden Fleece from somewhere in this vast frozen wasteland—specifically, an ancient frost giant tomb.
Not just any fleece, but the legendary treasure of a long-extinct ancient kingdom.
It was said that as long as a nation possessed it, prosperity would follow, but lose it even once, and calamity would strike.
The ancient kingdom had lost this precious Golden Fleece to the frost giants.
Whether by coincidence or because the legend was true, the kingdom perished afterward.
And now we had to find that legendary item in this frozen hell.
Since I already knew, I'd packed plenty of cold-weather gear.
Inside the lightweight bag hidden under my clothes, there was even steaming hot chocolate.
I carefully fastened the thick fur coat that the biting wind had disheveled.
It was so bundled up that moving was quite cumbersome, but better than freezing to death.
“Thanks for preparing one for me too.”
Leon, standing beside me, fastened his own coat.
Prioritizing function over form meant the design was plain, but on Leon, it looked like a noble draping a rugged coat.
His cheeks flushed red from the cold made his face glow with an even stronger halo than usual.
Damn it, the finishing touch to fashion really is the face.
I regretted not picking a different design at least.
As I clicked my tongue inwardly, an intense gaze stabbed at my cheek.
I turned my head slightly to see Elga and Rolang shivering violently.
They were tying pouches and bags, so they seemed prepared in some ways, but no winter gear.
Who would expect to be dumped in a place like this?
No matter how I thought about it, the abandoned land of the frost giants crossed the line.
They looked so cold that it made me shiver just watching, so I pulled spare winter gear from my lightweight bag and held it out.
“Put this on.”
“Ooh… th-thanks.”
Rolang, chattering from the cold, reached out.
But Elga refused flatly in a voice stiff with frost.
“No pity in the world of competition.”
“Who said anything about pity? I'm lending it because you two looked ready to freeze before the race even started. You think you can compete properly like this?”
Elga had no retort.
She knew her own condition best.
“I want a fair competition, not to crush opponents by any means necessary. Collapsing because you lack basic winter gear isn't the best way to compete, is it?”
Half of it was a lie.
I'd prefer they competed fairly among themselves without me.
Clemens's promised semester off was tempting, but I had no intention of winning.
The academy was the safest place anyway, and with things unfolding, I needed to keep watch even during a break—it wouldn't really be rest.
I masked my true feelings with a noble excuse, and Elga just opened and closed her mouth wordlessly.
Meanwhile, Rolang snatched the gear first and threw it on quickly.
Sized for me, it hung loose on him, and he flailed his arms.
“A fair competition, huh? Nice words. Guess I'll borrow it without shame then.”
“Rolang…!”
“But Elga, she's not wrong, right?”
“Well… fine. I’ll repay this debt. But I won’t hold back.”
Grudgingly, Elga accepted the gear and draped it over herself.
It was the same design coat, but why did it suit everyone but me?
As I clicked my tongue inwardly again, Leon gazed at me warmly.
“What’s with that look? Jealous I gave them clothes?”
“I’m just puzzled. You always grumble, but you’re actually kind.”
This guy, shaking his head—what was that supposed to mean?
Kind? Who?
Me…?
“What are you talking about? I just lent it so I wouldn’t have nightmares if you froze to death.”
“Sure.”
Leon smirked.
Anyone could tell he didn’t buy it.
“Hey, why are you laughing? Huh?”
“I didn’t laugh.”
Leon schooled his expression immediately.
Where did this guy pick up all these weird habits that made him so cheeky?
He’d been corrupted by something.
“Quiet down.”
Just then, Ken Schultz approached, fully armored in winter gear.
Even this tenacious professor couldn’t handle the weather forever.
“Congratulations on reaching the finals. Now, we’ll assign starting points. To prevent overcrowding, positions are random, but distances and difficulties to the goal are equal.”
With that, Ken Schultz held out a box with slips of paper.
The fair draw gave Leon position 1, Elga 2, Rolang 3, and me 4.
I stepped onto the platform marked 4.
A short-range teleport activated silently amid the blizzard.
Haa… Once this tournament’s over, I can finally head home…
I knew something would go down, but…
Let’s just get past this hurdle.
Suppressing my annoyance, Ken Schultz bellowed.
“Mullat Contio finals! Begin!!”
9
“Ugh… damn! It’s freezing!”
My vision flashed, and a fierce blizzard slapped my cheek.
I quickly raised my arms to shield my face and scanned the surroundings.
No sign of Ken Schultz, Leon, Elga, or Rolang.
Just the raging blizzard filling my view across the snowfield.
This was position 4.
I knew exactly where the target—the ancient frost giant king’s tomb—was.
I checked my compass and started walking.
Plowing through knee-deep snow was exhausting.
Even bundled in thick winter gear, the cold seeped in.
Having to walk meant heavy stamina drain.
Damn, back in the game days, I could’ve found it blindfolded.
The blizzard obscured visibility completely.
The compass ensured direction, but an eerie unease kept gnawing at me.
After trudging on alone for a while, battling isolation,
As the snowfield turned to steep mountains, something moved in the blizzard.
A creature covered in pure white fur, with crude horns sprouting like a gorilla.
“Ice troll…”
A top predator in this area’s ecosystem.
Prey was scarce in the frozen wastes, so it always hunted when it spotted some.
Sure enough, the ice troll bared its fangs and charged.
“Tch, and my stamina’s already low…”
Just breaking through the snowfield had cost me plenty.
With Anirja possibly scheming anywhere, anytime, I wanted to conserve at least some stamina.
Too late to dodge the troll—better end it quick.
I swallowed a sigh.
Drew Deathwise and slid sideways.
Intense maneuvers on snow were tough, but dodging a straightforward charge was doable.
As I evaded, I swung the magic sword, slicing the troll’s ankle from behind.
The troll, its Achilles tendon severed, dropped to its knees on the spot.
No roar—maybe its vocal cords were frozen too.
Next, I slashed the softer joints: behind the knee, armpit, elbow—through the thick hide.
Each cut sprayed blood droplets that froze midair, no screams.
Trolls’ high regeneration came from ample blood.
Drained enough, the ice troll collapsed motionless.
“Exhausted…”
Wasted time and stamina needlessly.
Sheathing my sword, I resumed walking.
Soon, silhouettes of massive ruins flickered through the blizzard.
“Found it.”
The ancient king’s tomb, built on a steep slope, was now just rubble, its glory long forgotten.
The path to it was mostly crumbled; without close inspection, it was indistinguishable.
But the underground tomb itself remained intact.
Retrieve the Golden Fleece inside, and the finals were over.
Meaning Anirja’s chance to interfere was running out.
Heightening my vigilance to stay sharp till the end, I sensed movement behind me.
Reflexively drawing my magic sword and spinning.
Approaching from behind was Rolang, slumped over a broom.
“Hmm~? I used detection magic, though. How’d you get here first? Eh, whatever—I’m winning anyway.”
While I’d been trudging through snow, he’d flown solo on his broom, yawning lazily toward the tomb’s massive entrance.
Envious. Broom flight.
I wanted to fly too…
The entrance, sized for frost giants, opened disappointingly easily.
But in the wrong direction.
Not outward, but inward.
Boom—the ground shook.
Piled snow trembled.
—Kuuuaaaarrr!!!
The erupting roar made me clap my hands over my ears instinctively.
A spine-chilling bellow flipped the switch in my brain, alarms blaring.
I gripped Deathwise’s hilt tighter on reflex.
From the tomb’s entrance emerged a 15-meter-tall behemoth.
A blue-skinned biped cloaked in shaggy fur around its face.
“Frost giant…!”
The name slipped out automatically.
The original masters of this forsaken land, once said to have clashed with dragons.
Having sacrificed keen intellect for cold adaptation, they boasted exceptional size and strength among giants.
And in Broken World lore, they never actually appeared.
Per the setting book, one frost giant was no match for a dragon.
It lacked that overwhelming presence, but wasn’t something I could take lightly.
If a dragon was a living catastrophe, this was a walking disaster.
Impossible for a lone human to face.
Its sudden appearance? Definitely Anirja’s doing.
The silver lining: frost giants were dumb.
No complex commands possible, so likely a simple one.
Like “kill all who approach the tomb.”
Sure enough, the frost giant blankly scanned around, then brought what it held in its hand to its mouth.
In its grip: an unconscious Rolang.
Shit—gnashing my teeth, I cast dimensional magic.
My head throbbed from the rough deployment, but I ignored it and yanked Rolang out with it.
Crunch!
The giant bit hard into empty air.
A beat later, sensing something off, it stomped in rage.
Simple, brutish motion, but each stomp boomed, shaking the ground.
Leave it, and an avalanche wouldn’t be surprising.
Even Leon would struggle to survive one.
Elga or unconscious Rolang? Forget it.
Strength surged into my grip on Deathwise’s hilt.
I laid Rolang on a nearby rock and charged the frost giant.
“Hey!”
It turned at my shout.
Blank white eyes devoid of any intellect.
Shaggy beard flaring like a savage, it swung its massive hammer.
The wind alone nearly blew me away.
A direct hit would pulverize bones.
Instinctively rolling back—the hammer embedded where I’d stood.
Dull impact rocked the ground again, but I kept balance.
Powerful, but not fast.
My winter gear hindered speed too.
I sprang up, racing along the hammer.
In one leap, to its shoulder, then jumped.
Twisting midair, I unleashed Deathwise’s power.
No fancy techniques.
Minimal force maximized for a slash.
Targeting the eye.
Blinding it would give me a chance.
The arc accelerated.
Just as it neared the eye, the giant jerked its head back.
And shut its eyelids—shallow cut around the eye was the limit.
But damage was damage.
Blue blood droplets scattering enraged it?
Veins bulged on its blue skin.
Whoosh!!!
No time to react—its fist flew at me.
No spare for dimensional dodge.
Reflexively reshaping Deathwise into a shield, I raised it.
Boom!!
Like getting hit by a 5-ton truck, I slammed into the snowfield.
Bounced twice, thrice off the ground before stopping.
“Urk…”
Kneeling barely, I spat the blood pooling in my mouth.
Deflected, yet my arms were numb.
Without the thick gear and snow cushion, bones would’ve snapped.
—Hey, you okay!?
Not okay.
No path to victory in sight.
At my current specs, soloing a frost giant was impossible.
Call Night? Might win.
But it was a one-shot kill fair to foe and me alike.
Even post-Earth Dragon heart absorption, backlash would have me vomiting blood and collapsing.
In this cold? No survival guarantee.
If I must, I would.
Gnashing teeth, forcing myself up—
“Frost giants left this land ages ago, I heard.”
A prim, familiar voice cut through the blizzard.
Leon, hood flipped back as if just arrived, nobly drew Exwise.
And a radiant, blinding holy sword’s light cleaved the swirling blizzard.