The Beauty of the Cold City Likes Red Bean Shaved Ice
She emptied the bowl of red bean shaved ice in an instant. Feeling better, she snapped her fingers.
"As a thank you, I'll give you a small gift."
A blue mana rose from her fingertips. The moisture in the air froze instantly, forming an exquisite ice rose. It wasn't just a lump of ice. Every petal had lifelike veins—an artistic masterpiece that sparkled with ethereal beauty.
"Wow..." Marie, who had been serving the dessert, stared in complete awe.
"It's so... beautiful."
Marie had always admired "pretty flowers," both during her life and even now as an undead ghost. Sera noticed the sparkle in Marie's eyes, gave her a motherly smile, and offered the ice rose.
"Would you like it? What a cute young lady."
"You're giving this to me? Thank you so much!"
Marie accepted the ice rose with great care. But the moment it touched her hands, it began to melt—not from body heat, but from the surrounding temperature. After all, the undead have no body heat.
"Ah... it's melting..." Marie looked like she was about to cry. "I wanted to keep it forever..."
Watching her, an idea suddenly came to me.
"Lady Sera. By any chance... could I learn that ice magic too?"
"You, Mister Daon?"
"Yes. I think it would be useful for cooling and preserving ingredients while cooking. And..."
I glanced at Marie.
"As part of employee welfare, I'd like to make her an ice flower that won't melt."
Sera rested her chin on her hand and gazed at me with deep interest.
"Hmm... A black mage swordsman learning ice magic. How interesting. Very well, I'll teach you. But in return..."
She leaned forward, her overwhelming curves resting on the table.
"The tuition fee will be... one date with me? Just kidding. Refill my shaved ice, please."
The ice magic lessons began after that. To get straight to the point, it was a complete disaster.
"Argh! It exploded again!"
In the empty lot behind the kitchen, the ice orb I created either burst with a loud pop before it could even hold its shape or melted into black water in seconds.
Attribute Collision Detected!
The user's 'Dark' attribute is consuming the 'Cold' attribute.
Sera shook her head with a troubled expression.
"Mister Daon. As expected, your mana is just too... hot."
"Hot? I'm a black mage swordsman, though?"
"Yes. The darkness of black magic is supposed to be cold, but your mana feels like a rampaging beast. Especially that sword of yours... it's become even more aggressive since you made a contract with Ghost Cry."
She took my hand. Her touch was cold and gentle.
"Ice is the art of stillness and condensation. With your current mana state, you can't maintain ice at all. The moment you create it, you destroy it instead."
"Then... does that mean I can't learn it?"
Marie was looking at me with a disappointed face. As the store manager, I couldn't let my dignity take a hit like this.
That was when a gallery notification rang.
BlackFlameDragon: lololol newbie, why are you struggling so hard?
GeniusNewbie: Noona, I can't get ice magic to work at all.
BlackFlameDragon: Of course not, you idiot. You went down the 'magic swordsman' route. You dumped everything into attack power, so how do you expect to pull off delicate shaping magic?
BlackFlameDragon: But... it's not like there's no way.
GeniusNewbie: What is it?
BlackFlameDragon: Stop trying to learn ice. Instead, refine your own mana until it's 'as cold and sharp as ice.'
BlackFlameDragon's advice continued.
...... (The truth hurts.)
The North Sea Ice Palace. The place that always shows up in martial arts novels and fantasy stories.
"Lady Sera."
"Yes?"
"Do you happen to know the way to the North Sea Ice Palace?"
Sera's eyes sparkled.
"Oh my, that's practically my hometown. Why? Do you want to go?"
"Yes. I need to go train there. My cooking needs to become colder... and sharper."
"Perfect! I was actually planning to stop by my family home to pick something up anyway."
Sera clapped her hands.
"Miss Marie, would you like to come too? They have 'eternal snow flowers' there that never melt."
"Yes! I want to go! Manager, please take me with you!"
Marie bounced with excitement. And so, our second special training trip was decided. This time, our destination was the land of extreme cold—the North Sea Ice Palace.
And so we arrived at the North Sea Ice Palace.
Title: Arrived at the North Sea Ice Palace. Is a perceived temperature of minus 40 degrees real?
Posted by: GeniusNewbie
7th Circle noona opened a portal for us. Wow... this is insane. Every time I breathe, it feels like my lungs are freezing solid. Everything here is just pure white. Can't see a thing. But Lady Sera is wearing a miniskirt in this weather. Do veterans really not feel the cold like this?
Hwooooooo—!
A flesh-cutting blizzard howled around us. Even though I had layered three thick fur robes, I was still shivering uncontrollably. Marie was fine since she was an undead and didn't feel the cold, and Sera...
"How refreshing. The air in my hometown really is the best."
She wore only a thin shawl over her dress and looked completely fine. In fact, her skin seemed to glow even whiter.
The problem was Lucy.
"It's cold! So cold! Damn it!"
Lucy had transformed into her human form and was clinging tightly to my back. She had ten hot packs I'd prepared stuck all over her body and was completely buried inside a thick bearskin coat pulled over her head.
"Daon! Be honest with me. You brought me here to assassinate me, didn't you?"
"I didn't... We came here for training."
"Training my ass! I'm not doing any! Give me a warm heater right now!"
Lucy smacked my back repeatedly. The usual dignity of the Demon King was nowhere to be found—she was just a cat who hated the cold.
"We're almost there. I can see it now."
Where Sera pointed, a massive ice fortress faintly appeared through the blizzard. The walls, built from the transparent ice of the North Sea Ice Palace, sparkled like jewels under the sunlight.
But the path there was anything but smooth.
"Graaaaaah—!"
Huge shapes rose from the snowfield. Three-meter-tall monsters covered in white fur—snow yetis. And ice golems made entirely of frozen crystal.
"Looks like we have guests coming to greet us."
Sera smiled leisurely.
"Mister Daon. Show me what you've achieved so far."
"Yes, I'll give it a try."
I drew Ghost Cry.
(It's cold! The blade's going to freeze! Master, give me some hot blood, quick!)
Even the sword was complaining about the cold.
"Let's go!"
I kicked off the snowfield and ran. But my feet kept sinking deep into the snow, making it impossible to build any speed.
"Grrrr!"
A yeti swung its massive fist. I barely dodged, but the wind from its swing alone felt like it was slicing my face.
'As expected... it's completely different—!'
The environmental penalty was on another level. My mana circulation slowed down and my body stiffened up.
"Compress... the mana."
I recalled BlackFlameDragon's advice. Instead of releasing mana outward, drive it into the blade, deeper and deeper.
Abyss Blade: Condensation
The black aura clung to the blade and grew thinner. I swung my sword at the yeti's arm.
Clang—!
"Huh?"
It didn't cut. The yeti's hide and fur had frozen solid, becoming harder than steel. My sword bounced off, and the recoil made my wrist throb.
"Still a long way to go."
Sera clicked her tongue.
"Step aside."
She lightly waved her hand.
Your party member has used the ice magic Ice Age.
Crackkkkkk!
Blue cold energy burst from her fingertips. The dozen charging yetis and ice golems instantly turned into statues of 'absolute zero' ice on the spot. They couldn't even move.
"......"
It was overwhelming. Unlike Lucy the Demon King's destructive power, this was a static terror that froze the entire world in place.
"Your darkness is too noisy, Mister Daon. It has too much unnecessary heat."
Sera lightly flicked one of the frozen yetis with her finger.
Crash—!
The yeti shattered into thousands of ice fragments.
"True cutting means the target doesn't even realize it's been cut. Create a cold darkness."
Her advice sank deep into my bones.
We settled into the training grounds inside the ice palace. It was even colder here than outside. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of eternal ice.
"Alright, training begins."
Sera was a Spartan instructor. She assigned Marie and me to different areas.
First was Marie's training—ice shaping.
"Miss Marie has talent. The energy of death is cold by nature, after all."
Sera taught her how to carve and refine chunks of ice, even how to maintain their shape with magic. Marie focused so intently that she forgot her bony fingers were freezing (though she couldn't feel it anyway).
And my training was mana refinement.
"Mister Daon, go stand under that waterfall over there."
"A waterfall?"
In the corner of the training ground was a waterfall of unfrozen water. It was called cold ice water—water so frigid that touching it would chill you to the bone.
"While standing under that water, wrap your sword in mana. But you must not let a single drop splash."
"What? How am I supposed to stay dry while standing under a waterfall?"
"By cutting the water with your sword energy. Every single droplet."
It sounded insane. But I walked under the waterfall without complaint.
"Aaaaaaaaagh—!"
A scream escaped me. It wasn't just cold—it was pure agony. It felt like needles stabbing every inch of my body.
(Master! I'm dying! I'm rusting away! Get me out!)
Ghost Cry screamed as well.
"Shut up, you bastard! I'm dying over here too!"
I gritted my teeth and swung my sword.