Chapter 703
Chapter 703
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 703
Chapter Title: The Frozen Curse and a Warm Respite
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703.
Chloe's unique magic.
Fimbulvetr swept over the orc settlement.
Kiaaaargh!
Keaaaaah!
The orcs screamed as the sudden cold snap descended upon them.
“Humans! Humans! Kiaaargh!”
“It’s a human attack!”
Despite the immense number of orcs freezing to death in an instant, their response was composed.
“A human mage! They can’t cast a spell like this many times!”
Orc warriors took the lead, swinging their axes and commanding the others.
“Surround them! Surround them!”
With a roar, the orcs swiftly formed an encirclement.
Not only that, but orcs armed with bows aimed their arrows in the direction the magic had come from and advanced.
‘This isn’t just some rabble of orcs.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
This was an orc settlement accustomed to battle.
‘Though the very presence of a Shaman King means they’re the elite of the orcs.’
A Shaman King wasn't just a master of powerful black magic.
Befitting the name "King," they possessed formidable leadership.
An orc settlement led by a Shaman King was, for all intents and purposes, a powerful army.
‘Well, it won’t matter against Chloe.’
Even as the orcs closed their encirclement, Chloe remained unshaken, preparing her next spell.
With Leo standing guard in front, there was no way the orcs would reach her.
Of course, the reason for Chloe’s composure wasn't just Leo’s presence.
This situation, with the tightening encirclement, was actually more advantageous for her.
*Crack-!*
The ground Chloe stood on began to freeze solid.
And not just the ground.
The very air around them was freezing.
The rain, which had been falling like pellets of ice, was now pouring down like hail.
It was as if this entire area had been plunged into the dead of winter.
And not just any winter, but one reminiscent of the brutal cold found in the northernmost heart of the continent.
“Hoo.”
Leo exhaled, his breath coming out as a white cloud of vapor.
Chloe, who had been concentrating on her spell formula with her eyes closed, opened them.
With a face like an ice doll, she gazed at the horde of orcs.
“Ice World.”
Her signature unique magic was complete.
The pouring rain only served to further amplify the already immense power of Chloe's spell.
The roaring orcs froze in an instant.
Seeing this, Chloe struck the ground with her staff.
*Clang!*
The orcs, now ice statues, shattered in unison.
“It’s over.”
Chloe looked at Leo.
Leo brushed the thin layer of frost off his body.
“You look cold.”
“Whose fault do you think that is?”
Chloe giggled at Leo’s glare.
“It’s cold. Let’s move to the next area.”
“Alright.”
Just as Chloe was smiling brightly and nodding at the grumbling Leo.
*Crack-!*
The sound of ice splitting echoed.
Leo and Chloe stopped in their tracks.
*Shatter-!*
Amidst the frozen orcs, a single piece of ice broke apart.
Chloe looked at the Orc Shaman King with a puzzled expression.
“Looks like it wasn’t powerful enough to take down the Orc Shaman King in one hit.”
Chloe wore a serious expression.
“Should I increase the power?”
“I think it’s powerful enough as it is.”
“Huh? Isn’t it lacking?”
Chloe blinked with an innocent face.
Leo clicked his tongue at her.
‘Mages, I swear.’
Mages tended to be obsessed with the power of their magic.
Because of this, it wasn't uncommon to see them maximize a spell’s power by tacking on all sorts of amplification formulas, without considering the spell’s balance.
‘Luna was like that too.’
The reason mages were so obsessed with magical power was simple.
‘Because they can be.’
Sometimes, their obsession with power reached a point where their spells could even harm their allies.
Of course, no sane mage would go so far as to hurt their own comrades.
The problem was in situations like this, when they were in a party of two.
‘Kyle wouldn’t die from something like this.’
Luna would often say things like that as she released the limiters on her power when they partied together.
And right now, the look in Chloe’s eyes was exactly like Luna’s at those times.
“I should definitely increase the power… What are you doing?!”
Chloe swatted away Leo’s hand, which was pinching her cheek, and cupped her face.
As she protested with a thoroughly flushed face, Leo said.
“I’ll take care of it, so you just watch.”
Chloe’s expression soured slightly with dissatisfaction, but she obediently stepped back.
*Step-*
Leo walked forward, his feet treading on the frozen ground.
‘Still, this is strange.’
Leo glared at the Orc Shaman King.
In this era, an Orc Shaman King was a rare mutation.
But 5,000 years ago, they weren't such an uncommon sight.
As such, Leo had plenty of experience hunting them.
From what he knew, while an Orc Shaman King was a powerful monster, it shouldn't have been able to withstand Chloe’s magic.
Yet the Orc Shaman King before him was alive.
‘It doesn’t even look like it took that much damage.’
He felt a sense of unease.
*Shing-*
Leo drew his sword.
At that moment.
*Thud-!*
The Orc Shaman King slammed its staff into the ground.
In that instant.
*Cra-cra-cra-cra-crack-!*
The head of a dragon erupted from the ground.
The ice dragon, its maw wide open, lunged at Leo.
*Fwoooosh-!*
Jerdinger's Flame erupted from Leo’s sword.
*Shink-!*
The ice dragon was split in half, instantly turning to water and crashing down like a waterfall.
‘Was it a creature that wields the ice attribute?’
If so, that would somewhat explain its immunity to Chloe's magic.
But Leo’s sense of unease didn't fade.
Chloe’s ice magic was something even Luna had called special.
For any monster, even one that wielded the ice attribute, to withstand it was astonishing.
*Fwoosh-*
Leo amplified the power of his flame.
The frozen ground began to melt.
*Whoooom-*
An immense heat pressed down on the Orc Shaman King.
A heat so intense it felt as though just being near it would turn one to ash.
When Leo aimed his sword at the Orc Shaman King, the aura grew even hotter.
At that moment.
*Whoooooom-*
The chilling aura emanating from the Orc Shaman King intensified.
For a moment, it pushed back Leo's flame.
Just as Leo’s shoulders flinched.
*Cra-cra-cra-cra-crack-!*
The ground began to freeze, spreading out from the Orc Shaman King.
Leo jumped.
In that instant.
*Zing-!*
Snowflake-shaped chunks of ice began to rotate around Leo like a protective shield.
Seeing the ice that showed no sign of melting despite the heat he was emitting, Leo glanced at Chloe.
Chloe, too, had sensed that something was amiss with the Orc Shaman King and had cast an ice shield.
Leo’s red eyes glinted.
*Fwoooosh-!*
A golden flame enveloped Leo’s sword.
It was none other than Dweno’s Flame.
*Shink-!*
Leo's sword sliced the Orc Shaman King's body in half.
The Orc Shaman King died instantly.
But Leo felt a sense of dissonance.
‘It felt like cutting through ice.’
Indeed, the bisected body of the Orc Shaman King was completely frozen.
In that moment, Leo felt a chill run down his spine.
As far as he knew, Dweno's Flame, the flame of the king of phoenixes, was as hot and intense as the Flame Emperor’s.
That was why it had been able to resist being swallowed by Erebos's flame.
‘So why… isn’t it melting?’
At that moment.
The dead Orc Shaman King’s eyes rolled around before settling on Leo.
The instant their eyes met, filled with a cold hatred.
Leo didn't hesitate; he dashed toward Chloe.
“Leo. What…”
Chloe, who had been looking bewildered, widened her eyes as Leo pulled her into his arms.
Leo summoned his jet-black cloak and wrapped it around them.
*Boom-!*
At that moment, the Orc Shaman King’s body exploded.
An immense, brutal cold blasted out from its center.
Chloe, who had squeezed her eyes shut, cautiously opened them.
And then she gasped.
What she saw before her was a familiar pair of red eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Leo’s face was so close their breaths could mingle.
Her eyes wide with surprise, Chloe nodded.
“I’m fine.”
Leo gave a small smile at Chloe’s answer and stood up.
*Whooooooooosh-!*
With his movement, a blizzard raged around them.
It was as if they had been transported to a mountain caught in a winter snowstorm.
“What is this…?”
As Chloe looked around in shock, Leo dusted the frost from his cloak and said.
“It seems to be a curse.”
“A curse?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen a similar curse before.”
Fortunately, the Orc Shaman King’s explosion hadn’t caused any significant harm to Leo and Chloe.
But it had drastically altered the surrounding environment.
Leo had seen something similar to this four times before.
‘Although the phenomenon was the complete opposite.’
When he had dealt a major blow to Erebos.
The entire area had been swallowed by the unquenchable flames of calamity.
The flames of calamity, which burned by consuming all the surrounding mana, had been powerful enough to momentarily paralyze one’s abilities.
‘Well, compared to back then, this is much better…’
The flames of calamity had been powerful enough to turn even the Great Heroes to ash.
But the brutal cold now blowing around them wasn’t enough to freeze them to death.
‘Still, what is this?’
Leo stared at the blizzard with a grim expression.
Just like when Erebos had been wounded and fled.
The mana wasn't moving.
But this was clearly different from that time, when all the mana had been burned away.
Now, the mana was frozen, unable to move.
The result was the same.
But the phenomenon was completely different.
“Leo, this snow… something’s strange.”
“What is it?”
He turned his head to see Chloe holding a handful of snow from the ground, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“It’s not melting.”
Just as she said, the snow she held in her hand was simply slipping through her fingers like grains of sand.
It wasn't melting.
No matter how cold the weather, a person’s body temperature was more than enough to melt snow.
After hearing Chloe’s words, Leo thought for a moment and said.
“First, let’s find a place to take shelter from the blizzard.”
“Okay.”
***
Leo and Chloe managed to find a cave not far away.
As they entered, they were met with slightly stuffy, warm air.
“Perfect timing.”
“What is?”
Chloe shivered as she looked at Leo.
Even for an ice mage, with the mana frozen, she was fully exposed to the cold.
She could endure it thanks to her innate resistance to cold and her trained body, but she had lost a lot of stamina and body heat.
“I think there’s a hot spring inside.”
Chloe’s eyes widened at his words, and she peered into the dark interior of the cave.
Leo gathered the dry branches and leaves scattered around the cave and built a bonfire.
Soon, he also made a torch, lit up the cave, and headed deeper inside.
Chloe followed behind him and saw, just as Leo had said, a steaming hot spring.
Chloe’s face lit up as she checked the water quality and said.
“It’s fine! We can get in here and warm up!”
Leo nodded at her words and then said.
“Alright, take off your clothes and get in.”
“Okay. Got it… What?!”
Startled, Chloe stared at Leo.
“W-What did you just say?”
“I said, take them off.”
“Why?!”
“Are you going to get in like that?”
“Ah…”
Chloe’s face turned bright red.
Leo clicked his tongue at her.
“Just what are you imagining?”
“I wasn’t imagining anything! I-It’s just! You suddenly told me to get undressed, so I was surprised, that’s all!”
“Right. Let’s just say that.”
“What do you mean, ‘let’s just say that’?! I’m telling you it’s not like that!”
Chloe grabbed Leo and shook him frantically.
A moment later.
After calming down, Chloe hesitated and then asked.
“Are you… are you getting in too?”
“…”
“No! Why are you looking at me like that! I’d just feel bad if I went in first! S-So! I was just asking, just in case!”
As she sputtered with a beet-red face, Leo clicked his tongue.
“Kids these days.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? And you’re one of ‘these kids’ too!”