Episode 988
Episode 988
While Catten was flustered by his junior's words, the Frost Giant continued explaining.
-This duel is meant to prove how well a warrior utilizes both physical strength and mana.
"Indeed. Understood."
Lee Han responded cautiously.
Just from looking at that glacial ice, it was clear that being able to melt it with mana would definitely be advantageous for Lee Han.
Having recently gained experience manipulating mana with orichalcum would also prove helpful here.
'But an even more favorable duel might come up later.'
It would be disastrous if he carelessly chose this only for a better match to appear afterward. Lee Han waited calmly.
-The next duel is this one.
Thud!
"...?"
The Frost Giant dragged over a fallen comrade and unceremoniously plopped him onto a rock.
Lee Han and Giselle were stunned by this completely unexpected challenge.
What kind of duel was this supposed to be?
-You must strike this fellow's head hard to wake him up.
"...While I'm not well-versed in Frost Giant physiology, hitting his head hard in this state seems like it would make him sleep forever."
-Hahaha! Challenger. You don't know what you're talking about. This is a magic helmet.
The Frost Giant laughed at Lee Han's words and pointed to the fallen warrior's helmet.
Surprisingly, the helmet radiated magical energy.
Despite Lee Han's considerable talent for sensing mana, he hadn't noticed it until being told.
'Impressive. Is it because Frost Giant magic has such a unique structure? Even accounting for that, it's extraordinary.'
A helmet capable of concealing magic like that was no ordinary artifact.
-It's the Invincible Helmet that blocks all impacts.
"...But didn't he just get knocked out?"
-He got punched in the face. Even the Invincible Helmet can't protect what it doesn't cover.
The Frost Giant gave Lee Han a look as if he'd said something incredibly stupid.
"So we're supposed to wake him by punching his face?"
-What kind of nonsense is that? Hitting a fallen warrior's weak point could make him sleep forever. Obviously you strike the helmet.
"But you said it was invincible..."
-It is invincible, but a strong enough hit will still deliver an impact. That's exactly what this duel tests.
"......"
Lee Han resolved to assume that half of whatever Frost Giants said was probably exaggeration.
For something called "Invincible," it didn't seem particularly invincible.
'So it's a duel where we deliver an impact through the helmet to kill... no, wake the opponent.'
This match also had advantages for Lee Han.
Since the helmet magically absorbed impacts, breaking the magic itself would nullify its function.
Even if it was Frost Giant magic, wielding Valdororn's Mana Hammer should be able to briefly disrupt it.
'That helmet doesn't seem to have a separate magical structure prepared against mana hammers. There's a good chance it'll work.'
"Junior."
"?"
Catten had somehow appeared behind them.
The beastman senior whispered with concern:
"Are you sure about this? If you give the signal now, I can..."
"Ah. It's still fine. I'll listen a bit longer."
"!!!"
Catten was shocked.
He'd come to check personally in case Giselle had misunderstood, but Lee Han was giving the exact same answer?
"Is there another duel?"
-Indeed. The final duel is most enjoyable. Poisonous Liquor drinking contest.
Drinking strong alcohol wasn't unique to Frost Giants.
You could find similar customs throughout the Empire, and even giants and dwarves enjoyed...
-It's liquor infused with magically created poison.
"...Pardon?"
Lee Han wondered if he'd misheard and asked again.
But he'd heard correctly. The Frost Giant brought forth a large barrel and declared:
-Our shaman brews this with generous amounts of poison. If you want to prove a warrior's endurance, this is the drink to down.
Frost Giants didn't stop at strong liquor—they actively enjoyed poison-laced drinks.
Occasionally, there were giants who drank themselves to death, but that was no different from combat. Just because there were casualties didn't mean the giants would stop fighting.
Catten finally made up his mind for good this time.
"I shall draw my sword, Junior."
"Good luck to you. This is very fortunate."
"?!?!!"
Catten stared at the White Tiger Tower junior, who looked delighted, with eyes full of shock...
'Could it be that he doesn't get along with Wardanaz?'
'They seemed friendly earlier...'
As expected, the duel ended with Lee Han's victory, having chosen the third match.
-Urghhhh...
"......"
Yet, even after winning, Lee Han couldn't bring himself to rejoice.
Because the number of fallen giants had doubled.
-Too... too much poison was drunk...
"If you collapse, who will guarantee my honor?! Senior, do you happen to know any way to detoxify this Poisonous Liquor?"
"Junior. There's no way I would know that."
Catten declared boldly.
Not many people could admit ignorance with such confidence. Without realizing it, Lee Han found himself nodding in agreement.
'He's absolutely right.'
"I've never seen that liquor before either, Wardanaz. It's Frost Giant poison, after all."
"Has the Moradi Family ever fought Frost Giants before?"
"Not every family wages war against extra-dimensional monsters."
Arguing with Giselle wouldn't solve anything. Lee Han gave up and changed his approach.
Gonadaltes' Downfall!
This bizarre spell, which transferred status ailments from the target to oneself, was rarely useful under normal circumstances—but in a situation like this, it was a different story.
Since he could take on the poisoning without much consequence...
-Cough!
The Frost Giant, whose complexion had darkened from the poisoning, regained consciousness.
"Are you awake?"
-D-Did I lose?
"Yes."
-I don't remember! I can't accept this! Let's have a rematch...
Swiish
-Catten pressed his sword against the Frost Giant's neck. The Frost Giant nodded.
-...
If I insist, it would tarnish my honor as a warrior. I shall guarantee the challenger's honor in my name.
"Thank you!"
The Frost Giant woke his helmeted comrade, who was sprawled nearby.
Grumbling as he did so.
-Deciding honor with just one match? What's so bad about two or three?
"......"
"......"
The helmeted Frost Giant woke up belatedly and shouted.
-I should've used my fists, not a club... What happened!?
-The challenger passed the trial. I've pledged to guarantee his honor.
-Y-You blockhead...! If that's the case, you should've passed it to me! You stole the honor from all of us!
-Hmph. Then you should've fought first.
The recovered Frost Giants exchanged sharp words, growling at each other.
Once their argument ended, they kept glancing sideways at Lee Han.
-If we have one more match, we might earn the honor of a challenger recognized by the king...
-Frankly speaking, isn't one match too few? True honor is forged through multiple battles...
"What kind of bastards are these?"
Giselle spat out in disbelief.
Outwardly, they were the very image of a majestic warrior race, but their behavior was pettier than the giants living in the Einrogard mountain range.
If they lost, they should just accept it—yet they kept glancing over, muttering things like, "One match is too few," or "We should've fought more."
-W-What are you talking about? We didn't say anything.
-We won't tolerate insults, outsiders!
Perhaps feeling guilty, the Frost Giants stopped grumbling and led the way.
The other Frost Giants residing in the ice-and-snow fortress deeper in the valley looked puzzled upon seeing the visitors.
-Who are they? What brings outsiders from another dimension here?
-They are the honorable challengers recognized by the king.
-What!? Then that honor should've been mine...!
"It's already over. I challenged him and lost, and promised there would be no further challenges."
"Who do you think you are?!"
The Frost Giants surged forward in a crowd, angrily berating their comrade.
Because of this greedy bastard, their great opportunity for honor had slipped away!
"I understand your disappointment, but what can you do? Everyone should just give up..."
Even with Lee Han's words, the Frost Giants weren't about to give up so easily.
One of them muttered under his breath:
"If the one who made the promise disappears, wouldn't it reset? We might be able to challenge again."
"Exactly! ... Hey, come over here for a second?"
"How dare you?! You can't just eliminate me!"
The Frost Giant being dragged away by his comrades roared in fury at the impending threat of being made to disappear.
But the other Frost Giants were no pushovers either.
With their chance to earn the king's recognition slipping away, they were willing to dispose of this selfish comrade if it meant getting another shot.
"That's enough. You worthless trash. Still squabbling over such petty matters, I see."
At the human mage's voice coming from behind them, the Frost Giants bristled with anger.
No matter how much recognition some of them had earned, the Frost Giants were not a merciful race to tolerate insults from outsiders of another dimension.
"Who dares to... Gasp! Gonadaltes!"
"G-Gonadaltes!"
"Gonadaltes?!!"
The Frost Giants, who had been about to explode in rage, froze in shock upon recognizing the mage behind them.
As much as Frost Giants were slow at distinguishing the appearances of other races, that particular visage was impossible to forget.
The nightmare of the Giant race—Gonadaltes!
That very mage was standing at the valley entrance with his entourage of servants.
"What brings you here?"
"My royal disciple came as an envoy, but he's taking excessively long."
The White Tiger Tower students trailing behind the Crazy Doppelganger nodded vigorously.
Though the Skeleton Principal's avatar was indeed a dangerous archmage, at least for now, he was an archmage on their side. 'Show those Frost Giants what you're made of!'
"He was Gonadaltes's disciple?!"
"Once." - "Huh?"
"I showed mercy once. There won't be a second time, so guard your tongue carefully."
The Frost Giants hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.
"So he was that archmage's disciple?"
"...Yes."
Though it was a bit irritating that the Crazy Doppelganger had arrived late after the duel was already over, Lee Han was just glad he'd shown up at all.
Thanks to that, the Frost Giants' previously persistent attitude had completely changed. 'What on earth did he do to the Giants in the past?'
Lee Han had seen the Young Skeleton Principal beat everything from Giants to demons back in the ancient days.
But he hadn't expected them to still be this terrified after so much time had passed. Even though they were a race from another dimension. 'No. That's not what's important right now.'
"Everyone, let's stop obsessing over honor and duels! We should properly get to the main point now."
Lee Han quickly shouted.
Now that the Frost Giants were intimidated, he had to drive the nail in deep and make sure they never brought it up again.
"Understood. We'll get to the main point."
"But wait a moment."
The Frost Giants nodded in agreement, then each pulled something out from their robes.
It was a wax notepad.
Watching them scribble with their massive hands, Lee Han grew curious.
He grabbed the helmeted Frost Giant who had fallen first earlier and asked:
"What are you all writing down now?"
"Challenger, can you not read letters?"
"...I don't know Frost Giant script, but I can read other languages."
"You should learn letters." The way they looked at him like some pitiful monolingual was annoyingly condescending.
But Lee Han endured it.
"So what does it say?"
"This means 'Honorable Challenger Recognized by the King.' It's an epithet for you, the challenger."
"...And the line below?"
"The line below means 'Disciple of the Mage Gonadaltes.' That's also an epithet for you, the challenger."
"Then what's the last line?"
"It means that since you possess two honors that must never be yielded to others, you must be claimed first."
Lee Han nodded.
And then resolved that he needed to confiscate the writing implements from the Frost Giants.