The Blessing of Frost

She gazed for a moment at the Winterbane still resting in my hand, silent, unreadable. Then she spoke in that flat, emotionless voice of hers — and somehow that made it all the more unnerving.

"Got it, roughly. Let's go."

Having settled her thoughts in record time, she set off ahead of us, and I fell in behind her. The nobles, who until now had been carefully looking anywhere else, made a show of watching us leave with even more fervent eyes than before.

And so we arrived at the audience chamber, her leading the way.

"I have the honor of addressing Grand Duke Bahen, Heart of the North, Unbreakable Wall of the Empire."

"The pleasantries will do."

The Grand Duke waved a hand to cut me off the moment I finished the proper greeting. Luke Bahen — an opponent I'd crossed paths with plenty of times even in the game. And in person, his sheer presence was on an entirely different dimension from what I'd seen through a screen. A single meeting of the eyes was enough to make my heart ache.

"You became the brightest star of the Subjugation Festival."

"I was fortunate, my lord."

"Far too modest. If you're a man, you ought to show some ambition."

With those words, Luke Bahen rose from his seat and began walking toward me, unhurried.

"You and Johannes made quite the charming little wager, I hear."

"……"

"I'm not scolding you. If anything, you deserve praise."

He clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled, and the expression was more alien than anything I'd seen from him.

"You seem to want something from Bahen."

"Am I permitted to speak freely?"

I lifted my gaze slowly and met Luke Bahen's eyes head-on. An overwhelming pressure bore down on my entire body like a physical weight — but I had no intention of backing down here.

"Then speak."

"I want a stronger North."

"……?"

"No matter what calamity befalls the North, Bahen itself will not fall."

Luke Bahen gave a small nod, as if that much went without saying.

"But the North as a whole is another matter."

"An interesting perspective. How so?"

"The demon invasions have quieted of late, and the noble houses of the North have grown complacent, settling into their old ways."

"And?"

His eyes were fixed on mine alone now, daring me to go on.

"But the threat hasn't ended. Demons aren't the North's only enemy."

The barbarians who had once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ruled these lands, the demons quietly stockpiling their strength, and beyond even them, the demonkin who commanded it all — the northern front existed to hold back countless enemies at once.

Because if the northern front breaks, it's a straight line to the bad ending.

The moment that line collapsed, the story would end in ruin, exactly as it had in the original.

"So — what is it you want?"

"A united North."

A brief silence settled over the chamber. And in that silence, cold enough to choke the air from my lungs, the corner of Luke Bahen's mouth curled upward.

"Interesting."

"……"

"One North. The lords in the capital would have fits just hearing it."

Even as he said it, his gaze never left me. I knew the reward was excessive. I knew, too, that this could easily stir up trouble down the line.

"Still, I don't dislike it. A man of the North ought to carry ambition of at least this size."

Saying so, Luke Bahen rose and held something out to me — an ornate box, the crest of House Bahen embossed across its lid.

"Open it."

I lifted the lid without hesitation. Inside sat a single orb. Within its modest size, an immense cold was condensed, dense and coiled.

"An Ice Crystal. The grand prize of the Subjugation Festival. If you wish, I could help you absorb it, but……"

He studied my body for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.

"I see there'd be no need."

"Thank you, my lord."

"No thanks required. It's simply what you earned."

This was an unexpected reward, to say the least. I'd been bracing for a new weapon or a skill — not an Ice Crystal.

For my current build, the efficiency on this is absurd.

Cold Heart and Frost's Protection, followed by the Bahen-style mana circulation technique, and now an Ice Crystal on top. Just as my build was tilting hard into frost specialization, I'd picked up the one elixir I absolutely needed.

"Under normal circumstances I'd have granted you a weapon, but……"

Luke Bahen's eyes drifted back to the Winterbane at my hip.

"That matter we'll discuss when we make the deal you spoke of."

As I'd suspected — he knew everything Johannes and I had talked about.

"Your intriguing little wish as well. We'll hear it then."

He took the bait.

"Anything else?"

That was as good as a dismissal. I bowed my head, stepped out of the chamber — and only then did the breath I'd been holding finally burst out of me.

"Hoo…"

"Are you well, my lord?"

"Fine. Perfectly fine."

It had been a gamble, sure — but one I'd placed on Luke Bahen's character. And I'd walked away with a bonus I hadn't even planned for. There was no reason not to be fine.

I was still quietly exhaling when Larissa Bahen emerged behind us, having followed us out.

"Ian. Are you strong?"

She studied me briefly, then turned to Tarian with her question.

"I couldn't say at present. But he will undoubtedly grow stronger than I am."

"Looking forward to it. Ian."

"Yes, my lady."

"Next time, have a wager with me too."

I watched her go for a moment, her back receding down the corridor.

"Promising the future already — a gifted man indeed."

"You're insane, Tarian."

Her parting look had been pure predator, unmistakable to anyone. Like an angler telling a fry to come back when it's grown.

"Hoo. That was exhausting."

"You did well, my lord."

"So did you."

"I did nothing of the sort. Still, I'm glad to see you've grown that much further."

I had certainly come out of the Subjugation Festival rich. The mana circulation technique, the Ice Crystal, and on top of it all, a connection to House Bahen.

Tarian and I were trading idle chatter on the way back when—

-Well done, little warrior. You have reaped great results.

-My praise upon your growth.

Praise alone?

-Naturally, a reward must follow such achievement.

Frostfang's voice brushed against my mind like a whisper.

-Grow stronger.

-Until this entire North lies beneath your feet.

With that, the voice slowly faded away.

"Well, then."

Time to check what the Covenant had paid out. And the moment I saw the words that appeared, my eyes went wide before I could stop them.

"Heh heh. To think the North harbored a talent like this."

"Another glass, Baron Rashid?"

"Ha ha, thank you."

After finishing my audience with Luke Bahen, I'd stepped out into the banquet hall — and quickly turned my head away at the sight that greeted me.

I felt bad about dumping that kind of work on my brother, but…

I doubt I'd be any good at buttering up those sorts of people anyway.

Besides, the family's standing was rising nicely on its own.

Of course, not everyone was looking at me with goodwill.

"A nobody with no name to speak of, and yet…"

"For all we know, he used some kind of trick."

Several young nobles — especially the up-and-comers who'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠competed in the Subjugation Festival alongside me — kept throwing looks my way, heavy with envy.

"A trick, you say? Then I suppose you're saying I used one as well?"

"Young Lord Johannes, that's not what we—"

"Tsk. You'd get further spending that energy on your swordsmanship. I watched Ian's skill with my own two eyes."

Granted, those sorts were promptly crushed into a corner by Johannes every time.

His personality really is decent, isn't it.

And he'd handed me the Extreme Cold Arts along with Winterbane, so for the duration of this festival at least, he was practically a benefactor.

As I mingled with the various nobles and built casual goodwill, I kept one ear open for the rumors drifting between them.

"The demons have been unusually restless lately. We lost several encampments to them."

"I hear the Zikel Count family means to reclaim a mine they lost — the mood around the fortress is anything but normal."

"Well, it's a mercy we have talented young ones like Ian Rashid to lean on."

The praise for my talent was pleasant enough to hear, but I was listening for something else — who wanted what, and which way the North's currents were running.

Plenty worth making use of here.

As I'd told Luke Bahen, what I wanted was a united North. And a united North wasn't something you could build by simply telling everyone to get along and pull together.

The game had made that abundantly clear.

The alliance routes were always a nightmare. I was better off blanking my mind and just fighting.

More than once I'd waded into the political turf wars and gotten royally trounced for it.

So what I needed to do now was the arithmetic: what they could give me, and what I could give them. And before long, the numbers balanced. At my current rate of growth — entirely feasible.

"Ah, finally done."

"You should return to your room and rest, my lord."

"That's the plan. Oh — can you stand guard for me tonight?"

"You intend to take the Ice Crystal, then?"

"Obviously."

And so I returned to our quarters and sat calmly in my room. Tarian was already standing watch outside — the conditions were set for me to take it straight away.

When did I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get this far?

Looking over the newly gilded skill list, a smile crept onto my face without my permission. Especially the effects that had come with Frost's Protection's growth — those were remarkable.

An enhancement to Frostfang — already on the verge of a masterwork blade. It looked simple on paper, but the difference in actual use was unmistakable.

It feels like the weapon itself was reborn.

Frostfang had been rated high-performance even for a Rare-grade sword before. Now it sat on par with the Saga tier. And its effect had changed entirely, too — where it once applied a simple freezing debuff, it now laid a curse of Extreme Cold, one that could freeze an opponent solid the moment their resistance and mana fell short.

Ordinary mobs will be frozen stiff before I even touch them.

With the boosted mana efficiency layered on top, the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward on their own. The blade that had once looked like a chiseled icicle was now honed razor-sharp like glass, ice shards orbiting around it in slow, glittering spirals. I hadn't expected it to strengthen this much, and that made the satisfaction all the deeper.

Not that I had any intention of stopping here. Swords still waiting for a Covenant filled my armory many times over.

"Hoo…"

And this wasn't the end — there was still the Ice Crystal. I opened the box once more and took the modest orb into my hand.

The instant I did, a ferocious cold flooded the room — yet somehow, thanks to the stack of skills I carried, it felt less like a chill and more like my mana itself was swelling.

Gulp.

The moment I placed the Ice Crystal on my tongue and swallowed, a searing cold spread through my entire body.