Blizzard Trials and the Horned Tiger
It had been three days already since we'd started trekking through the snow with Kasian. The snow fell and stopped in fits and starts, piling up around his calves before we knew it.
Every step sank deep into the snow, noticeably slowing our pace compared to usual.
"Ughhh, so cold...."
Kasian groaned from the biting chill that pierced his whole body. Just half a day ago, it had been snowing, leaving flakes piled on his shoulders and backpack, making it feel even colder.
He cupped his hands, which had been clutching his coat closed, and blew warm breath on them—but the white vapor only seemed to chill them further.
He regretted brushing off my earlier offer of gloves. But asking me to wait now while he dug them out felt like too much of a hit to his pride.
In contrast, I walked a few steps ahead without a care. White breath puffed from my mouth with each exhale, but that was it.
Of course. I was using magic right now.
"Tch, that's not fair. Only you get to use magic—achoo!"
It wasn't flashy like conjuring fire or shooting lightning—just a subtle spell to warm the body a bit. It didn't seem to guzzle mana, and it looked easy enough that he'd tried practicing it once.
But remembering how he'd botched the control and writhed in scorching heat, nearly dying... Maintaining it so casually made me look like a monster.
How the hell does she control it that precisely?
But that didn't mean we had to suffer through this cold.
"It's training too. Tough it out."
"Tr-training? Wh-what train—I'm gonna f-freeze to death here...."
This was the problem. My master loved inflicting pain on her disciples under the guise of "training." She was a total nutcase.
She'd cast that warming spell at the last second when he was truly on the brink of freezing, proving she could use it on others. She was definitely letting him shiver just to watch.
But if it's warm, it's game over...!
She had to be a demon from hell, or some torture-loving demonkin. That's what Kasian thought.
It was three years ago, right? Back when he first started learning magic.
What had she said? Magic is creation, creation is a chain of suffering, so chain the suffering and your magic grows...?
He still couldn't forget the moment she'd hit him with that pain-inflicting spell out of nowhere, searing his whole body.
He'd been so excited to learn magic, but all his hopes and dreams shattered in an instant.
And to top it off, instead of the flashy spells he'd dreamed of, he'd only learned defensive magic and body enhancement spells. Anything truly "magical" had come just half a year ago.
As far as Kasian could tell, she'd taught defense first so she could beat him to his limits with magic, and enhancement so he could take it endlessly without breaking.
That witch hag...!
I didn't know exactly how many years she'd lived, but since my appearance hadn't changed since he was a kid, she had to be ancient. Maybe a thousand years old?
And after all that time, her hobby was watching her disciple suffer? What a twisted taste.
Shivering in the cold, he glared at my back for another half day.
The slope started steepening. We'd detoured slightly to cross the mountains, avoiding the risky coastal path.
Pushing through snow-covered, frozen branches and vines was no joke.
Especially with ice-slick dirt and rocks underfoot—every step slid a little. My shorter strides let him keep up, but he still slipped and fell a few ugly times.
His stamina was flagging; his breathing grew ragged. He tried to hide it, but the rapid white puffs gave him away.
"Tired? Wanna take a break?"
"N-no, I'm fine."
A lie. He wanted to dump his backpack and collapse right there. But he couldn't say it.
It wasn't pride. Admit weakness now, and I'd grind him later for lacking grit.
He recalled a few months back: running from sunrise to sunset, nonstop, for a full day. He'd take getting scorched by magic over that hellish training any day.
Better this mild hardship than that again.
Grinding his teeth, he pushed forward.
"Hold up."
I stopped dead. Kasian followed suit.
"What?"
"Something's coming."
Kasian shut his mouth and focused on the sensations around us.
A few small mountain critters rustling through the snow far off. The faint trickle of unfrozen stream water.
And a faint but growing presence—a large beast charging straight at us, fast.
"...!!"
Reflexively, he hurled his backpack aside and yanked his staff from it. Whirling, he gripped it two-handed and thrust it forward.
A massive shock jolted through his hands almost instantly.
THUD! The impact echoed hugely as he flew back, tumbling through the snow several times. But he sprang up, steadied himself, and leveled the staff at his attacker.
――Grrrrr...
"Wh-what the hell is that...?"
A massive white tiger. But no ordinary one—this had a horn smack in the middle of its forehead, and it was easily twice the size of a normal tiger.
If he hadn't instinctively layered body enhancement magic, his arms would've snapped clean.
"What else? A magical beast. Not your first rodeo."
"Yeah, but..."
Hostile magical beasts didn't just pop up in your face like this often. And most weren't this huge.
"Can't handle it? I'll take over."
"N-no. I got this."
Just three months ago, he'd sworn to handle any monster or magical beast attacks himself from now on.
Whether from cold or fear, his limbs shook, but he stepped forward, steeling himself.
Horned tiger magical beast—name unknown, first time fighting one. But up close, he could tell. Winnable.
Especially for big ones like this. They had clear weak points. Common to all magical beasts.
Smash its skull, and it dies!
Honestly, even he knew crushing that thing's head with just half a year of magic was impossible. But his staff was made as both a magic conduit and a bludgeon.
Frontal assault was suicide. Distract with magic, close in during the chaos, and smash its skull in one focused strike.
"Hoo...."
He shut his eyes briefly, refocused, then surged mana through his body and unleashed the spell.
Pale blue lightning crackled at the staff's tip, then lanced toward the tiger.
Didn't know the details, but I'd called it Arc Discharge.
ZZZCRACK!!
The tiger twisted to dodge, but it wasn't that kind of spell.
As blue lightning scorched its body, it writhed in agony, thrashing against the magic.
Kasian seized the opening, pumping mana for body enhancement and charging.
He swung the staff with all his might, smashing down beside the horn—right on the crown.
――ROOOAR!!
The skull dented slightly; the horn snapped off. The staff bent a bit—unavoidable.
But it wasn't dead. He reared back for another strike.
Its front paw lashed at his head mid-thrash. He blocked with the staff just in time.
CLANG!!
A clear ring—and the staff shattered in two, flying away. He lost balance but slid just enough to dodge the paw by luck.
Battle rush drowned out the near-death terror. All he could think: kill the tiger now.
In slowed time, he slipped into the tiger's off-balance gap.
Half-staff met the dented spot perfectly.
THUD!!
Blood poured from its head; eyes rolled back. It collapsed.
"Hah, hah, hah...."
Kasian panted, staring. No movement. Victory surged through him.
"I did it!"
Grinning wide, he turned to me triumphantly.
"What'd I tell ya? I said I could—"
Then it happened. The instant he turned, the "dead" tiger lurched up, bloodied, and pounced from above.
He sensed it coming but froze in terror—body refusing orders, amplifying the panic.
Its paw descended.
A thin blue beam shot from behind, piercing its forehead dead-center. No scream—it dropped dead on the spot.
Kasian held his breath, then collapsed, gasping.
"Hah, hah... Th-thought I was done for...."
From death's grip to survival—the whiplash left him slumped, calming his racing heart. But then a thin voice from behind chilled him worse than the tiger's growl.
"Got cocky thinking you'd won?"
He couldn't deny it. He'd assumed it was dead, didn't check, turned to brag. Without me, we'd both be mountain corpses.
"...Yeah."
"I'd helped, you'd be dead."
"...Yeah."
"So you know what I'm gonna say next, right?"
He squeezed his eyes shut. Yeah, he'd been careless. Yeah, I saved him. But he knew the words coming—wanted to plug his ears and play dumb.
"Special training once we're down. And carry my pack till then too."
"No, that's not fair...."
He'd won the fight, but now felt like a dead man walking. Vision spun.
Two more days of "training"—hauling my gear on top of his own.
Finally, a decent-sized city sprawled along the coast came into view. From up high, snow blanketed every roof, painting a picturesque scene.
Kasian, sensing relief at last, offered a silent prayer of thanks to a god he didn't even believe in.