The next test would have made anyone scared of moving. But for Vastarael, it was extremely normal for him.
He was currently facing ice giants over twenty meters tall. Now, he realized that he was in the Permafrost's Grasp territory because the frost giants and the winter floor made him groan.
The frozen floor was an icy wasteland of pale, glinting statues that radiated a chilling aura. Vastarael stood amidst the eerie figures, his sapphire glaive sheathed on his back as he conjured a Heat Circle.
Three days. He had been stuck on this floor for three whole days, fighting these cursed statues that refused to fall to any physical attack. At first, he had tried hacking away with Calimostria, delivering precise strikes that should have shattered them to bits. But instead, the statues merely reformed, their icy exteriors knitting back together like some cruel joke.
"Ugh, physical attacks are useless," he muttered under his breath, flicking his wrist to cast another Heat Rune.
The glowing rune spun in the air before attaching itself to one of the statues, melting its icy limbs slowly. The statue writhed, letting out a high-pitched wail as its body liquefied into a pool of steaming water. Vastarael allowed himself a small smirk. It wasn't much, but it was progress.
Still, it was exhausting. The statues were relentless, constantly regenerating unless melted down entirely. Without the Heat Circle he had created back in the Frozen Ruins, he would've been frozen solid by now. The ambient cold sapped his energy every second and only the steady burn of it kept him alive.
He darted around the battlefield. His spiked sapphire boots crunched against the frost, but his movements were swift and precise. He had adopted the same strategy he had used against Stephos during that chaotic battle; the hit and run technique.
"Create rune, slap it on, run like hell," he muttered to himself, weaving between statues. "Rinse and repeat. Easy, right? Yeah, sure, until you've done it two hundred times in three days!"
The statues didn't make it easy, of course. Their frozen forms were deceptively slow but once they locked onto him, they lunged with terrifying speed. Vastarael barely dodged a swipe, rolling to the side and drew another Heat Rune in retaliation. Using runes in combat was extremely risky but thanks to the Control Circle, he evaded the consequences.
The rune landed squarely on the statue's torso, spreading a web of molten cracks that glowed like lava veins. The creature staggered, its arm shattering as the heat spread through its core.
For the past two days, he had relied heavily on his invisibility enchantment, casting it the moment he entered the floor. It was the only reason he hadn't been overwhelmed yet. With the statues unable to see him, he had managed to pick them off one by one, though it was a slow, grueling process.
The Veil of The Ingenious Prince had a two-day cooldown and it was almost ready to refresh. But for nineteen hours, he had been playing an incredibly dangerous game of cat and mouse, dodging the statues while his invisibility remained on cooldown.
As long as he is not in combat, the enchantment would last. That is why he was using Runes.
He crouched behind a crumbling ice wall, catching his breath as he checked the timer on his holographic interface.
"Five minutes left. Just five more minutes and I'm good to go. I swear, if I survive this, I'm treating myself to so many snacks."
The statues seemed to sense his momentary pause, their blank, frosty faces tilting as they homed in on his location. One of them let out a guttural screech and suddenly, the entire frozen horde was surging toward him.
"Ah, crap."
Vastarael bolted from his hiding spot, throwing up a quick Heat Circle behind him to slow their advance. The circular shield flared as icy limbs collided with it, but it wouldn't hold for long.
He spun around, skidding to a halt as he summoned another Heat Circle, this time onto the ground. The circle expanded, sending a ripple of heat across the floor. Several statues slowed, their icy legs melting just enough to disrupt their movements.
"That's right, stay down," he grunted, wiping freezing sweat from his brow. The heat was draining his essence rapidly, but it was the only thing keeping him alive.
The cooldown finally ended with a soft chime and Vastarael didn't hesitate. He activated his invisibility enchantment, his body shimmering briefly before vanishing from sight.
The statues stopped in their tracks, their heads swiveling as they searched for him in vain. Vastarael allowed himself a small sigh of relief.
"Alright, you frozen freaks. Time for me to end all of you."
Thanks to his pseudo-cores and the reduced essence amount needed to summon the Veil, he had a lot of essence left. And so, he decided to do the impossible.
He summoned a Third Star Water Circle into the frozen ground that spread for dozens of meters. Then, he summoned a Heat Circle right above it.
And then he activated Water Flood the very second he activated the circles.
Combined with the Water and Heat Runes he had been drawing all across the floor during his first nineteen hours of invisibility...
He repeated the same thing with what he did with Stephos. The floor was still a building and it wasn't infinite. Except the floor where he fought his mother, the rest were not infinite. They had corners just like a room. Even though this one was bigger, it didn't matter.
He took a deep breath and then whispered, "Water Flood."
The floor trembled. A faint rumble echoed through the vast frozen chamber before a deluge of water burst forth from the Water Circle, cascading in every direction. Within moments, the icy battlefield transformed into a rising ocean, submerging everything in its path.
The statues wobbled as the water hit them, their frozen bodies shuddering as if caught off guard.
Vastarael chuckled darkly, "Not so tough now, are we?"
But he wasn't done. Not by a long shot.
As the water rose higher and higher, filling the chamber like an aquarium gone wrong, he activated the planted Heat Circles. Steam hissed and boiled as the water temperature skyrocketed, turning the once-chilling floor into a giant scalding cauldron.
"Let's see how you handle this, you glorified ice cubes."
The statues began to crumble almost immediately. Their icy exteriors, once impervious to his physical attacks, now hissed and cracked under the relentless heat. Limbs melted into shapeless blobs, torsos shattered like fragile glass, and heads popped off their bodies as if someone had set off fireworks inside them.
It was carnage and Vastarael was absolutely loving it.
He stood in the middle, completely unbothered by the boiling water around him. Thanks to his Water Divinity and the Cold Runes he'd inscribed on his body beforehand, the scalding liquid didn't even faze him. He breathed effortlessly, the water parting around him as if recognizing him as its master.
"Man, look at this place."
Vastarael mused, spinning slowly to take in his handiwork. The once-static frozen floor now looked like an underwater battleground from some twisted fever dream. Shards of melted statues floated aimlessly, their remains reduced to glittering mist and tiny icebergs bobbing in the water.
The towering chamber, with its icy walls now slick with condensation, glistened like the inside of a steam-filled cave. Vastarael smirked as bubbles rose all around him, hissing as they popped in the overheated water.
He watched one particularly large statue try to lurch toward him, its limbs cracking and breaking as the boiling water ate away at it.
"Aw, you're still trying? That's cute."
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a massive Heat Circle flying straight at it. The circle attached itself to the statue's chest and within seconds, it disintegrated into a cloud of vapor.
He swam gracefully through the boiling waters as the remaining statues flailed helplessly. Their once-imposing forms had been reduced to brittle, barely-moving remnants, and even those were quickly being consumed by the heat.
The frost was tuning the water lukewarm but he didn't mind. His job was done.
"Should've stayed frozen," he taunted, leaning lazily against a floating shard of what used to be a statue's head. "You all really thought you could take me down? Hate to break it to you, but I'm built different."
The last statue finally collapsed, its melting core sputtering out one last feeble groan before it dissolved completely. Vastarael let out a satisfied sigh, stretching his arms above his head as he floated on the now-still surface of the lukewarm water.
For the first time in three days, the floor was silent. No screeching statues, no ice spikes flying at his head, no endless regenerating enemies. Just him and the soothing hiss of steam rising from the water.
"Now this is how you clear a floor. All it takes is a little creativity, a lot of power, and a whole lot of pettiness. Maybe I'll introduce winter sports in this world."
As he stepped into the portal that opened right in front of him and the water began to drain around him, he took one last look at the ruined battlefield.
"Three days of my life, gone," he muttered, shaking his head as he disappeared into the teleportation light. "But hey, worth it. I'm officially adding 'Aquarium Designer' to my list of titles."