Chapter 18 — Into the Deep Frost
The storm had not eased since morning.
Snow drifted in slow spirals, carried by a wind sharp enough to carve through bone. The frostlands near Iceflake City stretched endlessly, a pale desert of shimmering ice dunes and jagged ridges that groaned under the weight of winter.
The trio moved through it like three shadows.
Vaibhav walked at the center, his breath rising in misty pulses. Despite the slight increase in his strength since their last hunt, he still kept his aura subtle—letting the cold sting his skin, letting his senses sharpen naturally.
Alicia walked on his left, her steps light and controlled. Her aura had grown too—its emerald glow warmer, clearer. The cold barely touched her anymore.
Shin walked ahead, hands in his pockets, humming again.
"Another beautiful morning in the land of frozen murder," Shin announced loudly to nobody in particular.
Vaibhav snorted. "If this is beautiful, I'd hate to see ugly."
"Ugly?" Shin said with a grin. "Ugly is when the beasts start crawling out of the snow to bite your—"
Alicia cut in sharply. "Stop."
Shin blinked. "What? That wasn't even a bad joke yet."
"No," Alicia said, eyes narrowing. "Look."
The frost ahead of them was trembling.
Like something rumbling beneath.
Vaibhav tensed. "Again?"
Shin cracked his neck. "And here I thought yesterday's twelve were a warm-up."
The snow burst open.
A massive wave of bodies surged out—more than a dozen creatures moving across the frozen plain. Some sprinted across the top of the ice, others burst from beneath it like shards of living frost.
Ordinary Ice Fangs.
Exalted Ice Fangs.
All mixed together.
Alicia breathed out slowly. "A herd. This close to Iceflake City… highly abnormal."
Vaibhav nodded, eyes narrowing. "They're migrating."
"Or running from something worse," Shin added cheerfully. "Either way, they picked the wrong direction."
The first Ice Fang lunged.
Vaibhav reacted instinctively. His fist snapped outward, striking the beast's jaw and sending it spinning across the snow. It skidded, its body twitching once before going limp.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
A faint green wisp drifted into Vaibhav's chest—warm and sharp. He exhaled softly, suppressing the strange satisfaction rising again.
Two more Ordinary-class Ice Fangs sprinted toward him. Their crystalline claws glowed pale blue as they swiped at his ribs.
Vaibhav stepped in—a blur of motion—and delivered a clean punch to each skull.
Crack.
Crack.
Both beasts dropped instantly.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+1 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+5 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The warmth in his chest intensified—almost pleasant.
Dangerously pleasant.
He pushed the feeling down.
Alicia, meanwhile, had already engaged two Exalted Ice Fangs. Their attacks were faster, sharper, the frost energy around them far denser. One spat a jet of freezing mist toward her.
Alicia raised her hand.
A focused pulse of emerald energy rippled outward, dispersing the frost midair. She stepped in and slashed across its neck—a clean, elegant cut.
The beast fell.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+2 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
A second Exalted beast tried to flank her—but she anticipated it. She ducked beneath its swipe and drove her blade up through its ribs. Frost scattered like broken glass.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Frostfang]
> [+6 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Alicia exhaled softly. "Two down."
Shin cracked his knuckles.
"Alright. Time for the mutated ones."
Three shapes moved differently from the rest—jerkier, faster, bodies glowing with red-tinted frost. Their claws pulsed, dripping faint mutated aura.
Mutated Ordinary Ice Fangs.
They rushed at Shin.
He only smiled.
"Come here, ice puppies."
The first mutated beast lunged—Shin sidestepped, grabbed its tail, and swung it like a flail into the second beast. Both collapsed in a heap.
Before they could recover, Shin stomped once—hard enough to crack the ground—and both beasts fell silent.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+2 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
> [+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The third mutated one attempted to retreat.
Shin appeared beside it.
"Running? In my fight?"
He flicked the beast on its forehead.
The head caved in.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Ice Fang Mutant]
> [+1 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Vaibhav exhaled sharply as the mutated life force entered him.
Alicia cast a worried glance at him. "Still holding on?"
"Trying to," he muttered. "Let's finish the others."
There were still more Exalted Ice Fangs circling the field.
Vaibhav rushed toward one, dodging a swipe and delivering a punch that broke through its chest.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Exalted Power Points Gained]
The next tried to leap over Alicia—she sliced its belly midair.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Two more Exalted Ice Fangs remained. Shin took one by the jaw, yanked it down, and kneed it in the skull with enough force to collapse the upper ridge of the ice.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Alicia dispatched the last one quick and clean—straight thrust through the throat.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The field went silent.
Steam rose from the beasts' bodies. Frost melted where their blood spilled. The snow was scattered with claw marks, aura cracks, and faint scorch lines from the trio's attacks.
Shin stretched, hands behind his head. "That was fun."
Alicia wiped her blade. "This many beasts gathering… something is definitely pushing them."
Vaibhav's gaze drifted across the snowy plain, noticing the sheer number of footprints.
"All heading in the same direction…"
North.
Before they could think further—
A distant roar echoed across the frostlands.
Deep.
Massive.
Resonant.
Shin smiled slowly. "Boss time."
The roar reverberated again—deeper now, shaking loose snow from the surrounding ridges. Frost cracked beneath the trio's feet. Even the air felt heavier, colder, as if the world itself were bracing for something enormous.
And then they appeared.
Two colossal forms emerged through the blizzard—massive lions sculpted from frost and white flame. Their manes were made of ice shards, swirling like a crown of frozen blades.
Mutated Exalted Frost Lions.
Rare. Territorial. Deadly.
Shin's grin widened. "Oh, today is a blessing."
Alicia narrowed her eyes. "Two of them. That's unusual."
Vaibhav flexed his hands, aura flickering around his fists. "Which one do you want?"
Shin laughed. "The bigger, meaner, angrier one."
The larger lion snarled—snow exploding beneath its paws as it lunged straight at Shin.
Shin cracked his neck. "Good choice."
The two collided.
The ground trembled from the impact as Shin skidded backward several meters, heels digging trenches into the snow. The lion roared in his face, cold mist flaring violently.
Shin grinned.
"Finally… something with bite."
He vanished.
The lion whirled around—too slow. Shin reappeared atop its back, fist dropping like a meteor—
The ice mane hardened instantly, shielding the beast.
Shin's punch cracked it but didn't break through.
"Oh? Tough boy."
The lion twisted sharply, dislodging him. Shin flipped midair, landing lightly—just in time to lean back as a massive paw tore through the space where his torso had been.
The frost energy from the swipe shattered the ground behind him.
Shin's eyes gleamed. "Nice. Let's dance."
They clashed again—violent bursts of frost and shockwaves scattering snow across the field.
Meanwhile, the second lion turned toward Vaibhav and Alicia.
Alicia's voice softened. "Left flank. I'll bind."
Vaibhav nodded. "Got it."
The lion charged—an avalanche of muscle and frost.
Alicia stepped forward, palm raised. Her aura pulsed.
A barrier of emerald light snapped into existence—thin but dense, swirling with compressed force. The lion slammed into it and staggered.
Vaibhav moved instantly.
He dashed beneath the lion's raised chin and struck upward with a clean hook.
Crack.
The lion's entire skull jerked back as frost burst from its mane.
It retaliated with a sweeping paw, frost claws forming mid-swing. Vaibhav ducked under, and Alicia unleashed a sharp beam of focused light—
It pierced the lion's shoulder, staggering it sideways.
Vaibhav launched off the ground, both fists slamming into its ribs.
The beast crumpled.
Alicia finished it with a swift thrust through the throat.
> [+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Another roar shook the field—the first lion still battling Shin.
Shin was enjoying himself far too much.
The lion swiped with blinding speed—Shin parried with his forearm, barely budging.
He flicked its nose.
The lion recoiled in confusion.
"Stop being cute," Shin said. "I'm trying to fight seriously here."
He stepped in.
And the world cracked.
His fist collided with the lion's chest, frost exploding outward. The beast staggered—but its mutated aura surged, and it pounced again.
Shin caught it midair.
He grabbed its mane with one hand, spun once, and slammed it into the ground so hard the ice shattered in a spiral pattern.
The lion roared weakly, trying to stand.
Shin looked down at it almost pityingly. "You're strong. But I'm bored now."
He stomped.
The impact crushed the lion's skull, and its aura dispersed into the air like red smoke.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Frost Lion]
> [+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The frostlands finally went silent.
Only steam rose from the bodies of the fallen lions.
Shin stretched his arms lazily. "That was fun. Now then—time for cleanup."
Alicia sheathed her blade. "Let's extract."
Vaibhav nodded. "Go ahead."
They began with the Ordinary and Exalted corpses first.
Alicia crouched beside the first body, slicing open the chest cavity. A faint blue shard pulsed inside—weak but stable. She absorbed it.
> [+1 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 1)
Shin tore open another beast but held the shard out toward Alicia. "Take it."
She absorbed it.
> [+4 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 2)
They continued efficiently.
Alicia extracted another.
> [+2 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 3)
Then another blue shard—
> [+5 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 4)
A smaller one—
> [+2 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 5)
Then they reached the Exalted corpses.
The first shard glowed brighter—Alicia absorbed it.
> [+7 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 6)
The next—
> [+5 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 7)
Another—
> [+2 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 8)
And the last Exalted shard—
> [+1 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 9)
For Shin, things were different.
He handled only the mutated beasts.
The first corpse he opened revealed a pulsing red shard—jagged, unstable, burning with mutated energy.
Shin grinned. "Finally."
He absorbed it.
> [+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 1)
Next mutated shard—
> [+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 2)
Another—
> [+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 3)
Then the mutated Exalted lion—
The shard glowed deep-crimson, radiating fierce pressure.
Shin absorbed it without hesitation.
> [+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 4)
The second lion's shard followed.
> [+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 5)
They stood together, surrounded by steam, frost, and shards long dissolved into their bodies.
As the wind settled, Alicia's expression darkened.
"Look."
Vaibhav turned.
Shin lowered his arms, eyes narrowing.
Across the plains—dozens of trails scarred the snow.
Massive tracks. Smaller ones. Claw marks. Slide marks.
All heading the same direction.
North.
Shin exhaled slowly. "This is bad."
Alicia nodded. "Something is driving them."
Vaibhav watched the distant snow swirl, the storm thickening like a warning.
"Then whatever's north of Iceflake City…"
He clenched his fist.
"…is worse than anything we've fought today."