The air at 17:00 was unforgiving—a biting, sharp wind that felt like a thousand needles pricking unprotected skin. Cedric, wrapped in thick furs and mounted on one of the fifty warhorses, led a precise column away from Fort Drakk. His force was small but potent: five detachments of Iron Knights, commanded by Lysandra, two companies of Bronze Knights led by Torvin, and the core combat unit of himself and Steven.
He didn't need to win by brute force; he needed to win by efficiency.
[Expedition Launched: Assault Force (Combat Equivalent: 1,350 Normal Knights). Target: Ice Cave (Unique Resource Acquisition).]
The approach to the cave, high in the Frostfang Range, was a brutal, four-hour climb. As twilight bled into a frigid night, Lysandra's scouting report proved accurate. A rough palisade, barely visible in the deepening snow, marked the initial Barbarian outpost. Five rough-looking men, likely scouts from the distant tribes, huddled around a fire, oblivious to the approaching threat.
"Torvin, two companies of Bronze Knights," Cedric commanded, his voice low and cutting through the wind. "No fanfare. Eliminate the sentries quietly. I want the main force to believe the cold took them."
Torvin, who had been itching for action since the garrison was put under lockdown, nodded fiercely. "Understood, My Lord. Swift and silent."
The Bronze Knights, superior fighters even to the Iron Knights, moved like shadows. Their armor muffled, their longswords drawn, they descended on the outpost. The skirmish lasted less than sixty seconds. The sound of muffled metal and thick, wet thuds was all that broke the silence.
[Enemy Unit Eliminated: 5 Barbarian Scouts (Combat Equivalent: 5 Normal Knights). Unit Casualties: None. EXP Gained: 25.]
Cedric felt a faint pulse of energy, the trivial EXP serving as confirmation of his successful delegation. The Barbarians were pests, not threats. The danger lay inside.
The Ice Chamber
The entrance to the cave was a massive, ragged tear in the side of the mountain, shielded by an unnaturally blue sheet of ice. Torvin led the Bronze Knights to secure the entrance while Cedric and Steven proceeded, their breath turning instantly to dense clouds of frost.
The cave descended into a natural chamber carved out of sheer blue ice. It was here, in a massive cavern lined with razor-sharp ice crystals, that the beast made its lair.
The Ice Drake's mother was a terrifying spectacle. It was a reptile, but massive—easily the size of three warhorses combined—its scales a dull, mottled grey and blue, camouflaged perfectly against the cavern walls. It wasn't a true dragon, but a territorial monster of immense power, its breath misting with lethal frost.
And yet—Cedric's trained eye saw something else. The way the creature's chest heaved unevenly, the dull cracks across its flanks, the patches of half-frozen blood on the ground. It was wounded—deeply. Some of the gashes were old, perhaps from territorial battles. Others, fresher and more raw, told another story: childbirth.
The Ice Drake Mother had just given life… and in doing so, had spent much of her own.
The massive beast was coiled protectively around two objects: a dull, grey egg the size of a pumpkin, and a pulsating, fist-sized sphere of pure, crackling blue energy—the Ice Orb. The faint pulse of the orb seemed to resonate with the creature's labored breath, as if part of its essence had been transferred into it.
The beast's eyes snapped open, blazing with territorial fury. A low, guttural roar—more of a scraping groan than a proper bellow—shook the cave.
[New Boss Encounter: Frostfang Drake Mother (Threat Level: Extreme).]
"Steven, flank left," Cedric ordered, drawing his Silver Knight sword, Frostbite. The sword was a well-balanced blade, but felt like a feather against the magnitude of this threat. "Torvin, engage at range! Focus on its limbs to slow it down! Do not engage in melee!"
Cedric knew this was a high-risk gamble. He needed to prove his status and, more importantly, secure the EXP and the unique drop.
The beast lunged, a blur of grey scale and muscle—but even in its fury, its movement carried a subtle lag. Its strength was still monstrous, but drained. Steven intercepted, his own Silver Knight sword deflecting a massive claw strike that sent sparks flying. The sheer force drove him back ten paces, scraping his heavy boots against the ice floor.
"It's strong, My Lord! Much stronger than a typical Gold Knight tier!" Steven yelled, shaking the numbness out of his arm.
Cedric knew the statistics. A Silver Knight (100x) was supposed to handle a threat like this, but this was a legendary beast of Aethelgard, not a generic spawn. Its inherent power transcended the Player System's estimation—only the drake's exhaustion and birthing wounds made this possible at all.
The Drake Mother unleashed a wave of freezing mist. It wasn't its full breath, but a quick, desperate attack. Cedric reacted instantly, leaping onto an ice spire to avoid the wave, which instantly glazed the floor into a mirror sheet.
[Effect: Dexterity check passed. Frost status avoided.]
"Torvin, now!" Cedric shouted.
Torvin, positioned near the entrance with his Bronze Knights, fired a coordinated volley of enchanted arrows. The arrows, tipped with basic Bronze-level magic, didn't pierce the scales, but they irritated the beast, drawing its attention away from Cedric.
The distraction gave Cedric his opportunity. He sprinted low across the slick ice, his old Knight training kicking in. He wasn't relying on brute force; he was relying on finesse and the Glitch.
He slid under a sweeping tail attack and drove Frostbite deep into the joint of the beast's rear left leg, a weak point he'd recognized from studying old Earth-based dragon anatomies.
[Critical Hit! Weak Point Targeted. Damage Multiplier x3.]
The beast shrieked, a sound of agony mixed with rage. The sudden, excruciating pain broke its focus. It twisted, trying to snap at Cedric.
"Steven!"
Steven surged forward, using the distraction to land a deep slash along the beast's thick neck, severing a major tendon. The Drake Mother roared, its massive head drooping slightly, the breath of its nostrils freezing into jagged spears of ice.
This was the moment. Cedric broke free, leaped back, and focused all his energy into one final, desperate thrust. He targeted the exposed, ragged wound near the neck, channeling every ounce of his Silver Knight aura.
The blade found its mark. The force of the strike, combined with the earlier damage—and the creature's own failing strength—was too much. The beast gargled, a dark, viscous, blue-black blood pooling on the ice. It shuddered, its eyes fading from fury to a dull glaze, and collapsed, its massive body slamming the cavern floor.
[Boss Unit Defeated: Frostfang Drake Mother. Threat neutralized.]
[Level Up! Cedric Vance is now Silver Knight Level 3.]
[EXP Gained: 6,800. Total EXP: 6,825.]
Cedric stumbled back, gasping, his chest heaving as the adrenaline crashed. He felt a profound sense of exhaustion, but beneath it, a rush of power. He had done it. He, the least influential son of a Duke, had slain a beast far beyond his expected capability.
Even if weakened, it was still a legend—and he had claimed it.
The Inheritance of Ice
Steven rushed forward, checking Cedric for injuries. "My Lord, you are mad! But… magnificently done."
Cedric ignored him, his eyes fixed on the loot. He knelt beside the immense, cooling corpse. Even in death, frost vapor rose faintly from its nostrils—a mother that had died defending its child.
[Unique Resource Discovered: Ice Orb.] (Legendary Tier. Grants unparalleled Ice affinity and power. Risk of consumption: High).
[Unique Resource Discovered: Ice Drake Egg (Dormant).] (Legendary Tier. Requires massive infusion of Ice Elemental Energy to hatch.)
He carefully lifted the Ice Orb. It was smooth, cold, and pulsed with a faint, internal light, radiating a chill that bit even through his gloves. He also secured the grey egg, its surface rough and cold.
"We take the body. Every scale, every tooth, every bone," Cedric commanded, his voice hoarse. "This creature is our fortune. Torvin, secure the area and organize the dismantling. Steven, we need to return to the fort. Now."
Back on the treacherous path down the mountain, Cedric held the Ice Orb close. The time for caution was over. He had gambled his life and won the first step on his path to supremacy. He knew exactly what had to happen next. He needed to bridge the gap between his strategic mind and his physical power, and the Orb was the key.
[New Quest Issued: Ice Orb Integration. Consume the Ice Orb to gain unparalleled Cryo-Mage power.]