An hour had passed when they returned to the village. It was already midnight, so the streets had fallen dark and empty. As they entered the Chief’s Den, Eleanor sprang up from her desk, her face in shock and delighted. Luna reported their success and assured the old woman that there would be no more bandits attacking them ever again. "Oh may Glaceus bless you!" Eleanor said, holding her chest in relief. She called the guard to get the brown bag on the side of her desk, seemingly filled with coins. "Please take our token of appreciation. I know it may not be enough—" "Just keep it, Chieftess," Arth said, cutting her off. Luna turned her head to him with a questioning look. She faked a cough, pulled Arth's cloak towards her, and whispered. "What do you think are you doing? That is their pay. We don't want to return to the guild empty-handed. Boss will definitely get mad, I’m telling you." "But the village needs this more, Luna. They had

  "Okay. This is a common technique for everyone, but only a few can master it. It will take so much time and patience to create a perfect copy of a weapon with matching strength and durability. It’s a simple spell, but if mastered, it’ll definitely dominate in every battle.” Arth nodded. So those cleaning tasks earlier must’ve all been a part of this. She’d been testing him if he had enough patience to learn the technique. "Now, give me your hand with your palms open upwards." Arth did what she had said. A sudden chill ran through his body when Alice’s soft hand touched his. It was his first time to hold hands with a girl. To hide the awkwardness, he bit his lower lip and looked away from her. "Let's start with the basics," Alice said, not noticing his reaction. "I want you to create a small ice cube on your palm." "Uh ... how exactly?" Arth asked. "Close your eyes. Can you feel your alar within you? It’s the sec

  On the snowy ground beneath the tree house, Arth was hitting the tree trunk with frozen sword, testing out its strength and durability ever since before dawn. Light fog stayed still on the freezing morning air. After giving another strike, the ice sword broke, shattering into pieces like window glass. Arth muttered a curse, scratching his head in frustration. Then he closed his eyes and cast another ice sword, trying to create a stronger material. As the weapon materialized, he took a grip on its handle and then struck the tree once again. The coldness of ice had made his hands numb. But that did not stop him, as he was desperate mastering Glacies Materia as soon as possible. The boss had told him that bigger battles were approaching fast, and that he would be playing a significant role in their fight. A few minutes had passed and Arth took notice of Janshai from a far distance, walking back towards the hideout. The red-eyed young man w

  "I am yet to be informed of your plans in this tournament, Sir Kael.” An old-looking but elegant man, wearing a golden tunic said as they walked on the carpeted floor through the dark halls of the castle. The chandeliers on the ceilings were out, and only the light from the windows at the end of the hall had shone the path. Large, old paintings hung on both walls, depicting the portraits of the previous kings of Crown Galacer. Every king on the paintings belonged to the only bloodline who had ruled Glacia ever since the beginning; the Aragons. Kael believed that the Aragon family had the strongest bloodline among all royal families in this world. They had their own signature, a vessel of tremendous power, running through their veins, which Kael had yet to witness. And that’s something he was looking forward to in the future. “Sir Kael,” the councilor called him again, as he seemed to notice the divine knight trailing off while walking. Two Grand Knight

  For the entire four days, Arth was trained far more intense than how Chief Gregor had trained him. Most of his practices and exercises had focused on his agility; like fast reactions for evasion, and launching attacks as quickly as possible. While Arth had his training with the boss during the day, he was also practicing his ice materialization at night. Being desperate to master it as soon as possible, he barely had any time for sleep. Good thing, Robert was always there to spar with him to test the strength of his ice weapons. After how many days of waiting, the tournament was now a day ahead. Arth prepared his bag and packed extra clothes, since he will be staying in the capital for one day and one night with Robert and Alice. Lucas said that the guild had a secret chamber in the Lower Ring of the capital, so they would be staying there. After lunch, Lucas had called the team to discuss their final plan. Arth arrived in the meeting room, realizing t