I couldn’t remember what home was like.

And perhaps, it didn’t matter. So long had passed that my life before getting to this place was a blur at this point. However, I still wanted to leave this place, this land of frost, and see what was waiting for me out there. I knew this place like the back of my hand after all, and it wasn’t very big with a thick mist signaling the end of it.

I couldn’t leave this place, wherever I was, it was akin to an isolated small snowy region, any attempt at going past the border was met with an invisible force that I couldn’t break or go past.

The only way to leave this place was to kill the Overlord. And after so long, I was going to finally do it. I had grown so much stronger, the System stopped sending monsters not too long ago, and now, my preparations were coming to an end.

I had trained, refined my skills, learned the intricacies of my magic abilities, stared death in the eyes more times than I could count, and finally, I could see the fruits of my suffering. Now I had gone past superhuman and was stronger than I could have ever imagined.

[ Status: Hero. Name: Arc. Level: 148. Tier: S. Attributes: Unavailable. ]

Tiers. A representation of strength. The culmination of all the levels of a being, and the divider between the strong and the strongest.

And now, I stood a single step away from the next Tier. There were no monsters that could help me cross it, no training that would make me stronger, there was only one thing that would help me now.

Killing the Overlord.

And once I did that, I would be free. Everything would come to an end; this long-lasting nightmare, this… everything.

I closed my eyes for a moment and stood up, my surroundings were lined with felt and carefully carved ice furniture, a proper living space that I was now leaving behind.

So much had changed even while being here. I touched my now-white hair for a moment before shaking my head and walking down the tunnel.

"Everything has come to this," I whispered to myself. "All my struggles will finally be rewarded."

The time without monsters was spent observing and testing the Overlord with traps and random attacks, and now, I was more than ready.

I walked down the icy cave walls, parting from the place I had called home for a very long time and heading towards the exit of the underground. On my way there I saw things of the past; dried blood, bones of monsters, and even my first weapon; the training spear.

I made my way past everything as I quickly found the upwards slope of the cave, and soon, I found myself on the icy plains. A place I rarely if ever visited, because after all, the apex predator was here⁠—

I side-stepped and the ground exploded next to me as a pillar of ice struck deep into the snow. A small smile appeared on my face as I turned to look at the shadowed figure in the distance, magic already gathering at its hands.

A furred body like a yeti, a head reminiscent of a horse with the horns of a moose, and bright red eyes. It was none other than the final boss of practice. My last opponent.

[The Overlord: Tier: S]

“Missed me?” I asked with a wide grin as I heard a roar in the distance.

Frost gathered at my fingertips as a ghastly sword of ice appeared, mist everflowing from its surface as I jumped towards the Overlord, shattering the ground beneath me with an explosion of ice.

Hundreds of meters were crossed in an instant, and just as I was about to arrive the Overlord launched another pillar of ice in my direction. I swung through the air. Immediately slicing it in half with a spin, numerous skills were used in tandem as the two pieces of ice fell to the ground.

My body elegantly spun as I carried into yet another crescent slash⁠, the ice sword sparkling with magic— [Ice Aura], [Death Rend], [Haunting Sharpness]⁠— Many more skills piled on top of one another as I swiped.

With a flash, a torrent of blue blood exploded from the Overlord as it let out a deep bellow of pain. I landed on the ground with a roll as the sword of ice was dismissed into non-existence.

This was everything I could have desired and more.

With a flick of my fingers, [Ice Creation] erupted a pillar at the feet of the Overlord instantly making it lose balance as the gigantic beast screeched. But at that moment, I saw magic. The air turned to a beautiful static as I froze for a moment.

The temperature dropped below freezing, and in an instant, a blizzard erupted. Ice shards flew through the air, instantly cutting my skin and cheeks as I smiled, blood dripping into my mouth as I flicked my fingers, calling forth the perfect skill.

“[Frost Purge].”

And everything returned to normal in a single second as the Overlord unleashed another roar, magic coalescing around its body as I simply smiled.

I had prepared. I had spent hours if not days looking through all my skills and practicing, looking for the most destructive and effective skills to use against the Overlord. And now that it was before me, there was no way for me to lose. A loud laugh escaped my mouth.

“I have anticipated this for so long!”

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I raised my hand into the air as I could feel my magic draining, the temperature above me shifting as I used one of my strongest skills.

“And now, I am finally going to reap my reward! ⁠—[Judgment of the Ice God]!” My thrill-filled voice echoed as I brought my hand down.

The air ruptured, and a spear the size of a building fell from the sky, impaling the Overlord with a burst of blue blood and a terrifying screech of pain. The gigantic S Tier final boss of this place thrashed on the ground as I basked in its misery.

“Soon, I will leave!”

And at that moment the Overlord roared, a primal roar that shook the land, and before I could react a pillar of ice impaled me as I was sent flying through the air. I hit the ground with an explosion of snow, rolling through it as drops of blood fell from my mouth. I looked down only to see chunks of ice falling from my body.

It was a skill called [Armor of Perma-frost], also S Tier, but it had been practically cracked right through in a single attack. It was insanity, but I began to laugh. I expected no less from the Overlord. It could kill me in its next attack for all I knew, but the thrill of battle kept me from panicking, I had anticipated this, I had anticipated everything.

After a moment, I got back up and saw the Overlord looking at me in the distance, the beast had a gaping hole in its chest from my previous attack.

Its eyes had turned yellow as it locked onto me, and with a growl the entire place became enshrouded in a blizzard of razor-sharp ice flakes. And then, in front of me, figures of ice began to appear. Familiar monsters made out of ice, except these ones seemed much stronger.

[Apparition of the Overlord. Tier: S]

[Apparition of the Overlord. Tier: S]

[Apparition of the Overlord. Tier: S]

…

Dozens surrounded me, but it didn’t matter. I simply summoned a sword of ice and muttered under my breath. I had prepared for this day for so long, even before monsters had stopped coming. Long before practicing my other skills, I already knew how to deliver the killing blow. In a whisper I called.

“[God Step].”

The world blurred around me as I immediately appeared next to the Overlord. The beast immediately turned to me to stomp me, but before it could do that, I jumped into the air. The snow burst beneath me as I immediately faced down on the Overlord.

This was everything I had prepared myself for.

The mighty being that had once terrified me was looking up at me with beady eyes, its horns shone as I heard a deep growl.

This was my reward.

I saw more magic than ever before gather as I called out every single skill I knew to make my blow more powerful.

[Ice Aura]— [Haunting Sharpness]⁠— [Blessing of the Ice God]— [Gift of Frost]—

The list continued on as the sword of ice shone with a radiant light, the Overlord gathered more magic than ever before as it prepared its attack, but it was useless as I muttered my strongest skill.

“[Stasis]...”

And for a moment, time itself froze.

This was…

I swiped—

My freedom!

Time resumed and a scintillating light flashed through the landscape. Everything around the overlord exploded as the ground was carved into a large ravine, and then blood burst from the creature’s neck as its colossal head slid off from its body.

The Overlord tumbled back.

Dead.

I landed on the ground with deep breaths.

Suddenly, everything around me became quiet as the climate itself cleared and I saw the sun for the first time. However, I didn’t care about it much as I began to shed some tears.

“Yes!” I screamed.

I fell to the ground, my magic almost completely exhausted from that.

It was over.

And then, the System notifications came.

[ You have defeated: The Overlord. Tier: S. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

…

[ You have ascended to the Tier of Heroes: SS. ]

[ As a boon all your skills have been upgraded to SS Tier ]

…

Even though those weren’t supposed to be the main news, I couldn’t help but pause. As soon as the notifications appeared, I felt better; well rested almost. Not only that, but all my skills became infinitely more strong⁠—

And then, another screen flashed.

[ Congratulations Arc. ]

[ You have become a Hero and can now fulfill your duties of protecting E̴͕̻̔̿̊̑͜r̸͉͍̅̒͑̍ŗ̶̗̭̬̮̦̇̈̓͜ǫ̸͈̽́̽͑̂͋̋̕r and maintaining the E̴͕̻̔̿̊̑͜r̸͉͍̅̒͑̍ŗ̶̗̭̬̮̦̇̈̓͜ǫ̸͈̽́̽͑̂͋̋̕r̴̙̯̼͓̙̲̙͉̃̓͂̆̾̀̌̀ and purging the Ư̸̖̦̥͑̌͋̀͘n̷̳̼̙̐̎͌͐̈́̈͜ḵ̶̢̥̬̘̪̯͐͊ͅṇ̶̢̲̌͆͝o̷͇̓̅͐͌̐̄̽̈́w̵͚̤̮̖̋̀͛̂n̸̨͈̜̦̼̙͙̿̏. ]

“Right…” I smiled wryly. “I forgot you did… that…”

The text continued.

[ You have officially become a Hero and are now crowned as the Heroine of Frost. ]

[ You have completed Hero Practice in a record time of: 5 Years, 134 days, 22 hours, and 20 minutes… ]

Reading the text made me feel sick to my stomach as I digested what it had just said.

“So… long…?” For a moment I felt empty. “I’ve been here for… Five years? Five years of constant fighting, five years of suffering to stay alive…”

It was…

I didn’t know how to feel.

I really didn’t know how to feel.

Even now, I hoped that the things it was saying were a sick joke, but the System continued disregarding my feelings.

[ Having completed practice you can now go to E̴͕̻̔̿̊̑͜r̸͉͍̅̒͑̍ŗ̶̗̭̬̮̦̇̈̓͜ǫ̸͈̽́̽͑̂͋̋̕r̴̙̯̼͓̙̲̙͉̃̓͂̆̾̀̌̀ and fulfill your duties. ]

At that moment a black hole appeared just a few meters away from me. I could see swirling particles of magic inside, almost like a portal. And at that moment, I knew that was the exit. That was, freedom.

I already knew I wasn’t going to return home, and well, I didn’t really care. I didn’t have anything to return to, and perhaps even better prospects awaited me in this new Error place. But still, the fact that I had spent half a decade just killing shit, consumed me.

What happened now?

The duties I had were basically glitched text, with no information about them. So that meant that once I left this, I would be…

Free.

I was stronger than ever too, so I had to be able to fend for myself in case of danger from monsters. Perhaps… the five years hadn’t been a waste. I stared at my surroundings, at the land of frost with a scarce dead forest surrounding me.

For five years I called this place home.

But now…

I smiled somewhat bitterly, it was a mixed bag. “I want to see what this world has to offer, and maybe find a home.”

Though, even though I said it out loud I understood it was going to be hard. Because even if I didn’t want to admit it, these five years had been… enjoyable. Not the torture, but the constant fighting was something that made me happy in a strange way. I wasn’t going to go seeking out battles, but if one occurred, I definitely wasn’t going to shy away from it.

The realization made me laugh.

“I really changed.”

I shook my head before standing up and walking towards the portal. I paused right in front of it as I looked back to the land of frost.

“I’ll miss this home.”

And then, I stepped into the portal.