Manipulating my Spirit was almost intuitive. It flowed where I willed it and responded similarly to [Ice Manipulation(Un)].

I could feel it flow through my hammer, strengthening it to an unprecedented degree. It had a reliable feel to it that made me trust it with my full strength. Even with [Avalanche(R)] at full blast, [Fury(R)], [Glacial Presence(R)], and my bloodline all boosting my stats, it felt like my hammer wouldn't break.

It was a much-needed addition. After my Law upgraded, I didn't have to be ginger with the weapon, but I still didn't trust it at full blast. My strength was monstrous and it would only go up and now it felt like my hammer could handle it and then some.

Having another thing to strengthen my hammer was nice. Instead of having to chase higher tiers of Ice Laws to keep up, my Anchor was enough.

It did make me slightly sad that it wouldn't break. I was almost planning on it to happen eventually and already had plans on what to make next.

Different designs and tweaks from what I had already made. The ice was still malleable to a point, but it wouldn't take huge changes without having to redo it entirely.

After my Law upgraded, remaking my hammer wasn't necessary. All I had to do was saturate it in the higher-tiered Law for a few hours to strengthen the weapon.

As I grew more experienced with Runes and the like, I wanted to try and incorporate it into the structure of the weapon. Having the control over ice that I did, it gave me almost limitless possibilities with Rune incorporation.

I could forge Runes into the crystalline structure itself instead of having to carve them after the fact like with metal. If I could size them right and combine them, a durability rune on the hammerhead and a piercing Rune on the spike would greatly increase the deadliness of the weapon.

Other Runes and ideas bounced around in my head but those two were the main ones. The only reason I hadn't done so yet was I didn't know where to start.

Now that I had my Anchor, that was the next thing I was going to spend my time on.

The demonic Leopards' attacks went from drawing blood, to not even coming close. The ice remained unmarred from their claws after my spirit strengthened washed through it.

It took away the consequences of using full aggression and all offense.

The death toll skyrocketed after that.

My hammer whizzed around at speeds that were a blur to base human eyes, deforming everything it hit.

More than three bodies were flattened with every swing since they were packed in so tight trying to maul me.

I didn't even have to use the environment or a whirlwind of ice anymore to help with killing them. My hammer was enough and my armor kept everything at bay.

Dropping the attention I kept on [Ice Manipulation(Un)] let me focus fully on the grand melee and it. was. marvelous.

"HAHAHA!" Laughter boomed out of me. Almost jolly even.

The pressure from the battle was entirely gone now that I got a boost in power, but that didn't mean I wasn't having fun of a different kind.

Pure destruction had an enjoyment of its own, especially after everything that had happened. The ability to utterly ignore attacks while maintaining wide sweeps with my hammer.

Even after the lesser monsters ended and the mini-bosses charged in, I didn't change my tactic. Using magic was overkill by this point, I wanted to see how far I could push my physical abilities.

The lesser monsters didn't even require me to use [Mighty Blow(R)] or the upgraded Frostbite, [Pervading Cold(R)]. They simply couldn't handle the force I was swinging my hammer with. Dying to mundane mass times acceleration.

The mini-bosses were sturdier, not yet E-rank, but bulkier and stronger than their lesser counterparts.

They looked like they could handle a swing or two without my skills.

I wanted to see if I could kill them with one.

Loading both skills onto my hammer came easier than ever, my spirit empowering it and facilitating the mana flow better than before.

Charging up [Mighty Blow(R)] as much as it could go, I brought the weapon down on the leading leopard boss.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

[Pervading Cold(R)] didn't even get a chance to apply the damage was so great. The head of the beast just disappeared. Spraying chunks of skull and brain matter on the ground below it.

Any other beast that would have watched a member of its kind get killed in such an overwhelming fashion would have fled as fast as it could with its tail between its legs.

It was a good thing that these weren't normal beasts. It would have been a pain to chase them.

The others held up just as well as the first had. Which was not at all.

In no time flat, the four enlarged bodies joined with the countless smaller ones sans their heads. Something unfortunate had happened to those.

The boss tried to growl and roar its challenge but it lacked the threat to make it a real challenge. It didn't have the gravitas that the Vine Bear had and was almost worth pitying if the creature wasn't so ugly.

Its unpleasantness was greater than just its looks, the tang of blood that wafted off of it was stronger than all the rest and it had an even stronger unnatural feeling.

It only made me want to kill it faster. The boss was an E-ranked beast at level 52 and it had a huge bump in strength crossing the rank gap, but it had nothing else going for it.

It didn't have a Lesser Law, only a Least, it didn't have a Spirit Anchor, and the only thing it had was a durable body and high stats.

A durable body and high stats that I could almost match. From my boosts and bloodline, I had a higher strength than it but its other stats still dwarfed mine.

Strength and fortitude were the only two that I would say I had the advantage.

That was fine. It wouldn't change the outcome.

Instead of trying to brain it with my hammer, I tried something else. My spirit could do a lot for me during battle and I wanted to experiment to test the limits.

I already proved it could strengthen my hammer, making it stronger and faster than before. It greatly increased the durability of [Frost Armor(R)] and the chunks of ice I used as weapons.

Now I wanted to see the extent of what it could do.

Ice fell off me in pieces as [Frost Armor(R)] fell away. This next test was what it would do to my body. I knew what it could do to my ice, and from Jonathan, I knew what it would do to equipment.

It was somewhat risky to try, but I felt confident.

My spirit flowed through me just like it had with everything else, I could feel the potential that it carried with it in every part of my body. It wasn't a stat boost per se, but an improvement of a different kind. Like the base material could handle more and take more punishment.

Strength without enough fortitude would result in muscle tears and bone fractures if a person wasn't careful. The body had more strength than it could handle.

I didn't have that problem but it felt like this would alleviate it if I did. Like it hardened my body past what it was supposed to go. Not quite a boost in strength, but durability.

I was uncertain if all Spirit Anchors were like this or if it was specific to just the ones I knew. Jonathan's was all about defending and he could use it on his body, shields, and his earth.

Mine was similar, I could use it on my body, weapon, and ice.

I'm Still Standing implied the sustainability to do so. To weather a battle and come out the other side a person needed to be durable. If I went with a different phrase could I have increased my strength?

Even with all the information we had, there was still a lot we needed to figure out.

The boost was big, but it wasn't enough to stop the boss's claws outright. They sliced into me through the spirit empowerment.

I had to be careful not to let it cause any lasting damage. Losing a limb because of carelessness wasn't what I had in mind which made me switch my tactic quickly after it proved ineffective.

The next thing I tried was using [Reinforced Body(Un)] as well as what I did before. The skill felt more powerful than before and it had an increased effect to go along with it.

It still wasn't enough to negate the damage from the claws though. The uncommon skill with my spirit alone wasn't enough.

With those tests satisfied, I moved on to the last one I wanted to do. It was something I had done in the heat of the moment before and I wanted to explore more of what I could do with it.

During the fight with the Blaze Lion, I grabbed hold of it and channeled [Frostbite(Un)] into it through sustained touch. It wasn't how the skill was intended to be used, but [Pervading Cold(R)] changed that.

It wasn't as strict on usage as [Frostbite(Un)] was and I wanted to test out what it could do.

Grabbing hold of the boss was easy, all I had to do was let it hit me and jump on it after it closed in. Turning [Frost Armor(R)] back on gave me the leeway to be a bit reckless like this.

Keeping hold of the beast was another matter. It did not like that I was latched on to it. It went into a frenzy trying to get me off, bucking wild and frantically.

I used ice to anchor myself to it and help keep hold of it. After securing myself, I activated the skill.

Without the restriction of being used on a weapon, Ice Mana flowed into the boss from where I held on. I leveraged [Ice Manipulation(Un)] and my Law the best I could trying to freeze the beast through.

It fought me, a sanguine red mana fought against my intruding ice but it couldn't put up a fight. The fire from the Blaze Lion was harder to vanquish than the bloody mana this thing used.

I wasn't sure what kind of mutation the beast had that led to its affinity being like this, but it wasn't just blood anymore. It carried something else with it.

Whatever the mutation was, it didn't affect the outcome. The base of its power was blood.

And blood could freeze.

It was a losing battle from the start. All of the mana I had saved from not using skills or magic came in handy now because I didn't think I would have been able to kill it with any less.

While the beast couldn't fight off the [Pervading Cold(R)] as well as the Blaze Lion, it was harder to freeze. It was harder to corrupt and took more mana due to its rank.

Taking more mana didn't mean I wasn't able to, it just took longer.

I poured mana into the skill and watched as it pervaded the beast. Reaching deeper and deeper in.

The bucking gradually slowed until it stilled completely. It couldn't move anymore, frozen still.

It took all of my mana and left me deeply exhausted, but I did it. The body of the frosty Leopard remained upright was was in pristine condition. Only with a bit of ice and frost covering its form.

After 28 waves and 82 days, I now had a Spirit Anchor. Multiple days of meditation finally paid off.