Name: Christopher Zalenski

Race: (F) Human

Class: (F) Champion of Niflheim(Rare) – Level 43

Profession: (F) Runic Blacksmith(Uncommon) – Level 35

Affinity: Ice

Faction: Zalenski Family (Temporary) (Faction Head)

Strength - 349

Agility - 182

Perception - 82

Fortitude - 295

Endurance - 148

Vitality - 86

Intelligence - 67

Wisdom - 150

Acumen - 56

Free Points: 0

Laws: Least Law of Ice

Skills:

Class Skills: Heavy Blow(Uncommon), Reinforced Body(Uncommon), Throwing Weapon Proficiency(Novice), Identify(Common), Frostbite(Uncommon), Sweeping Slash(Common), Ice Fortress(Uncommon), Heavy Armor Proficiency(Novice), Heavy Weapon Proficiency(Apprentice), Body of a Barbarian(Uncommon), Barbarian's Fury(Uncommon), Hail(Common), Ice Manipulation(Uncommon), Meditation(Common), Ice Arrow(Uncommon), Shatter(Uncommon), Frost Armor(Rare), Momentum of the Avalanche(Rare), Frozen Fortitude(Uncommon), Permafrost(Uncommon), Mental Walls(Common)

Profession Skills: Sense Metal(Common), Create Weapon(Common), Create Armor(Common), Metallurgy(Common), Forging Proficiency(Novice), Mana Engraving(Uncommon), Mana Infusion(Common), Basic Runecrafting(Uncommon), Forging Style: Rhythm Forging(Uncommon), Warding(Uncommon)

The sleep following the creation of the Rune was some of the best rest I had gotten in a while. I felt at home and relaxed in a way I couldn't explain. The ice and snow worked to make me comfortable and rested which I hadn't experienced in a while.

Following the best rest I had received, was the biggest battle I would participate in.

As noon neared, my blood started pumping just a bit faster. My heart beat a tad louder, my hands itched toward my hammer.

It would soon be me versus an army. One against many and I couldn't wait to see who would be left standing.

Most of my preparation time was allotted to getting the Rune working and that was already done. Other than a few small things left, all that was left to do was eat breakfast and wait for the wave.

I thought about pounding a few pieces out in the forge but decided against it. The times of scrambling around doing everything I could, clawing for every scrap of power, were over.

There was no one else here to worry about. No one that could get hurt if I wasn't strong enough.

It felt like the boulder on my back that had forced me to keep training every hour of the day was removed. I didn't have to spend every waking moment trying to get stronger.

While I wasn't forced to anymore, that didn't mean I didn't want to.

With strength, I could be more free than ever before. If I was strong enough, nothing and no one would be able to dictate what I did. The only thing I would do was what I wanted to do.

And what I wanted to do right now was relax and wait for the fight to come to me.

Before my family was hounded by the threat of death, I enjoyed the battles. The fighting and battle for survival. When there was the possibility of my family dying, it was less fun.

Now, though, it was only me.

It felt weird to put it like that. It made it sound like I didn't value my own life as much as theirs.

In some ways, that was true. In a fight, I wanted them to be safe and would hurt myself to make that true. Being alone cut away all the worry and dread of that possibility.

The only difference between us, was I liked being a warrior.

I liked the knockdown drag-out fights for dominance.

If I failed, I would die, but that was the way of the world. I was fine with going out like that. My family would be upset, sure, but I would be okay with it. I couldn't think of a better way to go.

That didn't mean I was suicidal, I would flee from an unwinnable battle if I could, but the possibility of death was always there. It was what made it worth it. The satisfaction wouldn't be the same if the threat of dying wasn't there.

'I'm here for a good time, not a long time.' Was a saying I quite liked and fit the mood perfectly.

My new hammer was ready for its christening and I was ready to fight to my heart's content.

I sat in front of the keep with only ice and snow to keep me company. My armor and hammer sat next to me, ready to be used as the sun reached its zenith. There was no need to flare [Permafrost(Un)] before the wave as much as possible, as it was already tundra.

Defend your claim!

Wave Start: 0:59

For the first time, dread didn't follow that notification. No sharp intakes of breath, no silent prayers, no clenched fists.

The only thing that followed the chime was a slight smile. Some might say the smile of a crazy person, aka Abigail, but a smile nonetheless.

After the chime, I stood and lifted my chest piece over my head before firmly pulling it on, latching it in place. All the rest of my armor was already on, my legs and boots already worn, and my chest piece was the only thing left to don.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It was uncomfortable to wear while sitting.

My mana pool was entirely pure ice mana for the fight and the first skill I used showed the improvement.

[Frost Armor(R)] slowly froze around me and settled into place. It felt more robust in the environment and like I didn't have to fight to keep it frozen. It was in its natural state rather than the other way around.

Newly upgraded [Ice Manipulation(Un)] flared around me and my projectiles were ready.

The upgrade increased both fine manipulation and range. What was once 30 feet ballooned out to over 50.

I still liked my snowflakes and had a few floating around me even though it was more efficient to use something else. They took too much focus to keep in shape and spinning, saying nothing of maintaining the rotation around me.

It took a load off mentally to just use whatever chunks of ice were available. Instead of focusing on the snowflakes, work broader and just spin anything. I could manipulate a lot more ice if I didn't have to focus on each projectile individually.

All or nothing was easier than picking specific pieces of ice.

I had already frozen some into shape with the time I had but I wouldn't refreeze them if they broke like I had been doing.

As the timer ticked down, I didn't even have to use any skills. [Permafrost(Un)] was unnecessary as the ground was already frozen and [Hail(C)] was unneeded as I already created enough ice for me to use.

I had stockpiled it after the Rune started working. It kept it from melting and saved me from having to make more during the battle.

Any more was useless, I had created more than enough.

I tried to go and activate [Momentum of the Avalanche(R)] early but couldn't find any monsters nearby. I went as far out as I was comfortable with without seeing a single monster.

It was like all of them fled the area. It was like they knew what was coming.

Not having the boost wasn't that big of a deal though. The start of the wave was always the easiest, the boost was unnecessary.

It was the end when I needed it the most and it was already full by then.

The extra endurance would be nice but with the new Frost Rune, not as useful.

I was all set for the wave to come and I didn't have to wait long. The timer ended and the wave spawned in. I had made my way to the top of the keep where Hal usually stood to get a look at the enemy. The makeshift Crow's Nest we built.

My perception and vision skills weren't up to par with them so far away but I could see the movement of bodies. All it took was a hefty javelin throw and the [Avalanche(R)] started.

It would only add the few minutes it took for the monsters to get here but it seemed silly to wait.

I could pick up more details as the monsters closed in and I couldn't help but giggle. I wasn't sure if it was fate, luck, or divine intervention, but I was at a severe advantage for the fight to come.

[Vine Bears]

Nature affinity bears with vines extending out around them. They sent plants against me. Plants.

In my brief foray in the south, I saw how badly plants held up against the cold.

Not well. That was how.

The only thing that could have been better was if they had a water affinity.

I didn't suspect the bears themselves to have that hard of a time but their vine extremities certainly would. Any advantage was a good advantage and I would certainly take it.

The bears themselves were normal-sized, bigger than me by a lot, it made me question how big the boss would be. Green tinted fur covered them and they had vines coiled around their body.

Some of the vines extended out like green vipers waving in the air. The grass turned a verdant green as they passed over it leading to the wall.

Javelins of ice streamed out of the crow's nest I was in until they got close enough to the wall. With a jump, I fell to meet them in a grand melee.

[Ice Manipulation(Un)] flared out and I picked up all the stray ice in the area. It was the most ice I had ever used.

The mass of glistening shards slowly started to rotate around me, getting faster and faster every subsequent revolution.

The bears funneled in through the four open gates, itching to rip and destroy. Snarls and growls filled the area which only made me smile wider. Spittle flowed from their open mouths.

No yelling or coordinating. No voices from anyone nearby.

Only beasts.

"*Inhale*. Hahaha, Come and get me!" I answered with a challenge of my own.

As the bears made it into the camp the first of my defenses was up. Grand pillars of ice packed down as far as I could with my new Uncommon manipulation skill and Law combined.

One grand [Shatter(Un)] rippled out causing all of them to explode. The massive explosion of ice tore through the leading bears felling the first few ranks.

I waited until a few were past the pillars for the most effect but ended up missing a few of the leading ones.

That was fine. My hammer was ready.

[Heavy Blow(Un)] rocketed down on a bear skull, flattening the brain into mush. It was now christened with the blood of a foe. And some brain matter.

Ice spiraled cutting, bludgeoning, and generally disrupting everything.

The cold spread from the Rune caused the vines to shrivel and die if they extended too far from the bodies of the bears.

It seemed they used them for grappling and restraining prey, except they couldn't this time. The vines couldn't extend past a few inches without dying due to the cold.

I wasn't sure how cold it actually was around me but I felt great. Great plumes of smoke wafted in the air from the heavy breathing of the bears, creating a mist effect as it condensed into even more ice crystals before falling to the ground as snow.

Without the need to keep [Permafrost(Un)] or [Hail(C)] active, it let me use my mana pool way more freely and skills activated faster.

[Heavy Blow(Un)] and [Frostbite(Un)] flowed more liberally along with [Ice Arrow(Un)]. The speedy projectiles flew out whenever there was a lull near me. My localized cyclone of ice disrupted their charge which created slight gaps for me to fire the skill.

The water content in the vines began to freeze around the bears the longer they stayed within my domain giving me an option I had never had before.

What would happen if I used [Shatter(Un)] on a frozen body part?

Carnage. That was what.

If their blood didn't freeze as soon as it left their body, it would be pooling into a sea from the sheer amount.

As chunks of the red liquid froze over, [Ice Manipulation(Un)] told me I could use them.

Creating a projectile out of the frozen blood of one bear, then using it to impale another bear, before making the entire bear shatter as it froze over after death.

It. Was. Wonderful.

Even at the rate I was killing them, more took their place. I hadn't expected so many to spawn but I wasn't going to back down. The last wave spawned nearly 500 monsters for 21 people.

This wave spawned nearly 300 just for me.

It made me wonder if there was a strength adjustment as well but I quickly vetoed that idea. Punishing people for gaining strength defeated the purpose of the tutorial.

It was more likely that there was a minimum amount each wave would spawn and the allocated amount for one person was under that amount. Hence more than anticipated.

As the fighting continued, my boost built up even more. My stats were higher every wave and the feeling of power was hard to get rid of.

My hammer held up wonderfully. With [Ice Manipulation(Un)] at Uncommon, I could hold the ice together a lot better and condense it down farther.

It was a nice bonus to the durability of my weapon. An unforeseen bonus. I thought only an upgraded Law would help.

Whenever I got surrounded, [Ice Fortress(Un)] froze into reality. All the ice in the air rapidly condensed together into a divider between me and them.

It froze so quickly that it shocked even me. It usually took some time to build up which was removed with the building blocks readily available and the low temperature to assist in freezing.

After my respite wasn't needed, [Shatter(Un)] had it crumbling down with deadly precision. Being so close to where I was standing let me aim the shards much easier.

As I fought, all my worries washed away.

The tightness of breath I perpetually carried with me loosened. The mounting pressure released.

There wasn't any anxiety for the future, no dread waiting for the other shoe to drop.

There was only me versus my enemy.

It was so simple I couldn't help but feel stupid.

I had built up this idea of Honor and responsibility into something that it wasn't. Honor and morals weren't a chain used to control yourself, they were aspirations to live by.

You weren't kept in check by them through their control over you, you aspired to follow them through your own control.

Using them as a band-aid for slipping self-control wasn't how they worked. One didn't magically follow their own rules just because they said they would.

I was overthinking it and gaining clarity for the first time in a while.

I was a warrior. I was no philosopher. No ethics professor.

All I had to do was what I felt was right.

My father's teachings wouldn't disappear, but they weren't shackles either.

I would still follow them, not because I forced myself to, but because I wanted to.

I might slip and fall sometimes, but that was life.

No one was perfect and trying to force myself to be was unrealistic.

The only thing I could do was my best.

After that realization, there was no big power-up, no new Law or Spirit Anchor. Nothing new, but I fought better all the same.

My hammer flowed better, my feet seemed to move smoother.

My fighting turned from forced, to free.

This was it.

This was freedom.

For the first time in a while, I had fun.