“Kh......”
The pain was enough to force a groan from me.
Agony tore through my entire body, so severe that it felt as though ice rather than blood were flowing through my meridians. For a moment, I nearly lost consciousness.
‘I have to guide it.’
I pushed Extreme Cold Art to its limit and drew on the essence of frost and the effects of Cold Heart as far as I could.
The biggest reason I had decided to take the Ice Crystal now was Extreme Cold Art.
Before learning it, even moving the mana would have been impossible.
But now things were different.
Hiss—
Even amid the immense energy that made frost bloom around me, I kept guiding it toward my dantian.
It felt as though ice rather than mana were circulating through my mana circuits.
“Haa......”
The instant I breathed out, I saw my breath fog in the air.
The inside of my body had become endlessly cold.
But I could not stop here.
Just as I would die if the blood flowing through my meridians stopped, I would definitely die if I stopped now.
Even in the middle of all this, scenes from the game came to mind.
‘I wondered why it had so many penalties attached to it.’
So this damned pain had been waiting for me.
I forced the stray thought away and bit down on my lip.
The cold that had spread across my entire body was now racing fiercely toward my dantian.
What mattered at this point was controlling its speed.
Even if frost dwelled within my mana and I could use it naturally, directly digesting a mass of mana like the Ice Crystal was something else entirely.
‘From here on is even more important.’
I focused even harder and pushed Extreme Cold Art to its absolute limit.
At the same time, the room, which had already grown cold, dropped even further in temperature.
I could feel everything around me beginning to freeze.
‘Heat the circuits.’
Instead, I heated my circuits.
The damned cold immediately raced through them even faster.
The circuits expanded through Extreme Cold Art.
My increased affinity with mana.
And on top of that, the further rise in magical power efficiency from Frost Benediction.
I had to use everything.
Not merely perceive what I had gained, but make it part of myself.
How much time passed like that?
Hiss—
The sensation of freezing from the inside gradually turned into a strange comfort.
At the same time, I could feel the magical power in my dantian steadily swelling.
When the cold air from my quiet breath spread through the room, I finally opened my eyes.
“It’s...... over.”
Sweat poured from my entire body like rain.
The sweat had already frozen into droplets of ice before falling to the floor.
After settling even the remaining mana, I calmly checked my dantian.
‘Whoa.’
The manifested mana surrounding my body.
Even the sheer amount was different from before.
It was no longer the faint film I had produced when I first acquired Extreme Cold Art.
Now it felt like a proper mana barrier.
“Young Master Ian!”
Perhaps he had sensed the change in my magical power.
Tarian, who had been waiting outside, hurried into the room.
At first, he looked alarmed, perhaps imagining something like mana backlash.
But the moment he saw the mana barrier wrapped around my body, his gaze changed.
“You have made another breakthrough.”
“Whew. I got lucky.”
“I knew you had become a Sword User, but I can no longer call you merely a Sword User.”
“That much?”
“You have already surpassed most Knight Cadets.”
I let out a small laugh.
‘Knight Cadet, huh.’
When we first met, I had been weaker than an ordinary soldier.
Then, through countless Pacts, I had risen to the level of a Squire.
And now I had become someone for whom the words Knight Cadet actually fit.
“I’ll have to make you say I’m at knight level soon.”
“At this rate, I am afraid you truly will surpass me.”
Tarian smiled as he spoke.
I smiled back at him.
“One day, definitely.”
“Then I will have to work even harder as well.”
Tarian had already been throwing himself into training lately with an increasingly sharp intensity.
If this made him even more motivated, I could only be grateful.
“Thanks to you, I was able to finish safely. Get some good rest today.”
I spoke to Tarian while forcing my increasingly heavy eyelids open.
At last, I had obtained every reward from the long Subjugation Festival.
***
The next day, the main Subjugation Festival began.
Unlike the promising youths, the people participating in the main event were truly impressive.
“You aren’t participating?”
“This is not really a place for a knight to compete, unless it is to raise his lord’s prestige.”
I had already raised my own prestige just fine.
I felt slightly awkward at Tarian’s casual withdrawal and waited for the main event to begin.
Larissa Bahen claimed victory in the main Subjugation Festival.
‘At this point, she really is about even with Tarian.’
It was called the main Subjugation Festival, but there was no way they could release Monsters dangerous enough for full-fledged knights into the territory.
Instead, the main event was essentially conducted by having participants defeat knights of the Bahen Grand Ducal House who played the role of Monsters.
“She really is impressive.”
“That is the level of a knight.”
Tarian spoke as though asking whether I could do the same.
I nodded.
“Still, it doesn’t feel as far away as it used to.”
“I expected you to say that.”
Once the main Subjugation Festival ended, another banquet was held on the third day as well.
Considering that the event itself was practically a social gathering meant to demonstrate that the Bahen Grand Ducal House remained strong and prosperous, I supposed that was only natural.
“You are not attending the banquet today?”
“Two days was enough.”
“There will be many nobles waiting for you, Young Master Ian.”
“Well, if they really want to see me, they can come find me themselves.”
I had no intention of going out of my way to find them.
Tarian burst out laughing and nodded.
“That is true.”
“Forget that. Let’s spar.”
As I spoke, I gripped the hilt of my sword.
As befitted the Bahen Grand Ducal House, the military power of the North, there were numerous training facilities here.
They were so excellent that they could not even be compared to the training grounds back in our territory, which had been maintained fairly well in their own right.
“Are we really allowed to use this place?”
“I got permission, so it should be fine.”
“I have not given permission yet.”
“Then why did you follow us?”
I chuckled as I looked at Johannes Bahen, who had likewise slipped out of the banquet and attached himself to us.
“Gatherings like that are nothing but troublesome. And since you are someone I have acknowledged, as well as my rival, I must observe you all the more closely.”
“Were we rivals?”
“Ahem......”
Johannes visibly wilted.
For no particular reason, I turned my gaze toward Tarian.
As expected, Tarian neatly avoided eye contact.
“Rather than a rival, think of us as competitors walking the same martial path.”
“Right, Ian. You are my greatest competitor.”
I let out a small sigh as he immediately brightened again.
Maybe it was because he was still young, but his emotions certainly swung wildly.
He was troublesome, but the fact that he was hard to dislike was probably a virtue.
-Hurry up and give me back!
It would have been even better if Winterbane did not scream noisily every time I met this guy.
Thinking that, I stepped into the training ground used by direct members of the Bahen Grand Ducal House.
“We must use it quietly. I am sneaking you in, after all.”
“Now that is touching.”
“Huhu. Showing this much favor to someone I have acknowledged is nothing.”
Johannes puffed out his chest proudly and walked ahead.
I watched his back for a moment.
Then I sensed someone deeper inside the training ground.
I glanced over.
Tarian seemed to have noticed as well, judging by the slight tension in his expression.
Johannes was the only one who had not sensed it.
He strode inside with an excited look and found......
“Johan?”
Larissa Bahen.
She was supposed to be in the banquet hall as the star of the day, so for a moment I wondered why she was here.
“S-Sister?”
“Why are you here? And beside you...... Ian?”
Her expression was just as blank as when we had first met.
For a moment, I wondered whether she was angry.
But the way she tilted her head made her seem merely curious.
“Sister, why are you here?”
“I asked first.”
“Ah, well, I made some good friends this time, so I came to train with them! And beside me is......”
“I know. Ian. And Knight Tarian.”
Johannes’s expression brightened slightly as she looked between Tarian and me.
“Are you teaching Johan again?”
Perhaps because she had known Tarian from when he worked for the Bahen Grand Ducal House, Larissa spoke to him without any hesitation.
“No. I currently serve Young Master Ian. Still, I suppose I can offer some simple advice.”
“Is that really true?”
Johannes was the one who reacted most intensely.
He looked as though he had just stumbled upon an opportunity beyond his imagination.
Winterbane’s wailing grew even louder, but I ignored it and stepped forward.
“I apologize if we interrupted your training, my lady.”
“......”
I could feel Johannes staring at me in confusion over how differently I treated the two siblings.
Larissa looked at me, then shook her head.
“You’re not interrupting.”
“That is a relief.”
“Actually, this is good.”
I was just starting to wonder what she meant when she continued.
“Let’s make a bet too.”
I slowly looked at her after the abrupt proposal.
“Gladly.”
If anything, it was exactly what I wanted.
The time had come to test the abilities I had newly acquired.
“Young Master Ian, are you sure?”
The instant I readily accepted Larissa Bahen’s proposal, Tarian looked at me with concern.
“I want to see proper Bahen swordsmanship too.”
“But......”
“I know.”
I had a rough idea what he was worried about.
My opponent was strong.
And since she was not much older than me, he was probably concerned that the difference might discourage me.
“After watching me this long, do you still not know what kind of person I am?”
“It seems I worried needlessly again.”
I shrugged at Tarian’s bitter smile.
Meanwhile, Johannes was looking back and forth between Larissa and me with obvious excitement.
“I-I can watch too, right?”
“Watching is fine.”
At my permission, Johannes’s face visibly brightened.
“Are you finished talking?”
“Thank you for waiting.”
I gave her a slight bow.
She answered with a silent nod.
“But when you say a bet......”
“I’ll help you with your goal.”
It was an incredibly simple statement.
But the moment I heard it, I could not help staring blankly for a second.
She would help me?
With uniting the North?
Considering her influence and the strength she possessed, she would certainly be a tremendous help.
“In exchange, if I win, give it back.”
She pointed at Winterbane as she spoke.
I slowly nodded.
Obtaining an Epic Skill from it had already been more than enough.
And if I could use it as the stake to put her help on the table......
‘She’s someone who leaves the North in the first place.’
Simply keeping her here would already be a gain.
If I could secure her help on top of that, the situation changed completely.
The problem was what the actual condition of the bet would be.
“What are the terms?”
“Just...... if I like what I see.”
A proposal so vague it could hardly be called clear.
But I was not worried.
My heart was already racing at the thought of finally using the power of the Ice Crystal and Extreme Cold Art in actual combat.
“Can we start right away?”
“Good.”
I did not know why, but she was also looking at me quite favorably.
Without hesitation, I drew my sword and faced her.
“Then please grant me a bout.”
It was a perfect opportunity to keep Larissa in the North.