“The mission site? You actually dragged me all the way here? Are you insane?”
Richard tried to draw his sword, but Rodos easily stopped him.
His newly polite attitude did not last long.
No matter how he thought about it, Richard simply could not believe what had happened.
“You will injure yourself if you do not warm up in a cold place.”
“What do you expect me to do about that? I would not need to warm up in the first place if you had not dragged me off to some strange place.”
“Igrun gave his permission as well. There is no problem.”
“The Knight Commander abandoned me. This is really bad. Ah, my life.”
Ignoring Richard’s complaints, Rodos focused on the scenery visible beyond the doorway.
‘It resembles the North.’
Rodos felt strangely at ease.
It was almost as though he had returned to the North.
The fiercely raging snowstorm and biting cold were all too familiar to him.
The Glaci Mountains looked like a smaller version of the North.
The clearest difference was that their peaks did not rise high enough to touch the sky.
‘They are small compared to the North, but still quite vast.’
As befitted the continent’s greatest source of Magic Ice Stone, the mountain range was enormous.
According to the information he had gathered while preparing for the mission, it was the third-largest mountain range on the continent.
A Deathfrost Dragon capable of claiming such an entire mountain range as its territory was undoubtedly extremely powerful.
‘It must be quite strong.’
The Deathfrost Dragon would be somewhere within those mountains.
Rodos’s heart began to pound.
Fighting a powerful opponent was always enjoyable.
“So where exactly are we?”
Richard asked after finally collecting himself.
He at least needed to know where he was if he wanted to devise a plan for getting back.
“The Glaci Mountains.”
“?”
Richard’s eyes widened.
It was the last place he had expected.
“That is at the eastern edge of the Empire! What in the world happened?”
“About a day has passed.”
“We reached the eastern edge in a single day….”
They had gathered their equipment, stepped onto one of the House’s Magic Circles, and arrived near the Glaci Mountains within a single day.
Richard looked gloomy for a moment before nodding.
There was nothing particularly strange about it.
As the foremost prestigious family of mages on the continent, House Augustus possessed Teleportation Magic Circles capable of sending people virtually anywhere across the Empire.
Rodos might have been looked down upon, but he was still a Young Master of that prestigious family.
Using a Teleportation Magic Circle would not have been difficult for him.
Rodos looked down at the Teleportation Magic Circle and nodded.
‘Magic certainly is useful.’
He had briefly considered traveling here on foot, but decided that would be pointless.
Being a warrior did not mean he needed to reject magic.
Power itself was neither good nor bad.
What mattered was how the person wielding that power chose to use it.
“Haha….”
Richard’s face darkened with worry.
They were an enormous distance from the main territory of House Augustus, where the Sixth Knight Order was stationed.
“Please give me a moment. I need to write my will. There probably will not be anyone to read it, but I would at least like to leave some record that a man named Richard once existed.”
“There is no need to worry. If you complete the mission with me, you will return safely.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Richard stared at Rodos.
He had lowered his posture respectfully, but looked ready to lunge at him at any moment.
“What is that? That dangerous-looking energy… Please do not bring that near me.”
Both of Rodos’s axes were glowing white.
The pure white energy surrounding them looked exceedingly dangerous.
In situations like this, retreat was the wisest course of action.
“At least you know your place.”
Rodos withdrew his Aether.
Richard was capable of recognizing power when he saw it.
“Anyway, what is the mission? I am not planning to run away, so tell me. I should at least know what I am being dragged into.”
Instead of answering, Rodos handed him the mission sheet.
Richard began reading its contents.
[Subjugate the Deathfrost Dragon Glacies]
The Deathfrost Dragon Glacies has established a nest in the Glaci Mountains, a source of Magic Ice Stone.
Several subjugation forces have been dispatched, but all were annihilated.
Subjugate it and prove your ability.
“Oh, wonderful… Thanks to the Young Master’s reckless decision, it looks like my twenty years of life are going to end prematurely….”
Richard’s expression darkened considerably after reading the mission.
“The Knight Commander really approved this? What possible use could you have for me on a mission like this?”
“We will subjugate it together.”
“???”
Richard tilted his head.
He could not understand at all.
How were an Apprentice Knight like himself and the youngest Young Master, who had only recently begun wielding weapons, supposed to kill a Deathfrost Dragon by themselves?
“No matter how I think about it, I have a feeling we are going to be found somewhere in these snowy mountains as frozen corpses….”
“You have talent. But it has yet to manifest itself. There is nothing better than actual combat for awakening talent.”
“…….”
Richard could not think of a response.
From his perspective, Rodos seemed genuinely insane.
He had heard that Rodos had been in an accident, and apparently it had driven him mad.
“Let us move quickly.”
Rodos strapped his tomahawks onto his back and left the Hall.
“Ah, my miserable life….”
Richard sighed and followed him.
There was nowhere for him to run anyway.
***
A city stood in the broad basin beneath the Glaci Mountains.
At the center of the city stood the Lord’s Castle.
“How long has production of Magic Ice Stone been halted?”
“Today marks the fifty-sixth day.”
Inside, a middle-aged man was speaking with an administrator, his expression grave.
His name was Rok, the lord of this territory.
In the past, he had been the head of a merchant company that traded with House Augustus. He had later married one of the House’s Mages and risen to the position of lord.
“This is serious.”
Rok’s face was filled with worry.
In a territory that survived on mining Magic Ice Stone, having the mines occupied by a monster was tantamount to a death sentence.
“What if we increase the bounty?”
“That would be difficult.”
The administrator shook his head.
They had already offered a bounty greater than what most mercenaries and adventurers could earn in a lifetime.
“Most of the mercenaries and adventurers in the city were annihilated during the previous subjugation attempts. All of the survivors have left.”
“This is maddening.”
Rok knew that all too well.
They had organized and dispatched several subjugation forces, but the only things that returned were corpses frozen solid and shattered into pieces.
“Even the soldiers of the territory have lost their morale, and desertions are becoming increasingly common.”
“So the House is all we have left to rely upon.”
The House was the only hope Rok and the city had left.
If the House—if the Head of the House—refused to extend a helping hand, the fate of this place was already sealed.
“Still, it is a Gold Mission. There is a good chance that someone highly capable will come.”
Rok nodded, his expression brightening slightly.
Now that the matter had been designated a Gold Mission, there was at least reason to hope.
As far as he knew, Gold Missions were entrusted only to highly capable Young Masters even among the blood relatives of the House.
“A Young Master from the House has arrived!”
At that moment, a guard’s voice rang out.
“He has finally come!”
Rok rose from his chair and went to greet the guest from the House.
The savior who would resolve all of their troubles had finally arrived.
Rok stepped outside feeling grateful that he had chosen to serve the House, but….
“Huh?”
Rok froze when he saw his guest.
“Are you truly the Young Master sent by the House?”
Standing before him was a muscular man with two axes strapped to his back.
“I am Rodos, the thirteenth Young Master of the Direct Bloodline.”
Rodos introduced himself while showing Rok the Gold Mission sheet.
“Ah….”
Rok could not hide his disappointment.
Rodos was a name he knew well.
The dullard of the House who had inherited the blood of the Head of the House but none of his talent for magic.
The disgrace of the Direct Bloodline, weak in both body and temperament and incapable of accomplishing anything properly.
That was the Rodos whom Rok knew.
However, contrary to everything he had heard about Rodos possessing an exceptionally frail body, the man standing before him had a firm, heavily muscled physique.
“I heard that an accident left you unable to use magic. How, then, did you receive this mission?”
“It does not matter that I cannot use magic. I possess other abilities instead.”
Rodos answered while gesturing toward the axes on his back.
“I see….”
Rok’s expression darkened even further.
So the Young Master truly could not use magic.
The hope he had placed his faith in was rapidly fading.
‘His expression is not good.’
Rodos nodded to himself.
It was understandable.
Given what the people of the House knew about his former self, it was only natural that Rok would find him difficult to trust.
“Where is the Deathfrost Dragon now?”
However, Rodos paid it no mind and focused on the present.
Remaining shackled to the past did nothing to help a warrior grow.
“It has occupied the mine and made one of the shafts its nest.”
“I will depart immediately.”
Rodos did not waste time.
Now that he knew the Deathfrost Dragon’s location, there was no reason to remain here.
“My apologies, but the situation is currently too dire for us to assign any soldiers to accompany you.”
“That does not matter.”
Rodos remained perfectly calm even when told that no soldiers could be provided.
“The single Knight who came with me is enough.”
“I see. Once you go outside, a soldier will be waiting to guide you to the mine.”
“Thank you.”
Rodos expressed his gratitude and left.
“Damn it…!”
Once Rodos was gone, Rok clutched the back of his neck.
“Are you all right?”
Rok barely remained standing with the help of his Servants, despair filling his face.
It was good that a Young Master from the House had come.
But of all people, it had to be a Young Master who could not use magic.
‘Does the Head of the House intend to abandon this place along with Young Master Rodos…?’
The Head of the House must have abandoned them.
Subjugating the Deathfrost Dragon with no Mage at all, just the Young Master and a single Knight?
The outcome was obvious without even seeing it.
“We are finished.”
***
In front of the gates of the Lord’s Castle.
When Richard heard that they were departing immediately, he grabbed Rodos by the shoulder.
“Are we really leaving right now? I am not ready yet….”
They were going immediately, without any preparation?
Even Richard thought this was too much.
“…….”
Rodos did not answer and simply continued checking his equipment.
“I do not know about you, Young Master, but this is my first real battle. Do you know how it feels to be thrown into a death trap without even having time to prepare yourself mentally?”
“Take these.”
Rodos handed him armor and various other pieces of equipment.
They were items he had received from Igrun before departing.
“As though equipment is going to fix this….”
Richard grumbled, but obediently put the equipment on.
At least he was not being thrown into danger with nothing but the clothes on his back.
***
After arriving at the mining area, Rodos surveyed the mine and its surroundings.
Beneath layers of mountain peaks were two shafts used as entrances, with temporary structures lining the area around them.
The soldier guiding them provided a brief explanation.
“The Deathfrost Dragon has claimed the mine as its territory and built its nest inside one of the shafts. The entire mine has frozen over as a result. The miners were frozen along with it.”
The soldier spoke in a flat voice, but Rodos could tell.
The man was afraid of the Deathfrost Dragon as well.
“How large is the mine?”
“You can think of it as encompassing the entire mountain range.”
It was vast.
As befitted the largest source of Magic Ice Stone, the mine itself was far larger than Rodos had expected.
“I will be leaving now.”
The frightened guide bowed and departed at an exceptionally brisk pace.
“But how are we supposed to find the Deathfrost Dragon in a place this large? I would rather not use the idiotic method of searching every corner one by one….”
Rodos shook his head.
“I know Deathfrost Dragons well.”
Rodos knew the habits of Deathfrost Dragons all too well.
They were monsters he had encountered more than once in the past.
He had no intention of entering the mine shafts.
A cramped, enclosed tunnel was not a favorable battlefield for a warrior.
He needed somewhere that would allow him to evade the monster’s attacks easily and posed no risk of collapse.
He also needed somewhere he could keep an eye on Richard.
The entrance to the mine where Rodos currently stood satisfied all of those conditions.
In that case, there was only one thing to do.
‘I simply need to call it out.’
Deathfrost Dragons valued their territory more than their lives.
No matter who invaded their territory, they never fled.
Whether the intruder died or they themselves died, they never backed down.
Rodos drew his tomahawks and spoke.
“Richard, draw your sword. This is real combat.”
“What?”
Richard stared at him in disbelief.
Real combat, just like that?
“Real combat arrives without warning.”
As he spoke, Rodos scraped the blades of his two axes against each other.
He intended to lure out the Deathfrost Dragon, which was highly sensitive to sharp noises.
CLANG!
A clear metallic note rang out.
A moment later, the mountain range trembled, and the Deathfrost Dragon revealed itself.
“SKREEEEEE!”