Chapter 69

Chapter 42: The Duke’s Instruction Part 2

Duke’s body was instantly enveloped.

I felt a slight joy in my heart. After stepping back two steps, I waved my hand and condensed more than ten ice balls around me, then threw them at the figure hidden in the frost mist.

Although extreme cold wouldn’t affect you much, it should still be able to confuse your judgment, right?

Being hit by ice balls hurts!

My lips almost couldn’t hold back the smile starting to curve upward as I secretly made a victory sign with my fingers in my heart.

I’ve turned the tables!

However, seconds later, I realized I had been too hasty.

Even though my vision was obscured by the frost mist, the figure inside only swayed slightly when the ice balls attacked and managed to dodge all of them!

I was so surprised that my mouth opened wide.

“Ha! Applying knowledge well, not bad, not bad, I was careless.”

The Duke walked out from the frost mist as he spoke, still looking composed.

This surprise attack hadn’t caused him any trouble at all.

Why? How did he do it? By hearing the sound?

Such a reaction speed…

I stomped my foot in frustration and thought about continuing the attack, but I was somewhat wary of the giant sword in his hand. At this distance, it seemed he could use that strange stride to suddenly rush in front of me.

Thinking of this, my heart raced, and I quickly jumped backward several times to escape.

Then, I stared at the Duke’s sharp figure, and my eyes gradually began to shine.

I had no idea how to defeat him.

He’s really amazing, truly amazing!

“Duke Uncle.”

“Hmm?”

“You and Carlos, who’s stronger?”

When I asked this question, the Duke’s expression froze slightly.

“Why do you suddenly ask this?”

“Curiosity.”

I just want to know how far away I am from that arrogant bearded knight without relying on Abyss powers.

“Hmm…” The Duke planted his ice-blue giant sword on the ground and hesitated for a moment before smiling. “Though we haven’t fought, I think Carlos has a higher chance of winning.”

Hmm, expected answer… right?

Carlos is too strong; I can’t satisfy my desire to bully him by force in the short term.

“But you don’t need to worry too much. After all, my order power isn’t top-tier, and I can’t attack like you with brutal methods. This is exactly what Carlos suffers most from, because that boy, like me, can’t be considered a genius.”

As if sighing, the Duke shook his head.

“Not relying on talent, not relying on nobility, nor depending on outstanding weapons.” As he said this, he looked at his metal left arm with a wry smile. “Just by relying on that drive, he has reached where he is now, which is truly admirable…”

Hmm, quite a high praise.

I originally thought Carlos was someone with great talent, already powerful enough without much effort. But what the Duke said seems different from what I thought.

Drive?

His lazy demeanor doesn’t look like someone with drive at all. He’s actually quite unmotivated.

“How about it, do you want to continue fighting?”

The Duke weighed his giant sword in his hand and said to me.

I glanced at Lady Catherine in the distance.

She had been waving and shouting for us to stop since the beginning.

… It feels like she might get angry.

But, how could I end it so easily?

I nodded.

“Continue.”

The Duke’s smile deepened.

“Then let’s go.”

The giant sword in his hand spun a clear blue sword flower, swirling around him.

The frost mist sprinkled onto the ground, spreading a layer of frost-white.

He walked toward me.

Suddenly, I recalled the final strike when slaying the endless abyss. It seemed… something like this ice had formed.

What was that clear blue color, that feeling… like?

I remember, at that time, I was driven mad by anger, only thinking about killing the monster in front of me. Ordinary ice spears couldn’t break through its defense, so I continuously compressed the ice using order power.

Finally, an unbreakable clear blue blade pierced through the monster’s head.

I wonder if I can achieve it again. Let’s give it a try.

A flash of blue light appeared in my right hand, and an ice spear materialized in my palm. I focused intently, recalling the method from before.

Do not lower the temperature over a large area; concentrate on the ice spear in my hand…

Then… compress, compress again, keep compressing.

Crack, crack.

I could hear the sound of ice cracking, feeling significant resistance.

Not enough, continue.

Snap.

I saw Duke’s face turn pale, and his footsteps had already stopped.

The ice spear in my hand turned sky blue, already giving off a chilly sensation.

Not enough, continue.

Tiny beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. I gritted my teeth and continued to channel the frost order power.

It’s normal to struggle adjusting to such precise control after being used to mindless large-scale releases. But the Duke is right; I must master the technique and learn the most efficient way to fight with the least effort.

Otherwise, I’ll never beat what they call top-tier.

The constant sound of ice being compressed came from my right palm. I saw that Duke’s expression had shifted from shock to delight.

“I spent two whole years just to reach this threshold, and you were able to do this after just looking at it!”

Was he praising me? Hehe.

My heart felt a slight warmth, and I was about to say something modest in return.

But my distraction caused the ice spear in my hand to nearly explode. I panicked and quickly focused on stabilizing the chaotic order power.

“Don’t rush.”

“Yes, exactly, take it step by step,” Duke patiently guided from the side.

The color of the ice spear in my hand grew darker, almost matching the giant sword in Duke’s hand.

But it wasn’t enough; the temperature needed to be lower… even lower…

Crack—

It worked!

I grabbed the icy spear, holding it up close to examine it.

A deep azure color, deeper than Duke’s giant sword. The intricate ice glimmered under the sunlight.

Feeling the cool, pleasant sensation, I spun it around my fingers before looking up at Duke with a smile.

I swung it towards him.

“Haha!”

Duke immediately blocked with his giant sword.

But would it work?

I aimed to pierce through his sword!

However, the opposite happened. The ice spear shattered into two pieces upon touching the blade.

“……Huh, why?”

I stared at the remaining half of the ice spear in my hand, puzzled.

My ice was deeper in color, colder, and harder, yet it broke so easily?

“Hahaha!” Duke, as if he had expected this, burst out laughing. “Of course, ice is very brittle. Your ice is hard enough, but lacks flexibility. Without order power to enhance its flexibility, what good is it even if it’s harder than steel?”

“……”

I immediately looked disappointed, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

“It’s fine. You’ve already achieved this level on your first try, which is amazing.” Duke consoled me repeatedly. “I’ll teach you the rest gradually. With your talent, you should be able to master it before leaving Winter City.”

Before leaving… It wasn’t too late, but I refused to give up.

I wanted to try again!

My right hand condensed another ice spear, following the same steps to compress it further.

This time, the azure blade formed much faster, and the color seemed even deeper.

Holding the shimmering ice spear, I didn’t rush to test it. Instead, I silently recalled the situation when I held the scythe in the village.

Back then, to increase the tool’s resilience, I had wrapped it with frost order. At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it, but now… perhaps it was a lucky accident?

So, I followed the same approach, slowly infusing the ice spear with order power.

Zzz—

With a soft sound, the ice spear in my hand emitted a faint white glow, and a thin mist of frost seeped out.

It worked!

I smiled triumphantly, looking at Duke proudly.

He was clearly speechless with astonishment.

Let’s try again?

I swung it towards the giant sword.

Clang!

The short clash produced a metallic ring. I could feel the ice spear trembling slightly in my hand.

It didn’t break!

“Giggling, here I come!”

I thrust the ice spear at Duke’s giant blade once more.

Clang, clang, clang, crack!

After several collisions, the ice spear shattered again. Despite the fragments in my hand, I felt incredibly happy inside.

“Again!”

“Miss Silvera, although I don’t know why this happened, you have the best talent I’ve ever seen.”

Duke’s tone was filled with emotion.

He watched the joyful young girl before him, feeling her happiness.

Logically, affinity with the source is predetermined at birth, something everyone knows. But seeing the facts, he couldn’t deny it.

The girl’s talent had indeed improved significantly compared to before.

Not only in order power, but also in combat sensitivity, far surpassing her former clumsiness.

It was as if someone else had taken over.

“Heehee, again!”

Her gentle and melodious voice brought him back to reality. Seeing her grasp the ice spear again, ready to try once more, he smiled.

“Ice weapons can easily slip out of your hands. I’ll have the workshop make you a pair of anti-slip gauntlets soon, like this.”

Duke pointed to his own hand, which was wearing a black fingerless glove, looking somewhat like silk but much thinner.

“……Hmm.”

“In the meantime, I’ll continue teaching you how to control the shape of ice generation.”

…………

The hunters sitting outside watched the two figures in the center of the clearing resume their battle, understanding the situation roughly.

In the days to come, the young girl and Duke would likely appear in this clearing frequently.

Even though the lady beside them seemed somewhat displeased.