episode_0014

Kikl was sold for a high price.

A slave mage is rare,

but a spatial mage slave is even rarer.

Thanks to that, my pockets are comfortably full now.

So then—

First, clothes.

“I’m freezing to death.”

The icy kingdom of Gleysia was an unbearably cold region.

Without equipment to block the cold, even a hero could freeze to death—that’s how merciless this land was.

…Or so they say,

but Lia seemed perfectly fine.

“Master.”

“Does this feel warm?”

She even had enough leeway to share her body heat with me.

It was all thanks to her trait, Nature’s Disregard.

‘A handy trait that ignores all environmental damage.’

It lets her ignore the cold,

ignore the heat,

breathe underwater,

pull off insane stunts like swimming through lava,

take a lightning strike unharmed,

and shrug off meteor impacts.

No natural force can touch Lia.

…Thanks to this trait, she was perfectly fine.

But.

I wasn’t.

I was holding on by using fire magic,

but even that would only last about thirty minutes.

If I didn’t buy warm clothes soon, I’d genuinely freeze to death.

“Master.”

“If you were this cold, you should’ve bought clothes first instead of heading to the slave market.”

“Couldn’t do that.”

“Huh?”

“That guy was a spatial mage.”

“If he recovered from Near-Death, he could’ve escaped.”

“Ah…”

“So you rushed to sell him first.”

“Criminals like him are hard to catch again once they run.”

“Exactly.”

Besides, I needed the money from selling Kikl to buy warm clothes in the first place.

I had to visit the slave market first.

…At that explanation, Lia grew doubtful.

“Are warm clothes that expensive?”

“No.”

“Regular ones are fairly cheap.”

“Then?”

“It’s just that ‘non-regular’ ones are disgustingly overpriced, so I needed extra cash.”

I picked out clothes as soon as I entered the shop.

Gley Robe—

A specialty of the icy kingdom of Gleysia,

and the ultimate gear for cold resistance.

A genuinely great item.

It not only blocked the cold perfectly

and boosted ice-attribute defense and physical defense,

but the real selling point was this:

It was basically a long coat with a hood,

meaning it could be worn over armor as an extra layer of defense.

Now that was good.

Most cold-resistance gear requires stripping off your armor,

forcing you to sacrifice defense.

But the Gley Robe preserved your armor’s defense

while adding even more on top.

Of course,

this was pointless for Lia.

She was already immune to the cold,

and her cheat-tier traits made her basically invincible—defense meant nothing to her.

But.

I wasn’t like that.

Maintaining my defenses was crucial.

…Besides,

this single item was enough to keep me warm all winter.

A good investment.

…That’s what I thought, until I checked the price tag.

‘Damn…’

‘Look at this murderous price.’

By the mid- to late-game, it’d be pocket change,

but early on, this was painfully expensive.

If I were still D-rank adventurer Cain, I’d never afford such luxury gear.

But.

I could buy it now.

Why?

Because Kikl sold for a ridiculous amount!

…With that thought, I bought it

and put it on immediately.

“Phew…”

“Now I can finally breathe…”

The warmth hit me the moment I donned the Gley Robe.

It wasn’t just preserving body heat—

it felt like standing by a campfire, actively replenishing it.

Well, it was a magical garment.

Body-temperature regulation magic.

Auto-repair magic.

Lightweight magic.

Defensive magic.

Etcetera.

A high-tier magic armor packed with layered enchantments.

“Haaah…”

“Alright, clothes are settled.”

“Ready for the next step?”

“Next step?”

“Meeting our first ally.”

“Alr—Already?!”

Lia’s eyes widened in shock.

But the sooner the better for something like this.

So I headed straight there.

A small hut tucked away in a corner of the icy kingdom Gleysia.

The first member of the hero’s party,

a woman famous under the moniker Ice Princess.

Officially a tank,

but versatile enough to cover DPS roles too.

So overpowered she could be called the strongest among the hero party candidates.

She was here.

‘She should be home at this hour.’

Knock! Knock!

A light rap on the door.

Then—

Movement from inside.

“Who is it?”

“Cain.”

“I’m here with the hero.”

“The hero?”

Creeeak—

Slowly, our Ice Princess opened the door and looked us over.

‘Pretty.’

Long, pale blue-tinged white hair and piercing icy blue eyes.

A modest chest,

but a great figure overall.

Her vibe was frosty, bordering on haughty,

but once you got close, her often-cute side was part of her charm.

But.

Since initial interactions leaned toward hostility,

none of that cuteness was on display now.

“……”

Just a cold stare.

“No need to glare like that.”

“We came to recruit you as an ally.”

“Ally?”

“Yeah.”

“An ally.”

“I don’t travel with weaklings.”

“So prove your strength?”

Nod.

“Fine.”

“Let’s fight.”

The Ice Princess stepped out, wearing only a white uniform and wielding a single sword.

“Come at me.”

“You heard her, right?”

I glanced at Lia.

“Huhhh?”

“Just put her in Near-Death for me.”

“That’ll wrap things up.”

Our Ice Princess was the easiest hero party candidate to recruit.

Just beat her in a fight, and she’s in.

Simple as that.

At this stage, the hero was usually higher-leveled,

and while the hero was S-rank,

the Ice Princess was A-rank.

So the hero wins almost 100% of the time.

‘Plus, with Lia’s cheat-tier traits,’

‘this battle’s unwinnable for her.’

…Thinking that, I told Lia to fight—

“Not attacking?”

“Ugh… unh…”

But Lia nervously stepped back.

“M-Master…”

Her lips trembled as she looked at me.

‘Ah.’

‘Right.’

Our Lia was timid.

That icy glare from the Ice Princess might’ve spooked her.

But deep down, she’s a sweet kid.

No need to be so scar…

“Hyyywaaahhhhh!”

“Maaasteeeer!”

“I’m scaaared!”

Terrified, she clung to me.

“Uh…”

“Lia?…”

“Too scaaaryyyyy!”

“……”

Lia was now combat-ineffective.

‘Sigh…’

‘Nothing for it.’

I had expected Lia to flee in tears.

So—Plan B it is.

“Lia.”

“Stay back and watch.”

“Huh?…”

“I’ll fight in your place.”

The hero didn’t have to be the one fighting.

Recruiting her just required beating her—someone could do it.

So—

I’d step in.

‘Heh heh heh…’

‘Win here, and I’ve got bragging rights for life.’

The Ice Princess—

later known as the strongest in the hero’s party (excluding the hero herself).

But right now, she was still rough around the edges.

Her leveling was incomplete,

and her skills were unpolished.

Meanwhile,

I came prepared.

Had the bonus monster Kyurings under my belt,

boosted my level significantly by hunting orcs and goblins,

acquired the Gley Robe for ice and physical defense,

and even brought gear specifically to counter the Ice Princess.

That said,

there was still a gap.

She was A-rank.

I was D-rank.

Even scraping together every advantage, this would barely be winnable.

But

that much was enough.

No—

This was my only shot.

‘This is the one moment I can beat an A-rank.’

So—

I would win.

Victory meant I could taunt an A-rank elite with ‘Damn, you suck at fighting.’

‘How could I pass that up?!’

I was practically salivating.

‘Even losing wouldn’t be bad.’

There were backup recruitment methods if I failed.

No pressure.

…With that in mind, I drew my sword.

“Should I make the first move?”

Nod.

“Fine.”

“Lia! Watch from there!”

I grinned.

“I’ll show you something insane!”

I immediately took my stance.

“Water Sword, Third Form—Torrential Waterfall!”

A technique where I gather water around me into a shield before charging.

I become the current,

the crashing force of a raging waterfall.

Inspired by PokeMon’s Aqua Jet.

Torrential Waterfall.

“Here I gooo!”

The Ice Princess wordlessly unleashed frigid air.

Trying to freeze me solid?

‘Amateur.’

Crackle…

The water shield started icing over.

But.

That was it.

“?”

Only the surface froze—

the inside remained unaffected.

An application of fire magic.

Cold trying to freeze me?

Counter it with heat.

Obviously,

I couldn’t hold out long.

A-rank cold vs. D-rank heat—

no contest.

But.

A brief resistance was possible.

And.

That was all I needed.

“Water Sword, Third Form—Variation: Frozen Waterfall!”

Not just a tackle wrapped in water—

but one wrapped in ice!

Thanks for freezing it—

now it’s stronger!

CRASH!!!

I slammed into her like a frozen wrecking ball.

But.

No way she’d go down so easily.

Follow-up!

“Water Sword, Second Form—Downpour!”

The gathered water erupted like sword slashes, relentless assaults.

I swung, swung, and swung again,

an unending barrage—

WHOOSH!

Ice pillars suddenly burst forth, pushing my attacks back.

“……”

Now shielded by an icy barrier, the Ice Princess stared down at me loftily

as countless pillars of ice rained down.

BOOM! BOOM! KABOOM!

Insane.

Spamming dozens—no, hundreds—of 10-meter-thick ice pillars was beyond overkill.

‘It’s the early game!!’

‘Why’s she this strong already?!’

No wonder she was called the strongest among the hero party candidates.

She was brutal.

But.

I wasn’t just dodging mindlessly either.

“Combine!”

“?”

I fused the countless ice pillars she’d launched into one massive construct.

“Ice Sculpting Magic—Ice Gundam!”

The ice merged into a colossal robot.

“Heh.”

“This is why Lia and I grinded those ice model battles.”

Training to master robot creation,

and robot piloting.

Absolutely

not just playing around.

Every bit was desperate preparation for this fight.

Admittedly…

My conscience did sting a little…

But whatever.

(AI-generated illustration of the Ice Princess.)