episode_0015

Ice Robot.

A colossal robot assembled from the ice hurled by the Ice Princess.

The assembly itself wasn’t the issue.

‘The materials were already prepared over there.’

All I had to do was refine and combine the countless ice pillars she had launched.

I wasn’t making the ice from scratch—just assembling it.

The construction was easier than expected.

However.

There was one problem.

Piloting the damn thing was absurdly difficult.

‘Well…’

‘It makes sense it’d be tough.’

Moving an ultra-massive block of ice in real time?

Of course it’d be exhausting.

But.

Its performance was overwhelming.

Whoosh!

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!

A single swing of its fist could flatten an entire forest.

Whoosh!

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!

A single kick could shatter every ice wall the Ice Princess had erected.

‘Ngh…!’

‘This is why piloting a giant robot is worth it!’

And its defense? Perfect.

Zwoom!

Even the freezing blasts from the Ice Princess left it unscathed.

Not just the Ice Robot—

I inside it remained unharmed too.

‘Same principle as an igloo.’

An igloo.

A traditional Inuit structure made of ice and snow—

surprisingly warm inside.

Though.

“Warm” here being relative to 0°C.

When it’s –20°C to –40°C outside, sure, 0°C feels warm,

but objectively speaking, it’s still cold.

Still.

0°C is manageable.

‘Because I have the !’

A special magical armor that lets me endure most freezing temperatures just by wearing it.

This level of cold? No problem.

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

“You can’t stop me with freezing winds alone!”

“Tch.”

KWA-GWANG!

The Ice Princess dodged the robot’s punch and unleashed a barrage of ice.

Gigantic chunks of ice, one after another—direct hits could be deadly.

“ICE SHIELD!”

I blocked them with a thick, condensed ice shield.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

Nice.

Every single one deflected.

“……”

Expressionless, the Ice Princess focused her ice into a single spot.

Whoosh—!

She formed a massive ice boulder.

One the size of a 15-story apartment building.

‘Wow…’

‘She’s insane.’

Right now, the Ice Princess is around Level 3-5.

A complete beginner.

But.

Her raw mana reserves? Comparable to a high-ranking mage—absurdly immense.

‘Even now, she’s already at that level…’

‘Just how strong will she be at max level…?’

In the game, she could freeze entire mountains,

shatter the Demon King’s castle with meteors of ice.

But you know what’s scarier?

The Ice Princess is a Sword Master.

Not just a grand mage—

a Sword Master who primarily wields a blade.

‘Guess you need that kind of power to be called an A-rank powerhouse…’

The strongest among humans, barring the Hero.

Meanwhile?

I’m just a D-rank adventurer—barely stronger than an average person.

‘The Bracelet of Mana.’

‘Only thanks to this am I even holding on.’’

An item granting +500 MP.

Considering my MP is normally 100-200,

that’s a 3-5x boost right there.

Without this, controlling a giant robot would be outright impossible.

So.

Fighting this far is already a win.

For a D-rank, this is more than enough.

But.

I’m not stopping here.

‘I came to WIN!’

Her current attacks were expected.

I’ve seen this character enough times in to be sick of it.

Not knowing would be stranger.

I knew everything before jumping in.

Meaning.

There must be a way to win.

Ting!

I pulled out a potion from my bag.

[Mana Amplification Potion]

“Huh?”

“Stats lacking?”

“Then just chug buff potions!”

Gulp gulp

MP +100

“Ngh…!”

“Another one down!”

[Ice Magic Enhancement Potion]

Gulp gulp

Ice Magic Attack +50

[Brain Enhancement Potion]

Gulp gulp

Intelligence +30

[Magic Enhancement Potion]

Gulp gulp

Magic Attack +30

.

.

.

I kept drinking.

Chugged every buff potion that boosted magic ability.

‘For other characters, %-based stat boosts are better.’

‘But for weaklings like me, flat bonuses reign supreme.’

20% increase?

Pointless when my base stats are garbage.

Too expensive anyway.

But.

+30 potions are cheap—perfect for someone like me.

‘Especially in the early game, these are the best.’

So I drank them all.

And got stronger.

“KEHAHA!”

“Power’s overflowing!”

Controlled the Ice Robot.

SHWOOM!!!

The Ice Princess hurled an ice boulder the size of a 15-floor apartment.

KWA-JIK!

The robot’s fist punched straight through its core.

Then.

Manipulated its interior.

‘Can do this.’

‘Now—I CAN!’

The Ice Princess isn’t a mage.

Just overflowing with mana—

her control over it is amateur-level.

Later, she’ll reach mage-tier control,

but not now.

All she can do is hurl massive blobs of mana—laughably crude.

So.

This is possible.

‘Steal her control!’

Sever her mana connection.

Strip her hold over the ice pillars.

Then.

I take command.

“HRAAAH!”

Snap!

Felt her mana cut off.

But.

The kinetic energy of the massive boulder remained.

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!

The robot strained to hold it back.

Won’t last long.

So.

Whittle it down.

‘Explode it from within—reduce its weight!’

Jjeok!

Jjeo-jjeo-jjeok!

The ice pillars fractured, scattering in all directions.

Now lighter,

the Ice Robot could barely block it.

But.

Blocking alone is amateur play.

True mastery? Turning the enemy’s attack against them!

“TRANSFORM!”

KWA-JIK!

Morphed the ice shards embedded in the robot’s arm.

“MODE CHANGE!”

“BLASTER MODE!”

Chiiiik!

The ice fragments reshaped into a giant beam cannon.

“LOAD!”

Clank!

Loaded ice ammunition,

packed with explosives.

“AIM!”

Locked onto the Ice Princess.

“FIRE!”

PANG!!!

A deafening blast—ice shell launched.

Tiny compared to her apartment-sized ice pillars,

but still a 1m+ mega-round.

And obscenely fast.

“HAHAHAHA!”

“This ends it!”

A hit would be fatal.

But.

Didn’t work on her.

Swoosh!

“I’ll get serious now.”

She bisected the shell with her sword—

then charged.

But.

I won’t just take it.

“Mana Potion—BOTTOMS UP!”

MP was drained.

Refilled it with a potion.

Then.

Reloaded.

“FIRE!”

PANG!!!

Another ice shell—

Swoosh!

Effortlessly sliced mid-air as she closed in.

“Tch.”

“Ice shells won’t cut it.”

KWA-JIK!

Morphed the ice structure from cannon to giant drill.

“FINAL MOVE!”

“POWER DRILL BREAKER!”

Spun the drill and charged.

Now—

how will she block THIS?!

…Or so I thought.

Swoosh!

“?”

The rapidly spinning drill split like butter.

The robot’s right arm got shredded too.

“It’s over.”

Her sword reached the robot’s core—

“Heh.”

“Know what a robot’s signature last resort is?”

Escaped at the last second—tossed in a single spark.

“Self-destruct.”

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The explosives planted inside detonated—total annihilation.

“Ghk…!”

For the first time, the Ice Princess’s expression twisted.

Her ice barrier blocked most—

but not all.

Can’t blame her.

These bombs were strong enough to melt mid-game bosses.

‘And she only took injuries? Just what kind of monster IS she…?’

No matter.

This isn’t over.

“Flame Sword, Form 1 – Blazing Flash (火炎一閃).”

Gathered every ounce of heat from the explosion—forged a blade of fire.

‘This is the pinnacle of magic.’

Use nature.

Use the environment.

Don’t rely solely on mana—

shape the world itself.

One mage’s flame has limits—

but there are none when the world fuels it.

That is magic’s true apex.

…Or so the Grand Magus once realized.

With that in mind—another dose!

Whoooosh!

Flame potions, oil flasks, firewood—

anything flammable got tossed in.

For a greater inferno.

A wilder blaze.

The ultimate flame to melt the Ice Princess’s defenses.

Poured everything into it.

Embedded everything into the sword.

Then.

Slashed at blinding speed.

‘I stake EVERYTHING on this strike!’

Cut through the smoke—perfectly aimed for her back.

“!!!!!!”

Panicked, the Ice Princess reinforced her ice barrier.

Repaired what the explosion shattered—

condensed it even further.

But.

No barrier could stop a flame carrying my EVERYTHING.

Chiiiik!

Ice melted upon contact.

“THIS ENDS IT!”

Ting!!!

My sword struck her abdomen—metallic ring as it halted.

Reinforced her body with mana?

Fine.

Then PIERCE THROUGH IT!

Pre-loaded bombs on the flaming blade detonated.

“Flame Sword, Form 1 Variant – Exploding Flash (爆炎一閃).”

BOOOOOOM!!!

Point-blank explosion.

“HAHAHAHA!”

No way even you can block this!

What?

“Won’t this kill me too?”

[Crystal of Defense]

Single-use.

Blocks exactly one attack—for 10 seconds after activation.

Finicky, but foolproof.

An explosion of this scale—

“Ghk—!”

…still hurt like hell.

Got sent flying—rolled across the ground endlessly.

Every cell in my body SCREAMED in pain.

But.

Could’ve been worse.

If I took this much despite the crystal,

the Ice Princess must be down.

…That hopeful thought drove my gaze toward her.

Fully drugged on items, but—

a battle’s a battle.

A mere D-rank beating an A-rank?

A lifetime bragging right.

…Or so I thought.

“Haah…”

“You’re stronger than I thought.”

The Ice Princess stood—unbroken.

Badly injured,

bleeding heavily.

But.

Not defeated.

“I’ll repay you properly.”

She gripped her sword straight—gathered freezing aura.

Ah.

That move.

A blade technique channeling cold and mana—

one of her signature skills.

Freezes everything,

shatters everything,

scatters the world like snow—

a merciless slash.

“Snowbloom Slash (雪化斬).”

(P.S. I named it.

Our Ice Princess doesn’t bother naming her moves.

In , it was just “Frost-imbued Slash”—

but “Snowbloom Slash” sounds cooler, right?)

Wait—

‘THAT THING WILL KILL ME FOR REAL!!’

So I ran.

“Won’t help.”

“My vision spans the entire battlefield.”

I know.

Ultra-long-range.

Nowhere to dodge.

I know.

So I fled toward Ria.

“Master?”

“FINAL MOVE!”

“RIA SHIELD!”

“MASTER?!”

The Ice Princess unleashed her slash—

I hid behind Ria.

Ting!

Well.

Obvious outcome.

No matter how strong Snowbloom Slash is—

it can’t breach .

“Eh? Wha—?”

The Ice Princess froze mid-action—

watching Ria tank the slash unharmed.

Seizing the moment, I yelled:

“I SURRENDER!”

“I admit defeat!”

And then—

ran for my life.