episode_0017

Lia gazed at the Ice Princess while recalling the contents of the guidebook.

Alias: Ice Princess

Real Name: You’ll hear it if you get close enough. (It’s a pretty big deal for the Ice Princess to reveal her real name, so you should hear it directly from her.)

Age: 20 (Lia, she’s the same age as you and has a high chance of becoming your closest friend.)

Role: Shield (Versatile)

Primarily, she serves as the shield responsible for the party’s defense.

– She has a tough body, – High stamina, – Exceptionally strong defensive skills, – And even a self-recovery ability that converts magic into life force, making her nearly unkillable—an invincible shield.

She also excels in offense.

– Her physical strength is outstanding, – Her swordsmanship is highly skilled, – And her sword, wreathed in sharp, hardened sword energy, is powerful enough to cut through almost anything.

On top of that, her Ice Blade, which instantly freezes everything it cuts, is extremely effective.

– Not only does it deal massive damage, – But freezing wounds also prevents regeneration, making even high-recovery demons easy prey.

Her magical prowess is formidable as well.

– Thanks to her vast reserves of magic, the sheer destructive power of her large-scale spells rivals that of an Archmage. – However, her actual magical skill is somewhat lacking. – She simply hurls massive chunks of ice without finesse—its strength, density, and speed are all subpar, making it ineffective against highly defensive opponents.

Her mobility is also superb.

– Her base movement speed is fast, – And with her technique allowing her to glide across ice at high speeds, she’s insanely quick.

If combat ability alone was considered, she’d be the strongest among the Hero Party candidates.

BUT.

She has several critical flaws.

Flaw #1: She frequently loses control due to her excessive magic.

– If she goes berserk while sleeping, there’s a chance she’ll freeze everything to death. – Even in battle, she sometimes loses control and freezes her party members. – She’s basically a walking time bomb.

Flaw #2: Her combat ability increases as her magic depletes.

– In other words, the more magic she has, the weaker she becomes. – At full magic (100%), she’s surprisingly mediocre. – The reason is that she expends too much effort suppressing her magic reserves rather than fighting seriously. – Because of this, she initially spams spells—she has to waste magic before she can truly fight. – While this is fine when fighting alone, in a team, allies often get caught in her attacks. – (Not intentionally, but her frantic efforts to burn magic rapidly ruin her control.)

There are a few other minor flaws, but these two make her the most unreliable candidate among the Hero Party.

She is the strongest, but…

– Having to waste several minutes spewing frost before fighting seriously makes early-game strategy difficult. – And the fact that she’s a ticking bomb.

HOWEVER.

All these flaws disappear completely if she possesses the Cursed Ring: .

– A cursed artifact that continuously devours the wearer’s magic, forcibly maintaining them at 50% mana. – Below 50%, it remains dormant; – Above 51%, it actively drains magic.

If the Ice Princess wears this:

– The berserk instability vanishes entirely. – No need to deliberately waste magic to fight seriously—she starts at full capacity.

Conclusion: With equipped, she becomes the undisputed strongest among the Hero Party candidates.

Additionally, her greatest wish is to “rid herself of excessive magic,” so gifting her the ring would fulfill her wish.

(It’s best to acquire the cursed ring via auction houses or underground dealers.)

—

After recalling all this, Lia concluded:

“Right now, the Ice Princess must be fairly strong.”

– She expended magic fighting the Sword Saint, – Then used more during recovery.

That was good.

“This is a chance to experience true swordsmanship.”

Although she had learned swordsmanship from the Sword Saint…

– It was only the basics.

“Even the Sword Saint admitted it.”

Having never properly learned swordsmanship himself, he couldn’t teach her beyond fundamentals.

– If she wanted more, she had to seek out another teacher or fight a skilled opponent.

So, this was her opportunity.

A chance to trade blades with someone the Sword Saint himself rated as a World-Class Sword Master.

“I heard becoming the strongest would take time, but…”

Even now, she was already a refined swordsman.

– Although she only recently gained the Hero Party’s power, – Even before that, she was a skilled swordswoman.

Surely, she could show high-level swordsmanship.

Thinking this, Lia raised her wooden sword and spoke:

“I’m gonna knock you down and make you my companion.”

“Bring it.”

She said it with confidence.

“—The Sword Saint always told me.”

“You’re the strongest Hero, capable of defeating the Demon King without breaking a sweat.”

At first, she hadn’t believed it.

But now?

She did.

That she was the strongest in this world.

That she was an invincible Hero—

– Who could kill any enemy, – Withstand any attack.

“Because the Sword Saint said so.”

“Because everything he said turned out true.”

Well… she couldn’t fully confirm it.

– She only restored her mother’s body, – Not her entire being. – She hadn’t verified whether her mother was truly the Goddess of Light, Serena.

Still…

She could trust the Sword Saint.

Even if she didn’t believe in herself,

She could believe in the “her” that he believed in.

If he called her the strongest Hero,

Then she could become the strongest Hero.

That was the source of her courage.

So—

Defeat was impossible.

If she couldn’t lose,

There was no reason to fear.

—

The Ice Princess felt light.

“My condition’s better with my magic drained.”

Her sword felt light too.

Swift, fluid slashes.

Yet—

The force behind them wasn’t light at all.

Despite wielding an ordinary sword,

The sword energy coiled around it was anything but ordinary.

Sword Energy (劍氣):

A formless energy condensed from magic or life force.

– Its durability rivals steel itself, – And merely wrapping it around a blade amplifies attack power and resilience.

When honed to razor sharpness, it can cut through anything.

– A branch can split boulders, – Bare hands can sunder the world.

Any object becomes a divine blade—

A state where one can cut down foes even without a sword.

The Ice Princess was at that level.

Not quite Sword Master tier,

But strong enough to defeat most knights effortlessly.

Which was why…

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

“How…?”

TING! TING! TING! TING! TING!

Lia perfectly blocked every rapid, fluid slash.

That much was understandable.

For a beginner who’d never properly learned swordsmanship to counter purely with reflexes and speed was impressive.

Her insane growth rate—absorbing sword techniques mid-combat—was shocking too.

But that part made sense.

– She was the Hero, after all. – The strongest existence chosen to slay the Demon King.

Superhuman physical ability and rapid growth were expected.

But this was beyond comprehension.

“A wooden sword… is blocking my blade?”

What Lia held was just a wooden sword.

– No sword energy, – No magic enhancement.

It was unbelievable.

“My sword-energy-wreathed blade… can’t cut a stick?”

This was absurd.

A normal blade alone could cut such a wooden sword easily.

Yet, one clad in sword energy failing to cut it?

Impossible.

“Unless…”

“Something’s wrong with my sword energy?”

SWISH!

She slashed lightly toward a massive tree behind her.

SWISH!

Just to confirm, she cut down another tree directly with her blade.

“Weird…”

“Other stuff cuts fine—why not the wooden sword?”

Was this the Hero’s power?

“Well…”

“She is the strongest existence, chosen by the Goddess of Light, Serena.”

“Having one or two strange abilities isn’t surprising.”

Maybe she could reinforce weapons without sword energy or magic.

But the moment this thought crossed her mind—

Her fighting spirit ignited.

“This is fun.”

Until now, she had been an undefeated swordswoman.

Seeking opponents who could withstand her frost,

She had traveled far and wide…

But most were disappointingly weak.

Praised as strong by others,

Yet beneath her standards.

She despised it.

This vast world—

And yet, nowhere could she find a warrior worthy of being her ally.

But today, she didn’t need despair.

She had found one.

Someone who could receive her blade.

Someone who could endure her frost—

And accept her as she was.

Today was a joyous day.

Lia, the Hero.

Someone who would become her companion—

Perhaps even her friend.

But…

She wouldn’t hold back.

“Because it’s the first time.”

“The first time I’ve found an opponent worthy of my full power.”

She had to go all out.

WHOOSH—!

The sword energy swirling around her blade birthed a blizzard.

Freezing all,

Shattering all—

The Ice Blade.

And now, she pushed beyond.

SHIIIING—!

The blizzard blossomed into snowy petals,

Each petal becoming a slash that could sever everything.

A single swing—

Unleashed ten thousand cutting blades.

Its name…

Hmm…

Blossoming Snow Sword?

“Blizzard Sword (雪花劍).”

“Snow… what?”

“Blizzard Sword (雪花劍).”

“A sword that blooms snowflakes in its wake—each petal a blade that shreds the enemy.” “—That’s what the Sword Saint taught me.”

“The Sword Saint?”

“That guy you fought earlier.”

Ah.

Him.

That man whose magic reserves had felt pitiful,

But who fought in an unorthodox style, manipulating her ice.

In the end, she’d won,

But she hadn’t landed a single hit.

She spent the whole fight getting pummeled—

And when she finally got serious, he fled before she could strike back.

“Haaah…”

“Now that I think about it, that’s annoying.”