19 Ice

The day burnt like fire. Scorching in its unquenchable thirst and brightness, clear as sunlight. Daniel simply meditated as time passed by. He wasn't hungry. He wasn't tired. Nor was he anxious.

Well, that was a lie. He was anxious. His heart skipped beats and palpitated. He was jittering and he found himself pacing. He glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed. 7 pm. Still early. Probably students were busy eating or chatting. He wasn't interested.

He was used to not eating dinner. He smiled, recalling. The images floated in his spiritual world. He wasn't a fan of the ground floor meals. And Daniel probably wouldn't start now. He could probably cook better meals if he had the correct ingredients. Such thoughts were unbefitting of Daniel, the student.

He changed into his tracksuit. He felt alive. "I'm too restless. Probably isn't a good thing, but to hell with logic. For now, that is." He smiled noticing the tantalizing enthusiasm. "We can spar if you like. Get rid of the extra energy." Daniel froze. Soon afterward he sat on the ground.

"Might as well," Daniel murmured. "Sure brother Ice, let's have a go." The excitement began to build. His consciousness floated to a suitable field created by the spiritual world. Green grass sprouted, red soil spread and the blue sky covered the expanse. There was no sun, no moon, or any other heavenly body. Yet light existed.

Such were the miracles of having a solid spiritual sea. Creating something out of something else. The energy emitted by the spiritual sea simply changed form to shape this structure. Daniel also felt it. The fear was smothering just like the excitement that steamed him like cassava.

The illusionary figure of a man, young and vigorous, handsome like the devil himself, and the demeanor of a king, formed. Daniel's figure formed. Ordinary, youthful, and tense. His muscles were taut, pulled like the hamstring. Ice rampantly coated the ground. It encroached on the grass, forever sealing them and never to see the light of day.

Throwing an ice blade at Ice, he dashed. Effortlessly catching it between his fingers, he sent it back. He used the dagger, he had on hand to deflect it. Ice spikes shot towards him. Using his speed, he dodged them albeit with some difficulty. With a snap of Daniel's fingers, a dozen blades shot towards Ice. Mimicking him, the blades clashed.

"Not bad, Danny." The man smiled.

"Do you have to tease me so, brother Ice?" Daniel's lips twitched. The blades splintered into pieces, scattering and crumbling to dust. 1 meter between the two. Daniel created a short sword, several daggers floating beside him. Ice grasped the air, a short sword seamlessly formed.

"How about this!" Daniel swung his short sword, clashing. No damage. Sending a couple of daggers like rain, he danced around creating a short sword when it broke. Ice remained the same, unhurried. Ice lengthened the short sword into a long blade. It cut across Daniel's cheek. First blood. The blood splattered on the ground.

Swinging the blade, he took the advantage. Daniel retreated as he saw he couldn't reach Ice. A spear formed. Daniel shoved it like a pitchfork. It shattered. The ice fragments coagulated sharply arcing. They cut Ice's wrist. Ice's smile deepened.

Daniel knew he didn't do much. He had to be more efficient. Their blades struck, ringing lowly. They were back to their stalemate. "Is this all you have? Is this what you spent 2 years to acquire? Still pitiful." Ice displayed a disappointed look.

Ice made a grabbing motion. A slender and reinforced spear formed. Like a

wheel, his spear arched crushing Daniel's blades. The spear's tip gleamed. It struck home, hitting Daniel's shoulder in a vertical sweep. His bicep revealed itself, a mass of muscle and blood vessels. It bled like a choking river. Retreating, he moved as a layer of ice covered the wound. It stopped the blood and he lost feeling of the area. He felt numb coldness climb into him.

Looking up, he saw the spear loom over him. It swept downwards, he dodged it. The spear spun, It's rear hitting him on the core. Stumbling backward, he stabilized himself. He felt the adrenaline kick in. *Thump. Thump.*. He nudged his feet, grimacing when he found them encased in ice. Numerous spears formed from magic circles, they struck down as Ice moved out of the way.

Coming to a halt, Ice glance at the misty area. The spears had evaporated. Daniel's blood spilled, cuts covered his body. It was not enough to keep him down. Killing intent slowly leaked, his wound encased in a layer of frost, and ice quickly accumulated. Ice field. His mana expenditure reduced drastically.

Ice kept his poker face, his forehead flashed. "Don't forget I also use ice. This place is quite nice, excluding the intent behind it." Ice spikes exploded from the ice field. He deftly dodged them, using his speed and judgment. His spear gained more detail as he focused more energy on it. A sapphire jewel, hexagon etched itself as the dragon carving gained clarity.

The frost amassed. Faint images of the battle reflected on the ice. The weapons clashed, Daniel's sword clashed with the spear. The sword cracked and broke off. Ice thrust his spear forward. Daniel could feel the frost of the spear. It was chilling and frightening. He knew he had to dodge this or he would freeze to death. He glanced at his ice footing. Remembering a sport, he looked nervous

.

The spear hit nothing but air. Turning a whole 180°, he found Daniel had taken off. No that was not correct. He was... skating? Looking at the shoes and Daniel's face, happiness oozing. He was plenty surprised. The shoes were designed for ice skating. Using the speed gained from this, a compass of attacks bombarded Ice. Fluidly, his spear broke up the storm.

They were separated by 5 meters. Ice entered a thrusting pose. The spear shot forward. Swiftly Daniel dodged. Daniel closed the distance. A blade made of ice swung from his right. It bayed for his blood. Frost coagulated beside Ice and sent sparks to fly as the shield and blade clashed. The blade halted, the shield hummed lowly as it spread the impact.

"You've gotten stronger." Ice chuckled. "But still a bit naive. Did you forget? I never miss."

Trepidation. Calm down. He's probably riling me up. Daniel didn't believe it. He was making excuses. Alarm bells rang. He felt something was not right. Not right. The blade and shield broke at the same time. Ice spikes sprung from the ground. They come from opposite sides and converged. They broke to pieces. Rushing towards each other, two blades swept the wind and aimed at different body parts. Daniel's at the neck. Ice's at the heart.

Ice's leg shot out at the same time. Daniel's foot bucked under him. He fell.  He stared at the ground. A shadowy figure shook. Daniel's head turned back. He saw the magnificent spear float dangerously, aiming at his eye; now that his head had turned. Ice smiled smugly. Daniel wanted to slap that face but reigned in his impulse.

"I know you never miss. Don't forget you trained me, didn't you?" Daniel smiled, cunningly. Ice's smile faded. Spreading his senses, he sighed ruefully. White particles floated. Splintered ice it was, fragmented and sharp. And they were lethal. Only after sensing the accumulated ice within did he; helplessly raise his hands like Daniel. He was surrounded. Simultaneously they sidestepped, dropping their masks of weakness. The atmosphere was somber.

Daniel dodged sideways. A lick of blood splattered. Feeling the sting from his injuries, his smile faded. His cheek throbbed and stung simultaneously and ice quickly coated it. The cut already began to scab. It was fast. In two minutes and it will stop bleeding. He trusted his instincts. Another blade shot towards him.

A similar blade clashed and shattered it. Ice's spear shot towards him. He leaned his body sideways avoiding a direct impale. The spear pressed on after an invisible target. Now! He dashed forward. The distance was instantly covered. Daniel's eyes glowed. He punched and kicked. The air appeared to dislike this and a coat of it slowed him. Ice clutched Daniel's fist and countered the kick. Ice's foot shot forward, intercepting.

"Come then! Let me see more." Ice spoke. Daniel could see the visceral eye gazing at him. Like prey.

Daniel's body twisted. Shifting his balance, his other foot performed a roundhouse kick. Impassively, Daniel felt his foot become numb. It had frozen. As it harmlessly darted to the ground. Letting go of Daniel's fist, his balance collapsed. He fell. His palm touched the ice field. Sharp spikes formed from the bone-chilling ice. They surrounded Ice like the Reaper's scythe.

"Frigid Ring Deadlock, pierce!" Daniel's voice, solemn. The spikes formed a ring of nine-pointed spikes, sharpened to the brim. They bit on their target. It was too timely. Ice was off guard. Blood splattered on the frozen grass, dyeing it scarlet. Looking carefully it didn't bite deeply. A ripple of mirror-blue scales rippled on Ice's skin. It was blocked.

[Skill: Frigid Ring Deadlock has been acknowledged by Thesis. Tier of skill detected. Tier 5 peak potential. Successful degradation, complete.]

[Congratulations from Thesis. Hidden mission completed. Create a skill acknowledged by the system; successful completion accessed. Ice Order skill tree created. Assimilating... Complete!]

[Good luck host.] Thesis generated a thumbs-up emoji. The female voice seemed animated. Daniel was ecstatic. The excitement built. Smother it. Calm. Take a deep breath.

Ice's excitement fled. "Not bad, you've still got room for improvement as I can see the skill is incomplete. But you've impressed me." Daniel laughed. It was the most praise he would probably get. He was very stingy with praises but the sweeter they were when they occur. Plus to get Ice in the mood to spar was a mountainous task. Today was simply a miracle.

"Thanks for the lesson, brother Ice. I hope to continue this-"

"Make sure you tentatively train hard, successor. I am about to go to sleep."

"Why do you need to sleep?"

"Do you think everybody doesn't sleep like you? I'm supposed to be on some frozen beach watching the pearly ocean shimmering flowing. But no! Instead I'm here with a problematic successor asking me why I'm taking a nap."

"First from sleep and then to nap. I hope you have ranted enough, Brother Ice. You know keeping all the stress inside is not healthy. So you gotta... you know to vent it." He smiled cheekily.

"How did I get even dragged into this topic." It wasn't a question. He smiled and waved his hand. "Now listen. As I have said I'm going for a nap in which I will, I repeat and put a capital, *NOT* be able to see or hear you when I sleep. Also, I won't be able to help, so don't end up making an impossible enemy which you currently can't defeat. Work hard and after my sleep, if I find you haven't done anything constructive, I will make you wish you were in hell." Ice's smile deepened maliciously.

Daniel shivered. Ice's projection broke like glass. Disintegrating quickly along with the world, he sighed wearily. "I still haven't recovered my spiritual core's capabilities neither have I merged with Daniel yet. Let's see whether Daniel can survive my power." Unstable in his gait, his spiritual core, which was spherical, burst into light. He steadied himself. "About a month should be enough, it is. Minimum 20 days." Frost quickly covered the dragon's stature. Forming a sapphire chrysalis, Ice's eyes shut.

Daniel's consciousness floated to his spine and spread out from his brain. His eyes opened. He looked less agitated. He felt it. He felt relaxed but a little tense. Peering at his alarm clock; 7:41 pm.

[Connection between the Ice Dragon King and Daniel Wright weakened.]

[Evaluating... Skill unlocked Spirit Limiter. Data confirmed, translating.]

[Skill: Spirit Limiter (New)

Since the connection between the two beings has been weakened. Skill has been gifted by the system.

All attributes can be decreased by a certain percentage. Must be comprehended fully to be used.

Completion rate - 0%

Type: Activatable (Locked)

Cooldown: None.]

Well, that was unexpected. Is Thesis being fair for once? He didn't think so. And she did do what he expected. The restrictions were not impossible. Plus he got an idea of what to do about it. He smiled. It might not be useful currently but one day he may need the skill. He adjusted his clothing. He dashed off and at maximum speed. The wind hit his face, a little cold but comforting and relaxing.

The gibbous moon settled in the soy radiating dull light. The earth had become rugged and rocky. The soil texture became finer. Dust lifted as he ran past. He glanced at the system interface. 7:57 pm. Time was flying and he was getting late. He saw the field's outline seamlessly blending in the moonlight. In a minute he had arrived and slowed to a trot. His body had accumulated sweat which had cooled him.

He surveyed his surroundings. The ankle height grass, bald patches of soil, and 2 shadows standing erect like poles. His eyes colored. He saw the shadows better. A feminine figure and a male figure. A simple guess was sufficient to unmask the identities. After all the feminine figure lacked the essential growth in puberty or very little was noticeable. The male figure was too lean, with no broad chest and no ass. If anyone was watching and read his mind, he wouldn't care to repent on his thoughts, besides it was the logical response his mind could produce. That would mean the grid was narrowed to 1st and 2nd class.

"So everyone is here." Daniel shivered. He heard her voice. It was sunny with rainbows dancing. But he sensed the undertones, running deep and it wasn't what he liked.

The two trembled like leaves in a whirling storm. Charles cursed. "We're probably going to go back black and blue." He feared the woman. Even though culture dictated woman was to support man. He saw the spirit... spunk in her like a troublesome tomboy.

Helen's confident stance broke. "True. And your friend has come to join us in this hell. At least we aren't alone." They saw Daniel's figure reflect in the moonlight. "Let us be pitied."

"First lesson, come at me." Edna's eyes colored, a faint red. "I'm not going to -" A chilled dagger proceeded to insert itself into her skull. He's fast! She flicked her index finger. The dagger helplessly bounced off course as the air quivered. A wave of heat came over her.

She felt excited. Fire descended on her in the shape of a whip as Helen slid backward. Sidestepping, she felt the gust of wind. It wasn't accurate. One answer, Helen and Charles couldn't see well in the dark. Her gaze shifted. She decided to go for Daniel. He could see, they couldn't,

simple.

He saw her intention, clear as day. His eyes narrowed. Ice creation: Dagger storm. Several daggers flowed like water bombarding Edna in a flurry. A whip of flames descended. She dodged. She broke up the storm using her blade. Cold, sharp, and lethal. It was a true weapon filled with its intent. They were only blades of ice, a blade-like that they wouldn't last an exchange.

He took in a breath of the tense air. Charles knew he was currently useless. He could only use his ears to pinpoint her location. The cracking of branches, the thudding of feet contacting the ground, the clashing of Daniel's daggers, and the trembling of grass nearby. His hearing was very good. Once he saw the blade in her hand, he trembled. The Evernight Stagnance!

He heard of the blade. It was ranked among the top 15 blades in the Sakai Blade Ranking. It was a legendary blade forged from the essence of air. He was unclear as to why the blade would appear here. He wouldn't get his answers here, standing dumbly. Move, face the blade and find its authenticity by himself.