Dungeon of Niflheim

All the students and teachers who had been previously warmed up by Mrs Fennec were completely stunned by the appearance of Frost. He was so devastatingly handsome and young that that in itself was a bombshell but to hear that he was also a B-rank fighter….impossible.

Tulip was affected by Frost's arrival more than most. She instantly stood ramrod straight the moment she saw his face and her heart started racing. A clear blush donned her cheeks, and a cat had caught her tongue as she tried to articulate a response. However someone beat her to the punch.

"Uncle Frost!" "Big brother!" Both Jasmine and Ren called out at the top of their lungs.

"Oi I'm not old enough to be called uncle, Jasmine, learn from Ren!" Frost instantly took offence to being called uncle, he wasn't even a year old yet and looked so dashing, how could he ever be referred to as uncle. Of course Jasmine failed to understand the age implications or just didn't care.

"But you're mommy and daddy's friend and dating big sis Daki ergo uncle just like uncle Druakai." She argued back.

"Why is Daki big sis then."

"Ehhh Big sis Daki is big sis Daki because she's big sis Daki duh!" Jasmine retorted back, completely confused by the question.

"...."Frost's face twitched in frustration; his argument fell completely on deaf ears.

"Just call me big brother Frost ok."

"Fine if you say so." Frost had a strong urge to rub his knuckles on either side of her head upon hearing her lacklustre acceptance.

"Wait a minute if you're the lecturer then that means you've reached B-rank!" Jasmine suddenly remembered the Mrs Fennec's words.

"Big brother's awesome!" Ren uttered with pure fascination in his eyes while a couple of his nearby friends tried to find out more about his relationship with Frost.

"Haaaaaa yes that's why I'm here." Frost sighed in an exasperated manner. His grandiose reveal had been completely torn apart by this point.

"No way! Why didn't you tell me? And when did you get back? Are you here to marry big sis Daki?" Jasmine loudly complained.

"JASMINE WILL YOU BE QUIET FOR A MINUTE AND LET FROST TALK!" Her repeated interruptions and insulting questions finally broke her big sister's patience. Completely out of character the quiet flower that was Tulip roared at her to shut up and let Frost start his lecture. Her sudden outburst put the fear of God into Jasmine, Tulip hardly ever got angry but when she did oh boy.

"Sorry big brother please continue." After roaring at Jasmine she swiftly turned back into her approachable self and smiled endearingly towards Frost.

"Uhhh Ok thanks Tulip." Tulip's smile grew brighter as he said her name. Finally he could start his lecture.

"Alright, other than me being friends with the Tarnells I'm a recently promoted B-rank fighter who's here to give you kids a lecture by request of Mayor Yarrow and your headteacher Mrs Fennec here ." With Frost personally declaring his rank another collection of murmurs broke out between the students.

A teacher who seemed especially blown away by the news couldn't help but ask. "Are you really B-rank?" The man who asked was at the C-rank and the school's self-defence instructor. He was a former military man who was injured during his service.

After being medically discharged he took up the job of teaching the kids of Kranor elementary the basics of self-defence and created a firm foundation for those who wished to pursue a military career. Jasmine was quite fond of his classes.

Frost wasn't insulted by the man questioning his strength, his accomplishments were quite rare after all. He turned his gaze towards the middle-aged teacher and gently smiled, sensing no malice hidden within his words. The next moment his royal aura started to escape the confines of his body.

A heavy presence filled the amphitheatre making the children feel a slight chill down their backs while those who could truly sense aura like the middle-aged teacher found themselves struggling to breath. It was as if a giant was looking down upon them, ordering them to kneel in his presence. That pressure disappeared a second later, Frost didn't want to harm anyone, just provide proof of his rank.

The middle-aged teacher who questioned him was sweating and his heart was thumping wildly. 'Aura that was true aura, he really is at the B-rank.'

"I apologise for my impertinence and thank you for showing such leniency." He bowed with genuine respect to a man that was much younger than him. Frost accepted his apology with a friendly nod, bringing an end to the matter.

The teacher's actions caused another murmur to breakout among the students and faculty. They had never seen him so submissive before. Eventually every student and teacher focused their gazes back on Frost and realised that he was the real thing, a veritable prodigy here in Kranor, one who was about to talk about his experiences. The experiences of a B-rank fighter, how amazing could they be.

"Now that I've proven myself let me tell you a little about my skills." Frost waved his hand causing his prized glaive to appear from the storage ring on his finger. "I'm a master of the glaive, an uncommon pole weapon that combines the traits of a spear and a blade." He twirled the weapon around before demonstrating some of the glaive's basic moves.

"My current level of mastery is at the advanced stage which played a crucial part in my ascension to B-rank. Though there are many ways to reach B-rank, going the weapon route is fairly common." He finished his routine by displaying the glaive skill [wyvern's maw], which really excited the crowd.

"However just because I use the glaive doesn't mean that's my only trick…. [Summon ice golem]." With a shortened aria a magic crest appeared on the floor of the stage and summoned a nearly 2 metre tall ice golem.

"Though it currently falls behind my weapon mastery my magical capabilities are nothing to sneeze at either." He made the ice golem perform a few moves and even an impromptu dance making the younger kids laugh. "Unfortunately I can only use the ice element, severely limiting what spells I can use, however…..

[freezing fireball]" Again with a shortened chant a new magic crest appeared before his right hand. This time a 1 metre diameter ball of freezing fire was constructed.

"Within the ice element there's a special branch referred to as cold fire magic, a very rare derivative element that combines ice with the properties of its arch nemesis, fire." Frost then launched the [freezing fireball] at the ice golem resulting in a colourful explosion. The stalwart golem was blown apart by the spell, leaving only a complete pair of legs and a heavily deformed upper torso.

"Cold fire magic greatly expands the capabilities of the ice element, thus allowing the user to deal high amounts of damage to entities that would usually prove impervious to regular ice magic." The devastation to the ice golem was more than enough proof of his claim. Regular ice magic would at best deal half damage or at worst even heal such a foe.

Many students and even teachers were amazed by such a revelation, their minds opening up to a world of possibilities. Within the glacial mountains those with the affinity for ice magic were rather plentiful but also rather useless given that most of the monsters in the area held strong resistances to ice magic.

Frost's display of cold fire magic changed many of their dismissive thoughts towards the element.

Frost smiled as he saw their minds churn out ideas. The ice element was not something to be dismissed or relegated to the level of a minor branch. He was the epitome of the ice element and pledged to unearth its endless possibilities. Cold fire was just the beginning.

Of course he had no plans to mislead these young minds.

"The capabilities of cold fire magic are quite extensive; I've only brushed against them recently however just because it exists doesn't mean you can use it. It's a rare form for a very good reason. You must have the affinity for it otherwise the branch will forever be closed to you." His dousing statement dampened some of their excitement but only slightly.

It was clear that many of them who had the affinity of ice magic desired to test themselves, hoping to be of the rare few capable of using cold fire.

Frost displayed a few other spells of the ice element to showcase the awesomeness of the original branch. He also expounded upon the diversity of Nova as a whole. Just because ice magic was less than optimal within the glacial mountains didn't mean it'd be the same in other territories. He stoked their adventurous spirit, encouraging them to see the world when they reached adulthood.

Even if it wasn't as adventurers just by expanding one's view they could advance in all manner of professions. Merchants would learn of new materials and practises imposed by other nations. Doctors and healers could learn new techniques and come across wonderous medicines that were unattainable in the glacial mountains.

The same could be said for blacksmiths, artificers and other tradecraft professions. Experiencing what the world of Nova had to offer was not only enlightening but meaningful in regards to life, at least that's how Frost viewed it. His father the Dark God wanted his children to explore and enjoy his creations.

His words touched the hearts of every student even those who initially had no interest in ever leaving Kranor felt the desire to learn about the outside world.

Of course such strong views could be construed as detrimental to the interests of the enclave, but it was in fact a topic Mrs Fennec and Yarrow heavily endorsed. They wanted Frost to enlighten and promote travel outside of the enclave as doing so would enrich their citizens' capabilities.

It was their job to make sure their roots remained strong, that they'd choose return and bless the enclave with these newfound skills, allowing their little state to grow and improve.

Isolation leads to decline.