Chapter 185. Proof of Valor (4)
‘What the hell is this place?’
Normally, she would have vented her frustration aloud with curses, but now she didn’t have the energy. She needed to conserve every bit of her strength, even that which would be spent on speaking.
That was how severe this place called Hoarfrost Gorge was for humans. Leniyar slightly turned her head to check on the state of the elf hunters behind her. It wasn’t out of camaraderie or concern for their safety.
‘Why should I care if those wretched immortals live or die?’
Elves, who had nothing to boast about besides their long lifespans, viewed humans as cattle they were protecting. Leniyar hated them with a passion.
The only reason she had to care about the elves’ safety was because their spirit magic was essential for surviving in this hellish place.
‘Tch. Weaklings. Only four left…’
Of the many elves who had entered Hoarfrost Gorge, only four remained after three days. It wasn’t as though they had been ordered to fight monsters.
They simply couldn’t maintain the spirit magic required to keep the area habitable, their mana running dry. Once they could no longer maintain the spirit magic, they were abandoned.
‘Controlling mana here is excruciating. Replenishing it is nearly impossible. Even maintaining spirit magic for a day makes them pant. This must be the influence of Hoarfrost Gorge’s environment.’
Leniyar herself was equally exhausted. Despite being one of the top-ranked warriors within the Empire, her human body couldn’t withstand this environment without the aid of spirit magic.
Without that assistance, she too would soon collapse and find her grave in Hoarfrost Gorge. She calculated the time she had left.
‘One elf can maintain spirit magic for about a day. Even considering their leader is a bit better, we need to find the target within two days.’
This calculation also included the time needed to escape Hoarfrost Gorge. Yet, at some point, her calculations went awry.
“……!”
Leniyar’s eyes widened in silent shock.
‘What is this…!’
A sudden overwhelming weight pressed down on her entire body, making even the simple act of walking feel like it was draining twice as much energy.
She hadn’t had a proper rest since entering the snowy mountains. Her injuries from the plunge into the sea hadn’t fully healed, and now another debilitating restriction was added.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed on.
‘Alright, bring it on…!’
This was the kind of situation that would make even the toughest individuals consider turning back. But Leniyar was not just any tough individual.
Like most sword masters, she reached her current level through extreme training. She had swung her sword without eating or drinking for a week, only stopping when her body forced her to faint.
She had practiced for an entire day with heavy iron balls tied to her limbs, in a posture that even a strong adult would struggle to maintain. This was simply another form of such rigorous training.
Just like those times when she pushed herself to the limit and achieved new breakthroughs. She was certain that enduring this ordeal would yield a sweet reward.
That night, she dreamt of subduing that barbarian, putting a leash on him, and walking him like a pet. When she woke up after less than three hours of sleep, she was naturally determined to make that dream a reality.
By that afternoon, one of the elves had exhausted all their spirit magic and collapsed, abandoned.
“…….”
“…….”
The remaining three elves glared at Leniyar with murderous looks in their eyes, which made her chuckle. It was amusing how their hatred had shifted.
Initially, they directed their subtle hostility at Leniyar, who forced them into this deathtrap and threatened them with death if they didn’t obey. Now, they also aimed their hostility at the unseen barbarian.
‘Noble race, my ass….’
While afraid of the immediate threat of Leniyar, they found it easier to blame the barbarian they hadn’t yet encountered. Their pride wouldn’t allow them to admit fear of a mortal, so they redirected their resentment towards the barbarian.
From Leniyar’s perspective, this was perfect. She quickened their pace to intensify their resentment and hatred toward the barbarian.
And then.
“Haha…! This is fucking ridiculous-!”
Another restricting force of Hoarfrost Gorge came into play, and this time Leniyar couldn’t hold back her curses.
‘My hands and feet are sluggish? No, it’s more than that.’
It felt as though the commands her brain sent were taking significantly longer to reach her body. Even Leniyar, with her peerless control and mastery over her own body, found this restriction bizarre and immediately unsettling.
Thud.
The elf, who had been maintaining spirit magic all day as today’s sacrificial lamb, suddenly tripped over her own feet and fell. The other elves didn’t even glance at their fallen comrade, much less help them up.
Instead, Leniyar moved to grab the elf by the back of their head and force them to stand. But when the elf didn’t rise as she expected, she applied more force, resulting in a strange tearing noise.
“Aww, shit.”
In that brief moment, the elf’s facial skin had stuck to the icy floor of Hoarfrost Gorge. When Leniyar tried to force it off, the skin that had touched the ice tore off completely. Leniyar pitied the fact that the elves’ only redeeming feature, their faces, had been severely damaged.
Slice.
With a swift motion, Leniyar decapitated the elf, ending their suffering.
“If you’re thinking of giving up here, then let’s just die together. Understand?”
Now, only two elves remained. Leniyar gazed at them with a cold, piercing stare, as if to say, “Don’t even think about betraying me.”
“…We will complete our family’s duty and die. Short-lived inferior species.”
The elf leader, a member of the Eiwass family and a skilled hunter, growled in a low, menacing tone.
“Even if there’s a way to survive… we will kill you and return to nature’s embrace.”
Her gaze, tone, and aura conveyed a deep resentment that went beyond simple threats. Leniyar chuckled, her smile twisted.
“That’s right, sweetie. Of course, it has to be that way.”
This brief conversation was their last exchange for a while.
‘Now, I’m getting a feel for this.’
At the point where another elf died, leaving only the elf leader and Leniyar, she had finally adapted to the unusual environment of Hoarfrost Gorge.
‘If I move like I usually do, my body will be ruined from the cold. And considering the dense air, even a simple sword strike will consume more energy, and my movements will be slower…’
In her mind, she imagined her battle with the barbarian and even revised her swordsmanship to suit the situation.
‘This should be good enough.’
In the end, she succeeded.
The ‘Swordsman’ who was barely thirty years old had modified the Volatus-style, created by the legendary swordsman Valken Leichtahp, to the extreme environment of Hoarfrost Gorge.
This was truly an unimaginable feat, a swordsmanship that had transcended human limits.
It was as though the gentle-natured Valken Leichtahp, renowned for his calm demeanor, had been forced to acknowledge Leniyar’s brutal and savage nature, which was the exact opposite of his own.
With a dissatisfied expression, Leniyar continued to think about her battle with the barbarian and move her feet steadily. And as the simulated battle continued…
The improvised swordsmanship, which was initially just a modification of the Volatus-style, became increasingly refined.
“This should be good enough.”
It took Leniyar a day to refine her improvised swordsmanship to her standards. And until then, the elf leader had not fallen. Instead, their condition had deteriorated further.
By this point, Leniyar began to feel anxious. If that pretty little elf were to die, leaving her alone in this horrendous Hoarfrost Gorge…
‘Haha… Damn it.’
Even Leniyar would be helpless.
She, who had always armed herself with a pride even greater than that of the elves, believing there was nothing in this world she couldn’t cut down, would have to kneel before this indifferent force of nature.
Her body would be left as mere fodder for lowly beasts. Her grand ambitions of surpassing her master would be reduced to dust alongside her carcass.
As these thoughts began to consume her, Leniyar felt a surge of something unfamiliar within her chest. Reflecting on this unfamiliar sensation, she let out a bitter laugh internally.
‘Fear… Is it?’
Yes.
It was fear.
The helplessness of being obliterated before the vastness of nature, the dread of death creeping closer and closer. These sensations, never before experienced, now swirled and clashed violently in her mind.
Perhaps, had she rotted away on that dreary mountain her entire life, she would never have known this emotion.
‘Fear, huh…’
She was arrogant.
But it was an arrogance born of knowing her own capabilities. A justified arrogance. And even in this state of fear, her talent shone through.
“Do you think simply swinging a sword will show you its end? Do you think that only talent determines a person’s limits? If so, could someone with far inferior talent than you have become a Sword Master?”
“For swordsmen like us, wielding and mastering the sword is ultimately a testament to the path we have walked.”
“If you continue like this, you will face a wall that you will never be able to surpass due to that very talent you possess.”
The words of her master, who had imprisoned her on Sword Mountain, came to mind on the day she had almost killed some noble rascal.
And the unfathomable talent, even in the midst of this consuming fear, used that very emotion as a catalyst to propel her to even greater heights.
‘Old man. It seems that the wall has disappeared now.’
Leniyar felt it. The intangible wall that had existed between her and her master had thinned, and the path to that wall had shortened.
Who could have imagined that in the process of chasing an entertaining barbarian, faced with the threat of death, she would achieve a new awakening?
Not even her master, Valken Leichtahp, nor she herself could have foreseen this.
‘I should be thankful to that damned barbarian.’
Leniyar decided to upgrade Khan’s status. From a pet to her personal slave. And as if the heavens were whispering encouragement into her ear, urging her to test this new insight immediately,
“I found them. Those bastards.”
The sanctuary of the Hoarfrost Gorge clan came into view.