Chapter 23
A white snowflake-shaped crystal.
So beautiful that anyone who saw it in person would spontaneously utter the word.
The Snow Blossom Ice Crystal had an appearance that could be described as expressing the near-perfect beauty of nature itself.
Even Kain, who had seen the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal for the first time in his previous life, had felt great interest in the fact that a crystal of extremely pure mana could coincidentally take on the beautiful form of a snowflake.
He had been curious about the principle by which the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal naturally took on such a form, but unfortunately, the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal was sold off immediately to pay off the clan's accumulated debts before he could study it.
'Back then, I was just a mere disciple with no power in the clan.'
Just in case, he had inquired about it later, but he only heard that it had been sold off across the continent.
Anyway, the clan's financial situation at the time was so dire that they would sell off something so precious right away.
'Even now, we're receiving support from the Bederman clan, but the truth is that our financial situation isn't good.'
If Kain returned to the clan with the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal, Blake Siers would probably make the same decision the clan had made back then.
'But there's no helping it.'
If selling the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal could alleviate the Siers clan's dire straits, then selling such a crystal a hundred times over wouldn't be regrettable.
'And if we can sell the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal for its true value, our financial situation will improve to the point where we won't have to rely on support anymore.'
He didn't know the situation of the Siers clan's territory outside the clan's castle, at the foot of the snowy mountains, but unless it was serious, the money from selling the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal might even allow them to sever ties with the Bederman clan.
'They probably won't just sit back and watch, though...'
In any case, it was certain that returning with this would solve the various problems currently facing the Siers clan.
"But before that, I should use this power a bit."
While directly absorbing the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal's power was dangerous, using the abundant flow of mana near the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal to build his foundation had almost zero risk.
'Of course, not everyone can achieve enlightenment just by training in front of the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal...'
If that were the case, he would have simply taken the entire Snow Blossom Ice Crystal, gathered all his disciples, sat them down, and had them train.
It was true that the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal possessed tremendous power, but the highly concentrated mana flowing in this space was the result of the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal interacting with the snowy mountains over hundreds of years, so to fully utilize it, one had to be in this place.
'Moreover, the truth is that fire-based mages have a hard time seeing significant effects.'
The Snow Blossom Ice Crystal inherently contained strong cold energy.
In other words, most of the contents making up a single mana mass were water mana.
Therefore, it was best for ice-based mages to use it for effective results.
However, Kain now planned to build the foundations for both fire and ice magic by utilizing the vast flow accumulated over a long period of time.
'Even though the composition ratio of fire mana is small, if I succeed in extracting it, I'll be able to obtain extremely pure mana.'
Kain sat cross-legged at a suitable distance from the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal.
Then, he closed his eyes and slowly assimilated the flow of high-purity mana created by the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal into himself.
'First, I'll accept and accumulate the water mana.'
If creating a circle was like completing a framework, then accumulating mana through this kind of training could be said to be like adding flesh to it.
It was true that even if the flesh was added haphazardly, one could use powerful magic just by advancing a circle, so most people didn't care whether it was fat or muscle, they just gained weight indiscriminately and then focused on creating a higher circle.
Of course, not all those who trained deliberately added flesh haphazardly, but to Kain, it looked no different.
'In fact, even just recalling my previous life's body now makes me want to immediately overhaul my circle and mana circuits.'
Everyone envied Sein Siers' circle and mana circuits, who was the strongest mage on the continent, but even he wasn't satisfied when he looked back after achieving everything.
Anyway, the important thing was that once they created the framework for the next circle in that way, they could no longer work on adding the flesh of the lower circles.
'That's why I'm meticulously accumulating pure mana like this before advancing to a higher circle.'
At least the water and fire mana he had accumulated so far was solid enough to satisfy even Kain.
If he continued like this, finding the key to reaching the 10th Circle, which Kain so desperately wanted, might not be impossible.
'The place where the clan's castle is currently located is also near the snowy mountains, so it's somewhat helpful for training usually... but as expected, the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal is on a different level.'
The more he directly felt it, the more Kain was continuously impressed by its astonishing purity.
'It's almost to the point where I don't need to refine it at all.'
After going through the very minimum processing required to accept it into his body, Kain began to accept the water mana.
Carefully, and meticulously.
He layered the incomparably pure mana very thinly, layer by layer, like a pastry cake.
The process went smoothly, and time continued to pass.
After about half a day of completely concentrating without moving at all, Kain succeeded in completing the 3rd Circle of ice magic built on a perfect foundation.
'Phew... good. Now I'll build the 3rd Circle of fire magic in the same way.'
Kain now began to separate and accumulate the small amount of fire mana contained within the pure mana flow.
Since the absolute amount was small, the speed of completion was inevitably slower.
'It took about half a day to complete the 3rd Circle of ice magic, so it will probably take a full day, maybe even a little longer, to complete the 3rd Circle of fire magic.'
It was not a short time, but it was enough to return within the time he had promised Edward, Fohn, and Bolio, who were waiting for him.
Kain continued to focus his mind.
If he was lucky, he might even be able to further solidify his foundation in the remaining time after completing the 3rd Circle.
But the moment he thought that.
Thump.
"......!"
A vibration strong enough to disrupt his high concentration was felt through the ground where he was sitting.
Kain temporarily stopped his training and opened his eyes.
The sound continued to grow closer.
'A rhythm similar to human footsteps.'
However, the heavy vibration was definitely not that of a human.
'That means.'
Kain stood up.
'Too bad.'
He would have been able to complete the 3rd Circle of fire magic with just a little more.
Thump. Thud.
Soon, the source of the sound revealed itself.
A size several times larger than a human.
A monster with pure white, tough skin and solid muscles, an Ice Troll.
"So it was you guys. The ones who sent the Snow Rabbits scattering in fear."
"Kuluk."
At Kain's words, the Ice Troll made a sound like snorting.
It could also be considered a kind of taunt.
It wasn't particularly intelligent, but it was a monster that would deliberately kill or play with its prey more cruelly.
The Ice Troll was currently regarding Kain as prey that wouldn't even take a single punch.
'It's understandable that it would think that way.'
In fact, the Ice Troll, known to be powerful even among the troll variants, was a monster that required at least a 4th Circle, and preferably a 5th Circle mage, to defeat with ease.
However, Kain casually wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead from training with his sleeve, then indifferently looked up at the Ice Troll, which was several times larger than him.
"I still have some things left to do. I'll finish this quickly."
"Gwoooar!"
Whether it understood Kain's words or just sensed his intent, the Ice Troll seemed angered by Kain's words and immediately charged at him.
'Fast.'
The troll's movements were agile, making it hard to believe they came from such a huge and seemingly clumsy body.
The Ice Troll charged forward, raising the large club in its hand as if to crush Kain in one blow.
"Ice Wall."
At Kain's incantation, a thick ice wall rose from the Ice Troll's feet and slammed into the troll's jaw.
"Gweck!"
The 3rd Circle spell Ice Wall was a spell where mana consumption and difficulty increased exponentially with the size of the area.
Raising an Ice Wall high and fast enough to strike the troll's jaw was by no means easy, but for Kain, who had built a perfect foundation, it was a simple matter if he had enough mana.
"Thwack!"
The troll, its pronunciation slurred as if it had bitten its tongue, became enraged and wildly swung its club at the ice wall.
Crash! Bang!
Even though it was just hitting an ice wall, the ground vibrated with a deafening roar.
'Impressive power.'
Even though it was an Ice Wall summoned by instantly and densely injecting a huge amount of mana, it was already cracking.
Bang! Crash! Craaaash!
Ice fragments flew in all directions, and soon the massive ice wall Kain had erected crumbled under the club's assault.
"Gwoooooaaaar!"
Summoning and maintaining an Ice Wall this sturdy must have consumed a considerable amount of mana.
The Ice Troll leaped over the remnants of the Ice Wall, raising its club to smash Kain's head in one go.
"Gwoo?"
But just before it swung down the club.
The Ice Troll had no choice but to stop its arm.
Because what was in front of the Ice Troll wasn't Kain, but a roughly human-shaped ice statue.
"Ice Spear."
The chilling incantation came from behind.
Thwack.
The Ice Spear, piercing its weak point at the back of its head, went straight through the Ice Troll's brain.
The Ice Troll's massive body tilted and fell with a thud.
"Hoo..."
Kain lowered his outstretched hand and took a breath.
He had finished it quickly as he had declared, but the amount of mana consumed was enormous.
He had held back an Ice Troll, which should have been comfortably handled by a 5th Circle mage, with a 3rd Circle Ice Wall, created a human-shaped ice statue, injected high-purity mana into his body to move behind the troll at almost maximum speed in an instant.
It was only after firing an Ice Spear close to its maximum output that he was able to kill the Ice Troll.
As intense and brief as the battle had been, Kain's legs were already trembling from the excessive physical exertion.
'This is why you need to train your body.'
Even if you don't use the ways of martial artists like Kain, physical ability can determine life or death in a pinch during combat.
'Stamina is also important in magic training.'
For that reason, after becoming the clan head in his previous life, Kain had always made his disciples do high-intensity physical training alongside their magic training.
-Hah, hah! C-clan Head... I feel like I'm going to die from being out of breath!
-Is this really related to magic training?
-I-I can't run anymore...
-Since the clan Head is running with us, we can't really complain...
But later, everyone realized Kain's foresight and was grateful.
'Those disciple brats these days are probably neglecting their physical training again.'
He could tell by looking at Bolio, who had gained weight, and the scrawny Edward and Fohn.
'When I get back, I need to tell them we're starting physical training.'
Thump. Thud.
And Kain turned around.
"Grooo."
"Groooaaaar!!"
"Grooack!"
Yeah. If he could go back.
Kain looked at the three, no, four, no...
He stared at the steadily increasing horde of Ice Trolls at the entrance of the cave plaza.
"This isn't easy."
Catching all these Ice Trolls was impossible, even for Kain.
'With my current level, that is.'
If he had enough mana, maybe, but Kain had already used too much.
Kain turned his head and looked at the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal.
'It's not impossible to slightly touch and release the energy of that Snow Blossom Ice Crystal right now and use the emanating mana to fight.'
But the problem was that the energy released in all directions wouldn't just be usable by Kain, but the Ice Trolls could receive it as well.
"Then there's only one solution."
Kain sighed.
Then, looking at the panting Ice Trolls, he said,
"Alright, let's do this."
"Groooack...?"
The Ice Trolls paused for a moment at Kain's confident demeanor.
"The Snow Rabbits' territory shift wasn't because of the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal, but because the Ice Trolls living in the snowy mountains arbitrarily expanded their territory and caused trouble."
Lying wasn't his forte, but he had no choice now.
'It looks like I'll have to find another way to replenish the clan's finances.'
The Ice Trolls, as if not understanding what nonsense he was spouting, simultaneously raised their clubs and charged towards Kain.
"Groooaaaar!"
"Groooar!"
Kain squeezed the remaining strength in his legs and leaped towards the Snow Blossom Ice Crystal.
And he grasped the brilliantly shining white snowflake crystal in his hand.
Whoooooosh!
As if time had stopped, everything around them froze.
