CHPT 84: Frost Bites!

Ursula hacked away at the high resistance training dummies for another 10 minutes, her entire body was slick with sweat. The temperature of the area around the estate had to be at least 90 degrees, that's at least 20 degrees higher than everywhere else.

She continuously attempted to use her ice element while she fought, but every time it started to collect, it immediately turned to water and rolled off her glistening skin.

Finishing another combo on the dummy left her fatigued and lightheaded, she was drained.

For some reason she felt like she still shouldn't step off the platform. Her training wasn't over until she said so.

So, she planted her feet and began to relax— trying her best to cope with the blistering heat showering her in thick humid waves.

The wind around her picked up again, causing the hot air to swarm around her and slam into her face. It felt like she was facing an oven on full blast.

"Ignore the heat. Think about everything cold. Ice.....snow....wind....glaciers. Anything but this." She said as she imagined the feeling of cool temperatures.

She continued to use her mana to try and generate Ice, only for it to roll off her hands and land in a pool of water and sweat that was collecting below her.

After 10 minutes, she started to hear her father training in the distance— his punches and kicks connected with the dummies and echoed across the field, making loud popping sounds. Hearing him begin his training pointed something out to her.

He was able to completely negate her ability to use Ice and he wasn't even moving— wasn't even trying. The shame and anger that hit her caused her eyes to water. She had to fight back her tears as her father fought in the distance and inadvertently showed her how weak she was.

The more she watched, the angrier she got. Until she was gritting her teeth and holding her axes so tightly that her hands shook.

CRKCRKCRKCRK!

She suddenly heard the crackle of ice beneath her and a cooling sensation spreading over her arms and hands. Steam and little pieces of ice cracked and broke off the blade of her axes as she dropped the temperatures around her lower and lower.

She was doing it. She was creating substantial amounts of Ice under the pressure of her fathers heat.

She smiled brightly for a moment saying, "That's more like I—"

Before she could finish her sentence, it all melted in an instant with a fresh burst of heat that felt like it was a few degrees below being hazardous.

She let the axe in her left hand fall to the ground with a defeated expression on her face. She was tired, uncomfortable and most importantly disappointed. What she didn't notice was the wild surge of rage beginning to bubble up inside of her.

She used her free hand to massage her temple temples. The heat was beginning to give her a migraine it seemed. As soon as she closed her eyes, an image of her fathers appeared— looking down at her disappointedly.

"Ah!" She jumped and opened her eyes in response to the mental image.

Using different tactics, she tried to wipe it from her mind. But every time she blinked, there they were. Orbs of nothing but disdain and contempt.

Eventually, she gave up and closed her eyes, deciding to accept what she was seeing. It seems no matter what she did, his gaze was inescapable. The thought pissed her off.

Her anger rose with every extra second she spent looking at his eyes. Her arms started to shake violently and she felt an overwhelming urge to send her axe across the field and into his back.

As she envisioned it, a new wave of heat smashed into her face and body— hot enough to put the Sahara Desert to shame.

In that moment she lost it, her eyes burst open— fully white and filled with rage. She threw her axe across the platform with a deep and emotional grunt. The axe spun through the air at blinding speeds and smashed into something with a loud chopping sound.

After a few seconds, her pupils became visible again and she noticed her right arm was outstretched in front of her— missing her axe. She looked in front of her and noticed it was stuck into a target on the other side of the platform. A certain sound caused her to walk over to it in a hurry.

Her jaw dropped as she watched Ice from the axe spread out and cover the target like a crystalline infection.

DING!

[Acquired Skill Unlocked: (Frostbite LV1)]

DING!

[Due to the harsh conditions and increased intensity of your training, the system recognizes that your current level doesn't represent your raw strength or proficiency in combat. You have risen one level!]

[You are now Level 3!]

"Hah! It happened again!" She said happily.

Before she could properly celebrate, the doors at the back of the estate opened abruptly, without checking who it was she left in a rush.

***

Ursula exited her cold shower with the remnants of a smile on her face, she made real progress today. She was even able to generate a substantial amount of ice under the pressure of her fathers latent heat. It was safe to say, she felt like she gained a small victory.

"Morning Ursula." A maid said to her as she exited the bathroom.

"Morning ma'am." She replied while she finished drying off her hair.

She didn't get a chance to look at the time, but it was somewhere around 4 AM based on the brightness of the sky and the barely awake look in all the maids eyes. They all had to wake up early since her father wanted them cleaning by 6 AM on weekends.

Ursula followed her nose into the small kitchen where 6 maids filled the space, eating, cleaning or simply making small talk. They all occupied a rectangular wooden table sitting in poorly made wooden chairs.

They all looked her over once before going back to their usual early morning activities. She quietly squeezed past the maids in the kitchen and grabbed a plate, filling it with the ham they already cooked and a few slices of plain bread.

The maids silently watched her stack her plate with an ungodly amount of food.

After she found a seat, she began eating without a second thought. She soon noticed the lack of ambient chatter and looked up noticing the maids staring at her with judgmental expressions painted clearly on their tired faces.

"Oh did you guys want some?" She said while flopping a pink piece of ham in their directions.

They all looked away quickly— finding her direct and shameless response to their stares surprising, and started conversing again.

"That's what I thought." She grumbled as she stuffed a loaf of bread into her mouth.

As she chewed, a thought that hammered at the back of her mind came rushing to the forefront of her thoughts.

"I wonder how much training Claude's already done this weekend....maybe I should sneak back out to the platform."