Conquering His Cold Heart

With just a few days until the deadline he previously set was up, the new wall in its true grandeur was there for all to see.

By this point it was clear that this large project wasn\'t something simple. The tall, menacing walls that promised to grow even further already eclipsed the walls present around Furano.

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This camp could no longer be referred to as such, it was now a city-state, a place capable of sheltering even regular citizens and their families safely.

Frost\'s territory was well and truly coming into its own, and with its new designation grander eyes would be drawn to its bounty.

However it would take time for these people to prepare their claws, time in which Frost would further develop his territory\'s defences as well as develop his own strength.

Clang! Schwing! Don!

Within the training space booming sounds reverberated throughout the room as two individuals clashed with nary reserve.

One a young man adorned in elegant robes and welding a mighty glaive in his hand while the other was a beautiful woman in a red cheongsam that exposed her athletic legs. Her weapon of choice was a pair of oversized intricate hammers that conflicted greatly with her shorter stature.

However the strength held within the young woman\'s arms was more than enough to occasionally overpower her male opponent, forcing him to avoid direct clashes.

Finally after who knows how many clashes the man and woman broke apart, exhausted and breathing heavily as they struggled to stay on their feet.

"T…This hu hu seal that….Dark God-sama placed on me is really….intense." The woman, Maya spoke through gasping breaths as she stared at her shaking limbs that could no longer support the weight of her mighty hammers.

Ever since the end of the 2nd family gathering all Guardians that chose to remain by their charge\'s side had the strengths sealed. This was to prevent the Dungeon cores from growing too dependent on their Guardians horrifying strength while at the same time allowing the Guardians to take on a more active role within their Dungeons and not upset the balance.

Maya for example after being sealed by Dark had her power plummet to the peak of C-rank, a sub-level beneath her charge, Frost.

Although Maya found the seal rather taxing and difficult to manage at first after repeatedly training with Frost as well as Findley whenever he was free she had finally gotten to a level in which she was comfortable.

And now despite only being at the peak of C-rank and having weapon mastery and magic levels to match such a rank she could boldly go toe to toe with Frost in a straight up duel and not lose.

This was mainly due to two factors, her abundant experience that couldn\'t be fully locked away as well as her mighty hammers. With these two supplements she could ignore Frost\'s utilisation of aura as well as his near limitless stamina while within the Dungeon.

Frost of course found this \'mildly\' frustrating. Even with her strength restricted to below his he still couldn\'t win against her.

"Not intense enough if you ask me." Frost unceremoniously fell onto his backside as he childishly sulked and shook his head.

"Hehehe you\'re a hundred years too early to truly challenge a mighty fenrir such as me muhhahah!" Filled with pride and confidence Maya smiled from ear to ear and thumped her chest with a mocking glint in her eyes.

Frost\'s eyes narrowed into slits and his lips turned upward, revealing an evil smirk in response.

"Hoh that\'s funny who\'s the one always begging me to stop and let rest during our nightly activities. What is you always say oh yes \'Guh please take it out you\'re going to Guh break me.\'" Frost even went so far as to imitate her pleading tone as well as intimate gestures.

Boom!

Without any warning a large hammer that was hundreds of times stronger than steel flew through the air and smashed beside the sitting Frost with enough strength to shake the floor.

Frost awkwardly turned his head to the side, a chill running down his spine and a dryness filling his throat. A blow like that wasn\'t something he could easily walk away from.

"Did you say something Frost dear?" Maya\'s eyes expressed a devilish intent, such that Frost\'s skin formed goosebumps.

\'Madwoman\' He could only internally call her such, lacking the courage to further mock this vengeful girlfriend of his, holding his arms up in surrender until the evil intentions left her gaze.

"You can be considered at the peak of the early stages of B-rank, just a little more and you\'ll be able to reach the mid-stages." A few minutes after the little contest Maya commented on Frost\'s progress which was quite substantial in her mind.

"It\'s too slow, I\'ve barely made any progress over the past few months." Frost however felt that his progress was far too slow.

"Haaaaa this is what happens when you rise through the ranks. The higher you go the harder it is to cross the next boundary some never do after years or even decades of effort. You show no signs of stalling so relax and let nature take its course."

"Says the one who\'s already at the very peak of the world." Frost wanted to bridge the gap between the two of them as fast as possible, only then could he truly protect her like a good partner should.

"Haaaaa do you really think I was at the peak." Maya replied with a look of frustration.

"Huh?"

"This world is far more vast than you can possibly imagine Frost. The S-rank is unbelievably expansive and a practically endless path. Though I am at the S-rank I can at best be considered a junior on the path, someone just starting out." There was longing in her tone and a strong desire in her heart.

"You saw it briefly at the gathering how vast the difference between S-ranks can truly be."

"….Diablos, Leviathan and Fafnir." Frost recalled the brief display of power the three of them showed which eclipsed Maya\'s might.

"Those three can be considered the strongest within our generation but still that\'s only within our generation, like me the three of them are merely at the beginning of the S-rank, just a little further along."

Boom! Frost\'s mind exploded in shock and his upper lip unconsciously started twitching.

"They\'re only at the beginning!" Frost leapt to his feet truly blown away by Maya\'s revelation.

"Un, didn\'t you find it strange that all of us were rather young?"

"…Now that you mention it."

"My parents are still alive as are my grandparents and even great grandparents, how strong do you think they are in comparison to the youthful woman that is me."

Frost\'s head sunk low as the gears in his mind turned ceaselessly.

The bracket of S-rank was truly vast, with the elongated lifespan granted by reaching this fabled rank there was an immense amount of time for one to grow. Maya as well as the other Guardians were prodigies and geniuses, but they were still young. It was impossible for them to have accrued as much experience as their elders.

S-rank for the vast majority is the final endpoint. If they are unable to evolve and shed the last of their mortal shell S-rank is where they shall remain until their lives come to an end. However during that time they continue to grow in mortal strength.

Maya knew for a fact that she really wasn\'t much in the grand scheme, her chances at reaching the peak or even the late stages of the S-rank were slim let alone ascending to God status.

It was because she understood this that she currently bore such a conflicted expression that was filled with frustration, longing as well as hope and even a little despair.

Her volunteering to become a guardian despite the risks and possibly demeaning work involved came with benefits that she couldn\'t ignore as long as this desire remained in her heart.

Improving beyond her current level was immensely difficult in comparison to Frost reaching the mid stages of B-rank.

Thus once again Frost was shown how truly small he was in comparison to the world.

There is always a higher mountain, no matter how much you train or how much of a genius you are there is always someone better, someone stronger than you.

Although if that wasn\'t the case challenging the heavens would be too boring, no?

Frost and Maya sat in silence as they pondered their own thoughts on the matter but in the end smiles were evident on their lips, this didn\'t dissuade their goals in the slightest.

"Ready for another round?"

"Are you sure? Don\'t you have work to do?"

"Perhaps but after your revelation I feel the need to put in a little more effort." Frost smiled from ear to ear as he stretched and loosened his joints.

"Very well, come at me Frost." The sounds of a heated exchange once again filled the halls of the training space.

Meanwhile far to the north, a large fortress surrounded by walls over a dozen metres thick and nearly a hundred tall received some unsettling news. The news was so devasting that the man who controlled this mighty fortress, a person at the peak of A-rank collapsed into his chair, his heart shattering into a millions pieces.

"My Emperor."