Dungeon of Niflheim

"How ungentlemanly of you Frost to ask a woman to talk about such a creature." It was obvious that even mentioning the thing indirectly made Callie nauseous.

Frost was quite frankly surprised by the experienced woman\'s reaction.

\'Hoh so even someone like her has issues with them, heheheh how adorable.\' His evil smirk stretched, greatly irritating Callie.

"Tsk bully." Callie pouted before summoning up her courage, she really didn\'t want to do this but in the end she was a professional.

"The monster…"

"The Iceborne huntsman." Frost teasingly said drawing a fierce glare his way.

"YES the ICEBORNE HUNTSMAN, is still located in the western reaches of the Lambda sector. The shifts in habitats from the recent monster stampede failed to dislodge the creature from its infested mountain.

Therefore any previous information recorded is still considered solid as is the quest to erase the creature from existence!" Callie practically spat her last words, having the sudden urge to bathe and toss salt over her shoulder.

For most women and even a large percentage of men the Iceborne huntsman was the stuff of nightmares. The creature was not ghostly in nature nor was it undead but was considered by many as something far, far worse….a spider.

And not just any spider but a big one, with long legs, sharp fangs, multiple beady eyes and a very aggressive temperament.

Unlike the frost spiders prevalent in the Dungeon of Niflheim this Iceborne huntsman didn\'t utilise webs instead the creature would silently stalk its prey before literally chasing or jumping at them with it fangs and legs raised, a horror that was a very active hunter.

With legs that stretched more than 2 metres from its body this creature that was covered in white hairs could perfectly blend into any environment within the glacial mountains and once it set its eyes on you there was no escape.

The mountain was its territory any that entered within its domain would be hunted not just by it but also by the legions of lesser spiders that it commanded, a massive den of eight legged horrors.

Callie thanked her lucky stars that she was never assigned to the Lambda sector camp, she wouldn\'t be able to sleep at night knowing that that thing rested nearby.

"…..You gonna kill?" After managing to clear her mind of some rather grotesque images Callie asked with a small amount of hope. Frost with his potential and current B-rank status was well and truly a decent opponent for the Iceborne huntsman.

"Possibly, I want to use it as well as its children as whetstones for my companion." Yes the monster Frost had chosen to test Avira against was one that could make even an experienced woman like Callie cringe in horror. He was well and truly diabolical.

Of course the fear was only part of the reason he deemed this monster a good match up. Avira would likely be terrified yes but she\'d also have little hesitation in committing a mass slaughter given their form, a silver lining you could say.

Plus in addition to the fear the spider species especially the huntsman variants perfectly countered her speed and hidden battle style, Avira would be forced to think outside the box when facing such a monster.

Frost also noticed that her battle style though deadly was more suited to facing single targets thus he wondered how she\'d fair against a horde of weaklings.

\'Should I tell her straight away or wait until the very last moment hehehe.\' Evil thoughts ran amok in Frost\'s mind and a slight laugh escaped his lips causing Callie to reel backwards.

\'Whoever it is that\'s travelling with this monster I pray for your soul\'. Callie solemnly prayed for Borris and Avira, pitying their future and their poor choice in companions.

"If you do end up killing the territory lord remember to bring back its fangs as proof to any of the order of the ice shield\'s camps or residences. That way you\'ll be rewarded for your efforts, the bounty on that thing is quite high after all." Due to abject fear the price for the monster\'s head was far higher than a similarly ranked territory lord.

Callie turned around and sashayed her wide hips as she retrieved a dossier on the Iceborne huntsman and handed it over to Frost.

The moment Frost went to take the document however Callie grabbed his wrist, pulled him close and whispered in his ear.

"Frost dear if you do manage to erase that abominable creature, please do return here so I can personally reward you." She lightly blew into his ear and pressed her ample assets against his chest hoping to make the young man blush like she used to but unfortunately Frost was truly a different man after repeatedly laying with Maya and Daki.

He simply smiled as his eyes scanned Callie\'s body like a predator. She was certainly in fine shape given her age and those breasts of hers were quite eye-catching but as he said earlier he was already taken.

"Very tempting Mother Callie, any man would be blessed to receive such advances from a woman as beautiful as you but as I\'ve said I\'m already taken." His eyes revealed a sense of longing as the figures of both Maya and Daki filled his mind, he would not betray them.

Callie was genuinely moved and genuinely jealous.

"She\'s a lucky woman." She said, drawing herself back, no longer in a seductive and teasing mood.

"No I\'m the one who\'s lucky." Frost smiled with such strong love that Callie felt a stabbing pain in her heart.

"Ahhh too pure glugh I can\'t stand it, take your loving romance and leave before I glugh." She couldn\'t stand the current atmosphere; it was too painful and revolting for her single status.

"Hahahahah alright, alright I get it I\'m leaving geez." Frost shook his head and laughed before turning around to leave her office.

"Tsk another handsome man has joined the dark side, such a waste, he had the making of a decent playboy." Once Frost closed the door and was a little away from the building Callie loudly clicked her tongue and mourned the passing of a bachelor with great potential.

Deep down however she was actually jealous. Throughout her many relationships and one night stands she\'d never had the chance to experience the intensity Frost just displayed. Something she secretly longed for but never found. She was thus in a rather annoyed mood for the next few days thanks to him.

"Did you get what you wanted?" Avira immediately asked once Frost came to find her and Borris.

"That and more. I\'ve further narrowed down our travel options and gotten a lead on the monster I want you to fight." He did his best to hide his evil intentions, but Avira still shivered, somehow sensing that something was amiss.

"What monster?" She asked both anxious and curious to know, it would be her first kill after all and a chance to display her true worth to the man escorting her to Icethorne.

"It\'s a surprise, once we near its lair then I\'ll tell you." He teased.

"Meanie." Avira assumed Frost was simply teasing her not realising his insidious intentions.

"What about you two did you get a good look around? Did the lodgings, food hall and merchandise meet your expectations?"

"Pretty much for me but.." Borris replied while hinting towards the person next to him.

"…It\'s quite a bit more \'rugged\' than I expected." Avira didn\'t sugarcoat it; she was quite disturbed by the state of the camp. Though she knew it wouldn\'t be anything like her home in Arkheart she did think that it\'d be of a similar standard to Frost\'s territory. A very unfortunate expectation.

The Niflheim city state even when it was in its early days as a camp was a prime product that offered high quality goods, far beyond any basic camp found in the glacial mountains.

"I think V was spoiled by the amenities in your territory Frost, thus giving her a warped outlook on camps." Borris whispered into Frost\'s ear. He too was rather taken aback by the standards in Frost\'s territory, but he at least had decades of experience to see it something unique rather than standard.

Avira blushed from embarrassment, she struggled to look at Frost\'s face feeling that there\'d certainly be a mixture of a mocking and prideful smile on his face, but she\'d be wrong.

"I should have expected as much. For you who rarely left the capital it\'s no wonder you\'d assume such things given that my territory was only just recently established." Frost didn\'t mock her for her views in fact he felt a little guilty for not warning her in advance.

This journey was clearly going to be a bit more uncomfortable than the princess expected alas there was no turning back.

"It\'s fine, now I know so I\'ll prepare myself better. Are we leaving now?" The sun was still high in the sky so it wouldn\'t be efficient to rest in the Beta camp.

"Yes, we\'ll be heading to the Lambda sector which should take us about two days. There\'s a camp roughly halfway and one in that sector so we won\'t need to take rest in the wilderness." A small mercy for the young Princess.

"Our monster target is also in that sector as is the end of our current route, depending how you fair we\'ll either head northwest or northeast from the Lambda sector."

"One\'s the long but more safe route and the other is shorter but riskier" Avira stated.

"Bingo." Frost touched his nose and smiled.

"Let\'s get a move on then, no point waiting around here when there\'s a monster to hunt and journey to be made." Feeling energised by Frost\'s smile Avira leapt onto Kiba\'s back and requested that they head on off.

Something both Frost and Borris were all for.