Extra's Path: The Eternal Frost Monarch-Chapter 9: Training (2)

"Hah... hah..."

Noah wiped the sweat from his chin and steadied his breathing.

’I guess this much is enough for today.’

His core felt strained but slightly fuller than before. Not enough to break through but enough to notice small progress.

He slowly stood up.

His legs felt slightly numb from sitting cross-legged for so long, but he shook them lightly and walked toward one of the enclosed mana training compartments.

If he was going to survive the academy. He needed combat application.

Not just theory. Not just meditation.

Inside the training center, several compartments were reinforced specifically for elemental spell practice.

Transparent barriers shimmered faintly with protective runes, preventing stray mana from leaking outside.

Noah stepped into an empty compartment. The door sealed behind him with a soft hum.

In front of him stood several training dummies made of mana-resistant alloy. Faint target circles were marked on their torsos.

He exhaled slowly. ’Two spells.’

Ice Shard.

Frost Bind.

He raised his right hand. First he woykd try to perform Ice Shard.

He focused on the mana inside his core.

His affinity was ice. He only posses single affinity. While some people might posses multiple affinities.

Now his spell, it should be cold, sharp and condensed.

He circulated mana from his core toward his palm, shaping it carefully.

At first, the mana felt unstable. He narrowed his eyes. He imagined compressing cold air into a single point.

The temperature around his hand began to drop. Tiny white particles gathered in front of his palm.

The air shimmered faintly. He felt familiar sensation.

Then a crystalline shard began to form. The same one he had used while running away from bear monster

It was Translucent blue color. Its edges were sharp.

The size, it was about the length of a dagger. ’So this is Ice Shard...’

The structure wavered slightly. He steadied the mana flow. It was lower level spell. So there was no magic circle formed while conjuring the spells. Only higher level and complex spells have magic circles.

Noah told himself. Don’t rush. Stabilize the edges. Harden the core.

The shard solidified. Frost mist curled around his fingers. He aimed at the dummy.

"Go."

With a flick of his wrist, the Ice Shard shot forward. It cut through the air cleanly.

Crack!

It struck the dummy’s chest and embedded halfway inside, thin frost spreading outward from the impact point.

Noah blinked.

’Not bad.’ He thought with small curved of his lips.

But the power was limited. The shard had decent speed, but its penetration wasn’t overwhelming.

He tried again. This time, he poured slightly more mana into it. The formation took longer.

Sweat trickled down his temple. The shard formed slightly larger.

’Nice!’

This one was more sharper. He released it.

The shard flew with same speed.

Bang!

The second shard hit harder, cracking part of the dummy’s outer layer. Frost spread more aggressively this time. Noah smiled slightly.

’Control and output both matter.’ He was getting used to this more better than he thought. At this rate he would become just like previous Noah.

Right now could already feel his mana consumption.

Ice Shard wasn’t too expensive, but repeated use would drain him. Though he was enjoying showing spells.

Now it was time for trying another spell.

’Frost Bind’

This one required control more than power. He raised both hands this time.

Instead of compressing mana into a projectile, he let it spread outward along the ground.

Cold energy flowed from his core, down his arms, through his fingertips. He pressed his palm lightly toward the floor.

The air around him cooled sharply. He imagined freezing the surface.

Locking movement. Restricting the target.

Thin layers of frost began to creep forward across the ground. Like white veins spreading over stone.

He directed it toward the dummy.

The frost reached its feet. Then suddenly surged upward.

Crackling ice climbed the dummy’s legs, wrapping around them tightly. Within seconds, the lower half of the dummy was encased in solid ice.

Noah’s breathing became heavy again. Frost Bind consumed more mana than Ice Shard.

’It’s little harder compared to ice Shard. Also takes more mana’ he thought.

And maintaining it required constant output. He held it for a few seconds longer.

The ice thickened. Then he released the spell.

The frost stopped spreading. The ice slowly began to melt under the compartment’s temperature stabilization system.

Noah lowered his hands.

"Hah..."

His chest rose and fell heavily. Mana exhaustion tugged at his core.

’I see...’

Ice Shard was better for direct damage. Frost Bind was for restriction and control.

If used together to immobilize first. Then attack. Or attack from distance while controlling movement.

His eyes sharpened slightly. ’Not bad for a start.’

But the casting speed was still slow. His control was not refined.

And his mana pool. Though decent, it was far from overwhelming. He looked at his palm.

Faint frost still lingered on his skin before fading.

"I need to practice faster casting." He clenched his fist tightly.

If he hesitated even a second in real combat. He would die. He already faced that before. He was saved because if his luck. But it might won’t happen again.

Noah stepped out of the training compartment after a few more low-output attempts to avoid draining himself completely.

His entire body felt heavy. Sweat continued to dripped down his body. He was getting exhausted. But still he was satisfied.

Today, he trained weapons. He refined mana. He practiced spells.

"Ths only thing remained to try its my Ice Creation ability."

He already had good idea how Ice Creation does work. Since he got few memories of Noah.

It also needs mana but with ice Creation he could create anything that of ice. It’s proficiency increases slowly.

He remembered forming a dagger in his hand during fight with monster. That dagger was created by this Ice Creation.

Innate ability. It was something that only few people posses after forming Dormant Core.

’I can try Ice Creation at home. Just trying to make some small things and weapons.’ He thought with smile.

He was excited to try creating various things out of thin air, which were made up of ice.

For the first time since waking up in this world He felt like he was truly preparing. And Novaris Academy was only one week away. He was actually getting excited for academy.