SSS Frost Sovereign: Rewinding The Apocalypse!-Chapter 60: Rugged Training!

A thunderous explosion rocked the training grounds, the latest in a cacophony of violence that had echoed through the area for days.

It was Reya’s turn. She was preparing her final push, pouring every remaining drop of her spirit into this strike. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Standing across from her, Katar was a vision of lethal elegance, the snow-white cat with a fur that shimmered like powdered frost, now crackling with arcs of jagged electricity.

Reya’s own energy erupted around her, a transparent, sapphire-blue aura that was both thick and suffocatingly dense.

"Remember the rest of your body! Your space’s attribute grants you both overwhelming strength and immense durability. Use them!" Katar’s voice cut through the hum of power.

Reya gritted her teeth, pulling the blue shroud tighter until it enveloped her like a second skin.

"Now! Use the skill you forged! Yell it!" Katar commanded, lowering his center of gravity and bracing his small but sturdy frame for the impact.

"Torrent Jab!" Reya screamed.

She lunged from a tight boxing stance, her right fist driving forward.

The air between them didn’t just move; it compressed, forming a visible distortion that screamed as it was forced through a bottleneck of sheer power.

Katar didn’t flinch. Electricity surged through his muscles as he launched himself head-on like a lightning-clad ram.

He met Reya’s fist with his own brow, and the collision triggered a blinding eruption of white light and thunder.

Reya was blasted backward, her boots carving deep furrows into the dirt before she managed to skid to a shaky halt on her feet.

She fought to stay upright, her vision swimming.

Before her, Katar stood perfectly still, his energy pulsing rhythmically, without a single ruffled hair on his snowy hide.

Then, her strength simply vanished. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto her knees, her arms the only thing keeping her face from the mud.

"Hmph. Pathetic as usual," Katar said, dismissing his aura with a casual flicker of his will, as if turning off a light.

He flicked his tail with a sharp, rhythmic twitch.

"We should call this a day."

The others were in no better state.

Eric, who had only just finished recovering, was sprawled near the house alongside the rest of the group.

They had each taken their turn, and not one of them had managed to so much as dent the cat.

Even Icard sat slumped, his chest heaving.

[-Chuckles- That Was Quite Harsh. Too Bad It Won’t Help You At All.]

Icard let out a tired, quiet laugh. He knew the system’s logic; he only grew truly stronger through the cold math of APs and kills.

However, while the others were forcefully widening their mana pools through this brutal exhaustion, Icard followed suit anyway.

Katar’s output against him and Eric had been noticeably more intense. This wasn’t just about mana capacity; it was about survival instincts.

By sparring with them at such a lethal output, Katar was forcing their combat reflexes to sharpen through sheer necessity.

"Don’t just sit there! Exude your energies! Keep draining the well!" Katar barked. "Only by hitting the bottom can you gauge your recovery and forge a stronger vessel!"

Wheezing, they dragged themselves into a meditative sitting position. They began to force their remaining energy outward.

It was agonizing, but after days of this regime, they knew the alternative: a stinging bolt of electrocution from Katar’s tail to "encourage" them.

---

Meanwhile, in the heart of the Mayor’s settlement, Maxwell paced the length of his office.

Above him, Ixie hung from a ceiling beam, her wings wrapped around her small form in her preferred upside-down posture, her large eyes watching his every move.

"I cannot say for certain what gate you will encounter, but it is surely not a Black Gate," Ixie said, her voice echoing in the quiet room.

"For a planet on the outskirts of Vokus’s nebula, a Green Gate is most likely. A Yellow Gate is possible, though rare."

She shifted slightly, her talons clicking against the wood.

"The Yellow follows the Green in difficulty, but even so, you cannot barge in as you did before. Without preparation, you will fail."

Maxwell stopped, exhaled a heavy sigh, and nodded.

"We won’t be as naive as we were the first time. F and E-rank spawns shouldn’t trouble our growing incarnations, and I believe most are now capable of handling D-ranks as well."

He paused, tapping his desk thoughtfully. "And if there is a C-grade Chieftain... I believe we have a few who might just stand a chance."

Ixie shrugged, her wings rustling.

"Your faith is commendable. That Icard boy under Katar, in particular... his skills far exceed what should be possible at his level. I truly hope they don’t fail, Maxwell."

She let out a huff, her wings shaking slightly.

"Settlements like this are common, but they rarely stay ’quiet’ for this long. And remember, the Maire will need more frequent feedings after this gate. Core stones are their lifeblood, and their hunger grows with every evolution. You may need to raid specifically for sustenance; higher-graded stones will last longer, but they are harder to get" she said.

Maxwell resumed his pacing, stopping before a board marked with a compass and various territory markers.

"Our safe zone began to shrink even before the last raid. I was already wondering how much time that core stone bought us."

He turned his gaze to Ixie then.

"Speaking of the second raid... I heard of a peculiar incarnation in Liam’s group. They say he stood against two D-grade spawns and killed them with ease" he said.

Maxwell searched his memory. "If I recall correctly, they called him... Zayne?"

"Hmm. Sounds like another prodigious incarnation," Ixie remarked.

"I heard he possesses his own Erwald and has been operating solo since the start," Maxwell added.

"The potential there is staggering. He came to register his status with us earlier, a quiet, unassuming entry. I hope to see him at the meeting I’m arranging."

It was at that same time, across the settlement, Zayne was heading home.

He was a lad of sturdy build with dark hair and observant, dark eyes, carrying a face that looked friendly but possessed a gaze that felt...light and friendly.

He lived in a modest, single-room apartment within a larger wooden complex.

As he approached the building, he noticed a figure leaning against the wall near his door, clearly waiting for him.

Zayne’s eyes narrowed, his posture tensing.

"I’ve been searching all over for you, and yet, here you were, right under our noses the whole time."

The voice was familiar.

"Liam?" Zayne muttered.

Liam, the tall and finely toned young man with the polished look of a leader, huffed a breath of air before straightening up.

"So, Zayne... have you finally given any more thought to the offer I made you?"