For more than ten minutes Nicole watched Wain and Frigus fight. Their fight was friendly, but they were both serious as each of their clashes created a powerful shockwave and caused shaking.
Nicole's territory was chosen as the battleground. Here in the dark lands, there was practically nothing but creepy trees, dry trees, and black dust, but these were the places where the strongest monsters were born.
'Hah, this is actually the most suitable place for our duel.' Wain grinned inwardly as he surveyed the battlefield. There were many craters around from their attacks, but gradually the damage disappeared as the cold wind sprinkled them with earth, giving the impression that this area was self-repairing.
Whooooooooooooooah.
Frigus swung his sword at breakneck speed, bringing it down on Wain. It was deadly, but Wain's simple movement was enough to block this attack.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The ground beneath Wain cracked as Frigus's hands trembled. He used as much force as he could, but even though he was attacking from top to bottom and Wain was the one defending, it was hard for him to hold the stance.
"Not bad, you're actually very strong." Wain said with a slight smile, "However, you, like one of my friends, take yourself too seriously. You must trust your strength not only to yourself but also to your weapons. Well, I'll show you how to do it."
Wain stepped forward as he slashed his sword. The movement was simple, but the powerful momentum threw Frigus back dozens of meters.
'What...? How is that possible!!! He may be a Nameless King, but he is now on the Absolute Stage! Why does it look as if he is several times stronger than me!' Frigus internally exclaimed with wide eyes before plunging his sword into the ground. Only after a few seconds, Frigus came to a complete stop, leaving two long streaks from his feet.
'Agh, I don't understand. Wain said I should awaken the consciousness in my weapon, but how am I supposed to do that?' Frigus thought for a moment as he flinched at the shadow that appeared before him.
"Hey, I told you in the beginning. You don't have to think, you have to feel it." Wain uttered, driving his fist into Frigus's stomach.
"ARGH!!!" Frigus's face twisted in pain as he spurted out a mouthful of blood. The impact created a shockwave in the form of a wind blast that threw Frigus hundreds of meters away.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Frigus flew forward at tremendous speed, breaking dry trees with his back until he reached the massive rock, deep in which he was buried.
"Well, looks like it might take longer than it did with Gisle." Wain smirked as he placed his sword on his shoulder.
There was nothing around for several kilometers, so practically all of Nicole's territory was one big arena for them where they could do whatever they wanted.
Besides Nicole, who was sitting on a stone peak in the distance, there were several monsters watching the fight as well. They were standing in the distance, hundreds of meters away from the center of the battle, but their eyes were on Wain and Frigus, as it was a valuable lesson for them.
Nicole learned a lot from them, too, even though the fight lasted only a few minutes, but her gaze kept moving to their swords.
"Damn, I want a weapon, too... I can't fight all the time with just my bare hands, but it seems pretty hard to get something decent, right?" Nicole muttered with a complicated look while biting a fingernail.
Wain and Frigus continued to fight for some time until about an hour later when Frigus finally awakened consciousness in his weapon as he was ready for one last, final attack.
Frigus was covered in his own blood as he breathed heavily, but he had a contented smile on his face and his eyes were as bright as ever.
'It actually took longer, though the effect Frigus got might even surpass Gisle's one.' Wain thought with a smirk, looking at Frigus.
Frigus could hardly step forward since he had almost no strength left, but his steps were sure and precise while cold steam enveloped his body. Blue runes appeared on his sword that remotely resembled snowflakes, but was sharp and rough, looking like deadly blades.
"Come on. Show me what you can do now. You may be seriously hurt, but you must both have enough energy to do something incredible, right?" Wain said pointing his sword at Frigus.
"Sure." Frigus nodded, then he closed his eyes and addressed someone, 'We can do it, can't we?'
'Don't worry, it'll be the best attack you've ever done.' A girl with shoulder-length blue hair and green eyes said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her azure armor was seriously damaged, but her gaze was confident, 'Gladius beat the shit out of me... I didn't think that right after we finally connected I would be beaten to half-death, but... it definitely made me stronger.'
Frigus smiled bitterly, 'So I was beaten by Wain and you by his sword, right? Well, in that case, we should at least scratch them. Hah, Wain said I was the second person to approach him about this, I wonder if the first one had to go through this too?'
'I don't know, but I doubt those two are capable of pity. They do things the hard way.' The girl said while shaking her head.
Frigus nodded, leaned slightly and a powerful stream of energy burst out of him that instantly froze everything around him. The waves were massive, as they looked like a blue glow covering Frigus.
"I hope you're ready to see what we can do." Frigus smiled broadly before he stepped forward, turning into a blue flash with dense blue ice behind him, freezing everything in his path.
Ice had been Frigus's greatest strength since he was born, but now he had a close ally who possessed similar capabilities.