Dungeon of Niflheim

"You've felt the aura or rather the domain of an S-rank haven't you?" Duke Runak anxiously asked.

The War God of the Glacial mountains had remained at the peak of A-rank, a half-step into the S-rank for nearly a decade now without any signs of further improvement.

Though his weapon mastery had improved and even diversified he was unable to bridge the gap, to baptise himself and ascend into the legendary S-rank. He longed to join that fabled realm, obsessed with it even. As long as he reached the S-rank all the Duchy's current problems and even some of the Empire's issues would vanish like a puff of smoke.

The influence and impact of an S-ranker was just that strong.

Frost internally sighed, thankful that the Duke wasn't asking for Maya's interference. "Yes, I have" he said with a serious countenance causing he Duke to once again visibly tremble in excitement.

Throughout his long career as a member of the Northrend Empire's military Duke Runak had only come across an S-rank entity once and that was in his formative years.

Over three decades ago when the Duke was still a young rising star in the military, a young man who had just reached the mid stages of B-rank he left the confines of Icethorne and headed North. Discover hidden stories at empire

With a pack filled with supplies, his trusted heavy sword and a heart filled with determination and arrogance he departed from the fortress alone, aiming to reach the mysterious core regions of the Glacial mountains.

Alas he wasn't even able to breach past the 7th layer, forced to desperately retreat with severe wounds. His attackers chased him for tens perhaps even hundreds of kilometres before he managed to come across a mysterious mountain that stretched far beyond the clouds.

With blood covered armour, exposed flesh and drained of the majority of his stamina and mana the young Oscar Runak climbed up the mountain.

Eventually he came across a massive cave like abode high above the cloud line filled with crystals, gems and strange, magical treasures. The sight was so mesmerising that he didn't even realise that the monsters hunting him down had already given up on the chase.

Their faces that were once filled with aggression and hunger transformed into abject terror as they hurriedly descended the mountain and retreated back to their own territory.

With the image of a peaceful abode ahead and a lack of any monsters behind him the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins finally stopped.

Just before he lost consciousness he saw something large move in the corner of his eye, but he was too exhausted to investigate.

The young Duke didn't wake for quite some time but when he did he noticed that most of his wounds had been healed and that he was lying on what appeared to be a bed of some sort.

"Finally awake kid." He heard the voice of an old woman next to him the moment he awoke instantly putting him on alert. Well trained from his youth the Duke jumped to his feet, guarded his vitals with his limbs and searched for his weapon before examining the person who spoke.

It was indeed an old woman, she appeared rather frail but that was impossible, no one frail could survive this deep in the mountains especially in a place so high in the sky.

"Good reactions kid but there's no need for you to be so tense. I don't plan on hurting you and I'd hate for you to reopen the wounds I worked so hard to close." The old woman wasn't offended in the slightest by his actions, she lightly laughed and instead looked at him fondly.

"….Sorry my body sometimes acts before I can think." Oscar Runak apologised to the strange woman before sitting down on the bed in a more relaxed manner. Luckily his wounds didn't reopen but the pain hit him like a truck.

"Heheheh it's fine even if you did try and attack it'd be pointless." The old woman suddenly unleashed an aura that completely overwhelmed the young Duke. His surroundings completely changed in that moment; he was no longer within a lavish cave abode but on a snowy plain. A chill stabbed deep into his bones before a massive shadow covered him from head to toe.

He looked up and saw a blue covered dragon that was larger than a mountain staring down at him like an insignificant ant.

His heart stopped out of fear and the next moment he was back on the bed with the old woman smiling from ear to ear in front of him.

The old woman was an S-rank ice dragon who had commandeered the mountain he climbed. He had intruded into her abode and gazed at her horde of treasure yet surprisingly she spared him.

The young Duke was lucky, the old dragon was in a fairly good mood when she came across him and decided to rescue him in his moment of need rather than end his young life. He had potential and she admired his determination to live so she picked up his wounded body and began treating his injuries.

Duke Runak stayed with the old dragon for a few days before leaving on his own accord. The old woman was rather friendly and a good source of information, but every moment felt as though he was walking on eggshells. She saved him on a whim thus she could also end him on one.

His personality and goals changed once he managed to return to the Icethorne Duchy. He was no longer insufferably arrogant nor was he quite so reckless.

Ten years later he reached A-rank and was bequeathed the title of Duke, yet he never stopped training, eager to reach the realm of the dragon who once saved his life and pay back the debt he owed.

Unfortunately he was barred at the very last step and had no one who could help him step passed it. His memory of that dragon's domain was already blurry, and he'd already managed to learn all that he could from what he inferred from it back as a B-rank.

He needed more knowledge, and some inspiration. Frost could likely grant him both.

With hope gleaming in his eyes Duke Runak practically pleaded "Frost would you mind examining the depths of my aura and tell me what I'm missing?" This was quite a tall order for the young Frost given that he was only at the early stages of B-rank, but Duke Runak was desperate.

Frost frowned for a moment before eventually nodding his head. The experience for him would likely be almost unbearable but risks usually came with rewards. While he could reiterate the lessons he received from Maya he could in turn use the Duke's strength as his own whetstone.

"Hahaha thank you Frost." Duke Runak laughed joyfully as his heart became ablaze with passion, pumping boiling hot blood through his veins. It was as though he'd regressed to his primal youth, a headstrong lad with only the heavens in his eyes.

With Frost's agreement the two moved to the centre of the training hall where Frost readied himself for a great battle.

He took some deep breaths, widened his stance, covered his entire frame in ice chakra armour and opened his eyes as wide as possible so as to take in every last detail.

"I'm ready when you are." With his senses also completely focused on the Duke, Frost gave the ok and a moment later Duke Runak started to formulate his aura.

He went slow and steady at first, folding and intensifying his aura as much as possible before letting it leave his body. He had a rough idea of what a domain was but compared to Frost who had the direct teachings of Maya his thinking was rather simple and linear.

With his aura becoming denser and denser, far surpassing the physical manifestation of a standard A-rank Duke Runak formed an image in his mind, an emotion, a picture that reflected his heart's unique strength.

Finally once the image was concrete his aura flowed out and encapsulated an area around Frost, isolating him from the outside world. The scene and manifestation within his heart attempted to combine with his aura, in an effort to form a domain.

Frost who was at the centre of this cage felt an intense pressure, far greater than what he felt previously from the Duke but….there was still a massive difference between this and the domain of someone like Maya.

He strained his eyes until they were bloodshot and tensed his muscles to resist the pressure. He sensed the density of the Duke's aura and felt the prelude of what he was trying to achieve but regardless of how many times he tried he couldn't combine his aura with the image he had in his heart.

There was something missing, an ingredient that would allow the two incompatible forces to mix and combine into one and become a domain.

After several minutes Duke Runak loudly coughed and even spit up some blood. His aura instantly fell apart revealing his exhausted state. Repeatedly trying to force the two aspects together obviously caused a certain degree of backlash but even though he was in pain the War God of the Glacial mountains smiled from ear to ear as blood dripped down his chin.

He had improved slightly since the last time he attempted to forge his domain. The image in his heart was clearer but still it refused to bond with his aura.

He looked at Frost who was physically trembling as his ice chakra armour fractured off in pieces, destroyed but the intense pressure.

"Well? Your thoughts?" He asked, eager to hear the young man's answer.