Dungeon of Niflheim

"Heheheh well let's just say you'll owe me one." Said Khione with a devious smirk and wink. She was adamant to not let Frost get a hit on her without counterattacking.

"An open request is it, not a fair very punishment considering the reward Khione." Countered Frost while shaking his head. He could easily get his hands on a good weapon via numerous methods, his status and financial position were no longer what they once were nor was his access to good talent. With any luck Daki was mere weeks perhaps even days away from becoming a 4 star blacksmith.

Risking an open request for a single weapon even if it's one of a substantially high rank from the Primordial Ice King's vault was not worth it at least Frost didn't think so.

"What, you think I'll ask you to do something impossible?" Khione's upper lip twitched as she endured Frost look of contempt and disinterest.

"Honestly….yes. You're the youngest daughter of the Primordial Ice King, a God of the highest order. Anything you'd want or need would be far beyond my capabilities to grant." To Khione what she may ask for might be simple in her eyes but to him it could be anything but.

"Haaaaa fine I'll limit it to a request that's within your meagre means, happy?" She reluctantly conceded and subtlety mocked him for his inadequacy.

Frost cupped his chin in thought, calmly weighing his options.

Eventually he shrugged his shoulders and agreed to her offer, concluding that everything would be fine as long as he lasted more than the five minutes. Arguing down the request solely for the sake of a very unlikely situation.

Five minutes, easy peasy.

With the deal brokered Khione placed her hand on the crystal obelisk, her training room's highest quality aura resistor.

"This baby's output is only for A-rank and above. I usually train with the maximum or near maximum output but for you I'll start it at the bottom and have it gradually increase every minute. By the end you'll have to endure an aura that's equivalent to someone who's recently entered late stage A-rank." Khione's lips arced upwards as far as they could go and she looked down on Frost with a playful look in her eyes, eager to begin and see him squirm. She was akin to an innocent child playing with a brand new toy.

'Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought.' Khione's words and clearly expectant expression sent shivers down Frost's spine. He felt as though this little gamble wouldn't be as easy to win as he first thought.

Nevertheless he boldly nodded his head, telling Khione to start the artifact.

"Good luck." She hummed before stepping outside of the affected zone, a small hourglass appearing in her left hand. "Your five minutes start now." The moment she finished speaking the obelisk hummed to life and Frost felt an immense pressure suddenly act upon his body.

'Fuck!' He internally cursed as his muscles became tense, his legs bending ever so slightly before he managed to straighten them again with great difficulty.

The aura of someone at the A-rank truly couldn't be compared to the aura of a B-rank. The weight, the degree of pressure, the depths it reached and most of all the feeling of fear that it invoked was almost unreal.

Frost suddenly felt as though he was an ant facing a quickly descending boot. An overwhelming sense of weakness and inevitable doom grasped his heart, promising nothing but death.

To fight against such power was pointless, this was the effect aura had on those that resided lower on the food chain, to fill them with dread, crippling their ability to defend themselves.

Most individuals would likely succumb to such a force within mere seconds but Frost despite feeling the same way as they did stood stalwart. His face warping from a sense of pain and conflict, his body rigid yet refusing to fall as he stared dead ahead as though welcoming the challenge.

"Hoh not bad, you've managed to successfully endure the full blown aura of someone in the early stages of A-rank." Khione mockingly clapped her hands knowing full well that he wouldn't stumble so soon.

While most would fail to even control their own bodies Frost was gradually getting used to the pressure. Slowly but surely he was able to move, his muscles becoming less and less tense.

If this was under battle conditions he would have likely recovered even faster, charging straight for the enemy with his glaive in hand, summoning up to 90% of his usual strength. Still a drop in strength but one that was more manageable.

As the seconds passed however, and the strength emitted by the aura resistor increased Frost's face started to turn bright red, his head lowering about 15 centimetres as his legs started to give out.

His own aura that had covered his body in a protective shell was repeatedly shattered and remade before eventually being forced into his body, unable to compete with the aura being emitted by the resistor.

The time was currently a little over two minutes and Khione was already quite joyful.

'Hahaha now that's a good looking face.' She thought, wishing she had some snacks available to munch on as she basked in satisfaction.

"You're…really…enjoyi…ng….this….are…n't…you…" Frost forced himself to talk through the pain.

"Very much so hehehe." Khione didn't deny her enjoyment and laughed in the face of his misery. "Halfway there Frost, keep fighting, you can do it." She encouraged, eager to see him crumble at the very last minute, efforts that thoroughly pissed Frost off.

'Damn you Khione I'm going to win that weapon and rub in your annoying face.' Frost internally cursed his teacher not willing to waste any more energy on talking. And as though in defiance of her expectations Frost summoned the full strength of his aura to push back the pressure and rose back to his full height, kicking his efforts into high gear. He would not fall just from a mere outburst of aura, he was Frost dammit, a Dungeon core, the son of the Dark God and student of Maya the mighty Fenrir Princess.

'Do your worst aura resistor.' With renewed vigour Frost roared out his frustrations and utilised his full strength.

A display that initially surprised Khione, catching her off guard. She knew Frost had potential and that he was a fair bitter stronger than his rank suggested but she still underestimated him.

Her surprise however was short lived, Frost still had more than two minutes left to endure, and the difficulty would only increase during that time. If he was going to unleash his hidden strength then he should have waited until the end rather than burning through his reserves at the halfway mark.

By this point Khione was almost certain of his failure. She continued to savour his uncomfortable expression and shivering body as she thought about what she could demand of him once he failed.

'Should I have him act like my servant? Order him to embarrass himself publicly? Or have him call me something grandiose whenever we interact.' Khione pondered several ideas, many of which would likely see all colour drain from Frost's face.

He was right earlier, there was nothing the youngest daughter of the Primordial Ice King needed thus all her ideas focused on 'punishing' him for her own enjoyment.

Eventually however she thought of some other options, ones that weren't quite so menacing.

'I doubt I'll ever have need of his strength but it's always better to have than to have not. Maybe I could have him act as my guide if I ever chose to tour Nova?' The idea of leaving home was quite daunting despite her personal strength. The idea of having someone she knew going with her however made the supposed ordeal far less daunting.

'He could introduce me to Maya and perhaps the others who were chosen for the Guardian program.' The more she thought like this the more sure she became. Punishing Frost would certainly be enjoyable but hardly worth it in the long run, better to choose something more beneficial.

As Khione was lost in her thoughts, planning her eventual trip into Nova with Frost acting as her servant/guide the seconds passed on by.

Frost reached the fourth minute and was once again assaulted by an even greater level of pressure. This time when his knees started to bend he was unable to straighten them. The weight was just too immense, his bones cried out in pain and even his gaze struggled to remain dead ahead as though he was afraid to look at the origin of his fear.

Sweat dripped from Frost's brow and blood seeped out of his nose and ears as he continued to fight against the overwhelming pressure. His vision turned blurry and even black in the corners. His heart struggled to push the blood through his body and his every instinct screamed at him to either run or pass out.

He was currently enduring the aura of someone in the late stages of A-rank, an aura at the level of General Jessica and General Katrina.

'Fuck, no wonder she could fight off all of the alliance's generals solo.' Frost remembered Duke Runak mentioning that General Katrina alone could do battle with the 7 alliance generals and come out even perhaps even win.

The aura he was currently enduring was so demoralising to his body and soul that Frost estimated that he'd wouldn't even be able to use a single skill if he faced her in battle. The pressure alone was enough to nail him in place.

Of course if his life was truly on the line then he may be able summon some degree of strength but nothing that could stave off his inevitable death.

Aura is a powerful force, primal in nature and a clear dividing line between the strong and the weak.

You could train with a weapon for years until it becomes a part of you, an extension of yourself. Swift, precise and powerful, enough to cleave or break through the hardiest of metals but if you cannot summon that strength, that power to destroy then it is meaningless.

You will die.