Dungeon of Niflheim

"…..Am I just going to be a bag mule in the end?" Asked Frost as he shrugged his shoulders, admitting that he did in fact lack the guts to try and bleed the woman dry of her money. Doing so would not only earn him her scorn but also grant her unlimited ammunition when it came to mocking his own lack of wealth.

"Maybe but you'll be the most handsome bag mule there and if you're good I might buy you a carrot or two." Khione further teased causing Frost to stumble in his steps, the student had improved to such a degree that she could even trade blows with the master.

The delivery was so smooth that he couldn't even get mad instead he had to hold in his laughter.

Filled with a feeling of triumph over the big bad bully that had made her tongue tied so many times over their brief time together Khione walked with big steps as Frost trailed behind her relying on the sashaying of her wide hips and the bounce of her muscular cheeks to keep a positive mood.

Unfortunately the longer he glanced the harder it was to restrain his wolfy urges.

'To be so openly tempted must be a cardinal sin.' The moment he decided to follow through on his courting he could no longer see Khione the same, she was an object of his desire, a desire that festered and grew in his heart with every teasing, unable to be quenched. If it was a mere few days after leaving the Dungeon of if he hadn't held out on having fun for so long beforehand or had Maya and Daki drain him more thoroughly before he set out he may be able to hold himself back but now every stimulus was getting harder and harder to ignore.

'At least when we were training I could focus on something else.' He shook his head trying to drown out the carnal thoughts. His steps picked up speed until he was walking side by side with Khione, a less tantalising position.

His little actions and his hot gaze didn't go unnoticed by Khione, she responded with a prideful smile, her chest arching outwards as she walked with greater confidence.

In no time at all after using a short distance teleportation point that was far easier on the transition Frost was presented with a bustling marketplace that had all manner of shops lined up in tall well structured blocks that threatened to block out the sky.

Fashioned from a mixture of stone, ice pykrete and even metal these solid structures were decorated with intricate carvings, crystal and or wood siding as well as the occasional ice sculpture. Built for efficiency in terms of space but did not lack in style and design.

"Welcome to the commerce capital of Niflheim where even the most common of product has been forged to the highest degree. The amount of money and treasures that pass through this area alone can never be truly calculated by mortal means." Passing of such levels of wealth showed the strength of a nation. Northrend could never even in its heyday compete with such levels of wealth and skilled artisans.

"Impressive." Just from the size and intimidating nature of the buildings Frost was already blown away. Just a single block reached over a 100 metres into the sky, rivalling the mighty wall that protected the north and south of Icethorne.

"Oh we're just getting started Frost, hurry up there's so much I want to gawk at." It'd been a while since she last visited the shops proper, so she wasn't about waste this once in a blue moon chance. With a spring in her step she grabbed hold of Frost's arm and literally dragged him along.

Seeing such an innocent joy in her expression Frost couldn't help but smile and shake his head, letting Khione brutally drag him along despite the physical discomfort. She was a lot larger and stronger than him after all.

At the start Frost was dragged to all the most famous clothing stores and made to stand guard while Khione outfitted herself with a new set of outfits this time with ones that either fitted her current figure or that she'd eventually grow into.

She'd discuss at length with the available staff but whenever she was really confident in something she'd glance at her partner and gauge his reaction. If he had a look of interest or if his eyes held the slightest amount of fascination or heat she'd buy it in a second and feel giddy afterwards. Such reactions were certainly foreign to her and downright confusing if she was being honest, but they were also warm and fuzzy, eliciting emotions that she wanted to feel more of.

'So he likes my current style, anything that shows off my muscles um um a man with good taste.' She was very proud of her body and especially fond of her dark skin but of course not everyone would be attracted to a woman larger than themselves and who could likely snap them in half with her bare hands. Luckily Frost was not that sort of man, in fact he found her larger frame and her overinflated muscles incredibly alluring.

Happy with his reaction she decided to be kind and pick out a few extra things for him as a thank you. Not clothes of course since that was a bit too intimate for their current relationship but armour to go with that glaive she promised him sounded like a good idea.

'I remember he ended up losing more than just his glaive in that battle with the Artic Zu.' Frost had told her of the desperate battle he had just outside the inner regions entrance into Niflheim when they trained together. Most of his equipment was damaged to some degree, his prided 4 star glaive becoming practically nothing more than a good looking stick or improvised club.

It'd be dangerous to send him back into the wilderness with just a weapon and no armour to protect his weak body. She couldn't bare to think of losing her first friend so soon therefore she swore to get him something worthy of his stature regardless of the cost. It couldn't be of too high quality however as he'd likely reject it, but it couldn't be too low either.

'Haaaa if only he'd just stay here where it was safe. We could leave together once I sort my own stuff out.' Khione lamented the situation wishing Frost would just stay safely by her side until she gathered the courage to leave home for the first time. Alas he had his own prerogative and was not someone who could be convinced to change his mind because of her worries.

With bags and boxes stacked so high that Frost struggled to see beyond his own feet they finally arrived at Khione's prime destination. There was a strong scent of metal, fire and ash lingering in the air impossible to erase despite the building's many efforts.

"Welcome to the Crystal Boundary where you can have practically any weapon or piece of equipment custom designed in an almost unlimited format, even fire runes aren't off the table here." Of course they wouldn't be of the highest quality given the area but the sheer fact that they were here at all was a standing ovation to the talents and work ethics of the many blacksmiths and artificers.

Frost entered a massive open plaza that had differing booths as far as the eye could see. Each one specified their specialty, their hallmark customisations, address of their main stores and of course the star level of their smiths and artificers.

4 star smiths like Borris and hopefully soon Daki were a dime a dozen here, serving as the lowest ranking solo performers, 3 star and below capable of being nothing more than apprentices and assistants.

His curiosity piqued he followed the ascending line wondering how many stars were on offer.

'lower 4 star, mid 4 star, beginner 5 star, high 5 star, lower 6 star, lower 6 star, lower 6 star.' In the end the highest he saw was someone advertising that they had a middle level 6 star and upper level artificer and even a lower level 6 star alchemist on their roster. Everyone lining up at this booth was at the very least mid A-rank and clearly held heavy purse strings if their attire was anything to go by.

"There's actually a couple hidden shops with 7 star smiths, but you can only do business with them if you've got a recommendation or you pass their stringent trials, trials that generally require you to be S-rank if you have any hope in passing." Even the Queens, Princes and Princesses of the Niflheim royal family had to treat 7 star tradesman with respect. To reach such a level was impossible for the common man with S-rank being considered easier to achieve.

The amount of 8 star tradesmen that hadn't become Gods, reaching the peak while still in their mortal shells could be counted on one's fingers.

For most 6 stars was the highest level they could imagine, any higher was either legendary or mythical, stories that were told to inspire those new to the craft.

But here in the realm of one of the strongest Gods in existence that peak was merely rare and even the legendary level was present and available to the public as long as they passed a few trials.