Dungeon of Niflheim

293 Chapter 293: Sit!

“The little rascal’s in here, given the time he should be somewhat more agreeable, take these, it might help get the ball rolling.” Druakai removed dried jerky from one of his pockets. “These are his favourite treats, polar bear jerky.” He stuffed a few strips in Frost’s hands before patting his shoulder for luck. “Sam you stay outside since you’ve already failed he may attack you on sight.” Druakai warned Sam with a serious tone. The monster only treated Druakai and Ruby well, everyone else was either an enemy or food once it reached puberty. Before its rebellious, teenage years it was actually quite cute and playful. So much so that it lived in the house with Druakai and Ruby. Though it still wouldn’t allow others to pet it or come too close it was far better than what it was now.

Frost couldn’t help but audibly gulp as he saw Sam’s expression show a memory of fear. ‘What the hell is this thing?’ He looked down at the strips of polar bear jerky in his hand. ‘This is meat from a D-rank monster, yet the thing simply eats it as treats.’ He really wondered what type of creature delighted in eating bear meat.

Sam backed away from the door’s entrance to avoid any chance of meeting, his last encounter with the creature didn’t go so well. A cold sweat dripped down his back as he remembered the incident.

Druakai opened up the large doors before leading Frost into the barn, he left the doors open in case Frost needed to make a quick getaway. He wasn’t worried about the monster leaving since it had no interest in doing so. Once a person was chased or kicked out he’d return to whatever he was doing before which was usually napping.

The inside of the barn was far brighter than Frost expected, the open windows along the top of the barn allowed large amounts of light to enter.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr,” the moment Frost entered along with Druakai a deep and threatening growl could be heard from the opposite end of the barn, along with a pressuring aura that made Frost’s skin crawl.

‘What the hell!’ Frost’s body was warning him of danger, even more so than when he faced off against the ice revenant. He wrapped his head around to find the source of the threatening growl.

“Kiba be nice,” Druakai spoke in the tone of an admonishing father but was incapable of changing Kiba’s behaviour. The monster or rather Kiba ignored Druakai just like a rebelling teenager. His growl grew louder before the creature walked forward revealing its large and powerful frame.

“Holy shit! that’s a...” Frost couldn’t help but curse out loud in shock.

.....

“Frost meet Kiba, a glacial winged tiger.” Druakai introduced him once Kiba’s full frame was in view, standing proud and domineering as he glared at Frost.

Glacial winged tigers are incredibly rare monsters that not only dominate the land but also the sky. Usually only found within the core regions of the Glacial mountains, ruling over a large expanse of territory like kings. The winged tiger archetype is right up there with dragons and behemoths, with the glacial winged tigers being solid B-rank monsters once they’re fully grown perhaps some even reaching A-rank if they successfully evolve.

At the moment Kiba was still considered a child despite his size rivalling that of Ruby and his current strength which was around the beginning stages of C-rank, a fair bit weaker than the ice revenant. Its pressure came mainly from its lineage and what it could eventually become. His body was thicker and far more muscular that of the red tailed snow leopard that was Ruby, and his tail wasn’t quite as puffy. His fur was smooth and adorned with blue stripes against white skin and his eyes were red and full of arrogance. But the most impressive thing was the majestic white feather wings that adorned his back, giving him the power to fly in the air. Tigers were already a dominant force on the ground, adding wings to such creatures was pretty much overkill.

Frost now understood why so many people failed to contract with Kiba. Its potential and lineage were incredibly strong and everyone it usually came across in Kranor was far below it in terms of ability even before it was fully grown. Even the mighty Ruby that it looked up to when it was a cub was no match for him anymore -Of course it would never attack or harm her, she was like his adoptive mother. Being surrounded with monsters and people so much weaker than him, it was natural for him to grow arrogant. The B-rank fighters that came before were probably barely qualified in their ranking and at the end of their potential. The moment Kiba became an adult he’d surpass them, not a worthwhile companion.

Frost however was not like those who came before. If Kiba wanted to compare potential and lineage then the little winged tiger was in for a shock. Frost had no limits to his strength, his teacher was a mighty S-rank Fenrir, and his father was one of the two creation Gods, he completely eclipsed Kiba.

Druakai looked towards the young man who he assumed was an elf with intrigue. Even the mighty B-rank fighters he showed Kiba to before trembled before him, subconsciously taking a step back, some even going weak in the knees. He of course struggled to understand the fear given that all he saw in front of him was the cute little cub that used to fall asleep in his arms. He wasn’t ever subjected to the killing intent or pressure. Frost however other than momentarily reacting when Kiba growled showed no signs of fear, only excitement in his eyes. Even his body language showed that he held no trepidation towards the mighty beast that revealed itself.

A vein started to throb on Kiba’s forehead, the young, winged tiger felt incensed. It was always the superior one, looking down upon the uninvited guests that his father dragged in. Frost was no different yet unlike the others he didn’t show any sign of fear, his eyes even showed a strong sense arrogance. This was the first time one of these outsiders ever looked down on him, he was practically livid.

“Rooooooooaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!” Without warning, Kiba roared in protest, shaking the entire barn. The air was swept up like a small tornado blowing fiercely against Frost and inadvertently Druakai.

“Kiba!” Druakai was quite angry as well, Kiba never even gave Frost a chance and seemed to no longer hold any respect for him. Before he’d at least give the guests a chance to show their worth and it wasn’t as if Kiba couldn’t understand the reasons why he needed to be paired up with someone. Kranor could no longer afford to take care of this powerful monster resident.

Druakai couldn’t fight but his strength was incredible even for an orc, a small tornado wasn’t enough to blow him away even if he wasn’t the intended target. He stomped his feet into the ground, refusing to budge an inch. This isn’t what Kiba wanted to see, his roar was supposed to get Druakai to escort Frost out or at least have him out of the way when he lunged for this so called guest.

Frost understood all this and couldn’t help but smile wildly, “interesting” he clapped his hands loudly before walking to the side, distancing himself from Druakai. “Now you don’t need to worry about harming your dad.” He then raised his hand and beckoned for the winged tiger to come at him. Kiba was only interested in strength, so Frost needed to put him in his place, only then would he be willingly to contract with him.

Going against a C-rank monster alone would be a bit much but from what he could tell, Kiba didn’t really show much desire to kill. His intimidation tactic being more of a front to more easily have people leave and stop bugging him with contracts.

“Frost don’t!” Druakai tried to warn Frost as he walked off. If he was by his side Kiba would be more restrained but it was too late, the moment Frost beckoned with his hand Kiba was off.

‘Shit!’ Druakai panicked, he saw the anger in Kiba’s eyes and truly felt that Frost was done for or at the very least would come out with a serious injury, how would he explain this to Sam or the mayor.

Frost however was more than ready, he knew that Kiba had no intention to kill, this was a test. If he stayed by Druakai’s side he’d never be able to win him over as he would be considered a weakling. If he backed away from his intimidation he’d be seen as a coward, the only way was to face him down with his own ability, without fear.

After his fight with the ice revenant and his sudden epiphany in terms of his aura Frost’s strength had continued to grow as did his control. He completely ignored the massive tiger that was lunging towards him. He closed his eyes and reached deep into his soul, trying to summon the divine energy that slept within his body.

‘You think you’re gifted and have unmatched origins, let me show you how much of a frog in a well you really are.’ Frost entered a special state, far more impressive than when he confronted the ice revenant. It was akin to the time he forced Maya to kneel, he summoned his authority as a dungeon core along with his aura to create a powerful pressure.

“Sit!”