Chapter 15

As Elizabeth surveyed her surroundings, she recalled, "I can teach you the theory behind the technique. But evolution will only come from your training, dedication, and your own combat experiences," that's what Lancelot said while training her, concluding with, "However, if what you seek is a way to evolve rapidly, do what only you, the summoned, can do. Reach your limit in a life-threatening situation and surpass it. After all, the fear of death is the only thing capable of pushing humans beyond their limits and making them stronger."

Arf! Arf! Arf!...

The wind swirled, lifting the snow and carrying it through the air. On the ground, kneeling, was Elizabeth, inside a gigantic hole she had created in that heap of ice. A hole so large it couldn't even be covered by a heavy snowfall.

The night had been long, with no rest or even time to breathe properly. If one fight ended, another began immediately. However, the Icy Peaks didn't possess the same "qualities" as the Demon Realm, and as night fell, all that remained was a faint glow from the distant blue moon in the sky.

Thus, the lack of illumination was indeed a problem, as it provided another reason for Elizabeth's mana consumption to increase even more. After all, creating a small artificial sun above the mountain was no easy task at all, as the amount of mana required to accomplish such a feat was so great that three-quarters of the heroine's mana continued to be used just to keep it active.

With only a quarter of her mana left to use, Elizabeth faced some problems as night fell. The cold intensified sharply, and the icy air was freezing her skin upon the slightest contact, making it impossible to stay even a single minute without proper protection.

However, she saw that unfortunate situation not just as problems, but as training. Her mana expenditure was exorbitant, even to maintain a simple barrier around her body. But what would happen if she could significantly reduce that expenditure?

Not only to spend less mana on her strikes, the real goal was to have exquisite control over that energy. Control so refined that she would be able to intensify the power of her attacks using the least amount of mana possible.

The first problem was the penetrating cold of the mountain. Giving up the barrier wasn't an option, but the amount of mana needed to maintain it was too large, making it practically impossible to use it and perform more than two attacks at once.

Initially, what saved her was the fact that her mana regenerated when she leveled up. However, with nightfall and the declining temperature, the mountain's cold was not her only obstacle.

The place they came from remains unknown to her even now, but the night brought something worse than just the cold. No matter how many she killed, how many of them she burned until not even physical traces of their existence remained, the mountain creatures always returned in even greater numbers.

"Damn..."

Her body trembled even when using the mana barrier. But beyond the cold, a group of creatures with more than six members appeared before her eyes.

Normally, that would be an easy battle, but not now. The wendigos were fast and lethal, attacking brutally and strategically. With limited visibility due to the lack of light, it was difficult for Elizabeth to even dodge their blows.

With each attack, their blades left small cuts on her body. However, thanks to the intense cold, she didn't even feel the pain of the wounds, which made it easier to keep her mind under control even in that situation.

"1, 2, 3, 4, and 5..."

Most of the creatures stood before her eyes, but something was wrong. She hadn't killed any of the monsters, so why was one of them missing now?

The beasts came, leaping simultaneously toward her. Elizabeth tried to dodge, jumping backward, but then, "From the ground?"

Grabbing her feet, the missing creature emerged from under the extensive layer of snow and knocked her down, creating the perfect opening for the other wendigos to attack together an unprotected Elizabeth... or almost unprotected.

Elizabeth smiled. "Go to hell!" she exclaimed, raising her hands and pointing at the creatures coming at her together to attack.

A large fireball was created, forming in the palms of her hands as a small sphere and increasing in size as it approached the enemies.

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

With the death of the other creatures, the wendigo that held her feet jumped out of the snow, rising to a certain height with Elizabeth in its hands and throwing her toward the ground.

At great speed, the creature descended with its claws aimed at Elizabeth's chest. However, rolling to the side, she dodged.

With her hands stuck in the snow, the milliseconds it took for the monster to free itself were enough for Elizabeth to make her counterattack. "Goodbye, you bastard."

Lying on the snow in an uncomfortable position, with her left arm passing under her neck and aiming at the creature, Elizabeth made her final attack. Flames erupted from her hands, burning the monster until nothing remained.

Its cries of pain echoed through the dark mountain and made Elizabeth shudder as they reminded her of past events.

"That was close... That fireball was too risky. It definitely would have been my end if I hadn't hit."

She rose, brushing off the snow from different parts of her body, and looked at her trembling right hand. "It was just a few moments, the time for the fireball to expand and hit the creatures. But still, it's come to this?"

At the moment the fireball was created in a risky situation, it was an instinctive action. For a few brief moments, the mana barrier covering her body from the cold dissipated, allowing the Icy Peaks to affect her quite significantly, freezing one of her hands.

"Real combat experiences, huh..."

The barrier was raised again around her body, but her hand hadn't returned to normal. "If I go back home like this... Can I request leave?"

The cold suddenly increased, and looking to the side, Elizabeth saw a snowstorm heading her way. She jumped, moving out of the attack's range and looking at the point of origin. "Is that... a monkey?"

The wind generated by the creature's breath stopped. It looked at Elizabeth, who was slowly falling toward the ground, and began gathering air in its mouth again. Just like before, the generated wind was white, and Elizabeth knew her end would come if she was hit by it.

Her eyes quickly scanned the area for something she could use to move through the air. Nothing was found. For a brief moment, her eyes met the creature's feet, which continued to be pushed backward thanks to the great force of that attack. She raised her two hands upwards.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. This was a risky gamble. And creating an explosion in mid-air, she made the resulting force push her body toward the ground. With her eyes closed, Elizabeth sank into the snow and rolled a few meters when she reached the ground.

The plan had worked, but now she barely had enough mana to keep the shield up for long. "...I should have created a slightly smaller explosion. Then maybe I'd have at least a little mana to use now."

Elizabeth stood up, her hair covered in snow, and looked around, searching for the creature. However, not just one, but several beasts had gathered around her. "So this is it..." as her body trembled, not from the cold, but from fear, she smiled. "I already possess the fear of death. And now? How should I use it to surpass my limits? Damn... He should have been clearer about that."

The sacred sword strapped to her waist glowed, constantly trying to calm her mind. However, in that situation, not even that worked perfectly.

Growling, the giant wolves approached slowly, circling around Elizabeth, who constantly searched for a way out of that situation.

Even the idea of ​​using the sacred sword came to mind. Her fingers even touched its hilt, but the consequences it could bring made her give up the idea. She kept the sword only so her mind wouldn't completely succumb to fear.

After all, she couldn't know how seeing blood again would affect her at that moment, but she was sure of one thing; she wouldn't be able to continue fighting if that happened. And in such a scenario, where she found herself completely surrounded by extremely dangerous creatures, that event would be her end.

Looking around, Elizabeth saw what seemed to be a large monkey pulling a huge amount of air into its mouth. She clenched her fists tightly as she closed her eyes, while the wolves approached and the wendigos' claws scratched the snow around.

It was instinctive; as a gap was created amidst the wolves and the other creatures, Elizabeth quickly ran alongside the giant bipedal beast's icy breath and headed towards it.

For someone who doesn't like games of chance, it's interesting that her life has been depending so much on luck lately. And once again, with her life at risk, a bet with fate was made.

Jumping towards the large yeti, with one of her fists, Elizabeth struck the top of its head. Being the physical blow, which alone was enough to knock out the creature, just the beginning, from her fist emerged a flame that consumed the monster entirely.

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

"Phew! Now I understand why people like gambling so much." her body trembled as her heart continued to accelerate more and more "...But this definitely isn't for me."

Elizabeth looked at her right hand, the same hand she instinctively used to attack the yeti, and realized that it was no longer frozen as before; "The ice broke? Was it just an outer shell? Or..."

While the creatures began to surround her again slowly, the barrier around her body was intentionally undone. Elizabeth focused, closing her eyes and controlling the flames created by her magic, not externally, but internally.

An intense struggle began between the magical flames she created within her own body and the icy air that constantly tried to consume her. Neither seemed to be winning. When any part of her body froze, the ice disappeared completely afterward.

And meanwhile, the creatures continued to approach stealthily.

Controlling the magic didn't seem to be complicated in itself; the real problem was finding the exact intensity that the flames should have so they wouldn't harm her body internally but still prevent the intense cold of the Icy Peaks.

Flames too intense caused internal burns, spreading excruciating pain throughout her body. However, too weak flames allowed the icy air to propagate, slowly freezing her body.

As one of the wolves approached rapidly, Elizabeth still kept her eyes closed, but then; "Ah! Finally!" when the creature jumped towards her, such intense heat was emitted that it destroyed a large area around.

"Now I understand..." said Elizabeth, smiling. "It seems that madness really works."

Whether wolves, wendigos, or yetis, it didn't matter. Everything within a fifty-meter radius of Elizabeth was consumed by extremely intense heat, reduced to nothing in moments, leaving only a large hole where they had been.

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Name: Elizabeth Berseba

Status

Level: 139

Mana: 685

Strength: 533

Endurance: 529

Agility: 536]