It was a reaction that wrote him off as a non-asset by anyone’s standards, but Walfred didn’t bother to argue. He’d just have to show them with his skills anyway.

And just then.

"E-enemy, multiple monsters appearing ahead!"

"They’re approaching this way!"

The hunters watching the enemy’s movements through binoculars cried out urgently. Soon the ground rumbled violently as black shadows came pouring out.

Monsters of all kinds.

The first to come rushing were the F-rank Snow Wolves. And there was the D-rank White Boar, shaped like a giant wild hog.

"Illusion Fang."

Kyle moved first.

At a gesture of his hand, five wolf-shaped illusions formed up out of the ground. The illusions leapt into the swarm of monsters and threw them into confusion.

Kyle immediately shouted.

"Mina! Now’s the time."

"I know. Frost Zone!"

Along with the spirited cry, a white sheet of ice spread out beneath the monsters that had clustered together. At that, their movements visibly slowed.

That was apparently the slowing skill.

"Die! Wind Cutter!"

"Psychic Bolt!"

As the monsters’ movements slowed, Jensen and Jamie stepped in. Slow-moving targets were easy to hit, and under the two’s fierce assault, the monsters were swept away without putting up much resistance.

A flawless combination, truly.

Normally the battle would have wrapped up around here, but this time was different.

"Grrraaaagh!"

There were simply too many monsters.

Eventually one of them broke through the illusions and the ice sheet and burst out. Belatedly noticing this, Jensen and Jamie cried out frantically.

"Damn it! One got through!"

"Mina! Get out of the way!"

But it looked too late to dodge.

The White Boar that had escaped the ice sheet had recovered its original movement speed. In the blink of an eye, it charged straight at Mina.

"L-launch!"

She fired her ice needles in advance, trying to slow the White Boar down. But it didn’t have much effect.

Crackle! Crunch!

The needle-sized ice slivers struck the White Boar’s tough hide and shattered weakly.

An instant before the collision, Mina squeezed her eyes shut.

And just then.

"Ice Needle. Launch."

Along with an indifferent voice.

Ice needles, large and sharp as awls, flew in aimed at the White Boar’s legs.

The effect was unmistakable.

Thwip-thwip-thwip! Thunk!

The ice needles drove through the thick hide of its legs. At that, the White Boar’s legs tangled up.

"Gweck?!"

Wham!

An instant before impact, the off-balance White Boar tumbled head over heels and plowed into the snow. Having narrowly avoided the collision, Mina blinked blankly.

What was that? The ice awls that just hit the White Boar? Just as the question shot through her mind.

"Are you all right?"

Someone called out to her.

It was Walfred. Turning her head to look at him, Mina was startled.

The ice awls that had just thrown off the White Boar’s charging path were floating around Walfred.

"Th-that skill just now...?"

"It’s Ice Needle."

"...That was Ice Needle?"

"Yes."

"But the size is ridiculously huge..."

"Mine just looks like this."

Walfred answered as if it were nothing.

Just then, the White Boar that had plowed into the snow earlier got back up. Then it readied another charge toward Walfred and Mina.

"Frozen Weapon."

At that, Walfred created an ice axe to finish it off. The ice axe glowed a vivid blue thanks to [Cold Emission] activating at just the right moment.

Sensing what Walfred was about to do, Mina hastily tried to stop him.

"A Snow Boar’s hide is incredibly tough! Ice weapons can’t deal much damage to it...!"

"Grrraaaagh!"

Before she could even finish her warning.

The Snow Boar charged in ferociously. But Walfred didn’t back away. If anything, he kicked off the ground at the same time and rushed at it at tremendous speed.

And he swung the axe.

Whoosh! Crack!

A single blow. With one strike, the White Boar’s head was sliced clean off like a block of butter. The headless body plowed back into the snow.

The instant she witnessed that.

Mina’s mouth fell open.

"Huh...?"

What did I just see?

He took down a White Boar with frost resistance using an ice weapon? And in a single blow?

Wearing a dazed expression, she couldn’t even think to get up as she asked again.

"You’re... frost attribute, right?"

"Yes. As you can see."

[Ice Needle].

He’d used [Frozen Weapon] on top of that, so if this wasn’t the ice attribute, what was?

Walfred shrugged as if asking just that.

Then, leaving the dumbfounded Mina behind, he turned to face forward. He’d seen that Jensen and Jamie’s defensive line was gradually being pushed back.

"Damn it! There’s way too many of them!"

"Looks like we could use some support..."

The monsters kept growing in number.

As Jensen and Jamie steadily got pushed back, unable to handle them, Walfred squeezed in between the two.

"I’ll join you."

"Gah! Wh-what? When did you get all the way over here..."

Leaving the two flustered hunters behind.

Walfred kicked off the ground at incredible speed.

Arriving on the battlefield in an instant, he smashed the monsters’ heads with his enhanced ice axe.

"Gwerf! Yelp!"

"Gweaaargh!"

The monsters fell at a rapid pace.

A few of them attempted to counterattack, but they couldn’t keep up with Walfred’s movements at all.

There was only one reason.

It was thanks to [Snow Walker].

’My body feels light.’

A skill that boosted all action speed by up to five times on snow or ice. Walfred’s movements were like lightning itself.

And there was one more thing.

A key skill that let him strike and pull back fast, before the monsters could counterattack.

[Instant Burst: Charge Complete]

[Available for use at any time.]

[Command: Burst]

A special ability usable when [Snow Walker] had been active for fifteen seconds or more.

Using Instant Burst, he could close a distance of 160 feet in a single instant.

"Burst."

The instant he used Instant Burst.

Walfred’s body raced across the ground as fast as a teleport. And he severed the head of a White Boar that hadn’t even managed to react.

Thunk! Gweeeck!

And as a result.

The monsters’ numbers dwindled rapidly.

In the course of the repeated fierce clashes, Walfred picked up wounds large and small as well.

But none of it would be a problem.

[Frost Domain: (Rune of Healing) Condition Met]

[Healing effect activated.]

Every time he took a wound, the Rune of Healing activated and the injury closed on its own.

On top of that, thanks to the Blessing of the Snowfield, his mana was recovering every thirty seconds. As a result, Walfred could rampage across the battlefield like an absolute madman.

"...That’s a D-rank?"

"Going by speed and movement alone, I’d believe it if you said he was nearly B-rank...?"

Jensen and Jamie.

And Kyle and Mina too.

The four of them seemed to forget they were even in the middle of a battle, watching Walfred fight in stunned silence.

And just then.

Booom!

A heavy vibration was suddenly felt.

Soon, the sight of enormous chunks of ice approaching from the far side of the road came into view. Seeing them, Walfred’s face hardened at once.

"Ice Golems..."

Enemies with the worst possible matchup against the frost attribute.

And there were more than ten of them.

Just as he was furrowing his brow at the appearance of the very opponents he least wanted to face, a wave of scorching heat suddenly came from behind him.

"I’ll handle those."

The fire-attribute hunter, Jonah.

He sprinted toward the Ice Golems coming this way, then lightly leapt and landed in the very center of the golem pack.

At that, the Ice Golems raised their massive arms, trying to swing them down at Jonah. But Jonah’s skill was far faster.

"Flame Nova."

Fwooosh! Kabooom!

A massive pillar of fire erupted from beneath Jonah’s feet. Soon everything within a roughly thirty-foot radius was engulfed in blazing red flames.

The Ice Golems were no exception.

Sssszzzz! Splat!

The Ice Golems melted away in an instant without managing a single real attack. Walfred quietly marveled at the overwhelming firepower.

’Matchups really are king.’

But there was no time to be marveling.

Because of the heat Jonah had unleashed, [Frost Domain] was on the verge of being deactivated. Walfred hurriedly moved over toward Exit 4 and continued fighting.

"Two more left!"

In the meantime, Miles’s shout rang out.

At the hopeful news, the hunters drew out every last bit of their remaining strength and fought back fiercely.

But as if mocking their struggle, the White Dome kept spitting out monsters endlessly.

"Ha, they really do keep coming without end."

"What is this, some kind of monster factory..."

The hunters grew more and more exhausted.

They’d burned through their stamina and mana to the point where it was doubtful they could hold out another ten minutes.

And maybe it was just his imagination, but he even had the strange sense that the surrounding temperature was gradually dropping.

Just as that worst-case situation dragged on.

Boom! Rrrumble!

Exit 4 collapsed.

Climbing up to the surface over the fallen debris, Miles ran toward Exit 3, shouting.

"One last one!"

"Everyone to Exit 3! Let’s fall back!"

Realizing there was now only one intact exit left, Jonah ordered the withdrawal.

The hunters headed for Exit 3 as if they’d been waiting for it. Walfred too closed the distance quickly using [Snow Walker]’s [Instant Burst].

But just then.

Booooom!

The ground shook with a thunderous roar.

At the impact, large enough to momentarily throw them off balance, the hunters looked around in alarm.

"Wh-what is it?"

"An earthquake? No, this is...!"

Then the hunters’ faces hardened.

Because the vision of everyone present began flashing red. It was the precursor to a warning message.

And then.

Vwoooosh!

Along with a sound like a fighter jet flying overhead, a massive shadow fell across the ground.

The instant they looked up at it.

A chill!

Walfred felt goosebumps erupt all over his body in a single moment. And before long, the reason was revealed along with a warning message.

[Warning! Powerful monster appearing!]

[Elite: Bone Drake]

[Rank: A]

[Immediate evacuation is advised!]

"...What?"

An A-rank Elite Monster.

At the warning message announcing that an unimaginable beast had appeared, everyone’s faces hardened like stone.