’Snow made of pure mana!’

A special treat on a completely different level from ordinary snow, one that gave Walfred an enormous amount of experience.

And that was inside that ice pillar?

Walfred was stunned.

’Ah, so that’s why...’

That was why the blue light had been leaking out earlier.

Now his question was answered.

In any case, breaking it would mean he could secure the snow made of pure mana. Walfred swallowed hard without even realizing it as he stared at the ice pillar.

And then.

’...But is it okay to just smash it?’

Reason held back his greed.

It clearly looked like it had something to do with the frost spirits. Maybe it was even connected to a high-ranking spirit or a spirit king.

As he mulled it over for a moment.

"Daddy, I want to eat that."

Elsa tugged at his collar.

Walfred felt the same way. He’d been thinking lately that his leveling had slowed to a crawl.

"Get it out, get it out quick!"

Elsa’s eyes were sparkling brightly.

At that, Walfred looked at the ice pillar one more time. And soon he made up his mind.

’Let’s break it.’

Margaret had only asked him to find out how many ice pillars there were in downtown Philadelphia and where they were located. She hadn’t told him not to break them.

Besides, this wasn’t attacking a frost spirit, so there was no chance of [Frost Resonance] being lifted.

And on top of that, hadn’t he recently obtained a weapon perfectly suited to smashing a giant chunk of ice like that?

"Frozen Weapon."

The instant those words left his mouth.

A massive ice hammer formed.

"Elsa, step back."

"Okay!"

Elsa hid behind Walfred’s back.

Glaring at the ice pillar, Walfred gripped the hammer tightly. Then his lips parted.

"Begin charging."

[Ice Hammer: Mana charging started]

[Current charge time: 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...]

Mana and cold began to condense.

The hammer grew bigger and bigger.

Finally, the moment the charge time reached its maximum of 30 seconds, Walfred twisted hard at the waist and swung the hammer.

"Haaah!"

With a short shout, a full swing with everything he had.

A thunderous shattering sound and a fierce tremor shook the eastern plaza of Philadelphia Station.

WHAAAAAM!

A powerful shockwave erupted around the ice pillar, gouging a hollow into the ground. Along with it, tiny shards of ice scattered wildly in every direction.

Judging by the aftershock alone, it was more than enough force to smash an ice pillar this size, but.

"...?"

Far from shattering, the ice pillar didn’t have so much as a hairline crack on its surface. As he stood bewildered by its greater-than-expected durability, a warning message appeared.

[Warning! Warning!]

[The target’s freezing/cold resistance is high.]

[99% of the inflicted damage is negated.]

"...99 percent?"

Freezing/cold resistance at 99 percent.

At that point it was basically the same as immunity.

The moment the reason the pillar hadn’t broken became clear, Walfred narrowed his eyes.

’This isn’t an ordinary ice pillar.’

The chunks of ice you’d commonly see along the roadside had no freezing/cold resistance to begin with.

The fact that this one did meant the ice pillar was being treated as a special entity, like a monster.

And that wasn’t the only unusual thing.

"Is this... writing?"

Looking closer, he saw that strange characters of unknown origin were carved into the ice pillar. Most of them looked like something resembling numbers.

’What on earth is this thing?’

As his curiosity grew.

Suddenly his vision flashed red.

It was the sign of a warning message.

-----

[Warning! Warning!]

[■■■ is being activated.]

[Absorbing the surrounding mana.]

[Mana absorption rate]: 0.5% every 10 seconds

[Absorption range]: 30-foot radius

-----

The message that followed.

The ■■■, which looked like broken text, was probably the ice pillar’s true name.

Meanwhile, as the ice pillar abruptly began absorbing mana, Walfred set about breaking the pillar in earnest.

"Ice Needle."

Dozens of ice needles materialized in midair.

Moving according to Walfred’s gaze, the needles surged madly toward the surface of the ice pillar.

Of course, with its freezing/cold resistance being so high, the attack itself was meaningless, but that was fine.

As long as he could land a hit, that was all that mattered.

And then.

[Blessing of the Frost Dragon: ’Ice Shatter’ mark applied]

[Ignores the target’s freezing resistance.]

[Duration: 30 seconds]

A welcome notification appeared.

Walfred immediately stopped his attack and began charging the ice hammer he’d conjured again.

[Ice Hammer: Mana charging...]

[Current charge elapsed time: 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...]

Cold and mana condensed rapidly.

But then.

"───!"

Along with a bizarre cry he’d never heard before in his life.

The frost spirits that had fled from Elsa swirled around the ice pillar. As if trying to protect the pillar from Walfred.

Walfred clicked his tongue low.

’This is a problem.’

If he swung the hammer now, the frost spirits would get caught in the impact too. And if that happened, there was a good chance Elsa’s [Frost Resonance] would be nullified.

He had to get rid of the nuisances as fast as possible.

So he quickly called out to Elsa.

"Elsa, can you shoo those birds away for me? They’re getting in the way of breaking the ice pillar."

"Okay! Got it."

Elsa sprang into action right away.

She dashed over and waved her hands wildly at the frost spirits circling the ice pillar.

"Go away! Hurry!"

It was a small gesture, but the effect was incredible.

The frost spirits, which had looked like they’d never back down, scattered in every direction, freaking out as if they’d run into a natural predator.

[Ice Hammer: Mana charging...]

[Current charge elapsed time: 25 seconds]

In the meantime, the hammer’s charge time neared its end. He had to swing the hammer before Ice Shatter wore off, so it was about time to attack.

"Elsa! Step back!"

At his words, Elsa quickly came over to Walfred and hid, just like before. Walfred swelled the muscles all through his body and slammed the hammer down with all his might.

KWAAAAAANG!

The entire Philadelphia Station plaza shook violently, as if hit by an earthquake. The power was on a whole different level from the first attack.

A tremendous shockwave burst outward in a circle from the point where the hammer struck, sweeping away all the snow and ice piled up in the plaza in one go.

KRRRSHHHHH!

The aftermath didn’t stop there.

The pavement within a 30-foot radius was shattered, carving out a huge crater, and the bare trees nearby were all snapped in two.

A thick cloud of smoke billowed up.

If Elsa hadn’t driven the frost spirits away, they would have been caught right up in it. That was how wide the range was.