The roar of the ice Titan echoed through the city like thunder.

The ice towers shook, the frozen windows cracked, and massive piles of snow fell from the roofs of buildings.

Lian wiped the blood from his lip and took his gaze off the system notifications. In front of them, that giant monster stood.

A creature that, even after waking up, looked more like a natural disaster than a monster.

Seris gripped the Frostfang sword tighter. The wind blew through her silver hair.

"Are you ready?"

Lian gave a dry smile.

"No."

"Good." Seris nodded.

"Why?"

"Because I am not ready either."

Lian did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he had no time for either. At that moment, the Titan moved.

The ground exploded. The distance of several dozen meters between them disappeared in less than a second.

"Damn it!"

Lian shouted. The Titan’s massive fist came down.

BOOM!

An explosion of snow and ice covered everything. Lian and Seris jumped back in two different directions. But even the shockwave dragged them several meters across the ground.

If that attack had hit directly, it would have been certain death.

This fight was not equal in any way. The monster they were facing was on a completely different level. But that did not mean they were completely defenseless and powerless.

Seris was the first to counterattack. Her sword flashed in the air.

[Moonstep]

WOOSH!

Her body vanished, and a moment later she appeared on the Titan’s shoulder. Her sword came down with all its power.

CRACK!

For the first time, a piece of the Titan’s natural ice armor, its skin, broke. A crack appeared.

But that was all. The wound was not even the size of a real scratch. The Titan did not even turn its head.

Then it raised its hand and pushed Seris aside like an annoying insect. For the monster, it was just a normal push. But...

BOOM!

Seris hit the wall of an ice building directly. The building collapsed. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, and she coughed up some blood.

Lian frowned.

"What the hell is this thing really?" He knew the fight would be hard, but not this hard. This looked less like a fight and more like a monster playing with its prey.

[Frost Claw Activated]

Ice claws formed around his hands. With the help of [Ice Dominion], he increased their power a little, and then with the intervention of his talent, their power increased a little more.

WOOSH!

He charged forward at full speed. His 120 points of strength exploded in his muscles. His claws hit the Titan’s knee directly.

CRACK!

This time a deeper crack was made. But the Titan just looked at him, then snorted and sneered. For the first time, and that sneer was scarier than any roar.

[Frozen Dominion]

The Titan raised its hand to the sky. Suddenly, the temperature of the environment dropped.

The ground froze. The buildings became covered with new crystals. Even breathing became hard.

Seris, who had no ice resistance, immediately shivered. Her lips turned blue. Her movements became slower. She felt like she was freezing from the inside.

"Damn..." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

But that was only the beginning. The Titan stomped its foot on the ground.

[Glacier Break]

BOOOOM! Hundreds of ice pillars shot up from the ground. Lian barely dodged.

One pillar pierced his shoulder, and blood sprayed. Another tore open Seris’s side. Both were thrown back at the same time. However, because of the terrible cold, Seris’s muscles responded late to her brain, and an ice pillar tore through her shoulder and side on the spot.

Seeing this scene, Lian moved with explosive speed, pulled her back, and laid her on the ground.

"Are you okay?" He looked at the girl with worry. Her body was so cold that it seemed like she might freeze at any moment.

"N... no... no." Even Seris’s lips could barely move, and she could not pronounce the words properly.

Lian fell to his knees. His breaths had become heavy. Blood was flowing from several different wounds. But the worst part was that his defense was not enough.

He was not in good shape either. Seeing this girl in this state made him feel bad. If something happened to Seris, he alone could not help her.

But the problem was that even if he wanted to, he could not help her.

Every direct hit meant death for both of them. And his armor was not helping there either.

"I have no choice..." If his current skills were not powerful enough, then the only thing he needed to do was upgrade them.

A system notification appeared.

[Iron Hide]

[Rank: Common]

He pressed the upgrade option without hesitation.

[3 Fragments Consumed]

[Skill Evolved]

[Iron Hide → Steelhide]

[Rank: Great]

[Description: The user’s skin, muscles, and bones are temporarily strengthened, becoming hard and tough like steel. You gain complete immunity against heat and cold.

When activated, Resistance increases by 50 points, and the severity of damage received is reduced by 10 percent. Mana consumption: 0.3 per minute.]

Lian’s eyes lit up, and he immediately activated the skill.

[Steelhide Activated]

All the muscles in his body tightened. Metallic veins appeared under his skin. He felt his body become several times stronger. And more importantly, his resistance and defensive power increased by 50 points.

Now his resistance was 105 points!

But it was not enough.

He opened the panel again.

[Frost Claw]

[Rank: Common]

[5 Fragments Required for upgrade]

[Confirm?]

"Confirm."

[Skill Evolved]

[Frost Claw → Glacial Reaper Claw]

[Rank: Great]

[Description: The penetration power of the claws increases by 50 points. Every ten hits, a critical attack is created, dealing severe damage. The claws’ ability to cut through armor, steel, and flesh increases significantly. Penetration power against frost monsters increases by 70 points.]

[Mana consumption: 0.4 per minute.]

Lian’s hands changed. The claws became larger, longer, and the ice around them looked brighter and much sharper. Now instead of just his fingers, his whole hand had changed.

On the other side of the battlefield, Seris had also opened her panel. Notifications appeared one after another. Her skills were being upgraded. She had also come to the conclusion that it was time to make changes.

But Lian had no chance to look, because the Titan was not happy that they were wasting time. It attacked them directly.

[Frozen Cataclysm]

The Titan’s eyes shone, and suddenly a massive beam of ice energy was fired. Everything in its path froze.

Buildings, streets, even the air itself.

Lian shouted.

"Seris!" Both jumped to different sides. The beam passed through the city, and in the distance, it turned an entire tower into ice dust.

For a few seconds, silence fell. Then Lian struggled to get up from the rubble. Blood was flowing from his forehead. His ribs were broken.

His left arm was almost numb. On the other side of the field, Seris was not in better shape. Her clothes were even more torn, and more of her body was exposed, to the point that part of her chest could be seen, and her attractive curves were more visible.

Her shoulder was hanging, and blood dripped on the snow.

But both were still alive. Both were still standing.

And for the first time, the Titan’s eyes became a little serious. As if it had not expected them to survive this attack.

Of course, if Lian had not upgraded Iron Hide in time and activated it, he would be dead by now.

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( A/N : guys, which one do you prefer? The currect Cover or the pervious one? )