“That’s impossible. Our dimension is vast, and the number of mages is endless. How could we possibly track down someone like that?”
Catten shot back as if the very idea were ridiculous.
Apparently, he had never even considered that the culprit might be standing among the juniors behind him.
Despite Catten’s insolent attitude, the Frost Giant did not immediately reach for his weapon.
Exceptional warriors deserved respect.
“No one said to search the entire dimension. Surely that mage is still somewhere here. Compared to other dimensions, this one is relatively small. It should be possible to find him.”
“I don’t understand. How do you know that mage is still in this dimension?”
Catten questioned him again.
If the Frost Giants already knew the mage’s location, they would have moved directly instead of issuing orders like this.
Which meant they still hadn’t found their target.
Yet somehow, they were absolutely convinced he was still here.
“Warrior. Think carefully. Why would a challenger acknowledged by the king enter a dimension like this?”
From behind, Giselle muttered quietly,
“Because the Professor ordered him to.”
“Shh. Quiet.”
Fortunately, neither side heard.
The Frost Giant continued confidently.
“That challenger must also be after the relic we seek. And since he still hasn’t obtained it, he must remain inside this dimension. I can feel it. That bastard is hiding somewhere in this place, waiting for us!”
“...”
Lee Han briefly considered recommending a healing mage.
What exactly was this giant sensing from an enemy who didn’t even exist?
But unlike him, Catten seemed persuaded.
“Indeed... If warriors of your caliber say so, then it makes sense.”
‘No, it really doesn’t.’
“Exactly. It’s not just me. The other giants sense it as well. The presence of that bastard lurking somewhere in the dimension.”
‘These people need group counseling.’
Unlike the two juniors silently despairing behind him, Catten appeared to have reached a decision.
“Understood. I’ll search for him personally. But remember this. If that person seeks the relic for selfish and evil purposes, I’ll reveal his location. But if his reasons are just, I’ll remain silent.”
“Ha! Truly the words of a warrior.”
“I’m a mage.”
“...What? You were a mage!?”
“Didn’t I already say that? Three mages.”
“I thought you meant there was another mage behind you.”
The Frost Giant looked genuinely confused.
Anyone would have mistaken him for a warrior.
The two behind him were unmistakably mages. Even with disciplined posture, they still carried the distinct air of spellcasters.
But Catten radiated absolutely no trace of magic.
His bearing was that of a pure warrior.
Catten rebuked the giant sternly.
“To think a race as mighty as yours could fall prey to prejudice. Reflect on your ignorance!”
“But... but you really are a mage? Was I actually wrong?”
Leaving the Frost Giant muttering in shock, Catten walked away with his juniors.
“The Frost Giants are powerful, but arrogance blinds them. Juniors, if you ever fight them, exploit that weakness.”
‘Pretty sure this wasn’t arrogance.’
As the two juniors exchanged subtle glances, Catten continued speaking.
“First, we need to find that mage and earn the Frost Giants’ recognition. Hmm... I wonder what kind of mage he is. Someone acknowledged by their king and chasing after relics... I’m concerned he might be an evil mage.”
Catten’s concern was reasonable.
The Frost Giant King was, fundamentally, a violent and terrifying being.
A decent mage would have little reason to challenge such an existence.
And if that same mage was also trying to obtain a Frost Giant relic...
“...Senior. That’s me.”
“?”
Catten’s ears twitched upright.
For a moment, his junior’s words failed to register, as if they were cursed.
“Junior. I believe I misheard you. What exactly did you say?”
“The person the Frost Giants are searching for is me...”
Lee Han explained in a dejected voice.
Last year, through a series of spectacularly unlucky events, he had crossed paths with the Frost Giant King.
Ever since then, the Frost Giants had continued making his life miserable.
He looked so pitiful that Giselle finally stepped forward to defend him.
“It’s not Wardanaz’s fault, Senior. The Frost Giants are the ones chasing after him unilaterally...”
“I’m not saying he did anything wrong. Junior. Then what about the relic?”
“Because the relic was stolen by the Frost Giants in the first place.”
Lee Han explained the mission given to him by Arsil, his family senior.
The relic the Frost Giants sought had never originally belonged to them.
Since they had stolen it, a mage of House Wardanaz had every right—and obligation—to reclaim it.
‘...This kind of sounds like bullshit.’
Even while speaking, Lee Han remained cautious.
Arsil could confidently spout nonsense while the surrounding spirits nodded along like loyal followers.
Lee Han, unfortunately, did not possess that kind of authority.
If he started talking nonsense, there was a very real possibility he’d get punched.
What if Catten asked why a Wardanaz mage had the right to interfere just because the Frost Giants stole it?
“Indeed. Then you have legitimate grounds, Junior.”
“...Senior!”
Lee Han was genuinely moved.
Perhaps because they were both from Einroguard, Catten instinctively sided with him.
“Then only one thing remains. Juniors.”
“What is it?”
“We cut down the Frost Giants and resolve everything through force—”
“Before that, let me report to my master.”
Lee Han hurriedly interrupted him.
Catten’s appearance made it easy to forget, but there was a reason the Beast-Folk Personality-Cuteness Inverse Proportion Hypothesis existed.
This senior was also one of Einroguard’s certified lunatics who would immediately draw a sword if things escalated.
***
“The Frost Giants drove you away?”
The Insane Doppelganger reacted far more intensely than Lee Han had expected.
Lee Han had anticipated indifference or perhaps cynical amusement.
Instead, the Archmage looked openly furious.
“How dare they reject an envoy bearing the authority of royalty. Those oversized bastards have clearly grown drunk on the passage of time. I’ll remind them exactly who holds their leash. Prepare yourself.”
At the severe command, Lee Han answered awkwardly,
“Master... I never actually revealed your identity.”
“...?”
The Insane Doppelganger paused.
His disciple had negotiated with the Frost Giants without invoking his master’s name?
“Then on what basis were you speaking with them?”
“Well... I encountered the Frost Giant King once before...”
“...”
Though baffled by the abrupt change in topic, the Insane Doppelganger patiently waited for the explanation.
Even he had gradually developed patience thanks to his relationship with his disciple.
“...I ended up being semi-forced into challenging him, and apparently rumors about it spread among the Frost Giants...”
“I see.”
The Insane Doppelganger slowly nodded.
“So they recognized you as a challenger before your royal identity was ever revealed. That explains everything.”
Given the Frost Giants’ violent and warlike culture, it made perfect sense.
As a challenger acknowledged by the Frost Giant King, Lee Han would naturally receive special treatment before anyone even learned who his master was.
“I hid it, though...”
“What?”
“I thought an excellent mage shouldn’t casually reveal his identity...”
The Insane Doppelganger immediately raised a hand, cutting off his disciple’s nonsense before it could continue.
Listening any further would only waste time.
“Go. Reveal your identity and win through honorable combat. Do not return until you do.”
The Archmage truly was wise.
As though anticipating complaints or excuses, he immediately waved his hand and distorted space beneath Lee Han’s feet.
By the time Lee Han tried to protest, he had already been sent down to the cliffs below.
“This is way too harsh!”
His distant shout echoed upward, but the Insane Doppelganger ignored it completely.
***
“Do you think he’ll really find the challenger? A weak mortal like that?”
“I trust that warrior. Though born from a weak race, his eyes carried the soul of a giant.”
“You’d praise him that highly? Now I’m curious.”
The Frost Giants chatted among themselves while discussing the beastman warrior who had visited earlier.
At that moment, another figure approached from the distance.
A mage carrying a staff tipped with the stone granted by the king—a symbol every Frost Giant would recognize instantly.
“!!”
“No way!”
“I heard you were looking for me...”
Lee Han spoke as confidently as possible.
There was no benefit in admitting he had been hiding and avoiding them the entire time.
He needed to appear dignified. Like a true challenger who had walked here under his own power.
THUD!
One Frost Giant immediately punched the giant beside him directly in the face.
The other giant reached for the club leaning against the wall, but he reacted a fraction too slowly.
That tiny delay cost him everything, and he crashed backward onto the ground.
“??!”
Startled, Giselle turned toward Catten.
“Why are they doing that?”
“Einroguard students do that sort of thing all the time too.”
“What are you talking about—”
Then Giselle realized.
The Frost Giant who had knocked down his companion was cheering triumphantly.
“With this, the challenger’s honor belongs to me alone!”
“...”
He had taken out his companion first because he wanted the honor of facing Lee Han himself.
The sight horrified Giselle, but at the same time, it felt strangely familiar.
It really was exactly the kind of thing Einroguard students would do.
“You finally appeared, Challenger! I’ve been searching for you!”
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding. I wasn’t hiding while targeting the artifact. I was merely training alone to further refine my magic.”
“Is that so? It hardly matters.”
‘These bastards.’
Lee Han stared in disbelief.
These were the same giants who had confidently insisted he was hiding somewhere inside the dimension, plotting against them.
Now they were casually claiming it didn’t matter?
As expected of giants, their shamelessness was on another level.
“Challenger. I seek the honor of defeating a challenger personally acknowledged by the king!”
“...I want recognition in return. If I win, you will stop demanding duels from me. You will also stake your name on guaranteeing my honor to the other giants.”
“Good!”
The Frost Giant accepted immediately.
Whether other Frost Giants lost their opportunity to duel was none of his concern.
Honor like this belonged to whoever claimed it first.
If the others wanted the challenger’s honor, they should have arrived earlier.
From behind him, Catten quietly asked,
“When exactly should I intervene, Junior?”
“I think we should hear the conditions first. If it starts looking impossible for Wardanaz to handle...”
No matter what orders the Insane Doppelganger had given him, Lee Han was still fundamentally a mage—not enough of a giant to charge into danger blindly.
Naturally, he had prepared basic safety measures.
Those safety measures were the two people standing behind him.
Depending on the type of duel, if things became impossible, they would intervene and create chaos.
“Challenger. I’ll present several contests. Choose whichever you prefer. First, look at that glacier!”
Lee Han turned toward it.
The glacier beside the Frost Giants’ valley was saturated with dimensional mana, preventing it from melting naturally.
Ice like that could only be dissolved with magic or shattered by overwhelming mana disrupting its internal structure.
“There’s a white flower trapped inside the glacier. The contest is simple. Whoever retrieves the flower first wins.”
“I should intervene.”
Concluding immediately that this was impossible, Catten reached for his sword.
But Giselle’s reaction was unexpectedly uncertain.
“...Actually, that one might be manageable.”
“?!”
