"GRAAAHHH!"
The big zombie roared loudly.
And immediately, Aestrea jumped back, gathering enough distance.
『 Frost Explosion (✦ 6th-Level Spell ✦) 』
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A silver ball of mana formed in his palm, swirling with icy energy. Cold mist rose from it, making the air around him drop in temperature.
But he didn’t throw it.
Not yet.
"C’mon, big guy..."
He waited for the big zombie to lunge at him.
And just as expected—
BOOM!
The zombie lunged forward, its giant arms swinging down like hammers. Its speed was faster than it looked.
"Now!"
Aestrea hurled the Frost Explosion straight at its open chest.
FWOOOOSH!
The ball of ice magic shot through the air and collided against the beast’s decayed skin.
BOOOOM!
A powerful burst of frost exploded outward, sending ice shards flying in all directions.
The giant zombie let out a howl as its torso was covered in thick layers of ice, freezing up to its neck. Its movements slowed, cracks spreading across its frozen flesh.
"Hah... that should keep you still for a bit."
But before Aestrea could celebrate, the zombie did something unexpected.
CRACK!
It flexed its massive arms, and with sheer brute force, shattered the ice encasing its body.
"Tsk..."
The zombie lunged again, swinging its arm sideways like a massive club.
Fwip!
Aestrea barely managed to jump over it. The air whistled past his ears as the massive limb swiped beneath him, narrowly missing his legs.
BOOOOM!
The force of the swing shattered a row of trees behind him.
Aestrea landed on the zombie’s frozen shoulder and immediately reacted—his sword glowing with silver mana.
’Let’s... not spend much mana yet...’
"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art...!"
『 First Move (✦ Ice Lotus Bloom ✦) 』
His sword slashed downward.
FWOOSH!
A sharp crescent of ice shot out from his blade, slicing across the zombie’s arm. The moment the attack landed, ice spread from the cut, forming the shape of a glowing lotus.
CRACK!
The zombie’s entire right arm was instantly frozen solid.
Aestrea leaped back and swung his sword again.
『 Second Move! (✦ Ice Lotus Barrage ✦) 』
Three quick slashes in the air sent multiple ice crescents flying toward the beast.
The zombie roared as the attacks bombarded its body, each hit leaving glowing frost marks across its torso.
Its movements became sluggish.
"Haa... It’s working—"
Suddenly—
BOOOOM!
The zombie stomped the ground, and a strange dark mist erupted from its body.
Aestrea’s eyes narrowed.
"...Regeneration?"
He watched as the frozen parts of its body melted away, and the cuts on its chest sealed themselves.
Aestrea clicked his tongue.
"This thing just doesn’t know when to die."
Before he could plan his next move, the zombie’s arm swung toward him again.
FWOOSH!
Aestrea ducked just in time, feeling the air pressure from the massive fist barely graze over his head.
He jumped to the side, landing on the ground with his sword raised.
『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』
Aestrea’s blade glowed with a brilliant silver light.
And in one swift motion—
SHWAAAK!
A single, precise slash cut through the air, leaving behind a faint trail of shimmering ice.
A sharp line appeared across the zombie’s chest.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then—
SPLUUURT!
A deep, clean cut split open across its torso, spraying rotten blood into the air. The zombie let out a deafening SCREEEEECH!
Its entire body wobbled—before suddenly dropping to its knees.
Aestrea took a deep breath.
"...Did I get it?"
Just then—
BAM!
The zombie slammed both its fists into the ground, sending a shockwave of force in all directions.
Aestrea was forced to jump back, but before he could regain his footing—
FWOOSH!
A massive black shadow loomed over Aestrea, blocking out the light.
His eyes widened.
"What the—?!"
The giant zombie, despite its wounds, was still moving. Its massive, rotting body lunged forward, both arms raised high above its head.
It was coming down like a hammer, ready to crush him into the ground.
Aestrea had almost no time to react.
Instead—
He simply uttered a single word.
『 Bleed 』
SPLURT!
The wounds Aestrea had inflicted earlier suddenly burst open, spraying thick, darkish green blood in all directions.
The force of the sudden rupture made the zombie’s body buckle.
THUD!
It collapsed onto its knees, its head bowing low as if forced into submission.
"GRAAAAHHH!"
The zombie roared loudly in deep pain.
In that instant, Aestrea appeared in front of it.
He moved so fast that his silhouette blurred for a moment before he was already there, standing just inches from the creature’s face.
His palm pressed firmly against its forehead.
"...Impacto."
SPLAT!
The air itself seemed to tremble.
A sudden, concentrated pulse of mana exploded from Aestrea’s palm.
The pressure built up for a mere fraction of a second—
Then—
BOOM!
The zombie’s skull detonated like a crushed fruit, splattering blood and rotten flesh in all directions.
A sickening mist of darkish green fluids sprayed through the air, covering the ground in filth.
『 Clean 』
Aestrea casually wiped the blood off his body with a simple spell, not even glancing at the mess he had made.
"...That took longer than expected. But I should refrain from using a mana output higher than two for now."
He exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders.
He then placed a hand on his chest.
Thump!
Thump!
A strange sensation pulsed inside him—two separate heartbeats, thudding in rhythm but slightly off from one another.
It was something he had grown used to, but even now, the feeling was bizarre.
However, before he could dwell on it—
"...AESTREA!"
A sudden shout reached out to him.
Aestrea turned his head, and his glowing red eyes locked onto a boy running toward him, panting, his body covered in green blood.
Aestrea narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...Who are you again?"
The brown-haired boy froze for a second.
Then, with a sheepish smile, he scratched the back of his head.
"Ah... my name’s Ethan! I’m in the same class as you!" he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Aestrea frowned slightly.
"Sorry," he said flatly.
"Since I was only planning to stay for a single semester, I didn’t bother remembering most of our classmates’ names."
Ethan laughed awkwardly.
"Ah, that’s alright! Oh, actually—do you mind if I stick with you?"
Aestrea raised an eyebrow.
"I kind of... spent most of my mana fighting those things," Ethan admitted, looking a little embarrassed.
Aestrea stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"Really?! Great!" Ethan clenched his fist, looking visibly relieved.
Aestrea let out a quiet chuckle at his enthusiasm.
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"Let’s go, then."
With that, he dashed forward—not at full speed, but at a pace that Ethan could keep up with.
FWOOSH!
It didn’t take long before they reached another battlefield.
A wide-open area, littered with dozens of demon beasts.
Some looked like twisted animals with extra limbs and glowing eyes. Others resembled humanoid monsters, their rotten skin pulsing with strange energy.
Aestrea stopped at the edge of the battlefield, scanning the situation.
"Ethan," he called.
Ethan, catching his breath, looked at him.
"I’ll take the frontline," Aestrea said, sheathing his sword for a moment.
"You cover my back."
Ethan nodded instantly.
"Got it!"
With a quick motion, he pulled out a massive battle-axe.
Aestrea glanced at it, raising an eyebrow.
It was nearly as big as Ethan himself.
Despite his lack of visible muscle, Ethan wielded it with ease.
"Interesting," Aestrea muttered.
Then—
"Let’s go."
Aestrea unsheathed his sword, and the air instantly grew colder.
『 Ice Generation (✦ 1st-Level Spell ✦) 』
Hisss...
A thin layer of frost spread over his sword, glowing faintly.
And just like that—
FWOOSH!
Aestrea shot forward like a blur, his sword shimmering with cold light.
The first demon beast—a twisted, four-legged creature with sharp fangs—lunged at him from the side, its claws slashing straight for his throat.
CLANG!
Aestrea twisted his body slightly, his sword meeting the creature’s claws mid-air. Sparks flew as metal clashed against its bone-like talons.
He slid his foot forward and—
『 First Move! (✦ Ice Lotus Bloom ✦) 』
With a smooth, upward swing—
SWOOSH!
A lotus-shaped frost bloomed in the air as his sword cut straight through the beast’s front legs.
SLASH!
The monster barely had time to scream before its body collapsed, the icy wound spreading fast and freezing it solid.
Aestrea didn’t stop.
Another demon beast—this one a hunched-over humanoid with glowing red eyes—charged at him from behind, its jagged fingers curled into claws.
He spun around, ducking just in time to avoid its swipe.
The monster swung again—this time aiming straight for his head.
Aestrea stepped back.
The claws missed him by a hair.
He countered.
『 Mixed Ice Series: Frost Mist! (✦ 4th-Level Spell ✦) 』
A thin smoke of ice shot forward, piercing the creature’s body.
SPLURT!
Dark blood splattered across the battlefield as the beast staggered backward, frozen wounds covering its chest.
It let out a strangled growl before collapsing.
"Fuuu...!"
Aestrea exhaled lightly, shifting his grip.
There were still more.
Three demon beasts rushed at him at once.
He moved.
Dashing through them, he ducked under a claw, sidestepped another attack, and then—
『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』
FWOOOOOSH!
A single horizontal slash.
It happened so fast that, for a moment, the monsters didn’t react.
Then—
SPLAT!
A clean cut sliced through all three of them.
Their bodies split apart, frozen at the edges before they crumbled into icy shards.
Thud, thud, thud!
"Whoa!"
A voice sounded from behind.
Ethan, who had been fending off a group of beasts, turned to see the aftermath.
"You just—took them all down in one move?! That’s insane!" he shouted.
Aestrea ignored him, already moving toward the next wave of enemies.
But—
BOOM!
The ground trembled.
Something big was coming.
Aestrea stopped, his eyes narrowing.
A giant figure emerged from the shadows.
It was another zombie-like beast—except this one was bigger. At least fifteen meters tall, with thick, muscular arms that looked powerful enough to crush boulders.
Its hollow eyes locked onto Aestrea.
Then—
THUMP!
It stomped forward, the impact sending cracks through the ground.
"...Another S-rank monster..." Aestrea mumbled, exhaling deeply.
"What is happening?"
Aestrea’s grip on his sword tightened.
The monster lifted one massive fist—
And swung it down.
BOOOOOOM!
Aestrea leaped back just in time.
The ground where he stood seconds ago exploded, dust and debris flying everywhere.
But before he could counter—
WHOOSH!
The zombie’s other hand came from the side, aiming to swat him away like a fly.
Aestrea reacted instantly.
He raised his sword—blocking the hit—
CLANG!
But the impact was so strong it sent him skidding backward.
"...Tsk."
He steadied his footing, exhaling.
Then—
He vanished.
In an instant, he was right in front of the monster’s chest.
『 40% Strength: Fourth Move! (✦ Lunar Collapse ✦) 』
His sword glowed—
FWOOM!
A heavy downward strike.
The force behind it—
CRAAACK!
The zombie’s entire torso caved in, its frozen flesh cracking under the immense pressure.
Even the space seemed to shake due to the strength caused by the blow.
BOOM!
It fell backward, hitting the ground with a thunderous crash.
Aestrea landed gracefully, standing over its motionless body.
Silence filled the battlefield.
Then—
Ethan whistled.
"...Damn."
Aestrea flicked his sword, shaking off the frost.
"Alright," he muttered.
"Next."
He cracked his head, looking forward where more of those beasts could be seen.
And without hesitation—
He dashed forward again.