Thud! A dull, heavy sound resounded when the part of the wall fell on the ground.

Apparent cold smoke and pulverized pieces of the crushed ice wafted in the air like dust, when the broken part of the wall crashed on it.

It blew the rigid smoke and embraced Yman's skin as he stood close to it. The chilling cold caused a biting sensation on him. However, he wasn't bother by it.

The place turned quiet and only the heavy breathing were conspicuous at the moment — as it was the sole noise left presently. Both of them were gasping for breath; none of them were in good shape.

...

Step, step--

From the back, unhurried footsteps were coming closer to him. His neck twisted a bit to his left to glance to his companion.

To his surprise, both of them were wearing stunned faces.

"Is the matter?" He asked with a frown, wondering what kind of ploy was this.

They did not answer, probably tired.

However, both of them lifted their fingers and pointed on his back.

As he could not see what they were pointing, he turned his head to the right.

And there, he saw the still biting Evil Rat on his shoulder.

Yman's brow twitched.

"Get off, buddy!" He yelled, then he grabbed the head of it, and crushed it with his hand.

Within his grip, the rat's misery only lasted for several seconds, when he crushed the monster's head.

"Merciless as ever, huh. Truly a Rat Slayer," Mercenary Ultima said jokingly.

"Y-Yman, you should kill it properly," Almina said.

"Hmph, no matter how he did it, the conclusion is still the same," Maena said to contradict Almina's words. 'As if that guy knows how to pity others, he was even no qualms in hurting his comrades, what's more, a monster...' she thought.

Almina glanced at her, and their eyes met, then electric sparks were shot to each other.

Yman forced a tired smile and said, "I agree to blonde. No matter how you did it, in the end, you were still going to kill it."

Almina was enveloped by dark aura for some reason.

She never expected that this guy would choose to agree with this girl.

But his next words put a smile on her face, "But I think Miss Almina's way of killing them suit her better. Very elegant," he had to soothe the atmosphere because he ironically felt a dangerous ambiance from Almina. He didn't know if his words made her mad.

The dangerous ambiance recently suddenly castaway. With a flush red face, she pushed some strands of hair behind her ears while asking, "Really?"

"Mhm!" He nodded.

Almina broke into a broad smile which stunned the three of them. Then she opened her mouth and said bashfully, "B-By the way, Y-Yman, cut the M-Miss when you speak of my name,"

"Ah, sorry, I forgot, ahaha," he drily laughed while scratching the back of his head.

She sighed.

"Always forgotten," Almina mumbled with teary eyes.

"Pardon." But Yman did not seem to hear it.

"N-Nothing."

Ahem! They heard the blonde cleared her throat. Then said, "Oh right, I don't want to be called blonde by you, call me Maena from now on. Be glad!"

Maena said in her usual aloft demeanor.

He wondered if she's trying to be friendly or what.

He smiled and nodded at her then said, "I'm glad."

"Of course, you should be."

"Hehehe, seemed like Miss Cold Woman here started to melt away," Almina grimly said.

Yman gaped while looking at Almina, surrounded by an eerie aura once again.

Is this her passive skill? -- his thought.

"You!" Maena shouted at her.

Yet the two of them started their bickering.

He wanted to ask if they felt no tired as of yet.

A moment later, they decided to enter the room but before that, "Wait! Miss Almina, Miss Maena! What about me, can I also called you without honorifics?" Mercenary Ultima, suddenly asked as he was pointing himself.

He believed that he was more than capable compared to Rat Slayer. With this in his thought, he had high expectations that these beauties would not mind if he called them without honorifics too.

"Eh?"

The three paused for a moment and said,

"Who this guy?" Maena asked indifferently.

"A wanderer?" Almina added.

"Tis, here I thought all of them escaped already," Maena gnashed her teeth.

"Looks like one of them remained," Almina replied.

"Oh, by the way, how many you killed?" Maena remembered their competition.

"150 mobs and one Wanderer. How about you?" Almina replied.

"Tsk, the same score again, did you cheat?" Maena clicked her tongue and bit her lip.

"Hell, no!" Almina yelled at her.

"Then shall we kill this one here to settle the score?"

Mercenary Ultima instantly froze at Maena's words.

"Kuku," Almina chuckled then summoned her twin blades with no further words.

"RAT SLAYER HELP!!"

Yman chuckled at the Junior's pitiful yelped and giggled at the two girls. They were totally in sync at bullying the Junior trainee.

Suddenly, he felt an itchy feeling down his throat and throbbing pain on his backs.

Hmm, looks like, the poison exacerbates, and the wounds are bleeding -- his thought.

He took a potion from his storage and drank it to counter the poison. Then he used his healing spell to heal the wounds from the bite.

The group proceeded when he urged them once again.

He was very suspicious of what was inside this next room. Recently, when he was fighting with the wild burst of mana, his senses were muddled up. And he felt a strong affection towards Almina.

It feels like something or someone played on his senses and emotions.

So he had to figure out if what's inside this room.

When they entered the room, "Woah!" No words can express what they felt at that moment.

They have felt that they come into another place out of a sudden. They wondered if they were still inside the underground channel as of the moment.

The room's estimated-width was 100 Square meters.

On the ground, crystallized ice of different sizes was protruding, and some were on the wall.

And on the curvaceous ceiling, numerous stalactite jutting out; the whole room was illuminated by white and blue.

In the middle of the room stood a what seemed like an altar.

"Who are you?" A soothing melodious voice resonates in their ears.

Simultaneously, they glanced at where the voice originated.

She has smart looking-eyes but with a tinge of dreary, a small nose, and pale lips. Her sky-colored pupils had no gleamed, it was shady and no reflection on it. And her long messy silver hair was paired with a tattered white headdress embroidered by black. She looks beautiful, but something was odd.

She was standing on top of the altar, encasing her body up to her neck by crystal ice, while her arms stretched open to the opposite directions.

And at her back stood a 5 meter tall and 3 meters wide mirror.

Although the mirror trailed with cracks, it gave off a feeling that it wasn't an ordinary ice mirror.

But something was off; her hands were tied by the chain that was seemingly made of ice as well.

This chain of ice adjoined her hands to the two opposing ice pillars at the corners of the altar.

"Lady..."

Yman heard a whisper from the man on his left side.

"Do you know her?" He asked.

"Mhm," Ultima nodded.

"It's Miss Ice."

"The Ace."

Almina and Maena exclaimed, however they did not expect to see this person here.

"Right, it's Lady Ice. The one and only Ace in our academy." Mercenary Ultima also exclaimed.

Yman was surprised that that woman was the so-called Ace. And he was surprised too that Almina and Maena knew about her.

Wait.

Miss Ice? This name sounds familiar, though.

Yman scanned his memory, and he remembered that this was the person who borrowed the book for channeling ability from the academy's library.

But why is she here? And why she was covered in ice and tied to the pillars of ice. Such thoughts were present at Yman's mind.

"Miss Ice, we are the new batch of trainees from the academy!" Almina introduced them.

Though she looked awry, her countenance was no doubt — that it was her.

"I see... can you help me?" She said in a pleading voice.

"Of course, Lady Ice, in any case, what happened, why are you entangled?" Mercenary Ultima agreed without a second thought — then asked her.

"Don't mind my situation. It was sealing magic that I had been practicing for a long time. But something happened, and this is the result. Notheless, will you guys climb here?" She said.

Mercenary Ultima immediately amber towards the altar. And Yman, Almina, and Maena followed after him.

When they arrived on the altar, everyone frowned at her state.

How could such a thing happen to this person? Right now, she seemed so weak. But really, this person was the academy's Ace.

"Lady Ice, what do you want us to do?" Mercenary Ultima asked worriedly.

"Can you pick that book on the floor for me?"

They glanced to where she pointed.

"That's..." Yman muttered in surprise upon seeing the book on top of something like a seal, a seal that was written by blood.

But suddenly, something happened...

"Wait, don't... Urgh! Don't take the g-grimoire. The d-demon will -- escape."

Yman, Almina, and Maena were surprised to hear her pained voice. It was far from the soothing voice of her recently.

And why she was stopping them to the book that she called grimoire?

They immediately glanced back at the book, but it was already in the hand of Mercenary Ultima.

"Eh?" Ultima stared at them, puzzled.

Suddenly, the whole room vibrated. Then the ice pillars and the ice around the body of Miss Ice had crumbled.

Seeng that she about to fall, Yman immediately caught her body.

"Y-Yman, something happened to Mr. Ultima, " he heard Almina's trembled voice.

Ehehehe-ehehe-hehehehe!

For some reason, Ultima broke into an unpleasant chuckle.

Almina and Maena backstep subconsciously.

Ultima was standing in front of them, holding the opened book on his left hand. He was guffawing while staring at the ceiling, and his body exudes crimson energy.

His figure turned into that of a —demon?

Yman and the others could not believe what was in front of them.

One little horn stood at the right corner of his forehead. His eyes turned black, and sharp fangs were visible in his mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough, you guys, run! He was possessed..." Miss Ice warned.

But Yman and the others could not move because of the different levels of pressure bore onto them.

"I'm freeeeeeeee...."

Ultima said in a chilly and loathing voice.