The Banished Villainous Noble Son Who Was Used as a Stepping Stone in the Original Work Awakens to Combat and Destroys the Laws of the World - Episode 32: Frost Resistance and a Sign

Episode 32: Frost Resistance and a Sign

—The aftertaste of that recent battle still clings deep in my mind.

The fight with the Twin Fang Wolf. And the ice monster.

I cut through the flying ice chunks. I even took some fragments head-on. Yet I managed to come out with minimal damage. I could definitely feel my “Physical Resistance” skill activating.

And then, the moment I was struck by one of those chunks… I acquired “Frost Resistance: Lv.1.”

To be honest, it doesn’t sit right with me. But my body did react. It immediately adapted to the pain of the ice. That adaptation must be the proof that I really obtained the skill.

(If each fragment triggered a “repeated check,” I could accept it. But still…)

It just doesn’t feel quite right. When I got “Poison Resistance” or “Physical Resistance”, I had to manage potions carefully to earn them over time. But “Frost Resistance” came from a single attack.

So far, the only explanation I can think of is “repeated judgment.”

Back when I got “Physical Resistance”, the sheer number of attacks from the Miasma Rats helped me obtain it efficiently… But even compared to that, this felt like too few hits.

Even if I cut through the ice chunk and took damage from the fragments, I should’ve needed to repeat it several more times to acquire the skill—or so my internal knowledge told me.

In that case—

(Was I already close to fulfilling the conditions? If so, then taking that one hit was enough to push me over the threshold…)

“…May I speak with you for a moment?”

A voice from behind—Lucrane. I quietly nodded to him.

He hesitated a little but then sat beside me.

“About earlier… You’re truly alright, then?”

“Yes, no problem.”

“I see,” 

Lucrane replied briefly. I took a small breath and chose not to say more.

(…No need to talk about the “Frost Resistance” skill yet.)

For now, I should keep this within myself.

What this “evolution” truly means… I need to figure that out first.

In the silence, Lucrane lowered his gaze slightly.

“Regarding that monster… This current survey request is officially about investigating unstable mana reactions. But—this hardly counts as proper investigation.”

“I agree.”

I nodded calmly. The fight had broken out. And our investigation ended up more like a patchwork effort. The documentation had also been interrupted by the appearance of that monster.

“Tomorrow… we plan to return to the site and re-record the data. If possible, I’d also like to confirm a safer route and track the monster’s behavioral patterns.”

His words were polite, as always.

But the real message behind them was easy to read: he’s factoring in my strength.

If that monster appears again, only a few people can handle it.

“It’s alright. The request is still ongoing, after all.”

“Thank you.”

Lucrane gave a small bow. As I watched him, a thought surfaced—

(“An interesting individual,” was it?)

“…Don’t you think that monster’s movements were a little uncertain?”

As someone who’d accepted this mission, I thought I should at least share the minimum of my thoughts with him.

“What do you mean?”

“It had the intent to attack. But it didn’t charge in. After launching the ice projectile, it just stared at us and didn’t follow.”

“……..That’s true.”

Lucrane’s brows twitched slightly.

“For a monster that treats that area as its ‘territory,’ it seemed too detached. Unless… there’s some reason it can’t move.”

As I spoke, I was organizing my thoughts—trying to piece together what exactly that monster was.

“…If we could confirm for certain that it has an ice attribute, we should really stop the investigation and report back immediately.”

Lucrane prefaced his next words. His eyes drifted slightly as he spoke.

“But with this little data, there’s too much we don’t know. And besides, we haven’t actually confirmed that what we observed was definitely ‘ice-elemental’ magic. It did launch an ice chunk, yes. But if that was a coincidental phenomenon caused by some other factor… we’d just be spreading unnecessary confusion.”

His words reflected the tension between official duty and on-site judgment.

“Therefore, we’ll return tomorrow to collect samples and data again. After that, we’ll compile a proper report. Once we’re back at the base, I’ll format the records accordingly and submit them immediately.”

“Understood.”

When I replied shortly, Lucrane nodded slightly.

“Alongside that, we’ll also prepare countermeasures. If this is an ice attribute creature, there’s a chance we’ll encounter it again. We leave tomorrow morning for the re-investigation. Please get a good rest tonight to prepare.”

“Right.”

We didn’t delve too deeply into each other’s thoughts. But we’d confirmed the essentials.

—I think back to that monster.

That ice creature definitely saw us. It had bloodlust too.

And yet, it didn’t pursue.

(It didn’t act like a typical territorial monster.)

After firing the ice chunk, it could have attacked again.

But it didn’t move.

No—maybe it couldn’t.

(Environmental restrictions? Or… something else…)

I looked up at the sky.

Thin clouds drifted across the night sky. It was silent and still.

(If next time it breaks past whatever “limitations” held it back—)

That will be the moment I’m truly tested.

I silently clenched my fist.

Inside it, I felt the unmistakable thrill of anticipation for battle.

Original Author’s Comment:

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