The training in the Frostveil Mountains did not end in a day.
Or even a week.
The witch had given Arvin a single command: swing his sword until the energy reached one hundred meters.
At first, the task sounded impossible.
But Arvin refused to stop.
For three days and three nights, he stood in the freezing snow outside the witch's hut, swinging his sword again and again.
The first day was the hardest.
His arms burned with pain after only a few hours. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and the cold crept through his armor like invisible knives.
More than once, his body begged him to stop.
But every time his strength began to fade, one thought returned to his mind.
Seraphina.
Her determined eyes.
Her promise that they would fight the world together.
And so Arvin continued.
The second day felt even worse.
His muscles trembled violently with exhaustion. Every swing of the sword felt heavier than the last. His hands bled where the grip had torn his skin.
Still, he did not stop.
Snow continued to fall around him as if the mountains themselves were watching.
By the third day, something strange began to happen.
The pain in his arms faded.
The movement of the sword felt… natural.
The blue light within the blade grew stronger with every swing.
It was no longer something he forced.
It had become part of him.
Then, with one final strike—
The glowing arc of energy cut through the air.
The blue wave traveled across the snow…
Ten meters.
Thirty meters.
Fifty meters.
Seventy.
And finally—
One hundred meters.
The frozen trees at the edge of the forest shook violently as the shockwave passed through them.
The moment the strike ended, Arvin's legs collapsed beneath him.
His vision blurred.
The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the witch standing nearby.
---
When Arvin opened his eyes again, he was lying inside the hut.
The warm glow of the fireplace filled the room.
His body felt strangely light.
The witch sat across from him, calmly stirring something in a pot over the fire.
"You woke up faster than I expected," she said without looking at him.
Arvin slowly sat up.
"My body… it doesn't hurt."
"I removed your ability to feel pain temporarily," the witch replied.
"You pushed your body far beyond its limits."
Arvin swung his legs off the bed.
"I need to continue training."
The witch raised an eyebrow.
"You will rest."
"No."
Arvin stood up.
"You can ask anything of me," he said firmly. "I will do it for my princess."
For the first time, the witch looked slightly impressed.
"Reaching one hundred meters in three days is already beyond most warriors."
But she also knew something else.
Any training beyond that point would likely break him.
So while Arvin rested, she quietly cast a sleeping spell to force his body into recovery.
Or at least…
That had been her intention.
---
Twenty minutes later, Arvin woke up.
The pain had returned.
But his determination had not faded.
Without waking the witch, he quietly stepped outside the hut and walked toward the forest.
The deeper part of the Frostveil Mountains.
A place even the witch rarely visited.
A place where monsters lived.
Arvin knew the training she gave him had prepared him for something far more dangerous.
And he intended to find it.
The forest was silent as he entered.
The snow-covered trees towered above him like ancient guardians.
Then suddenly—
The ground trembled.
Arvin froze.
Something massive moved beyond the trees.
Then he saw it.
A monster.
It stood nearly fifty meters tall.
Its enormous body was covered in thick icy armor, and its glowing eyes burned like frozen fire.
Every step it took shook the ground.
Arvin slowly drew his sword.
"So this was the reason for the training," he murmured.
The monster noticed him immediately.
With a thunderous roar, it swung one massive arm toward him.
Arvin raised his sword to block—
The impact launched him across the snow.
He crashed nearly thirty meters away.
Blood filled his mouth.
His arms trembled from the force of the blow.
He quickly realized something important.
Blocking was impossible.
If he tried to match the monster's strength directly, he would die.
Arvin slowly stood.
The blue energy began gathering around his legs.
Instead of waiting—
He ran.
The monster swung again.
But just before the strike landed, Arvin jumped.
Using the speed granted by the energy flowing through his body, he soared over the monster's attack and landed behind it.
Without hesitation, he slashed both of its ankles.
The glowing blade cut through the thick icy armor.
The massive creature roared as its legs collapsed beneath its weight.
The moment it fell—
Arvin gathered every bit of power he had left.
Blue light exploded across his sword.
With a single strike—
He cut through the monster's neck.
The giant head crashed into the snow.
Silence returned to the forest.
Arvin stood there for a moment.
Then his vision darkened.
And he collapsed.
---
Moments later, another monster arrived.
Drawn by the sound of battle.
This one was even larger.
Its presence alone made the forest feel heavy.
It approached the unconscious Arvin slowly.
Just as it raised its massive claw to strike—
A second monster appeared.
With a single devastating attack, the newcomer sliced through the first monster instantly.
The defeated creature collapsed without even understanding what had happened.
The new monster slowly approached Arvin's body.
Then something strange happened.
A glowing symbol appeared on the monster's back.
The same symbol formed on Arvin's hand.
A pact.
Among monsters, such contracts were rare.
But this one was different.
The pact had chosen its master based not on current strength—
But potential.
And the victor of that judgment…
Was Arvin.
The massive creature lowered its head respectfully.
For the first time in centuries, the strongest monster of the Frostveil Forest had found a master.
Carefully, it lifted the unconscious knight and carried him back toward the witch's hut.
When the witch returned later that day and saw the creature standing outside—
She nearly froze in shock.
But when she noticed the glowing pact symbol on both the monster and Arvin's hand…
She burst into laughter.
"Unbelievable," she said.
"You truly are a monster yourself."
Later that evening, when Arvin finally woke up, he stepped outside the hut.
The enormous creature stood beside the witch.
"What is that?" Arvin asked.
The witch crossed her arms.
"That," she said calmly, "is now your partner."
She explained the pact between them.
Most monsters possessed only one ability.
Some had none at all.
But this one was different.
It possessed three powerful abilities.
"First," the witch said, "Frost Dominion."
The monster could release a massive wave of freezing energy that covered entire battlefields in ice.
"Second, Titan's Roar."
Its roar could unleash devastating shockwaves capable of destroying walls and breaking enemy formations.
"And finally…"
She looked directly at Arvin.
"Ancient Guardian."
A powerful defensive ability that could create a magical barrier around him whenever his life was in danger.
Arvin looked at the massive creature.
"What is its name?"
The witch shrugged.
"That is your decision."
Arvin thought for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Kaelor."
The giant monster slowly lowered its head before him.
A deep voice echoed inside Arvin's mind.
"My name is now Kaelor… the strongest beast of the northern forest."
And in that moment—
The knight who had come seeking power had gained something far greater.
A companion strong enough to shake the world itself.