Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Chris

Frostheim

"Ah, home sweet home." I exhaled a breath that pleasingly turned into a frosty mist, as it was right to do in the cold. The worst of the season was behind us, sadly, but the tail end of it was still shaking its fist. Even if it was the last week before Spring.

"You still haven't ruled on my proposal." Abigail needled, which had been a constant occurrence during the trip back. An annoying occurrence.

"A ruling? What am I, a judge?" Try as I might to make some humor, she just gave me the dead eyes of a failed joke.

"In this matter, yes, it's quite fitting. We need to discuss our future plans and budget, and now, with Lakeshore... tame, we can start getting decent numbers to work with. The budget will dictate our growth, what we focus on, how we reach higher, and how we compare with others. It's gravely important, and adding your poor jokes to it is unhelpful. You forget how long we will live now."

"How long you will live." I pointed out.

"Oh yes, just me. Like you will never, ever evolve. We need to think longer, plan longer, and anticipate further out. Especially with things coming back together on the civilization front." She managed to segue back from my tangent. A skill she was getting quite good at.

"Ah, yes, the specialties we have to offer." I recited a point she had made earlier.

After the electricity expansion, along with a complete overhaul of BOTH walls, Phillip and the construction crews we employed were basically on standby now that Lakeshore was more or less whole, except for the center of the city, which was still covered in snow. Some were sent to the Mine, to increase fortification levels and to build a wall around it, along with other things, but most were waiting for their next job.

Which nearly everyone agreed were roads. I still had the road to Mountainside to build, but our first road would be to Marcus, maybe Lakeshore would be bumped ahead for obvious reasons.

Then it would be to Harbordeep, if a suitable water route wasn't found by then. Ashton's city would get a road if he ever got around to meeting with Jonathan. Now that his city was connected with the East, we could renegotiate a few points and change our approach. While I wasn't fond of the man, especially after not warning us, we also couldn't spurn him and the benefits a road may bring.

If he'd still been cut off and not under the woes of Canada's new leader, we'd be having words. Harsh ones. Ones followed up by action. Not to the extent of a full on fight, but there would be concessions on his behalf.

Not that there weren't concessions already. We'd sent notice that his and his people's presence at the mine was... no longer needed, the nice way of putting it. The crystals also no longer needed to be shipped through his City any longer.

And as such, since he was no longer needed, his percentage of what we mined would need to be renegotiated. I'd cut off all the crystals he was getting and he wouldn't be getting any more unless he gave something up for them.

We were still waiting on a letter back.

"I will think about it, Abigail. I told you I would think about it. Sophia is still finishing things up in Lakeshore, but once she's done and back, I will have her compile a few things to get a good picture of things." I relented.

"Good," Abigail nodded, "I will have things ready for her then."

She stalked off to... somewhere, and I didn't much care to think about it. She was getting more and more insistent on certain things, and sooner or later, I would have to sit down and truly think about them.

It was just difficult, now. I still had a lot on my mind that didn't just go away now that things were over, at least on paper. Considering I had what felt like a permanent reminder of my actions waiting for me.

Class Evolution options.

~~

Harbinger of Desolation(Legendary)

Desolation and the Cold End that follows come hand in hand. You have seen glimpses of what a scene may wrought and the aftermath of such abilities by your own hand. Lean towards the unforgiving Cold that only the rare being calls home, as not even those loved by Ice venture far into areas of Desolate Cold. With the brutal cold as your weapon, swaths of land quake for what may come.

Requirements: Strong Ice affinity, Tier 2 Law of Ice, witnessed and caused a scene of Desolation, and grasped the Cold as your weapon.

+30 Strength, +15 Agility, +8 Perception, +20 Fortitude, +20 Endurance, +15 Vitality, +4 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +4 Acumen, +8 Free

~~

The Class that this new Legendary option replaced was the Epic option Everlasting Cold. Now my five options were: Warrior Baron(Epic), Arctic Bastion(Epic), Harbinger of Desolation(Legendary), Warden of the North(Legendary), and Son of Frost(Legendary).

Warden was still going to be my choice, but there was something to be felt that my actions in Lakeshore had given me such an option. Actions that weighed on me. I knew it was justified. I knew that if everything happened as it had once again, the same choice would be made, but that didn't make the weight disappear.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Other than a new class choice, I also had another mark from the battle.

You have upgraded a skill:

Shattering Hammer(Epic) -> Shattering Hammer(Legendary)

It was somewhat of a surprise that the name hadn't changed, but I guess it didn't really need to. The skill shattered whatever I hit; now with the upgrade, it just did it better. It hadn't changed in any quantitative way, just got stronger and broader with what I could shatter.

I think what pushed it to upgrade was my selective and directed use of it. When I first acquired the skill, it took everything in me just to use it. Now, with practice and greater abilities, I could direct it.

I directed it to break the wards, specifically. I also directed it to focus on the arteries and veins of the Berserker. And lastly, to destroy the manor in a swift timeframe.

That upgrade made it so that all of my Class Skills offered for E-rank were now Legendary, except for one. [Frozen Leach]. [Frostbound Hammer] started as Legendary, as well as [Jotun's Resistance], [Frozen Rift], and [Hammer Reverberation]. [Shattering Hammer] upgraded into it, leaving only one as Epic.

[Frozen Leach] was very situational. I'd used it a few times, but only on rare occasions that had called for it. I'd used it nearly unconsciously against the War Leader Orc, which apparently turned its skin blue, and I'd used it again against Victor.

Both times, it was hard to pin down its effects on the outcome of the fight. Both were rather explosive and fast, which wasn't what the skill was made for.

Admittedly, I hadn't given it a ton of love during my downtime. Most of it was spent forging and on my Profession skills, on the occasional times I revisited Class skills, it was to focus on [Hammer Reverberation] or something else with a bit more... oomph.

I made a note to revisit the skill later, but my mind was moving on to being back and the joys that came with it.

I get to sleep in my own bed, forge in my personal smithy, and not have to walk on eggshells around people. This is going to be per–

"Chris!" someone shouted my name.

Fuck.

I turned toward the sound and noticed Austin, of all people.

Maybe not fuck?

"Austin! Boy, is it good to see you. How have you been, man?" I smiled and hugged the man. It had been months since I last saw him.

"Oh, you know, it's been going." He smiled and hugged me back, "I finally got to see the mighty Volcano Yellowstone is built around and the massively altered Mountain range to the West. I would have spent a bit more time out there if things hadn't... you know..."

"Oh," my smile faded, "I know. I'm sorry you couldn't make it, but the service we had was nice and the weather was fitting."

"Chris, it was below freezing and snowing." Austin looked at me oddly.

"As I said. It was fitting." I restated, "Have you been by to see her?"

"Yes, I have." He didn't sound massively torn up about it, but everyone dealt with things differently, Austin especially. "Anywho, I'm more interested in the fanciful tales I've been hearing, eh? You, single-handedly damn near destroyed an entire city? A small one, I'm told, but still a city!"

"It's not something I'm proud of, Austin. A lot of people died." I said, most of my former jubilation was lost.

"Alright, I get it, I get it. Just imagine my surprise when I heard about it on the road! You should hear some of the stories!" Austin said.

"I'd rather not," I said firmly.

"Fine, fine, be like that." He said, brushing it off, "I have something else to talk to you about."

He was smiling, with a concealed mischievous glint in his eye, which was never a good sign.

"And what might that be?" I was scared, but had to ask anyway.

"Look who I met on the way here!" He waved over a portly-looking man with better-than-average clothes that seemed fitting on a Merchant or Caravan Leader of some kind. No rings or other gaudy jewelry, though, which was a good sign. A few had taken up the hobby to show their wealth, which just looked tacky in my eyes.

"And who is this?" I asked Austin while looking the man up and down, trying to place him to no effect. I knew some of the Merchants through Jonathan, but I didn't know this one.

"This, my dear cousin, is the Head of the Black Rose Merchant Company!" Austin said eagerly.

I looked at the man with a new eye and found... much of the same. His aura was impressive for a merchant, and I could feel he had evolved to D-rank, but not his level.

"Is that, uh, supposed to mean something?" I asked hesitantly.

Austin laughed while the new gentleman, the Head of some Merchant Guild, just smiled warmly.

"You need to get out more, Chris." Austin admonished, "You should see some of the things happening in the world. There are new Merchant Factions, like this one, Mercenary Groups grouping up and forming Factions, and even a few Guilds focused on Monster Hunting!"

Ah, it's Austin's Fantasies made manifest.

He'd been very vocal about the possibilities of various groups and Guilds that could form, and now he was seeing the beginning of such efforts.

"Yes, that's all well and good, but why is he in front of me now?" I asked.

It was the stranger who answered this time after a short chuckle, "They said you were blunt, but I hadn't imagined the rumors would be so spot on. My name is Alaric Thorne, but you can just call me Alaric if you'd like. And as to the reason I'm here, that's far simpler. Your associate here, or should I say cousin, I've now learned, has described in great detail the niceties that can be found in the Far North, so I've decided to make the trip up here."

He was smiling and seemed pleasant, which was a plus in my book. A few Merchants that made their way up here were straight-up assholes. They acted like we were doing them a favor by trading with them. It was fun kicking them out.

Austin patted Alaric on the back, "Tell him what you told me."

"Ah, yes, while on my journey, I received a message from a confidant on the Coast. They've reported dozens of messengers coming out of New Norfolk heading for every corner of the land. One is on their way here as we speak." Alaric finished.

"A messenger? From the Admiral?" I said, making sure I heard correctly.

"Yes, I don't know what it says exactly, but I hear it's an invitation to come for an Assembly." The Merchant described.

"An Assembly? About what?" I asked curiously.

"That I do not know. It was hard enough to figure out it was an invitation in the first place." The Merchant seemed frustrated at not being able to figure it out, "The only other thing I know is when. It's set to take place on the 5th Anniversary of the Return, the Summer of next year."

Next year? It would take months just to get there! Then months back. Probably a year, round trip, depending on how long this Assembly lasts. A whole year! Ugh, no way in hell am I wasting another year traveling South.

Abigail was talking about future plans, bringing up Golemancers in the like, Austin arrives with a new Merchant Faction Leader, and he arrives with news of an Assembly.

All of it was bullshit. There was one year of peace. One. Then it was all gas pedal into wherever this new year would take me while I was fighting, kicking, and screaming the whole way.

It was a losing battle. I could see that, but how much of an ask was it to delay it for a little longer?

Just a tiny bit.