Eternal Winter's Reign - Book 2 - Chapter 39 - Cold Energy Immunity (Patreon)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't mind this. It's so that free readers can't see half the chapter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are reading this on a website that is not Patreon, please stop. You're reading a pirated version. Instead, if you would be so kind, please click on the table of contents link below and go to my Patreon instead. Or even read it off of Royal Road, which is free.

Discord Invite

Top Web Fiction

Table of Contents

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexander North

“So the sapient frozen ones have a name for themselves…” the lieutenant colonel mutters with a frown on his face after I free him from the ice vines. “Frozen Lords.”

“Affirmative, sir,” I respond while standing rather stiffly and holding myself back from glancing in the direction of the tunnel I can tell leads to the crystal. Because that would be a breach of military etiquette.

Not that I’m all about etiquette or anything. But this guy did come to help me. So it’s best not to be rude to the man.

The man starts to mutter to himself while pacing, stating things that I’m sure are related to the situation at his own base but I have no idea what really mean since I’m not a part of his base. And he’s not exactly making it very clear.

Then again, it is clear that he isn’t talking to me.

So I glance at the first lieutenant, only to find the man simply nodding his head in the direction of the tunnel leading to the crystal. Subtly giving me permission to leave.

Well, if the lieutenant colonel wants to mutter to himself like that and break etiquette, then it’s fine for me to do so as well. Especially when the lieutenant gives a signal like that.

And the looks the other soldiers who are dealing with moving the corpses of the frozen ones onto loading trays to move them above ground are giving both me and the man make me wonder if this is normal behavior for him. Which I wouldn’t have expected from someone with his appearance.

Guess it’s better not to judge a book by its cover.

Then again, considering how I look with my black eyes and the blue rings in them, that kind of goes without saying.

Well, putting that aside, I march into the tunnel, leaving the soldiers behind to do their jobs. And I continue marching through it until I eventually find the source of the cold energy.

A faint smile stretches across my face at the sight of it. Of the biggest crystal I’ve ever seen thus far.

It’s so big that it’s larger than I am. Which – from my past experience eating these things – tends to mean it’s the strongest. Since the bigger ones I ate before always had the strongest effect.

The strongest abilities.

Although…

My smile doesn’t last very long as I remember the fact that I’m gonna have to eat this thing.

I frown at the crystal for several seconds before eventually sighing and stepping up to it.

Fortunately for me, the crystal is already fully grown. So I won’t have to wait for it to grow.

When I reach the thing, I stretch my hand forwards and try to dig into it. Only for the terminal to stop me at the last second.

|The purity of the crystal will decrease should you attempt to pick the crystal apart with your hands.|

I frown at that.

“Why?” I ask out loud while pulling my hand back.

|It has been determined that the crystal reacts to saliva, sealing itself up when contact with saliva has been made.|

Oh.

So if I were to try tearing it apart with my hands and eating it that way, the energy would leak out. Meaning I have to actually bite it directly.

That’s not gonna be fun. Eating something this large with just my mouth.

Just the thought alone has me grimacing. But I have to do what I have to do.

So I immediately get to work chomping down on it.

Minutes pass, then hours, and throughout the process, a soldier occasionally comes in to check on me, only to hurriedly leave when he sees what I’m doing. Clearly not telling anyone else about the specifics of what I’m doing judging by each consecutive reaction.

Eventually I finish eating the stupid crystal, and when I do, a warm energy envelops my entire body. Something that hasn’t really happened before when absorbing these crystals, since it usually focuses on one particular area. Like my claws or eyes or something.

The warmth heats up more and more before suddenly growing ice cold. But it feels comfortable to me despite being ice cold.

So very comfortable.

|Analyzing new ability...|

I wonder what it is?

The crystal being this big, it has to be pretty good.

I wait for several minutes as I feel the terminal going at full force trying to analyze my body. And after ten minutes pass, it finally comes back to me.

|New ability has been analyzed. You now have the ability designated by this unit as ‘Cold Energy Immunity’.|

Excuse me, what?

|You now have the ability designated by this unit...|

Don’t just repeat what you’ve already said. Explain what the ability means.

|The new ability known as ‘Cold Energy Immunity’ grants the user, Alexander North, an increased immunity towards all forms of cold energy. This includes an increased immunity to all attacks using cold energy dealt by frozen ones.|

I stare at the empty space where the crystal was not too long ago for a little while. Then a faint smile stretches across my face.

Okay, in that case, this ability is definitely worth it.

But I still need to test just how much this immunity helps me. Because for all I know it could only be a very small immunity.

One possibility after another crosses my mind as I turn around and begin walking away, towards the tunnel. Each being situations that I’ve been in where an ability like this could’ve come in handy.

I know that most frozen ones already are more resistant to cold energy than regular humans, but to have an ability from a crystal this large strictly for it… I seriously hope I’m not disappointed by this.

Once I get back to the cavern, I find almost everyone already gone. Leaving no one but the lieutenant colonel, first lieutenant, and Snow behind.

Right. Now that that’s done, it’s time to really meet the lieutenant colonel.

Since he’s no longer lost in his own head.