In an instant, a curtain of muscle formed in the village clearing. As if part of some traditional ceremony, they quickly formed a circle, puffing out their chests and crossing their bulging arms to create a wall of muscle.

    Having kicked out the "babies" who were only around 180cm tall, the warriors who easily exceeded 190cm created a circle that felt like an actual wall. In the center, a bull beast-kin who must have been the village chief or warrior leader snorted loudly and spread his arms wide.

    Spread legs, twitching hands, a lowered stance with his body hunched as if ready to charge—he was making challenging gestures like a wrestler or sumo fighter, inviting a bare-handed contest.

    "Come! Human child! Prove your strength!"

    Just as I was about to remove my armor, seeing clearly that he wanted a proper warrior''s contest of raw strength—

    "Roland."

    "Hmm?"

    "I''ll do it."

    Katie stepped forward decisively, having already removed her ice armor and standing in just her shirt. Compared to the cow and horse beast-kin, her frame was so delicate she looked like a child, even younger than a teenager, prompting laughter from those around us.

    It wasn''t laughter meant to insult or belittle her, but rather laughter of disbelief. After all, Katie''s small frame was at least two heads shorter than even the calf who hadn''t been recognized as a warrior.

    To them, I might look small but solid—like a piece of flint—but Katie probably looked like a child who hadn''t even reached puberty. So their laughter wasn''t malicious mockery, but the smiles of adults looking at a cute child.

    "I can do this."

    "...Alright, fine."

    "Wait, are you sure that''s okay?"

    But absence of malice doesn''t mean you can''t insult someone. Katie moved forward, lightly brushing aside Irene''s worried glance and Han Se-ah''s attempts to stop her.

    Everyone in our party and the viewers were concerned seeing the delicate girl standing before a 2-meter muscle monster who looked like he had steroid side effects, while the beast-kin snorted roughly as if telling her to stop fooling around and step aside, but it didn''t matter.

    On the surface it looked like a battle between a muscle monster and a beautiful girl, but in game terms, it was an equal match between two 5★ fighters. One was a great warrior who could be considered a named-rank being from the 67th floor, while the other was the Goddess''s Knight approaching 6★.

    ''If she uses her aura well, she could hold her own, but surely she''s not planning to fight with pure strength.''

    With the bull beast-kin possessing strength befitting the 67th floor and Katie having accumulated experience until now, she wouldn''t lose one-sidedly. Even thinking pessimistically, they would fight evenly until she''d be outmatched by weight class.

    With this in mind, I folded my arms and silently watched Katie, signaling my trust in her. She grinned in response.

    ...What''s going on? I can only see her back, so how can I feel that grin?

    -Ah, a battle of warriors staking their honor

    At that moment, I sensed something strange and focused my attention, when someone whispered in my ear. It wasn''t Han Se-ah, Grace, or Katie, nor the beast-kin or wraiths—it was a completely unfamiliar voice.

    A cracked and rough voice that nonetheless bubbled with vitality like boiling lava echoed in my ear.

    The roar of an old predator that hadn''t lost its strength, or a low, gloomy voice like a volcano about to erupt. Not a person speaking, but more like a growl from the wilderness, emanating from Katie as she stepped forward.

    ''Am I the only one hearing this again? What''s going on?''

    -Beyond right and wrong, this is merely to prove oneself

    To be precise, it wasn''t coming from Katie but starting to envelop her.

    "...Frost? What is that?"

    "A new skill?"

    "Hmm, a child of winter? If that''s all you believe in..."

    -Unnamed warrior of the beast-kin!

    Like wind sweeping up a pile of snow to create a small vortex, a snowstorm began to rage around Katie''s body.

    The snowstorm started at her feet, climbed up her calves, wrapped around her shirt, and rose above her head. Like a living thing, the snowstorm took form.

    A chain mail made of sparkling ice fragments, a beast-skin cloak formed from the raging blizzard, a T-shaped nose guard of a Viking helmet covering her mouth. A blizzard giant that not only enveloped but swallowed Katie''s small frame looked down at the bull beast-kin.

    -Do you duel with words? Come!

    "Ha, hahaha! So the human child had a trick up her sleeve! Excellent!!!"

    A blizzard Viking that appeared to be two heads taller than the bull beast-kin who already exceeded 2m. While everyone was confused by Katie suddenly becoming a necromancer instead of a knight, Han Se-ah, who was busily operating her camera, noticed something.

    A crouching wolf emblem prominently embedded between the chain mail made of ice and the cloth and leather armor made of snowstorm.

    "Hey, Roland? That wolf shape on the armor, isn''t that the Wesley family crest?"

    "...I think so."

    "Wait, could it be a spirit from the armor?"

    -Why is our kiddo suddenly changing classes lol

    -It''s not a class change, is she seriously trying to pull an "I am your father" moment? lol Ice knights are like that

    -With that helmet design, if we got her a nice-looking sword imbued with frost, she''d use it well

    -Careful, is this setting up a "succession hero" moment and a Han Se-ah flag? lol

    -With Katie''s personality, there''s a 140% chance she''ll say "not succeeding you, father" and run off in ice armor, isn''t there? lol

    It seemed that blizzard Viking was an ancestor of the Wesley family who had been dwelling in the ice armor.

    ...How did the Northern Duke''s ancestor become a Viking?

    ※

    To be honest, there wasn''t much we could clearly figure out right now.

    Why could only I see the orc using the Invisibility Helmet? Was the Orc Champion heading toward the 69th floor? What did the Crystal Shield sacred relic of the Stone Hoof tribe do? What happened with Katie''s character quest? Why did the armor''s spirit suddenly awaken to give her power?

    But there was one thing I could definitely figure out.

    -Prove it! Prove it! In struggle, we exist!

    "You are truly a warrior worthy of respect! It is an honor, Warrior of Winter!"

    I could finally understand exactly why Katie had been sulking.

    ''Is this connected to me somehow through our pact?''

    As if confirming that I hadn''t imagined feeling her smile even with her back turned, a corner of my chest tingled as I sensed fragments of Katie''s thoughts.

    Exploration proceeding faster than any other layer, Han Se-ah''s impressive magic applications, cute and beautiful forest animals, Grace''s abilities that rivaled the beast-kin... and her own feeling of uselessness and the guilt stemming from it.

    In short, Katie hadn''t sulked because I only offered to escort Irene. She sulked because escorting Irene was her job, and I was trying to take even that away from her.

    ''I thought she was just carefreely having fun, but was she actually running around busily because she had nothing to do?''

    You could say the forest fairy and beast-kin allies had actually become a problem. Even in combat, she''d only dealt with predators that Grace sniped and the shadow fang tiger swooped in to take the killing blow. As a result, Katie hadn''t had a chance to draw her sword while escorting Irene.

    In the midst of this, when I tried to take over escorting Irene as well, Katie''s adolescent emotions had erupted with a "bang!" She felt she had no role in the party...

    "Grrgh, I apologize for not recognizing a true warrior! Here I come-!"

    -Good, unnamed warrior! If you cannot avoid the blizzard, you must charge straight ahead!

    While Katie''s one-sided stream of thoughts—gratitude, apology, and all sorts of mixed emotions toward party members—flowed into me, the battle between the two warriors continued.

    When the blizzard Viking thrust out a fist wrapped in ice fragments, the snorting bull beast-kin countered with an equally powerful punch, breaking the frost on his skin with rippling muscles. Two warriors fighting head-on without evasive techniques or finesse.

    The two warriors, having drawn up massive amounts of mana in their excitement, crushed and shattered the dirt ground of the clearing, causing the beast-kin warriors forming the curtain to step back and widen the distance.

    Responding to this and preparing for a final blow, the two warriors faced each other in exaggerated stances before extending their fists simultaneously. A clean punch resembling a perfect cross counter struck each other''s jaws.

    "Wait, is this the ''becoming friends through fighting'' trope? It looks like Katie''s ancestor and the beast-kin guy suddenly became super close?"

    -It''s the royal road of weeb stories to become friends through fistfights lol

    -"I can''t acknowledge you!" (becomes ride-or-die best friends after an intense fight)

    -Fighting and becoming friends is fine, but I''d rather see them befriend the busty ladies lol The hairy old man is a bit...

    -I want to see bouncing, not dangling, why do I have to watch old men''s friendship? This is painful, sob sob

    -So what is that ice giant anyway? lol Is Katie suddenly becoming a summoner? Or is this like a self-enhancement ultimate ability?

    The bull beast-kin stood with a satisfied smile before fainting on his feet. Katie didn''t faint, but she was swaying unsteadily as the ice giant disappeared.

    My concern for Katie had long vanished, buried in the sweaty stickiness that persisted even through the snowstorm. Han Se-ah was busy chattering with viewers as if analyzing the game, while Grace and Irene simply watched in amazement, suggesting that I might be the only one connected to Katie.

    Meanwhile, the beast-kin, living up to their muscles with hot-blooded personalities, stomped their feet and cheered at the sight of the cross counter.

    "Winter Warrior! Warrior of Winter!"

    "A warrior from outside the forest has come as a guest!"

    "The warrior who will become the owner of the sacred relic has arrived!"

    And in the midst of this chaotic situation, I received a new quest.

    [Help awaken your companion Katie 0/1]

    [Reward: X]

    What''s next, no reward? It''s probably a hint that I can help Katie awaken, but the quest window seems to be getting lazier.

    Enjoy the chappy!