I Reincarnated as the Bastard Prince? Well, At least I'm OP!

Chapter 27: Ice Giants 2

Ice Giants.

They loomed over me, towering at least thirty-five feet into the sky.

Their skin were a deep glacial blue with patches of frost clinging to their arms and shoulders like a second skin.

Each bore long white hairs, as white as fresh snow, tangled like it had never been tamed.

Their eyes burned with an Icy azure, which felt like staring into the heart winter itself.

They wore no heavy armours. Just thick belts and thick frozen animal hides wrapped across their waists.

Icicles hung from the torn edges of their outfit like jagged teeth. And in their hands, they clutched massive weapons.

Spears, it’s tip jagged and forged from pure unmelting ice.

They all stared at me in silence, their breath coming out in thick white clouds.

Looking at these giants now, I knew my party stood no chance facing them head-on.

We’d simply be crushed like insects.

But I’m not like the others. I have something the others don’t.

A Great Dragon’s blessing.

Parting my cloak open, I revealed the dragon’s crest etched onto my chest.

"My name is King Ghorath, the Tempest Emperor!" I declared, my voice echoing across the frozen plain. "Ruler of the Red Dragon’s Domain and master of Gwyneria, Monarch of the Everblaze. I come in peace."

The Ice Giants remained still and silent like frozen statues, their breath forming fogs in the sky.

Then, one by one, they stepped aside and knelt on one knees, lowering their heads in deference.

From the caves entrance ahead, another giant emerged towards me.

This giant was much smaller than the other giants, roughly twenty feet tall.

She wore a crystalline crown upon her brow.

"I am Thrymara, the Ice Queen," she said, standing before me. "We have been expecting you, Lord Ghorath."

I arched a brow. "You have?"

"From the moment you set foot in Frosthelm Mountains, we’ve been observing you," Thrymara replied. "Despite your best effort to suppress your mana, we could tell that you’re no ordinary child. The aura of a great dragon is not so easily hidden."

"Is that why you didn’t attack my group?" I asked.

"We Ice Giants are very territorial," Thrymara answered. "We only attack when provoked. Even if we had chosen to strike, it would’ve been futile. You are strong."

I never realized how powerful forming a contract with Gwyneria had made me.

It still felt unreal.

Thrymara continued after a short pause. "You wanted something from the Ice Giants, don’t you, Lord Ghorath?"

I nodded. "Quite obvious. I’ll need strands of Ice Giant hair. My party and I need them to pass an exam."

Thrymara replied. "I will personally give you as many strands of my hair as you desire, Lord Ghorath... in exchange for your help."

"In exchange for my help?" I crossed my arms. "What kind of help?"

Without a word, Thrymara gestured me to follow her into the cave alone.

I tagged behind her, my eyes following her every step.

The walls were illuminated by torches burning with blue flames on either sides.

It was colder inside but the temperature didn’t bother me that much.

Eventually, we reached a vast throne room. Thrymara took her seat upon a magnificent throne carved entirely from ice.

"Lord Ghorath," she began softly, her voice almost pleading. "Please, help us. Once in a year, a rift deep within the core of these mountains opens. From it, fire wraiths spills out like a thousand army. They burn through glaciers and melt our ice. It disrupts the ecosystem, posing harm to Ice Giants."

She paused, leaning forward. "Only a mage with power like yours can seal the rift. Maybe this is a coincidence because the next wave of fire wraiths attack is expected tomorrow."

I stroke my chin thoughtfully. "What caused the rift?"

"It’s a remnant of the Great War long ago," she answered. "Please, be kind to help us seal the rift. I’ll do anything you ask."

I studied her closely. She may look smaller in comparison with the other ice giants but I could tell she was strong.

"Take me to the rift," I said at last. "I’ll help you."

* * * *

The rift was nestled deep within the mountain’s core. It was a jagged tear in space, pulsing with a luminous purple light, burning like a dying star.

The air around it hummed with the vibration of an electric wave.

Long streaks of lightening arched from it’s center, threatening to split reality in two.

"It’s almost time," Thrymara said as she led me to the rift. "By sundown tomorrow the rift would open. And when it does, thousands of fire wraiths will spill forth, devouring everything in their path."

I could hear bloodcurdling shrieks and eerie moans echoing from within the swirling violet core.

Rift sealing was High-Tier Level 12 Magic. A very complex magic.

You are literally dealing with the very fabric of reality. Even the slightest mistake have catastrophic consequences.

I’m talking backlash explosions, or worse the rift expanding further.

Approaching the rift, I took my time to study it’s structure. I noticed the edges had three barriers.

Most rifts requires multiple mages. One to dismantle the barriers, another to stabilize the distortion, and a third to reweave the broken threads of space.

But there was only one me. If I was going to do it, I’ll need reinforcements.

Taking a deep breath, I crossed my index and middle fingers, brought them to my temple, and channeled a surge of mana.

"Mirror my form, shadows arise!" I chanted.

Three perfect duplicate of my form peeled away from my Shadow.

They stood around me, my clones, each wearing the same clothing and sharing my features.

"Alright, boys," I said, gesturing towards the rift. "We’ve got some work to do. Clone One, dismantle the barriers. Clone Two, stabilize the rift from shifting. I’ll seal the rift."

Clone One studied the barriers and shook his head. "I think I’ll need backup. That barriers look tricky."

"Very well," I summoned two more clones to assist them both, bringing the total to six. "Assist the first and second clones. Let’s do this."

We took our positions around the pulsing violet tear, stretching our hands at it.

Clone one with his partner chanted an ancient spell unbinding barrier spell, their fingers weaving symbols in the air.

It worked. The barrier flickered, then dissolve into burning flames.

Clone two along with his partner moved in quick, surrounding the rift with their palms pressed against it’s edges.

The rift shuddered violently, threatening to split wider.

I watched them struggling hard, their veins glowing blue, their teeth gritting as they tried to stabilize the rift from expanding.

"Hey, you guys, help them," I ordered my other clones.

They sprinted and assisted them. The rift stubbornly shook violently as if threatening to split reality in half but my clones were persistent.

Gradually, the vibration dampened and slowed. The energy flux steadied.

They had done it. The rift was finally stabilized.

"Good work, guys," I stepped into the center. "I’ll take it from here."

"Hurry," Clone Two called out urgently. "We can’t keep it stabilize for long."

"Don’t worry, I only need sixty seconds," I said, raising both hands and began weaving the space with a non-incantation spell.

This was the dangerous part and it requires great skills, concentration and enough mana.

The rift began stitching itself together like a needle through fabric. My clones held the edges firmly, reinforcing the spell until the rift vanished in the air.

A long period of silence ensued. It took us just two minutes to seal the rift. I thought we’d never make it.

"Good job, guys," I said, high fiving my clones, with a loud cheer. "We did it."

After our little celebration, my clones dissipated into shadows, leaving me alone with Thrymara.

"You have saved us, Lord Ghorath," she bowed on one knees and bowed. "Thank you. My people are forever in your debt."

"It’s alright," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I’m just doing what I can."

"Take this," Thrymara rose, plucking a strand of her long, snow-white hair. She offered it to me on her palm. "Enough hair for your entire party."

I smirked. "Thank you, Thrymara. I’ll should be on my way now. It’s almost dawn."

"Yes," Thrymara hesitated as she glanced restlessly around. "Before you depart... may I request one more favour?"

I cocked my head. "What favor may that be?"

Thrymara bowed again. "If it’s okay with you, Lord Ghorath, take my daughter with you."

I reared my head back. "Umm... don’t get the wrong idea, Thrymara. I’m not forming a party."

"I understand," she replied. "But I want her to serve under you. You are a powerful mage. You will have great use for her in the future. She is full of potentials. I want her to grow stronger under your care. If you wouldn’t mind taking her in, I’ll be most grateful."

I rubbed the back of my head, wondering how I got myself mixed up in this. "Aren’t Ice Giants like super big? I can’t be walking around with an ice giant behind my back."

Thrymara chuckled. "You don’t have to worry about that. We Ice Giants are born like human-sized babies. As we grow older, our body also grows. An ice giant fully matures at 500 years. Be rest assure my daughter would remain in perfect human height for another 100 years."

By now I was curious. "How old is your daughter again?"

Thrymara rose to her full height. "She’s fifty years old. Skadra, step forward please."

I was startled when Skadra emerged from behind Thrymara. I had to blinked twice to be sure I wasn’t mistaking.

Skadra looked the same age as me. A cute adorable blue skinned girl.

And she was only fifty years old? Holy shit.