Chapter 329 - Jotunheim (2)

"Right." Arnold nodded before turning away, "Now step back a bit..."

His summons had evenly divided themselves into groups of approximately 300 each. Since Arnold army was mostly made up of automatons, they were the prominent force among the rest. Arnold didn't know what to expect from the dungeon, hence he decided to go all out. After all, he'll get to put Cardinal's sin in action for the first time since creating it, along with his other gears.

His summons were no different either. They too had equipped themselves with armours, which they never did. Their weapon had been the only source of their strength but now things were getting different. However, their armours weren't anything extravagant like Tiamut. Even so, it represented their seriousness regarding the dungeon hunt.

"Let's see how this works..." Arnold mumbled before crushing the dungeon crystal in his hands.

The domain began trembling as soon as the crystal disappeared from Arnold's hand as if they were hit by an earthquake. The only issue was... the domain wasn't a place any type of natural disaster could even touch as it didn't exist in the physical realm.

Arnold's doubt got cleared when he saw something shining in front of him. It first appeared as a red dot, but it got bigger and bigger. By the time the earthquake halted its rampage, there was a full-fledged portal in front of him.

'A transdimensional portal...' Arnold thought.

"Master, this is-"

"I know, Talos. A freaking transdimensional portal of all the things this crystal could spawn," Arnold sighed before waving his summons to enter the portal.

Ever since the incident regarding the transdimensional portal in Brazil, Arnold made it point no to enter such a portal if it wasn't an absolute necessity. But now he didn't have a choice but to do so. Thankfully, no one would try to screw him over since the entrance to the portal was within his domain. After all of his summons had gone in, Arnold followed them inside.

[Welcome to Jotunheim, The land of the Frost Giants.]

Jotunheim... Was there someone who hadn't heard of this place? The home of the frost giants had many tales associated with itself. The Norse mythology was filled with the stories of their deeds against the Gods. Especially, about the war between the gods and the frost giants which ended in the defeat of the giants... Since then the frost giants bore deep hatred for their overlords. This was the story Arnold knew about.

The realm could be described as the dwelling-places of the giants, camouflaged by deep, dark forests, and mountain peaks where winter never eases its grip on nature. The cold weather there felt infuriating, to say the least and so were the inhospitable and grim landscapes. Right now, Arnold and his summons were standing in a clearing within a forest.

According to the mythological text, the land of frost giants wasn't meant to be as grim as it looked now. It was to become the sanctuary of the Frost Giants, a home where they could grow and prosper. But Odin couldn't see the giants as anything but a threat to Asgard and himself. Thus, began the execution of the giants... until one day Odin just stopped chasing after them. No one knew why he did that but that was the story of how the slaughter of the giants came to an end.

Arnold wasn't an expert when it came to Norse mythology, but he knew enough to consider the giants a threat. Arnold's summons didn't get affected with cold. But even with his mana shield on, he could somewhat feel the chilling atmosphere of the place pierce right through his skin and into his bones. 

He quickly bought some freeze-resistant clothes from the shop and wore them over his gears. He did not want his b.u.t.t to freeze in between battles. That would be the worst-case scenario for him.

[This is a special level-up dungeon. Excess Exp, rewards and Attribute points will be provided for every monster slain.]

[This is not the true realm of Giants, but a replica made to train newbie gods.]

[Good luck with your adventure.]

'This is weird...' Arnold thought as he read the flashy text, 'But it's worth spending time here.'

Arnold was thirsty to test his strength and so were his summons. And this was the perfect dungeon to do so. He casually looked around the forest laden with snow.

Branches of tall trees bravely struggled to withstand the load of snow. The short gushes of icy wind swooped the branches up and down making piles of snow, fall from the branches making a small snowfall. A thick carpet of snow entirely covered the ground. Even though the place was unbearably cold, Arnold found it to be somewhat soothing.

However, there wasn't much life in the forest to enjoy the weather. But little did they know, even in the frosty winter nights, the hidden life in the forest continued. Soon they could hear a loud thumping noise of a giant foot approaching them.

Arnold didn't need to look around to find the source of the periodic thumping sound. After all, a 20 feet tall giant was charging right towards them. The giant looked like a humanoid creature being made of ice and rock, similar to his Frost golems. But Arnold could tell that these basta*ds were in a league of their own.

The bald giant in front of them was sporting a bluish beard that was matted with frost, forming icicles within it. The Giant would've been completely n.a.k.e.d if not for the loincloth covering his crotch. On one hand, the giant carried an axe while his other arm was equipped with a ginormous shield.

"You guys stand by. I'll take care of this one." Arnold waved his hands to stop Asterios and Grock from charging in. It was the first prey to show up, of course, Arnold would want to get a taste of the giant's strength first.