Chapter 458 - Trial Run (2)

"Looks like creating an armour of adamantine angered the dwarves," Arnold smirked when his party encountered the wave of monsters inside the transdimensional dungeon, "Just look at them charging towards us."

It had been roughly a couple of minutes since they arrived at the spot. At first, Arnold thought they had stepped back into Jotunheim, considering the white scenery around. However, it didn't take him long to realise that wasn't the case at all. Although the place looked similar to Jotunheim, it was way different than Arnold remembered. 

For starters, the frozen trees in Jotunheim were even bigger than the frost giants that ruled over the land. But inside the current dungeon that he was in, even the tallest trees were just a couple of feet taller than him. Also, the atmosphere wasn't as cold as it had been in Jotunheim.

It wasn't like Arnold could feel the cold, he was just stating what he was seeing through the temperature reading. Also, the trees there still had a hint of greenery in them, which wasn't the case for the trees in Jotunheim. 

While Arnold was trying to figure out just exactly where they were, they were greeted by the natives of that region... Frost Dwarves. Riding on top of monsters that resembled polar bears, these midgets had long forgotten about their culture and adapted the curse of warfare as a way to survive the harshness of the environment they were forced to live in.

However, even after all the violence, smithy still ran deep in their souls and they used whatever materials they could get their hands on, to convert them into weapons, shields, or accessories for the animals they have managed to tame. 

These Dwarves had gone through a different route of evolution and as a result, were even shorter than an average Dwarf. The average height of this species was around 3'4" feet, unlike the usual 5 feet.

It was the case so that they could conserve energy and hence survive through the harsh environment. However, as a way to balance things, nature gave them an exceptional gift. A gift no other kind of Dwarven subspecies had. The gift to tame monsters.

These dwarves usually had bluish-white skin that helped them camouflage themselves with the surroundings as well as the animals they used to ride on. Despite their pinched faces and stubby legs, they had a strong physique and high agility that made them difficult to hunt down. Especially in the snowy region. Furthermore, after living in the cold for ages, they have gained immunity from cold or attacks using Ice, wind or water affinities. 

But none of it mattered to Arnold. They looked so small and cute that Arnold didn't even consider them as an enemy first. To him, they were created by the gods to get bullied by others and he was no exception to that rule. However, his views quickly changed the moment they began attacking him.

Their weapons had been imbued with mana. Thus even by the slightest swing of their weapons, would have easily cut through those weak paladins Arnold had met up with recently. That was the extent of the mastery these dwarves had over their weapons. 

However, this time these dwarves had no idea whom they were messing with. Even though Arnold could not level up thanks to the restrictions System sama had placed on him, he could still test his armour out before letting Talos and Tiamut have their fun with the kiddos. 

The first wave of Dwarves consisted of almost 200 midgets and their pet bear-like animals. Arnold wanted to see if he could take them out in the silliest way possible without putting in much effort either. 

"Step back," Arnold mumbled through his shielded face, "Things are about to get nasty here."

Saying so, he lifted one of his feet up the level of his waist, while waiting for the dwarves to get closer. The Dwarves, who had never tasted defeat before, fearlessly charged towards their target. However, the second all of them got closer enough, Arnold stomped the ground with all his might.

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Armour effect [Hail Stomp] has been activated. 

Enemies with the area of effect have been slowed by 80%

The ability is now under cooldown for an hour.

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Arnold's one simple stomp to the ground uprooted an entire section of the forest. Snow, dirt and broken trees were thrown around everywhere. The trees and dwarves in his immediate vicinity were flung up in the air as a crater had formed around him. Moreover, this was all an ability of his armour. He had not used any strength enhancing abilities or potions before attacking them. 

In an instant, the platoon of dwarves was either dead or too injured to carry on fighting. The white snow had turned crimson after absorbing all the blood from the fallen dwarves. Leaving Arnold to imagine what carnage would this attack cause if he used it along with his strength-enhancing abilities like [Berserker's rage] and [Devil's rage]. He won't be surprised if he ended up blowing up an entire continent or possibly, even a small planet.

Sadly, as much as Arnold wanted to test out his theory, he couldn't. Not because he was afraid of destroying the entire dungeon, but because this trip wasn't meant for him to increase his strength but for Talos and Tiamut to prepare themselves for what was to come in the future. 

He just wanted to test his armour out, and now that he had, he could step back and let the other two doofuses have some fun of their own. 

"You guys are up. I don't care what you do or how you do it, I just want you two to defeat the boss monster so that we can get back." Arnold shrugged his shoulders, "However, if I am forced to aid you in any way, I wouldn't consider taking the two of you with me. Is that clear?"

"That won't be happening, master. Just relax and watch as we tear them to shreds." Tiamut replied back with a confident look on her face. 

Even Talos joined her while flexing his weapons.. Arnold smiled and nodded, giving them the go, to prove themselves worthy enough to be his companions for the next round of the war of the worlds.