Dungeon of Niflheim

The speed of the mountain lifts were quite fast, so it didn't take long for Frost and Khione to reach their destination.

Here a couple kilometres up from the resort hundreds if not thousands of young children were standing in front of instructors as they learned to either ski or snowboard. Each of them smiling from ear to ear as they followed instructions, eager to have their go at going down the yellow run slope.

Frost couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed upon seeing the amount of children here, apart from the odd one or two he was the only adult present with the trademark yellow skis.

"Khione mind if I ask a question before we begin?"

"Sure ask away." Khione lead him to a flat undisturbed area a fair distance from the children and their instructors.

"Do all the children born here in Niflheim have monstrous immunity to ice or do they all need to wear special artifacts like the necklace Kiba was given?" When he first entered the realm of Niflheim Gatekeeper Yule told him he'd only met the bare minimum requirements to survive in its environment. Kiba who was only C-rank needed to constantly wear a special necklace that kept his body warm at all times otherwise he would freeze to death.

"Oh that, well it's a bit complicated and far beyond even my abilities to fully understand but..." Khione cupped her chin as she tried to find the best way to explain.

"No they don't have insane levels of ice affinity though it is higher than average when compared to the core regions of the Glacial mountains, but they also don't need to wear the artifacts we provide to visiting guests."

"Then how?"

"Because of my father. Despite how he looks and acts the old man is still the Primordial Ice King one of the oldest and most powerful Gods in existence. The realm of Niflheim is also his personal dimension, a space created solely by him thus he has complete and utter control over how it functions."

"Since it would be impractical and very inefficient to assign artefacts to each and every newborn my father through some divine mumbo jumbo created a safety net that actively protects each and every child born within Niflheim from the rampant chill. As they age and grow stronger the protection weakens until eventually they can stand tall without it." Khione understood the theory and even marvelled at the solution but since she wasn't a God nor even at the S-rank she couldn't fathom how her father managed to achieve such a system, Gods were simply broken existences in her mind.

"That's incredible." Frost was blown away by the revelation, his respect for Shivali shooting through the roof. Though like Khione he wouldn't be able to understand the process the result answered his question. He no longer found it odd to see children running around happily in a place where even he would struggle to survive long term.

"Alright time to get down to business, lets teach you how to ski and see if your talents extend beyond fighting." Khione donned her teaching persona, standing tall with her chest arched out as she spoke boldly and confidently.

"Yes teacher."

About ten minutes later Frost had managed to pick up the essentials, when the skis are straight and run smoothly across the snow he'd pick up speed, when he pointed the tips close together or if turned them against the downward angle of the mountain he'd slow down. The rest was all about finding a comfortable balance, a task that took very little effort given his strength and knowledge of his body's capabilities.

"Seems you're a natural, I think you'll be fine on a red run." Khione nodded her head in approval; it was always satisfying to teach a talented student.

"Ok lets move up higher once I'm finished here." Frost bellowed through a smile as he picked up speed on the smooth slope, carving the snow up as he moved from side to side, picking up some impressive speed. He was having a blast, the cold air crashing against his face, the feel of the snow beneath his feet and the sight of children happily doing the same thing he was only often falling filled his heart with joy.

'I really need to incorporate this back at the Dungeon; I'm sure Nanna and Loki would love it.' As he travelled down the mountain unperturbed by his still gaining velocity Frost couldn't help but think of home, the family awaiting his return. Skiing could turn out to be the perfect recreational activity for him and his monsters. The Dungeon had the environment necessary to pull it off and he could easily shape the mountains in any manner that he saw fit.

"You shouldn't let yourself get distracted, especially when moving at these speeds." Suddenly from the side Khione magically appeared with her back facing the bottom of the mountain, moving with a hundred times more grace and skill.

"EH!" Not expecting to suddenly hear Khione's voice so close, Frost was dragged out of his thoughts causing his balance to falter and his skis to pull in different directions. What was worse there was a group of children dead ahead slowly going down together using the basic pizza method. If he didn't swerve out of the way or come to a stop he'd likely hit them.

"Crap!" Panicking he tried to move out the way but met an unexpected degree of resistance from the snow. A moment later his skis crossed like an X, and he was sent flying through the air, barrelling straight into a mound of snow off to the side. The children thankfully were unharmed and were instead laughing at the adult who crashed on a yellow run.

"Hahahahahaha" Khione who knew full well what she was doing broke down in a fit of laughter, seeing someone so talented and confident falling face first into a pile of snow was such an exhilarating rush.

Boof!

Annoyed by her charming laughter and the fact that she played no small part in his crash Frost burst out of the snow mound with a darkened expression. His skis had come off thanks to their safety feature, standing like sticks in the ground several metres away but he didn't go and pick them up instead he stomped right up to Khione, squaring right up at her as she continued to laugh.

"You think that's funny, how about I give you something to really laugh about!" Suddenly Frost reached out his hands as though to take advantage of Khione sensual curves but instead of groping he started tickling her without mercy. A method he often used against Maya when she acted like a brat, teasing and making fun of him from a position of superior strength.

"Ahahaha stop, stop I'm really ticklish ahahahaha." Though caught by surprise Khione was powerless against his devilish hands. She squirmed and spasmed, tickled until tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

If this was anyone else she would feel repulsed, enraged by their intimate actions, likely destroying the offender but when Frost did it she felt warm and fuzzy, she enjoyed the kinship. In her heart she had already started to see him as someone special, someone who was on the same level as her family.

"You gonna apologise?" Frost continued to tickle Khione with a smile on his face, he too was enjoying the close kinship. Even through the fabric of her winter apparel he could still feel the smoothness of her skin, the power that lay beneath and the alluring perfume she used. If he continued any longer it likely wouldn't end with a little tickling thus he quickly asked for her surrender, this wasn't the time or place to push things.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry hahahaha can you stop tickling me now." Khione cried out in defeat, unable to stand against his masterful moves. When it came to Frost she rarely ever got the upper hand.

"If you want me to stop then fine, I'll stop." Frost pulled away his hands, immediately curbing his wolfy heart and leaving Khione's body somewhat wanting.

Khione despite feeling a little reluctant in her heart stood back up, his gaze shifting from side to side to make sure no one saw her fragile state before sighing in relief. Thankfully no one was all that interested in their little tussle, it wasn't unusual to see couples bonding on the mountain, it was quite a romantic place after all.

"The mountain is shared so you need to pay attention to your surroundings, especially if you want to challenge higher levelled runs." Khione sorted herself out calming her wayward heart as Frost fetched his skies from the snow mound.

"How so?" He could understand for the yellow and red runs given that it mostly catered to children and beginners, individuals who usually moved in groups and lacked the skills to properly move out of the way. And although he too could be considered not very skilled he was a lot sturdier than the average person on the yellow and red level runs. A few crashes wouldn't injure him in the slightest but on the higher runs wouldn't there be more space, less crowding and people who had the skills to easily swerve out of harms way.

Hearing his question Khione showed a cunning smile, it was time to reveal that little surprise from earlier.