Three small structures of ice laid upon her outstretched palms. A bird. A cat. A fish. All three were as small as toys a toddler could choke on, all featureless, and all akin to soulless dolls. However, they were ice golems without Asta inhabiting them. Unlike the humanoid that stood before her, they did not shine and were merely dull creatures. Having thought of three separate terrains in which reconnaissance could prove useful—air, land, and water—Claire smiled, closed her hands, and the creations vanished into her Glacial World. Kept for later use.

'Now we just need weapon instructors for him,' Claire thought, arms crossed as she glanced at a Asta who was still enjoying his new body. 'Hmm. I should ask Via to teach him how to handle swords since she wants to pay me back so badly for the Dragon's Heart. Hopefully, he learns fast.'

"Alright," She said as she sat back down upon a chair of ice that naturally formed behind her. At this point, it had become an instinctual act, including crafting one besides herself.

Yet, Alicia merely took a glance at the other and jumped upon her lap.

". . ." Claire remained speechless for a moment as her partner smiled brightly. "Why. . ?"

"Why not?"

Claire sighed and pulled the vampire in, hugging her closer. She reached a hand and grasped the half-mask, lifted it, and naturally placed their lips together. Just like that, a short kiss was exchanged and she returned the mask to its place.

"How was that?" She smiled.

Alicia licked her lips. "I could ask for more."

"Ewww!" Asta's voice leaked beside them.

They turned to see him blurring in and out of the distance. Neither of the girls were weak so with a bit of focus they could see his movements clearly, but without that, his speed overshadowed theirs.

Claire rolled her eyes and spoke up, looking nowhere in particular.

"Mentor of mine, we're ready for the eight trial."

[Finally, I thought I would have to watch children play about all day.] Igris Neihime began. [Trial eight is simply a test of what you have just created. The reward for completing it is a bow.]

"Oh?" Claire raised a brow. "More weapons for Asta, how nice."

The thought of failing the trial did not even cross her mind. Igris Neihime had become used to that peculiarity of his student and so, with a sigh, the world blurred for a moment.

Claire found herself seated upon a chair of ice, Alicia still on her lap. They were within the air, on a platform of clear crystal. She glanced down through that structure and instantly understood the nature of the trial.

There, Asta stood upon a barren land of earth.

He was not alone, however.

Around him was what could possibly be an endless amount of beasts. There were shadow wolves, black as the night with crimson eyes, and creatures akin to drugged-up tigers of her old world. Each and everyone surrounded the slender humanoid of ice, baring fangs and ready to pounce upon him. From her height, Claire could not gleam an end to them.

"Ehhhhhh!"

She could hear Asta's scream of alarm as he spun around in confusion, and she smiled with a sudden hint of amusement. On the other hand, upon her lap, Alicia seemed quite a bit more annoyed at the fact that she wasn't the one down there.

"Do well, Asta," Claire muttered.

"That should be me," Alicia said.

Roars shattered the air and the demonic beasts pounced.

"Wah-wait!"

For his part, though shaking in his boots, Asta was quick in the act of not wanting to be destroyed.

<Loki> squirmed out from his arms and he grabbed the blade and slashed.

With one stroke, a shadow wolf that had just appeared was sliced into two and Asta moved with renewed excitement.

"OOh, this is fun!" He yelled.

There was no technique at all in his battle. Asta merely blurred between creatures, slashing his weapon everywhere he passed, the gleam of the sun shining upon his crystal-like figure as corpses abounded and beasts became headless statues with frozen blood.

'Yup,' Claire reaffirmed, 'Effective against beasts but quite likely useless against someone of similar strength but better skill with the blade. Indeed, the first thing I will do once this is done is hand him over to Via.'

Yet, she was shocked moments later to see his movements improving bit by bit. Once wide slashes became smaller. Once large and unneeded steps to dodge fangs minimized and he used his speed to complete attacks in the gaps—lopping heads off with every step he took.

'He learns fast. Even better than me, when it comes to fighting. He must have been created for that purpose, an innate talent. . .' Claire thought.

He still wasn't good at using the blade by any stretch of the word but he was certainly better than herself now. And, just like that, the eight trial came to an end and Asta stood, featureless amidst dead monsters as the katana receded back into him.

There was not a drop upon his spotless form.

Claire smiled as the world blurred away and they found themselves back within the tower.

[As expected, you completed it with no problem.] Igris Neihime announced.

"Woohoo!" Asta yelled beside them, "I'm awesome!"

Alicia muttered, "I could have finished much faster."

Claire shrugged.

"Where's the reward?"

An item spawned within the air, floating down until it was before her.

Just as her mentor had said, it was a bow. A pure, crystal, bow whose limbs were see-through and grip azure. Then there was an almost imperceptible string that fluttered with snow.

[This is one of my creations, <Kura> the frost bow made from Eternal Ice and the muscle and blood of an Ice Dragon. Pulling its string back automatically creates an arrow from the mana in the world. Pierce anything with it and it'll begin to freeze. Hold the nocking-point for a time before firing and you can enchant it even further, summoning a blizzard of water and ice with its release.]

Claire held the thing, feeling a small chill to even her touch. She supposed that was the nature of things created from eternal ice—though she still had no idea what that even was. 'Interesting,' she thought, 'it's entirely useless to me.' She was already a powerhouse when it came to firing things made with ice from a distance and she could also summon her own blizzards without worry. Unless she ran out of mana, it was useless, though she did not even need the energy once her <Glacial World> came to play. As she had initially hoped, the bow could only be a long-ranged weapon for Asta.

She tried a simple thug of its string—feeling a bit of frigidness on her fingertip as an arrow of ice manifested in place, chilling the air around it. Nodding, she handed <Kura> over to Asta without a second thought, thinking about when he could possibly train with it.

"For me?! Thank you miss!"

[. . .] Igris Neihime sighed.

The excited boy was quickly becoming someone who would one day wield an arsenal of legendary weapons with deadly efficiency and skill.

"Only the ninth and tenth trials remain," Claire muttered, a hint of anticipation in her heart. Two more stages and the water seed would be in her grasp, putting her just where she needed before they could go about seeking Alicia's tomb then ripping the game between Gods, Guardians, and Heroes apart.