Chapter 101 Growth
Two months passed in a jiffy and everything relatively calmed down. Even though the whispers and murmurs were still circulating, the hubbub was eventually cooling down. By now, the news of Alier's death had begun spreading throughout the Kingdom, creating ripples of shock everywhere.
This was a significant event as Alier's death meant that the White Family had weakened. Its influence in the Royal Court would waver and hidden vipers would not hesitate to pounce on the opportunity to reduce the Family's recently expanding influence even further.
Fortunately though, Old Man White and even Shirin were in the Royal Capital and so no huge harm would be done to the Family's image.
Ever since Albaer left nearly two months ago, Ethan had been strictly grounded in the mansion by Aisha. After such a catastrophe, she would obviously not allow Ethan to take more risks.
Ethan also did not resist as he needed time to heal. The injuries he had fabricated were indeed serious as Ethan wanted to leave no loose ends and so the wounds would often ache despite having used medicines, potions, and treatment.
It was around 10 AM and Ethan was in the training facility going through his usual daily schedule of swordsmanship training as the noise of metal clashing could be heard in the chamber.
Ethan was wearing a loose white robe that was comfortable to move in, from the front, the robe barely covered his chest as his maturing body was open to the view.
The swords clashed in the training chamber as Ethan was sent flying backward, but he quickly regained his composure and took the defensive stance, standing firmly in front of the middle-aged man a few distances away from him.
"Very well done, Young Master. Unfortunately, the White Family's martial sword technique isn't suitable for you. But you have a good chance with defensive techniques."
The middle-aged man, who was black-haired, tall, bearded, and had a well-built, sturdy body said with a smile.
"Commander Wolfe, thank you for your time. Unfortunately, I'm no good with swords and martial arts." Ethan said as he sighed despondently.
"There is no need to be ashamed. It is quite common for those who are Awakened to not be compatible with Martial Arts. Once you begin to understand more about your strength, it will not be difficult for you to fend for yourself. But until then, you should at least learn to properly swing a sword even if you don't know any Martial Arts or Sword Arte."
The man called Elijah Wolfe, the commander of the White Family's forces, reassured with a full-hearted wide smile as he made a thumbs-up gesture.
Ethan nodded nonchalantly, his mind seemingly wandering somewhere else. Noticing this, Commander Wolfe asked in a serious tone, "Is there something in your mind?"
Ethan seemed to have woken up from his reverie as he awkwardly scratched his head, he responded in a bitter tone, "Sir Wolfe, I am… worried about father."
Elijah's eyes widened slightly but then he let out a hearty laugh and replied, "Haha! There is no need to worry at all. His Grace is very strong and he has specially trained war-hardened men with him as well. His Grace is not someone who would risk his life. Most probably he will act covertly. It will take Grandmasters to bring him down but even that might be difficult."
Hearing this, Ethan's doubts were cleared as he smiled with relief.
Sheathing his sword, Ethan realized that his body had become extremely dirty, soaked with sweat, and stinking awfully due to the rigorous training.
He bowed politely and said, "If today's session is done then allow me to take my leave."
"Yes, you may leave."
Elijah gave his approval seeing Ethan's visage. Ever since Ethan had begun the training, his frail body was starting to mature exponentially, his muscles were developing well and Ethan looked a lot more vigorous.
Saying his goodbye once again, Ethan left the training chambers and returned to his room. He stretched his body as a cracking sound rang. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable with all the sweat, Ethan frowned.
"Guess I should take a bath first… But before that…" Ethan muttered to himself, smiling cheekily as he sat on his chair and closed his eyes.
The knowledge of the fundamentals of the frost element and the Ancestral Blessing of the white family that was branded in his consciousness went through his mind in a blink of an eye. The cold particles appeared around him dancing happily like forest spirits as the temperature in the room decreased.
Unlike before, Ethan's control over his powers was much stronger as all the sweat from over his body disappeared along with the foul stench as he felt his spirits rise and his mood refreshed.
The bluish-white particles then vanished like they were never there in the first place as Ethan opened his eyes. Feeling satisfied, a faint self-appreciating smile appeared on Ethan's face.
The faint modest smile then slowly changed to a smirk as the right corner of Ethan's lips raised upwards.
"And now…" Ethan muttered, calming his mind completely as he leaned back in his chair.
Perceiving the Temple of the Apostle merged with his soul, Ethan could feel a deep sense of familiarity and intimacy with the temple that could never be sensed before.
Dwelling deeper into the connection that he had formed with the temple, Ethan fell unconscious while sitting straight on his chair. On the other hand, in the Temple of The Apostle—the Garden of Adam. The frosty sapling that was tiny and weak before had matured into a small plant, filled with the Elemental Essence of Frost and Cold, it glowed brightly stirring the Elements of The Temple, making it tremble as streaks of brilliant lights began attracting as well as converging to the Plant.
At this moment, Ethan's ethereal body suddenly appeared in front of the small plant, and the abrupt chaos inside the temple seized completely,
Looking at the beautiful scenery of the sublime Garden of Adam before him, Ethan bloomed with delight, taking in the fresh air and enjoying the serene, quiet atmosphere to the fullest.
He would never grow bored of the scenery inside the Garden of Adam. It wasn't long ago when he discovered that after absorbing Allier's powers, one of the restrictions over the Temple was removed as he could easily enter and exit the temple as he wished now. Ever since then, Ethan would regularly visit the Temple and yet it always delighted him to no end.
More than anything, it was a place for him to escape to.
Since he was in the temple anyways, Ethan decided to practice using his prowess.
The runic characters of the old language flashed in his subconscious as the Elements stirred, and the Elements of frost appeared once again as Ethan began constructing an image of his desired cause.
An image of a large Ice Shard appeared in his mind, the ice shard was made of hard, sturdy material, and it was colored white, and pointy at its nose making it seem like an arrow.
As the image formed in his mind, the exact copy of his desired cause manifested in his hand.
A few seconds passed and the ice shard did not disappear on its own, signifying that the attempt had not failed. Ethan then released control over the image in his head and the ice shard disinterested. Ethan once again focused and created an image once again, the image was intricate with substantial as well as incomprehensible details, it was made of data, runes, and characters flowing in it acting as the gateway to the source of creation.
This time, Ethan envisioned the ice share shooting out from his hand and hitting the tree in front of him.
However, this time his comprehension wasn't enough as the ice shard manifested in front of him but fell to the ground instead of shooting out.
"Damn Newton, so your shitty laws of gravity also work in a world like this, huh." Ethan cursed.
After trying some more but failing repeatedly, Ethan gave up on trying more as the reason for him coming to the temple wasn't to do more training anyways.
Ethan began walking forward, taking in all the scenery of the Temple as if there was no tomorrow. Eventually, he reached the Grand Library.
Entering the library, Ethan saw the countless books laid out on an enormous golden mahogany library table. These books were specially handpicked by him after hours and hours of scrummaging.
Seeing the treasure trove of books and the various titles written on the books' front covers ranging from Medical, Philosophy, Martial Arts, and Language to Rituals, Formations, Military, History, Literature, and a whole lot of other range of topics full of books around him, Ethan broke out in a truly ecstatic, ludicrous laughter.
A moment passed and Ethan soon calmed down. Lovingly stroking the books, he sighed in regret as it was now time to get back to reality. Afterall, this time he had other things to do. The reason he had visited the temple today was to simply refresh himself and escape from the mundane life.
Since the escaping was done for now, Ethan sighed as he decided to return to the real world. He closed his eyes and severed the temporary connection between him and the Temple of The Apostle.
When Ethan opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his room sitting on the chair as the familiar sight of the room reflected upon his pupils. Feeling somewhat disappointed, Ethan sighed and stood up as he muttered, "Alright, enough of staying locked up in here. I need to get some work done."