Chapter 38

Ah...

Looking out the window of the moving carriage, Ethan sighed.

The morning after his departure from the front lines was already dawning before his eyes. In the distance, shining brightly, the sun rose imposingly, slowly ascending while the snowfall around showed no sign of stopping.

"Once again..." he thought, observing the thick layer of snow continuing to accumulate everywhere he looked. "The temperature dropped drastically overnight..."

This could no longer be ignored. If the temperature drop in the demon realm was the same as here, if it continued... forget about the fires... soon many wouldn't be able to withstand the cold.

"You said it would normally take a little over a day, right? Considering how far we've already traveled, how much longer?"

"Well..."

Looking around, for a moment, the commander even felt a bit lost. The terrain no longer seemed familiar. The snow had taken over everything.

"The situation is worse than expected. The horses are slowing down more and more, so I can't say for sure. Although I can't see the grass thanks to the snow, judging by the surroundings, we're probably nearing Meadowhaven, which would indicate we've already covered half the distance."

"So it would be at least another day..."

Ethan sighed.

"Oh, I did it! I finally did it! Yes...!"

Elizabeth suddenly stood up, hitting her head on the carriage's ceiling. Her eyes sparkling and a beautiful smile on her face, while her aura enveloped her completely and even extended beyond her own body.

"Oh! Congratulations, Miss! That's truly amazing!"

Without any apparent effort or strong will, Ethan's eyes wandered towards Elizabeth. Her aura, though somewhat unstable, after several hours of training and numerous attempts, was finally able to expand beyond the limits of her own body. She had reached the second stage of aura ascension.

Struggling to bring the sword into her hands using only her aura, Elizabeth smiled.

"Thank you..."

Ethan glanced at her briefly, then returned his gaze to the scenery outside the carriage.

Seeing someone so happy after putting in so much effort didn't please him at all. He also wanted to be able to do that. To strive for something and then, after finally achieving it, feel the happiness of accomplishment. But for him, apparently, that was just a distant dream.

To be monstrous to the point where geniuses like Elizabeth seemed ordinary in his presence... he didn't want that. Being strong is good, that's undeniable. But what's the point if the distance is so great that it makes him feel completely disconnected from others?

"This isn't fun..."

As the white scenery passed before his eyes, Ethan sighed deeply.

"That boy... he's weirder than I imagined," thought the commander, looking at Ethan's distant face. "Even if the peace agreement goes well, we would just be neighboring kingdoms tolerating each other. So why teach her aura ascension so casually? Is it also because he doesn't see her as a potential threat? No... he doesn't seem to care."

"Now... how do I reach the third stage..?"

Turning quickly towards Elizabeth, the commander widened his eyes and, unaware, found himself speechless.

"Miss, how can you? Where did the fear you felt before go?! Teaching you to reach the second stage was already too much! Going beyond that is..."

"The third... how to explain that...?" said Ethan, interrupting the commander's thoughts by stealing his attention.

"You're really going to teach her?! Seriously?!"

Hmm...

Ethan straightened up and looked at Elizabeth for a brief moment.

"From what I've been told, one reaches the third stage when capable of cutting through seas with a single strike. Let's see, if in the second stage you must focus on expanding your control over the aura, in my view, the third stage is a gradual evolution of that, but not just defensively. The focus should be entirely on increasing the area your aura can reach as well as the things it can cut through."

Ethan looked out the window and raised one of his hands. A finger was all he used. He raised it and then slowly lowered it.

"It's not just about superficially cutting through the seas. In fact, you need to be able to cut through everything in it, whether it's the waters or their molecules. Everything must be cut."

Unable to contain their curiosity, both Elizabeth and the commander rushed to the carriage windows.

The knights outside looked frightened.

"To think we would have to fight against a monster like that..."

Beside them, stretching for tens of meters, a clean cut that traversed the snow and split the ground itself suddenly appeared.

"First, you would need to start practicing your offensive aura so that your area of effect is increased. Then... well, then all you need to do is increase your cutting capacity. It's not about the quantity spent, but rather the... let's say "quality." After shaping mana, condensing the aura in such a way that it becomes possible for you to cut a small drop of water in the open air without it splitting into two parts or sticking to the sword blade. Understand?"

Ethan couldn't think of anything else that would be useful in aiding Elizabeth's understanding of aura. Recalling everything he's been told about the stages of ascension and analyzing everything he does to make his feats possible, these are the only things he has been able to conclude so far.

Elizabeth swallowed nervously as she looked at Ethan and nodded hesitantly.

"You would need space to do all that, so unless you're planning to go out and train while accompanying the carriage, I advise waiting for this journey to end."

The journey continued silently, with Ethan observing the unchanging landscapes as everything around was blanketed in snow, Elizabeth focused on stabilizing her aura, and the commander hesitant to even open his mouth except to answer questions posed to him.

"Sir, we're approaching Meadowhaven," said one of the knights. "Shall we proceed immediately or give the horses some time to rest?"

Ethan looked at the large animal the knight was mounted on. Strong and sturdy, certainly. But now as miserable as the smallest and weakest of donkeys. Probably wouldn't even last an hour if we decided to continue now.

"We'll proceed..."

"Give them some time to rest," Ethan said, interrupting the commander. "An hour should suffice, right?"

The knight hesitated.

Looking at Ethan, his body trembled subtly, and his response only came after a nod from the commander.

"Of course, sir... That will be enough."

From atop the wall, the citizens of Meadowhaven watched as the horses and carriage approached. Slowly, with the joint effort of dozens of villagers, the massive gray gates opened, creating a path through the snow.