Chapter 308: Expectations Vs. Reality [Part 2]
Chapter 308: Expectations Vs. Reality [Part 2]
The young man's body slowly sank until it reached the deepest part of the lake.
Sebastian didn't hold back despite the fact that Ethan had just recovered from his injuries.
He understood that Ethan wanted to become stronger and that holding back wasn't an option.
Although he didn't want to hurt him too much, as his Teacher, he didn't want to betray his student's trust in him by making the battle easier.
Since Ethan wanted to fight strong opponents, he would give him strong opponents.
As the young man lay at the bottom of the lake, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye before losing his consciousness.
What he saw was a mermaid swimming in his direction, and after that, darkness descended upon him.
This mermaid was none other than Lily, who had gained the ability to transform into a mermaid.
Ethan had given her his blood in order to save her from dying due to the Necromancer's sneak attack.
Since the five droplets of the Tide Bringer's Blood had perfectly merged with Ethan's blood, his own blood became stronger, giving him the power of a Deity.
The blood caused a mutation to happen to Lily's body, giving her the power to gain another transformation aside from her Demi-Wolf form.
She then picked up the unconscious young man before swimming towards the surface.
Since his Legacy was still active even while he was unconscious, he didn't have to worry about drowning since he was able to breathe underwater
When Ethan opened his eyes, he saw Lily looking down on him with a worried look on her beautiful face.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked. "I already helped you drink a healing potion. But I'm afraid that you will need to go to the infirmary to get treatment if you are still hurting."
It took a moment for Ethan to register what Lily was saying. After understanding what she was telling him, he became aware of the pain and soreness that suddenly washed over his senses.
"A little sore, but I'm fine," Ethan replied as he endured the pain in his body. "I'm sure that if I return to the infirmary, Professor Galena will nag at me for abusing my body so soon after having just recovered. I don't think I'm ready to hear an earful just yet."
Lily giggled after hearing Ethan's reply. But she knew that he was right.
"Do you want me to carry you to Dud Manor?" Lily asked.
"No," Ethan replied. "Lilith will carry me instead. Don't worry. I have the strong regeneration ability of the Tide Bringer's Legacy. I'll be fully recovered by tomorrow."
"Not if Chloe and Luna beat you up once they found out how you've been reckless," Lily commented. "After waking up, you decided to come here instead of going back to Dud Manor. I'm sure that both of them are very worried right now."
Ethan could only smile bitterly because Lily was right.
"… Sorry. I was a little impulsive," Ethan replied. "Can you help me stand up?"
Lily nodded and assisted Ethan until he was able to stand on his own. He was still feeling very sore, and he could feel a slight pain in his chest every time he breathed.
Fortunately, none of his ribs was broken, so aside from the pain and discomfort, he believed that he would be fine when he woke up the next day.
Lily helped him put on his Wizard Robe and mount her flying broom.
Although Ethan told her that he would let Lilith carry him, she knew that this was a bad idea.
Ethan knew this as well, so he didn't resist when Lily decided to bring him to Dud Manor using her flying broom.
Fortunately, it was the weekend, so the route they took was devoid of people. Because of this, they arrived at their destination without being seen.
"Careful, Princess," Lily said in a teasing tone as she helped Ethan stand up. "I don't want to see you get hurt now, would I?"
Ethan gave her the "I'm going to rock your world when I recover" gaze, which made the young lady smile sweetly.
Unfortunately, just as soon as the two of them entered the Manor, a young lady with light-brown hair ran towards Ethan and gave him a very tight hug, making the young man groan in pain.
"I-I'm sorry!" Chloe said the moment she heard Ethan's pained cry. "Are you still injured? Professor Galena said that you had made a perfect recovery and even snuck out of the Infirmary last night."
"I-I'm okay," Ethan replied. "I just fell down the stairs."
Chloe looked at the young man with a confused look on her ace.
"What stairs?" Chloe asked. "The infirmary doesn't have stairs."
But before Ethan could even correct himself, an angelic beauty tugged on his robe and offered him a healing potion.
"Drink this first," Luna said softly. "Maybe there are hidden injuries that Professor Galena didn't notice."
Seeing the concerned look on her face, Ethan felt very guilty. So, he gratefully accepted the healing potion and drank it without a word of complaint.
After that, he confessed what happened earlier, making Chloe and Luna look at him as if he were out of his mind.
"You just recovered," Luna stated in a disapproving tone. "Are you doing this because of what happened in the duel?"
Ethan nodded. "Yes. I was just testing something out. I'm sorry, I'll be more careful this time around."
Luna wanted to say more, but she decided to hold back for the time being.
"You're not allowed to train for the next two days, understood?" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "Wait until you are fully recovered before you start training again."
"Understood," Ethan replied.
He knew that he should have rested for at least two more days, allowing his body to return to its peak potential before he asked Sebastian to spar with him.
However, he wanted to test the training he had done inside his Sea of Consciousness while it was still fresh in his mind.
Just like what happened earlier, Sebastian had summoned four water Dragons in his Sea of Consciousness, and Ethan fought against them.
Although he didn't win, he was able to get a better grasp of his Water Control Ability during their training.
Another reason why Ethan decided to train after he just recovered was to see if there was a difference between training inside his Sea of Consciousness and training in the real world.
After this incident, he realized that they were indeed very different from each other.
Even the feeling of water touching his skin was more vivid, unlike the water that was created inside his Sea of Consciousness.
Manipulating the water was also harder, making him think that he was only able to adapt faster to Sebastian's training inside his Sea of Consciousness because that place, in itself, was his own personal Domain.
Without much thought, he was able to fight more freely inside of it and have better control over the Water Element.
It was as if he just needed to think about something, and it would happen automatically.
His mind and spiritual body were completely in sync, unlike his body in the real world.
Even though he could think faster, his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts.
In the real world, he had to concentrate harder before he could change the form of water into anything he wanted.
This was the difference when it came to a personal Domain and using something that didn't belong to you.
Since his Dominion lay in the Sea, he had to use three to five times more effort and concentration before he could use the water in the lake to do his bidding.
He might have gotten hurt in the process, but he was still satisfied to learn this lesson early.
'I need to train my mental strength next,' Ethan thought. 'But before that, I need to see Professor Rinehart.'
Ethan's Other Half told him that it was about time for him to make use of the Giant Black Snake that they had defeated inside the Legacy Domain of Nightfall Academy.
As long as certain conditions were met, Ethan would be able to give Emma a gift, which would help his Promised One protect him and herself from those who were starting to pay attention to his potential.