Chapter 67: Are You Batman?
Alistair paused, turning around to look at me shivering in the snow. He let out a light cough, looking slightly sheepish.
"Ah... my apologies, Seth. I forgot that you are newly Awakened. Your physical vessel has not yet adapted to naturally filtering environmental extremes, so arctic temperatures will still affect you heavily."
Grandfather reached for his heavy wool blazer, preparing to take it off and hand it to me. "Here, take my-"
"Wait, Grandfather! Hold on!" I interrupted, an idea suddenly forming in my mind as I held up my hands. "Before you give me your coat... can I try something with my reality manipulation first?"
Alistair stopped, looking at me with a curious, analytical gaze. He stroked his dark beard thoughtfully before giving a slow nod. "Very well. But be cautious, Seth. Do not attempt to alter the entire mountain’s climate, or you will exhaust your spiritual stamina again. Focus on a very small scale."
"Got it," I said, taking a deep breath.
I looked at the howling arctic wind blowing around us. Instead of trying to rewrite the temperature of the entire mountain or force the wind to stop blowing, which would create massive friction with the natural laws, I focused entirely on my own body.
I closed my eyes, imagining a neat, invisible sphere extending exactly ten centimeters outward from my skin, creating an isolated spatial boundary around my body. Then, I didn’t try to create heat, I simply dictated a new law for that tiny ten-centimeter zone: Any air entering this boundary instantly matched a comfortable seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit.
Wrr...
A faint, imperceptible ripple touched the air around me.
The very next second, the howling arctic wind continued to sweep past my body, but the moment the freezing air crossed the ten-centimeter threshold surrounding my skin, the harsh cold vanished. It transformed into a soft, warm breeze that brushed comfortably against my face and arms, as if I were sitting inside a cozy, climate-controlled living room back at the mansion.
I opened my eyes, letting out a long, relaxed breath as the shivering stopped completely. "Man... that worked like a charm!"
Alistair stood in the snow, watching the faint thermal boundary stabilize around my body without a single trace of magical mana leaking into the environment.
A look of genuine admiration flashed in Grandfather’s eyes as he slowly stroked his beard, nodding in approval.
"Brilliant, Seth. Absolutely brilliant," Alistair praised warmly. "Most Awakened would have attempted to brute-force a fire spell or force the wind to bend to their will, wasting massive amounts of energy. But you created a localized thermal conversion field minimal spatial friction, zero wasted energy, and maximum efficiency. Your imagination and adaptability are truly exceptional."
I grinned, resting my hands in my pockets as the warm air circulated around me. "Thanks, Grandfather. So... now that I’m not freezing to death, what are we actually doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Instead of giving me a straight answer, Grandfather simply turned and began walking up a steep, snow-covered mountain slope.
"Follow me, Seth," Alistair said smoothly, his boots barely sinking into the deep drifts.
I let out a quiet sigh and followed behind him. Navigating the loose snow and jagged rocks was a bit tricky, especially since I had to maintain my focus on keeping that ten-centimeter isolated thermal space active around my body.
As I trudged upward through the snow, a sudden thought crossed my mind. ’Wait... I still don’t actually know if the changes I make with my reality manipulation are permanent or temporary.’
"Hey, Grandfather," I called out over the howling wind, keeping my pace steady. "Remember that apple from my training session? The one I changed colour of? Is it still orange, or did it revert back to being red?"
Alistair paused for a brief moment, his dark eyes looking back over his shoulder at me. "It remains in its restored, perfect state, Seth. My scholars have been monitoring it closely."
He turned back around and continued the climb as he explained, "It appears the alterations you impose upon reality are permanent. However, my current hypothesis is that permanence depends heavily on your mental state and intent during the moment of manipulation. If you intend for a change to be absolute, reality restructures itself permanently to accommodate your will."
’Permanent reality alterations based on intent...’ I pondered, finding the concept fascinating and completely plausible. It made a lot of sense-my power was fundamentally driven by my conceptual mind, so if I believed a change was absolute, reality simply obeyed.
After another ten minutes of climbing, Alistair came to a stop in front of a sheer, icy cliff face.
He lifted his silver-headed cane and tapped it firmly against the frozen ground.
CLANG.
A resonant metallic chime echoed through the silent valley. Instantly, the thick layer of ice and snow blanketing the cliff face swept away as if blown by an invisible gale, revealing a massive, ancient metal double gate embedded directly into the side of the mountain. Covered in glowing dark runes, the heavy doors groaned loudly before slowly swinging inward.
Alistair gestured toward the dark opening. "After you, my boy."
We stepped through the threshold, and the giant metal gate swung shut behind us with a heavy, reverberating THUD, completely cutting off the howling mountain wind.
The moment the doors sealed, a series of luminous blue and violet crystals set along the arched stone ceiling ignited, casting a soft, clear light down the cavernous tunnel. As the two of us began descending a long, winding stone staircase, I looked around at the pristine, hidden facility.
"Grandfather..." I asked, shooting him a deadpan, teasing glance. "Are you secretly Batman?"
Alistair stopped mid-step, his brows furrowing into a genuinely confused expression as he looked at me. "A... man of bats? Why on earth would I be a man of bats, Seth? Is that a modern vulgarity?"
I bit back a burst of laughter, shaking my head with a dry smile. "Never mind, Grandfather. Just a mundane pop-culture joke. Don’t worry about it."
Alistair gave me an unamused, suspicious look before shaking his head and continuing down the stairs.