Chapter 87: Selene’s Shock
Selene stood alone at the edge of the frozen plain.
Her face was pale.
Although she had left the epicenter of the freezing outbreak, her body still felt cold, as though her very nature had been frozen.
Even so, she forced herself to remain calm.
She raised her head subconsciously, looking toward the center of the plain.
There, she could see Aurelius standing beside an ice cage, only a few dozen away from the Epic Relic.
Her face was full of concern.
Why wasn’t Aurelius moving?
Had something gone wrong?
Could it be that something had happened and left him entranced?
Selene’s worries only strengthened even further when she noticed that a layer of thick ice was forming around her companion’s feet.
Like slithering snakes or the vines of a bloodthirsty plant monster, the ice gradually climbed up Aurelius’ legs before spreading through the rest of his body.
It moved slowly, but steadily.
At a glance, Selene estimated it would at most take twenty minutes for the ice to engulf him completely.
Once the process was complete, he would end up like the many monsters around him. Even if she wanted to save him, she would have no chance.
’It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have been greedy and invited him to the mountain!’
’No! I shouldn’t have come here in the first place.’
Selene felt regretful.
Due to the many miracles Aurelius had performed in the past, such as interfering with the Divine Descending Ceremony, she had developed an almost blind faith toward him.
Upon learning of the Epic Relic’s existence, she had been certain that he would be able to gain its approval.
Unfortunately, everything showed that she had been wrong.
Aurelius’ failure seemed predetermined.
’Ten minutes!’ Selene clenched her fists.
’If he doesn’t come to his senses in the next ten minutes, I will try to save him. Even if I have to use that, I will not hesitate,’ she thought.
Her gaze moved toward the silver necklace hanging from her neck, briefly pausing on its silver radiance.
Then, she raised her head again.
She started to count silently in her mind, watching as the layer of ice spread across Aurelius’ body with every passing second.
Time slowly passed.
The anxiousness and regret made seconds seem like minutes, and minutes like hours from Selene’s point of view.
Just when she counted to 180, however, her expression suddenly changed.
Aurelius began to move, much to her surprise.
He didn’t step closer to the trident, nor did he make any attempt to collect it.
Instead, he calmly raised his right hand and pointed forward with his finger.
The snow around him melted.
It transformed into water, gathering around his fingertips before firing out.
It had the shape of an arrow.
Whistling through the air, it traveled the entire plain, soon striking one of the trees outside its range.
Bang!
A small hole appeared along the tree’s trunk.
Small fractures formed before the entire tree shattered into tiny wooden fragments.
Both the range and power of this skill proved impressive.
But Selene was confused.
She couldn’t understand what Aurelius was doing.
Was this really the time to show off his skills?
Thankfully, she soon noticed another change.
The trident, previously floating without showing any response, actually moved.
It trembled, as though it had received a call.
The white mist around it churned, and something seemed about to emerge from inside.
Unfortunately, the disturbance soon calmed down.
The mist quieted down while the trident returned to normal.
Despite this, the reaction itself had already shown that whatever Aurelius was doing was actually working!
’Could it be that the Awakener has to cast water-based skills in order to gain the Relic’s approval?’ Selene wondered, ready to see Aurelius resume his attempts.
But to her dismay, he didn’t.
After firing that lone arrow of water, he continued staring at the space in front of him. He returned to his entranced state, as though he had fallen into an illusion and was unable to extricate himself.
Selene grew even more nervous.
Especially when she saw that the constantly spreading ice had accelerated and its spread had become quicker.
Three minutes later, and just when the ice had climbed onto Aurelius’ waist, Selene was wondering whether to save him before it was too late.
Before she could do so, though, something changed once more.
Aurelius took action again.
This time, he didn’t raise his finger nor did he move at all.
The falling snow around him halted mid-air.
As though a giant invisible hand was controlling it, the snow fused together and transformed into a blue wall of ice in front of him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several water arrows fired out of Aurelius’ fingertips and struck this wall.
These attacks could have easily burst apart the head of a human.
Yet when they struck the wall, they caused no damage.
Let alone destroying it, the arrows didn’t even manage to leave a single scar.
As though the wall was an indestructible fortress, it remained unmoving and intact.
Once again, the trident reacted to his call.
Its trembling was even more violent than last time, as was the churning of the mist around it.
Although these phenomena faded away and the plain regained its quiet soon after, Selene was no longer as worried.
She had roughly understood what was happening.
’Is the Relic teaching him skills?’
This was the only plausible explanation.
However, it gave room to another set of questions.
’How is this possible?’
’How could a person possibly learn two skills in a matter of minutes?’
’Even the most talented Awakeners need to spend weeks, if not months, to master the weakest skill!’
Her lips subconsciously parted, leaving her mouth slightly open.
She couldn’t believe that something like this was possible.
Rather than thinking that Aurelius had learned two skills in six minutes, she would rather believe there was another reason—regardless of how obvious the explanation was.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, her expression as she watched Aurelius perform the skills betrayed her true thoughts.
Shock. Admiration. And another feeling that even Selene could not fully understand.