Chapter 127: Chapter 127
Foss opened the wooden box containing the 【Ice Armor】 Bloodline Secret Art right in front of Ron. The moment the lid lifted, a wave of frigid air immediately billowed outward.
Even with Ron’s current physique, which had reached the quasi-Knight level after one Limit Breakthrough, he couldn’t suppress a sudden shiver. Focusing his gaze, he saw an irregularly shaped, diamond-like ice crystal resting quietly within the plain-looking wooden box, continuously radiating an endless stream of biting cold.
The instant he laid eyes on the ice crystal, Ron was reminded of the Wondrous Ice hidden in the Inheritance Chamber beneath Sis Castle. The difference was that the latter was used to inherit the Ice Breathing Technique, while the crystal before him was meant for inheriting a Bloodline Secret Art.
Could there be some connection between these two blocks of ice?
As Ron pondered this, Foss had already closed the wooden box and solemnly pressed it into Ron’s hands. Noticing the thoughtful expression on Ron’s face, he offered an unprompted explanation:
“If you’re wondering about the origins of this inheritance ice crystal, I can tell you that it comes directly from the Eternal Ice in the Inheritance Chamber you visited before.”
“Eternal Ice? Then this crystal must be…” Ron couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.
But Foss’s next words shattered his fantasies: “Don’t even think about it. This is merely an ice crystal formed from moisture in the air condensing on the surface of the Eternal Ice. Did you think the Eternal Ice was so easy to shatter? Let alone me, even if a Grand Knight came without a Transcendent Weapon, he wouldn’t be able to break off so much as a sliver!”
Fair enough!
Ron had indeed let his imagination carry him too far just now. Bringing things back to reality, Foss added, “Although it’s just an ice crystal formed from condensed air, it has still absorbed a trace of the Eternal Ice’s properties. As long as you don’t make direct contact with it, it can be preserved almost indefinitely.”
“So the method of use is through contact?” Ron asked.
“That’s right. The Gustaran swordsmanship inheritance my father gave you earlier also works through contact to receive the legacy. However, the actual effects of the two are completely incomparable. You’ll understand once you try it yourself later.”
“Here?”
Ron hesitated slightly. The iron plate the Lord had given him was one thing; he had already touched it anyway. But the ice crystal resting in the wooden box he now held gave him a measure of pause.
It wasn’t that he distrusted Foss. It was simply human instinct to feel resistant toward a potentially dangerous action.
“Yes, right here. Bloodline Secret Art inheritances are different from ordinary swordsmanship legacies; there is a certain degree of danger involved. If you mishandle your first contact with the inheritance, wouldn’t that just bring you harm!”
Foss’s reasoning was perfectly aboveboard, and he was even waving the banner of looking out for Ron’s well-being. At this point, no matter how hesitant he felt, Ron couldn’t possibly refuse; otherwise, it would seem like he didn’t know how to appreciate a kindness.
“Yes. I ask Young Master Foss for his guidance.”
“Relax, it’s very simple. I’m just pointing out the proper method of use. Once you know how, you can operate it on your own when you get back.”
As he spoke, Foss handed another small cloth pouch to Ron. “Inside are your rewards from the Martial Tournament Individual Combat. If tomorrow’s Team Battles go as expected, you should be able to earn a few more gains, but I won’t give you those in advance here.”
Ron took the pouch and fastened it to his waist, then followed Foss to the entrance of the room. There, a long, narrow table sat. At Foss’s gesture, he placed the wooden box he was carrying onto the table.
“Open the box.”
“Yes.”
Ron complied, and Foss continued his instructions: “Bring your hands together, spread the edges of your palms apart, and pick up the crystal from below with the separated edges. If you’re nervous, you can test it first with a single finger.”
“Alright.”
Ron wasn’t bold enough to rush in. He followed his instincts, extending a single finger and slowly moving it above the ice crystal. The frigid air radiating from the crystal nearly made his finger go stiff.
But the moment his fingertip touched the surface of the crystal, the bone-chilling cold that had been so overwhelming just a second ago vanished in an instant. No, the cold hadn’t actually disappeared; rather, his perception had shifted.
The wisps of mist that occasionally drifted around the crystal were proof enough that the cold remained. It was the dead of winter, yet the crystal could still condense the moisture in the already cold, dry air into visible fog. That alone spoke volumes about its intensity.
Only now did Ron understand what Foss meant when he said the crystal had absorbed a trace of the Eternal Ice’s properties. The Eternal Ice in the Inheritance Chamber beneath Sis Castle transferred its power through a liquid medium, never coming into direct contact with the apprentices.
Yet every apprentice who underwent the inheritance process, Ron included, could sense the cold but never suffered frostbite, as if they too had been influenced and gained a sliver of the Eternal property themselves.
…
After confirming that touching it with his finger posed no issue, Ron followed Foss’s instructions, bringing his hands together with the edges of his palms spread apart to grip the crystal from below.
Before making contact with the crystal itself, Ron once again felt that peerless, extreme cold. But the moment he actually touched the crystal, the cold remained the same extreme cold, yet fell entirely within his tolerance. He even felt a hint of refreshing comfort.
Foss had said that simple contact was enough to receive the inheritance. When Ron had touched it with his fingertip earlier, he hadn’t felt any particular resonance, nothing like the sensation when he inherited the Ice Breathing Technique.
But when he picked up the crystal between the edges of his palms, he immediately felt an indescribable tremor surge through his entire body like an electric shock. He instinctively flinched, his hand jerking, and the next moment the crystal slipped from his grasp and fell back into the box. The biting cold rushed back.
“This…”
“You should have felt it, right? That is the resonance of the Bloodline Secret Art inheritance. When receiving the inheritance, you must be both persistent and restrained. Persistence ensures that the inheritance you receive is more complete, while restraint has to do with this crystal itself.”
Pausing here, Foss deliberately drew out the suspense. Only when he saw Ron’s confused gaze did he say in a joking tone: “You need to use it sparingly! Didn’t I just say that any contact consumes it? I don’t want you to drain the inheritance ice crystal completely dry before you’ve even learned the 【Ice Armor】 Secret Art.”
“Understood. Thank you for the guidance, Young Master Foss.”
“You’ll have to weigh that balance yourself! Close the box and head home! Jason should still be waiting for you to celebrate.”
“Yes.”
Ron offered another bow, then departed from the Bell Tower.
…
By now, the last rays of the sun had gradually faded. Ron walked homeward, his long shadow trailing behind him. He had just reached the southern edge of Bell Tower Square when a tall figure suddenly stepped out from behind a stone pillar.
Ron’s right hand was clutching the wooden box containing the 【Ice Armor】 Secret Art inheritance crystal, while his left hand instinctively reached for the longsword at his waist. But upon recognizing the person’s face, he let out a long breath of relief and released the hilt he had already gripped.
“Uncle Jason, could you please not scare me like that! I almost drew my sword just now.”
Even though Ron was still a small fish in Sis Territory, he certainly didn’t lack the courage to draw his blade. Especially with Marlin coveting Morris’s legacy on one hand, and having just defeated a potentially petty quasi-Knight that very afternoon on the other.
Coupled with the fact that he had just collected his rewards, he genuinely worried that someone might be lying in ambush along his route.
Thank goodness it was Jason!
Perhaps Jason had the same concern, which was why he had lingered at the edge of the square waiting for him. Only…
“Sorry, I was lost in thought. By the time I noticed you, you were already this close.”
“It’s fine. I was just being overly sensitive.”