BXBX NOVEL Chapter 121 120: Finally
Closing my eyes, I focused my attention inwards, towards my slightly mixed mana.
By now I had managed to infuse a good chunk of my wind mana into my water, turning it from that familiar warm, calm liquid state to a chilly, prickly ice water, which was surprisingly comfortable inside me.
Grasping the remaining wind that was lagging behind my water, slowly pushing it deeper into the water mana.
Gritting my teeth as a chill rushed through my body, I gradually seeped the wind into the water, deepening the chill.
Sitting in the yard for however long, I continued merging the two, my body slowly growing numb from the glacial freeze inching through my veins.
Releasing the wind, I got to my feet, shivering, rubbing my hands together to try and warm myself up.
However, even as the chill lingered, I grinned.
I was so close!
Maybe two or three more sessions and I would have my ice mana!
"What\'s got you so happy?"
Leaning against the door frame was Jahi, and I smiled at her, my tail swishing as I excitedly said "I almost have my mana\'s merged! I\'m so close to being able to use my ice magic!"
She smiled at me, stepping forwards and laying a hand on my cheek.
However, as she felt my cold flesh, she frowned.
"Why are you so cold?! Come here."
She pulled me into her, and I nuzzled into her searing warmth, enjoying how quickly she brought me back up to normal temperatures.
Remaining in her arms, I murmured "Will you hold me while I..?"
Glancing up at her, my heart warmed under her gentle smile.
"Of course I will, my love~! This is such an important moment for you..."
Kissing my brow, she turned me around as she sat down, placing my head on her chest.
Wrapping her arms around my waist, she buried her face in between my ears, making me giggle as her breath tickled them.
"Jahi~!"
She chuckled, blowing a little more into my ears before laughing, poking my nose as I pouted up at her.
"Sorry, sorry~! You\'re just too cute~"
Giggling as she nuzzled against my cheek, I laid my hands on hers, enjoying her warmth.
We sat there for a few more minutes, Jahi rocking back and forth as she held me, her face still buried in my hair.
"Alright, I\'m going to start again... so don\'t do anything!"
She chuckled, before saying "I\'ll try..."
Rolling my eyes, I returned my focus to my mana, observing the rotations of the chilled water as it moved sluggishly through my veins.
Taking hold of the two mana streams yet again, I integrated the wind into the water some more, feeling crystals form along the glacial water.
Letting out a shuddering breath, I ignored the cold again as I continued combining the mana streams, plummeting my body temperature for the second time today.
Reaching my limit, I let my mana go, feeling it go back to sluggishly roaming my body.
Jahi was rubbing my body desperately, trying hard to spread warmth through my freezing skin.
Leaning against her chest, I smiled up at her as she held me closer, my heart soaring as she stared at me in worry.
"Are you okay? It doesn\'t hurt does it?"
I shook my head, smiling at her, closing my eyes as I was warmed up.
"Mhn... No, it doesn\'t hurt... just a little uncomfortable..."
Jahi sighed in relief, making me chuckle.
"Besides, you got so lucky to have light magic! No need to worry about fusions, just get to use your mana right away! Hmph..."
"Aww, is my puppy jealous of her owner~? Hmm?"
Pouting up at her, Jahi grinned at me as she leaned down, placing a kiss on my nose.
"I like that expression, puppy~"
Smiling at her, I pressed my lips against hers before turning back, ready to continue.
Chuckling, she buried her nose in my ears again, nuzzling into them as I took hold of my mana again.
The wind was just loosely hanging around the slightly crystalized water, meaning I had just one more \'push\' to go!
Grasping the remaining stream of wind mana, I wrapped it around and around the water, finally pushing it in completely.
Grinning, I \'watched\' as the water froze over completely, a thin core of rushing water underneath.
Surrounding the ice was a fierce gale, and I felt my body acclimate to the cold mana quickly.
"I-Is it over..?"
Opening my eyes, I took in a sharp breath, tilting my head as I noticed that when I exhaled it was a condensed cloud of cooler air.
"Interesting..."
Feeling Jahi behind me, I nodded as I said "Yes, it\'s finally done!"
She sighed, and I got up, stretching my muscles.
Holding out my hand, I traced the runes of both wind and water, before finishing the sequence out with a sphere.
Jahi stood behind me, watching as a large chunk of spherical ice appeared in my hands.
Lifting it up, we both stared at the pale blue ice, vapor rolling off its jagged edges.
Reaching forwards, Jahi placed her finger on the ice ball, nodding as she said "Yup, that\'s ice. Quite cold too..."
"Of course it\'s ice, dummy. Also, where you expecting it to be warm?"
"Hey, no need to be snarky puppy..."
Staring at one another, we both burst into laughter, sharing a moment as I leaned into her.
"It feels so nice to finally have my real magic now..."
Jahi nodded, before pursing her lips.
"I don\'t know if I should be happy or slightly sad that your body is now cool..."
Placing a hand on my arm, Jahi pouted as she caressed my skin, making me raise a brow.
However, I definitely noticed that her hand felt warmer now...
"Huh... weird."
"I\'ll miss being able to warm myself up with you..."
Sighing, I gave her a dry look.
"Fine~ Whatever. I\'m guessing you\'re going to want to stay out here and try out a few spells?"
Nodding, I said "Yeah... I want to see how much stronger ice is compared to water and wind..."
Placing her hand on my head, she ruffled my ears as she said "Don\'t strain yourself. When you\'re done, we\'ll have to celebrate~!"
Smirking at me, Jahi gave me a quick kiss before going back into the cottage.
Watching her tall, muscular figure disappear, I grinned as I checked the notification I received.
[Congratulations on fusing your water and wind mana together! Reward: 20,000 Xp]
[Skill [Mana Control] advanced from (Adept) to (Expert)]
[Skills [Undine\'s Blessing] and [Boreas\' Blessing] are able to be merged. Do you wish to combine them? Y/N]
Clicking \'Yes\', I waited a moment, observing my system screen as I watched the two skills fade out.
Appearing in the space where the two skills used to be was [Chione\'s Blessing]
[Chione\'s Blessing (Novice): Spells and Ritual Circles related to the Ice Domain are stronger; mana regenerates quicker while in cold places]
When I finished reading [Chione\'s Blessing], my eyes went wide as I watched another skill appear, this one called [Frost of Despoina]
[Frost of Despoina (Novice): All your Ice Magic is stronger, and any target hit by your Ice will start to freeze; additionally, any attacks against a frozen target inflict more damage]
Well this...
Raising my hand, I scribbled the runes for wind, water, length, density, and rectangular shape, the pale blue glow flaring as my mana formed a long, jagged blade of ice.
Grinning at it, I admired the heft of the blade, swiping it at the ground.
A long crevasse appeared in the black sand, a light frost creeping over the ground before melting.
"Interesting..."
Muttering to myself, I undid the ice sword and turned towards the straw mannequins sitting on the edge of the training grounds.
Moving them to stand in the center, I took a few steps back, wanting to compare the same spell but with a different element.
Wanting to make sure I wasn\'t using something that required a lot of mana, I decided to go with the tried and true elemental bullet spell, since it was weak enough to not destroy the mannequins, but strong enough to leave marks.
Staring on the left, I sent a wind bullet hurtling through the air, the sharp gale slicing into the straw, about an inch deep.
Nodding, I moved to the right mannequin, shooting a water bullet at it, chuckling at the small splash of water on its loose shirt.
Yeah, what did I expect...
Finally, I turned to the center mannequin, grinning as I traced the runes for my ice magic.
Sending the ice ball speeding through the air, I watched as it tore into the mannequin, easily punching through it and freezing the straw.
"Wow..."
Stepping forwards, I poked around the entrance and exit wound, noting the frost clinging to the hole, spreading through the straw.
"Interesting... This is..."
Pushing the straw around, I shook my head with a wry smile.
"Damn... this will seriously do some damage..."
Opening my palm, I grinned, wondering just how it will feel to use my ice on actual flesh...
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Chione - Greek Goddess of Snow
Despoina - Greek Goddess of Frost/Winter
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