"Well, let's scrape the sticks with a stone if I can't freeze the water to create a Glacial knife. Haha... haha..." Realizing that the Ice Phoenix might be closer than he thought, Aiden tried to escape reality by laughing off the problem for the moment.
If he ever confronted the Ice Phoenix, that would be a problem for future Aiden.
For the time being, he was a devout believer in ignoring a problem if there was no way to solve it.
Right then, He was nowhere near strong enough to face such a mythical opponent, and wasn't there's also a saying that goes like, Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
"Chirp~" Ephy descended from the branch, perhaps noticing the frozen sweat on Aiden's forehead, and perched on his right shoulder, gently nudging his earlobe.
"So, you came down, Ephy?" Feeling the soft feathers near his ear, Aiden's body relaxed slightly.
"Chirp!"
"Oh, me? Don't worry about me; I'm fine! Just... hmm..."
His eyes wandered until they landed on a piece of stone with edges as sharp as icicles.
He quickly grabbed the stone icicle, tossing it up and down in his hands. "Yup. I just need to peel off the bark from these sticks so I can light a fire. Are you going to be fine near a fire, Ephy?"
"Chirp?" Ephy peeped innocently.
"You don't know? Well, I guess you don't know what a fire is, since you have only ever lived here. But still, there's no need for you to be near a fire. Could you return to the branch you were on?"
"Chirp..." Ephy's head drooped in disappointment as if it understood what Aiden meant.
"If I manage to light the fire, and you'd like to come near it, you can, 'kay?" Aiden coaxed the little creature as he began scraping off the bark from the timber he had collected.
He cut his fingers on the first couple of sticks, and frozen blood clots marked those wounds.
But once he got the hang of it, the process felt as natural as a second instinct.
Maybe I am a prodigy after all!
After finishing the peeling, Aiden quickly arranged the timber in a structured manner as the base for his fireplace. He ensured that no snow remained on the ground beneath the sticks while setting aside the leaves and shaved bark to help ignite a spark.
"I hope I have sufficient mastery over these gusts of wind, 'cause I really need them to slow down; otherwise, igniting a fire is nothing but a pipe dream." Aiden positioned himself to block some of the wind currents with his body.
Thanks to his blessings, the cold and wind did not affect him negatively, so he was determined to use that advantage as much as possible.
"Hoo... here goes nothing."
Taking a deep breath, Aiden activated his unique skill. Closing his eyes, he focused entirely on his surroundings.
He tried to feel the wind with his body, gauging every little aspect of its speed, pressure, direction, force, and turbulence.
Soon enough, he reached a state of complete focus, sensing the mana energy in the windstorm around him. Opening his eyes, he attempted to harness it, and he managed to do so.
"Seems like a success!" Aiden exclaimed.
He commanded the air to his will and slowed the wind to a gentle breeze that wouldn't interfere with producing a spark to light the fire. However, he didn't completely stop the wind, fearing that Ephy might struggle to breathe without it.
Though I wonder, would I be able to survive without any air? Technically, I should, but... ehh, I don't want to try that right now.
"Now to get a spark. Lightning magic should work, right?"
Aiden rubbed the shaved bark together and gathered its dust on top of the firebase.
He pointed his right index finger at it, recalling the sensation of using magic in his fight with Eugene.
Gradually, mana energy formed at his fingertip, and as he imagined a small spark to manifest, it did, but—
"Ouch, that hurt!"
The spark, as soon as it materialized, sent a jolt through his entire arm. He jerked his right hand, and it vanished before it could ignite the tree dust.
Though the shock wasn't enough to leave a lasting burn or injury, its unexpected pain caught him off guard.
"It's still stinging... Char, why did my magic hurt me?" Aiden asked Char, rubbing his forearm and palm to lessen the sting.
[Finally, now this is the moment I was waiting for. You can't say I'm useless after this!]
"Now's not the time for this goofiness, Char. Tell me why it hurt me." Aiden's tone hardened with annoyance.
[…It hurt you because you used your right arm as a medium to cast the spell, not as a Mana catalyst.]
"A Mana catalyst?"
[Yes, the process of converting mana into the magic of one's soul element requires a catalyst—a medium to ensure the process goes smoothly. And since the process is somewhat exothermic, rather than releasing heat, it releases the elemental energy of that same element when it completes, which, if a human's body were to come in contact with it, would be harmful.]
"Then why don't I feel any pain when I'm controlling the wind—... Oh, my blessings."
[Yes, it's because of your blessings that you remain unharmed; until now, you have only practiced Water and Wind magic. However, when you attempted to convert mana into Lightning Magic, you experienced an energy burst that hurt your right arm when used as a medium.]
[And that was just a small spark. If you had tried to summon a full lightning strike, it would have roasted your arm, bones and all.]
"..."The weight of Char's words left Aiden stunned for several minutes before he spoke again.
"Then why didn't you tell me that before?" Aiden asked.
[I told you earlier that I wouldn't forget that insult, didn't I? Consider it my little revenge.]
"You—! What if I had actually attempted to summon a lightning strike?"Seething with anger, Aiden shouted.
The wind he had been calmly controlling suddenly gained momentum—sharper and stronger than before, as if syncing with his feelings.
[Calm down, Host. I would have told you if it had come to that. You believe me that much, don't you?]
"Hoo... I apologize. I just—"
Rustle
Aiden paused as a deep breath helped him regain control over the wind, and his ears picked up a rustling sound that made him up his guard.
"It's not Ephy this time," he muttered, activating his {Bloodline Skill: Everhart's Heightened Senses}.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder and faster with every passing second.
Rustle
Rustle
Rustle
"It's here!"
Aiden assumed a fighting stance, gripping the icicle stone as his weapon, while wind converged around him like protective armor.
Howl
A wolf, its body streaked with frozen blue blood and marked by a scar on its back, burst from the bushes.
"It's wounded...?" An instant thought flitted across his mind, and a chill ran down his spine as two glowing eyes appeared behind the wolf, followed by a massive Ice Serpent emerging into view.
The Wolf wasn't approaching him with attacking intentions.
It was running for its life.
**********