Chapter 37 - Mastering the Thunder Element

  I was mastering my element, and just like the phenomenon of nature, I wao harness its full potential. So, I applied the knowledge I had lear Athena's School, where my mind was shaped for wisdom. At the school, we had to learhing Athena had prepared for us.

  I also secretly had knowledge of my element from a certain enemy in my past, but I won't tell you about that just yet.

  I cssified my element into three types of power within one: Lightning, Thunderbolt, and Thunder. Although I often refer to everything as lightning or thunder, upon closer analysis, these are three different effects that occur in a storm.

  Lightning is the electrical discharge shot from the clouds. The Thunderbolt is the visual embodiment of this electrical discharge, creating that blue energy we see. Thunder is the resulting boom. When the air is rapidly heated by the geion of that energy, it expands and explodes, creating the booming sound which is the vibration of the air's maximum expansion. This was the main usability of my element that I was trying to master.

  You saw me using part of the Lightning power to gee the magism in the doorknob and the light I geed to illumihe area was made from the Thunderbolt. Now, I was trying to create a boom through Thunder, but you must uand that I couldn't test this in my room or I'd cause a huge otion and arm a pce full of trained assassins.

  I would also get a scolding from my mother…

  As I opehe door, I saw the little monster sitting by the ke.

  “Nate, look! I’m doing what mom does and creating water,” she said, shooting a jet from her hand into the ke.

  I had to hide my level of mastery over my element while Chloe, even though forbidden, didn't get scolded much if caught pying with her power due to the lower risk of hurting someone.

  “You’re just showing off,” I said.

  She smiled.

  “I’m showing off a little to you, but I o. I’m not as good with swords as you are with Master Sifu and everyone keeps praising you, so I need something to show off too.”

  I just sighed as Cyl ran to py on the wooden toys.

  “e here, I’ll show you some things I’ve been practig,” she said, patting the ground beside her.

  “Looks like I don’t have the option to refuse,” I murmured.

  As soon as I sat down, Chloe refocused with her hands.

  “I’ve been trying to imitate what I saw the mages doing iraining field outside,” she trated, closing her eyes, and a ball of water formed in her hands.

  “That’s pretty cool,” I said.

  “That’s not all… let me tell you a secret,” she tinued trating, and the ball of water began to freeze.

  “WHAT!?” I excimed in disbelief.

  Chloe started ughing. The ice ball fell into the water.

  “Told you! Now I show off too. I have two elements like mom and also gee ice,” she said, ughing.

  “You lucky devil… you were born with Water and Wind… and create ice with them…” I murmured.

  Chloe put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.

  “You pliment me now, I’ll be strong iure too,” she said, ughing.

  She’s very close…

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” I said, standing up.

  While I was walking, I had an idea.

  “ you make that water ball again? But don’t use air to create the ice,” I said.

  “Of course! You’ll see my level of trol. I’ll make the water ball perfect,” Chloe replied.

  She trated, and a ball of water formed, mana flowing from her hands.

  “Keep it floating like that,” I said as I approached, pointing my hand at it.

  trating my power, I saw blue sparks c through my hand as I focused oer ball. Chloe’s eyes widened as she saw the sparks swirling around her water ball.

  “Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous,” I reassured her while keeping my tration.

  She refocused oer ball.

  “ you add the wind element? But do it slowly,” I instructed.

  “Sure! I’m very good with magic,” she said fidently.

  Does she uand the danger?

  Chloe started to trate, introdug her air element into the water ball from the i and then around it. I took advantage of this by maniputing her element and making the sparks trate oerior, like roasti over a fire, gradually increasing the energy around the water ball.

  This girl is a genius… I only do these things because I used Aura in another life, and she’s naturally fusing elements at just eight years old.

  As Chloe realized what I was doing, she focused even more, allowing my thue with her element.

  “What is this?” Chloe’s eyes widened.

  The electrified water ball was darkening, and lightning was esg from it.

  “We better stop. I think this thing might explode,” I said, slowly withdrawing the electricity from the water ball. As soon as the energy was removed, the ball turo ice.

  “What was that bck stuff?” she asked.

  “A storm-charged cloud,” I said with a grin.

  Chloe’s eyes widened further.

  “You’re crazy! We were creating a charged storm? That could have done some serious damage.”

  “Admit it, that was cool,” I said.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, it was cool… but still dangerous. The more elements you fuse, the more votile and dangerous the magic bees. Especially since your element is purely offensive. Even with our minimal mana applied, it could have created something dangerous due to the fusion of three different elements,” she expined.

  “Alright, ‘mommy,’ I get it,” I teased.

  “Mommy? I’m not mommy,” she retorted, pushih her water element.

  “Stop it, you little pest. I ’t retaliate with my dangerous element,” I said, ughing.

  She started chasing me, ung water balls.

  “Better for me!” she shouted.

  In the end, I had to keep running from the water shooter while she pursued me. Theh had to escape from Cyl, who got excited and chased us with her powers. The problem was that her fire burhough it didn’t burn me, I still decided to join the fun.

  When we realized we had been pying for a long time, we panicked and rushed to get out of there. We o meet the teacher.

  “I’m going to have to up. I got all dirty,” I said.

  “Me too… my mom’s going to se,” she replied.

  “Yours? Yours is nice; mine gives me a real scolding. Not even my ears are safe when she decides to pull them.”

  We hurried before anyone could see us in that state.

  “And you, what are you going to do with Cyl at bedtime?” she asked me.

  “Hmm… I thought about calli night to sleep with me ohe mansion is sealed, but I’ll o resider sihey don’t like us walking around the corridors at night.”

  She seemed to think for a moment.

  “Why don’t we sleep together with Cyl in the ke room? We camp out like we did st year. I’ll ask a maid to set up the materials so we make a tent and sleep together,” Chloe suggested.

  “Better not…” I said.

  “Stop being s,” Chloe said, grabbing my hand. “Friends do this all the time.”

  I sighed. “Alright…”

  ***

  After saying goodbye to the little monster, I ran to my room before my mom could see me in that state. I o up and ge clothes.

  I entered my room and rushed to the bathroom, grabbing a bucket of water and a cloth to wipe off the dirt.

  “Oh, I see you’re back. Finished pying with your little girlfriend?” Athena taunted.

  I g her and ighe apparition, fog on ing myself up.

  “Who would have thought I'd see a General pying water wars… I'm fucked, Icarus. I'm stuck with a child and 't even talk about spicy things without feeling guilty because you're still a minor.”

  I listened closely to her words.

  “So it’s true, you crazy goddess? Am I really influenced by the biology of this body?” I asked.

  She looked at me, surprised.

  “Well, look who finally decided to speak up… part of me wants to leave you without answers, and another part wants to relieve the boredom by talking,” Athena replied.

  I stared at the apparition.

  “Weren’t you the smartest goddess in Olympus? Just ahis. Am I really a child?” I asked.

  “You o phrase your questioer, dear. You’re less than five feet tall; of course, you’re a fug child.”

  I sighed.

  “You know what I mean. I mean, is my mind also influenced by being a child?” I crified.

  She stood up and walked over to me, ughing.

  “Of course, you’re influenced. You died, dear Icarus. You were reborn and are now a child. If you’re a child, you’ll gh the dilemmas of a child. The only difference is that you have memories of your past life. Do you know what that means for you?”

  “I don’t know, what does it mean?” I asked.

  “Absolutely fug nothing. You may know how to apply the skills you learned in your past life, but you still peed and pooped your pants when you were a baby. You learo love your mother, you feel embarrassment, and you fall in love. These are the feelings that someone your size experiences all the time while their brain is developing. You’ll gh a whirlwind of emotions.”

  I absorbed her words. Although I suspected this, hearing it from her firmed what I already knew. In my previous life, I learo set my feelings aside, especially after what happened with that person. I lived only with a murdere, letting nothing else dwell inside me.

  “So I really am a child? Damn it. Is that why I’m scared of getting scolded by my mom? I’ve been tortured many times in the past, but here in this world, I’m afraid of making my mom angry…”

  Athena started ughing. “Didn’t you say you wao live a new life as a human? This body of yours is totally from the shit you went through, and what you experienow also affects you. The only difference is that you have the memories of your previous life awakened. Look on the bright side… even as a child, you’re not afraid of the dark,” said the Goddess of Strategy, messing with my hair.

  “Get away from me, you crazy woman,” I snapped.

  “What a naughty boy…”

  I thought about the ret things happening to me, and everything started to make sense.

  “What’s the point of not being afraid of the dark if I still get nervous around a girl?”

  She burst out ughing again, so much so that she had to sit down on the chair, wiping away a tear from ughing so hard.

  “What’s so funny?”

  She kept ughing.

  “e on, Icarus… you were always nervous around girls, even when you were the Sn God. Or was running away from os every time she flirted with you a mature response?”

  “I don’t know why I even bothered listening to you… I’m out of here, Athena. Bye!”

  “Wait! I’m sorry, I won’t bring up the past anymore. Don’t ignore me, Icarus!”

  I stormed out of my room, followed by the crazy Goddess shouting desperately for attention.