Chapter 169: 169. Awakening the Storm Element

“Shit, he is so greedy,” Ethan muttered through as his teeth clenched together while he walked beside Maximus on the academy grounds.

The stone pathway stretched ahead of them in neat geometric lines, bordered by trimmed hedges and quiet trees glowing under the fading evening light.

Students passed by at a distance, unaware of the storm brewing inside the two young men.

They had come here straight after their meeting with William, hoping the open air would cool their frustration.

Maximus stared at the tiled ground as he walked. “It’s not like we have anything significant to offer him except our help,” he said slowly. “And he clearly doesn’t need that at all.”

Ethan glanced at him and then looked away, his jaw tightened. He seemed to be turning something over in his mind.

The evening sun dipped lower, staining the sky in orange and faint purple. The world looked calm, but neither of them felt settled.

“What is something he might need?” Maximus continued as he stopped near a wooden bench and sat down heavily. “I know he hates demons. But what can we do that would make him think joining hands with us against demons is beneficial?”

Ethan remained standing for a moment before sitting down beside him.

“It’s not about what we can do right now,” Ethan said quietly. “It’s about what we will be capable of in the future, and as far as I can think, we will be able to put up a strong resistance against enemies in the future.”

Ethan’s words lingered for a moment.

“Future,” Maximus repeated under his breath.

He leaned back and let out a hollow breath. “That’s something I’ve never thought about seriously, more like I never felt the need to think about it.”

I never believed I would live long enough to see a future. I always assumed I would die trying to enact revenge on the Sinclair duchess.”

His voice carried no dramatic tone or teary cracks like before. It was a simple admission.

“Now that I think about it,” Maximus continued, “William is clear about his future. He wants to go against the demons until he erases them completely. That goal sounds absurd and too big when you say it out loud. But when he says it, after everything he has done… it doesn’t sound ridiculous at all to me.”

Ethan exhaled slowly.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “You’re right. Even I don’t have a real purpose beyond killing Kylark and taking revenge for Sister Nancy. I don’t know what I’ll do after that. I don’t even know what I’ll do tomorrow.”

Maximus gave a faint smile and rested his elbows on his knees. “I think this is something we both severely lack.”

They fell silent.

“Who was Sister Nancy?” Maximus asked softly as he looked at Ethan.

Ethan, meanwhile, took a deep breath hearing Maximus’s question before he started narrating about his childhood he spent in the orphanage.

For a few minutes, the burden of revenge seemed quieter as Ethan recalled the good old happy days.

Maximus listened to him with a faint smile while he looked straight at the setting sun. Just like Ethan, for the first time, Maximus was thinking about something beyond revenge or recalling painful memories.

***

Far away, on a floating island swallowed by a massive thunderstorm that seemed to have no end, William walked forward through the unforgiving tide of wind and rain.

The wind tore at him from all directions; raindrops pricked like needles. Hailstones bruised his shoulders and arms. Small rocks carried by the gale slammed into his ribs and thighs with dull, painful impacts.

His hands were raised in front of his face to shield his eyes and forehead. He adjusted his stance repeatedly, bracing against sudden gusts and stepping aside whenever lightning cracked dangerously close.

Hours had passed.

The storm showed no sign of ending. There was no structure and not even a visible destination in sight, he only saw endless darkness and roaring skies.

He could not use his heaven-piercing sight from the archery talent since that would count as use of assistance, and according to the system, the storm element would then refuse to follow him.

“Fuck this,” William muttered through gritted teeth. “So much for an affinity.”

He kept walking.

Most men would have collapsed long ago under this assault of such natural forces.

William, meanwhile, felt the pain. His skin was bruised. Thin cuts lined his forearms. Blood mixed with rain and washed away. But he remained sane; his mentality was grounded by the harsher and much more painful experiences he had endured before.

Pain was not so unfamiliar to him that he could not endure such a storm.

A translucent notification appeared before his eyes.

[Ding! Absolute adaptation activated…]

[Gained the D-ranked trait of water element resistance.]

[Gained D-ranked trait wind element resistance.]

[Gained D-ranked trait thunder element resistance.]

[Gained D-ranked trait storm element resistance.]

Before he could ask any questions, the system spoke as if already knowing what he wanted to ask.

There are two types of elements, fundamental and derived. Storm is a derived element. It involves wind, water, and thunder working together. That is why you gained resistance to each of them separately and also to Storm as their cumulative formation.

William narrowed his eyes against the rain. “If that’s the case,” he said, stepping forward through another violent gust, “shouldn’t people like Klaus and the Storm Dragon have awakened all three wind, water, and thunder elements as well? Since a storm is these elements combined?”

That would be true if elements did not possess will and consciousness of their own. But they are sentient. Each element has its own character and personality. They cannot be reduced to mechanical combinations.]

Lightning flashed, illuminating the island in harsh white light.

“Crazy,” William muttered. “So you’re telling me all the elements I’ve awakened are conscious and looking at me?”

[Not at the stage of absolute affinity. Their will is like that of a newborn. But eventually, yes. They will begin communicating.

William snorted despite the storm battering him. “You weren’t enough? Now I’ll have multiple voices in my head?”

[Tsk ungrateful shit.]

He ignored the comment and focused on keeping his footing as hail struck his back again.

He would never admit it openly, but the system’s presence had never let him feel completely alone. Through the years in the human capital and within the Domain of Infinite, the system had always been something beside him, and that had kept him sane through all the loneliness.

Another notification interrupted his thoughts.

[ding!! Storm affinity (F) has been awakened by the trait primordial affinity.

William slowed for half a second as he looked at the notification, waiting for the affinity to elevate.

[ding!! storm element is being devoured by other elements]

His steps faltered slightly.

[Ding!! Absolute adaptation awakened….]

[Storm affinity has been elevated to absolute rank.]

[The Tempest Sword technique’s mastery has reached grandmaster rank for the 2nd, and 3rd forms and master rank for 4th, intermediate for 5th and newbie for the 6th and 7th forms.]

“What the hell? Why not grandmaster rank after the third form????”

[The Tempest technique employs sword affinity in its execution and is not a purely storm-based technique, so unless you get a sword-related path, you need to practice and increase those masteries on your own.]

William listened with his lips pressed together. “There were paths for weapons, I never knew.”

[It’s a long discussion. I advise you to do it in your room and not in the midst of this hellish storm.]

William straightened his back. He raised his head and let the rain hit his face directly.

“Alright,” he said quietly, staring into the darkness ahead. “Let’s get this over with now.”

He said before using mana to reinforce his body and blazing ahead with radiant flash steps. Now that he had awakened Storm affinity, there was no need to delay the meeting any longer.

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