Chapter 290: He Who Slays Giants [Part 2]
"Back then, our group had just finished hunting several of the students who had tried to kill our teammates," Rowan said with a solemn expression on his face. "Of course, although we overpowered them, it\'s not as if we didn\'t receive any injuries during our battles.
"At that time, Henry was the most exhausted among all of us, yet the moment we entered the room, we weren\'t given any chance to rest. The crystal arm moved and transformed into a ten-meter-tall Bronze Giant.
"Me, Nicole, and Garnet were teleported to a different place, allowing us to watch Henry fight the Bronze Giant on his own.
"Knowing that he couldn\'t fight the Giant head-on in his current condition, Henry tried to stall for time by running and dodging the Giant\'s attack, waiting for his strength to recover enough.
"He tried his best to fight even though he was clearly exhausted, but it wasn\'t enough. In the end, the Bronze Giant managed to grab hold of him and smashed his body on the ground, breaking his bones.
"After that, it smashed its fist on Henry\'s chest. At that time, I thought that he would turn into meat paste, but one of his life-saving artifacts activated, mitigating the damage.
"Even so, several of his ribs were broken. Fortunately, the Bronze Giant stopped its attack and simply stared down at Henry for nearly a minute before returning to its original form, which was the crystal arm.
"This crystal arm then merged with his body, and before we knew it, we all appeared to his side. We have given him all of our healing potions in order to prevent him from dying, but it wasn\'t enough.
"We knew that we needed to get out, so I gave him one of the Escape Runes I confiscated from one of the students who tried to kill us, and forced him to break it.
"The moment he disappeared in the room, all of us broke our own Escape Runes and appeared outside the Legacy Gate. You all know what happened after that."
Ethan, who had remained silent from start to finish, looked at Henry, who was in a comatose.
Sebastian and his Other Half had confirmed that the crystal arm was inside Henry\'s body, but it didn\'t become a part of its strength.
In short, the Crystal Arm recognized that Henry was capable of wielding it, but the Head Prefect of the Dud Manor didn\'t pass its trial.
This was similar to how Ethan digested the Blood Essence of the Tide Bringer, forcefully making it part of his body, gaining the second part of his Legacy.
Truth be told, the Tide Bringer\'s Legacy had two stages.
The first one was to gain Sebastian\'s acknowledgment, allowing the person he chose to wield the Stone Trident, which the Guardian of Zentris used as his vessel.
The second one was to receive the Tide Bringer\'s Blood Essence in order to gain his strength.
But Ethan somehow managed to gain Sebastian\'s acknowledgment after the Guardian sensed the bloodline that was flowing inside Ethan\'s body.
Although it was very faint, he knew that the handsome young man had a connection with the Tide Bringer, making him the perfect recipient of his Blood Essence.
If any ordinary mortal were to take the blood of a Deity, there was a high chance that their body would implode.
This wasn\'t the case with Ethan because his body had a high compatibility with the Tide Bringer\'s blood.
The other thing that made things easier for Sebastian to recognize Ethan as the Tide Bringer\'s successor was the Sea God\'s Trident.
Just like him, the Artifact in Ethan\'s possession was a fragment of a Divine Weapon that had the ability to channel and control the power of the Sea and any bodies of water to a certain extent.
Because of this, Sebastian figured that Ethan no longer needed to wield the Stone Trident, so the former compressed its power and turned it into a blue diamond, which was now embedded in the Sea God\'s Trident, further amplifying its strength.
\'In short, Sir Henry gained the Legacy\'s recognition, but until he clears its trial, he will not gain its power, right?\' Ethan inquired.
\'Exactly,\' Sebastian replied. \'Not all Legacies are the same. Certain conditions must be met in order to gain their powers.\'
\'That\'s right,\' Ethan\'s Other Half commented. \'For example, if you and Lilian don\'t do the deed, she will not be able to gain the Legacy of the Rivers and Lakes until she comes across someone with the same nature as the Tide Bringer\'s Legacy.
\'Of course, these other Legacies exist. I know, for one, that the Oceanus Legacy exists. So, if I were you, I\'d take that girl in. Because, if you do, you would be able to use your powers to their full potential, even when the battlefield you\'re in is away from the sea.\'
\'That\'s right, Ethan.\' Sebastian chuckled. \'That girl is already smitten with you. All you need to do is nod your head and it\'s already a done deal. It\'s a win-win for both sides!\'
His two greatest allies and critics both laughed at the same time.
They even urged Ethan to do the deed with Lilian before they returned to Brynhildr Academy in order to gain access to her powers, allowing him to summon Rain inland and command the powers of the Rivers and Lakes to do his bidding.
The handsome young man ignored the two annoying bastards who were causing a ruckus inside his head.
Although he knew that they were talking very casually about making Lilian one of his women, he understood that they were only half serious about it.
Sebastian and his Other Half knew that Ethan wasn\'t the kind of person who treated others like tools, especially if that \'others\' was a lady who had feelings for him.
Of course, he also understood where they were coming from.
Being one with Lilian would not only allow the beautiful young lady to possess a Legacy that would make her a powerhouse, but it would also allow Ethan to become a lot stronger, allowing him to fight on land and sea without problems.
Because of this, he decided to not ignore her advances and allow their relationship to develop naturally.
While Ethan was deep in his thoughts, Professor Barret stood up and made an announcement.
"Tonight at midnight, we will leave Nightfall Academy," Professor Barret stated. "All of you prepare for departure. The sooner we return to the academy, the safer Henry will be. I will inform the others. For now, get a few hours of rest. You will need it."
The Professor then glanced at the young man who was showing no signs of waking up and sighed.
A few seconds later, he left the room in order to discreetly inform his students about their departure.
They had to leave Nightfall Academy before the others got wind of their plans.
Fortunately, he had stored their flying ship inside his specialized magic box, allowing him to summon it anytime he wanted.
\'It will be a long trip back home,\' Professor Barret thought. \'I just hope that we don\'t encounter any ambushes on the way back.\'
In order to ensure the safety of his students, he decided to make last-minute preparations.
Fortunately, Professor Rinehart had given him several of the powerful artifacts of Brynhildr Academy just in case something like this were to happen during their stay at Nightfall Academy.