An hour later...

"So this is a rank 3 primary energy stone?" Aezaleon said, scrutinizing the small, fist-sized crystal that hummed with a blue-white light in his palm.

"A condensed form of natural energy used for material core rank advancement and core tier refinement. Such a fascinating item." The stone pulsed with a rhythmic light, like the steady heartbeat of the earth itself.

"What about the rank 3 Legendary energy stones, big sister? Where can we find them?"

"We have to dig them out of the walls, the ceiling, and the ground, of course," Clementine shrugged. Her nonchalance was like a calm sea hiding a world of depth.

"Nevertheless, that is something I will do in a bit. For now, Aezaleon, use your sub-ability effect [Essence Devour Ascension: Matter-Soulmatter Absorption] on this Dark Galyod. Let’s see if you can actually absorb a metal with this sub-ability or not."

"I said many times, it would work on perhaps any type of physical matter, but you are still so pushy," Aezaleon grumbled.

He took the ten-centimeter-wide, dark green irregular piece of rock from her hand.

"Testing it wouldn’t hurt you. So just do it instead of complaining so much!" Clementine made an annoyed expression. Her irritation was like a sudden spark in a dry forest.

"We are going to absorb them anyway, so absorbing one before the others wouldn’t change anything."

Not wanting to argue anymore, Aezaleon immediately used <Matter Absorption> on the small piece of rock in his palm. The translucent energy with black-white strands covered it wholly in a second and disintegrated it completely into innumerable green energy particles the next.

Subsequently, the energy particles condensed, forming an energy sphere that shot towards Aphryne and entered her chest an instant later.

AH!

[Aphryne, remember; use the energy to refine your ascension cores. You have to focus on both of them at the same time, otherwise it wouldn’t work.]

Aezaleon reminded her.

[Also, focus on the information coming from the wind metal: Dark Galyod; it will be inside the overflowing energy. Try to understand and comprehend the concepts the metal contains if you can. If it’s too much, just focus on your core, okay?]

"Mm!"

Aphryne nodded, her eyes tightly closed.

She felt the overflowing energy within, concurrently doing everything as she was instructed. She guided the dense energy throughout her whole body.

It was a brutal process—fracturing her bone fibers, breaking her muscle tissues, and damaging her nerves and blood vessels, all while regenerating them at the same time. It was the only way to make her body grow stronger and be baptized in pure wind elemental energy, increasing her wind affinity by a small percentage margin, slowly but surely.

A process like a violent storm rebuilding a ruined temple from its own rubble.

Additionally, with the Dark Galyod containing traces of Calamitous Energy, her body was absorbing and storing this information as well. Perhaps when she reached Ascension rank 4, it would be possible for her to comprehend the Cosmic Law of Calamity.

’If only it was that easy!’

Subsequently, Aphryne used the energy to refine the tier of her spiritual and material ascension cores, while also utilizing a part of her consciousness to actively go through the information contained in the energy flooding her brain.

It was a taxing process for her mind and placed its own burden upon her. Not to mention, it was agonizing, but she did it anyway because she had already lost once and, as a consequence, had nearly lost her life.

No matter what happened afterward, she didn’t want to experience another situation where her life would be at the mercy of her enemies. Not everyone would be as merciful as her husband, after all.

Moreover, since she had come to know who her real enemies were after gaining sentience, she was perfectly aware of what awaited her if she were to be captured alive. The future was a dark abyss she refused to fall into again.

There was her big sister too, whom she wanted to catch up to, and also her husband, for whom she wanted to become a pillar he could depend on without a shred of doubt.

There were many reasons why she sought strength, but mainly it was all to protect her husband, so that she could live with him for the rest of her life in peace.

To that end, Aphryne Eyne Ezodious did not mind breaking her own body to strengthen it—a method she had learned from her husband.

A minute passed.

The overflow of the wind elemental energy finally calmed down. Aphryne opened her eyes, releasing a heavy, steamy breath.

"How was it? How do you feel, Aphryne?"

"I feel refreshed," she responded in a calm tone, her expression thoughtful. "The process was indeed a painful one, but the effects were rewarding. I feel a bit stronger than the previous me."

"Only a bit?"

"So you really did go through the rough approach to strengthen yourself, huh? Didn’t big sister Clementine offer to numb your sense of pain? Why did you not accept?" Auguszta shook her head.

Aezaleon narrowed his eyes.

He didn’t know such a conversation had happened between the three girls, or that Aphryne was intentionally damaging her own body to strengthen it.

He did remember telling them about this discovery of his last night, when they talked in passing about his battle with Aphryne when she was still a Galescourge Bearer because of Auguszta’s curiosity.

The three women immediately picked up on his displeasure.

"Aezaleon, you can’t be like this!" Aphryne raised her voice. Her defiance was a sharp blade cutting through his overprotectiveness.

"You know big sister won’t always be there for us. Even if she has a responsibility towards us, you can’t expect her to babysit us. I don’t want to lose a battle just because I had a low pain tolerance because big sister was always there to numb it for me."

"I don’t want to grow reliant on her just because she is strong," Aphryne said her piece in a firm tone.

How could she ever hope to stand beside him or her if she became indecisive at the first hint of pain? If she became afraid of such a normal sensation, then she might as well just become a doll whose only purpose was to pleasure him.

Aezaleon still couldn’t accept it. Even if Clementine wasn’t there for her, he would be. He would always be. He could use her skills regardless of distance, time, space, or dimensional layers.

"Aezaleon, you are behaving too naively here," Clementine spoke, her tone sharp.

"Don’t let your protective instincts towards us cloud your judgment. Aside from everything else, just answer me: what would you do if, in a battle, I became severely injured and went unconscious? Not dead, but unconscious. Are you a hundred percent sure that you can utilize my abilities in that situation?"

She shook her head, not waiting for his response.

"You don’t know because such a situation has never happened. But there are many things that have never happened to you because of your young age. Many what ifs that we don’t know the answers to. However, if there is an enemy that even I couldn’t defeat, can you defeat it? Perhaps you can, but what about them? They will die if you restrict their development like this because of your own inexperience."

Clementine voiced this in all seriousness, her words turning sarcastic afterward. Her sarcasm like a biting frost that left no room for warmth.