The time was the midway point of May. The spring days were beginning to fade, being replaced by the warm summer days. The seasons were changing. Approximately six weeks passed since the Lannisail explosion and Elizabeth fell into a coma. Every day was marked by no changes, except today. As the girl slept in her bed, thousands of tiny strands of World Energy materialized around her. They glittered in the air like a thousand rainbows as they were drawn into her body at an explosive speed. The absorption of energy became faster and faster as the wind picked up. Elizabeth was like a bottomless pit as World Energy poured in nonstop! A miniature tempest brewed in her room, sweeping everything onto the ground and shattering them. When the container was finally filled, a humongous shockwave emanated at that exact moment.
Boom! The shockwave ripped through the room, instantly obliterating Elizabeth's bed. The wooden frame was turned to shrapnel, the stone walls were cracked, the windows were shattered, and a large dust cloud rolled through. The shockwave was so loud that everyone in the castle heard and felt it. It could shake one of the largest structures in the Alzar Kingdom this violently! Everything happened so quickly that it was impossible to react to. Afterwards, Sir Winstin barged in with his glaive drawn. His Martial Perception was fully strengthened to his highest level! Even other Royal Guards and Grand Knights were drawn here by the commotion, including Sir Sebastian and Lady Valentina. The entire castle was thrown into disarray!
However, when Sir Winstin looked around, he was shocked. The room was a total mess. Every piece of furniture was reduced to rubble and even the walls seemed unstable. Honestly, it resembled a battlefield more than the personal quarters for the heir apparent! Thinking this, he thought about Elizabeth. If the unconscious girl was caught up in this, there was a high chance she might die! That absolutely could not happen to the heir apparent! He charged towards what used to be the bed frame to grab her when something changed. The debris was shoved aside as Elizabeth groaned unhappily. Besides the layer of filth and dust on her, she stood up unharmed. Sir Winstin was dumbfounded again and stood there like a dumb chicken. What was happening? Elizabeth was about to say something when she vomited a sticky black substance. Her Protector snapped out of his stupor, and he rushed over.
"It's alright. I'm fine…" Elizabeth struggled to say, raising a hand.
"But…"
"I'm not hurt." The girl coughed up a bit more black tar. Although this was blood, it was not fresh. It was the result of her injuries from the Lannisail explosion which she had yet to expel.
Sir Winstin frowned. "If you say so, Your Highness. We should hurry and leave this room. It's on the verge of collapse."
"Give me one second," she said while searching for something. After the two hurriedly rushed into the corridor, she glanced down at her Whiteangel Bow. Extending her consciousness to the bow, more specifically the crystal, she established a mental connection with the spirit, Rena. Now that her Arcania mastery increased substantially, this became trivial to do.
While the two exchanged their secret conversation, Sir Winstin was suppressing the waves in his mind. Although he lacked understanding of Martial Energy, he was still a true Perception Realm Master with an extremely powerful Martial Perception. He easily ranked amongst the strongest people in the human world! But to be honest, anyone could tell Elizabeth had undergone a massive transformation! It was hard to describe it exactly. Previously, her aura was non-existent, and if it was, it radiated an immature feeling. She was like a child… No, she was a child. She was a sixteen-year-old farm girl without a lick of experience in the outside world. There was no way Sir Winstin could see her as anything but immature. It was simply the truth and nothing rude. However, Elizabeth radiated a sense of danger now. Sir Winstin wondered… What happened to her?
Elizabeth inspected her Core and saw how the Magic Energy was dense like sludge. It was infinitely close to condensing from a fog into a single drop but had yet to start the process. This was Peak Gaseous Fog Core Level, the final stage before Half-Condensed Drop! When she was training the tempering technique, she concentrated enough Magic Energy equivalent to Peak Gaseous Fog. Using it, when her Core finally detonated, she was able to suppress the explosion by instantly replacing it with a new Core. That was why her room exploded. It was the residual force propagating outward!
Combining her Peak Gaseous Fog Core Level and the advanced tempering technique, she had incredible combat prowess. According to the spirit Rena, it was equivalent to Half-Rank 2! What did that represent? Look at Emperor Lianghu, who was a Perception Realm Novice. By all standards, he was a true Rank 2 martial artist, even if he was at the Novice level. He had transcended human limits! However, he had broken through in his youth and decades of ruling the empire degraded his body and skills. This caused his combat power to actually slip back into Half-Perception Realm or Half-Rank 2. Otherwise, he would have killed Elizabeth and her friends a lot easier and quicker back in the Xingyuu Empire! With Elizabeth's new combat power though, that meant she could contend on equal terms with Emperor Lianghu!
"Notify the Hundred Lives Doctor, the White Healer, and Her Majesty immediately," Sir Winstin ordered. "No one else is allowed to hear about this, understood?"
His tone sent chills down everyone as they saluted and scattered. At the same time, Sir Sebastian and Lady Valentina showed up with their weapons drawn. Their expressions were full of surprise. Elizabeth was standing before them as if nothing happened! Two vast Martial Perceptions swept through her, trying to decipher what was happening. Elizabeth noticed it and she had the right to reprimand them for doing so, but it was understandable. A little more than a month ago, she was kidnapped from this very castle under their watchful eye! As if noticing their error, the two switched to the destroyed room and frowned.
"What happened, Sir Winstin? Is everything… all right?" Sir Sebastian asked warily.
The man shook his head. "I'm afraid that I don't know either."
"Should we raise the alarm?" Lady Valentina added. The Second Hand kidnapping Elizabeth made everyone lose faith in their own abilities. If something like that were to repeat, then they might as well retire! Everyone was on edge. As expected, Sir Winstin and Sir Sebastian agreed. Protecting the Royal Family was their top priority!
Yet, Elizabeth shyly interrupted their conversation. "I'm sorry for worrying everyone…"
Lady Valentina's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you apologizing for, Your Highness? This isn't Your Highness's fault."
"Well, that's what I'm saying," Elizabeth gave a nervous chuckle. "That… explosion was caused by me." Seeing three skeptical glances, she added, "But don't worry! I'm unharmed now you see. In fact, I even feel better than before!"
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Your Highness," Sir Winstin replied. "Could Your Highness explain things in simpler terms?"
They settled in a lounge except Sir Winstin asked her to delay the explanation until all the participants could arrive. Elizabeth cocked her head in wonder and waited. In no less than five minutes, several people walked in. At the forefront was obviously Queen Bethnal, Prince Dannark, and Lord Illion. After that was the Hundred Lives Doctor and the White Healer. This formidable lineup was complimented by the presence of the three strongest knights. Such a suppressive atmosphere would have choked anyone else. Thankfully, Elizabeth retained her royal training and kept her cool. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the doctor and healer. They were so startled that it took several seconds for them to recover before getting to work.
"How is she, Hundred Lives Doctor?" Queen Bethnal asked.
The man coughed. "After my thorough examination, I can conclude that there are no lasting issues. Her Highness's body has some minor problems because she slept for so long but it's nothing severe. I will prescribe some medicine that Her Highness can take. She will have to rest for a fortnight for the symptoms to fully subside."
Ten Dawn Iris then bowed and said, "According to my investigation, Her Highness's Channels have mostly recovered. It shames me to say this as I do not understand the cause of this miraculous recovery."
"Even you, the greatest expert on magical injuries, cannot answer this?" Prince Dannark showed his disappointment.
Queen Bethnal kept her stoic face though there was a hint of annoyance. Iris showed a helpless expression. Honestly, it was not entirely her fault. The existence of tempering techniques was obscured in Arcania just as it was in martial arts. The human world had yet to reach that level of development! Instead, the fact that Rena effortlessly gave out a technique that was far above the development standard of the human world showed how special they were! The spirit was beyond this world's understanding!
"Well, that aside, you have something else you want to say, right?" the prince cut to the chase.
"Yes… I have to report that Her Highness became a Peak Gaseous Fog Arcanist."
"Peak Gaseous Fog?" everyone mumbled in disbelief. Even Queen Bethnal formed a frown.
"You're sure about this?"
"I've double-checked and triple-checked. There isn't a mistake," Ten Dawn Iris said while sweat formed on her forehead.
This was a massive discovery! Princess Elizabeth was a Peak Gaseous Fog Arcanist! While she might not be a Low Condensed Drop Arcanist, on par with the Ten Dawns, she showcased equivalent strength in the battle with Emperor Lianghu. That meant that the Alzar Kingdom finally gained a powerful foot in Arcania! Moreover, Elizabeth had achieved that Core Level at breakneck speeds. Most Arcanists, the Ten Dawns included, took a long time to progress. Ten Dawn Nassandra was the one outlier that achieved Low Condensed Drop at twelve years old. On the other hand, Elizabeth just turned seventeen. She might be slower than Nassandra, but still leagues ahead of everyone else. That meant her Magic Potential was monstrous!