Chapter 5: Supreme Star Scripture (Part 1)
William was currently in the Silver Wing Kingdom, which was one of the kingdoms under the rule of the Eastern Empire.
The Eastern Empire was a behemoth, with many kingdoms under its rule, and the Silver Wing Kingdom could be considered a medium-grade kingdom under its command.
William’s home was located in Rosco Barony. It was a small territory managed by Baron Xing.
It was a countryside barony without much development, and most of its area was farmland.
Because there wasn’t much to see in this barony, William didn’t linger around after leaving home and instead brought Samuel to an open field some distance away from their home.
It was their own farmland, so William wasn’t worried about anyone disturbing them.
"What are you planning to do?" Samuel asked, a look of confusion on his face.
’Was Mom right? Is there really something wrong with his brain?’ He couldn’t help but think, as William’s actions since morning had been strange.
"We will train here," William said as he brought some heavy stones from the side and placed them in front of Samuel.
"Training?" Samuel was even more confused.
But William did not explain much and instead told him to lift one of the stones he had brought and hold it above his head while standing still.
Samuel looked at the stone, which weighed nearly ten kilograms, and then at his thin arms and weak body.
’Does he want to kill me?’ He grumbled inwardly, feeling that there was definitely something wrong with William.
Seeing that Samuel did not lift the stone and was staring at him strangely, William slapped the back of his head and spoke sternly.
"Are you deaf? Why are you standing still like a puppet? Lift it quickly. We are going to check your Aether Affinity."
Samuel was irritated when William slapped him and was about to take off his slipper to use his mother’s classic move, but stopped when he heard William’s last words.
"Check Aether Affinity? But don’t you need an Energy Crystal and have to be at least sixteen years old to check it?"
William glanced at Samuel’s hand, which was just inches away from taking off his slipper, and his mouth twitched slightly.
"Just lift the stone. You will understand in a few minutes," He said, urging him again without explaining further.
Samuel did not believe what William said, but he still followed his instructions and lifted the stone above his head with both hands.
Since it was just the beginning, Samuel did not feel much pressure holding the stone above his head.
"Now follow my instructions closely," William’s expression turned serious, as he knew that with his weak body, Samuel wouldn’t be able to hold it for long.
"Take a deep breath. Breathe until your lungs are full."
Though confused, Samuel followed William’s instructions without saying anything.
"Hold your breath for five seconds before releasing about half of it."
"Now take a small breath and slowly exhale all the air from your lungs."
Samuel was really confused as to what William was trying to do.
But in just twenty seconds, he began to feel extremely tired, and sweat started to trickle down his forehead.
Samuel was stunned when he noticed this, as he thought that even if not for long, he should have been able to hold the stone for at least a minute.
But because of the strange breathing rhythm, it became extremely difficult for him to keep the stone raised, and he was already feeling exhausted.
William continued to guide Samuel with the breathing method while keeping a close eye on his condition.
He was actually making Samuel practice a body-forging technique.
It was a very rare technique that allowed people to strengthen their bodies using Aether Energy even before reaching the age of sixteen.
Normally, people needed to reach the age of sixteen, when their bodies were fully developed to handle Aether Energy, before they could begin to absorb it and evolve.
But the body-forging technique allowed people to strengthen themselves before reaching that age.
Although this strengthening was not true evolution, as a person’s life level would not increase by practicing this technique, it was still a rare method that allowed one to build a strong body and lay down a solid foundation before truly beginning to absorb Aether Energy to evolve.
There was just one condition for someone to be able to use the body-forging technique.
It was to have Aether Energy Affinity.
Since William already knew that Samuel had medium-grade Aether Affinity, he was confident that he could practice this technique successfully.
In fact, such techniques were extremely rare, even among nobles.
Only royal families, along with some Dukes and Marquesses, possessed such techniques that allowed people to strengthen their bodies and lay down a strong foundation even before they began true evolution.
Normally, with how corrupt most of the nobles of the Eastern Empire were, it would have been impossible for William to get his hands on such a technique in the original timeline.
But because of the war, which nearly destroyed the entire empire, the royal families of most kingdoms under the Eastern Empire were forced to release their control over such techniques so that they could train stronger people to fight for them.
The royal family of the Silver Wing Kingdom was the same, and just a few months before his death, they had released their control over most techniques, allowing people to freely learn them to increase their combat power.
William still remembered that when he was informed that he could freely access any technique, he was so furious that he cursed almost a hundred generations of nobles.
It was because if they had stopped monopolizing most of the powerful techniques from the beginning, the situation where they lost against the Abyssal Beasts might never have occurred.
Though he criticized them thoroughly, he did not hold back in studying all the powerful techniques he could find.
It was also during this time that he awakened his second trait, which had been dormant until then.
There were two types of traits.
The first type consisted of those that awakened naturally without requiring any specific action.
One only needed to become a Star Warrior and unlock their status window to awaken their natural trait.
William had also awakened his first trait when he evolved for the first time and became a Star Warrior.
Of course, not everyone could awaken a trait. Only a few people did, while most never awakened one in their entire lifetime.
The second type of trait awakened only when certain conditions were fulfilled.
The second trait that William awakened later on belonged to this category.
It had always been in a dormant state without his knowledge, and when he finally gained access to higher-level techniques and his understanding of Aether Energy increased, some condition was fulfilled, allowing him to awaken it.
William was truly surprised when he awakened a second trait, and even more so after seeing just how powerful it was.
It was because of this trait that he successfully memorized and even understood hundreds of techniques in a short period of time.
Unfortunately, he died not long after awakening this trait and could not unleash its true potential.
But even in that short time, he was able to create something very powerful for himself with the help of this trait.
"Th-this... Brother, I am feeling very tired, and it feels like something is burning inside my body. It’s very hot," Samuel suddenly spoke as sweat trickled down his forehead like someone had poured water over him.
"The burning sensation you are feeling inside your body is because of Aether Energy. It is tempering your muscles. Just hold on until you can’t carry the stone anymore. Once you are done, rest for some time and repeat the same process. Remember, the breathing rhythm that I taught you is the main thing here."
Samuel was taken aback when he heard William’s words, but soon, a look of joy appeared on his face, and even the fatigue he was feeling lessened slightly.
"Aether Energy is tempering my body? Does that mean I have affinity for Aether Energy?"
"Yes," William nodded before speaking seriously.
"Now keep quiet and focus on your breathing rhythm."
Samuel immediately shut his mouth and followed William’s instructions carefully to learn the breathing rhythm.
Once William was certain that Samuel had learned everything properly, he let him practice on his own and decided to focus on himself.
He walked to the side, into the shade of a tree, and sat down cross-legged with his eyes closed.
Taking a deep breath, he went through his memories for a moment before silently using the strongest technique he had created with the help of his trait.
’Supreme Star Scripture.’
