Chapter 313 The Thirteenth Member Of The Zodiac
Ethan originally wanted to return to Dud Manor, but his Other Half told him to take a detour and fly toward the lake where he had trained earlier.
After landing on the center of the small island, the young man took out the black snake from his ring and tossed it on the ground in front of him.
His eyes glowed purple as he drew a few symbols in the air with his hand, creating countless runes that flew toward the snake lying on the ground.
A moment later, a magic circle appeared around the body of the snake, empowering the spell that Ethan’s Other Half was imbuing into its body.
He could have normally revived the black serpent as an Undead Creature, but Ethan’s Other Half wasn’t someone who liked to waste valuable resources.
Since the Giant Black Snake had eaten the treasure of the Ancient Wendigo, its body had evolved into a more powerful beast.
Meaning, it now had the capacity to evolve further, and he knew more than anyone how to maximize such potential.
Pricking his finger with a small knife, Ethan looked at the Black Snake with a devilish smile on his face.
His blood dripped over its body, making the Magic Circle beneath it shine even brighter.
“Rise.”
The young man commanded, and the body of the black snake started to twitch. Soon, its lifeless eyes regained their color.
The snake then looked at its surroundings in a daze, trying to understand where it was and what happened to it.
However, it couldn’t remember anything. Finally, it raised its head to look at the young man in front of it.
Despite not remembering anything, the snake could feel that it shared a strong bond with the purple-eyed teenager, whose mere presence made it want to submit to him completely.
“I now bestow upon you a name,” Ethan’s Other Half said. “From now on, your name is Nirah. From the thirteenth member of the Zodiac who has been shunned through the ages.”
Words held power, and names allowed creatures to gain their own identity, making them superior to creatures who didn’t possess them.
This was especially true for Magical Beasts who had been granted a True Name.
There were only twelve Zodiac Signs recognized throughout the world, each representing one of the twelve months of the calendar.
However, there was a thirteenth zodiac that represented the snake. Even so, this zodiac sign was excluded from the list, never to be known, except by those who knew the power of the stars and constellations.
The snake hissed in acknowledgment of the name that was given to it by its Master.
It then slithered towards the young man’s feet, crawling up his body until it reached his arm.
Then, something unexpected happened.
The snake coiled itself on Ethan’s forearm, transforming into a snake armlet. The golden tint at the edges of its black scales made it look like an expensive “accessory,” which many people would find fashionable.
“You will make a fine gift for my Promised One.” Ethan’s Other Half nodded his head in satisfaction.
Emma was a powerful witch and seer. But, she didn’t specialize in fighting.
During battles, she’d play a more supportive role, and Ethan thought that it would be better if he handed the snake to her as her Guardian.
Since Luna now had Selene to look after her, it was only fair that Emma also received a Guardian Beast that would protect her.
Ethan already had the Ancient Wendigo, so he didn’t need the Black Snake to protect him.
Ethan’s eyes returned to their original color, making the latter sigh. Whenever his Other Half used his abilities, the young man would always feel drained afterward.
But, he was also very satisfied with how things turned out.
“Now, I just have to find a Guardian Beast for Chloe,” Ethan muttered.
After saying those words, the young man heard a snort inside his head.
“You think capturing strong Magical Beasts is easy?” Sebastian rhetorically asked. “Do you have a misconception that they grow in the wild like potatoes?”
Ethan didn’t reply right away. Instead, he pondered a bit before asking Sebastian a question.
“What do you think would be a good Guardian Beast for Chloe?” Ethan inquired.
“Tsk. Didn’t you hear the words I just said?” Sebastian clicked his tongue. “But if you really want to give Chloe a Guardian Beast, any Fire Type Beast will do.”
“So, a Dragon?”
“Ethan, don’t make me slap you.”
The young man chuckled after hearing Sebastian’s reply. He was just joking, but like all jokes, he was half serious about it.
He gave the snake armlet one last glance before summoning his Wind Dancer.
It was way past his bedtime, and he needed to sleep because he still had classes to attend when morning came.
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A few hours later…
Ethan had a complicated look on his face as he stood beside Nicole, who seemed to be enjoying their predicament.
At the moment, the two of them were standing in the middle of the arena, with their classmates pointing their wands at them.
Their Martial Arts Instructor, Sir Leonel, had thought of a good way to make his class more exciting.
Ethan had not been taking classes for more than a month due to the expedition in Nightfall Academy, as well as his one-week recovery period after fighting against Lily’s older brother, Conall.
The Knightly Professor was very fond of Ethan because, despite not being able to wield magic in the past, he was a very hard worker.
Even after seeing the young man’s duels during the Clash of Manors, Sir Leonel still treated him the same way he did in the past.
“Okay, listen everyone.” Sir Leonel clapped his hands to momentarily catch everyone’s attention. “As I mentioned earlier, we will be doing this fun activity to see how much all of you have improved after months of training.
“But, to make this event more exciting, all of you will be allowed to use magic. The rules are really simple. You are allowed to use any weapon, armor, and artifact at your disposal.
“You are also allowed to use your Flying Brooms in order to gain aerial superiority against Ethan and Nicole. You are also allowed to use any spells, with the exception of spells that would slow, paralyze, bind, blind, and inflict debuffs at your targets.
“If you hit Ethan and Nicole with any kind of spell, you gain 20 Merit Points.
“If you manage to land a blow on their body, you will gain 20 Merit Points as well.
“The round will immediately end if Ethan and Nicole knock everyone off the arena or make them surrender. Don’t worry. The protective spells are active, so none of you will suffer any serious injuries.”
“Only twenty people can challenge them at a time. Each group will be given twenty minutes to fight against them. Since we have sixty people, we will have three rounds of fighting. Ethan and Nicole will be given a ten-minute break after each round to recover their strength.
“Don’t worry. I will make sure to give both of you Health, Magic, and Stamina Potions at the end of each round to recover your strength. Aren’t I nice?”
Ethan refused to comment on his Knightly Professor’s antics. Nicole, on the other hand, just grinned as if she couldn’t wait to start the fight already.
“Sorry, Ethan,” Chloe said with a mischievous smile on her face while standing several meters away from him. “Nothing personal.”
The young man rolled his eyes at the young beauty’s shameless declaration.
“Leave Chloe to me,” Ethan whispered to Nicole. “I’ll deal with her myself.”
“Just do things in moderation,” Nicole replied in a teasing tone. “Make sure to not show your public display of affection to everyone, okay? You can do that behind closed doors.”
Ethan ignored her words as he summoned his Sea God’s Trident.
He then looked at Sir Lionel and waited eagerly for the mock battle to start.
It had been a while since he fought against his classmates, so he was looking forward to seeing just how much they improved during the time when he wasn’t around to attend his classes.
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