novelraw Chapter 20 : The Lion’s Cub Bares Her Fangs
Chapter 20 : The Lion’s Cub Bares Her Fangs
Elara perspective
Whispers filled the academy halls.
“Elara Valemont… she’s progressing too fast.”
“She’s only been here a year, right?”
“Impossible. No one improves that quickly.”
At first, Elara ignored them. She woke before dawn, drilled her stances until her arms burned, and sparred until her legs shook. Her instructors called it obsession. She called it duty.
And then came the day of the sparring trials.
Her opponent was a senior two years above her—a tall boy with a smirk plastered across his face, clearly eager to humiliate the “arrogant Valemont girl.”
“Try to last five strikes,” he sneered, raising his wooden blade.
Elara bowed, silent, then raised her sword.
The clash came fast.
CRACK—!
The boy struck with raw strength, confident she’d buckle. But Elara’s blade moved cleanly, meeting his strike with precision. The impact rattled her arms—but her stance held firm.
Gasps rang through the arena.
The boy snarled and pressed harder, raining blows on her guard. Strike after strike, faster and heavier. Any normal student would’ve faltered. But Elara’s sword moved as though guided by instinct, each block flowing into the next, her blade singing through the air.
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With a sharp exhale, Elara turned defense into offense. Her blade slipped past his guard and smacked into his ribs with a resounding CRACK!
The senior stumbled, eyes wide. The smirk was gone.
Before he could recover, she pressed forward—her strikes sharper, faster, undeniable. The final blow knocked him to the ground, his weapon skidding across the floor.
Silence fell.
The instructor’s jaw tightened. He cleared his throat, voice strained. “…Winner, Elara Valemont.”
Elara exhaled, lowering her sword. Her arms trembled, her lungs burned, but her eyes shone. Rooga. Mama. I’ll get stronger. For you.
The whispers rose again, this time laced with awe.
“She defeated a senior…”
“At her age…?”
“Is this the bloodline of the Valemonts… or something more?”
But Elara only bowed, her gaze steady.
To her, it wasn’t talent. It wasn’t blood. It wasn’t destiny.
It was her promise.
Back to Rooga perspective
While Elara fought duels at the academy, I remained at home—quiet, unnoticed, free to train.
My newest obsession was ice.
What began as a simple trick—chilling my milk—had grown into a weapon. I practiced in secret, palm against stones, cups, even the floor. The frost spread wider each time, climbing faster, biting deeper.
One evening, as Mama napped with my baby brother in her arms, I slipped into a corner of the nursery and pressed my hand to the floor.
Frost bloomed outward in jagged lines, creeping like roots across the stone. My breath misted. The HUD flickered to life.
[Skill Evolution Complete]
[Cold Touch → Frozen Touch]
A thrill ran down my spine. My tiny hand lifted, glittering with frost.
But the HUD didn’t stop.
[Frozen Touch – Capable of Evolution]
[Next Form: All Freeze]
[Requirement: Acquire multiple advanced Ice Magic skills]
“All… Freeze?” I mouthed the words, my breath fogging in the chill.
The floor beneath me was already rimed with ice, and I had to stomp my feet to keep from slipping.
I grinned. So it can evolve again…
But then I glanced at my baby brother, bundled and warm in Mama’s arms. A shiver—not from the cold—ran through me.
If I lost control of this… if I unleashed it near them…
I clenched my fist, cutting the mana flow, and the frost stopped spreading. My heart thumped hard in my tiny chest.
No. Not yet. I’ll master it first. I can’t risk them.
The HUD dimmed, leaving me alone with the faint trace of frost melting on the stone.
I hugged my knees, whispering to myself.
“One day… I’ll be strong enough to use it without fear.”
And in that quiet nursery, as my family slept, I trained again.