Third Person’s POV

Feeling the strange stiffness, Ethan instinctively circulated the icy mana within his muscles and bones.

The moment he did so, his expression changed slightly in surprise. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Because he suddenly discovered that his skin had also become covered in those mysterious icy rune patterns that had previously existed only within his muscles and bones after he reached the second stage of the Arctic Sovereign Body Strengthening Manual.

But now the situation was completely different.

Those strange icy runes had spread throughout his entire body.

They covered every inch of his skin without leaving behind even the smallest untouched area.

The runes stretched across his arms, chest, back, neck, legs, and even the most private areas of his body.

Each rune emitted a faint icy blue glow beneath his skin whenever his mana circulated through his body.

For a brief moment, Ethan became dismayed as he instinctively imagined himself looking like some strange tattoo-covered monster in front of others.

But soon afterward, he sighed softly in relief.

Because the moment he stopped circulating his icy mana actively, those glowing icy rune patterns gradually faded and sank back beneath his skin until they became completely dormant and invisible once again.

Feeling both curious and eager to understand the extent of his current strength properly, Ethan circulated his icy mana once more.

This time, he did so to a much greater degree than before, as he almost approached the peak limit his body could currently handle.

In the next instant, the dormant icy runes all over his body activated themselves once again.

Faint icy blue patterns spread beneath his skin like glowing frost veins while a chilling aura slowly radiated outward from his body.

Even his originally crimson red eyes seemed to become clearer and glass-like under the influence of the icy mana, while strands of his violet hair started carrying a faint bluish icy glow around them.

The atmosphere around him subtly changed, and the air itself seemed colder and heavier.

Feeling this transformation, Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly before recalling the information left behind by his master’s memory fragment.

Without hesitation, he focused his consciousness inward and dived deep into his soul space once again.

Inside it, he quickly found the storage ring that Nyx had hidden safely within his soul space using her spatial manipulation abilities before sealing him away.

The moment Ethan focused on it, the ring disappeared from the soul space and appeared directly on his palm in reality.

A faint smile surfaced on his face as he wore the familiar storage ring onto his index finger once more.

Afterward, Ethan took out a grade two magical dagger from inside the ring.

The dagger possessed a sharp silver blade covered in faint blue inscriptions while its edge emitted a cold metallic gleam.

Holding the dagger calmly, Ethan slowly pressed its sharp tip against the skin of his hand.

At first, he applied very little force.

Then gradually, he increased the pressure bit by bit while continuously circulating icy mana throughout his body.

The glowing runes covering his skin immediately brightened.

At the same time, his skin itself slowly transformed into a faint frozen ice blue shade that looked more like hardened enchanted ice than human flesh.

Ethan carefully observed every detail with complete focus.

Only after he applied considerable physical force born from the Arctic Sovereign Body Strengthening Manual did the sharp dagger finally manage to pierce through his skin.

Even then, the resistance his skin showed shocked him deeply.

The blade penetrated only slightly before stopping.

A few drops of blood slowly flowed from the shallow wound before Ethan calmly withdrew the dagger and instantly sealed the cut using icy mana.

The bleeding stopped almost immediately.

After confirming the extent of his durability carefully, Ethan finally arrived at a rough understanding of his current defensive strength.

Regular spells cast by ordinary mages of the same realm would most likely no longer pose fatal danger to him, especially if he had already activated his icy mana beforehand.

Most attacks would probably fail to even break his skin.

However, Ethan did not become arrogant after reaching this conclusion.

Instead, he calmly reminded himself that there definitely existed terrifying geniuses born from ancient lineages and powerful factions who possessed deadly magical weapons, ancient forbidden spells, or monstrous inheritances capable of killing people far stronger than themselves.

Thinking of this, Ethan gradually calmed himself completely, as arrogance was never the correct mentality for a true warrior.

At least, that was something his master Nyx had drilled deeply into him countless times.

After stabilizing his thoughts once more, Ethan finally relaxed slightly and sat upright upon the soft white bed while silently observing the unfamiliar luxurious chamber around him with cautious eyes.

A few moments later, he slowly got off the bed and started walking toward the enormous windows of the room.

His movements were still somewhat awkward and stiff.

Being sealed inside an icy coffin continuously for an entire year had left his muscles and limbs rigid despite the overwhelming transformation his body had undergone.

Each movement carried a strange heaviness as though his body was slowly relearning how to function properly again.

After stumbling slightly for a few times, Ethan finally arrived before the gigantic windows.

And the moment he looked outside, his eyes widened slightly.

A massive icy white city stretched endlessly into the far distance.

The sight before him was grand and majestic beyond words.

Countless white and pale blue buildings extended endlessly beneath the cloudy frozen sky while enormous icy roads and towering structures connected the city together like a vast frozen kingdom.

Huge palace-like buildings covered in snow and blue crystal decorations could be seen throughout the city, while distant towers pierced into the cloudy skies.

Shock and amazement filled Ethan’s eyes as he silently observed the scene.

Judging from the incredible height of his current position and the layout of the countless structures below, Ethan quickly realized that he was most likely standing inside some enormous royal palace situated near the center of this gigantic icy city.