Rowan regained consciousness and found himself wrapped in heavy bandages and laid in an adjustable bed. The room he was in was a private ward, clean and quiet, giving his mind a sense of tranquility. It appears he was in a hospital.
The military camp near the Great Wall did not have such a facility. There was only a small medical center there to provide emergency first aid such as stitches and bandages to stop the wounded from bleeding.
He had most likely been sent back to the Royal hospital in the Capital. He tried moving his limbs, but they did not respond.
Rowan sighed but did not grieve. Such was the price to pay for his ignorance. At least he was able to keep his life. He stared blankly into the air absentmindedly.
Although the situation was caused by his own foolish actions, he did manage to stare death in the face and escaped from its jaws. Having managed to keep his life, his mentally seemed to have changed and had a renewed outlook on life.
His father had been sitting by his side watching his every movements and expression.
"Father."
Hendrick nodded, "You've woken up."
"How is the expedition team?"
Hendrick was silent, satisfied with his son's first question. He did not ask about his own condition but showed concern for the expedition team instead.
"There was many injured but no deaths. Reinforcements had arrived in a timely manner and successfully fend off the attack, escorting the Freebird back to safety behind the walls."
Each soldier on the expedition team was an elite in the army. They had all undergone rigorous training and tempered on the battlefield. They were also all awakeners.
A contribution system existed to reward soldiers with outstanding contributions and merits. Dales was one who had accumulated a significant amount of contributions and merits through his years of service and been rewarded with many Awakening Pills over the years.
However, Dales had never taken the pill for himself. He had always given the pill you his own men. The reason he was the commander of the Freebird was not because he was the strongest nor was it because he was the most senior. It was because he was revered and the most worthy of the position.
"I see." Rowan was relieved no one died.
"Are you not going to ask about your own condition?"
"There's no need to ask about my own condition. I know my own body best." Rowan said. His tendons were cut and nerves damaged. Most likely, he would never be able to move his limbs again. There was a small chance it could be recovered through rehabilitation, but such chances were close to zero.
Hendrick nodded, "Perhaps this is a test for you. If you can overcome this trial, you can still become a great person in life."
Rowan listened to his father's wise words and gave it some thought, not immediately understanding his meaning.
Hendrick Graham did not rush his son and got up to leave.
"I still got to deal with the aftermath. Give it some thought."
Rowan pondered his father's words deeply after he left.
'How can I be someone great if I have already become disabled? I am still young and still had a long road ahead of me.'
'Long road? Is there even a path left for me to walk? I'm just a crippled now.'
Silence permitted the room for a while…
Fortunately, Rowan did not fail Hendrick's expectation and didn't take long to figure it out. Had it been the previous Rowan before his change in mentally, he would have been too blind and narrow-minded to figure it out even if you give him all the time in the world to figure it out himself.
'My life is still very long and there are many paths to take in life. Losing my limbs is not the end but a new beginning. Don't I start have my brain and bloodline ability?' Rowan's eyes lit up.
'So, what If I can't move my limbs? Don't I still have my ability to move myself? If I can hone my ability and control to the peak, would there still be any difference when I use it to move my limbs?'
Rowan was excited at the new providence in life and was impatient to practice his ability. Wind gathered under his arms to lift it but before he was able to move it up very far, he was wracked with pain.
"Arghhh!... No rush… no rush..." Rowan calmed down as if a bucket of cold water was poured on him. The first step is to recover. He closed his eyes to rest as there was nothing else, he could do for now.
-
-
-
Leon was presently walking home with extra cash, some medicinal herbs and a single piece of stainless-steel ingot he had traded for with the Cromwells after successfully refining a batch of True Awakening Pills for them.
The process went smoothly, he was able to refine 6 pills in one session. One had immediately been used on a servant who had yet to awaken.
The process took longer and wasn't as forceful as the original Awakening Pill and when the servant had finally awakened, he had a greater jump in power and was filled with vitality. It quite different to the usual awakening where the person would be sapped of their energy and required some rest to recover.
Metal was strictly regulated but it didn't mean it was unobtainable. It was just expensive and limited. If one had the money then they would be able to buy, albeit not much. Most of the metal are concentrated on defensive and military purposes.
Leon planned to use the stainless-steel ingot to make a set of acupuncture needles, which doesn't require much of the metal in his hand.
At this moment, at the construction site for an upcoming hotel ahead, an ironwood beam was threatening to fall from the crane holding it. One of the cables had snapped causing imbalance in the hold the beams were loaded on.
The imbalance in the hold caused it to swing as the beams threaten to fall outside of the of the construction zone and onto the sidewalk by the road next to it. There were a group people in that location.
"Everyone, watch out!" Leon shouted.
The surrounding crowd was alarmed at the sudden warning and was able to see what was happening. The adults in the area was able to react quickly and evacuated away from the danger zone, but a mother was knocked over in the process.
Snap*
When one of the cables snapped, the other one was unable to bear the load for long before it also snapped, and the beams started falling.
Although the mother knocked over into a safe spot, her little 9-year-old girl was not. She was just standing there innocently, unaware of the impending danger.
"Nooooo!" The mother cried out. The crowd couldn't to bear to watch what would become of the little girl.
Leon did not hesitate and dashed towards the little girl, using an instantaneous movement technique called the [Extreme Vanishing Step]. The [Extreme Vanishing Step] was a high-level instantaneous movement technique that allows one to travel great distance within an instance but puts an enormous strain on the body during the instantaneous burst of speed.
Leon did not think he was powerful enough to deflect the falling beams and could only pick the girl up and jump out of the way.
Boom* Boom* Boom*
The beams smashed into the ground like thunder as it has narrowly missed Leon and the girl. Leon had landed on his back, while covering the girl as they rolled a bit from the momentum.
Although the ironwood beams are generally considered as wood from the trees, it is no different to steel beams. The whole world had undergone a transformation. It wasn't just humans who gained unique abilities and the beasts, who evolved from animals.
The plants and trees had also transformed. The ironwood tree was a tree that had gained the characteristics of metal. The ironwood beam has the same strength and weight as a steel beam. The only exception is the feel.
"Are you alright?"
"Aileen! Thank goodness you're safe!" The mother cried as she quickly hugged her daughter, fearing that she would disappear if she doesn't hold her tightly. Only after a while did her heart calmed down.
"Thank you, Young Noble."
The young mother thanked Leon.
"There's no need to thank me. It's what I should do. You can just call me Leon. I am no noble."
Although she thought it was impossible for an awakened person to be normal, but she did not voice her doubts and nodded as if she had understood him.
'Maybe he is trying to be low-key?' She thought.
Her eyes couldn't follow Leon movements. She had only seen a blur before Leon appeared and saved her daughter. An unawaken would not be able to move like that.
"Aileen, quickly thank this big brother for saving you."
"Thank you, big brother for saving me." The little girl said cutely.
"Hahaha, it was no big deal. Listen to you mother and be more careful from now, okay?"
"Okay!"
The little girl answered, and Leon could help but rub her head before he left. A person with keen eyes would notice he was slightly limping as his right foot had been injured from the backlash of the movement technique. His body wasn't strong enough to bear the strain of high-level techniques yet.
No one knew but when the thundering beams struck the ground, it had shocked the construction workers on the site and one of them had unfortunately slipped and fell from the high building frame and broke his leg.
"Ahh! I need a doctor!"
The workers able to send him to the hospital in an efficient manner and put and end to the interlude.
When Leon arrived home, it was already sunset, but his foster parents wasn't home yet. They were still working outside.
Leon felt that he should have a look at where they were working. If their work was hard labor, he would convince them to quit their job since they are already passed their prime age. He can now earn a lot of money, why should he let them continue working when he can support them and let them enjoy their life? This is what he should do. This was filial piety.
He wasn't sure what type of work they did since they never mentioned it to him so he can only wait until they come home to ask.
Leon went for a shower to clean himself up since he was dirtied by the events of today. He would return to his room after and continue practicing the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. He had only made initial progress in the technique and was still far from mastery.
Even the Grandmist energy he had refined was not real Grandmist energy. It was just Quasi-Grandmist energy at best.
Grandmist was the source of all matter from before the formation of the universe. All matter in existence was formed by Grandmist energy.
How could Leon's mortal body possibly handle the weight of the force that formed the universe?
The current Quasi-Grandmist energy he had refined doesn't share much resemblance to True Grandmist energy.. It was just slight heavier and stronger than spirit energy.