Strongest Warlock - Wizard World Irregular

After that nerve-wracking ceremony, he was forced to participate in the Initiation Ceremony, which was a yearly tradition of the academy to give the First Years a grand welcome to the academy.

Though fighting against Zombies wasn\'t really something Ethan would consider a grand welcome.

Fortunately, he had reunited with Chloe at that time. With the two of them working together, they managed to survive and reach the Door of the Boss Room alongside a weakened Alice.

Ethan would never forget the moment Nicole appeared in front of them.

She was beautiful, charismatic, and most of all, oozing with confidence.

Even for someone like Ethan, who had been inexperienced in fighting monsters, a glance was enough to figure that Nicole hadn\'t suffered the way they did against the Zombies.

Her clothes were clean, and she was very composed, indicating that the Initiation Ceremony didn\'t pose any challenge to her.

When she entered the Boss Room, her battle ended before Ethan, Chloe, and Alice could even relax after their tense encounter.

This cemented her status as the "Strongest Pillar" among the First Years in the academy.

That was also when Ethan had first felt deep inside his heart that he wanted to be like her.

Someone strong.

Someone who could face the dangers in front of him with a confident smile.

Someone who could protect those whom he held important in his life.

As a Dud, Ethan knew that this was simply a pipe dream.

Nicole was a talented Witch, as well as a Knight.

She had it all—at least, that was what he thought in the beginning.

He wasn\'t aware of the hardships that she had suffered in the past.

She became strong because she had no other choice but to become strong.

The Asta Family wasn\'t a place where weakness was tolerated. They only wanted the strongest Witches and Wizards in their family.

Nicole had been stripped of her freedom to live a happy childhood, due to her family circumstances.

If there was someone Ethan wished to surpass in the academy, it was none other than the beautiful young lady who was currently in his embrace.

The young man looked at Nicole\'s face and felt an ache in his heart when he saw how pale and exhausted she looked.

Despite the darkness in the room, his dark vision allowed him to see her current state, a sight of which made him hold her tighter.

He brushed away the hair covering her beautiful face and tucked it behind her ear.

Her slow breaths, which were no longer as cold as ice, gave Ethan some peace of mind.

Her body, although still a little cold, was better compared to how it was many hours ago.

And her face, although still pale, had regained a bit of its color.

The young lady whom Ethan wanted to defeat in a fair duel felt very fragile in his embrace.

She was like a vase that would break any moment at the slightest mishandling.

Nicole had always been one of the anchors that made him strive to get stronger in a world where strength was needed to survive.

Perhaps due to the fact that he wanted to make sure that nothing unexpected would happen, Ethan continued to watch over her until the skies slowly brightened outside.

When morning came, her body temperature finally returned to normal, making Ethan finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At that exact moment, Nicole slowly opened her eyes and sleepily looked at the young man, who was looking at her with concern.

Their gazes met, and after a few seconds, recognition and realization appeared in Nicole\'s eyes.

"Thank you," Nicole said softly before planting a kiss on Ethan\'s forehead. "I\'m feeling much better thanks to you."

"You\'re welcome," Ethan replied as he lightly patted her head.

"Did you take advantage of me while I was sleeping?" Nicole asked in a teasing tone.

"I will never do that to you," Ethan answered in a heartbeat.

Nicole giggled because she knew that Ethan would never take advantage of her, even in her moment of weakness.

Even so, she still felt mischievous so she stared directly into his eyes while her hands moved to caress Ethan\'s chest, feeling his strong and lithe body under the blankets.

"It\'s your loss," Nicole replied. "You should have copped a feel when you had the chance. Many teenage boys in the academy would die to switch positions with you. Do you know that?"

"They won\'t get the chance." Ethan smirked. "Because if they try to cop a feel, you will turn them into ice statues."

"True." Nicole smiled before burying her head into Ethan\'s chest and closing her eyes. "Can we stay like this for fifteen more minutes?"

"Okay," Ethan answered as he continued to hug the young lady in his arms. But it didn\'t take long before he realized that agreeing was a mistake.

Now that he was certain that his best friend had finally recovered, his concern faded and was uncontrollably replaced by the sensation of Nicole\'s naked body.

He didn\'t have the chance to process this sensation earlier because he wasn\'t thinking about sensual thoughts as he stood vigil until morning came.

Her soft curves pressing on his bare chest.

Her calloused hands touching his back.

Her fragrance making his heart beat wildly inside his chest, which he believed was also sensed by the young lady in his arms.

Ethan wouldn\'t admit it, but Nicole was totally his type of woman.

Strong, beautiful, and strong-willed, with a great figure.

But the thing that made him painfully aware of all of this was the fact that Little Ethan was starting to react, making him almost want to slap the little guy for not choosing the appropriate time and place to stand tall and proud.

Suddenly, a giggle escaped Nicole\'s lips, which soon broke out into a chuckle.

"I\'m relieved that you still think of me as an attractive lady," Nicole said. "For a moment, my confidence took a blow since you didn\'t seem interested in having a beauty like me in your arms."

"How can I possibly not find you attractive?" Ethan asked. "Okay, your fifteen minutes are up. Time to go."

"Eh? Stingy!" Nicole complained, which Ethan ignored completely.

The young man slid out of bed while making sure that Nicole\'s body was covered properly by the blanket.

He pulled on his robes with his back facing her, making the young lady giggle a second time.

"Ah, before I forget, I want you to have this," Ethan turned around and handed a bracelet to Nicole.

"What\'s this?" Nicole asked as she looked closely at the gem at the center of her bracelet.

Suddenly, she felt something warm over her body as the gem on the bracelet glowed faintly.

"It\'s a bracelet made from one of the gems that I picked up in the Crystal Cavern to be used for the rings that are being created by the Crystal People," Ethan replied. "I asked them to make three bracelets. I gave one to my mother, one to my sister, and the last to my Grandma.

"But Grandma declined it and said that I should just give it to you because she\'s already old and doesn\'t like to wear accessories."

"But I also don\'t like to wear accessories?" Nicole asked as she gazed at Ethan with a mischievous smile on her face.

"You don\'t want it?" Ethan asked before placing his hands on his waist. "If you don\'t want it, I\'ll give it to someone else."

"I didn\'t say I didn\'t want it," Nicole commented. "But since you have given it to me, I guess I\'ll accept it as a token of our friendship. Quick, help me wear it. I\'m too lazy to do it myself."

Ethan shook his head helplessly before taking the bracelet from Nicole\'s hand.

"You\'re hopeless." Ethan eyed his best friend before casually putting the bracelet on her right wrist.

The moment the bracelet was on her wrist, it shrank to fit Nicole perfectly.

\'So I didn\'t just imagine it,\' Nicole thought as she felt the warmth spreading into her body from the blue crystal that was embedded in her bracelet.

Ethan, who had no idea what the bracelet was doing to Nicole, bid his best friend goodbye, but not before getting another kiss on the cheek as her thank you for the gift.

After leaving the room, the two beings in his peanut gallery began teasing Ethan, saying that he should have copped a feel when he still had a chance.

This made the young man\'s face redden as he headed back towards his room to wash away the traces of his intimate night with Nicole, who was now laying on her bed and looking at the bracelet that was given to her as a gift by the young man whom she trusted the most in the world.