At first, he put his feet first into the icy water to test it.

*Shh*

The cold biting sensation was horrid. It was worse than even the worst winter he lived through. The cold was invading him slowly through his feet to his legs. It managed to penetrate easily to his bones and still progressed up towards his body.

Stone took a deep breath to calm down and gradually submerged himself deeper and deeper into the lake. Once he submerged half of his body in the water he waited for a moment for his stiff body to adapt to the cold. After that, he pushed himself towards the center of the lake where the water wasn't shallow.

Originally he, as the commoner, didn't know how to swim. But for survival, he had to adapt. He certainly isn't as good as the children of the north who learned how to swim from tender ages but it was enough to not get drowned.

When he finally floated on the water right in the center, Stone for the last time looked around taking in all of the scenery, and then took another deep breath. This time it was to take the most air to the lungs.

Immediately after Stone sank in. He had closed his eyes when he fully submerged himself but in the end, he opened them to see the situation around him. Unfortunately, his eyes which he had opened were invaded by the Cold Energy second after and were a little damaged but right after that they healed.

The only reason for Stone to do that was his confidence in his gift. Other children were very careful to not expose their weak parts.

What he saw around himself was hard to describe. The water itself seemed to be a little luminescent thanks to the energy flowing around and shined with light blue light. It was glamorous and beautiful. Stone never saw anything like this.

In his surroundings, he didn't see any other kids as he tried to be farthest from them during this baptism. The water itself was a little luminescent but it was still dark deeper in the water so Stone didn't see much.

That was until he saw little lights floating in the water showing up once in a while and then disappearing right after. Those lights were easily spotted in the water as they were much brighter. Those stars-like shining particles had a color of deep blue and they were much more resplendent than the water around and Stone's intuition told him that this was something better than the 'normal' water around him.

Kaoran didn't mention this. Well, maybe he didn't even know about it as he mentioned to keep your eyes closed since they were easy to be damaged. But then again he wasn't someone who relied on his natural sight alone. Maybe there was something more to it or Kaoran had reason to not talk about it.

Stone wanted to explore it a little more but unfortunately, his body wasn't in the state to swim under the water right now. His body was cold and stiff and the efficiency of absorbing the energy was horrendous during the time he was underwater so far.

Thus he chose to close his eyes for the time being and focus on the meditation Kaoran taught him. He still wasn't completely proficient in it but it will have to suffice.

With closed eyes Stone slowly relaxed his body, letting his limbs freely flow in the water. He focused only on himself forgetting everything surrounding him. He did that despite Kaoran's warning to be careful as in this state it was easy to drown.

Of course, Stone can't fall that deep in meditation even if he wants to. Other children were taught meditating for a long time while he learned it only recently. Even other children adopted by the tribe had more time as they were taken way before Stone.

Kaoran thought about this obviously. He knew that Stone would strive for the best as he noticed the boy's mindset twisted by the bad experiences he went through. In a normal situation, it would be for the best to talk him out of it lest his greediness would fetch him nothing. Or worse kill him.

But obviously Kaoran and Stone knew that this wasn't a normal situation as Stone wasn't a normal boy. He wouldn't die that easily by drowning.

That means that even if something bad happens, Kaoran will have time to intervene! Normally the time lag between the kids starting to drown and him noticing could be fatal as drowning was a silent killer. If it weren't for his spiritual sight and instead he actually depended on his natural sight he wouldn't even imagine how many more children's graves would be.

On the other hand, Stone doesn't need to care about this. Even if Kaoran had delayed response when rescuing him there was no way he would die immediately. Of course that was Kaoran's deduction after seeing him survive even burning at the stake but even then he wouldn't risk it just with this. In truth, he took little of Stone's blood when he was in the coma and did some experiments to get the gist of the regeneration he has. Once Kaoran starts to teach him the shamanistic ways he plans to tell him about it and the danger of letting someone sample his blood.

But still for the Stone the most important factor for now was not his regeneration but the pain tolerance he gained! After all the more energy you absorb the more it will hurt. Very few didn't feel pain. And even those who felt it when their body reached the limit and started to get damaged.

This has to do with their 'affinity' with Cold Energy. Most people are average or even subpar making their baptism hell. On the other hand, those more talented can get the energy more easily and can hold more. Unfortunately, even they have the limit. Reaching beyond this limit is usually fatal as their body doesn't withstand it and gets ruptured in the best scenario.

When Stone finally reached a state of clear mind, he felt like never before. The feeling of not being burdened and being free intoxicated his little mind. Meanwhile, the energy which was time swirling around started to little by little fuse with Stone through his skin.

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The meditation allowed a person to completely relax his muscles and get his pores wider making it possible for energy to enter into the body naturally. Bakur tribe actually doesn't have the proper technique to absorb the energy of this level so they can only depend on this basic meditation. The technique of poor quality would just kill the user once used on this kind of energy so this kind of passive absorbing is the only way for them.

Unfortunately, even the simple techniques were too time-consuming to learn so Stone still didn't have the opportunity to learn them from Kaoran.

The energy lazily entered his pores and penetrated through his entire body. Each fiber of his muscles got filled with energy until they became overflowed, the temperature of the body dangerously lowering. Stone literally felt as the blood in his veins got colder as the energy invaded his body.

It hurt quite a lot but so far nothing as horrible as he thought it would be. But that was obvious since the pain he can tolerate is completely on a different level. The only problem in this situation for him can only be the body's lower temperature which if too low will disable if not kill him. Of course, it depends on how his body will react to this.

Fortunately, as the body absorbs the energy it will also gain cold resistance. Furthermore, the cold disappears the moment the Cold Energy fuses completely with the body so keeping the right temperature isn't a big problem problem for him or the other kids.

The problem begins once you stay in there for too long which normal children won't experience. But for Stone, it will be inevitable.

Stone who already gotten used to the new sensation of the energy circulating his body. Started to feel it from the inside. He felt the energy closing in on his innards which could be dangerous but he kept going. The bones in his limbs had already penetrated and the Cold Energy already got to his marrow at those parts.

'Ugh' This pain was a surprise for the boy as he never felt it before. The gastric acid never managed to get through the bones as his body regenerated in time.

The pain was amplified as the poisonous herb started taking effect.

It was a really uncomfortable feeling but he persisted because while it hurt he felt something new. He felt as his body slowly got tougher and tougher which was a euphoric feeling. Furthermore, something different in his body got stimulated, and started to move across his body.

That's right. It was the settled-down herb essences slumbering inside his body!

And now it made the first move! Through stimulation, it started to circulate together with the Cold Energy making them contradictory forces clashing with each other stimulating themselves even more.

Why contradictory? Well, the more the essence flowed through his body the more his body heated up. Mixing the heat and cold is a dangerous act and Stone felt it firsthand as he felt his body break up from inside as blood started to blend into the water around him. Before it could regenerate though it started to absorb both the essence and energy together making the entire process much quicker and better than normal. Thankfully the poisonous herb didn't clash with either of the forces and instead got quickly absorbed deep into the body stimulating it for quick absorption of the essences and energy making them coexist together once fusing.

The entire process of destruction and creation continued as Stone tried to persist to stay with a clear mind. It was very hard to do so as the pain made him lose concentration. But it didn't matter that much anymore as the Cold Energy now flowed towards him despite losing his concentration. Either through the cracks of his broken skin or forcibly through now narrow pores as the energy got greatly attracted towards the stimulated cycle of heat and cold.

In the end, Stone stopped trying and tried to distract himself from the pain by complaining to the person who was responsible for this accident.

'Damn you, old man! You knew this would happen, right ?'

The pain he was going through right now was incomparable with kids around who just passively absorbed the energy. He was feeling as if he was crushed and his body turning into a mangled mess. It was a terrible feeling.

The fact he didn't pass out just shows how much willpower the boy had.

The only good news about this is the fact that he felt in real-time how strong he got! It felt as if he had infinitive strength inside his muscles and his bones became unbreakable!

Of course that was just an illusion but Stone was still excited despite the pain. The stronger he is the lesser chance he will feel so helpless in the future. The bonus point is that the tougher his body is the lesser the chance to get injured! While he can take a hit without falling apart now he still doesn't enjoy it at all!

He also opened his eyes to let the Cold Energy baptize them too. Then he relaxed his body once more.

He thought about going up to take a breath for a moment but didn't want to disturb the balance his body was going through right now. It didn't really matter as not breathing for a while was not a problem for him. The more so when his gift has around enough energy that can help him to keep up his quick regeneration which was his hypothesis that he was quite sure about.

In this fashion Stone let the two natural forces wreak havoc inside his body for a long period of time.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the kids who were already after baptism noticed that the lake was turning red at the center of the lake and were horrified.

"Grand Shaman! The lake! It is turning red!" someone shouted.

"Is it blood?!"

"Someone is dying there!"

The children who were still panicking suddenly heard the gust of wind bringing with themselves a strong yet calm voice.

"Don't worry. There is nothing wrong." Kaoran stated as he watched deeply in the water seeing the boy's misery. The children were bewildered by his statement but he ignored them. He knew the boy will be pissed as he didn't tell him how big the reaction between essence and energy will be. But he knew this was best for the boy. The essence that was settling in his body would kill a normal person already. In the following months, it could hinder Stone in a very bad way and could ruin his life. So for the boy, this was the best solution which also brings many benefits.

Naturally, he wouldn't be so careless with any other child even if they had the same gift as him. The reason why he did this was the boy's eyes.

The eyes when he was nailed on the fallen stake, when despite his tiredness and face full of pain he fought for his dear life. Stone wasn't simply someone with great skill. Even in the future when he will gain power and honor he won't see him as the valiant warrior. No.

He will see in him something much more primal than the day he met him. That the boy is...

The survivor.

As simple as that. Not everyone can be a survivor as not everyone has the will and self-preservation instincts strong enough to survive. Even the strongest warriors fall once in dire situations. And that is despite there being a small chance. Hope to survive.

Only a few were like this. And Kaoran felt the boy was the same once he saw him. That is the reason for what he did. He did that so the boy could live. So he can survive in this wildlife.

Kaoran was already 156 years old this year and he knew that the stronger one's body is the longer the lifespan will be. Or rather the stronger one's regeneration is the longer one lives. He doesn't know how it works or if it has some limitations but he was sure the boy will at least live longer than himself.

Living that long without strength can be considered as either a miracle or a nightmare.

The boy must suffer now to not suffer anymore in the future. The irony.