Looking to the side, I could see Annabelle frowning in disgust.
There is no use in explaining the basics of a male's biology to her, so I ignored her expression and focussed on the next thing at hand.
"So how long will it take to reach the other side of the bridge" I asked her.
"If it's only the two of us, then it should only take half a day, But since it's everyone before the sun sets. We will have arrived".
"Alright" I replied, before staring at my crewmen "Since the ship is already parked, let's go".
"Aye Captain" They replied, with a joyous expression on their faces.
There should better be a brothel in the Vrymath's Kingdom, or else!!
Getting off the ship one by one with the ladder that have been laid down, I halted my steps just before I passed seadog.
"I am entrusting you with a very important task. Don't do anything stupid or else, I will make sure you regret it".
I watched as he gulped before nodding his head in understanding.
"It's good you understand, let's go then" Tapping his back gently, I turned back to wave at Mad John who had seen me threatening Seadog and was now shaking his head with a tired expression.
Everyone made their way into a boat, while I and Annabelle led the way forward, with the rest behind us.
"So, what is this bridge that you keep talking about?" I asked curiously.
"The bridge is called the Frozen port bridge. And its only purpose is to get sailors, traders, and sometimes pirates in and out of the Vrymath kingdom without the Moonlight's ice freezing them to death".
'So it's enchanted" I asked.
She nodded "Yes".
I continued "You said previously about how the scale of the ice keeps on slowly increasing, what about the bridge, does it perhaps also increases with it?"
She chuckled and then gave me an odd look. It seems that my question might have been a mistake.
"The bridge doesn't just increase by itself. It is maintained by the shipwright who checks on it weekly to see if the platform needs to be stretched out more or see if there are any place that needs repairs".
Oh! With an ice that freezes everything it touches and a ship that wouldn't sink even though it is filled with holes, I figured that an ever-expanding bridge might not be the most impossible thing out there. It's a shame that I was wrong.
"Over there" Annabelle suddenly exclaimed and stretched her hands over to the edge of what I presumed to be the Frozen port bridge.
I pointed towards the direction so that my crewmen could follow.
"Alright, we can stop here. Just tie the ropes to the handle of the bridge and then we can leave" Annabelle said to the crewmen steering the boat to which he nodded.
Getting off onto the bridge one by one, it didn't take more than 10 minutes before we were all on the bridge and were reading to move out.
Looking around the bridge, I hoped to find something special about it, but, got nothing. There was absolutely nothing special about this bridge.
But I could notice something though. The way the bridge was devoid of any ice and snow, under such horrendous weather, was strange.
"Don't think too much about it" Annabelle said, amused as though she could understand what I was thinking about.
And with the expression on her face, I was sure that she could.
"The only thing that you have to know is that this bridge is protected by the Miracle queen's spell. And so no matter how cold it is or how snowy it gets, the bridge remains immune".
Like a healthy cell thriving in a deadly pestilence. Terrific!!
"Let's get moving then" And so we started our journey.
The fuel that kept me going was the need to see and explore this new civilization while repairing my ship and then finding a way to grow stronger and make use of my junior brother along the way.
For my crewmen, it was the need to unleash their pent-up frustrations on some hoes, and probably spend the rest of their resting days in a brothel until the time we were ready to return.
Hmm!! Maybe I might as well check the brothels too and see if any surprises might catch my eye.
While Annabelle, the woman currently leading the way, was only tagging long for her training. I better start looking for a way to make sure she starts showing me the basics of being an ascendant while making sure that she doesn't know that I don't know the basics of being an ascendant.
Great.
…....…
He had gotten accustomed to this way of life.
"Crash!!" The sound of the tree, which he has been trying to chop down for hours, falling entered his ears.
He made sure that he was out of the way, to make sure that the clothes he wore, which the Miracle queen had enchanted with her spell to keep him immune from the Moonlight's ice doesn't get damaged.
He threw his axe to the ground and rolled his wrist, washing off the stress within them as his bones cracked with each twist.
He had gotten accustomed to this way of life, but not to chop down trees every day.
Picky up another axe with a bigger and sharper blade around its edges, he began chopping down the tree into smaller parts, before he then chopped them into logs.
He was an ascendant. An extraordinary being that was far from an ordinary human so the strain from doing such a repetitive menial task didn't get to his body. His body was stronger and sturdier than the tree in front of him, hence the only thing that could tire was his deteriorating mind.
Sure, as an ascendant, he could cut down trees with ease by easily coating the axe with his magical energy and making use of his extraordinary strength.
However, after years of doing so, he stopped.
His task was nothing but an ordinary woodcutter, and sometimes a shipwright. So, there was nothing more than this except the amount of wood that he touched, exceeding the number of humans that he has seen.
In time, using his powers, made the task much more frustrating and taxing. Was there any difference between him and a woodcutter if this is his life even with the extraordinary he possesses?
Yes, there was. He could even name a few just for the sake of it. However, in his current lifestyle, none of them mattered. Hence, instead of using his powers, he began building up his skills.
"Thuck!!" His axe clashed against the tree, chipping out a huge portion in the hole he had made.
For now, the only thing that mattered, the only thing that differentiated him and a normal woodcutter was skill.
In this frustrating and mentally taxing work he had found himself in, the only thing that he now strived for was skill.
From the way, he aligns the axe, the sharpness of its blades, the amount of strength he puts in to get the desired strike and results, the pose, and then the precision in his hands and the swiftness in his eyes.
"Stuck!!" And his axe strikes one more time, dissecting the tree in half.
"Perfect" He uttered.
At this point, the only thing that made this work less mentally taxing and less frustrating was the fact that he was building up his skill, and could feel the progress after his years of practice.
Soon, the only thing that will differentiate him and a normal woodcutter would be his exceedingly well-polished skills.
A stupid worrisome decision from a man who possesses extraordinary strength far beyond an ordinary human being, right?
"Haa…"He raised his thick jacket to cover his neck from the cold and took a glance at the setting sun, filling the sky with a crimson glow as it sets.
A stupid decision indeed!!
But please, tell me what you would do if you are tasked with cutting down trees and chopping wood every day, with such extraordinary power?
You can't run or escape because of the horrible phenomenon surrounding you.
You can't stop chopping down wood because if you do, the consequences are far from what you can handle even as an ascendant.
But, since you are still being paid for the ruthless punishment in the form of a job, then building up a skill might just be the sanest decision….. Or maybe he has already lost grasp of what could be considered sane without even realising it.
He picked up the logs and fill them inside the storehouse, one by one until he was sure that they were no one remaining.
Walking towards the next building beside the storehouse, he opened the door to his house and locked it behind him to get a rest.
However…. "KNOCK!! KNOCK!!!"
He opened the door almost instantly, knowing that there was someone who had come to visit him or someone who wanted his service.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"Hello sir, are you the shipwright that we have been looking for?".