Lesser Heat Control (☆ — Mastery: 99% → 100%)
Intermediate Heat Control (★☆ — Mastery: 0%)
Aha... Raelis looked at the interface in wonder.
It seemed that learning to use the heat barrier was enough to push his ability into the next rank.
So a star appears every time I evolve an ability. I wonder what the limit is?
He held back his thoughts for another day. After all, with four more years until the academy started, he had plenty of time to hone his skills.
Raelis exhaled slowly and stepped toward the golden-white flame hovering ahead.
He stopped just a meter away. At this distance, the heat barely made his skin tingle.
The heat-resistant barrier is blocking all the heat. As for this flame... it can't really do much to me since I only have 9% bloodline purity, and I haven't even absorbed a flame yet.
In other words, Raelis was the counter the imperial family had been seeking all this time.
The Ancient Flame Remnant was only stored here because no one could get close enough to extinguish it.
But there had clearly been ice earlier, so Raelis could only conclude that even with help from the Frost-Bloodline families, the most they could do was stop the flame from spreading across the empire.
Even so, he brushed his fingers against the flame, and it almost seemed to react to him.
"What am I supposed to do with you..." Raelis muttered quietly. "At first I thought I'd use you as an excuse to get a better flame, maybe even train my body in the process."
But now?
Should I try to absorb it? His gaze sharpened. This might be the best flame I'll find in the entire palace. Even the special flames don't hold a candle to this one.
Even though he made it out to be a difficult decision, it wasn't.
With his mind set, Raelis resolved to absorb the flame into his body.
His hand hovered above the Ancient Flame Remnant for a few moments, steadying himself.
Then, without hesitation, he thrust his hand into the flame.
In the very next instant, a searing pain tore through his arm as the golden-white flame clung to his skin. His skin was burning rapidly, and it almost seemed like his hand was beginning to decompose.
The pain was unimaginable, but he couldn't do anything except endure.
After all, this was how flame absorption rituals worked.
To absorb the flame, one must allow the flame to absorb them first.
But not in this case, Raelis thought with a firm look, and clenched his hand with whatever strength he had left.
The flame reacted, almost as if in surprise at his attempt to resist.
Raelis focused his heat control into his hand and began attempting to take control of the flame.
Raelis had heard of this method before, where, instead of being consumed, one consumed the flame.
But that approach had long become taboo.
Raelis's brows furrowed. That's because the flame doesn't get to decide if the one wielding it is chosen... and because of that, it develops an ego and tests the wielder in real-time.
It talks to people and even tries to influence them like some demon on their shoulders.
In short: no one wanted a disobedient flame.
And the rare few who managed to tame such a flame? They were labeled too dangerous to live, and after their deaths, they were erased from history.
Raelis had never dared to attempt it before. Without a bloodline, it would've been suicide.
But he was all about taking risks, since the rewards that follow would be extremely beneficial.
So without further hesitation, Raelis brought his other hand into the flame remnant.
He wasn't trying to disperse it. Instead, he tried channeling it into his body, specifically, his heart.
This is something I should be doing once my bloodline purity passes 20%, but oh well... I read too many books not to give it a go. Raelis chuckled, bringing the flame closer.
It began burning much stronger than before, and his hands had long turned to bones.
Yet despite all of that, Raelis kept going, watching as the previously active flame had shrunk to half its original size.
But with its decrease came a new feeling welling up inside his heart.
He wove the golden-white into a small circle, and with each passing moment, he expanded that circle, causing it to eventually take up the entire inner part of his heart.
And when that happened, a faint, almost invisible golden-white ring formed around his heart, gently circling it.
His blood was boiling, and from his fingertips, skin began regrowing at a rapid pace, reforming his hand.
Before he knew it, the heat no longer bothered him, and the now palm-sized flame floating in the air didn't burn him anymore.
In fact, it kept condensing to a point where it formed a tiny swirling marble that resembled a miniature golden-white sun.
Without hesitating for even a single moment, Raelis picked it up and chucked it inside his mouth.
He swallowed it and guided the energy straight into his heart, causing the ring surrounding it to gain more clarity.
Then, as if all the pieces of the puzzle had finally come together, he felt it.
The first Flame Ring. He actually managed to create one with such low bloodline purity.
Since he only had a single ring, he couldn't do much with it yet.
The Flame-Core had 10 rings in total, and with every new ring around his heart, he could unlock some abilities, one of which was turning his entire body to flame.
That was also called the Flame-Body technique that the Varekan imperial family practiced, and soon, Raelis would too.
He exhaled a sharp breath, feeling as if all the pain had completely washed away.
Yet he knew it was too good to be true when his legs buckled, and he fell face-first onto the cold, hard ground.
I pushed myself... but... I did it, Raelis thought with a victorious smile, and the moment he did, many pop-ups finally emerged, causing his exhausted eyes to widen.
<+1 Bloodline Purity>
His vision began to fade, and in the far-off distance, he saw someone break down the thick metal doors with a single kick and run toward him.
But Raelis couldn't hold out that long as he slowly began closing his eyes, preparing to drift off.
Yet as he was about to lose consciousness, he saw a few final pop-ups appear that he couldn't even register in time.
—Raelis!
—Rae...