“Did you just say you would teach me about attributes?”
Raon frowned, looking at Rimmer’s disheveled hair and clothes. He didn’t look trustworthy at all.
“You look like you are looking at a scammer.”
Rimmer giggled, bending forward slightly.
“You know, I’m pretty good at teaching, despite being a little bit lazy.”
“…”
That was true. His methods didn’t help many children, but it at least guaranteed the development of the few.
“Stop doubting me and come on.”
“Aren’t we doing it here?”
“Of course not. Get ready quickly and come with me.”
“… Understood.”
Raon went to his room and pulled out his outer garments.
Today is an unlucky day, to see that pointy-eared bastard at daybreak.
‘We see him every day, though.’
He left the annex building after he finished dressing.
“Where are we going?”
“The North Grave Mountain.”
Rimmer pointed at the mountain soaring behind the annex building. It was a huge mountain surrounding the entire Zieghart estate, connected not only to the annex building, but also to the main building.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Following Rimmer, Raon climbed the mountain.
“Around here seems good.”
Rimmer stopped after about twenty minutes of climbing. The place looked like a vacant lot, since the ground was flat and there weren’t any trees.
“Why did we come here?”
Raon’s voice was indifferent, but he was actually prepared to react to anything Rimmer was going to do.
“You don’t need to be so nervous. I just want you to feel it.”
“Feel it?”
“Yes.”
As Rimmer smiled, a dark green wind blew towards him.
“Trust me and stand still, right over there.”
“Even if you tell me to trust you… hmm?”
His bangs fluttered in the wind, which resembled a spring’s fragrance as it brushed away winter.
Next was a cool wind that could only be felt in a forest in the summer, fanning his heated body from the climb.
The third was winter. A cold wind pressed against his skin, chilling to his bones like a storm.
Then the wind changed one more time.
The dark green wind, which contained the four seasons, became a sharp blade and surrounded Raon.
“Using the wind, I wanted to create a blade that could protect my lord.”
From the waves of green wind, Rimmer’s voice could be heard.
Bam!
It was a storm of blades that could rip apart anything nearby. However, Raon stepped neither backwards nor forwards.
“This is the wind I’ve chosen.”
Raon stood still and felt the green storm.
Whoosh!
The fierce wind’s pressure disappeared, and Rimmer gave a sly smile.
“You weren’t scared?”
“You weren’t planning to attack me. You also told me to not move.”
“You really aren’t like a normal thirteen-year-old, no matter how hard I look.”
Rimmer snickered and flicked his finger, causing the lingering wind to disappear completely.
“A cultivation technique with an affinity can be more powerful than other cultivation techniques, but it is also difficult to learn.”
Following his gentle voice, the wind waved—like it was dancing.
“I could feel the wind from birth because I’m an elf, but you’re different. You’re human. It must be even more difficult for you, as your mana circuit is filled with ice.”
“Indeed.”
Raon nodded. The ‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’ was a sophisticated technique, but it was even more difficult for him to learn because he was controlling an energy opposing the ice he’d been born with.
“There are different kinds of wind. It can be warm, cold, or sharp. I’d wanted a sword of wind that could pierce through anything, and I achieved it.”
Rimmer’s expression was confident, rather than bitter, as he spoke of his now out-of-reach former achievements.
“You must also find it. Try to form an image of the fire you’ll have.”
“An image…”
“And in order to create that image, the most important thing is to feel that affinity.”
“But this is the north. It’s difficult to find a proper flame unless I set the mountain on fire.”
“If you do that, then our heads will fly together.”
Rimmer giggled, then waved his hand. A green wind appeared from his feet.
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going this time?”
“Since you felt the wind, let’s go see the fire now.”
***
Raon ran along the mountain trails, following Rimmer. After about twenty minutes of running, Rimmer started to slow down.
A thick, heated haze was rising up from the cold forest, as if a hot wind had passed through. The change in temperature was making him itchy.
‘Is it coming from there?’
——————
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There was a gray kiln attached to a house made of red bricks. The heat was coming from the kiln.
‘It’s hot.’
The north was the coldest place on the continent, yet he felt hot. That was how much heat was emitting.
“Hey, old man. I’m here!”
Rimmer strode ahead as if it were his own home and Raon followed behind.
The heat grew stronger the closer they got to the kiln. His clothes started to become drenched in sweat.
“Hmm…”
The ice in his mana circuit was trembling because of the unfamiliar heat. Raon frowned at the worsening pain and entered the house.
There was only one appliance inside the house.
A furnace. It was the furnace from the kiln, which was emitting enough heat to make the whole house look distorted.
A wrinkled old man with completely white hair was sitting in front of the furnace. Despite being completely drenched in sweat, he wasn’t taking his eyes off it.
‘Is this really the flame that I used to know?’
Raon swallowed. He’d seen many flames throughout his previous life, from the bonfire he’d made himself to the advanced fire magic used by a mage.
However, none of those seemed to match up to the heat created by the flame soaring in the furnace.
Swoosh!
The ice in his mana circuit started to scream, and the mana around him started to move—following the flow of the ‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’, which he hadn’t even acquired yet.
The sound of a soaring flame reverberated through his ears, and the waves of heat made his heartbeat fiercer. He couldn’t take his eyes off the furnace, as if he were bewitched by it.
“Old man, you’re always so focused.”
Rimmer dusted off his hand after soothing the heat with his green wind.
“The heat is dying down because of you!”
“It looks like another failure anyway.”
“Kuh…”
After glaring at Rimmer, the old man sighed and threw an unknown gray mass inside the furnace.
Whish.
The intense heat, hot enough to melt the ground, was subdued. The flame grew weaker, to the point that it merely felt warm.
“Ah…”
Raon unconsciously sighed. As soon as the flame disappeared, the flow of the ‘Ten Thousand Flame Cultivation’ running through his mana circuit dissipated. The regret made his fingers tremble.
“What did you bring today? What is that thing?”
The old man frowned, looking at Raon. The lowered corners of his lips and raised eyebrows showed his stubborn personality.
“Wow! ‘That thing’? How dare you address the head of house’s grandson like that!”
Rimmer was preaching about manners, despite always talking however he felt.
“Hmph. I’m just a retired old man. Unless the head of house comes personally… Hmm?”
He started to stand up, then stopped after seeing Raon’s eyes and hair.
“Blond and red eyes? And that face…”
“He looks like the head of house, right? Raon looks a lot more handsome, though.”
“Hmm.”
The old man nodded in agreement.
“I’m Vulcan. You should leave if you are expecting manners from me.”
‘Vulcan!’
Raon controlled his expression, looking at the old man’s blurred eyes—it was as if he was looking at burned out coal.
‘I didn’t expect him to be here.’
He was a blacksmith, renowned throughout the world under the title of the Continent’s Blacksmith. He was famous for having forged Glenn Zieghart’s True Heavenly Sword.
However, his last known activity was thirty years ago, and he hadn’t created another famous sword since the True Heavenly Sword.
“I’m Raon Zieghart.”
Raon bowed, without minding Vulcan’s manners. It was his way of showing respect to a giant who’d reached the end of a road.
“Hmm…”
Vulcan’s disgruntled expression softened slightly at his polite greeting.
“Did you tell him about…?”
“Not at all.”
Rimmer shook his head, then turned around.
“This old man is Zieghart’s blacksmith.”
“Retired.”
“Yes, retired blacksmith. Anyway, he’s been igniting flames here for over ten years now.”
Rimmer turned, pointing at the now extinguished furnace.
“This is where you can feel the hottest and fiercest flame in the North.”
* * *
* * *
“A cultivation technique for fire attributes, huh…”
Vulcan frowned after hearing Rimmer’s explanation.
“Is that why you brought him here?”
“It’s because you’re managing the fire here throughout the year. There’s no other place where you can feel a proper flame.”
“How about the blacksmiths’ workshop?”
“That place stands out too much. Being noticed before learning that cultivation technique won’t do him any good.”
“Why not?”
“Because Raon is Sylvia’s son.”
Upon hearing that he was Sylvia’s son, Vulcan’s eyes skimmed over Raon once again.
“Haah…”
He turned around and watched the orange flame. He looked like he was considering it.
“I won’t disturb you. Please allow me to feel the fire.”
Raon bowed to Vulcan once more.
‘I want to see it again.’
Vulcan’s flame made his heart beat harder and his mana circuit waver. He wanted to feel the breath of that flame once again.
“I’m just making charcoal.”
“Charcoal?”
“A golden charcoal that can generate a much more powerful heat than white or black charcoal. If you aren’t going to disturb me making golden charcoal, I don’t care what you do.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Hmm…”
Raon bowed once again. Vulcan turned his head, embarrassed by Raon’s increasing courtesy.
“It’s nice that he accepted. Raon, cultivate the ‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’ here during daybreak training. Since nobody lives around here, and this old man doesn’t know about cultivation techniques, you don’t need to worry.”
“Understood.”
Raon nodded. Just as Rimmer said, he couldn’t feel any mana from Vulcan.
“Old man, we need to talk.”
Rimmer led Vulcan out of the house, pleased that everything was going well.
“You’re still as kind as ever, old man.”
Rimmer grinned, his arm resting on Vulcan’s shoulder.
“I’ll bring you some good stuff if you take good care of Raon. Do you like fruit wines?”
“It’s not because of you.”
“Huh?”
“The flame in the furnace burst when that boy arrived, to a point that the coals were ruined because of it.”
Vulcan furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the yellow, burned-out coal.
“It’s been a long time since I last got this color.”
“So, the old man felt it too.”
“I’m a blacksmith. The flame that I’ve been seeing my entire life wavered. There’s no way I wouldn’t know.”
Vulcan’s gray eyes, the color of burned-out ashes, shone.
“The boy’s breath contains the power to move a flame.”
***
The next morning, Raon ran towards Vulcan’s charcoal kiln before sunrise. Thanks to the red heat rising up in the dark mountain, it wasn’t difficult to find the charcoal kiln.
Despite hearing Raon’s footsteps, Vulcan kept watching the furnace instead of looking at him.
The sight of him keeping his eyes on the furnace, despite sweating so heavily, emphasized the fact that he didn’t gain the title of the Continent’s Blacksmith for nothing.
‘This heat…’
Raon stood where the heat was the strongest.
The intense wave of heat rolled up his clothes and flared up his skin. The ice frantically started to stab his mana circuit.
“Huff…”
He grit his teeth against the incoming pain, gray steam leaving his mouth.
It was so painful that he wanted to run away immediately, but his heartbeat was raging with excitement from the flame.
He was exhilarated. Following the breath of fire that he felt through the pain, he recited the fundamentals of the ‘Ten Thousand Flame Cultivation’.
The hot breath was added to the inhaled mana, and the cloudy air was exhaled from his body.
Raon closed his eyes. He rotated the ‘Ring of Fire’ and practiced the’ Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’.
Whoosh.
When he reached the peak of his concentration, the pain disappeared and the exhilaration from the heat filled his heart.
“……”
Vulcan turned around. The movements of his hands gentled as he watched Raon breathe with his eyes closed.
Crackle.
The sound of burning wood crackled from the furnace.
***
Three months had passed since Raon started to cultivate aura at Vulcan’s charcoal kiln.
Since he’d gotten used to it, he could now reach the charcoal kiln in ten minutes.
The flame, which had become even fiercer than the first time he’d seen, was pressing down on the place. The kiln’s surroundings were filled with heat ripples the size of a finger.
‘He doesn’t change.’
Vulcan didn’t turn around or speak, despite knowing that he’d arrived. He just focused on watching the furnace.
Raon approached the furnace, trying to not make a sound.
Each time he took a step towards the furnace, heated air surrounded his entire body.
It was difficult to breathe, and his back was drenched in sweat. The ice in his mana circuit growled like the jaws of a savage beast.
“Huff…”
It was a pain he couldn’t get used to, but Raon smiled. Looking at the flame was now enough to make him excited.
‘Fire…’
He’d started to understand.
After spending time alongside the fire and following Rimmer’s advice, he could finally understand what fire was.
People said fire was the scariest and the strongest attribute, but it was the most stable of all attributes if handled properly.
Raon took one more step towards it, while feeling the heat scorching his skin.
The energy from his not-yet-acquired ‘Ten Thousand Flames’ Technique woke by itself, attracting the heat that was scorching the earth.
The flame inside the furnace burst up like a devil’s tongue, as if it was reacting to the mana.
“Haa…”
Raon exhaled the remaining air from his lung and took in the well-baked mana.
He guided the boiling mana towards his mana circuit. The ice trying to run away from the heat, followed the flow of the ‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’, and dragged it into the energy center.
‘An image.’
Once the cultivation stabilized, Raon remembered Rimmer’s advice. He’d told him he needed to draw an image.
‘The fire I need…’
He thought about his objective.
It was to make Sylvia a part of the direct line once again, and to cut Derus Robert’s head off. It was going to be as difficult as walking through darkness, where he couldn’t see anything.
He needed a flame that could become a torch to illuminate his way, a flame that could become a sword to defeat savage beasts.
He needed a flame that wouldn’t extinguish, even if it snowed or rained. A flame that didn’t extinguish, no matter what. That was the flame he chose.
As he drew the clear image of his flame, lightning struck his mind and his heart throbbed with life.
The mana circuit repeated its expansion and contraction, stimulating the frozen ice.
Heat that was running wild, like lava melting the glacier, ran through his mana circuit and finally reached his energy center.
Whoosh!
The moment the energy from the ‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’ was being condensed into a sphere of aura, a frightening voice resounded in his mind.
It’s the King of Essence’s time to shine.
Spine-chilling goosebumps appeared up Raon’s back, despite his trance.
