Chapter 25: The Strength of Origin Flames

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Origin Flames—the unique elemental power of King Surtr. Back then, I had simply come up with a cool name for the special fire wielded by the Fire Dragon King and never truly explored it beyond that.

Since then, I have learned much more about how it truly works. These flames were not mere fire that burned. They could be transformed into flames that healed. Though I worried about testing them on my aunt, they seemed compatible with Harmony.

I decided to try them on the Ice Crystal Treant. The result was immediate. As its roots and branches tried to pierce my scales, I unleashed waves of gold-white flames that burned through its body with ease. The Power Amplification Effect of Harmony was immense, especially when merged with the Origin Flames.

The only problem was my lack of control. As the flames spread farther, their power weakened. I had to improvise, rapidly gathering large amounts of the flames into my hands and shaping them into projectiles. Then, a bold idea struck me—and it worked.

“Knife Throwing.”

The Rogue Skill meant to enhance a thief’s dagger throws had become my favorite projectile technique. Combined with Tool Mastery, it made the knives deadlier and far more precise than ever. Infused with both Harmony and Origin Flames, giant daggers of white-gold fire materialized, lining up by the dozens around my body.

Without hesitation, I launched them all at the incoming creatures, striking them down one by one. Explosions of white-gold flames erupted across the battlefield, shaking the ground and turning the forest into a blazing inferno.

“Oops.”

By the time I finished slaying all the Ice Crystal Treants, half the forest was on fire. At least I had gained a great deal of EXP from it.

Ding!

[You have slain [Ice Crystal Treants: Rank 5] x37.]

[You have slain [Ice Crystal Treant King: Rank 7] x1.]

[You have earned EXP.]

[Level Up!] ×5

[Your Dragon Path has Leveled Up from Level 5 to Level 12!]

[Your Chaos Demon Path has Leveled Up from Level 4 to Level 10!]

[Your Human Path has Leveled Up from Level 3 to Level 8!]

[Your Class has Leveled Up from Level 6 to Level 13!]

[All your Stats have increased.]

[You earned 18,000 Stat Points.]

[You earned 192,000 System Points.]

[Your Bonded Familiar: [Incarnation of the Spiral of Eternity: Paragon – Rank 3: Level 5/300] has Leveled Up to Level 16!]

[Your Bonded Familiar: [Nightmare Vestige Spirit: Mongrel – Rank 1: Level 6/100] has Leveled Up to Level 12!]

[Your Bonded Familiar: [System Administrator Spirit: Astraea – Rank 1: Level 0/100] has Leveled Up to Level 12!]

[Your Bonded Familiar: [System Administrator Spirit: Astraea – Rank 1: Level 12/100] has Awakened the Skill: [Quest System]!]

[The Human Path Skill: [Tool Mastery – Tier 1: Level 1/10] has Leveled Up!]

[The Class Skill: [Knife Throwing – Tier 1: Level 1/10] has Leveled Up!]

[Your Fire Affinity Skill: [Origin Flames – Tier 1: Level 0/10] has Leveled Up!]

“Not bad,” I muttered, “but I’ve done enough here…”

I quickly used Chaos to reverse the Harmony, extinguishing all the flames in the area. Then, I used my Ice Magic to repair and restore parts of the forest, feeling a pang of guilt for nearly burning it down.

“That should do it… Let’s return to Auntie’s castle. She’s waiting for us.”

Carrying fresh meat and plenty of ice crystal tree sap, which she had told me was especially good for ice dragons, I made my way back through the snow. We entered her castle and found her sleeping. While keeping a watchful eye on her, I headed to the kitchen and began cooking.

I cut the wolf meat into large, hearty chunks and added fresh ingredients I had gathered from the Ice Garden we had tended together for years. A rich, delicious stew quickly came together. I added a generous amount of ice crystal tree sap, filling the air with a sweet, comforting aroma.

I crushed half of the Soul Cores from the defeated Soul Beasts into fine dust and stirred it into the stew, saturating it with pure Soul Essence.

Once it was ready, I brought a bowl upstairs. Mongrel had his own serving and, despite his usual attitude, seemed to enjoy it immensely.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Auntie, are you feeling any better? I made you some stew… Auntie?”

I gently woke her. Her eyes opened weakly, and her mouth trembled.

“E-Elizabeth…”

“Here, eat this.”

I helped her slowly sip the stew with a large spoon. She could barely move, but the stew clearly worked. After she finished most of the pot, her rapidly draining Soul Essence began surging stronger than ever.

“Ahh…” she sighed in deep relief, lifting her head. “Thank you… I do feel a little better now. The cough has stopped as well, for now.”

“I’m so glad!” Tears welled up in my eyes as I hugged her large neck. “Auntie, I was so worried about you!”

“E-Elizabeth… thank you, dear,” she whispered, stunned by my affection. “You’re truly a little angel in my life.” She paused, then asked gently, “Are you sure you want to do this? Why not call for your parents’ help?”

“It’s my fault,” I said firmly. “I have to take responsibility myself.”

“Are you sure?” she asked again.

“Yeah… Please count on me. I’ve prepared more stew. I’ll leave it here. Astraea, please feed it to her whenever she feels weak.”

“Ah! Okay, sure thing, Master.”

Afterward, I prepared to head toward the area where she had encountered the Nightmare creature—between the Ice Sea and the Winter Mausoleum.

“Auntie, do you have any way to know exactly where they attacked you?”

“I can pinpoint an approximate location… But I’m so worried. You’re just a pup… You shouldn’t go! Please, Elizabeth, reconsider! If I lose you because of me, I…”

“Auntie… don’t worry. I’m strong.”

She stared at me in silence.

“I fought one of those things—an even stronger version—on my own when I was even younger.”

“A-Are you sure?”