Chapter 170: Getting Sidetracked

In the end, it wasn’t even a big deal. Dante gave him a pair of clothes that he said would be able to withstand whatever flames he was able to create. They were a few sizes too large for him, but it was better than nothing.

While he would have done it either way, he would have much rather not have gone through that kind of experience. He didn’t need the two of them to get a good look at his privates when he burned himself alive.

He was keenly aware of the interested gazes from both of them. Alice had more concern lining her gaze while Dante had more excitement in his. He didn’t know how he felt about that. Knowing that someone was enjoying themselves as they watched someone go through pain was a little alarming.

He didn’t waste any more time though. He created a shell of mana around himself. This time, however, it felt much more fluid.

His control of mana really showed its improvements as he was able to create his construct with much more ease than before.

Once he had created another hole at the very top for ventilation, he slowly ignited the fire mana. The first several seconds were just him getting comfortable with the warm flames that surrounded him. The fire itself didn’t harm him nor did it affect the clothing Dante had given him.

Okay, let’s slowly increase the heat.

With a mental command, he slowly increased the intensity of the flames. He didn’t add kinetic energy but he did use the less volatile version that used pure fire manipulation.

It was then that he started to feel the burn of the flames. The violet flames started to wrap themselves around his limbs and started to turn his skin to ash. He was surprised though.

The last time he had done this, it was much more painful than this. It had been agonizing to bear even with the help of his Concept of Will. However, this time he was handling the pain much easier than previously.

Compared to the pain that his soul had been going through the last several weeks, this was quite tame. He also wondered if his new skill had anything to do with it. [Soul Tempering] was an interesting skill. Alice had forced him to get the skill because she said it would help stabilize his soul, but he wondered if pain reduction was also another benefit.

He gently reminded himself that he was currently busy and should try to focus on the important things. For one, his primary goal was to get this Concept of Phoenix that Alice and Dante had mentioned.

He tried his best to contain his excitement but he was very delighted that such a Concept existed. It had only been a fantasy and a hope, but now that it was confirmed, he really wanted to get it.

Though, he didn’t really have any good ideas about how he would go about doing that. The last time he had been focused on gaining a Fire Concept, not the Phoenix Concept.

However, going off of what Dante had said, a Phoenix Concept was a mixture of fire and life affinities. Therefore, following that same reason, it was possible that a Phoenix Concept needed both aspects of a Fire Concept and a Life Concept.

Unfortunately, that was where it got confusing. Alice seemed pretty confident that he could simply evolve his Concept, but it could also be possible that he needed a Life Concept to combine with his Fire Concept much like how his skills combined together.

Honestly, he didn’t really know how he was going to go about learning a Phoenix Concept. Still, the best probable solution was just to get started.

The last time he set himself on fire, he was focused on how the fire interacted with him. He had concentrated on how the fire burned his skin and tried to understand the connection of the flames to himself. Not only him personally, but to the entirety of his path.

However, unlike last time, he wanted to switch to the opposite side of the coin. He wanted to see how life fit into his path. The best way he knew how to do that was to use his [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] skill.

The healing skill had been one of, if not the best skill he had. It had saved him countless times and was a big reason for his current strength. However, he rarely thought about how the life mana interacted with his body and what it meant to him overall.

Concepts he had learned were a symbol and representation of his path. His Sharpness Concept was a weapon that cut through the shackles that attempted to restrict his freedom and mortality.

His Concept of Will was a symbol that characterized his unwillingness to cede or to give up. It was a show of his unwavering will and resolve. It was proof that he wouldn’t be bullied into giving up his goals.

His Fire Concept was a little bit different. It was the burning passion of his soul. It was the light that shimmered in the darkness. It was the light that illuminated his path.

So what did life mean to him?

That required more thought than he expected. And even after over an hour of him burning and healing himself, he wasn’t able to gleam any hints.

Alice and Dante both respectfully remained quiet and were doing things of their own while they watched. Dante was tinkering with another one of his projects. This one was a hat he made himself and a hat that Julius had doubt was very comfortable. Julius found it funny that a guy like Dante enjoyed knitting and making cozy things.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Alice was reading a book. She was constantly aware of Julius’s actions though and was prepared to jump in if anything happened. She became much more relaxed once she had seen how well Julius had handled the initial period of the process.

***

He eventually had to stop. He wasn’t able to evolve his Concept and there was only so much abuse he could or wanted to take. He could definitely have gone for longer, but he understood the importance of pacing himself much better now. There was a time and place for pushing himself.

That didn’t mean he had to do it at all times. That was the cause of his current situation.