Ethan stood in an eruption of his own making. Cracked fissures spread from the ground at his feet, each chasm spewing fire from their depths. If his body wasn’t currently trying to shut down, perhaps he would have appreciated the display of power a little more.
But as it was, it turns out having a skill that controls primordial energy, comes with a cost attached. He was now experiencing that cost first hand. With the added knowledge the skill granted, Ethan understood his mana leaned towards a magma, fiery affinity. It all stemmed back from the colossus, and his use of its core.
Originally Ethan hadn’t been aware the colossus was going to be a variant, and a fire one at that. But when he had realized the truth, he knew he had to use the core for himself. It was the perfect kickstart to his cultivation. He had always had plans to use a core from a monster to awaken his own, and the colossus had done that. But in doing so, it had also granted him its affinity. Or heavily influenced Ethan’s own. It might seem reckless to do something like that after only just learning the monster was a variant, but for Ethan it didn’t matter. There are ways to adjust your affinity or awaken other aspects, so as far as he was concerned, having a fire affinity wasn’t a bad thing.
But all this was to say, Ethan knew his mana was magma, or molten as the system called it. But he hadn’t understood the vast difference between basic molten and primordial molten. Now he was learning it real time as his mana used to ignite the skill began to morph and adjust to the skill’s requirements. Forcing it to adapt and grow far more powerful than he ever imagined. Even with his faded memories he was sure he had never had such powerful mana coursing through his body in his previous life.
It tore through his pathways, burning everything as his underdeveloped core wasn’t powerful enough to house the intensity of his newfound mana. As such, he stood, leg bleeding from the reopened stitches, head aching from forced knowledge and body screaming as his mana ran rampant through him. He tried calling on his aura to help, but it was utterly spent.
He frowned as the fire spread around him. [Keen Sense] extended, encompassing the area and revealing the vile scum who dared attack him while he was cultivating. If it had been anyone else they surely would have been dead from the initial attack. Luckily with Ethan’s own method of cultivation, he had learned the skill of keeping his awareness of his surroundings. So he had noticed them just in time. But the girl’s illusions were impressive, even Ethan nearly fell for them. Luckily [Keen Sense] told a different tale. While they looked like real people, they carried no scent or sound. Their chests didn’t rise and fall and their steps didn’t leave a sound.
The man jumped back, his dagger still clutched in his hand as he retreated to the woman. Ethan tracked them both, then froze for a brief moment as he realized he knew them. A frown formed over his face, mixed with the gritting of his teeth from the pain.
Ethan could see the hesitation in their eyes. Could practically smell the fear as they both realized they had made a mistake. Still, through some miracle neither of them had been damaged badly from his attack. In fact, it had hurt him more than them by the looks of things. His frown deepened. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
The bartender looked at Ally and spoke up. Ethan tilted his head slightly and focused on his hearing as he listened in.
“Cast an illusion. We need to get out of here!”
Ally inspected her surroundings. “Do you think he could cast something like that again?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. Hurry!”
Ally nodded, her hands extended and Ethan waited to see what she would conjure up for him.
He was surprised when his own flames began to lick against his skin and close in on him. The fire burned like a sun, forcing beads of sweat down his brow as they closed in on him like a curtain of death.
“Run!” she shouted, taking her own advice and turning to escape down the ruined path.
Ethan watched for a moment in slight shock. She couldn’t be serious, could she? Did she really expect to use his own fire against him? Did she really think that would work?
Not for the first time, he had to remind himself that everyone was still relatively new to the trials. She didn’t realize that Ethan would be able to feel if it was his skill moving or not. And unfortunately she would never learn.
Worldfire was more than any one skill. Unlike all the other options he was given, this one held no definitive ability. However, from everything Ethan understood about skills and the system in general, that was usually a good thing. It meant there was no cap. No ceiling on what could be achieved. The description of the skill said it itself. Manipulation. That’s all it allowed. That could be interpreted in different ways. But for Ethan, it meant one thing.
These flames, currently spewing from the fissures, as well as the molten lava running along the ground, all belonged to him. They were his.
Ethan flexed his will, his senses locked onto all the mana flowing from his skill. All his mana.
Just like he would normally do to cultivate, Ethan reached for it. He reached for his skill and latched on, only this time he didn’t pull the mana into himself. To do so surely meant death. Of that he was well aware. Instead he watched with a cold stare as his would-be murderers turned tail and ran. They jumped the cracks in the ground, sidestepped fire and launched down the path.
These imbeciles. Scum. That’s what they were. The scum of the trials, attacking innocent and unaware people. Killing for the profit of power. Ethan hated that more than anything.
It was one thing to kill a construct of the trials, but something completely else to murder your fellow humans. Unfortunately there would always be people willing to stoop so low. Always people to stab you in the back when you weren’t watching.
But at least there would be less of them now.
Ethan shoved his arm forward, buckling from the pain wrecking his body.
But his spell answered. His fire roared to his will. The ground began to rumble as cracks began to spread once more. Only now they had direction. Intent.
The ground vibrated as though a dormant volcano had come alive. Fire and magma flowed from the ground at speeds far faster than the two retreaters could run.
The ground split the road in two, Ally jumped to the side just in time as magma erupted between the two of them, she avoided the brunt of the attack, however the man wasn’t so lucky. He screamed as his leg slipped into the fissure, then he fell, hitting the ground before pulling himself away from Ethan’s fire.
Ethan limped forward as he watched the man’s leg get eaten away by his magma. Despite the pain coursing through his body, a small sense of satisfaction creeped its way in.
He could smell the burning flesh as the man scrambled, only to pause when he almost moved right into another hairline crack. He looked up in horror, realization covering his face as he noticed Ethan’s magma and chasms in the ground had surrounded them.
He had cut off any form of escape.
The two of them would have to jump through his flames if they wanted to get out of the enclosure. Ethan however, wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea. He couldn’t say how hot the flames were but he was ready to find out.
As he stepped forward, forcing his body to obey, the two looked between each other.
“I’m sorry,” Ally said, looking at the bartender’s ruined leg.
Before he could answer, she conjured another illusion. Ethan’s flames crept in on the man, they licked at his skin, forcing him to backpedal. He came to a stop, stuck between the magma rifts in the ground and her fake illusion.
Ethan cocked his head, pausing for a moment as he watched Ally kick through her illusionary fire and hit the bartender in the back, sending him over the scorching crack. The man screamed as he fell into Ethan’s spell. It was loud, horrid and full of pain.
Even Ethan looked on in shock. She had sacrificed her partner and was currently using the break in his flames to quite literally run over his back.
Ethan thought he couldn’t feel any more disgusted. But it turns out he was wrong. How truly vile did a person have to be in order to betray those close to them.
He felt a sense of duty to end her. Not out of hate, pain or some higher calling, but for the simple fact that he no longer viewed this escaping woman as a person. Instead she was just one of the countless monsters in the trial.
But despite that feeling, his mana was waning, his control over the skill rapidly fading. Evident by the fire that was beginning to sputter.
Ethan was officially spent. Both mentally and physically. His aura was gone and now his mana had joined it. His head thumped in his skull as his will slipped and released the skill.
Everything, all at once dissipated, the fissures dimmed and his fire evaporated. Only the sections where the trees had caught fire continued to burn.
Ally must have noticed because she began to turn.
Ethan called on his storage item. He had no other options, no long distance attack he could conjure, no mana enhancing skill he could activate to close the distance, instead his dagger materialized in his hand.
He looked down at it and frowned, it was now or never. Without thinking about it, Ethan threw the dagger, it sailed through the air like a mini missile.
He wouldn’t say he was an expert in throwing daggers or any other long distance weaponry, but he also wasn’t a beginner, it was fifty-fifty really. A gamble, but the only option he had.
Ally finally looked over her shoulder, fright lingered in her eyes, but he saw the glint as she realized she might get away. Her speed picked up as she turned back around.
She hadn’t seen the dagger moving toward her.
Ethan raised a brow as he watched it embed into her neck. She crumbled to the ground in a heap, her momentum skidding her forward until she came to a stop.
Looks like Lady Luck was on his side. He had been aiming for her heart. But he’d take it.
Ethan watched for a moment, waiting to see if she would stand. When she didn’t, he began the painful journey of making his way forward.
Each step sent agonizing waves through his body, adding to the fact was his wound had begun pissing with blood again, drips pattered the ground before steaming from the heat.
Ethan stepped past the bartender, looking down to examine the damage.
It was…. gruesome. The man was charred to a husk. His body nearly disintegrated apart from one leg that hadn’t been hit by any fire. It was a stark sight to see the remains. But worse was the smell. He pushed it from his mind. Unwilling to cut off [Keen Sense] and continued to Ally, who he still hadn’t got a kill confirm.
She twisted as he approached, trying to back away. The dagger he had thrown, had impaled through her neck, the end of the blade greeted Ethan as she completely turned around.
“That looks fucked.” He muttered, watching her bring a hand up to the blade, blood pooling from her lips.
Her eyes widened into a state of shock. Ethan pulled out his scimitar. Now was the time for a one liner. He thought about it for a moment, but decided against it. Instead he slid his blade through her chest. Watching as the light died in her eyes and she fell back to the ground in a heap of her own blood.
Finally, once he felt the notification arrive, Ethan dropped to his knees. The damage from converting his mana into something more powerful had finally caught up to him. He had held out for as long as possible. But unfortunately, his cultivation just wasn’t powerful enough to use the skill.
He looked around at the destruction he had caused. The road was nonexistent. It was ripped to shreds, fire spreading as it licked up the pine trees.
He sighed. “So much for not using the skill here, I guess.”