A Pyromaniac's Ascent

"Should I take a mana potion now?" Finn asked as they walked.

"Not yet," Yukha replied. "Save it for when we're forced to fight. Allowing your mana to regenerate naturally will gradually enhance your Wisdom attribute, which in turn expands your mana pool."

"That makes sense," Finn said, nodding in agreement.

"I'll teach you a technique for health and mana regeneration later," Yukha said as they walked.

"Oh, that reminds me," he continued. "I forgot to mention something earlier. Fighting those monsters distracted me."

Yukha stopped and turned to face Finn. "You still have some mana left, right?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "I had a little left after the fight ended, and it's been regenerating slowly."

"The more relaxed you are, the faster it will regenerate. It's still a slow process, but it's better than nothing," Yukha explained. "Now, summon a small flame. About the size of a pebble. Keep the heat low—just enough to burn, but not too intense."

Finn nodded and summoned a tiny flame in front of him, feeding it just enough mana to keep it red without flaring into orange like the stronger flames he'd used against the blobs' cores.

"Good. Now make it hover around your body," Yukha instructed.

Finn focused, guiding the flame in a slow, rotating path around himself. He was surprised by how much easier it was to control compared to before. The connection felt stronger, more natural, even though the flame's size was minimal.

His thoughts briefly drifted back to the larger flame he'd summoned earlier. While it had been easier to control, it was harder to move. In contrast, the smaller flame moved fluidly but demanded more focus to keep stable.

"Now, constantly change its speed," Yukha said. "Make it faster, then slower. Keep it moving. Be aware of its presence at all times, whether you're relaxing or in battle. Never let it extinguish. This exercise will strengthen your control and connection to the element."

"So, I should keep it burning indefinitely?" Finn asked.

"Yes," Yukha confirmed. "At that size and intensity, it'll barely consume any mana. As your mana pool grows, you can increase the heat, expand the flame, or even summon multiple flames."

Finn concentrated on the small flame orbiting him like a wisp, adjusting its speed as they walked. It felt oddly satisfying, like a calming yet purposeful exercise.

"I like this. It's simple and kind of fun," Finn said.

"It's a great exercise," Yukha agreed. "I learned it from someone in my old village—a master water specialist. It's easy now, but once your attention is divided in combat, it'll be much harder to maintain."

Finn chuckled. "By the way, I didn't know you could do all that—freezing such a large body of water and controlling multiple ice shards at once. That was incredible."

Yukha smirked. "Freezing water is a basic skill for a water specialist. Just like you control your flame's temperature, I can control water's. What? Did you underestimate me?"

"No, not at all. It was just shocking to see," Finn replied.

"At my level, feats like that are expected," Yukha said. "It takes a lot of training and leveling up. Focus on the exercise I taught you, and soon you'll be capable of similar feats—or even surpassing me someday."

Yukha's words filled Finn with encouragement. When he'd first received the system, his weak stats had been a blow to his confidence. But after witnessing the potential of his flames in battle and seeing Yukha's mastery, a spark of hope ignited within him. His heart raced with excitement for what the future might hold.

"That shed," Yukha said suddenly, pointing ahead. "It looks familiar. Its spot on the map has a unique label and color."

Finn glanced where Yukha was looking and saw it—a plain wooden shed with a small bench inside. Checking his map, he noticed a blue square with the letter "T" inside it, marked by a small lock icon.

"What's that?" Finn asked.

"It's a teleport point," Yukha explained. "We had similar ones outside the Tower. You can teleport there as long as you're not in combat and there are no enemies nearby."

"Let's rest there," Yukha continued. "Corrupted elementals are unlikely to approach."

They headed to the shed and sat on the bench. Finn felt a wave of relief wash over him as he finally allowed himself to relax, the tiny flame still circling him like a loyal pet.

Having a proper place to sit down was a welcome relief after all the walking and running.

A prompt appeared in front of him:

REGISTER TELEPORT POINT [DREADMERE THICKET]?

Finn mentally confirmed, and the icon on his map unlocked, with the lock icon vanishing.

Not only that, but a large area of fog around them dissipated instantly.

So, registering at these teleport points also clears the surrounding area?

QUEST UNLOCKED

Quest #1: Unlock all teleport points in the first realm.

Teleport points unlocked: 1/4

Rewards: 20000 VP

A quest? So there are four teleport points in the first realm. This doesn't seem too difficult, and the reward is nothing to scoff at. I guess that's the goal for now.

"You got the same quest?" Finn asked, turning to Yukha.

"The one about unlocking the teleport points?" Yukha replied. "Judging by the size of the map, it shouldn't be too hard. Besides, activating all of them would make traveling a lot easier for us."

"Agreed," Finn said.

As he examined the map again, something alarming caught his eye. From the blue circular area—the lake they had just passed—a large red dot had appeared in the middle.

"There's something new on the map," he said.

Yukha opened his own map, scanning it before his eyes widened slightly.

"So that's what that strange feeling was when we ran across the lake," he muttered. "It seems like something was lurking beneath it."

This feels like a boss fight location in a game.

"I have a theory," Finn said. "It's probably a corrupted elemental—one far stronger than any we've encountered so far."

"That makes sense," Yukha replied. "Considering the eerie sensation I got back there, the fact that it's near corrupted water elemental territory, and its position right in the center of the lake… there's a high chance it's a high-level corrupted water elemental."

"Agreed," Finn said.

"And since its element is your natural weakness, we should probably avoid it for now," Yukha added. "It's best to leave it for last—at least until you've gotten stronger."

"I won't argue with that," Finn said. "Fire is weak to water, but if the fire is strong enough, it can evaporate water completely. That said… if this thing is way stronger than me, it'll probably evaporate me first. So yeah, I'm fine with leaving it alone for now. Let's explore the other areas first."

"Anyway, we should rest here for a bit," Yukha said, settling onto the bench. "Think about the problems we faced earlier and discuss what to do next."

"But first—food."

Yukha summoned water, shaping it into a thick, rectangular slab. With a flick of his hand, it froze into a solid block of ice, forming a makeshift table. The icy surface radiated a refreshing chill, soothing their tired bodies.

Water is really convenient. If I tried to make something like that with fire, it'd probably burn anything we put on top of it.

Yukha pulled out a thick cloth and spread it over the ice. "Can't have it cooling down our food unnecessarily."

"Wait, food? Do you have some stored in your inventory?" Finn asked.

"No, but we can buy it from the shop," Yukha replied, sitting back with a grin. "It's cheap, hot, and delicious. Way better than carrying stale rations."

Curious, Finn opened the shop. He vaguely recalled Halgon mentioning something about food earlier but hadn't had time to explore it. It was easy enough to locate.

Scrolling through the food category, he picked his favorite: Hawaiian pizza and a steaming cup of coffee. The smell made his mouth water as soon as the items materialized. The total came to 47 VP—not too bad, though he wasn't sure how that compared to real-world prices.

"That's... unique-looking food," Yukha said, leaning closer. "What is it called?"

"It's pizza. Specifically, Hawaiian," Finn replied. "Want to try a slice?"

"If you don't mind."

Yukha grabbed a slice, which looked hilariously small in his large hand, and devoured it in a single bite. He chewed thoughtfully, his expression serious as if analyzing the flavor was a critical mission. After swallowing, he finally spoke:

"It has a... unique taste. Sweet and salty, with a chewy texture. Is that dough underneath?" He shook his head. "It's not to my taste."

"Suit yourself," Finn said with a shrug. "What about this?" He slid over his cup of coffee.

Yukha gulped it down in one go. His eyes widened, practically sparkling.

"This... this is delicious!" he exclaimed. "What is it called?"

"Coffee," Finn replied, amused. "At least you have good taste in drinks."

"Cof-fee," Yukha repeated, savoring the word.

Without hesitation, he bought ten more cups from the shop, laying them out on the table like a feast.

I hope orc stomachs are built different. I can't have him getting the runs during a fight.

Finn grabbed another slice of pizza, but his eyes drifted to the faint blue mark on his palm. It was barely glowing now—so dim he couldn't tell if it was active or not. Curious but too hungry to dwell on it, he brushed the thought aside and focused on eating.

Following Yukha's earlier advice, Finn directed the pebble-sized flame to hover above his head. He adjusted its height to avoid singing his hair, letting it rotate steadily as he devoured two family-sized pizzas and finished his coffee. His appetite seemed larger than usual.

Maybe leveling up increases hunger?

When he finally felt full, Finn opened his system menu, excitement bubbling within him. He'd killed so many monsters earlier—surely his levels had increased.

His heart raced as he glanced at his stats:

Name: Finn Hayes

Level: 1 → 7

Six levels! Those blobs must've done the job. He likely got some experience from the tentacles too, though the mist had obscured the aftermath of his fireball. Leveling would probably slow down later, but for now, he was thrilled.

Next, he checked his elemental affinities:

Elemental Affinities:

Stone - 0

Water - X

Fire - 146 → 157

Wind - 0

Free Points - 12

His Fire affinity had increased by 11 points instead of the expected 6 from the Fire God's blessing. Could it be from pushing his fire and mana to the limit during the battle?

Without hesitation, Finn allocated all his free points to the Fire affinity, raising it to 169. He hoped the increase would make a noticeable difference the next time he used it in battle.

Fire had proven to be incredibly effective so far, even against water-based monsters—something he hadn't expected. Most of the creatures he'd faced, like the blobs, were largely composed of water. The tentacles were similar; their translucent heads were almost certainly water-based, with their cores likely hidden inside rather than dangling in the tentacles.

If his flames were hot enough to evaporate water, then the solution was simple: make them hotter. Stronger.

He hadn't yet encountered corrupted elementals of other elements, but he'd deal with them when the time came.

Stone, Wind—I'll find a way to burn them.

Shifting focus, Finn opened his Attributes tab:

Attributes:

Constitution - 5

Strength - 5 → 7

Perception - 9 → 13

Wisdom - 13 → 25

Free Points - 12

He blinked at the numbers. Even his Strength had increased—only by two points, but still. Probably from all the running he'd done.

His Perception and Wisdom increases were less surprising. The former was likely due to the precision he'd needed to maneuver the flames during the fight, while the latter...

That must've been from nearly draining my mana again and letting it regenerate naturally.

Yukha had insisted it was crucial to do. Not to mention, his Mage class provided a +1 bonus to Wisdom with every level-up.

Without hesitation, he allocated his newly gained free points—8 to Wisdom and 4 to Perception.

Next, his eyes landed on his skill.

Fireball: still level 1.

Wait. Did I forget to use it during the fight?

He groaned internally. He'd been so absorbed in controlling his natural flames that he'd completely forgotten to test the skill he'd spent valor points on.

Looking at its stats now, though, he felt conflicted. The mana cost was absurdly high compared to summoning flames naturally—on top of that, it drained 1 mana per second while active.

It would've been a liability. If he'd used it, his mana would've drained faster, and he'd have had to burn through a mana potion unnecessarily.

Finn glanced at the pebble-sized flame hovering over his hand.

If this were the Fireball skill, it'd be eating my mana every second.

Speaking of liabilities, his gaze shifted to the dim blue mark on his palm.

Wait a second.

When it had glowed earlier, hadn't there been... something else?

That's right. Something popped up alongside the pain.

His heart raced as the memory returned. How could he have forgotten? The adrenaline from the fight must have clouded his thoughts. Quickly, he scrolled through his system, stopping at his Blessings:

Blessings:

[Universal Language]

[Stone God's Blessing #425]

[Wind God's Curse #2]

[Fire God's Blessing #1]

[Water God's Blessing #2]

There it was at the bottom. The blessing that had appeared before the swarm of monsters descended on them. Finn selected it, bringing up the description:

[Water God's Blessing #2]

The bearer of the Water God's Mark will inexplicably draw the attention of corrupted water elementals, compelling these creatures to relentlessly seek out and target the marked individual. In addition, this bearer will no longer be able to use the power of water.

***********

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