Chapter 11: 10. The World of Flames

10. The World of Flames

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Azar Household’s List of Books:

- Basics of the Vessel

- There Lies Another City

- The Religious Separation

- Here Comes the Puppet!

- Lands of the Righteous League

- Lands of the Dominant League

- Lurking Deep

- Flamewall

- The World of Flames

- The Mountain Clans

- True to the Vision of the FUTURE

- How to Celebrate a Birthday

- Mathematics

- Reading Comprehension

- Science: Basic Comprehension

- Filthy Rich

- The History Behind the Noble Currency and the Common Currency

- Waiting for the Perfect Time to Strike

- Waiting Until He Is

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- Azar Household -

[Josh’s POV]

The World of Flames is a book that explains the power lurking deep inside every single person alive. We hold a special thing called a vessel inside of us, and it's the reason why we can control fire.

A vessel can grow and get stronger based on how much it gets used. But more things make it stronger too. The book says that if we get mad, the body reacts funny and the vessel can become stronger. Also, if a person gets hit hard, the vessel can get more aggressive and release more flames than usual. The science behind the vessels is confusing, so I don’t know what it’s talking about.

A lot of abilies are recorded in this book along with their meanings or something like that. Next to their names have these two words: [Catalic Scale] and then a number. The weakest fire ability has a number of 1.0, and the strongest reaches 100.0. But… I don’t see any power that goes up past 90.0, so why is there 100.0? I know somewhere in the book it says something about that.

But anyway, there are hundreds of abilities! The book writes down the name of every ability that anyone could use... It explains the reason why calling abilities out loud with their specific name would help because our predecessors did the same. And over generations, it became almost an instinct to call them. It wasn’t a must, but it said that it helps a lot if I want to cast an ability. So, I guess it became more of muscle memory for us to call them the way they are instead of calling them something else. Weird.

I like the names of some of these abilities:

[Fire Heal: A. Cellreg] - Catalic Scale: 5.0

[Fire Heal: Spring Coat] - Catalic Scale: 11.5

[Fire Cast: Detonation] - Catalic Scale: 34.4

[Fire Bend: Blazing Whip] - Catalic Scale: 49.9

[Fire Cast: Spiral Flames] - Catalic Scale: 50.0

[In.D Fire Morph: Galitonic Arti-

Jisanne let out a small sneeze, spitting saliva all over the front of the page Josh was reading. He jerked his head back in surprise until hitting the metal sheets behind him, emitting a loud clanging noise that rattled his eardrums. He grunted in pain, placing his hands on his head while curling his body. Jisanne began to lose balance. She slid between Josh's crossed legs and touched the ground with her bum. Her entire body was slouching.

“Ow…” Josh whimpered, softly rubbing the part of his head he hit. He felt the tenderness of the spot where it clashed with the metal sheets covering the house.

Eventually, he relaxed and lowered his scrunched legs, enabling Jisanne to escape his tight grasp. But as Jisanne tried to flee by pushing her body up, one of her hands slipped while grabbing onto Josh’s legs. This caused her to fall and land on the rough ground in front of them.

Their house was roughly a meter high - another reason why Lucas managed to see the tower in the distance, and even proving the brick fence surrounding their house useless. And since this created an elevation, Jisanne began to roll down the hill while gradually increasing her speed. Eyes closed, she waited for her impending doom with the brick wall inching closer.

“J-Jisanne!” Josh shouted, closing the book and flinging it aside, and hurriedly jogged down the slope to catch her.

“Waaah,” Jisanne mildly panicked with her eyes closed.

But before falling under the two-meter radius from the brick wall, Josh snatched Jisanne off the ground and held her upside down. Without thinking, he lifted her with her feet right in front of his face.

“Geez,” Josh looked at her with a hopeless expression. “At times like this, you know you can stop yourself. The hill isn’t even that steep, Jisanne. Just look at yourself. You’re all dirty now-”

As he spoke, a wild pair of legs swung right up to his face, kicking his nose, eyes, and cheeks. Josh backed up and tilted his head to the side from Jisanne’s overwhelming attacks, which threw small patches of dirt collected from her sandals.

“Ouch- Hey, stop that!” Josh lowered her and placed her back on the ground.

“Ouch ouch,” Jisanne imitated him with her high childlike voice.

“Are you making fun of me?” He asked as he looked down at her, who sat in a relaxed position with legs stretched out. He saw scratch marks on her lower legs, arms, and hands. Her hair also collected many patches of dirt, puffing her head more than usual. “Jisanne… If you keep doing this, you’re gonna get a lot of hurt…”

Well, this is a perfect time to test something.

Instead of bringing Jisanne to their mother after an accident like he always did, he brought her back to where they usually sat - right outside between the door and the small window. He placed her right on his lap in a sitting position with legs straight out. Josh placed one of his hands on Jisanne’s chest with his eyes closed. He visualized the power inside of him and used all of his strength to push it out. And with a moment that he thought felt right, he said with a loud and clear tone:

[Fire Heal: Spring Coat]

Opening his eyes, he pressed his hands deeper into Jisanne’s chest. As if pulling a rubber band, gathering all of the pent-up energy, he let go, releasing the tension and delivering the blow to a specific target.

Seconds passed, and eventually, a minute. Josh felt the same as usual. Nothing was out of the ordinary, nor did it feel anything different. His hands remained still without emitting anything. Time whizzed by his head, and his mind slowly began to feel uncertain. There was a lingering curiosity if he made a mistake during the process that had resulted in a bare outcome.

Um… It’s called ‘spring coat,’ right? Was my hand placement wrong? No no… It should’ve been around the chest. Was the hand supposed to be opened or closed? Was I, um, supposed to be standing? Did I need a glove? Hmm, maybe slap her chest before saying the words?

At this point, Josh had forgotten what the book had explained about each of the abilities. He then turned his attention to Jisanne. She looked back with large red eyes that also seemed to be confused.

“That look again,” Josh said with a sigh of disappointment. “I remember when our mom used this [Spring Coat] on me when her kitchen knife fell right on top of me. But... The healing... I still wonder how our mom did it.”

There were many times that Josh and Jisanne encountered dangerous moments. Because Josh had the role of the big brother, he had to be more responsible for Jisanne’s safety. But for the parents, things never turned out the way they expected.

Without their supervision - Lucas in the SHT and Rosey out shopping, including some errands - Josh was all alone with Jisanne, causing misfortunes to occur. Josh, who usually takes naps during the day, woke up to see Jisanne crying from her walk outside. She had small lumps around her from bug bites.

After weeks, even with Rosey around the house, the first ability Josh learned was to heal. It became useful both for him and Jisanne, who still have trouble knowing the risks of wandering alone in the streets. But after Rosey gave Josh a hard time when she saw Jisanne walking alone outside once returning from the market, he began to become warier of his little sister’s whereabouts.

“Well, I’ll just do the usual thing,” Josh learned the most basic healing out there: [Fire Heal: A. Cellreg]. He used it so frequently that after a month of using it, there wasn't a need to speak the words for the ability to activate. It was second nature to him.

As the cut marks on Jisanne’s legs began to turn red, Josh didn’t waste time and placed his hand on the scraped locations without touching the skin. Eyes wide open, he focused on his hand and pushed the energy towards his fingertips. In his mind, he envisioned the healing taking place and his palm started to glow orange. Brightly shining, he felt the comforting warmth as if gently stroking a newly washed cotton. Patiently and silently, he and Jisanne watched the glowing light take its miraculous course. After counting ten seconds, he removed his hand and eased his tensive focus, causing the gleaming light to recede and disappear. When looking at the spot that used to have scrape marks, they saw nothing but a smooth layer of light skin bare of any cut marks or dirt stains. Josh slowly grinned, seeing that the healing worked once again.

And as he looked around to see more scrapes and smudges all around Jisanne, he took a deep breath and stared at her with exhaustion.

“I have a lot to do.” Placing his hand out to the given location, targeting the area of his will, he focused his energy on his fingertips and…

- In the Soul Harvesting Tower (Level 29) -

“Fire!” The leader of the four-member group shouted with his sword pointing straight at the monster.

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[Detonation]!

[Split Propulsion]!

Along the grounds of level 29 were men and women - a total of 11 alive - facing the enormous monster, standing with its long eight legs in the center of the large area. The Thornial Hunter, as they call it, plummeted to the ground with massive destruction, snapping trees that were 30 meters tall and leaving a small crater where it landed.

Two people possessing a staff lifted them into the air, pouring large amounts of energy into the tip and radiating light that grew in a fraction of a second. And upon their command, the staff released large quantities of fire bundled into the shape of an orb as it hurled right at the Thornial Hunter.

The one who cast Detonation shot a long line of fire waving violently in the air, catapulting it high and aiming the creature at incredible speeds. The other, who launched Split Propulsion, released a more extensive line of flame, similar to Detonation's. However, this time, in the middle of its flight, the fire separated into two. The two orbs of fire then divided into four a second later. Just a moment later, the four became eight. And those eight effulgent flames rained down on the monster like small meteorites.

As a total of nine balls of flames came crashing down on the Thornial Hunter, loud consecutive bangs were heard in all directions. Right where the fire struck, a bright flashing light blinded the people’s sight, and a thick cloud of smoke coated the monster until its body couldn’t be seen. The ground rattled from the explosions, and trees in the back shook their leaves back and forth from the force it emitted.

“Did we get it?!” One of the members said.

“It’s still not over! Watch for its incoming attack!” Wit shouted at them, trying his best to heal Morgan and Ted’s legs crushed by the enormous fallen tree. While kneeling between the two, he healed them while trying to remain composed in this situation. Remy and Cassidy also helped - throwing multiple Detonations on top and around the two, scraping off small portions of the tree with every explosion.

But within the massive cloud of smoke, a corpse emerged and flew at the group. Spinning at high speeds, the body landed right on the leader, pushing his body back upon contact and causing him to fall to the ground. As he landed roughly, he brushed his head off and glanced at the motionless body on top of him. Dread filling his face, he saw one of his members looking down with soulless eyes. He also saw a gaping hole in the chest large enough to fit almost two human heads.

“Maya…” The leader said with a shaken voice, eyes watering, arms trembling, and head drowned in fear and anger. Members behind him stepped back at a loss for words, profusely sweating while covering their mouths from a wave of sickness swarming their bodies.

“Maya. Tyla. Thomas. Johan. Laura. Lena..." He began to tear in anguish and distress as he named each of his fallen members who died almost instantly. He gritted his teeth with force and refused to let go of Maya, who lay on top of him lifeless. With a teary voice, he screamed and raised his head once more to look at the smoke pool. “You monster! I will kill you! You hear me?! I will kill you right-”

But all of a sudden, a large white hook came rushing from the side. It swept from one end to the other in the blink of an eye and sliced the smoke in half. The fast streak of the hook created a gust of wind toward the groups and silenced the leader. He nearly got decapitated when it struck him just a foot away from his neck. Underneath the dark sliced cloud was the face of the Thornial Hunter staring back with two large eyes.

It screeched violently, rattling its small snapping fangs, and leaned its upper body down. It came closer to the leader in front of it, leaning closer and closer until the gap between their faces was less than a meter apart. In fear, the leader slowly shuffled his way back, sliding off the corpse without looking away from the monster.

Suddenly, a large set of wings unfolded right above its abdomen, revealing large flaps stretching nearly six meters long. With four in total, it began to flail its wings back and forth, blasting out strong gusting winds that pushed everything out of the monster's sight and made struggles for the people around to stand.

The Thornial Hunter then jumped from the ground and began flying effortlessly in the air, casting a large shadow below that engulfed the entire open area. The flapping of its wings created low humming vibrations that could be compared to a fly fluttering around one’s ear. Soaring high off the ground, the Thornial Hunter glanced at the 11 people below and began shaking its head, waving as if it was about to cough up something.

After a few seconds of it jerking, the wings turned orange, releasing hundreds of small fuzzy dots that snowed to the ground. As if brightly coated, the wings kept dropping light-weight cotton-like balls the size of miniature raindroplets.

What is it doing, Lucas thought.

“The hell do we do?!” Mai shouted as she faced her group, who also seemed lost and useless.

It’s making a move, Wit thought. Shit. Things will not end up the way we want them if we keep staring at it. Why, of all people, why is Ted the one who got caught by the tree?! He’s the one with the axes! Without them, our efforts will be useless! Hurry, I have to get rid of this tree to save both him and Morg!

"Cass'," Remy shouted while casting multiple Detonations on the fallen tree. "Hurry and cast more firepower! I can't get rid of this tree!"

Cassidy shouted all the more, "I'm trying! B-But it's just too big! We need more time if we need to remove it!"

"Someone attack it, for crying out loud!" The group leader shouted hopelessly. With panic, he turned to face his members staring back hopelessly, thinking that it'd be pointless to attack it in such a state.

"W- But what happens-"

"Just do it!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Members with staffs jerked back from his loud voice.

Despite the unbearable pain he feels in his legs, Morgan said, "Wait." Wit and his group faced him without speaking a word. Everyone else did the same.

“I remember when we were in the Inn. Thornial Hunter - it’s an In.D Morphing type. These types of creatures can wield fire all around them and control objects according to their will. Afterward, they can morph those objects into lethal weapons that can do incredible damage.”

“So, what are we supposed to do?!" The leader yelled in a hurry. The Thornial Hunter continued raining down orange dots during their rapid conversation. “Are you saying that it’s going to start shooting us with swords or something?!”

Crap- How do we counter these types?! Just think… In.D types… They're those who use fire to control things around them, like an extension of their arms to hold more objects. If it’s not actually flames we’re dealing with, but solid objects… Then…

In the middle of Morgan’s thinking, the Thornial Hunter screeched and rattled the earth below their feet. The fuzzy orbs of orange light began to rain more violently, emitting an abnormal sound of steady chiming mixed with the buzzing noises of its wings.

Suddenly, the monster spread its hooks to its sides, exposing his chest wide open and raising them into the air. Long streams of flames shot out from its back and hurled directly into the soil. Like long creeks of bright light that acted like tubes, they connected themselves to the monster’s back and the ground below. The large chunks of dirt underneath the tube-like flames began to melt quickly, leaving a bright orange liquid of mass that looked like lava.

20 lines of fire touched the ground and melted all around them. The groups managed to dodge the flames but were still lost on what to do.

“The monster is wide open,” the leader shouted. “Like I said again! This is our chance! Quick, cast your powers and aim them at it!”

“No, wait!” Morgan interrupted, causing the leader and everyone to look at him with full attention. He looked around to see how many people had a staff. There were just Cassidy, Remy, and the two from the other group.

Four people, he thought. I think it’s enough. Even if none of us can cast powers above the 50s, I’m sure we can survive if we just fight together as one large unit. It’s the best option that we have based on our power level!

“Everyone,” Morgan continued speaking with an unshaken look. “Come together! I want those with staffs - to cast Barrage as much as they could!”

Two of the mages looked at him in shock, in complete disbelief with the thought that he had lost his mind. “Are you insane?!” One of them stiffened from Morgan’s order. “A Barrage uses too much of our energy! If we need to leave this tower, we need to reserve our energy when we head back up! Think of something else-”

“There is no time!” Morgan shouted at the top of his lungs. “We have to give it a try! If none of us are strong enough to morph things around us and make shields from them, this is the best option we have! Now hurry!”

Morgan saw the molten soil rising into the air, flowing inside the streams of fire and up to where the Thornial Hunter was. The thing about morphing was that even if it may cause destructive damage, controlling objects was challenging, and the entire process of trying to manipulate them was slow. Thus, the groups were able to react and move before the monster was able to.

With slight hesitation, everyone gathered around Morgan and Ted with the casters around the edge of their circular formation. “Now who knew we’d be working like this?" Ted painfully grinned, ignoring the continuous agony resonating from his crushed legs.

“Shut up and stay still. I’ll get you out soon enough,” Remy sternly said while focusing on the Thornial Hunter above. “I’m ready when you all are.”

But then one of the members from the other group started to lose composure and wept in fear. Frightened, she turned back and ran. Screaming frantically, the girl dropped her sword and refused to stay with everyone any longer.

“Flora! What are you doing?!” The leader shouted at her, who continued running away from everyone.

“I can’t take this anymore!” She yelped. “I don’t want to die! I just can’t! I can’t handle it!”

“Hey, stop running! Idiot, stay together!” Wit yelled as the girl ran past them and away at a considerable distance.

The Thornial Hunter screeched again, even louder this time. When everyone turned their gaze from the running girl to the creature above, they saw the being with dozens of human-sized blades right next to it. Light radiated from the blades where drops of liquid dripped. The streams of fire were now flailing above the Thornial Hunter as if keeping the daggers in place. 20 blades were aimed all around the group’s vicinity.

“It’s coming,” Remy nervously said.

“Uugha, I’m scared…” Cassidy cried.

“I’m counting on ya’ll jack-shits,” Mai spat with a slight faint of heart.

"Give it your all," Lucas told the casters as he stared at the monster as it prepared to attack.

“Damn it,” the leader said while facing Morgan with a stern look.

The Thornial Hunter faced the ten people together along with the girl frantically running in the distance. And with a gust of wind passing by, the monster screeched the final time, flapping its large wings, and thrusting its body back with legs pushed to the front. The long streams of fire whipped to the front at alarming speeds, and once the momentum reached the tips, the blades got shot right down to the group. Like pulling the trigger, 20 blades rushed towards the people below.

“Now!” Morgan shouted.

The four casters began to command their orders simultaneously, facing the hunter above, lifting their glowing staffs, and pouring all their energy into their orbs. With every inch of power, they pushed out the power inside them all at once while speaking at the top of their lungs:

[Barrage]!

[Barrage]!

[Barrage]!

[Barrage]!

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Fire Ability:

[Fire Cast: Split Propulsion]

When casting the ability upon command, the vessel will release energy, leaving the body and out into the open air. As the energy comes into contact with the air, the energy will turn into fire, igniting brightly, depending on the amount of energy held in their hands. With the extra force needed to exert a wider range for the ability to be activated, the user must release higher energy than the casting ability of its related power: Detonation.

A cast ability with a more expansive push will continue to keep its form until the ball of fire loses structural stability from its prolonged movement in the air. When this occurs, rather than exploding from an unstable condition, the cores within the ball of fire will split into smaller fragments while continuing its path to the target. When the ball(s) lose their strength again, the cycle will repeat until they come in contact with a rough surface, compensating for the loss of balance.

Ability’s Catalic Scale - 36.3

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