“Uggh… My Head…”
Kael groaned as he knelt on the ground in pain.
“It is alright, Father. Spatial movement usually has such an effect on one’s body.”
Igni spoke in a comforting tone, approaching his father.
Kael stared at the Dragon and,
“How do you know that?”
“I… just do?”
Igni tilted his head, unable to come up with a better answer. In the end, Kael ignored it.
Igni knew things that the child shouldn’t.
He shouldn’t look at him using human standards.
‘I guess Dragons are just built different, huh?’
“What about you? Are you alright? You don’t feel any discomfort, do you?”
“I am alright, Father.”
Igni nodded as he looked around. Kael did the same.
The Portal behind them had already closed and in front of them, there was an entirely different world, one they had never seen before.
Reddish-brown hard ground, with rivers of lava flowing all over the place, immense heat, eerie crimson sky, and volcanoes all over the place.
It was hell.
[Ding!]
And suddenly, a Screen appeared in front of Kael.
[The Infernal Crucible]
[Mission: Reignite the Heart of Crucible]
[Mission Description]
[The balance of the Infernal Crucible is crumbling, and the beasts within are losing control, turning into mindless entities of destruction. Reignite the Heart of Crucible before it collapses into chaos.]
[Time Limit: The Infernal Crucible is unstable. In 24 Hours, the entire realm will be swallowed by flames.]
[Completion Reward: Baptism of Eternal Flames]
“What the…”
Kael was taken aback.
He wasn’t expecting there to be a mission as soon as he came here.
“What is Baptism of Eternal Flames?”
Yes, there were many things related to the mission that he didn’t understand, but his first focus was on the reward.
“Are they going to bathe me in flam— Aaaahhh!!”
However, before Kael could think too much about this, he was suddenly tossed away by Igni.
“Uggghh.”
Kael groaned in pain as he fell on the hot ground a few meters away from where he stood. He then glanced at Igni, who was flying towards him.
“Igni, what are y—”
Whoosh
Before he could even complete his question, the ground he was standing on was consumed by flames and collapsed, joining the river of molten lava around it.
“Holy…”
Kael was dumbfounded.
“Father, this realm is unstable. We cannot stay in one place, else we will be consumed by the flames.”
Igni informed as he landed right next to Kael.
“T-Thank you.”
Kael nodded as he stood up and patted Igni’s head.
The Dragon, however, was alert, as if worried that something might hurt his father.
“What do we do?”
Igni questioned.
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His father was the one who brought him to this place, so he must know something, correct?
And Kael did.
“That way.”
Kael pointed in the northeast direction, towards the largest volcano of this realm.
“We need to go there.”
Kael spoke with a solemn look on his face.
Yes, according to the system, that was the ‘Heart of Crucible’ that he needed to reignite. Now, what the hell did that mean?
He had absolutely no clue, but since they were already here, he might as well explore, no?
With that line of thought, Kael prepared his mind. He and Igni rushed towards the Crucible.
The plan was simple: go to the Crucible, understand what reigniting its heart meant, do that, get the rewards, and boom, get out of this place.
But…
Things weren’t that easy…
“Grrr…”
While Kael and Igni ran towards the Crucible, their eyes fell on them.
A pack of wolves who seemed like they were forged of fire itself. Their charred, obsidian fur contained the molten lava that flowed under their skin. Their eyes were searing orange, filled with an unnatural intelligence.
Their jagged teeth and sharp claws seemed to have the power to burn and tear anything effortlessly. Inside their bodies, Kael also noticed a core that shined brightly, as if it powered up their entire bodies.
All in all, these beasts were scary. Even Kael, who had faced corrupted beasts before, seemed intimidated by them.
But…
To a Dragon, it didn’t matter.
Whoosh
A sea of flames appeared around the pack of wolves, engulfing them without giving them a chance to resist whatsoever.
“Let’s go, Father.”
Igni spoke as he continued to run.
He would have preferred if Kael sat on top of him as they flew towards the Crucible, but he knew his body was still too small for that, so they just ran.
Kael followed behind the Dragon, but then,
“Igni, stop.”
Kael ordered as his eyes turned golden.
He was staring at the sea of flames Igni had summoned, and a few system screens appeared right in front of him.
Screens that shouldn’t be appearing, after all, the wolves should be dead, no?
They weren’t.
And Kael quickly understood the reason why.
[Name: Unnamed]
[Race: Eternal Flame Wolf]
[Level: 32]
[Strength: 92]
[Agility: 95]
[Speed: 100]
[Stamina: 88]
[Defense: 80]
[Mana: 50]
[Intelligence: 28]
[Charisma: 18]
[Strengths: Flame Aura, Ember Dash, Scorch Claws, Fire Immunity]
[Weaknesses: Weak to Water, Core]
…
“Fire Immunity…?
That is just absurd.”
Kael complained as suddenly, the pack of wolves walked out of the sea of flames without taking any damage whatsoever, surprising even Igni.
Kael’s face turned solemn as well.
These wolves were even stronger than the Roc he faced yesterday, and… unlike the Roc, who was alone, there were tens of these wolves here.
‘Why can’t I fight enemies whose stats are at least comparable to mine…?’
Kael groaned in his heart as he saw the staggering difference between his and the beasts’ strength.
Whoosh
Igni summoned another sea of flames, but just like before, it didn’t work.
“Igni, flames won’t work on them.”
Kael warned.
The Dragon, however, didn’t seem to like that some beings dared to resist him.
So…
He dashed right into the pack and clashed with the wolf that stood at the very front.
BOOM
The wolf exploded into flames, perishing in an instant.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Igni spoke, his voice seemed much colder and stronger than before.
“…”
Kael stared at the scene in front of him in silence.
‘Why do I feel like I was only summoned to Nerathis to bring out this guy?’