Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25: The Strength of Origin Flames
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Origin Flames—the unique elemental power of King Surtr. Back then, I had simply come up with a cool name for the special fire wielded by the Fire Dragon King and never truly explored it beyond that.
Since then, I have learned much more about how it truly works. These flames were not mere fire that burned. They could be transformed into flames that healed. Though I worried about testing them on my aunt, they seemed compatible with Harmony. freewёbnoνel.com
I decided to try them on the Ice Crystal Treant. The result was immediate. As its roots and branches tried to pierce my scales, I unleashed waves of gold-white flames that burned through its body with ease. The Power Amplification Effect of Harmony was immense, especially when merged with the Origin Flames.
The only problem was my lack of control. As the flames spread farther, their power weakened. I had to improvise, rapidly gathering large amounts of the flames into my hands and shaping them into projectiles. Then, a bold idea struck me—and it worked.
"Knife Throwing."
The Rogue Skill meant to enhance a thief’s dagger throws had become my favorite projectile technique. Combined with Tool Mastery, it made the knives deadlier and far more precise than ever. Infused with both Harmony and Origin Flames, giant daggers of white-gold fire materialized, lining up by the dozens around my body.
Without hesitation, I launched them all at the incoming creatures, striking them down one by one. Explosions of white-gold flames erupted across the battlefield, shaking the ground and turning the forest into a blazing inferno.
"Oops."
By the time I finished slaying all the Ice Crystal Treants, half the forest was on fire. At least I had gained a great deal of EXP from it.
Ding!
[You have slain [Ice Crystal Treants: Rank 5] x37.]
[You have slain [Ice Crystal Treant King: Rank 7] x1.]
[You have earned EXP.]
[Level Up!] ×5
[Your Dragon Path has Leveled Up from Level 5 to Level 12!]
[Your Chaos Demon Path has Leveled Up from Level 4 to Level 10!]
[Your Human Path has Leveled Up from Level 3 to Level 8!]
[Your Class has Leveled Up from Level 6 to Level 13!]
[All your Stats have increased.]
[You earned 18,000 Stat Points.]
[You earned 192,000 System Points.]
[Your Bonded Familiar: [Incarnation of the Spiral of Eternity: Paragon – Rank 3: Level 5/300] has Leveled Up to Level 16!]
[Your Bonded Familiar: [Nightmare Vestige Spirit: Mongrel – Rank 1: Level 6/100] has Leveled Up to Level 12!]
[Your Bonded Familiar: [System Administrator Spirit: Astraea – Rank 1: Level 0/100] has Leveled Up to Level 12!]
[Your Bonded Familiar: [System Administrator Spirit: Astraea – Rank 1: Level 12/100] has Awakened the Skill: [Quest System]!]
[The Human Path Skill: [Tool Mastery – Tier 1: Level 1/10] has Leveled Up!]
[The Class Skill: [Knife Throwing – Tier 1: Level 1/10] has Leveled Up!]
[Your Fire Affinity Skill: [Origin Flames – Tier 1: Level 0/10] has Leveled Up!]
"Not bad," I muttered, "but I’ve done enough here..."
I quickly used Chaos to reverse the Harmony, extinguishing all the flames in the area. Then, I used my Ice Magic to repair and restore parts of the forest, feeling a pang of guilt for nearly burning it down.
"That should do it... Let’s return to Auntie’s castle. She’s waiting for us."
Carrying fresh meat and plenty of ice crystal tree sap, which she had told me was especially good for ice dragons, I made my way back through the snow. We entered her castle and found her sleeping. While keeping a watchful eye on her, I headed to the kitchen and began cooking.
I cut the wolf meat into large, hearty chunks and added fresh ingredients I had gathered from the Ice Garden we had tended together for years. A rich, delicious stew quickly came together. I added a generous amount of ice crystal tree sap, filling the air with a sweet, comforting aroma.
I crushed half of the Soul Cores from the defeated Soul Beasts into fine dust and stirred it into the stew, saturating it with pure Soul Essence.
Once it was ready, I brought a bowl upstairs. Mongrel had his own serving and, despite his usual attitude, seemed to enjoy it immensely.
"Auntie, are you feeling any better? I made you some stew... Auntie?"
I gently woke her. Her eyes opened weakly, and her mouth trembled.
"E-Elizabeth..."
"Here, eat this."
I helped her slowly sip the stew with a large spoon. She could barely move, but the stew clearly worked. After she finished most of the pot, her rapidly draining Soul Essence began surging stronger than ever.
"Ahh..." she sighed in deep relief, lifting her head. "Thank you... I do feel a little better now. The cough has stopped as well, for now."
"I’m so glad!" Tears welled up in my eyes as I hugged her large neck. "Auntie, I was so worried about you!"
"E-Elizabeth... thank you, dear," she whispered, stunned by my affection. "You’re truly a little angel in my life." She paused, then asked gently, "Are you sure you want to do this? Why not call for your parents’ help?"
"It’s my fault," I said firmly. "I have to take responsibility myself."
"Are you sure?" she asked again.
"Yeah... Please count on me. I’ve prepared more stew. I’ll leave it here. Astraea, please feed it to her whenever she feels weak."
"Ah! Okay, sure thing, Master."
Afterward, I prepared to head toward the area where she had encountered the Nightmare creature—between the Ice Sea and the Winter Mausoleum.
"Auntie, do you have any way to know exactly where they attacked you?"
"I can pinpoint an approximate location... But I’m so worried. You’re just a pup... You shouldn’t go! Please, Elizabeth, reconsider! If I lose you because of me, I..."
"Auntie... don’t worry. I’m strong."
She stared at me in silence.
"I fought one of those things—an even stronger version—on my own when I was even younger."
"A-Are you sure?"
"Leave it to me."
She lowered her head with a heavy sigh. Then she opened her palm, manifesting a magical map of the surrounding region. It clearly showed the area between the Ice Sea and the Winter Mausoleum, along with our current position marked by colored dots.
"Take this. It is a Spirit Construct shaped like a map," she murmured. "It will guide you where you need to go, but..." She let out a long, tired breath. "I was planning to give you this when I felt better. But... Happy Birthday, Elizabeth."
"Eh?"
She reached into another spatial portal and pulled out a beautiful pair of Ice Crystal earrings crafted from her own scales. They glowed with a mysterious light, radiating powerful spirit and dragon energy.
"This is... what I made for you. I know it’s nothing incredible, but I just wanted to give you something..." she said weakly. "They’re earrings made with my scales. I imbued them with my Soul Essence. I thought... you would look adorable wearing them."
"Auntie..." I held the earrings in my small hands, tears streaming down my face. "Thank you! C-Can you help me put them on?"
"Ah, well... if you insist," she nodded softly.
I didn’t have pierced ears yet, but with her sharp, needle-like claws, she carefully adjusted them for me. When I saw myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile. They looked beautiful.
"I had these Moonstone Earrings, but I’ll modify them into a ring," I said, reshaping them and equipping the new ring. The effects remained just as strong.
"W-Wasn’t that from another dragon?" she asked.
"Yes, but don’t worry. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind," I replied. "These earrings feel amazing... I can already sense my Ice Magic growing stronger."
"Yes... I designed them to strengthen your soul with an extra layer of protection as well," Auntie Hrymdra said.
"Alright, thank you!" I nodded. "Now I have to go. Please rest and take care of yourself, okay?"
"Hm... okay," she sighed. "Please... come back alive. Even if you can’t defeat them, escape. Return alive. My life isn’t worth all that risk."
"I say it’s completely worth it," I smiled warmly. "And I won’t die. I promise."
I stepped out of Auntie’s castle as a protective barrier formed around it. It would keep her safe while she was weak. Before leaving, I quickly checked my equipped items.
[Other Equipment]:
[Sea Dragon Ring] – +25% MP and Divine Power Regeneration. +50% Sea Magic Affinity.
[Dark Dragon Jewel Bracelet] – Curse Immunity Level 5. +50% Darkness Magic Affinity.
[Moonstone Dragon Ring] – Restorative Moonlight Veil: Restores 10% HP per second for 30 seconds. +10% Dexterity and Agility.
[Ice Dragon Earrings] – +100% Ice Magic Affinity. +100% Ice Magic Damage. +25% MP and Divine Power Regeneration. +10% Endurance and Resistance.
These accessories were incredible. It made me wonder how much stronger I could become with proper armor—though as a dragon, that felt somewhat unnecessary.
"Alright, let’s get moving."
I opened the map Auntie had given me, transformed into my Dragon Form, spread my wings, and soared powerfully into the sky, racing toward my next destination.
I flew over forests, mountains, and rivers at high speed, steadily improving my control and truly beginning to appreciate just how incredible flight was.
"Wooow!"
Despite everything, I couldn’t help but smile, spreading my arms and closing my eyes as the cold breeze rushed past me.
"What a strange lizard," Mongrel groaned. "What’s so special about this place? It’s so boring. Same old bullshit."
"Language!" I scolded. "Anyway, Astraea, are you there? How’s Auntie?"
[She’s fine. Don’t worry about her for now, Elizabeth. Focus on your mission. Would you let me see the map? I will assimilate it into my system.] frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
"Okay."
The system manifested over the map, absorbed it, and instantly generated a detailed Mini Map with precise markers.
"Awesome."
[Now, there’s something we need to talk about. I had mostly forgotten to introduce you to all the System Functions because you’ve been so busy.]
"Huh?"
[I was able to gain shared EXP in your last battle because I actively used my powers to assist your accuracy and conjuration speed. You might have felt my Aura around you at times?]
"You can do that? Wow... so that’s why I felt so fast and accurate..."
[Yes, that’s part of a System Spirit’s abilities. After reaching Level 12, I unlocked one of the functions my creator—your Aunt Kate—placed on me. Quests!]
"Quests?"
[Precisely. See for yourself.]
New notifications suddenly flooded my vision. A "Quest" had been issued. In this realistic world where the full MMO System I once knew wasn’t entirely present, I had already given up on seeing proper Quests or Rewards.
But I guess I was wrong.
Ding!
[You have triggered the {Main Quest}: Find The Nightmare Infestation of the Ice Dragon Realm]
[Quest Difficulty: B Rank]
[Quest Objective: After hearing what happened to your Aunt Hrymdra, you’ve learned that Nightmare Creatures have created a Nest somewhere between the Ice Sea and the Winter Mausoleum. Locate them!]
[Quest Rewards: EXP, System Points, ???]
[Accept?]
"So that’s how this works... huh? Alright."
I pressed accept without hesitation.
[System Notice: You have accepted a Main Quest for the investigation of the culprit behind your aunt’s sickness.]
It didn’t take long. After half an hour of flight, I reached my destination: a large pine forest nestled between towering mountains.
The forest was no longer pristine white with snow. It had become something twisted—purple crystals, black miasma, and thick darkness emanated from it, warping the very space around them.
"Ah, the infestation is worse than I imagined..." Mongrel muttered. "What could have triggered such rapid growth of this Nightmare Nest? If we don’t stop it, it might spawn an actual Nightmare Gate! Is this some kind of planned invasion?!"
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