*RUMBLE*
The explosion caused a shockwave, uprooting every tree in its destructive radius. The blast was so massive that people miles away could see its radiance. The tremor reached Terra City, reducing its walls and houses to rubble, but the shockwave did nothing to Felix's house. However, the noise caught Jane and Valley's attention. They rushed to the rooftop to see the commotion.
Noticing the blast coming from the southwest, they panicked. Mistaking the shockwave for another assault, they rushed to the essence stone room, where Felix usually secluded himself. They banged on the door.
"Felix! Soone is attacking us again!"
In the room, Felix released all the air in his lungs and stomach, frustrated by the interruption. He adjusted his clothes and opened the door to see the girls.
"What's up?"
Jane pulled Felix out of the room and pointed at the bright light from the southwest. "Do you see that? Sothing is attacking us! T-The entire city evaporates!"
Felix narrowed his eyes. "…I don't see shit."
"Obviously, you won't see shit! THE ENTIRE CITY IS GONE!"
"If sothing happens, it happens. If you're destined to die today, you'll die regardless. Whether the attack kills us or not, you'll be wasting your brain cells overthinking sothing irrelevant and wasting your ti. Stop worrying about sothing out of your control or influence. Anyway, I'm kinda busy here. You girls can stay inside if you don't feel safe."
Felix returned to the essence stone room and locked the door behind him, leaving the two girls behind. The girls looked at each other and glanced at the bright light far away. They dryly laughed as Felix was right.
If the next attack could potentially destroy their house, none of them could have run or reacted to it anyway. Why should they even bother thinking about it?
They shrugged and returned to the swimming pool area to play.
…
Every day, Felix holed up in the sealed room, practicing the new breathing thod. One day, he accidentally used it in his sleep and breathed fire, burning his pillow and almost burnt Jane. From that day on, Felix and Jane slept in different rooms for safety.
A week had passed. The explosion several days ago seed like a prank as it erased Terra City but left Felix's house alone.
In the essence stone room, Felix stood still, deeply inhaled the stale air in the room and suppressed it in his lungs and stomach. Slowly, he exhaled, releasing the gas in his stomach first. Then, he ignited a spark in his lungs and sent it together with the flammable gas.
*FWOOF*
A trail of fla ca out from Felix's mouth! He breathed fire!
Felix clenched his fist as he finally understood the principles behind the breathing thod: The stomach produced flammable gas while his lungs generated small sparks. Combining them using the breathing thod, he could spit fire!
However, generating gas and fla ca with a small price. Every ti Felix successfully exhaled fla, he lost one energy point per second. It looked insignificant, but the cost slowly added up during practice. In addition, the consumption rate increased when Felix increased the fire's intensity and range.
Felix started seeing a pattern.
*DING*
…
Na: Felix Ariel
Age: 17/10,340
Bloodline: Void Phoenix
Elent Affinity: Fire, tal, Poison, Void
Authorized Level: Super Democracy Pass (E)
Level: 26
Energy: 2,807,256/6,101,515
Mana: 6,101,515
Innate Talents: Fla Lungs, Fast Learner, Fire Immunity, Poison Immunity, Ashen Resurrection
Skills: Fla Breathe (Entry)
…
For now, Felix had mastered one of the four skills. The next steps involved learning spitting fire, fla aura, and fla mana.
The spitting skill was slightly difficult as it required him to master fla mana first. Once accomplished, he could compress gas into compact fuel to spit out fireballs. So, the next skill Felix needed to learn was fla mana.
According to the scripture translated by Jessica, this part required Felix to purposely ignite the gas in his stomach and then douse it. This would cause a chemical reaction and leave behind a substance called 'Extinguished Phoenix Fla.' By absorbing this substance into his bloodstream, his blood cells would gradually convert the mana in his blood into fla mana.
Felix wanted to pull his hair out. The entire process confused him.
"What the hell is this bogus science experint? What's Extinguished Phoenix Fla? Who nad this, a middle-schooler?"
Despite his complaints, Felix continued to follow the manual's instructions. He stopped making noises and got back into the zone.
Just as he was about to ignite the gas in his stomach, a knock ca at the door, stopping him from entering a trance state.
Frustrated, Felix released all foul air in his lungs and stomach. Then, he breathed normally. He walks to the door. Believing that Jane might have brought him so afternoon snacks, Felix opened the door. However, the person waiting was Valley.
Felix frowned, "What is it?"
Valley flinched as Felix's breath slled like freshly roasted chicken. She gulped, suppressing her desire to bite him, and then stated her business.
"I'm planning to visit Big Zoot."
"Big WHAT?!" Felix felt like he misheard. "You're going… where?"
"Big Zoot City."
"Who the hell nad that city, a crackhead?"
"Crack…head?"
"Never mind that. Why move? It's safe here. You've got food, shelter, and even a majestic slide pool all to yourself. Didn't you see that our house can withstand a nuke?"
Indeed, there was no reason to leave. However, Valley mustered her courage and looked Felix in the eyes. "I wish to try the Royal Magi Academy's admission exam."
Felix couldn't fault her for wanting to attend college, but this wasn't the modern world. In this world, traveling a few miles usually took days. Crossing over 1,000 miles might even take months or years.
"And if you're rejected, what will you do?" Felix tried to dissuade Valley for her own good.
"I'll probably look for a job and a place to live… maybe."
Felix sighed deeply. Valley was a sheltered 16-year-old noble lady. A naive forr noble teenager in a wild dieval city would be vulnerable to scamrs and molesters. She could also be easily robbed and ravished before she could reach that city.
Thus, Felix opposed the idea. He reminded Valley about her shortcomings.
"Can you cook?" Felix asked.
"I'm learning."
"Can you do chores?"
"Of course, I can!"
"Can you draw water from a well?"
"A well? O-Oh, of course, I can! I did it all the ti!"
"Let see your palms."
Valley, surprised, showed her palms. Felix touched them and noticed they were smooth and soft, proof she had barely done any hard work.
She lacked the skill to live alone. She would surely face danger or trouble if she tried living as a commoner.
"You'll be in trouble if you fail the exam or get tricked by a random pervert," Felix said. "I don't think you're ready to face society by yourself."
"But I have Jane with !"
"Is she coming with you?"
"Yes, she promised last night!"
Felix slapped his forehead, wondering if Jane had fed Valley false hopes. They had to travel a thousand miles to reach the city, a journey impossible without reliable transportation.
"No. You two are grounded. You won't make it."
"Even without your consent, we'll still go!"
"You two will travel alone for over 1,000 miles. How many days will it take to get there? Have you planned it out?"
"Er, not yet? We'll plan it tonight!"
"Seriously," Felix raised his voice. "What about food and water? Where will you sleep at night? What about clothing? It's cold at night, and it sotis rains. Can you travel in a rainstorm?
What if you get sick along the way? What if wild animals show up and try to eat you?"
"…"
"Girl, I don't want to sound like Andrew Tate, but you're delusional. You're gonna get yourself killed."
Valley's eyes teared up. Unable to refute Felix's words, she lowered her head and gazed at her feet once again. After sobbing alone for a minute, she silently returned to her room.
Felix was relieved that Valley stopped bothering him and returned to his room, resuming his training.
Little did he know, Valley's prayers would be answered. The next day, a miracle occurred.
…
The next morning, Felix woke to a loud knock at the door. When he answered, he found Jane. "Is sothing wrong?" he grinned, wondering if Jane needed so sugar after they had separated rooms.
Jane rolled her eyes and pointed downstairs. "The sa archmages want to see you again."
"Huh?!" Felix rubbed his eyes and wiped away a layer of eye boogers. "What does he want this ti?"
"You'd better co see him yourself. Also, it seems Valley packed her clothes last night. She has her belongings ready."
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