Chapter 164 : The Metamorphosis (Part 1)
The fight was over, and the black space that had been broken from their fight, started to slowly repair itself.
"Hahaha!! To think that I lost!!" Fafnir laughed as he sat down in this black space while facing Kiritsuka Rei and Ray Houston.
"How long has it been, 100 years ago? I don't remember!" Fafnir continued.
The other two glanced at each other, unsure how to react in this situation.
Fafnir looked at them and smiled, "Just as I promised, I shall give you both my power."
The two of widened their eyes when he heard it, "Really?" Rei asked.
"Yeah…I mean I already lost since I used my dragon skill at the end."
"But in the end, you managed to fend it off easily, it was an impressive technique." Fafnir complimented while shifted his eyes at Ray.
After hearing that, the two of them began to tremble, holding in and the feelings that slowly bursting from within them.
As they were unable to contain their happiness...they began to shout.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
"We did it!!" Ray grinned widely.
"Yeah!!" Rei replied with a big smile.
They bumped their knuckles together and high-fived each other, they felt so excited as if all the accomplishment that they have so far was nothing like this.
Fafnir smiled and suddenly stood up, "Well I am sorry interrupted your celebration, but it seems you have been in here for far too long."
"Huh??" The two of them looked at him as they were confused from the sudden announcement.
"So, I need you to go back right now." Fafnir smiled and spoke to them while he raised his hand and aimed it towards them.
"W-wait, isn't this too sudden?" Ray asked him.
"Yeah, but we don't have much time, so the moment you wake up, my power will be yours to use."
"But didn't you promised to teach me how to become strong." Ray spoke.
But Fafnir only smiled, "You will see it soon."
"What do you—"
*SWOOSH*
Ray without able to finished his question, they were pushed away and flew out of that black space.
******
After adjusting his vision, Rei found himself staring at a familiar ceiling above him.
"Am I....back?" As he questioned himself.
When he looked to his left, he saw an exhausted Ignia.
"You finally made it, my disciple." Ignia smiled tiredly.
"What...happened?" Rei asked as he tried to stand up but he felt something weird on his body.
"You don't remember?" Ignia spoke, "See it for yourself~"
"Huh??" When Rei looked forward, there was a big hologram panel in front of his eyes.
"This...is?"
*BA-THUMP*
His heart began to beat loudly against his chest.
[Notice!]
[You have acquired skill "Dragon Heart"!]
[Congratulations! You are the first one who absorbed an "Ancient Dragon's Heart" in history!]
[You have acquired title "The Dragon Conquerer"]
[You have acquired skill "Dragonification"]
[You have acquired skill "Dragon Haki"]
[Your skill "Aura" and "Haki" have been merge with "Dragon Haki"]
[You have acquired skill "Dragon Language"]
[You have acquired skill "Dragon Art Mastery"]
[Your skill "Magic" have reached LvMax!]
[Your skill "Dragon Magic" have reached LvMax!]
[Your "Mana Heart" have been merge with "Dragon Heart"]
[Your "Mana Heart" had reached 9th Circle!]
[You have acquired skill "Dragon Eyes"]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
....
Rei blinked dumbfoundedly as the notifications kept going on for a while.
'Wait wait wait wait—?! Isn't this too many?!' he began to panicked from the change of his status board, caused by merging with the [Dragon's Heart].
Ignia smiled seeing his surprised face, "Congratulations my disciple, you have become the first and the strongest human in this world." She muttered.
Rei's eyes sparkled for a moment upon hearing her words. The past 7 years, no—for 9 years he had lived in this world…he had gone through so many encounters, from family, friends, teachers and even enemies.
He had finally achieved his goal…
To become the strongest in this world.
[Notice!]
[You have acquired additional job!]
Then a new panel appeared in front of his eyes.
'Additional [Job]?'
[You have acquired job "Dragon Knight"]
Rei widened his eyes the moment his eyes had set towards a certain word that he have been longing for.
'[Dragon....Knight]?' Rei repeated as he stared at the words [Knight], which brought a smile to his face.
After that he began to laugh from joy, "Ha…hahahaha...to think I had become a knight."
He had finally become the strongest [Knight]
Seeing how happy he was brought a satisfied smile on Ignia's face, a job well done on her part.
He stopped smiling for a moment as he looked at her, "Wait—why am I the first one?" After he realized it back again, about the words she mentioned.
"What else?" Ignia slightly tilted her head, "It's because you are the first human who has gone this far." As she answered him.
Then she folded her arms, "Do you think there's someone like you who could defeat a dragon single-handedly?" And answering him again with such obvious fact.
"And survived after absorbing the [Dragon's Heart]?" Ignia gave another fact.
Rei who was hitted with those facts, didn't back off and reminded him of certain someone.
"Yeah...but didn't Muramasa also did the same? And even that [King of Destruction] guy too." Rei replied.
"Indeed, but you two are different cases." Ignia replied.
"For Muramasa, he did absorbed the Dragon's Heart, but the problem is...that he couldn't contain the Evil power from Fafnir and lose control."
"So, eventually he became a monster tainted by the evil power instead being a human who gained power after absorbing the [Dragon's Heart]." Ignia explained.
"I see." Rei muttered but asked her again, "But what about [him]?"
"The guy you mention, [King of Destruction] was it? The one he absorbed was a young dragon's heart."
"Compared to you, who absorbed an [Ancient Dragon's Heart] who had lived for more than 1000 years."
"So to compared that man and you, it is like comparint between earth and heaven." Ignia explained.
"That much?!"
Rei's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets, remembering that he was thrown around like a rag doll by that guy and even lost to him before.
Which made him think that he might still need more power to defeat such a person.
"Yeah, that much, now do you see why I told you that you are the first one?" Ignia spoke.
Rei could only accepted it, but there's still one question left.
"But...what about that [person]?" Rei looked away for a bit and muttered as he remembered someone else.
"Who?" Ignia asked.
"The [Hero]." Rei looked her straight in the eye, "The very person who defeated the Demon King in the past and saved the world." He spoke as he felt conflicted for comparing himself with the current Hero.
Ignia blinked a few times and burst out laughing, "Hahaha! Are you that worried of your title being taken by the Hero? You sure have a cute side~" she teased him.
Rei looked away again, embarrassed by her words, "I am not that worried, but didn't the Hero have more achievements than me?"
Ignia grinned widely and shook her head, "Seriously, you need to stop being so modest. You're making me look bad~"
Rei stared at her blankly, "Ughhh, just answer the question."
Ignia sighed, "Well your own achievement was already passed that of the previous Hero, if you ask me."
"And even more than Muramasa in the past." Ignia explained.
But Rei remained doubtful, "Really?"
"Do you really think being the Hero means being The Strongest One?" Ignia spoke.
"Well…yeah." Rei was a bit confused about where this conversation was leading to.
"The Hero that you know is someone being chosen as the Apostle of God, to carry their will, whether to save the world or teaching about godhood."
"But they have come with so many restrictions on their power." Ignia explained.
"Restrictions?"
"Yeah, even though the Hero was given a power that could defeat the Demon King, his power is only for that purpose." Ignia answered.
"And of course, that includes those Demons as well." Ignia replied.
"To make it simple, it is the power to defeat Evil~" Ignia added.
Rei gulped upon hearing those words.
"But like I said, their power comes with restrictions. That power can cause massive damage against monsters or evil beings."
"But if they were to use that to fight me or Fafnir..."
"It won't be effective." Ignia muttered.
Rei blinked for a moment, "Wait, I get it that it won't be effective to you, but why not Fafnir?"
"I did tell you that it had restrictions, right?"
"The other restriction is that the power of the Hero was separated." Ignia gestured her two index fingers by putting them together and slowly pulled them away from each other.
"Separated?" Rei repeated her words.
"Didn't you see that same power yourself a few days ago?" Ignia replied.
Rei was confused for a moment, "I did...?" Until he remembered someone that came to mind.
"Alicia...you mean the [Saintess]?" Rei answered.
"Bingo~" Ignia snapped her fingers and grinned, "The power of the [Hero] was split in two, because humans cannot contain that much power to begin with."
"So the God who gave its power to the [Hero], also gave it to the [Saintess]."
"Which is why, his power alone cannot fight against Fafnir, much less Muramasa who had become his successor." Ignia explained.
Rei finally received all the puzzle pieces and put it all together.
"Is that...also why he needs a [Party]?" Rei concluded.
"Another right answer~ you have a good brain, my disciple~" Ignia praised and aggressively patted his head.
But Rei felt conflicted by her words, 'I don't know if she is mocking me or praising me.'
"The [Hero] needs the [Saintess] to help in his journey, but he alone couldn't defend the Saintess who provides support while he fights the enemies."
"That's why a [Party] was needed, a [Tank] to pull the enemies attention away, [Archer] to keep the enemies at bay, [Mage] to hit the enemies from the sideline, [Swordsman] or [Attacker] to help the Hero dealing with enemies in the front line." Ignia explained.
"Meanwhile, [Support] like the [Saintess] is the most essential in the party, because she also extends her power to them and helps them fight evil." Ignia finished her explanation.
"Now, do you understand the difference between you and the [Hero]?" Ignia leaned closer to him.
Rei backed away a bit from her, "Uhhhh, more or less."
"You fought against an [Adamantite Golem] that was combined with Ancient technology and [Anti-magic] power, [alone]."
"You fought against a [Unique Boss Monster], a [Death Emperor], that was called an epitome of death, who can use a unique [Ice Magic], [alone again]."
"And finally, fighting head on with the [Successor of the Ancient Evil Dragon], who's also the [Hero of the Past]! and to top it off you defeated that Ancient Evil Dragon as well! [alone]!"
Ignia's eyes sparkled as she boasted about all the great achievements he had done so far, not to mention his previous achievements before coming here.
It was definitely something not even the Hero could achieve by doing it [alone].
Ignia smiled and tapped his shoulder, "So be proud, you have done your best to reach this realm by yourself."
Tears started to slowly welled out of Rei's eyes at her words of encouragement.
"I see..." Was the only thing he could say, but in his heart, he was overwhelmed by joy.
Ignia just watched him silently with a smile.
That was until...
'Ahem, hello? I think we're forgetting something.' Ray interrupted their moment.
Ignia rolled her eyes in slight annoyance, "Aand you ruined it."
"Read the room, Houston." Rei frowned.
'Eehhhh...' Ray felt bad for ruining the mood but he looked like he had something to say after being silent the entire time.
Ignia sighed and shook her head, "Out with it then. What is it? "
'Didn't you promise to gave us the [Fire Essence of Fire Dragon King]?' Ray reminded them.
Rei stopped crying at that, "Oh…right. I almost forgot about that..." though he felt bad after just remembering it.
"What are you talking about? Didn't I already gave it to you?" Ignia answered nonchalantly.
"Huh?"
'Huh?'
"Hm?" Ignia blinked, oblivious.
The two of them stared at her in silence and wide-eyed.
"WHAT???"
'HUHHH???'
Ignia closed her ears and groaned, "Ughhh, so noisy. Must you be so loud all the time?"
"When did that happen?!" Rei asked as he was on the verge of crying again.
"During your fight with Fafnir, duh." Ignia answered him matter-of-factly.
'The fight?' Ray repeated, 'Wait, are you the one who offered me that power?!'
During that fight, Ray was questioned by someone and was offered a power that helped them win the fight.
"Hmph." Ignia smiled smugly, "Of course, who else do you think it was?"
Ray scratched his head awkwardly, 'Uhhh, I was not in the right mind...so I couldn't recognize her voice.'
"....? Then, the [Divine Flame] is the [Fire Essence of Fire Dragon King]?" Ray asked.
Ignia nodded, "Yes, this Essence that you talked about, is the [Divine Flame] or as you know, the source of my power as the Fire Dragon King."
"Or should I call myself the [Red Dragon]." Ignia continued.
"The [Divine Flame] is a flame with the power of purification and healing, it's also associated with a mythical creature such as [Phoenix]."
Ray widened his eyes in surprise, 'You mean, [The Vermillion Bird, Phoenix]?! That mythical creature?!'
"Yeah, well that mythical creature is like an offspring of mine, since its power came from me." Ignia explained.
'Woah....' Ray muttered in amazement.
Though the only one who's confused was Rei.
"....??"
"Anyway, it seems you also have completed one of your goals." Ignia spoke.
Then a new notification appeared again.
[Notice!]
[Congratulations! You have finished the quest "True Flame"!]
=======================================
[Notice!]
[Quest : "True Flame"]
The God of Fire–Ifrit, giving player "Rei" another quest, to gain [True Flame]. It is said that this flame is the hottest and the purest kind of flame.
[Requirements]
Skill : Blacksmith Flame LvMax [1/1]
Title : Blessing from Fire Spirit King [1/1]
Item : The Fire Essence of The Fire Dragon King [1/1]
Reward:
● Unique Skill : [True Flame]
● Title : [The One Who Become Fire Itself]
=======================================
[You have acquired skill "True Flame"!]
[You have acquired title "The One Who Become Fire Itself"!]
"...?!" The two of them were surprised from the sudden notifications.
"Is this really...my new power?" Rei muttered and about to use [True Flame].
But then…
.
.
.
.
.
.
Nothing happened.
"...???" Rei blinked in confusion for a moment and looked around his body, "Nothing's happening…"
'Yeah, I don't get it...don't we usually how the skill work after that?' Ray was reminded of the past quest he received.
Then they checked the skill to confirm it.
=======================================
[True Flame] (Locked)
Passive Skill
?????
=======================================
"....?!" They were taken aback because there's nothing but a question mark in its description.
"What...is this?" Rei questioned.
"Of course, nothing happened." Ignia spoke as she approached him.
"Why??" Rei asked her, "I finished the quest, and gathered all the things needed to acquire it."
Ignia stared at him patiently, "It's true, you did gather all the three things that you needed."
"But the thing, there's nothing on it because you haven't created the [True Flame] yet."
"Created the [True Flame]? What does that mean?" Rei repeated her answer and asked further.
"[True Flame] is a unique skill on the above level of my [Divine Flame] and Ifrit's [Hell Flame]."
"It's a legendary fire that could burn and purify everything."
"But have you ever wondered, why is it only a legend?" Ignia spoke.
Rei shook his head, "I...don't know."
Ignia stared at him, "Because no one ever succeeded in creating one." And then she answered him.
Rei widened his eyes after hearing it, "...?! No one...?"
Ignia nodded, "Yes...no one."
'What do you mean by creating? Does it have something to do with what we have now?' Ray decided to ask.
"What I mean by creating is...by using all the Flame skills that you have gained until now, and combine them into one." Ignia explained.
"You're saying we're gonna need to combine [Blacksmith Flame], [Hell Flame] and [Divine Flame]?" Rei replied.
"Yes, but the problem is...the risk is higher than you think." Ignia warned.
"Higher....than absorbing [Dragon's Heart]?" Rei asked cautiously.
Ignia nodded, "Again, like I said, no one had succeeded on creating one, and there's a reason for that."
'And that is...' Ray muttered.
"To combine those flames, you need to use your own body as a vessel." Ignia spoke.
"That...doesn't sound bad?" Rei replied.
"...remember the method of how I opened your meridian to make your aura control better? And creating mana heart by absorbing the mana around you?" Ignia reminded him.
Rei gulped as if he felt something bad was coming.
"Y-yes."
"The method to combine the flames...is similar to that." Ignia spoke.
"And the pain of combining the flames, will be much more painful than anything you ever felt before, and the risk of dying...is around 99%."
"Even if you had a [Dragon's Heart], the surviving rate would still be small, since even I couldn't achieve it, not even a God." Ignia spoke.
Rei bit his lips, he couldn't help but feel despair crept on him after listening to her.
'After all these years...it was...for nothing?' Rei thought of it regretfully while clenching his fist.
Ray could tell what he was feeling right now and sympathized with what he's going through, 'Ifrit...is this what you want to give us?'
Ignia looked at him before closing her eyes, "It's okay, as long as you don't try to combine it."
"You won't die from it. Besides, like I told you."
"You already had become the Strongest Human in history, so you should be happy with what you have and then—"
*SLAP*
"—?!"
Before Ignia could finish her words, a slapping sound could be heard through the whole room.
And the one who did that was Rei, who slapped both of his cheeks.
"You..." Ignia muttered and began to feel nervous from his sudden action.
A warm smile slowly bloomed across his face, "Master."
"Y-yes?" Ignia replied.
"If I succeed...will I become stronger than I am now?" Rei asked.
Ignia widened her eyes hearing that question, "...?! Did you not listen to me? The risk is too high! Even though you managed to pull it off somehow, you might get crippled!"
"You shouldn't risk something like that...because you might really die this time." Ignia who had been nothing but carefree and easy-going all this time, became so concerned about his safety and went out of her way to convince him to stop.
Rei's smile didn't falter, "Master..."
"You stupid disciple...I gave you the warning here...why do you must jump into something more dangerous." Ignia bit her lips as she felt heartbroken by his decision.
'I don't want to lose another disciple...again.' This scene reminded of her and her former disciple...Muramasa.
Rei held her hand and leaned down to put his forehead on her forehand, "I know the risk, but knowing that, I still want it...I need a powerful strength, to overpower any enemies I will be fighting in the future."
"To protect my family."
"My friends."
"My love."
"And you...my teacher." Rei gazed upon her with a smile.
"So...please, accept this request from this foolish disciple of yours."
Ignia looked at him with anguish, "You..."
"You really are....the most foolish disciple...I ever met." She closed her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath to control her emotion before she opened them again
"...That's why, I'll accept it, to help you...and guide you on how to created [True Flame]."
Rei closed his eyes, he was relieved by her answer.
But...the main problem has yet to start.
To be continued...