Chapter 25: Havoc at the Field

'That rat! I swear, after my injuries are healed, I will kill him!'

Insig's calling has evolved from an ant to a rat, this was because Zowie felt a certain danger from him.

All living beings are scared of death, this was an instinctual thing. So Insig instinctively breeds fear in others'.

'That rat must die, and those ants too! How dare they offend me!'

"[Solar Arts: Scorching Desert]."

*Zing*

Zowie raises his hands and absorbs the energy of the sun. He transforms the runes on his body into other shapes. The runes were now exuding a different aura, from a healing aura, to a scorching one.

*Bzzz*

The sun appears to be hotter. The air was slightly warping and the soldiers' vision was slightly.... twisted. Their hearing was slightly buzzing from hallucination and heat.

*Sizzle* *Crackle*

There was faint smoke rising from the ground, but they were quickly gone. All the soldiers were sweating heavily and there were faint blisters forming at their feet.

The plants and flowers were wilting bit by bit while the ground cracked and became barren.

Rolly reacted quickly and took command.

"Soldiers! Erect an earth barrier to block the sun! Water users! Hydrate everyone with your magic."

The soldiers subconsciously listened because they knew that it was for their safety, but some just can't help but complain.

"Who does he think he is? He's not even a squad leader! I'm a level 8 already, I don't take orders from anybody!"

"Now, now. Just listen for now okay? It's an emergency."

His friend sighed and advised him.

*Thud* *Hum*

The ground vibrated and it seemed to hum as walls of earth rose up from the ground.

All the earth users erected a tall wall to block the sun, but this wall was slightly becoming red. It was slightly turning into lava from too much heat.

Some metal users were lucky enough to be able to reflect light, but their energy was only enough for a small area.

All the soldiers were having a hard time, except the flame users.

"Oh f*ck, this feels so good. I feel like my cultivation is slightly increasing. Oh, yeah, right there. Ahh~."

One of the flame users moaned in pleasure. He was reacting like he was getting massaged.

Hearing this, a female soldier got irritated. She was cooling down everyone while this one was not doing anything.

"Hey! Can't you at least do something useful? Like calling some squad leader?"

"But... I just can't miss this opportunity. So, why don't YOU call the squad leader?"

The soldier refuted, because of this they argued and argued.

It was chaotic everywhere, but they were safe.

"This.... What the heck is this? Is this how it is in the front line?"

Insig asks in disappointment. He was expecting disciplined soldiers doing their best together.

"Well, if you put a bunch of strangers in a room, of course they'll argue. Especially, if there's no one who's obviously superior among them, there's no one to lead."

"Soldiers are disciplined how to react in wars and how to respect their seniors. But, if you don't know who has more seniority in the 2 of you, it will cause arguments. They just wanna rise to the top to get more respect and resources. Especially when this particular event is beneficial for some while not for others."

Rolly sighs while explaining.

Insig looked lost in thought and remembered how much benefit there was in rising in ranks. It wasn't just a simple increase in salary or how others would treat you. It was more than that.

"Stop thinking and keep moving."

Just as Insig was about to get lost in thought, Rolly pulled him out quickly.

"So what do we do now? Should we escape?"

Insig asks in confusion.

Rolly looks at him speechlessly.

"What do you want to do then?"

Seeing Rolly look at him like that, Insig got angry.

"What if the commander or squad leader commands us to help here? What if we got punished for not helping in an emergency. Of course we got to help!"

Rolly looks at him, acting surprised.

"Woah! You can actually think. Well, what can you do with your stick arms? Stop him? We can't do anything, so let's just get out of the harms' way and remain on standby."

Hearing that, Insig knows that he was right, but he can't help but get angry at how Rolly worded it.

"What do you mean I can actually think?! Are you mocking me?! Hmph! I hope you burn here."

With that, Insig immediately went for the exit, leaving Rolly behind.

'How am I going to burn here if fire is beneficial to flame users like me?'

Rolly thinks to himself speechlessly. Rolly shrugs to himself and aims for the exit too.

'How dare these ants ignore me?! They deserve punishment!'

Zowie thought to himself. He bears the will of the sun, how could he let these small ants ignore him?

"[Solar Arts: Volcanic Field]."

With that, he made the spell even stronger.

The brightness of the sun became brighter, hotter, and more golden.

*Crack* *Fsss* *Boom!*

However, before Insig and Rolly even got to escape, the ground cracked and lava spurred. Hot smoke bursted out of the ground and suffocated the nearby soldiers.

"Woah!"

"Kyaaa!"

"F*ck!"

The soldiers exclaimed in pain and shock.

The smoke blocked their vision while burning them. It was like they were being cooked, their skins were flushed red.

They perspired even faster and the sweats evaporated as soon as they came out.

Their heartbeat accelerated and it feels like blisters are going to appear on their skins too.

"Aaargh!"

*Sizzle* *Fsszzz*

Insig screamed in pain as he felt how it was like to burn your foot in lava. His skin immediately melted and his nerves, flesh, blood, muscles and such were cooked so fast in just a blink of an eye.

He felt like pins and needles were deep inside his blood and body. His feet didn't even feel hot as the nerves had died already. Basically, he doesn't have feet anymore and pain occupied all of the room in his mind.

Insig immediately pulls his legs out and heals himself. As a level 5 healer, Seiki has the power to regrow limbs. However, because of the fire aura from the lava, the magic was ineffective.

'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! F*ck! I got in a hurry!'

Insig thought to himself while running with one foot. You can call it jumping or whatever you want.

Insig used life magic to protect himself from the heat of the smoke. He was sweating so hard and his eyes were bloodshot. His hearing was buzzing from all of the explosions and heat.

He couldn't see what was in front of him but he just ran based on his memory of the location of the exit.

Because his other foot was burned, he had to jump with all he had. Because he only has one foot, his balance tilted and tripped.

*Thud*

"Hey! Is anyone there? Please, help! Hey!!! Somebody, please!"

And at that moment, he wishes that someone can help him, however, no one comes to his rescue.

"Isn't there anybody to hell with me? Rolly!? Richie!? Hey!"

Insig was shaking from fear, he felt helpless, powerless, and useless. He felt like the world was pressuring him. He was like a leaf in a pond, about to sink any moment.

'Am I going to die here?'

Insig was breathing heavily. He was tired. He was tired already, from thinking, from the heat, from the sound, from the fear, from everything. He just wants to... rest.

He closed his eyes and asked himself a question.

'Why? Why should I live anyways?'

He remembers all the resentment from his past life, and all the wonders here. He looked for a reason to live, and he found it in his heart.

'No! I need to live, because I'm not finished yet. My story is just starting!'

He wanted to pursue power, to be independent, to enjoy life to the fullest, to defeat the world, and so that his fate would be in his own hands alone.

His bloodshot eyes were determined. They burn with passion that can make a person climb mountains and swim in the sea.

He pushed his body from the scorching ground and continued to jump. When he couldn't jump anymore, he crawled.

*Sizzle*

His knees and elbows were burning from the scorching ground. It felt like fire was entering his pores, burning him from the inside.

Blisters were forming in his knees and arms, but he still persisted. He grinded his teeth and removed any fear in his heart.

He kept crawling and burning and crawling and burning. Until finally.

After minutes of suffering. Insig finally saw the light of the sun.

'I never thought that the sun was actually this beautiful.'

Insig remunerated. It felt like he was liberated from all his problems and all the pain.

This feeling was so wonderful, it was the feeling of being alive. The feeling of being alive to the fullest. The feeling of doing your best for yourself. And the feeling of attaining it. Just..... Wonderful....

Insig was so burnt that his hair was messy, his eyes were bloodshot, his skin was black, and his suit was burned, but his pupils were shining with passion.

After getting out, he kept crawling until he was hundreds of meters away. He sat on his butt and took a breather.

*Thud* *Huff*4

'Oh f*ck me! Oh f*ck. Oh f*ck? Oh f*ck!'

Insig kept saying in his mind in an attempt to process what happened.

After a few seconds, he finally calmed down. He looked around, he seemed to slightly hear the sound of alarm, but because his ears haven't adjusted yet, he can only hear a buzzing from his ears.

He saw a few people who escaped and they were all as black as him.

A man came to him, he was wearing a healer suit. He opened his mouth to say something, but Insig couldn't hear it. So Insig just looks at him, dazed.

'What is he saying? Is he mute? Whatever, just let me sleep, please.'

Insig's eyes were as heavy as a lead. He only closed his eyes and he immediately collapsed. He was tired from all of the things that happened.

.

.

.

"Quick! Send him to the hospital."

A man said while holding Insig's body.

*Howl*

A nearby wolf brought Seiki away, it was actually a wolf of a beast tamer. The wolf howled as a sign that it understood the command.

"1! 2! Go! 1! 2! Go!"

*Splash* *Sizzle* *Swish*

The soldiers all worked with coordination. They were all moving at the same pace and time. It was as if it was a performance.

Water users were trying to cool down the fire by splashing water. The earth users and wind users cooperated to scatter sand.

Flame users.... rescued some soldiers.

At this time, a middle aged man rushed to the scene. He pulled a victim nearby and asked what happened.

"Oh.... Ummh..."

The victim was still processing what happened, he was just too shocked.

Seeing this, the middle aged man touched the victim's head and sent a burst of mental energy.

The victim suddenly felt like an ethereal 'worm' entered his head. He was suddenly forced to remember all the things that happened.

All the emotions and the thoughts he randomly thought of emerged in his mind.

The amazement of the first attack, the 'holy shit' word he thought of, the shock at the power of a Gold-Level Martial Arts, the worry for the one participant who already gave up but was still attacked, the speechlessness he felt at the reflective power of the canteen, the comfortable feeling he had when he dreamt, the fear he felt when he woke up, the emotion and the feeling of burning, the panic, the sound, the explosion, the loss of vision. All of them. He was forced to vividly remember them.

His body was shaking in feeling all of those emotions at the same time. The fear, excitement, happiness, worry, amazement, panic. He felt them ALL at ONE second.

He wanted to think of something but he couldn't focus at all. It was like dreaming, yet he was not asleep.

Suddenly, he was able to think of other things. He felt that an ethereal 'worm' exited from his head.

"Wha— What?"

"Thanks."

The middle aged man suddenly said, ignoring the befuddled expression of the poor soldier. He looked at the destroyed public field and there was one thing in his mind.

'This has already reached the power of an Integrated State!'