Chapter 18: I refuse
The red fireball that was as big as a an adult and emitted waves of terrifying heat quickly approached Ignis and because of the close distance between the two, Ignis couldn't dodge in time, not that he was planning to.
"Come!"
He opened his arms wide like he was about to give the fireball a big hug. There wasn't fear in his eyes but instead greed and excitement. The old giant couldn't understand what Ignis was trying to achieve. The only answer it could come up with was that Ignis had gone insane from the fear of death. Even he, someone with a trace of a True Giant's bloodline was heavily injured by the red flames after just using them as a fireball attack.
The red fireball was like a big balloon as it completely enveloped Ignis's figure when it came in contact with him.
[It's over.] said the old giant.
The old giant then approached the red flames to collect them and put them back where they belonged. But as he walked over, he realised that something was wrong. The momentum that carried the red fireball was too strong so after incinerating Ignis, the fireball should have continued to speed in the same direction, burning everything in its path but that didn't happen.
Instead, the fireball was held in place as though it had collided with an immovable wall. Not just that, the old giant also realised that the fireball had become much smaller than it initially was.
[Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I guess I really am old now. My body in neither as agile, flexible nor as strong as it used to be in the past. I should choose a successor from the village.]
The old giant was about to grab the red fireball when suddenly it disappeared and in its place was the same person who should have been incinerated by the flames. The only thing incinerated was the lower armour that had completely melted and left Ignis completely naked.
"Hahaha, old geezer, thanks for the gift. That was very kind of you."
…
[System Notification: The Host has successfully devoured and assimilated the Red Refinement Flames.
Reward 1: You have been awarded with a greater authority and control over fire.
Reward 2: You have gained enough experience points and have levelled up to Lvl 20. Congratulations for your advancement.
[Note: Half of your experience points have been transferred to your master.]
[Red Flames Refinement will commence immediately. Please stay still for sixty seconds for refinement to be complete. Host is advised to not participate in fight during the process of refinement.]
…
The old man wasn't astounded by what was happening. Not only had Ignis survived his attack, he took the attack head-on and even somehow managed to subdue the red flames and assimilate them into his body! This went beyond breaking the rules, this guy was clearly cheating!
Ignis felt his body become stronger at a very rapid speed and his control over flames became smoother and more refined, like the flames were a part of his body. His entire body heated up and bloated, obviously he had bitten off slightly more than he could chew.
The old giant thought that Ignis was about to explode but instead Ignis's body just released a lot of thick smoke from his pores and that was the end of it. His skin colour turned from red to pink like he'd just taken a long bath. Ignis felt immense strength coursing throughout his veins and couldn't wait to test it out.
Refinement Flames or otherwise known as Colour Flames are special flames. These flames are specially used for refinement and usually blacksmiths use when when forging weapons and armor but they are extremely rare and hard to come across.
There are four of these types of flames, Orange Flames, Yellow Flames, Red Flames and finally Green Flames. Orange is the weakest of these flames and green is the strongest.
Colour Flames are used to purify and smelt materials for forging and after the forging process is complete, the flames are used again to refine the forged weapon or armour to become even stronger and durable. With Ignis's system, he used these flames to strengthen his body beyond its capabilities.
When he signed the contract and became Lord Mazal's Guardian Knight, Mazal used all his connections with his acquaintances to obtain the Orange Flames and the Yellow Flames. After Ignis assimilated them,Lord Mazal felt that he was on the verge breaking through to become a True Knight but it wasn't enough.
So Lord Mazal went even further and spent a lot of resources he had accumulated over the years to obtain information about the Colour Flames ,the Red Flames to be specific. He didn't hold much expectation from the investigation but was pleasantly surprised to hear that the giants in Ash Valley had them. The information though didn't come from a reliable source so he had to gamble and the gamble paid off.
…
Sitting inside his luxurious mansion, Mazal was listening to the report from his City Inspectors when suddenly his aura surged and his Mana Scripture operated by itself and drew Mana from the surroundings.
Boom!
An explosion occurred within his body and his aura became uncontrollable and pushed everyone and everything away. He could feel that he had become very powerful and his worldview changed. He was about to celebrate when his aura surged again and became heavier.
Boom!
"Hahaha! Intermediate-Grade True Knight! A double breakthrough! He succeeded… Ignis actually succeeded and obtained it!" he said with shock and ecstasy.
Knight and Mage Ranks also had sub-grades dividing them. Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. These three sub-grades monitored one's improvement in their Knight or Mage Ranks. This was how the natives of Lumina knew of their improvements or how far they had to go to breakthrough to the next Rank.
Mazal felt that something was floating above his head and looked up to see what it was, he was flabbergasted to see a number floating above his head.
LvL 24
That was what was floating above his head and from interacting with Ignis, he knew that this number corresponded to his strength. And others with systems or something similar could see how strong he currently was.
Mazal knew that it was the Array Spirit that had sent him this information. He didn't expect to not be teleported immediately and was glad. The status of City Lord really did come with a lot of benefits.
"Congratulations City Lord for your advancement!
"Congratulations City Lord for your advancement!
"Congratulations City Lord for your advancement!
…
His surbodinates congratulated him for his advancement and he thanked them all as their happiness was genuine.
"Thank you everyone. Now, I want you to prepare a banquet. It will immediately commence when Ignis returns! Invite everyone who has a good relationship with me!"
…
Back at Ash Valley, Ignis looked at the old giant with eyes filled with battle intent. He truly wanted to test his strength immediately and who was better to do so than this old geezer.
"Old man, fight me! I promise that no matter the outcome of the battle, we'll leave your territory and never come back!"
[I refuse!]