“Malzy? What on earth are you…” Raina’s voice was nearly drowned out by the sound of the nearby flames, but its intent rang clearly through our Soulbond. Intent was followed by emotion as she realized what I was about to do. “MAZLY! Stop!”

But it was too late to stop. I raced forward, leaping straight into the fire. The flames surged to a burning peak as Heat I mixed with the already existing heat.

Hot smoke and cinders filled my lungs while the fire mana inside me burned me up. A dry, scorching heat threatened to cook me, but somehow, it didn’t feel unfamiliar. I was a demon, after all. Even if my body was currently a cat, I was sure I’d encountered hotter flames than this before. The key was to keep low to the ground and move fast.

I ran through the fire, darting between patches of low-burning cinders. I was careful not to get too close to the particularly hot flames. The last thing I needed was for the fire to burn even hotter and consume the few spaces left in relative safety.

Pushing the mana inside me out in a wave of heat, I raced through. The sprites had to take notice eventually, right? I forced more heat into the spell, just in case.

It surged forward, in far greater strength than I’d intended. It washed around me, stoking the flames even hotter, and yet, I barely noticed the heat.

A fire sprite had caught my attention. It flittered through the fire as if in a dance. Each of the flames it passed licked at the sky, bending to the sprite’s will before dying down once it passed. The inferno was alive with mana, ebbing and rising like the breaths of a living creature. It was…kind of beautiful, actually, in a dangerous and terrible sort of way, but beautiful all the same.

Could I do that with my heat? Could the flames breathe my mana? I sat on my haunches, wrapping my tail around my front paws. I extended my mana further beyond me, touching the fire. It surged beneath my touch, burning hotter and hotter until I finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

Heat I upgraded to Heat II due to environmental similarities

System Activation of Welcome to Atria

Spells can be upgraded through a variety of methods. Study and repeated usage are the most common, but spells can be upgraded by entering and studying similar environmental and natural phenomena. This is due to the high concentration of similarly aspected mana in the space which allows the spell to grow in intensity.

That would have to be enough. The ends of my whiskers smoldered, and my fur was soon to follow. The fire sprites were dancing around me, drawn by the increased heat that I was generating in the fire. I hopped to another patch of cinders nearby. They followed. I hopped away again. Again, they followed.

My plan was working! It was time to leave. I raced through the flames, retreating to where I knew Aelisra and Terrowin were waiting with their big weapons.

“There he is! I see him!” Aelisra called. Good. She would be ready. I sprinted towards her voice, pulling my crowd of fire sprites along with me. When I burst from the flames, she was on her knees reaching out to me. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Come out of the…what in the name of the Sword Mother?” The paladin scrambled back, snatching up her weapon at the first sight of the fire sprites that were chasing me. “They’re coming!”

I ran straight between her legs. Immediately, she and Terrowin began to swing at the sprites. With each swing, more of the creatures were snuffed out.

Congratulations. Seven Level 5 Fire Sprites defeated. Experience gained.

Soothing mana washed over me as Raina pulled on her own magic to ease the pain of the burns I’d sustained in the inferno. I looked back and sat down, purring my pride at a job well done.

Congratulations. Four Level 5 Fire Sprites defeated. Experience gained.

The last of the sprites fell, leaving just the fire to take care of. Part two of my plan was now in play. I shifted the mana inside me away from heat and summoning forth Chill, instead.

“Come on, Raina,” I called. “You have this spell, too!”

“No, I don’t,” she answered.

“Yes, you do! I have it, and therefore you have it, right? It’s just a basic enervation spell. Come on!” Then I darted back towards the fire.

This time, I kept on the outside, slowly letting the air cool until the flames died in small chunks. After several long minutes of contemplation, Raina joined me. We chilled the flames along the edges of the inferno, and, without new fuel to burn, the fire began to burn out.

“See!” I purred at my hench-human, proud that she’d learned something from me, just as I’d learned some from her.

“Have you lost your mind, Malzy!?” she cried. “You could have gotten killed!”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“You and I are linked, you idiot! If you die, what do you think will happen to me?!”

I blinked up at her in surprise. But…the plan had worked. My brilliance had led to a swift conclusion to the problem. I’d even upgraded a spell. Why was she so upset?

“I’m not going to die to something so minor,” I answered. “Besides, how else were you going to fight them? I drew them out of the flames.”

“You did…” she paused, considering what I’d said. “You did that on purpose?”

Was the full breadth of my genius finally dawning on her? What? Did she think that I’d jumped into the fire just for the fun of it?

“There are still two more fires,” Terrowin said, trotting over with the others. “We need to get them out before they spread to the rest of the field.”

“Tell them I’ll do the same plan again. It’s efficient.”

Raina sighed. “Malzy is offering to draw them out again, which I think is an enormously stupid idea.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“I didn’t think that a cat would enjoy running through fire,” Aelisra muttered.

“It’s better than burning my mouth and paws on the stupid sprites,” I answered.

Terrowin knelt and scratched behind my ears. “You have to admit it was a clever strategy.” I allowed him to touch my ears. He was acknowledging and admiring my genius, after all. He deserved my favor.

Raina sighed. “Fine…just be careful.”

“I’m always careful.”

The next batch of fire sprites were just as enamored with me as the first set. They latched onto my Heat II spell as soon as I entered the flames before following me right into the jaws of death…otherwise known as Aelisra and Terrowin. They hacked and sliced at the cloud of sprites until none remained. Meanwhile, Raina tended to my minor burns while Cithrael fired arrows at the stragglers who’d been left behind in the flames.

Congratulations. Fifteen Level 5 Fire Sprites defeated. Experience gained.

All of that, and I still hadn’t leveled up…Amsiii hadn’t been kidding when it said that dungeon monsters grant greater experience rewards. These surface monsters were hardly even worth it!

Still, there had to be another way to get experience besides just dungeon monsters. Right?

System Activation of Welcome to Atria

Experience is gained through many feats of strength. Defeating monsters of an appropriate level, completing quests, and clearing dungeon floors all give experience. The greater the challenge posed, the greater the experience rewarded. Defeating monsters more than five levels lower than the recipient will yield zero experience.

Interesting. So, by participating in this quest to kill the sprites, I would receive more experience. I supposed that was what made these quests worthwhile, since the monsters themselves didn’t actually provide much on their own.

“Nice work, Cindercat!” Aelisra called to me once the final sprite had fallen to her axe. Raina and I moved in once more to battle the flames and remove their heat. Without it, they could not spread, and, thus, burned themselves to nothing.

Chill I upgraded to Chill II

“One more!” Terrowin called, already moving to the last of the hot spots. Aelisra, Raina, and Cithrael were right behind him. I prepared myself for the same reckless maneuver that had won us the last two fights, but the flames shifted before our very eyes.

An arrow flew from Cithrael’s bow to stop the horrible sight from coming to pass, but it was too little. Though he did manage to skewer a flame sprite, many more were gathering. Dozens of fire sprites gathered and danced together, stoking the flames higher and higher.

“I don’t think that would be wise to run into, Malzy,” Raina whispered. This time, I agreed with her.

The fire sprites whipped around, sending the flames higher and higher until the sprites seemed to merge their flames into one another. We averted our gaze as the light and heat burned us, even at this distance. No way I’d even be able to get close to that one, not without some kind of fire resistance, which I definitely did not have.

“What is that?!” Terrowin cried, taking several guarded steps back.

I focused on it, determined to provide an answer.

Inspecting hostile creature: Level 10 Greater Fire Sprite

By joining together, the fire sprites have increased the heat and range of their flames to combat the perceived threat.

They increased the range of their flames? That didn’t sound good at all.

“Raina, tell everyone its level 10 and very nasty!” I shouted, darting behind Aelisra’s feet.

Raina relayed the information to the rest of the party, receiving varied reactions from each, ranging from Terrowin’s surprised frown to Cithrael’s shrug. The elf knocked an arrow to his string and fired it. Dealing with one enemy was much easier for him than dealing with multiples. Every shot fired slammed deep into the creature before the shaft burned away. It was hard to tell if the attacks did anything more than irritate the monster, but I hoped it did.

Aelisra raised her shield and rushed forward. She shimmered as the air between us became a mirage of sweltering heat. Her axe swung into the creature, tearing a line in its bottom segment before the flames surged and filled the injury with more fire.

“I thought this was supposed to be a safer job!?” Aelisra shouted. “This thing is way higher level than us!”

“I guess they just have high standards!” answered the glaive knight next to her. He’d triggered a spell of his own. Terrowin darted forward with a speed that made him difficult to track. He ducked and darted around the greater sprite, slicing wounds in its sides, its back, and its underside. Each injury left a gaping hole, but it was quickly healed by the flames.

“Malzy!” Raina called. “We need to stifle the flames! It’s using them to heal!”

It was a plan that just might stop it. I was proud of her for coming up with it before me. Of course, I could never tell her that, as I expected only the best from my hench-human.

Raina darted to the left side of the fire as I took the right. Our companions continued to deal devastating blows to the monster as we began to use our combined Chill to smother what flames we could.

Mana twisted between us as we both pulled on our reserves to cool the air around us. Slowly, inch by inch, the flames began to die away, but the closer we got to the greater sprite, the more the fire fought against our efforts. The heat was nearly unbearable, but we toiled on.

Without warning, the sprite burned a bright blue before seeming to explode with sparks which shot out in every direction, setting several more patches of the fields aflame.

Aelisra screamed, though whether it was from pain or anger, I wasn’t sure. She continued to fight, her armor starting to glow from the heat around her. The symbol of Valencia shone with a comparatively cool light as she called upon the power of her goddess.

“I call upon the Seed of True Bravery!” she screamed. Suddenly, a wave of light surged outward from the paladin. It wrapped around Terrowin, first, but soon found each of us and protected us with a shell of magic. “Leave the small fires! Just give it everything you’ve got!”

The fire suddenly seemed less scorching, allowing Raina and I to redouble our efforts. We battled the great flame that protected the greater sprite, emboldened by Aelisra’s protection. Inch by painful inch, we forced the flames back.

We came together. Only the flames immediately under the sprite remained. We could do this! We just needed to get a little more power!

“Give it everything you have, Malzy! On three!” she instructed. “One!”

I nodded and bared my teeth at the fire. It would regret challenging the great Malzifrax! We would make it suffer for its transgression!

“Two!”

“Hurry! The protection won’t last much longer!” Aelisra warned. Terrowin and Cithrael both readied themselves to strike again.

“Three!”

I yowled my fury as mana poured from Raina and me. The light of magic shone brightly, synergizing in perfect harmony through our Soulbond. A wave of cold mana arced from us in a wave of frost far more powerful than anything we could have done alone.

The flames vanished, replaced with carpet of ice crystals which calmed the fire. The fire sprite howled in rage, but it didn’t get the chance to ready anything else.

Terrowin moved in a blur, whipping his glaive through the sprite in a furious dance of steel and fire. It was punctuated by a hail of arrows, coming two at a time from Cithrael’s string. They sailed through the air, slamming into the monster. One even made it through the creature altogether, slamming into the ground behind Raina and me.

Aelisra roared her fury as her axe came down on the monstrous creature. In that instant, the creature howled one last time before bursting into a thousand dancing sparks, then disappearing into nothing but soot and ash.

Congratulations. Level 10 Greater Fire Sprite defeated. Experience gained.

Level up to Level 7

One Aptitude point available

Raina scooped me off the ground. I could feel the weariness in her. We’d used a lot of mana, and it was slow to trickle back in. I could feel the heat of the ambient fire mana burning my insides, but it was quickly purified within my pool.

Corruption Resistance I upgraded to Corruption Resistance II.

“Congratulations, everyone,” Aelisra said. “I think that’s all of them. Let’s get the last fires put out and let the farmer know it’s safe.”

“Guess what, though?” Terrowin began. “We just finished our first quest as adventurers!”

The paladin nodded in agreement, tapping her armored forearm against his in camaraderie. “Let it be the first of many!”