[The martial elder does not seem to be concerned by the branches that are entangling him, and he begins to clap. Flames begin to burst out of his palms and the heat of the surrounding area increases precipitously.

The harvest tree looks as though it is about to burst into flame, and you feel as though your skin is about to boil.

In a hazy state, close to death, you hear the name of the technique that the martial elder is now using, [Interrogation Flame].

The harvest tree bursts into flame, and suddenly, the world appears to blink multiple times. A split second later, all of the effects of Master Brightflame’s attacks have disappeared, including the searing heat.]

“What a fancy trick! But, I wonder if you can repeat it!”

Master Brightflame twisted his ghoulish features into a smile.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

As the martial elder began to clap, enormous spurts of flame erupted from his palms, twisting in the air like giant snakes as they crashed towards the harvest tree, sending flames everywhere.

Lem never saw the harvest tree move, as the branches instantly shifted place and blocked the wall of fire from contacting the trunk.

The heat in the air began to increase again.

Master Brightflame’s hair was on fire, but he continued to laugh and clap, shooting flames from his palms. His appearance had only grown increasingly more skeletal, and Lem wondered how much longer he could sustain his attacks before he died.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

After the momentary reprieve, the ambient heat in the air had increased to a new high, and it kept soaring. It was so intense that Lem’s simulated self could no longer think.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Master Brightflame stopped laughing abruptly.

“You,” he exclaimed with sudden horror. “My senses have been addled all this time. The heavens have truly forsaken me! To pit me against this abomination-you!”

Lem’s simulated self felt the martial elder’s gaze lock on to him.

He felt his body freeze again under the threat. Again, he had no power over his movements, and was robbed even of the ability to think.

Lem knew that it was impossible to escape. His body would not naturally perform the [Nine Bull Fist] without being commanded to do so, and even if it could, he was not sure that it would work.

“Leading me here with your stories and your damn intuition!”

Master Brightflame clapped, but the motion was feeble, a far cry from his earlier performance. It was clearly an act performed with none of the substance from earlier, devoid of true essence.

However, Lem’s simulated self had capabilities that were far beneath those of the harvest tree. It felt as though he had been engulfed in flames. Extreme pain shot through his body.

Even Lem, from his detached position, was shocked at the sheer intensity of the sensation. He had the morbid thought that it was good that his ability to think had been arrested by the freezing effect of the martial elder’s attack.

The pain continued to increase, until he saw that his simulated self had actually become engulfed in flame.

Lem could feel his skin beginning to melt from the heat.

Was the simulation going to end?

It felt like the current iteration of his simulated self had used the luck of the ten previous simulations not to have died already.

There were at least three points of luck that had been used.

The first had been finding Lang Town without mishap.

The second was his escaping from the first conflict with Master Brightflame unharmed.

The third had been his success in tricking the martial elder, allowing him to use the [Mountain Sitting Technique] and travel through the forest with a protector.

Even though it looked like he would die before he could read the entire technique, Lem could not complain with the results. He had barely been able to handle the First Chapter, and he doubted he would have been able to memorize the Second Chapter.

While his simulated self was fixed in place and was silently being burned alive, Lem waited for the cold release of death.