Alnea could swear to God, Origin or not, take an Oath even—Maybe taking an Oath would going a bit too far. Just swearing in a God’s name was enough to show his sincerity. And since the Origin Gods had to be respected, he could only swear in the name of other Gods. Preferably some Mystic or True Gods. Though he did not know the name of any True Gods. The weakest Gods he knew of were the Mystic Gods.

Regardless, it was his intentions that mattered, not the God in whose name he would take his Oath. It was a show of his sincerity, a way to prove his innocence. He, Alnea Oathkeeper, did not like creating troubles. On the contrary, he preferred staying away from troubles. But what could he do if the troubles came running to him on their own? He could not just close his eyes, and pretend that he did not see them, could he?

On second thought, that was indeed a good idea. If the troubles were not directed at him, that is. Though even if the troubles had nothing to do with him, once the Lotus clan knew about them, they would not let such a chance slip past them so easily. In the end, whether he wanted to deal with them or not, troubles would still come looking for him anyway. Saying that he created unnecessary troubles…

“…About the materials, there is something that I would like to ask the two of you,” Alnea said, glancing at Yuri and Vestia, who nodded back in return, showing their acquiescence. Vestia even went a step further to put on a smile. And not of the threatening kind. And though Yuri was not smiling, he could tell that she had calmed down, and was in a much better mood than before. Probably because he decided to ask for help rather than trying to do everything on his own. Of the girls, only Cecilia had not given up the frown on her face.

“Just the two of them?” Cecilia said, glancing warily at Vestia. “What about me?”

“…Are you sure you want to know the answer?”

“…You are an idiot!” Cecilia said, pouting in dissatisfaction, before glaring at Vestia. And though the latter did not say anything, the smug smile on her face was enough to tell them what she was thinking. And for the first time, as he looked at the girls, getting ready to pounce on each other, Alnea thought that letting them fight each other every once in a while was not a bad idea. At the very least, it would save him from all kinds of troubles. Except, letting them fight would create its own set of troubles. That too, of the unnecessary kind.

“…Alight, stop glaring at her as if you want to eat her alive,” Alnea said, pinching Cecilia’s nose to get her attention. And though she swatted his hand right away, his plan succeeded perfectly. “Would you like to help me out, Lia?”

“…Only because you are asking so nicely.”

“Thank you,” Alnea said, smiling at the green robed girl. Not to tease her, of course. He did not even do it intentionally. That smile came on its own, as he looked at his first true friend, the girl who had once pulled him out of his despair. She truly did deserve a word of gratitude. No, she deserved much more than just a ‘thank you’. She deserved the whole world. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough to give her the world just yet. So, he could only opt for the next best thing, and try to keep her smiling, as he worked his way to becoming the greatest Wanderer.

“As I was saying, I need some help in choosing the materials for my next attempt,” Alnea said, tearing his eyes away from Cecilia, and glancing at Yuri and Vestia. “There are just too many materials to choose from, some of which I do not even know about. And I wish to use as few materials as possible, so that I can minimise the chances of errors and mistakes.”

“…If you want to use as few materials as possible, then the first thing you need to do is to eliminate all materials with stronger activities, and those incompatible with the desert, as neutralising them might increase the number of materials you need,” Vestia said after some thought.

“Already did,” Alnea said. “But like I said, there are just too many materials to choose from. Even after eliminating all the stronger materials, and those incompatible with the desert, there are still nearly a thousand materials related to Fire.”

“How did you choose your materials last time?” Vestia said, only to shake her head the very next moment. “Forget it. I already know the answer.”

“…I—

“To help you decide which materials to use, we must first know about your Glyph,” Yuri said, saving Alnea from embarrassing himself once again. “Which lineage and Series is it from, what are is its effects, what properties does it have, things like that. Only when we know more about your Glyph, can we help you choose the most suitable materials for your Glyph.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“That’s easy,” Alnea said, giving a grateful glance to Yuri. “My Glyph is called—

“Stop,” Yuri said hurriedly, even raising her hand instinctively, interrupting him from completing his words. “Were you going to reveal what Glyph you have mastered in the Blood Hall?”

“…No,” Alnea said, glancing at the flow of Wanderers around them. Some of them might be their enemies, and some could be their rivals, but all of them were strangers. Revealing what Glyph he has mastered to so many strangers…

“…Stop being so reckless, Alnea Oathkeeper. You are a Captain now.”

“…I know,” Alnea said, taking a deep breath to rearrange his thoughts, before continuing where he had left off.

“I was just going to talk about my Glyph in general. Its properties and the like. That should be enough to help us narrow down the list of materials.”

“…Just make sure not to reveal any information that might allow others to identify your Glyph.”

“…I know,” Alnea said, nodding solemnly, before glancing at Vestia and Cecilia. “As you already know, the Glyph that I have mastered is from the Fire Series, deriving its strength from high temperatures. The higher the temperature of the flames it produces, the greater the damage it would be able to incur.”

“High temperatures,” Vestia mumbled, shifting her gaze down to the ground, getting lost in her thoughts for a few moments, before raising her head back up to look at Alnea into his eyes. “Just the temperature alone is not enough. Is there anything else you can tell us about the Glyph?”

“…It has almost no initial impact, and most of its damage is focussed on sustained burning of targets.”

“That’s much more helpful,” Vestia said, nodding at his words, before getting lost in her thoughts once again. Even Yuri looked as if she was thinking about what materials he could use. Though she did not need to use the hints he gave to Vestia. Unlike the latter, she already knew what Glyph he had mastered. And so did Cecilia. That was probably the reason why Cecilia became a little agitated when she saw the thoughtful look on Vestia’s face.

Despite knowing what Glyph he had mastered, Cecilia could only watch helplessly as Vestia, with the help of only a couple of hints, browsed through the various materials in her head, coming up with solutions to his problems in just a few moments. In comparison, Cecilia, with all her advantages, could only sit—No!

“Sustained flames and high temperatures,” Cecilia said, pretending to be lost in her thoughts, just like Vestia and Yuri. “Almost like an Eternal Flame.”

“…Even the weakest of Eternal Flames are of the Mystic Rank,” Alnea said, letting out a wry laugh, as Cecilia’s ears were tinted red by the blood rushing to her face. “I may be reckless, but I am not stupid.”

“Shut up!” Cecilia said, glaring at him. But that only made her look cuter than before. “Do you want my help or not?”

“I do.”

“Then stop laughing, and let me think.”

“…I will try,” Alnea said, trying his best to restrain his laughter. In vain. Fortunately, Yuri came to his rescue once again.

“She is not wrong, you know.”

“Who? Lia?”

“Although you cannot create an Eternal Flame, nothing is stopping you from creating something with a similar effect.”

“…If you say it like that, it does sound like a good idea,” Vestia said, nodding along. “But we would need to make some tweaks.”

“Of course, that is a given,” Yuri said. “Let alone creating an Eternal Flame, even creating its prototype at our level would be nigh impossible. But if he only has to recreate its effects, he can do it with just a good, efficient fuel, that can allow the flames to maintain a high temperature.”

“No, just having high temperature flames would not be enough. He would also have to ensure that the flames do not burn out in a short time. But there is a limit to how much fuel he can use in the Glyph without destabilising its other components. So, rather than being efficient, the fuel needs to be of the regenerating kind.”

“Regeneration would be a little tricky. Especially if he wants to emulate the effects of an Eternal flame. There are only few materials that match those criteria, and none of them are of the False Rank. But you are right. Just an efficient fuel is not enough. We need something more… A type of fuel that can create more of itself. It would be best if the fuel can be produced by heating or burning its source.”

“But he cannot let the flames touch the base of the Glyphs, or the ink, as that would compromise its integrity, and just lead to a repeat of last night’s accident. Maybe if he separated the source of the fuel from the rest of the Glyph…”

“Create a small opening for the new fuel to flow into the Glyph…”

“So, an insulating container and a filter corresponding to the fuel.”

“Do not forget a secondary fuel to extract the primary fuel from its source.”

“And a retardant to dampen the flame when necessary.”

“Then there is the binder, which can bring all the materials together…”

Alnea watched in silence, as Yuri and Vestia continued with their discussion. Even Cecilia, who had originally proposed the idea, could only stare the two girls in confusion. At least Alnea could still understand what they were talking about. The only thing Cecilia understood was that he needed to create flames, and make it reach the level of Eternal Flames…