Wow… Wow!

I am on fire? I am on fire! Why am I not burning?!

Wait… this is definitely the passive skill of the flame manipulation skill card. Skill card, originator card… What’s the point of the ‘originator’ part? No one thinks of the skills those cards provide as separate cards, really.

Well, whatever. Skill cards sound cooler, to me.

Moving on… I place my hand on my hip— Oh, I don’t feel any clothes.

I blink, taking a deep breath. Stay calm…

Don't panic... Keep your--

WHAT THE HECK DO YOU MEAN DON'T PANIC?! I AM NAKED!

Wait, I can acquire more skills. But I don’t want to waste my precious skill points on a clothing skill. Then, an idea strikes me.

I examine my available skills for flame generation and find one. But I need to be at a certain level…

Also, I want to change how my level-up looks, I am tired of this status stuff every time I gain a level--

Level: 18

What?

Level: 19

Huh?

Level: 20

I blink in confusion… then it hits me. Everything around me is on fire.

A mischievous grin spreads across my face as I ponder the possibilities. But no… that would endanger any innocent bystanders, including Vacinay and the other two. There’s a fire suppression skill, but that’s not my focus at the moment. What I want is the fire skin, and I purchase it for 4 skill points!

Alright! Fire skin!

Hmm… I didn't notice a difference, but that's probably because I am already engulfed in flames. Now, to deal with the forest fire…

I rub my chin, contemplating whether to take the fire suppression skill. But It's way too darn expensive.

Then, a brilliant idea comes to me.

Pushing the limits and boundaries, huh?

I raise my hands to the sky and command, “Fireball!”

Just like against the Spider Woman, I focus on using the surrounding flames to create the fireball. The flames obey, rising to the sky as a fireball.

There's just one tiny issue… It's getting heavy. Very, very heavy. I grunt and, with all my might, direct it towards the sky.

It moves at a ridiculously slow pace. I slump to the ground, utterly drained. That took all my energy points… Or did it?

I glance at my hand, which is engulfed in roaring flames; fire skin.

Excellent.

I force myself to stand and inspect every inch of my body.

I am like the Human Torch! But wait, I am out of energy points, which means the flames will soon die down. Heck, I am surprised it didn't go out immediately.

I yell at the top of my lungs, “Yamanda! Please give me some clothes!”

... Three seconds later.

Why didn’t she appear conveniently?

Oh god. Don't tell me the forest fire made her run away…

She probably did.

Then, at the tip of my finger, I notice the fire is gone.

Frustrated, I walk towards a burnt tree and try to find something to use as covering. After about four minutes, when the flame has shrunk to my neck and thighs, I realize this isn’t going to work.

Plan B: I dig a hole in the ground, get in, and cover myself with dirt. Now, I have to wait an hour for my energy points to regenerate.

Actually, since I have doubled my level, it will probably take less time. I turn off the flame skin since it's pointless and then look at my energy points bar.

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Wait a second, when did it become that insane?!

It isn’t double or triple the size, it's ten times larger! It's at 100… and it's already on four points.

Oh, it's growing four points per minute. Perhaps that’s why the flame skin didn't vanish instantly but was instead slowly shrinking, since it consumes five energy points per minute. The energy points aren’t just spawning, they're like a well of water too, which helps.

I can already tell I am going to lose my mind from the damage caused by skills. But according to Tanya, I can escape that fate. I still have a long way to go… but I don’t want to take the risk, so I guess I will have to focus on acquiring the time reversal skill in the near future.

Left with nothing to do, I find myself humming tunes from Earth that I used to enjoy. It’s a shame, I’ll never get to hear Rustage create a song for Asa. At least there was one for Makima and Denji.

I drum my fingers on the dirt, contemplating… What if I acquire the future sight skill? It costs a hefty 5 points, and at the moment, I only have 4 skill points remaining. But then…

Level up: 21

The amount of skill energy required for me to gain another level must have been substantial. That likely means a lot of people succumbed to the flames. I decide not to dwell on that. It was an accident, after all!

Twelve minutes have passed, and the level up increases the speed of EP generation to 5. I wonder how that works. Did leveling up boost my brain abilities, allowing me to withstand more brain damage?

Regardless, I set myself ablaze, tweaking the application of the skill to keep my face visible. With a few movements, I free myself from the dirt and take a step on the burnt dirt, reigniting it.

Now, to find Yamanda. I probably need to acquire the fire immunity cast skill, which costs 4 skill points, to prevent my clothes from burning every time I use this skill.

As I walk around, I hope my burning body will alert her to my location.

Then it hits me. Since I can control which part of my body I want to set on fire, I probably don’t need the fire immunity cast that soon. So, I decide on future sight. My eyes immediately feel different.

“What are you doing…?” Yamanda asks from a safe distance.

Oh! That was easy.

I reply. “Gained fire skill, burned my clothes, need clothes, please.”

The fire skin is good at covering me, but I still feel like I am walking around naked.

Yamanda sighs, and in front of me, a pair of leather armor appears. Well, if it were metal, the heat would probably melt it into my skin.

“Thanks, now give me some priva— oh wait, I can freeze time!”

After freezing time, I realize that the fire engulfing me also froze. Therefore, I have to create a non-frozen time 'bubble'(since it's touching me, I just focus on unfreezing it, heh) to deactivate it and put on some clothes. Oh, she also teleported undergarments. How considerate of her!

After dressing, I check myself out. The outfit suits me quite well. However, I want more freedom for my new skill. I remove the arm and leg protection, cutting it with my now super-strong fingernails from the elbow and knee down.

“Done,” I declare.

Yamana then asks, “So… you burned the forest down after gaining fire control?”

I scratch my head anxiously. “It was… an accident. You teleported me in front of a super-strong spider woman, and that happened.”

“Oh right. Sorry about that, I did wonder why I sensed two people in one body.”

Sense, huh…

“So, what are your new skills?” she inquires.

“Fireball and fire skin,” I reply.

She nods in approval. “Good choice!”

“I guess… I’m going to either get the skill to render my clothes immune to the flames or get flame-proof clothes.”

“The latter one would be better,” she suggests.

“Ah, so they do exist,” I muse.

“Of course…” she answers, her gaze drifting towards the burnt forest.

I ask, “That’s not going to cause some legal or political issue, right?”

“I hope not. At least the half-men drove the animals away, so I’m sure none of them were there to get hurt or lose a home.”

That's a relief. I wonder if that’s why they were cannibals because it was either that or veganism.

Yamanda asks, “So, you want me to teleport you to the others? They are getting whooped a little bit.”

Oh? That surprises me. I grin. “Yeah, send me.”

With the usual seamless teleportation, I find myself in front of a very green forest. It's good to know the range of my destruction isn’t too insane.

“Come back here!” Vacinay leaps at a man who is built like a crustacean and swings the sword towards his head, narrowly missing.

He stretches his hand to her side, but she reacts fast, turning into a small cat in a single second.

In that same instant, she reverts to her human form and hurls the sword at him as if she has extensive experience in sword combat.

Has she acquired a skill related to proficient weapon use?

Her movements are somewhat graceful with each swing she takes— She descends into a blind rage, slashing and cutting down everything except him.

Ghomas leaps from a tree behind him and shouts, “Got you!”

A bolt of lightning shoots towards the half-man and strikes him! He is thrown back but quickly recovers, dodging Vacinay’s attempt to behead him.

"Weak! When I get you, first, I will skin you alive, then I will season you! And the girl! I will use her head as a basketball an--"

It seems like it's my time to shine.

With a sudden burst of speed, my knife plunges into his chest. Due to the momentum, he is sent rolling back.

"Gah!" I screech.

“Since when… What level are you?” Vacinay asks.

I smirk. “21.”

“Bullshit!” Ghomas shouts.

“You expect me to believe that crap!” Vacinay roars.

Ignoring their disbelief, I turn to the half-man.

“Is he the one who cut you up?” I ask Vacinay.

“Ignoring me, I see. Anyway, no. When we found the bastard, he blew a whistle and ran. A bunch of other guys came out to defend him as he ran down the hill.”

Interesting. He must command some respect here.

“I see, I see,” I respond.

Hessien blows up the guy I stabbed. “He tried to cut off my balls and said he was going to bake them.”

Oh…

Vacinay, covered in blood, runs down the hill. “Let’s find that scumbag!”

I shrug and follow her. All her wounds are healing at a rapid rate. I remember mentioning that her ‘shape-shifting’ was just transformations, but it honestly seems so, except for the self-repair part.

I really wonder if my theory on desires affecting skills is true. Honestly, it probably is.

After running and jumping over fallen trees and high boulders, we reach a different location…

Vacinay comes to a sharp stop and points forward, “Am I seeing this too?”

In a mountain, there is a massive hole, one where over 40 half-men were guarding.

I ask, “What do you think is in there?”

Hessien smiles. “Loot?”

Then, one of the half-men asks another, “Is that the last set of sacrifices?”

Another responds, “Yes, for today. I believe he mentioned something about targeting pregnant women and babies for the next ritual.”

A third chimes in, “What a waste of food…”

...

I rise to my feet, extending my hand forward. A massive fireball, four meters in diameter, materializes as I bellow, “DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"