The sound of rustling leaves blended with the sporadic crackle of the dying fire. It was a warm and soothing atmosphere despite being out in the middle of a mountain range.

Chenda stretched his arms overhead and shook out a yawn to wake himself up. With a wave of his hands, the dying fire vanished once and for all.

“Alright boys, we’ve gotten some rest… Time to train! Time to fight!”

Chenda stoically preached and assumed a power stance.

“We hunt, we grow stronger, and we do this why?”

“To attract women and have a good life—Ack! Ow!”

Chenbo was quickly silenced with a swift strike to the back of his head.

“You fool of a son! For that reply… you’ll be carrying both bags!”

Chenda gestured at the two oversized sacks on the ground.

“Aww… but I was right…”

Chenbo begrudgingly sulked over to the sacks of equipment and hoisted them across his back.

“We grow stronger to protect what’s important to us. What’s most important? Your family is. Of course that might include your future wife. So, you’re not entirely wrong.”

Chenda stared off into the mountain range.

“Remember boys. The strong are always correct, even if they aren’t, they are. So what can you do in a world where the strong are admired and the weak are pushed down? Become the strong. Don’t live a life of regret.”

As the man said this, a flash of pain quickly flitted across his eyes. Fortunately, no one could see this as he was looking away.

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Chenbo replied back unenthusiastically; he had heard this too many times before.

“As long as you know.”

Chenda glanced at the young boy who simply stood there watching the two.

“If you’re going to tag along, then what should we call you?”

The man peered at the spectator, who cast his eyes to the ground and shifted about.

I can’t get closer than this.

He secretly hoped they would tell him to leave.

“If he’s uncomfortable sharing his name then that’s fine, he’ll just be our little friend!”

Chenbo spoke out after seeing the boy was remaining silent.

When Chenbo said little, he mostly referring to his small stature. Both the father and son were clearly larger with more protruding muscles than the boy. Chenbo was at least a head taller than the boy, and Chenda at least two.

“Well, never mind then little friend. If you wish to come along for training then we’d be happy to have you, but I’m not going to go easy on you just because you’re an outsider.”

Chenda looked down at the boy, waiting for his reply.

The boy lost himself in thought once more.

If I join then I’ll bring trouble. I should leave. They seem really happy and kind. I can’t do this.

Coming to this conclusion, he prepared to step away. Almost as if he could sense it, Chenbo called out in a panic.

“I really want you to join us! Please? I’ve never had a close friend before, so…”

Chenbo’s words pierced through the boy thoughts. A pang of guilt and desire flooded his body. Guilt, due to his unfortunate nature, forced him away; but a stronger desire for kinship forced him forward.

I’ve never had a friend either…

The boy gazed at Chenbo, and instead of taking a step away, he took a step towards them.

We grow stronger to protect what’s important to us.

Chenda’s previous words flashed through his mind. He secretly resolved himself and took another step forward.

I’ll protect them. I’ll make sure they get out of this place. I must.

Chenda watched the boy battle his inner conflict, not that he could ever understand it. He let out a wide grin once the boy walked towards them.

“This is how a man should be! Onward, let’s hunt some beasts!”

Chenda mistakenly thought that the boy was terrified to go deeper into the mountains. How could he possibly know that the boy was secretly trying to look out for them?

“We’ll first head to the stream, and we’ll follow it deeper into the mountains.”

The man quickly gave instructions and the trio set off into the trees.

“Chenbo.”

“Yes sir!”

“You will be taking care of any beasts that are D rank. We shouldn’t come across anything higher than middle C rank until we go deeper into the mountains.”

Chenda began to detail out the plan.

“Your goal is to be able to take down a low C rank beast with your friend here by the time we leave. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir!”

“Good.”

Chenda glanced at the boy who had no response so far.

Feeling the man’s gaze upon him, the boy faced him.

“Are you up for this? We can lower your goal down to D rank if you feel that C rank is too much. Just nod and we’ll keep to the plan.”

The boy nodded. Although he didn’t understand how powerful a D rank or C rank beast could be, he had the feeling that he was currently much stronger than Chenbo, and likely stronger than Chenda.

After seeing the nod, Chenda couldn’t help but think to himself.

He’s really too fragile. I’ll have to add more meat to the stew next time!

“The campfire, how did you control the flame?”

The boy spoke out in a small voice.

“Fire manipulation?”

Chenda responded back, to which the boy cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“It’s simple really. Fire manipulation is a basic level skill that you can learn from a skill scroll. The first level of fire manipulation is actually one of the cheapest skills in the entire tower.”

The man scratched his head before continuing.

“Since Chenbo has already learned it, I didn’t bring a fire manipulation skill scroll with me, but you can also learn skills without the related scrolls naturally. Although to do that… it’ll be a test of your comprehension and innate talent.”

Chenda outstretched his hand, which burst into flames the next moment. The boy stared at the yellow flames in surprise.

“What you want to do is feel the movement of the energy within yourself and visualize the flames. Anyway, it’ll take you a few weeks to learn this skill naturally, so don’t worry too much about it.”

After saying that, he turned to silence as they continued to march towards the stream. The boy walked slightly behind the father and son, quickly becoming lost in thought.

Inside, he felt an endless stream of energy rampaging through his body as if it were a kind of controlled chaos. He closed his eyes and followed behind silently.

Fire…

His body heated up as if the energy were seeking a way out. He could sense it. The chaos within him wanted to let loose and annihilate his surroundings with wanton destruction.

He quickly quelled such thoughts but was still left with the feeling that he could call out flames at any moment.

The distant gurgling of the stream helped bring him back to a state of tranquility.

“Excellent. Chenbo, hand me that sack.”

Chenda never intended for his boy to carry both sacks the whole time.

“Alright, let’s continue.”

“Sir.”

The boy called out to him just as he resumed his march.

“What is it lad?”

“How do you stop the flames from…”

The boy thought for a second before correcting himself.

“How do you make small flames?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Small flames? The flames that you’ll be able to create will start out small. They’ll grow larger as you gain mastery over fire manipulation.”

Chenda laughed and continued.

“Some people have even mastered the skill to the point where their flames change color. Sometimes the change in color can indicate the fierceness of someone’s flames. Other times it just means that they have an elemental attribute merged with their flame.”

He paused and thought for a moment.

“I should mention that those who can merge their flame with an elemental attribute are very few and far between due to the level of mastery one would need. I’ve only ever seen one such person in my whole life.”

Chenbo’s ears perked up.

“You never told me about this? What kind of attribute did they have? Where was this, and how long ago?”

In his excitement, Chenbo bombarded his father with questions. After all, the boy only recently learned fire manipulation and was still practicing the skill.

“Ohh, settle down. It was when I was young, a couple years older than you are now. There was a famous alchemist that had visit floor one from the upper floors. During his live demonstration, his fire had a dark green tint, and it turned out to be merged with a wood attribute. Pretty incredible, right?”

Chenda’s face with full of admiration as he recalled the event from his past.

“Woooww… Do you think my flames will have an attribute one day?”

Chenbo turned his father with sparkling eyes.

“Ahem. Uh, maybe. That’ll depend on you!”

He gave this reply despite knowing that it was near impossible for that to happen. The father didn’t want to bring his son’s dreams down just yet.

Chenbo continued to fantasize about having a powerful flame that he could conjure at will, and once he could no longer think of anything to say about fire, he fantasized about having great strength instead.

Due to Chenbo being an endless chatterbox, the young boy didn’t speak much at all, but he didn’t mind. If anything, it was what he wanted.

As they walked through the mountains, the boy constantly focused all of his senses on his surroundings. If any beast came within a certain distance, it would instantly be noticed by the him as if he had some natural instinct.

Fortunately, he never felt danger from any beasts that came close, and those beasts were easily handled by Chenbo and Chenda.

“Hah!!”

With a shout, Chenda dragged a sword cleanly through the neck of a bear with earthy stripes. It’s head fell onto the floor with a resounding thud.

“Whew… Let’s see here… Oh!”

Chenda cried out with joy as he pulled his hand out of the bear’s corpse.

“Gather around boys. This is rare. Sometimes a C rank beast will have a beast core inside it, like this. These beast cores are very expensive and should always be collected.”

He opened his palm, revealing a dull brown orb. His face held a dumb smile as the two boys inspected the orb.

“This orb is easily worth 100 low rank spirit shards, or a single middle rank spirit shard. Just for comparison, the hotel that we stayed at a month ago had cost five low rank spirit shards a night.”

Chenbo eyes went a wide. Although the hotel wasn’t high class, it was still of decent quality and even offered free meals. This single beast core was worth at least twenty days of the same comfort.

The young boy looked at Chenbo inquisitively as he had never stayed at a hotel before. He secretly felt for the orb inside his pocket and wondered what rank the beast was.

“Alas, it’s a pity that this core is only a low C rank, it would be worth at least 200 spirit shards if it was a middle C rank core.”

Chenda shrugged and pocketed the orb.

“Let’s call it a day and cook up a fine meal. Chenbo, help our little friend make a clearing for the fire.”

He gave out a few commands before he began performing some simple sword maintenance.

“Yes sir!”

Chenbo turned to his new friend.

“Let’s clear out any large rocks and collect some wood.”

The boy nodded and immediately got to work. A short while later, pots were taken out and the bear’s corpse was being carved up and prepared by Chenda.

“Higher rank beasts, usually mean more energy when eaten. Their meat and body parts can sell for a good amount, but not as much as the core itself. It will depend on the beast however, as some have unique features that fetch really high prices.”

Chenda continued to lecture while he cooked. A savory aroma whipped into the air, and bowls of steaming hot soup were served.

“Oh!”

Chenbo was suddenly reminded of something. He gulped down a mouthful of soup.

“I never got to ask, but were you born inside the tower?”

Chenbo asked the boy sitting next to him.

“No…”

“Ehhh??”

Chenbo was clearly shocked by his response, and even Chenda’s eyes went wide.

“Why are you inside the tower? Don’t tell me you accidentally entered it?”

Chenbo’s surprise wasn’t entirely unwarranted. Generally speaking, most people wouldn’t enter the tower until they reached at least adulthood, and even then, they would train to prepare. The boy before him definitely did not appear trained.

The boy shook his head in response again. No, he didn’t accidentally enter the tower.

“I have nothing outside the tower to go back to.”

His response was met with silence.

Regret washed over Chenbo, secretly wishing he didn’t ask questions that weren’t his business.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything.”

Chenbo apologized and focused on his soup.

Chenda let out a sigh.

“Not everyone lives a simple life, remember that.”

The atmosphere became awkward as they ate, but it was broken by the young boy.

“I can keep watch first tonight, since I didn’t help fight today.”

The father and son pair looked at him with surprise. It was true, they had dealt with every beast that they came across, and both of them were feeling very tired. However, Chenda still couldn’t help but worry.

“Are you sure?”

He asked for confirmation. Keeping watch wasn’t too dangerous, but it would still involve them putting their trust in him.

The boy looked at Chenda with serious eyes and gave him a firm nod.

“You guys worked hard, let me keep watch first.”

Chenda smiled after seeing the boy be so adamant about keeping watch.

“Alright then!”

Chenda let out a hearty chuckle.

“If anything does happen, don’t hesitate to wake us up, okay?”

“Okay.”

Keeping watch seemed like a small task, but to the father and son it was a big step forward. The entire day the boy seemed distant, but now this small act made them feel that much closer.

Chenbo unconsciously formed a silly smile, wondering how long it would be before they could fight monsters and beasts together.

The night became lighthearted as Chenda told more stories of his past, and eventually, exhaustion overtook them.

Chenda was more tired than he let on due to his fight with the C rank bear and other beasts throughout the day. It didn’t take long before rhythmic breathing rung through the air.

The father and son were sound asleep.

The boy sat by the fire, listening to it crackle and pop. Time silently passed by.

After an hour, a glint flashed within the boy’s eyes. He silently stood up and left the campsite like a phantom born of shadow.

He wanted to help the father and son, but keeping watch wasn’t his priority. The true reason why he asked for such a duty was something much more important, much more sinister.

Once the boy left earshot of the camp, he picked up speed and zipped through the forest. Initially, the trees and brush around him blurred, but his eyes and thoughts swiftly adjusted to his movement.

Minutes later, he came to a halt, hiding behind a tree. He inspected the scene just ahead.

A thin figure perched on its hind legs, its claws dug deep into the flesh of a large animal. The figure’s body was covered in tiny obsidian scales, giving it’s skin the appearance of an elastic fabric.

Its mouth was disproportionately large and wide compared to the size of its skull. It stretched open, revealing rows of fierce, jagged teeth.

Clamping its mouth onto the carcass, the sound of flesh ripping apart disturbed the silence. A deep swallow echoed afterward.

Despite being near such a horrifying monster, the boy’s nerves remained calm. He took a step forward into the small clearing, entering range of the monster’s senses.

Its body stilled as if it were caught red handed in a forbidden act, and its head slowly turned to the direction of the boy. It’s large, white eyes didn’t have any pupils, but somehow the boy could still feel its gaze upon him.

The monster unclenched its claws that were buried inside the meal and began to posture itself threateningly towards the small boy.

Fire… Raging flames of death… This is the feeling.

Energy coursed through him wanting to explode outwards, an unbridled chaos heralding doom and disaster for the surrounding forestry.

“Huuu…”

Letting out a small stream of air, he closed his eyes and focused on the new sensation.

The menacing monster tilted its abnormal head in confusion. Its body soon filled with an unknown fear and trepidation. It took a step forward uncertainly, and then a step backwards.

As an upper B rank monster, the Black Rock Basilisk lived its whole life as an undisputed king in this area. However, for the first time in its life, it felt the desire to run away!

“Hisss!”

The boy’s eyes flashed open, revealing two pitch-black orbs.

Small, wispy shadows leaked out of his body in all directions. He glanced at the monster that was frozen in fear and reached his hand out to it.

A wave of incinerating heat surged out of his body as the wispy shadows collected together to form a column of black fire that swirled around his thin frame.

A small layer of the semi-transparent black flames enveloped the surface of his skin like flowing water, while his surroundings surrendered to fate and disintegrated into ashes.

He clenched his hand towards the Black Rock Basilisk. The swirling flames immediately forged a path of carnage, capturing it within.

The monster didn’t even have a chance to cry out before its body melted away under the intense heat. The scales that once glistened in the moonlight, were now nothing but a pile of black goop and waste lying on the floor.

The boy paused in retrospect.

I knew it. The flames were too large… How do I control this?

He imagined the flames shrinking, and to his surprise they followed his command easily. Within a few short minutes, the inferno dissipated completely save for a small wisp of black light that floated above his finger.

Although this flame was only the size of a candlelight, it was incredibly dangerous. The boy inspected the black flame before giving a confirming nod and clenched his fist, snuffing the last remnants away.

Now that I can remember the feeling, I won’t have to be so afraid of using fire anymore.

He nodded and started making his way back towards the camp.

He didn’t even bother checking the goop for a monster core, because there was no chance of the core surviving even if the monster had one.

Before long, he found himself back at the campsite sitting by a low smoldering fire. Both Chenda and Chenbo were still fast asleep.

The sounds of nature sprung to life as he watched the pale, yellow flames dance feebly about. He reached out toward the fire with the back of his hand.

The heat radiated onto his skin. It was warm and comforting. He thought about the difference between this docile, weak flame and his own terrifying flame capable of burying the very sun in shadows.

Warm. Comforting. Docile. Gently glowing. Very gently.

He mentally chanted and slowly outstretched his other hand.

A smooth curtain of white and golden flame blossomed, circling around his outstretched hand. He brought it closer for inspection.

The flames were like silk, cascading about as if they were of the finest threads. If one didn’t know any better, they could even mistake them for a drinkable tonic.

The boy felt a tremble vibrate throughout his body. A nostalgic feeling took root and for the first time in a long time, he felt safe and secure.

Even if this feeling was fabricated by the white-gold flames, it was still a welcome feeling. It was like his broken mentality and heart was loosely being taped back together.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could sleep to this feeling?

He pursed his lips in thought before glancing down at the feeble yellow flames on the ground.

He quickly reduced the magnitude of his golden flames and matched its intensity with the campsite’s fire. Then he guided the flames to merge together. After a short few seconds, he realized that he couldn’t easily merge the flames.

He could tell that the white-gold flames threatened to devour the yellow with no hesitation.

Hmm… Would it be so bad if they were eaten though?

He shook his head.

Despite knowing that the father and son weren’t dangerous, he didn’t know what kind of reaction they would have toward him should his strengths be discovered.

Would they be afraid of the unknown? Or would they feel more safe?

He reduced the flames intensity even lower and once more shot them into the campfire. This time, he didn’t try merging the flames at all and instead concealed them within the center.

No one would be able to tell that they were hidden there unless they had a keen eye and a massive amount of experience. Of course, there was no chance that Chenda or Chenbo would suspect a different kind of fire to be hiding in the center, the concept was too advanced!

The boy closed his eyes as the warmth from the campsite was accentuated to a whole other level. His senses perked up and he stayed in the same state for the entire duration of his watch.

Despite being awake the whole time, he didn’t feel fatigued at all. Regardless, he nudged Chenbo to wake him up and take over.

“Wuhaaa”

Chenbo stretched his arms overhead with a sleepy yawn. He rubbed his eyes before squinting in the direction of his would-be attacker.

“I’ll sleep now…”

After saying only that, the boy swiftly laid down and closed his eyes, leaving Chenbo alone for the remainder of the night.

Everything happened quickly, but Chenbo found himself alone in an instant. Fortunately, he was already used to standing watch because he would normally alternate with his father.

“Humm.”

The young man quietly listened to the forest’s ballad of twilight.

He couldn’t immediately pinpoint what felt different, but somehow he was incredibly refreshed. His body brimmed with energy, and the normal aches that were engrained deep within his limbs vanished entirely.

He inspected himself with a dumb smile.

A faraway monster’s howl broke him out of his reverie, causing him to regain vigilance towards his surroundings. Luckily, no trouble came their way.

He scooted closer to the fire rubbing his hands together.

Was the fire always this… beautiful?

Chenbo couldn’t tear his gaze away from the quaint little fire that seemed to radiate like a hidden pearl. His mysterious trance continued until the sun peeked its crown above the mountain tops.