A while later, Ester felt an ominous aura emerging from the cave. As she turned her gaze at the entrance, a pair of shining green dots gently swayed. The pair of light became brighter as their owner slowly exited the cave.
"Vin-Vincent?" Ester stuttered in surprise. Vincent had a pair of green glowing eyes giving the impression they could pierce her soul. Faint green hot steam escaped from the sides of his mouth, and a pair of green covered arms held two heavy rocks.
*Thud
Vincent placed the two rocks on the ground. He noticed how Ester gazed at him. It felt more like a worrying gaze instead of fear.
"I have complete control over this form called Overheat, unlike when we fought against the Great Gray Wolf. " Vincent said with a disturbing hoarse voice.
Ester kept quiet while nodding. She felt more afraid of the aura and the feeling his new appearance gave, than being afraid of getting harmed or by his new voice.
[It seems that Overheat radiates the vibes of a fierce predator. Maybe that's why Ester feels rattled by your appearance.]
Vincent understood, turned back, and reentered the cave. A while later, he exited the cave with another rock in his hands. The sat on a small dried patch of land, that is why he wanted a more suitable place to sit.
*Thud
Vincent placed the third rock on the ground. Then he extended his warm green covered hand.
Ester carefully approached her hand to accept his help. When their hands met, she involuntary closed her eyes as the memory of Overload Vincent, who felt hot like a wildfire rushed to her mind. However, his hands felt warm as if he recently removed a pair of wool gloves.
"Your hands are warm unlike before. It feels nice." Ester raised a sweet smile while being helped to sit on the rock. However, this moment didn't last long. Soon a set of claws emerged from behind.
[Vincent behind you! Raise your right arm to block.]
*Clang
Vincent heeded these words while his body instinctively moved as per her warning. The claws collided against the hardened mutated blood skin encasing his arms. This hardened skin chipped from their destructive sharpness.
Their target was Vincent, as the owner did their best to kill him. Soon, another set of claws followed, but Vincent grabbed the attacker's hand first. The owner was none other than Lupa, who blindly rushed to save Ester from the ominous presence.
When Lupa approached the cave, she felt a strong being next to their cave that she never felt. An unusually dangerous smell lingered, and her survival instinct of danger kicked in.
A second later, Lupa heard the sound of heavy rocks falling on the ground. She ran as fast as possible to protect Vincent and Ester. Ironically, she ended up attacking with the intent to kill the most person dear to her. The one she wished to protect.
Blinded by her sense of haste and urgency, Lupa leaped forward to attack the being releasing this unfamiliar scent of danger. Lupa saw the dangerous unknown being approaching to touch Ester. In her mind, Lupa thought Ester was about to get attacked.
"Lupa stop! It's me, Vincent. Or do you want to kill your mate?" Vincent said with a hoarse voice. He held both of her hands until she stopped her hostility.
"Huh?" Lupa stopped in a momentary daze. The person currently making her survival instincts scream of danger was her everything.
It was Vincent in a form she never saw him don before. A similar form of when she had fainted and about to die. At the same time, Lupa felt troubled for attacking him.
"Lupa that's Vincent. Thank you for trying to protect me." Ester said with a smile. She tried to hide her worry because she was afraid one of them might get hurt by this exchange.
Vincent released his hold, closed his eyes, and thought of stopping the use of Overheat form. After a few tries, the ability stopped.
[Overheat deactivated.]
[Host Race returning to human.]
The aura making Lupa on edge disappeared as it never existed. His eyes stopped shining, and steam stopped escaping his mouth. The hard chipped skin cracked like a broken statue as it began to fall in pieces.
With a sway of his arms, the Mutated Ash flew along with the wind. As the ash fell, some went into the small campfire. What happened next mystified the four of them.
Suddenly for a few seconds, the fire turned green. The heat intensified, warming their surroundings instantly as if there was a raging fire. The flames grew more fierce while the Mutated Ash entirely burnt.
[What happened? I know it says combustible, but I didn't expect to be highly flammable.]
Ester and Lupa stared at Vincent as if he tried to perform a ritual. They couldn't believe how such intense flames could instantly appear.
Their common sense around had to update quickly as Vincent's strange or impossible feats were too fast for their understanding. Their view of the word impossible changed every few days.
"Overheat."Vincent tried to activate Overheat once again.
[Overheat activated.]
[Mutation starting to alter the host...]
[Mutation process finished.]
[Race altered to mutated human for its duration.]
At the first try, the ability activated. Momentarily, the same process took place. However, this time he had an audience staring in surprise.
Ester and Lupa felt the mutation process seemed strong yet scary at the same time. The mutated blood appeared too much alive for their liking as it covered his arms.
[Wait! Are you trying to check if you are highly flammable? Have you gone mad?]
Kazumi protested for the most likely action Vincent was about to take. But her words were overshadowed by his curiosity and fear of the future.
'What if I touch fire in a fight and burn to death?'
'What if I light a torch and burn to death?'
'What if I try to cook and burn to death?'
Vincent pondered while approaching the campfire. Since it was an excellent chance to test Kazumi's theory, he decided to take the plunge.
Vincent didn't feel as nervous and as afraid as he thought he should naturally be when this might endanger his life. As if the adrenaline from the mutated boiling blood currently raging in his veins made his rationality change.
Shortly, his hands protected by the brand new hard unchipped mutated skin entered inside the flames. However, nothing happened. The fire remained the same, while Vincent didn't feel anything.
Vincent took out his hands and carefully inspected them. Not a hint of burning could be seen as seemed to be fire-resistant. The opposite of when it becomes Mutated Ash.
[Name] Vincent Agius
[Condition] Healthy, Overheat (2:44)
[Soul Power] 0sp
[Class] Soul Hero
[Class] Soul Mutation
Vincent and Kazumi became surprised how Overheat form retained this same timer of remaining activation. Regrettably, he couldn't cheat his way for permanent use by stopping and activating to reset its duration.
"Stand back. I'm about to test if the fire becomes stronger. " Vincent said with a hoarse voice while taking a few steps back himself.
[Overheat deactivated.]
[Host Race returning to human.]
As the hardened mutated skin crumbled, Vincent swung his arms at the fire. The Mutated Ash trailed behind while it mostly went over the fire. When it slowly fell like green snow, the fire itself mutated into a violent green colored wildfire emitting unbearable heat.
[Just wow. The Mutated Ash is quite combustible. Might we be able to invent a vehicle or a mecha using your Mutated Ash as fuel?]
-Thinking about the future already? Doesn't that mean I would become a resource where people of the world would absorb me dry.-
[Tsk tsk. If you have an army of women by your side, you won't have any worry.]
-Women? Like Ester and Lupa?-
[Yup. Every Hero has a harem. From all the stories you read, a harem is a symbol of being a Hero. Even the green-eyed Hero you consider as your favorite Hero had a few women in the special team he created.]
-Are you perhaps one of those that only look at certain tags? A Hero is brave and considerate, but naive and foolish if it would be in real life.-
[Does that mean you don't want to be a Hero in this world? You were summoned as a Hero, but the world doesn't need you. Summoned and Unwanted correct?]
-As Kevin said, I have to be my own Hero. As the green-eyed Hero says, I'm the greediest Hero that will ever exist because I want to protect everyone.-
-I think that a real-life hero should be an anti-hero. A hero to those he wishes to protect and a demon to those that harm them.-
[You always liked those cheesy lines, don't you? Well, you should turn back since both Ester and Lupa are worrying about you. You had your arms crossed since this conversation started after all, hehe.]
"I'm sorry if I frightened you. It seems the ash after my ability ends is highly flammable. We should keep some to start a fire without a problem." Vincent tried to change the subject as the two girls staring at him had a frown on their faces.
"You're not burnt, are you?" Ester asked while grabbing his hand and carefully check it was fine.
"You have become strong, my mate. I knew I made the right choice, hehe." Lupa chuckled while not shying from grabbing his other arm as if it was a competition.
Lupa tried to boast about choosing Vincent as if she had a choice to become his retainer. It was to die or fight to die with the hopes of a new life. There wasn't much of a choice.
[Ho ho. And that's how the harem starts. One girl at each arm aye? Not bad, my boy, not bad.]
-You sly wisp! Stop making it harder for me to resist.-
"Ahem... Lupa, did you find anything while you were exploring?" Vincent quickly tried to change the subject as the mischievous wisp started to implant hope for something he never thought could be possible.
Lupa raised a grin at the thought of food and praise she might get from what she found. She swiftly turned her body and dashed into the bushes with an excited grin.
"Lupa might have found food since she looked excited. " Ester said.
Ester soon noticed how her hands were still holding his arm. With a lousy poker face and a pair of red cheeks, she tried to remove her hands smoothly.
"Look at what I found." Lupa rushed out of a bush with her skirt raised, holding something on it. Her face had an excited smile while her eyes only stared at Vincent, begging for praise.