Chapter 226 - Is This Really A Trial?

"That actually worked?" Argentum could not help but mutter to himself in a tone of disbelief. Although he had just done it, he still could not believe the fact that running around the nine pillars at a fast speed and jumping would actually put out the flames on top of the nine outer pillars.

He then went ahead and took in a few deep breaths, calming his senses back to rationality and logicality as he looked at the large orange flame on top of the pillar in the center of the circular formation. With the help of [Keen Vision], Argentum was able to check whether the orange flame was affected by the gust of wind he had made through running, noticing that he was only able to make it sway a little bit with the strength of the wind he made.

With the thought that the large orange flame would be blown away by a strong gust of wind just like the nine red flames, Argentum made his way towards the inner layers of the circular formation, somewhat thankful that there was a decent gap between the center pillar and the outer pillars, allowing him to run without worrying about bumping into the outer pillars.

Since [Tempest Awakening] and [Zephyr Burst] were buffs that lasted for quite a long time, with [Tempest Awakening] reliant on the amount of MP he had, Argentum headed straight into running around the center pillar, gradually picking up speed, as well as wind in the process.

Little by little, the sound of the wind near his sense of hearing became louder, eventually reaching a point where it was near deafening, a level of loudness that he had not reached while he was running around the nine outer pillars. Having an intuitive feeling that a gust of wind at this strength would be able to topple down the large orange flame on top of the center pillar, Argentum abruptly stopped running before jumping with all of his might, allowing the gust of wind he had created to reach the large orange flame.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In response to the strong gust of wind, the large orange flame was blown towards all directions, its brightness dimming in an instant as Argentum could see the embers where the large orange flame originated. Just as Argentum thought that the large orange flame would be fully blown away by the gust of wind he had made, the force behind the gust of wind had unfortunately run out at the instant a small flame was what remained from the large orange flame.

Fwoosh!

Since no gust of wind was blowing on the orange flame, it did not take long for the orange flame to become large again, giving Argentum the idea that the nine outer pillars were intentionally easy to clear so that he would have a lot of confidence when trying to remove the large orange flame, only for him to fail as his confidence crumbles.

"There's finally a challenge to this trial," Argentum muttered with a light chuckle. "And here I thought the difficulty of the trial stated by the disembodied voice was actually fake."

"Then again…if there was more force in the gust of wind I made, I would be able to remove the large orange flame on top of the center pillar, thus clearing this trial," Argentum continued as he pondered on what other methods he had that could remove the large orange flame.

Surprisingly, only one method came to mind after what seemed to be a moment of pondering, which was a method that he considered unfeasible since it had close to no effect in removing the flames when he first thought up of it. The reason why he thought that this method would work this time was that he thought that the method of removing the large orange flame was different from the red flames, which only needed a strong gust of wind to be removed.

Letting out a short sigh, Argentum went ahead and looked up at the large orange flame that was still going strong. As he looked at it, he muttered, "If my thoughts are actually correct, I think I'm gonna lose it in this inheritance."

"[Enhanced Offense]."

"[Lower Tempest Magic: Wind Ball]."

Whoosh!

As a faint red aura enveloped his whole body due to the effects of [Enhanced Offense], giving Argentum the feeling that he had the strength to fight against tens of Pseudo-Animates at once, a ball of wind was soon conjured on top of Argentum's right palm, which was also enveloped in the same red aura that covered his body.

Taking in a deep breath, he then went ahead and threw the ball of wind towards the large orange flame.

Whoosh!

While the ball of wind was heading towards the large orange flame, Argentum's thoughts could not help but be split into two. One thought was thinking that the ball of wind would not have any effect at all, with the large orange flame becoming the victor at the end of it. As for the other thought, it was thinking that the ball of wind would be able to disperse the large orange flame, thus allowing him to clear the trial at a fast rate.

"All I have to do is to wait and s—" Just as he said these words while looking at the aftermath of the collision, Argentum stopped talking as he felt his words become stuck somewhere along the way, leaving him at a loss for words as an aura of intense disbelief radiated from him once more.

Fwoosh!

Expecting that the ball would not affect the large orange flame in any way, which seemed to be the most logical and rational outcome of the collision, what happened instead was the exact opposite. At the very instant the ball and the large orange flame had collided with one another, the ball of wind went ahead and exploded, instantly dispersing the large orange flame into nothingness. In other words, the large orange flame was put out.

After the large orange flame was dispersed, a deafening silence spread throughout the room, with most of it originating from Argentum. It was only after a minute or so did Argentum come back to his senses, feeling that his mouth went agape as he muttered, "That…actually worked?"

"What the f.u.c.k?" This question was what circulated in Argentum's mind after seeing the aftermath of the collision. Fortunately, Argentum's train of thought was pulled towards another track as the disembodied voice from before resounded in the room Argentum was in, saying, "The inheritor has completed the Grand Flame Dispersal within a time of 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The inheritor has obtained the highest possible reward for the first trial."

Ding!

After the disembodied voice was finished speaking, a notification sound resounded within Argentum's mind, prompting him to open up his notification screen with slightly high expectations on the reward he would get from the first trial. As he wondered as to what kind of reward he would get from the inheritance on its first trial, Argentum could not help but mutter to himself, "Since the grade of rewards in this inheritance is S++, that means the reward I'll get from this first trial is—"

Just as he was about to finish his statement, he was instantly left at a loss for words as he read the latest notification he had received, opening and closing his sense of vision a few times to make sure if he was dreaming. Feeling that he was still dreaming, he went ahead and shot a bolt of wind towards himself, feeling great pain from it as he soon activated [Tempest Regeneration+], the evolved version of [Grand Breeze Rejuvenation].

Letting out a soft hiss sound from the pain, he then said to himself, still in disbelief, "I'm not dreaming at all. I actually obtained one of the skills I wanted from this inheritance on its first trial."

'You have obtained the active skill [Lesser Flame Magic] as a reward.'

"[Lesser Flame Magic]," Argentum muttered in disbelief as he closed the notification screen not long after. He then said, "With this skill, this puts me one step closer to the evolution I'm aiming for."

Just as he was about to test out his newly obtained [Lesser Flame Magic], the disembodied voice resounded throughout the room once more, making Argentum radiate an aura of confusion as he listened to it.

"The inheritor shall now have a ten-minute break before the next trial. The inheritance recommends the inheritor to increase their prowess with the [Lesser Flame Magic] skill in preparation for the second trial. The second trial will solely rely on the inheritor's prowess with the [Lesser Flame Magic] skill."

"Well…this is a first," Argentum said after processing what the disembodied voice had just said, feeling that the inheritance was now becoming serious. Letting out a light chuckle, he then said, "A ten-minute break would be more than enough for me to reach its max level…and probably reach the Basic level of mastery?"

"I guess I'll just have to grind it to find out," Argentum said, only for him to remember the massive killing spree he had undergone before entering the inheritance, making him slightly radiate an aura of feeling pained.

"Ugh…never again…"

…

In a deeper part of the Flame Spirit Inheritance.

"Hoh? For a Pseudo-Animate, it's quite smart," the woman made out of flames said as she looked at the screen wherein Argentum was clearing the first trial. In fact, the screen with Argentum on it was the only screen in front of her field of vision, wanting to focus on his journey in clearing the inheritance.

"Well, it's definitely deserving of a reward," she said not long after, manipulating a bit of her energy to send a reward she had handpicked towards the Pseudo-Animate she was looking at. At the very instant the Pseudo-Animate had obtained the reward, an aura of disbelief radiated from the Pseudo-Animate, making her laugh at its reaction.

"Hmm…" A few seconds later, the woman made out of flames pondered over what the second trial for the Pseudo-Animate was going to be, an aura of playfulness radiating from her soon after as she chuckled and said, "How about making the second trial be related to the reward it had just got?"

"This would surely allow it to become more familiar with wielding the Fire element. Not only that, but it might just affect its evolution choices as well," she said in an interested and cheerful tone. "I wonder what kind of species it'll evolve into with such a skill? A Pseudo-Animate that has an affinity with both Fire and Wind at the same time? Or will it turn out into a Pseudo-Animate that has one element become dominant and the other recessive?"

"I almost forgot about the reward!" Realizing that her train of thought had slightly gone off course, she brought herself back to her previous train of thought, which was related to the reward the Pseudo-Animate would get from the second trial. Pondering over it for a bit, a burst of raucous laughter resounded from her not long after as she shouted, "Yeah! That'll be incredibly interesting!"

"I'll have the reward be a part of the trial!"

…

Ten minutes had eventually passed since Argentum had started grinding out [Lesser Flame Magic]. Surprisingly, his prediction from ten minutes ago was not wrong, with the skill being at its maximum level while the level of mastery he had over the skill was at the Basic level.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Manipulating a ball of fire like it was an extension of his limbs, Argentum could not help but look at it as he muttered, "It seems that [Lesser Wind Magic] and [Lesser Flame Magic] both have the same spells at the beginning grades. An offensive spell in the shape of a ball and…"

"[Lesser Flame Magic: Flame Bolt]!"

Fwoosh!

Not long after, a bolt of fire was soon conjured over his right palm, using his thoughts to move the bolt of fire around like it was some sort of fish afterward. Seeing the bolt of fire move, he then said, "An offensive spell in the shape of a bolt."

"Does that mean I'll also get a movement boosting spell once I evolve it to the next grade?" Argentum could not help but ponder over this, thinking that the two magic-related skills would give him the same spells, with the only difference between being their elements. Then again, it kind of made sense, seeing as how both of them had the same types of spells at the start.

Just as he was about to delve deeper into what seemed to be a rabbit hole of overthinking, the disembodied voice resounded in the room once more, prompting Argentum to dispel the spells he had just conjured and focus all of his attention towards the voice.

"The inheritor's ten-minute break is now over. The inheritance shall now prepare the stage for the second trial." This was what the disembodied voice said, which was soon followed up with a rumbling sound as the pillars became flush with the floor.

Rumble…

A few seconds later, a support beam that went from one end to another end of the wall manifested, taking on the color of the stone that covered the room. Not long after that, five large hooks appeared on this stone-colored beam, giving off an aura that even a light touch on their tips would tear a person into two.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After the hooks had appeared, one by one, what seemed to be large slabs of meat appeared in the large stone room, which hung upon the five large hooks that appeared a few seconds ago.

Seeing this sight in front of him, Argentum was left at a loss for words since he had no idea what he was going to do for this trial. Fortunately, the disembodied voice soon dispelled Argentum's confusion, explaining the mechanics of the second trial.

"The name of the second trial is Flame Mastery Control," the disembodied voice said before adding, "The goal of this trial is for the inheritor to use their prowess with the [Lesser Flame Magic] skill to cook these five slabs of meat to perfection."

"The inheritor does not have to worry about the meat becoming burnt. This inheritance will tell the inheritor whether the meat has reached an optimal temperature from the exposure of the inheritor's flame magic," the disembodied voice continued with its explanation.

"To obtain the highest reward, the inheritor must cook all 5 slabs of meat to perfection," the disembodied voice added in the last minute before saying, "Let the trial begin!"

"…" Although he had listened to the disembodied voice intently, making sure to process it in his mind to get a better understanding of it, Argentum was still left at a loss for words, radiating an aura of intense disbelief as he truly cannot believe the trial he was going to clear.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked at the slabs of meat before looking up at the ceiling. Letting out a long sigh, he then went ahead and shouted…

"Is this really a trial?!"