Chapter 65: Florida Man Spreads New Philosophy After Witnessing Nuclear Explosion: 'If Something Happens, It Happens'

*RUMBLE*

The explosion caused a shockwave, uprooting every tree in its destructive radius. The blast was so massive that people miles away could see its radiance. The tremor reached Terra City, reducing its walls and houses to rubble, but the shockwave did nothing to Felix's house. However, the noise caught Jane and Valley's attention. They rushed to the rooftop to see the commotion.

Noticing the blast coming from the southwest, they panicked. Mistaking the shockwave for another assault, they rushed to the essence stone room, where Felix usually secluded himself. They banged on the door.

"Felix! Someone is attacking us again!"

In the room, Felix released all the air in his lungs and stomach, frustrated by the interruption. He adjusted his clothes and opened the door to see the girls.

"What's up?"

Jane pulled Felix out of the room and pointed at the bright light from the southwest. "Do you see that? Something is attacking us! T-The entire city evaporates!"

Felix narrowed his eyes. "…I don't see shit."

"Obviously, you won't see shit! THE ENTIRE CITY IS GONE!"

"If something happens, it happens. If you're destined to die today, you'll die regardless. Whether the attack kills us or not, you'll be wasting your brain cells overthinking something irrelevant and wasting your time. Stop worrying about something out of your control or influence. Anyway, I'm kinda busy here. You girls can stay inside if you don't feel safe."

Felix returned to the essence stone room and locked the door behind him, leaving the two girls behind. The girls looked at each other and glanced at the bright light far away. They dryly laughed as Felix was right.

If the next attack could potentially destroy their house, none of them could have run or reacted to it anyway. Why should they even bother thinking about it?

They shrugged and returned to the swimming pool area to play.

…

Every day, Felix holed up in the sealed room, practicing the new breathing method. One day, he accidentally used it in his sleep and breathed fire, burning his pillow and almost burnt Jane. From that day on, Felix and Jane slept in different rooms for safety.

A week had passed. The explosion several days ago seemed like a prank as it erased Terra City but left Felix's house alone.

In the essence stone room, Felix stood still, deeply inhaled the stale air in the room and suppressed it in his lungs and stomach. Slowly, he exhaled, releasing the gas in his stomach first. Then, he ignited a spark in his lungs and sent it together with the flammable gas.

*FWOOF*

A trail of flame came out from Felix's mouth! He breathed fire!

Felix clenched his fist as he finally understood the principles behind the breathing method: The stomach produced flammable gas while his lungs generated small sparks. Combining them using the breathing method, he could spit fire!

However, generating gas and flame came with a small price. Every time Felix successfully exhaled flame, he lost one energy point per second. It looked insignificant, but the cost slowly added up during practice. In addition, the consumption rate increased when Felix increased the fire's intensity and range.

Felix started seeing a pattern.

*DING*

<Congratulations! You have unlocked a skill list feature.>

<Please note. These skills are not generated by the system but from your hard work. This skill list serves as an encyclopedia, detailing your mastery level. Upgrading these skills requires hard work and training.>

<The newly learned skills will be added to your status menu.>

…

Name: Felix Ariel

Age: 17/10,340

Bloodline: Void Phoenix

Element Affinity: Fire, Metal, Poison, Void

Authorized Level: Super Democracy Pass (E)

Level: 26

Energy: 2,807,256/6,101,515

Mana: 6,101,515

Innate Talents: Flame Lungs, Fast Learner, Fire Immunity, Poison Immunity, Ashen Resurrection

Skills: Flame Breathe (Entry)

…

For now, Felix had mastered one of the four skills. The next steps involved learning spitting fire, flame aura, and flame mana.

The spitting skill was slightly difficult as it required him to master flame mana first. Once accomplished, he could compress gas into compact fuel to spit out fireballs. So, the next skill Felix needed to learn was flame mana.

According to the scripture translated by Jessica, this part required Felix to purposely ignite the gas in his stomach and then douse it. This would cause a chemical reaction and leave behind a substance called 'Extinguished Phoenix Flame.' By absorbing this substance into his bloodstream, his blood cells would gradually convert the mana in his blood into flame mana.

Felix wanted to pull his hair out. The entire process confused him.

"What the hell is this bogus science experiment? What's Extinguished Phoenix Flame? Who named this, a middle-schooler?"

Despite his complaints, Felix continued to follow the manual's instructions. He stopped making noises and got back into the zone.

Just as he was about to ignite the gas in his stomach, a knock came at the door, stopping him from entering a trance state.

Frustrated, Felix released all foul air in his lungs and stomach. Then, he breathed normally. He walks to the door. Believing that Jane might have brought him some afternoon snacks, Felix opened the door. However, the person waiting was Valley.

Felix frowned, "What is it?"

Valley flinched as Felix's breath smelled like freshly roasted chicken. She gulped, suppressing her desire to bite him, and then stated her business.

"I'm planning to visit Big Zoot."

"Big WHAT?!" Felix felt like he misheard. "You're going… where?" S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Big Zoot City."

"Who the hell named that city, a crackhead?"

"Crack…head?"

"Never mind that. Why move? It's safe here. You've got food, shelter, and even a majestic slide pool all to yourself. Didn't you see that our house can withstand a nuke?"

Indeed, there was no reason to leave. However, Valley mustered her courage and looked Felix in the eyes. "I wish to try the Royal Magi Academy's admission exam."

Felix couldn't fault her for wanting to attend college, but this wasn't the modern world. In this world, traveling a few miles usually took days. Crossing over 1,000 miles might even take months or years.

"And if you're rejected, what will you do?" Felix tried to dissuade Valley for her own good.

"I'll probably look for a job and a place to live… maybe."

Felix sighed deeply. Valley was a sheltered 16-year-old noble lady. A naive former noble teenager in a wild medieval city would be vulnerable to scammers and molesters. She could also be easily robbed and ravished before she could reach that city.

Thus, Felix opposed the idea. He reminded Valley about her shortcomings.

"Can you cook?" Felix asked.

"I'm learning."

"Can you do chores?"

"Of course, I can!"

"Can you draw water from a well?"

"A well? O-Oh, of course, I can! I did it all the time!"

"Let me see your palms."

Valley, surprised, showed her palms. Felix touched them and noticed they were smooth and soft, proof she had barely done any hard work.

She lacked the skill to live alone. She would surely face danger or trouble if she tried living as a commoner.

"You'll be in trouble if you fail the exam or get tricked by a random pervert," Felix said. "I don't think you're ready to face society by yourself."

"But I have Jane with me!"

"Is she coming with you?"

"Yes, she promised me last night!"

Felix slapped his forehead, wondering if Jane had fed Valley false hopes. They had to travel a thousand miles to reach the city, a journey impossible without reliable transportation.

"No. You two are grounded. You won't make it."

"Even without your consent, we'll still go!"

"You two will travel alone for over 1,000 miles. How many days will it take to get there? Have you planned it out?"

"Er, not yet? We'll plan it tonight!"

"Seriously," Felix raised his voice. "What about food and water? Where will you sleep at night? What about clothing? It's cold at night, and it sometimes rains. Can you travel in a rainstorm?

What if you get sick along the way? What if wild animals show up and try to eat you?"

"…"

"Girl, I don't want to sound like Andrew Tate, but you're delusional. You're gonna get yourself killed."

Valley's eyes teared up. Unable to refute Felix's words, she lowered her head and gazed at her feet once again. After sobbing alone for a minute, she silently returned to her room.

Felix was relieved that Valley stopped bothering him and returned to his room, resuming his training.

Little did he know, Valley's prayers would be answered. The next day, a miracle occurred.

…

The next morning, Felix woke to a loud knock at the door. When he answered, he found Jane. "Is something wrong?" he grinned, wondering if Jane needed some sugar after they had separated rooms.

Jane rolled her eyes and pointed downstairs. "The same archmages want to see you again."

"Huh?!" Felix rubbed his eyes and wiped away a layer of eye boogers. "What does he want this time?"

"You'd better come see him yourself. Also, it seems Valley packed her clothes last night. She has her belongings ready."