Chapter 95: Self-Proclaimed Fire God

At 5 AM, the examinees began emerging from the mirror portals in groups. Many of the teenagers looked haggard, their faces showing signs of mental exhaustion. The exam had rarely tested their magical abilities; instead, it had been a grueling test of their mental strength. Some figured out the patterns behind the trials, while others remained clueless about what was being tested.Valley managed to make it out in one piece, successfully passing five out of seven trials. She only faltered during the test of envy and greed, where she couldn't help but compare herself to the other noble children with greater talent. Aside from that, she breezed through the challenges.

Envick survived but emerged battered. During the gluttony stage, the food he had eaten merged into a shadowy version of himself, which burst out from his stomach. The injury was so severe that he lost focus, automatically failing the remaining tests.

Veetee was also fortunate to escape with his life. However, he paid a high price for his arrogance, losing his dominant arm and his left eye in the process.

In the end, no one got stuck in the mirror. The stages automatically ejected all failed examinees. Saucon sneered at the teenagers, satisfied to see them suffer—except for Valley and a few other promising children. As for the supposed danger of the mirror, it was all exaggerated. As an emperor, he couldn't afford to kill the children of local nobles, or they would rebel.

Injured teens were quickly returned to their families and helpers. Gall and his men escorted Veetee back to their tent, immediately beginning to heal him with potions and magic. The headmaster of Nature Tower, Braziel, also sent her subordinates to bring Envick back, deciding to withdraw her disciple from applying to the royal academy.

With two top candidates dropping out, many of the remaining examinees, including Valley, felt a glimmer of hope. They wondered how they fared compared to the others.

At 6 AM, the emperor announced the results of the preliminary round. True to his twisted nature, Saucon disqualified all those who had refused to take the mirror examination. Examinees who failed to acquire at least four white orbs were also disqualified. In the end, only 213 examinees could proceed to the next round, with 90% of the successful candidates being commoners.

Many noble families were dissatisfied with the outcome, but they couldn't voice their objections due to the lack of free speech and human rights in the country. Defeated, they returned home empty-handed.

After sending away the failed candidates, Saucon dismissed everyone and instructed the remaining examinees to return the following morning. He then called a staff meeting in the palace to evaluate the successful candidates.

…

Upon hearing the results, Rosaline and her friends packed their belongings and followed the elder nun, Zen, back to the Ocean Tower to recuperate and prepare for the written exams. The qualified examinees cheered and returned to their parents or guardians to celebrate.

Valley was among them. Despite her mental and physical exhaustion, she sprinted back to Jane and hugged her tightly.

"I did it, Jane! I passed the practical exam!" Valley exclaimed, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Jane patted her head and smiled, though her thoughts drifted to Felix. She wondered if Valley had noticed him yet.

"Congratulations, my lady. I knew you could do it!"

"I'm so happy! *Sniff* I thought I was going to fail!"

"You did wonderfully, my lady. Good job."

Even Jane, usually so composed, couldn't help but shed a tear of pride for her young lady. She wondered how Robert or Roland would react if they could see this moment.

After allowing Valley to cry to her heart's content, Jane gently wiped the girl's face with a handkerchief. She then thought of a certain troublemaker and asked, "My lady, have you seen Felix yet?"

"Felix?" Valley sniffed, looking up at Jane in confusion. "Is he here too? Where is he? Is he with the other parents?"

Jane wryly smiled and explained about the broadcasting screens in the sky, revealing that everyone could see the examinees during the test.

Valley's face turned beet red, embarrassment flooding her as she realized her actions hadn't been private. She squeaked and crouched down, unable to think straight.

"No! They must have seen everything I did!"

Valley was mortified, recalling how she got stuck in the trial of lust. During that stage, she encountered a shadowy figure of Felix, who invited her to a dance. In the midst of the dance, she accidentally touched the shadow's body. Fortunately, her innocence spared her—unaware of what sexual intercourse was, she instinctively rejected the act, unknowingly passing the stage.

Jane couldn't hold back her laughter, cackling softly as she patted Valley's back. She leaned in and whispered, "My lady, it's alright. No one paid attention to your test except me. You were kind of cute when you tried to seduce him. But don't worry, we all know they were fake. You didn't cheat on him or on me.

I don't blame you."

"Uuuu…" Valley whimpered, her face flushed with embarrassment. She clung to Jane, still sitting, and buried her face in her arms. "I'm so sorry, Jane."

"It's fine, really," Jane reassured her, gently changing the subject. "Anyway, let's go see Felix."

"S-Sure," Valley stammered, trying to regain her composure. She stood up with Jane's help, assuming Felix would be among the parents waiting nearby. She began scanning the crowd, searching for him. But Jane, still amused, took her hand and pointed toward the mirror.

"He's over there."

"Huh?" Valley followed her gaze, puzzled.

Jane pointed to the empty area behind the mirror, the designated zone where examinees rested and awaited their results.

Valley frowned, confusion growing. "There?"

"Yes, over there."

"But Jane, that's the area for the examinees," Valley protested, her mind racing with doubts. Felix was older than her, which should have disqualified him based on the age test alone. Even if he somehow slipped through that, she couldn't imagine him passing the mental exams.

Jane simply smiled, her eyes twinkling, and gently tugged Valley along by the hand. With the noblemen's guards and mages no longer bothering to block their way, they easily entered the resting area. It didn't take long to spot the troublemaker.

In the center of the field, there sat a strange male teen, alone, surrounded by a blue flame. Felix was deep in meditation, his expression twisted in pain for unknown reasons.

…

Meanwhile, Felix was in agony. The movement of a kidney stone caused his stomach to cramp, sending waves of pain throughout his entire body. His nerves screamed, his muscles ached, his innards churned, his bones felt like they were on fire, and his spine seemed on the verge of snapping.

After enduring hours of torment, the stubborn stone finally dislodged from his kidney. Having been lodged there for so long, it had formed into a spiky, jagged rock, perfectly shaped to his kidney's interior.

But the torture didn't end there. As the dantian core, now a prickly mass, moved through his body, it stabbed and scraped against his other organs. His intestines suffered scratches, his liver took a deep cut, and an artery was punctured, leading to internal bleeding.

"Oh, come on!" Felix groaned as he sensed the new injuries in his abdomen. He wished he could just cut his belly open, yank out the dantian, and smooth it into a round, painless ball.

Desperate for relief, Felix opened his system menu in search of a healing potion, only to find that he had run out of stock. To get more, he'd need to complete the day's daily quests.

"Let me handle it," a voice echoed in his mind. Thankfully, Jiji was there. Without revealing herself, the lamia princess cast a water spell on him, healing his internal wounds and mending his kidney.

The cold water mana soothed his pain, allowing him to feel his body again. But his training wasn't over yet. With the dantian core now out of its unwanted location, he had to attach it to the area under his stomach to continue strengthening it.

"FELIX!?" seaʀᴄh thё NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Just as Felix was about to proceed to the next step, a voice he had longed to hear broke through his concentration. Snapping out of his trance, he opened his eyes and saw his beloved wife.

"Oh, what's up, honey?" Felix beamed with joy. He stood up, momentarily forgetting that he was both naked and on fire. Glancing around, he realized something was missing. "Where's that doofus? I thought I assigned the Cement Golem as your bodyguard."

Jane, concerned for Felix's safety, pointed at the flames surrounding him. "D-Do you need help? You're on fire…"

"Oh, this?" Felix finally noticed the blue flames enveloping him like a Super Saiyan Blue. Fortunately, his hair remained unchanged.

He casually patted the flames away and switched his breathing back to normal, instantly extinguishing the blaze. Then, with a proud grin, he flexed for his wife.

"See? Nothing to worry about. Your husband is the god of flame. Nothing can burn me!"

Jessica couldn't help it. She cooked him.

<Felix, you're like a human barbecue—always on fire, but the only thing you're grilling is your own dignity.>

"…"

Felix felt like crying inside. He wanted to ask why Jessica had to call him out like that, but her next words made him realize just how foolish he was being.

<You're showing off your junk in public. How about covering up? Or are you an exhibitionist now?>

"…"

Felix glanced down and saw his "best friend" on full display. When he looked up, he saw Jane grinning and pointing at the situation, while someone behind her was sneaking a peek though her fingers. Her eyes widened, focusing on the thing.

"Shit."

Ashamed, Felix put on his clothes. Valley, on the other hand, secretly wished to see more. The next second, she blushed again, embarrassed by the intrusive thoughts.