Chapter 38 Solution

Number One had no idea what was happening in the real world and that made him a bit anxious. He felt like days has passed inside the training space yet he was still stuck at the same task. Even though time flowed much slower for him, that would still mean many hours passed without a single movement from him.

"Why is this flame so hard to control?" Number One commented with a frustrated frown and rubbed his forehead. He knew exactly how to convert his Soul Energy into a fire but every time he tried, the flame turned chaotic and dispersed into the void.

Number One knew the reason deep down but it only annoyed him further. He has struggled with the same problem since he started cultivating and that was his White Soul Talent. He shouldn't even be able to become a Soul Artist since his Soul Energy wasn't suited for cultivation.

Best

"Damn, am I going to be stuck here forever?" Number One lamented as he took a deep breath and lay down on the ground to clear his mind. If he was stressing too much, he would never succeed.

"I'm doing everything as described so what's the problem…?" Number One questioned the golden silhouette but it remained motionless. Every once in a while it would repeat the whole process but that wasn't helping him.

Number One could only calm down and closed his eyes to go through the whole process in his mind. He was bound to be making a mistake somewhere and he just had to find it.

Creating a flame used in Alchemy was like mastering a Soul Art. One had to memorize all the patterns and formations before recreating them in practice. It was all about precision and control of Soul Energy which was a matter of trial and error. Afterward, it was just like muscle memory and making sure to replicate the Soul Art perfectly every time.

That was the part where a better Soul Talent came in handy. Luna or Nami could master Soul Arts much easier than others because of their high-quality Soul Energy that wasn't easily disturbed once it left their bodies. It was the opposite in Number One's case. His White Soul Energy would immediately try to escape to nature the moment he withdrew it which made it impossible to train with.

"It feels like everything is correct. Could it be something else than my Soul Energy that is causing a problem?" Number One wondered out loud while covering his palm with white light.

Even though his Soul Energy was trash, the training room was special and allowed him to practice without any external disturbances. That was the main reason why he managed to master his first Soul Art, but it was also much easier than his current problem. He only needed to burst out Soul Energy in a single direction before it even managed to escape from his control.

"Wait…" Number One suddenly paused as he recalled all the instructions. "One of the notes said that having a troubled mind and heart would make it harder to control the flame. Was that the problem this whole time?"

Number One didn't think too much and tried to empty his mind of any thoughts. He meditated for close to fifteen minutes before finally snapping his eyes open. He sat up while extending his hand and a white flame burst out from his palm.

It danced beautifully for a moment which made Number One ecstatic but that only lasted a couple of seconds. The flame flickered abruptly as if trying to break out of control and he failed to tame it again.

"Who am I trying to lie to?" Number One muttered with a sigh. A short meditation wasn't enough to get rid of all his worries when his whole life was one big ball of anxiety.

Number One hasn't had a single day without worries as he was always ready to face another challenge. How was he able to forget about everything when death was his friend already?

"Fuck…" Number One cursed and rubbed his temples to stop his headache. He thought about Nami who was probably protecting his body in the real world and sighed.

Since Number One couldn't forget about his painful memories, he could only try again and again until his body gets used to the motion of the flame. He extended his palm for another attempt when the golden silhouette suddenly moved.

It looked like it was about to display the task for the hundredth time but this time was different. Its flame grew rapidly until it was almost a meter tall before something appeared in the flame. It showed a scene of two people lying in the bed together and Number One's eyes widened when he realized it was him in the picture.

The other person was Nami who was actively snuggling into his body while leaving soft kisses on his neck. She looked so happy while using his arm to hug herself that Number One couldn't help to soften his gaze. He didn't even realize he was smiling when Nami began caressing his face while trying to fall asleep.

"You can do it baby…" Nami muttered soundlessly. "I believe in you…"

Those last four words echoed in Number One's mind just before the flame dispersed and the scene was gone. That didn't change anything as he could still hear Nami's voice and the picture of her face was imprinted in his mind.

That was the first time in a while when Number One didn't feel like he was alone and that dug up his feelings that he locked a long time ago. He reached to his cheeks and found tears that streamed down on their own.

"This is so stupid…" Number One commented as he wiped his eyes to stop the silly mood and resumed the practice.

The white flame rose from his palm and Number One looked at it without many expectations. He just wanted to train his muscle memory but then he opened his eyes at the rare view.

"You good?" Number One questioned in surprise as the flame danced calmly and remained stable even when he moved his palm around in a circle. "Was it really that simple? All it took was a picture of Nami and a few words?"

Number One tested the flame further by expanding it and it listened like a good puppy. He was speechless at the solution to his problem but the golden silhouette didn't give him time to think too much about it.

As soon as Number One completed the task, his scenery changed and a similar golden cauldron appeared in front of them. They also had tens of ingredients lying on the adjusting table which the golden silhouette used to begin concocting pills.

"I guess I will have to thank Nami later…"