Chapter 246

“Hobey Ho, let’s GO!”

FWOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHH

Kicking up a gust of wind to surround the flames and feed them much-needed oxygen, Cynrik began pushing, conducting what he considered the actual experiment.

[[Tobs Salamander OST]] with shaky hands, Cynrik pumped more and more Mana into his palms to control the Fire Particles swirling like a storm between his two palms.

-Now playing “Salamander” From Fairy Tail OST, by Yasuharu Takanashi.-

Back in the living room, Brance scoffed loudly alongside Selene, who tilted her head in confusion. Unlike Brance, who had second-hand exposure to many of the same shows and manga as Cynrik, to Selene, it only sounded like cool music, and she couldn’t understand why Brance would scoff at it.

“Tsssss,” Blowing out steam through clenched teeth, thanks to the rapidly increasing heat rising in his body, Cynrik’s eyes began to shine with reddish-orange light, a sign that his Codex was filled primarily with Fire Mana at the moment.

[[910, 915, 950, now approaching 1000 degrees (1832 Fahrenheit). As a result, you should see some changes happening in the core Cyn, from cherry-red to a bright crimson. That is your marker for 1k.]] Activating his [Mana Sight], Brance whipped his head in the direction of the training room; he could see a swirling vacuum of suction forming outside the perimeter of the training room.

[[Secondary relocation has begun, you are now draining particles from outside the room. Opening intake vents.]] Tapping on the control console, Brance’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he opened unique vents leading outside the dorm building and allowed for a large intake of Fire Mana particles in particular.

Sitting next to Brance, Selene was worried as she watched the shirtless Cynrik, who was sweating profusely yet wearing a cocky smile and laughing like a pirate. Steam was rising off his entire body as the temperature in the training room drastically increased, its source, the ball of flames floating chaotically not even half a meter from his chest.

He had explained hundreds of times to her how his own Mana couldn’t burn him if he didn’t want it to, but seeing the heat mirages swirling around the room, which was slowly turning into a furnace, Selene couldn’t help but wonder if Cynrik was only telling her that for her own peace of mind.

Surely the intense heat in the room would cook him alive, even if the fire itself didn’t.

‘Talk to me, Tobs; how’s my body handling the heat.’ Cynrik thought as his eyes flicked to his MP gauge floating not far away in his vision.

-Everything is within your predetermined range. Although the fire itself is harmless to you, if you didn’t have such a strong body, the heat it generates would have roasted you by now. Luckily, this heat level isn’t too difficult to handle between your body training and bloodline. However, if someone was to use an attack of the same caliber on you, I don’t believe you would walk out of it unscathed.-

[[1100 (2012 Fahrenheit) Cyn, the core of the flame, has entered the deep orange state. Up next is Clear orange. Mana particle content in the room is set to 80% Fire and 20% Wind.]] Brance’s voice in his head caused Cynrik’s eyes to narrow as he ran a quick calculation.

[[Increase Wind content to 40%. I need to increase the amount of oxygen in the room; I can already feel it is a bit too thin right now as if im hiking up a mountain.]] Although unnoticeable to most people, Cynrik had already realized the far corners of his vision were beginning to tunnel a bit.

[[Brancie, the target goal is between 1426 and 1650 degrees ( 2600- 3000 Fahrenheit).]] Spotting the newly added Wind particles entering the room thanks to Brance following his instructions, Cynrik finally vocalized the test parameters.

[[Fuck, Cyn, are you seriously trying to reach blue? I thought we already concluded that to do that, not only do you need to hit the transparent stage, but also add in outside particles for the fire to burn with. Naturally occurring blue flames are too challenging to achieve, even if you push yourself to your limits.]] Reaching 1500 degrees (2732) by itself was going to be a challenge, so initially, Brance had chosen to set the goal for 1200, which would change the shade of the flames to a bright orange color.

[[Don’t know if we don’t try, commencing compression and friction generation between the particles.]] Ignoring his younger brother’s complaints, Cynrik licked his lips and forced the fire to reach 1200 degrees, shifting their color to a clear and bright orange, much like the outfit color of two spiky-haired anime protagonists.

However, when he reached this point, Cynrik noticed the difficulty increase significantly. With shaky hands, he slightly rotated the floating and raging fireball to make it more accessible to the ambient wind particles. Still, the longer he held fire at this temperature, the more his body began trembling from overexertion.

“Brancie, he’s shaking; that’s not good, right?” Sitting on a nearby couch, Gabby, who was munching on a bag of potato chips, hopped up and watched the screen over Brance’s shoulder.

“No, it’s not; he is pushing himself too far. Previously he held himself back, only making minor changes to the core temp; however, he has already surpassed all his previous tests, but….” Brance’s eyes fixated on the subtle muscle spasms rippling through Cynrik’s arms and torso as he held his tongue, not sure if he should let Gabby know about the potential consequences if Cynrik fucked up.

“If he tries canceling the experiment before fully controlling his skill, I’m not sure we can contain the explosion by normal means.” Benny, who was standing beside Selene, said what Brance was struggling to say.

Exhaling in sharp bursts, Cynrik could feel his body begin to have adverse effects due to dehydration due in part to how much he was sweating.

[[Cyn, stop here, Clear orange is fine, you covered seven color shifts. We need to go back and talk to Professor Morningdale.]]

[[No, I can take it to the yellow range,]] Cynrik countered as his eyes scanned the surrounding ambient Mana, taking inventory of how much Wind to Fire particles was ratioed around him.

[[Stop arguing with me, Cynrik, level out, and take control of where you are. The flames are too unstable to push further ahead. Plus, your body is starting to shut down.]]

Hearing Brance’s overbearing and forceful tone, Cynrik didn’t say his following words and instead looked directly at the violently churning ball of flames.

‘According to what Professor Morningdale taught, there are three steps to increasing the power of your Affinity skills. The first is particle collection; the second is consolidation and collision; and lastly, control; having triggered a response from the combination of your own Mana and the ambient Mana, you need to focus on making them stop resisting you. Only once you have made it through and completed all three steps will you have full access to that stage of advancement. Right now, the furthest I can go is the Clear orange stage, roughly 1200 Degrees. If I don’t stabilize this fire now, there really isn’t much hope of me brute-forcing my way into hotter temps.’ Manipulating his fingers, Cynrik directed the already stabilized particles to latch onto the unstable ones and force them into submission.

This was the most challenging step, in his opinion. Gathering and smashing particles together was easy yet, simultaneously, created tremendous strain on his Codex and Body; however, the control part was all mental focus and willpower, two things Cynrik didn’t lack.

Within the center of the baseball-sized fireball was a core; this core was the flame’s hottest point and the main body. Everything happening around it was just a chemical reaction between the fire and the other particles surrounding it. As Cynrik narrowed his vision and observed the hazy cloud of compact and tightly fitting particles, he could see them vibrating, which was the primary indicator that he still didn’t have complete control yet. Not only that, but the more movement within the core, the more violent the outer zone acted.

“Tsss, come on, you fuckers, submit. Wouldn’t it be much more fun having close friends who make you stronger? Just let it happen,” Cynrik grumbled as he coaxed these active core particles to relax and fall under his manipulation.

Smack smack smack smack

In the living room, Gabby, Brance, Selene, and Benny all face palmed as they heard Cynrik trying to coerce the Mana particles. Each of them felt that at that moment, Cynrik was no different than an old creepy kidnapper trying to lure unsuspecting kids into his van. Unfortunately, the image matched a little too well since Cynrik also wore a creepy grin.

[[Brance, go ahead and start reducing the overall particle count in the room; I won’t be pushing for Yellow-White today. I need you to cut off the outside flow to stop it from attracting more Mana and going out of control.]] Cynrik immediately started issuing commands to his brother, who followed them instantly, focused entirely on slowly calming down the flame.

VIRRRRR

After pressing a few buttons on the console, the sound of an engine turning over lightly shook the building as the dorm’s Mana ventilation system kicked on, draining any excess particles from the room so that Cynrik could work in peace. By the time it was finished, all that was left was a low level of Wind Mana, allowing Cynrik to breathe freely.

Looking around and seeing the flow of Fire particles cut off, Cynrik took a seat and started molding the raging ball of flames within his hands as if it was made of modeling clay. A sight that caused Selene and Gabby to gasp in fright. But once Brance explained how by this point, most of the skill was made of Cynrik’s own Mana and wouldn’t hurt him, they calmed down and watched in fascination.

[[So? How is it? Think you could form your first construct?]] Watching Cynrik try to turn the fire into a perfect sphere, Brance asked curiously.

[[No, im barely able to get it to stay together without freaking the fuck out as is. If I want to mold it into a new skill or construct, I will have to reduce its temp, dropping it down to the cherry stage again. That was the last time I felt in complete control, and It’s probably the most stable form right now.]] Feeling the Fire particles calm down and stop resisting so hard, Cynrik stopped molding the fireball and let it swirl around his fingers.

[[I can manipulate it to some extent, but unless I add Dark Mana into the mix, it is too unstable and prone to blowing up. Just like what happened the other day when you tried making Iron. The process is like pressing down a spring; if you don’t lock it in place, it will rebound and unravel. As a result, I still find dirt in my bed, even after washing all my sheets after your Lil dustball exploded in the house.]] Standing up and willing the sphere of clear orange fire to rotate around his shoulders in a predetermined orbit, Cynrik took a jab at Brance and retrieved a towel from his inventory to wipe his sweat.

[Oh, I forgot to tell you I finally got a response from that third-year student I know from Tank Class. There are only around six weeks until the first regional tournament for the yearly competitions begins. Have you decided which team we wanna go for? The Headmaster, Instructor Garrison, and Professor Dennis expect our answer as soon as possible. With the clock dwindling, we need to figure out if we are shooting for Tier-2 or 3.]] Powering down the command console and plopping down on the couch quietly, Brance brought up a topic that his brother had been avoiding for the last couple of months.

[Six weeks is plenty of time. The issue we will have is my stupid fucking curfew. I have a meeting with my shrink and the Headmaster in the morning, so I will decide then. If Geralt doesn’t remove the curfew, training all the way to Tier-3 will be borderline impossible. Anyway, I’m going to take a shower, entertain the kids, and please, for the love of all that is unholy, keep Selene out of my bathroom this time!

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