Chương 10: Heirflame

When I regained consciousness and opened my eyes, I felt pain. A lot of pain, all over my body and inside my body, and in so many places I didn't even know could hurt. But as I wasn't sure what had happened or whether the Wraith was dead or not, I stood up despite the pain. Oh man, it hurt so much. Looking around, I noticed that the entire area had been reduced to nothing more than a crater, 8 feet deep, and I was just standing at the edge of it. The Wraith was nowhere to be seen, which brought me a little relief.

Now that my trait had been deactivated and was no longer working, the fear and emotions that had been suppressed the entire time came back like a tide.

"Oh my god!!" I screamed and fell to my knees.

"That was so scary, I thought..." I stared, hiccuping.

"I thought I was gonna die." And for a few seconds, I just stayed there without moving, trying to let my beating heart calm down and letting some of the suppressed fear out. And surprisingly, it didn't take much time. Maybe fighting a creature like a Wraith had changed something, maybe in a way I wasn't even aware of. I stood up once again and tried to walk, but my leg refused to move. And then I tried to cast Butler's Care, but it didn't work. I got confused and tried it again. Still, it didn't work.

So I opened my Status Window. STATUS WINDOW EDWIN MISTBORN LV. 62 Age: 21 Race: Human Title: Villain's Butler Class: Magic Swordsman RESOURCE MP 180 / 20, 000 CRITICALLY DEPLETED ATTRIBUTES STAMINA 80 STRENGTH 100, 000 AGILITY 80 ENDURANCE 10, 000 WILLPOWER 599 LUCK 100 SKILLS Butler's Care LEVEL-5 Jack of All Trade LEVEL-7 Imperial Swordsmanship LEVEL-7 Flame Blossom LEVEL-8 Proto LEVEL-9 TRAITS ◆ Sovereign Composure ◆ Supreme Butler ◆ Sovereign Aura ◆ Bond [UNIQUE TRAIT] ◆ Aura Master CURRENT OBJECTIVE 1.

Protect Cecilia Von Rosenkreuz from being exiled. 2. Find the Heirflame SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ● +1 MP is below 200, but how is that possible? I had 20, 000 MP before the fight. Even after using Butler's Care several times. Which only costs 600 MP per cast. And using two new skills, I should still have well over 200 MP left. So how did it end up at only 180. I also noticed that Flame Blossom and Proto have been registered as skills. I clicked on Flame Blossom.

FLAME BLOSSOM SKILL LEVEL 8 CATEGORY OFFENSIVE RANK GRANDMASTER → MASTER [RESTRICTED] ELEMENT FIRE COST 5000 MP DESCRIPTION Flame Blossom is a devastating high-level fire technique said to have been created by the ancient Phoenixes, beings whose flames are capable of burning far beyond ordinary fire. Upon activation, the caster summons a gigantic vortex of Phoenix Flame, forming a blazing tornado that rapidly expands across the battlefield.

Everything caught within its radius is engulfed by the flames, leaving little behind but ash and molten earth. Unlike normal fire, Phoenix Flame continues to burn even in the absence of oxygen and possesses an unnatural heat that can consume magical barriers, armor, and enchanted materials. Only those who possess exceptional control over fire magic can attempt to wield the skill. Even then, the spell places an enormous strain on the caster's body and mana circuit.

SYSTEM WARNING Skill Level exceeds current authorization. Restriction Applied: Grandmaster Rank → Master Rank The system has forcibly restricted Flame Blossom to Master Rank due to its overwhelming destructive potential. INSUFFICIENT MASTERY — POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES ◆ Loss of control over Phoenix Flame ◆ Damage to the caster's mana circuit ◆ Large-scale destruction of the surrounding area ◆ Possible self-incineration I know Flame Blossom was strong, but this is ridiculous—5, 000 mana per use? That's absurd.

How am I supposed to utilize it if it costs this much, and that's not even getting into the downgraded version. Flame Blossom was a skill used by Draven Prince in the game. The skill was so overwhelmingly powerful that he alone was capable of killing an entire army with just this one skill. But his skill was ranked even higher than Grandmaster. Even so, I only cast Flame Blossom once, so it still doesn't make sense for my MP to be this low. Then I clicked on Proto.

PROTO SKILL LEVEL 9 CATEGORY DEFENSIVE RANK GRANDMASTER → MASTER [RESTRICTED] ELEMENT EARTH / STONE COST 200 MP / SECOND DESCRIPTION Proto is a legendary defensive skill created by the ancient Earth Salamander, a creature whose very existence was devoted to survival. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Upon activation, it creates dozens upon dozens of layers of solid earth, stone, crystal, and other dense minerals around the caster.

Each layer is compressed to an unnatural density before another layer forms over it. Each layer is continuously reinforced and reconstructed as it takes damage, creating a constantly regenerating defensive shell. As long as the caster has enough mana to sustain the skill, the defensive layers will continue to form and reinforce themselves, preventing the barrier from collapsing. LIMITATION Dark Magic SYSTEM WARNING Skill Level exceeds current authorization.

Restriction Applied: Grandmaster Rank → Master Rank 200 MP per second. Now it makes sense why my MP was so low. I have no idea how long that skill had been active. None of these skills are very practical. There were no mechanics like this in the game. But then again, this isn't a game anymore. This is my reality. There was also another notification, but I closed the status window. I'll read it later. I don't have time right now. I need to get the Heirflame and get out of this place.

After a while, my feet finally started moving. I walked all around the massive crater until I eventually reached the exit and stepped through it. -- I was finally inside the treasure room. The place looked like a simple 10×10 room. At the front of the room was a table with three items lying on top of it. I slowly made my way toward it. But before reaching the table, I looked around the room.

It looked somewhat like someone's office, but I couldn't say for sure since the game had never explained what this place was supposed to be. The walls were covered with multiple hand-drawn murals. On the right side, there was a mural of a person standing in front of a gigantic flame. He was kneeling on the ground with one hand stretched toward the fire. Is this some kind of mural depicting the Founder of the Rosenkreuz family meeting the Spirit of the Eternal Flame Whoever had drawn it certainly had talent.

The mural was incredibly beautiful and surprisingly lifelike. On the left wall, there was another mural depicting two armies fighting each other. One side was made up of strange, slightly less-than-human creatures, while the other side was clearly human. This mural was definitely showing the ancient war between humanity and the demon kind—a war that had taken place a very, very long time ago. As I moved my head upward, I noticed another mural. But this one was different. Well... how should I explain it?

It depicted 12 beings tearing a lamb apart and feasting on its flesh.

"Ugh..." A sudden pain shot through my head.

"Looks like I'm getting too distracted. Let's just get the items." I finally turned my attention back to the table. There were three things sitting on it, a small pouch, a book, and a small box. I picked up the pouch first. Suddenly, I received a notification. Ding! [Would you like to integrate this item with the System?] I stopped for a second. Is this some kind of special item that the System wants to integrate. I thought about it for a moment, but I couldn't find any reason to refuse. So, I clicked Yes.

Instantly, two wisps emerged from my body and connected themselves to the pouch. Both of them glowed brightly for a few seconds. Then, the pouch suddenly turned into dust then two wisps disappeared back into my body. Ding! Integration of Space Element in progress. Progress: 5% Time remaining: 2 minutes. Then, I picked up the book. The cover was so badly burned that nothing was visible on it. I opened it, only to find the same thing inside. It was completely empty.

I continued flipping through the pages, and the more pages I turned, the more obvious it became that the entire book had been burned. Then I remembered the writing on the wall in the previous area. Is this the book that man was talking about? I couldn't be sure. This place could only be reached by killing the boss monster. But then again, the Wraith wasn't the boss monster that was supposed to be here. Then I turned my attention to the box.

I opened it, and inside was a small, no more than three-centimeter-long Rose. It looked as though it had been dipped in blood. This is it... the Heirflame. Ding! Objective: Find the Heir Flame — Completed. Integration of the Space Element — Complete. New System Category Created: Inventory. I got excited the moment I heard the word Inventory. I immediately clicked on it. INVENTORY TYPE SYSTEM ABILITY CATEGORY STORAGE / UTILITY ACCESS SYSTEM USER ONLY DESCRIPTION A basic storage function provided by the System.

Inventory creates a separate storage space linked directly to the user's Status. The Inventory allows the user to store and retrieve physical objects without carrying them on their person. Stored objects remain in the same condition as when they were placed inside. RESTRICTIONS ◆ Slots: 20 ◆ Maximum Weight: 100 kg per slot ◆ Maximum Volume: 1 m³ per slot ◆ Living beings cannot be stored. ◆ Objects larger than the volume limit cannot be stored. ◆ Objects exceeding the weight limit cannot be stored.

◆ Only objects physically possessed by the user can be stored. ◆ Objects cannot be stored inside another living being. ◆ Bound, sealed, or System-protected objects may be rejected. ◆ Inventory cannot create, duplicate, repair, modify, or combine objects. ◆ Stored objects cannot interact with objects outside the Inventory. ◆ No time manipulation: perishables continue to age normally. ◆ No automatic sorting or identification: the System only records the stored object's basic information.

◆ Inventory cannot be transferred to another person. ◆ Inventory access is disabled if the System determines the user is no longer authorized. ◆ Exceeding any storage limit results in automatic rejection. Ahh, it didn't have the time-stop ability, but it was still great. But how do I use it? I moved my hand toward the book and willed it to go into the Inventory, and as soon as I did, White smoke began gathering around the book, and as the smoke slowly spread over it, the book disappeared along with the smoke. Ding!

Inventory +1 I immediately checked the Inventory. The item has been registered. Unknown Book At least you could have told me its name. I wondered if I could use the Inventory without actually touching an item, so I moved my hand toward the now-closed box containing the Heirflame and tried to send it into the Inventory. Inventory Nothing happened, and after letting out a sigh, I picked up the box with my hand before trying again. Ding! Inventory +1 The item has been registered.

Heirflame Great, so you only show me things that I already know. Useless System. I waited for another ten minutes until enough MP had regenerated for me to use Butler's Care, and once I had recovered enough, I left the cave.

Outside, the moon was still hanging in the sky as I walked up the cliff, feeling completely exhausted, hoping to find Bella waiting for me, but when I reached the top, she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around for a moment before calling out to her." Bella!" There was no response, so I raised my voice a little and called out again." Bella!" Still, there was no response. Did she go back to the mansion without me?

I couldn't even be sure how much time had passed since I entered the cave, so there was no way for me to know whether she had simply gotten tired of waiting and returned to the mansion. Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from my left, causing my entire body to tense up immediately. Is this another monster? A moment later, a silhouette slowly appeared between the trees, and then an ugly, swollen face came into view, scaring the hell out of me. Holy shit!

I would have screamed if not for the ability that immediately activated. [Sovereign Composure activated.] I stared at the face for a moment, and the more I looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, until more of the person's body finally emerged from behind the trees and I realized that it was a woman. Why do I have this strange feeling that I know her? Then the woman spoke in an unusually deep voice.

"Sir Edwin, look what happened to my face... Oww... oww..." ("..") It was Bella. Oh my god. I couldn't help but chuckle, and even though Sovereign Composure was still active, the laughter somehow managed to escape from my mouth.

"Ehh?" Bella looked at me with suspicion before asking, "Are you laughing?" The more she talked, the harder it became for me to suppress my laughter, and when she finally came closer while still wearing that horribly swollen face, I completely lost control.

"Hahaha! Oh my god, what happened to you?"

"Don't laugh at me!" She immediately started crying even harder, which only made it more difficult for me to stop laughing, and before I knew it, I was laughing even more. The tension that I hadn't even realized I had been holding inside me finally began to leave my body as I laughed my heart out. Dear Bella, you are a blessing.