LIGHTNOVELONLINE B3—Chapter 39: The Essence of Fire
After a good night’s sleep and a big meal, I was human again. Rue’s Storage had emptied while I was shooting lizards, so I gave him more food and returned to Hell. I shouted as loud as possible to attract lizards and shoot them. Very few lizards came to attack me, and I got rid of them in less than an hour.
I flew more and more towards the center, towards the volcano. After about a kilometer, my health declined again. Based on all the experience I had gained in the last few days, I already knew how to recognize the signs immediately. I tried calculating how many days had passed, but couldn’t. I was sure at least five days or more, maybe even eight, but that’s as close as I could guess.
When I took a deep breath, the air still felt heavy, hot, and oppressive, with a powerful stench of sulfur, but it didn’t burn me like it had before. It just felt too heavy and hot in my lungs.
So why is my health dropping?
I hovered in place, cast Fortify Life Force to restore the points I’d lost, and just took deep breaths, over and over, until the air felt normal. Not hot or heavy. Just air that stinks of sulfur. I checked my profile, and my health was full.
Hmm, so I’m still not wholly attuned to fire?
The air became heavy and hot again once I flew a few more meters in. I stayed put until the air felt normal, cast Fortify Life Force to regain what I had lost, and advanced a few more meters. I went on like this for hours, maybe even two or three days. Now and then, a lizard or two appeared, but I didn’t even bother to take out the rifle. As soon as they tried to spit fire at me, I closed their mouths with telekinesis, waited for them to stop convulsing, and flew on.
I was tired again. For a very brief moment, I thought about Al’s potion, and then I told myself there was no way in hell I would ever drink that horrible thing again. I returned to the entrance cave, sat with Rue for a while to keep him company, heard about the movies he watched while I was busy, ate, took a cold bath, slept, and rinsed and repeated.
That’s how I spent at least two weeks and finally arrived at the volcano. In the last kilometer, the air was full of ash. I tried to put on a gas mask, but quickly, it began to melt. I replaced it with a medical mask. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than nothing. The air here wasn’t just hot; it was boiling. The red flashes of lightning looked threatening and dangerous.
I took a deep breath, almost choked on the ash, and told myself:
You’ve already faced lightning once, and you survived. Not only did you survive, but you gained your most powerful weapon. If you’ve done it once, you can do it again.
To be on the safe side, I said a brief prayer.
“Guiding spirits, watch over me, and don’t let me kill myself through sheer stupidity.”
I pulled on three medical masks, pressing them tight against my mouth and nose. It did little to block the ash clogging the air, but at least it softened the worst of it. Each breath still felt raw, burning my throat with that gritty, bitter taste of soot. I tried to push the discomfort aside, closing my eyes and letting the world around me slip away for a moment. My mind zeroed in on the energy building in my core, a familiar hum that surged from somewhere deep inside, buzzing down my arms, itching to escape. Lightning crackled along my fingers, a wild, eager thing.
I took one more breath, steeling myself before I released it, letting the lightning arc forward. I felt it coil, surge, and leap out in a flash, meeting the red lightning blazing toward me with a blinding crack. For a heartbeat, I thought maybe that was it—that I’d overpowered it—but then I felt it: the red lightning latched onto my own, its energy racing back along the line straight toward me. Before I could even process it, it slammed into my body.
My entire system jolted. It wasn’t pain so much as something primal, a blistering heat that felt alive, tearing through every nerve like fire racing through dry grass. It came in brutal, relentless waves, each one tearing through me from my hands down to my feet, then whipping back up my spine and straight to my head. My whole body locked up, instinctively tense against the onslaught. I was burning from the inside out, each nerve set ablaze, each breath sharp and desperate.
But I couldn’t let go. I was close to my limit—no question about that. If I lost control now, I wasn’t sure I’d survive the backlash. With a last-ditch effort, I split my mind, one part hanging onto consciousness, the other reaching for Healing Touch. I poured the spell into my left hand, flooding myself with a soothing warmth, trying to chase the worst of the agony from my body. The healing energy moved through me in pulses, like a balm against the fire, and I layered Fortify Life Force on top, strengthening my cells, holding myself together as the red lightning fought against me. It was all I had—two fragile spells against a storm tearing through every inch of me.
Time seemed to stretch. I couldn’t tell if it had been seconds or hours, only that I was locked in this relentless fight, an inferno of lightning and fire. Every pulse of magic, every wave of energy, kept me teetering on the edge of consciousness, but somehow, I didn’t slip. I clung on, anchored by sheer stubbornness and a hard-won knowledge that, eventually, this would end. And despite how much I hated pain—how much it scared me—I stayed. I endured. Because I knew what waited on the other side. And this pain, I decided, was worth that.
This was nothing like the first time I’d tangled with lightning. That had been uncomfortable, sure, but manageable. This… this was something else, a twisted blend of fire, ice, electricity, and pressure, like my insides were getting squeezed and blasted in turns. It was a sensory overload, a relentless storm that pounded through me over and over.
My body trembled, a brittle shell barely holding up as the two forces raged inside me. Fire and life. Lightning and healing. Slowly, the blaze eased by stages—not by much, but enough that I could finally breathe without feeling like every breath was a new shock. The waves dulled to a steady, throbbing ache, each pulse echoing through me with a lingering burn but without that raw edge. My muscles loosened, my chest expanded as the searing tension faded into something I could handle.
When I opened my eyes, thin wisps of smoke curled up from my skin, drifting into the ash-choked air. I looked at myself. Red lines ran across my arms and chest, faintly glowing as if the lightning itself had carved them there. My vision swam; sudden bursts of heat would flare up in my eyes, blurring everything until I blinked hard, and for a moment, the world would flicker out. When my sight returned, it came back sharper, every detail outlined in strange clarity. Thin, erratic lines of lightning danced across my skin, glowing and crackling like veins of molten light.
Then, just like that, the lightning started to ease, the red glow fading from my body. It wasn’t agony anymore—just raw energy, flowing through me in waves, almost gentle now. The last of it trickled out, dissipating as I steadied myself. The storm was over. All that remained was the thick ash clouds, swirling around the volcano like a heavy curtain over the chaos that had just passed.
When I peered into the crater, I saw the core suspended in its center. I flew towards the core, touched it, and got a red stone. I already suspected what it was, but I used Identify to be sure.
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Affinity Stone Fire |
As I suspected.
“You’re a sneaky bastard,” I told the dungeon. “Nobody can reach you without fire affinity, but the reward you give is fire affinity. Egg and chicken much?”
Of course, the core didn’t answer me, but I needed to express my opinion.
I took the core and flew towards the entrance cave. Rue touched the core with his nose and also got a red stone.
“Rue not want it,” he informed me. “Rue not like fire.”
“Are you sure, buddy? It’s another element.”
He shook his head. “Rue not like fire. Fire not friend.”
I thought I’d offer my stone to Al and Mahya and have them do rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets it. Now, there was no need for that. There were two stones.
I continued to hold the core in my hand. The dungeon would collapse the minute I stored it, and I still had things to do. I took flight and circled the entire dungeon. It took me hours, but I saw nothing interesting. When I looked into the crater, lava was the only thing I saw inside. This dungeon was just horrible. There were no materials to collect, only annoying lizards.
Suddenly, an image jumped in front of my eyes—a textbook page from the 7th grade.
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The Benefits of Volcanic Ash for Soil Volcanic ash, produced by eruptions, can have a surprisingly positive impact on soil. When this ash falls to the ground, it might seem like a disaster, but it can make the soil more fertile. Here’s how: 1. Nutrient-Rich Minerals: 2. Improved Soil Structure: 3. Adjusted Soil pH: 4. Boosted Microbial Activity: Long-Term Effects: |
It surprised me—no, more precisely, it stunned me. I was always a good student and had an excellent memory if I studied hard. But I never ever had a photographic memory. And here, in front of my eyes—or mental eyes—was the page from the book I studied in the seventh grade. In my mind, I turned one page back.
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Volcanic eruptions are among the most powerful natural events on Earth. While they can cause immediate devastation to landscapes and communities, they also play a crucial role in shaping the environment over time. One way volcanic eruptions influence ecosystems is through the deposition of volcanic ash. When it settles on the ground, this ash begins a transformation process that significantly impacts the soil beneath it, eventually leading to increased soil fertility. |
I turned one page forward.
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Questions for Review: 1. What minerals does volcanic ash contain, and how do they benefit the soil? 2. Explain how volcanic ash improves soil structure and its effect on water retention. 3. How can volcanic ash influence the soil’s pH level? 4. How do microorganisms in the soil respond to volcanic ash? 5. Discuss the long-term effects of volcanic ash on an environment after an eruption. |
Hmm, is that what the Intelligence stat does? If so, I love it.
I removed the metal container that used to hold the sand from the rat island and filled it with ash for Al. I looked at the amount; there was a lot, but I already knew Al. He liked to have excessive amounts of everything. I remembered my quantities of coffee and Mahya’s alcohol and laughed.
Okay, not just Al.
After taking out more crates, boxes, and empty buckets, I filled everything with ash. To ensure I didn’t overlook anything, I dedicated several more hours to exploring the entire dungeon thoroughly, only to find nothing but ash.
I returned to the entrance cave, closed the house, placed the core on the ground, and instructed it to absorb everything.
The phenomenon we saw in the nature dungeon repeated itself. Everything seemed to warp, and then red, brown, black, and orange lines, which looked like streaks of flowing acrylic paint, flew toward the core and disappeared into it. It went on like this for over ten hours. This dungeon was massive. In the meantime, I sat with Rue, and we ate and talked about movies. He had just finished binging all the Mission Impossible films and wanted Mahya to invent a device to make masks so we could pretend to be other people.
“We have glamor,” I reminded him.
“Glamor not same. Rue think mask more fun.”
I couldn’t understand his logic, but it made me laugh.
After the core absorbed everything, the dungeon again looked like a vast space with hazy borders, and my core grew a centimeter.
Before exiting the dungeon, I said to Rue, “I’m not storing the core because as soon as I store it, the dungeon will start to collapse. We’ll come out of it with the core in hand, and then it will collapse. I’m sure there are adventurers on the other side. So we will turn invisible, and the minute we’re out of the opening, we will fly straight to the cave’s ceiling.”
“Yes boss!”
As soon as we left, we flew straight up. This was the first time I saw the portal of doom when the dungeon collapsed. The portal lightened to a dark gray, then a light gray, almost white, and gradually shrank.
I heard a shout, “It’s the invisible dungeon thieves!”
I looked at all the adventurers below—there were at least fifteen—and recognized the trio of crocodiles from the gorge.
Well, hello there.
They still wore the same leather vests that showcased their tattoos. The biggest one among them, who I thought was the leader, pointed his giant sword and shot fire at the portal from the sword.
It made me angry. This was the second time he tried to kill us. I felt anger rising from my core and flooding me.
Who does he think he is?
What makes him believe he can waltz in and claim dungeons as if they’re his by right?
I became furious. My hands shook with anger, and I started taking shallow breaths. It felt hard to breathe; I was so angry.
First come, first served, that’s the rule!
And he calls us thieves?
How dare he?
It felt like a dam inside me broke and released a flood of rage that overtook me. Each thought worsened my fury until I felt I wasn’t getting enough air.
I couldn’t let it go any longer—he had to go. The world would be better without him. It wasn’t enough to avoid him; I needed to erase him from existence.
I created lightning in my hand—red lightning with fire—and held out my hand in his direction–
Rue yelled in my mind, “JOHN NOT ANGRY!”
It was an even louder shout than when he had previously spoken-shouted. I felt it reverberating inside my head like it had enormous sound waves with real volume. It stunned me and snapped me out of the downward spiral of anger. My actions shocked me. It wasn’t me. I never wanted to kill anyone. Yes, I have killed people, but only in self-defense or to protect another.
I clamped down on my emotions with everything in me and told Rue, “Let’s get out of here.”
After we left the mine tunnels, we continued to fly along the river, and I tried to understand what had taken over me.
What had come over me? It wasn’t me, not even in my worst nightmares.
I shook my head to clear it and looked at the view. We flew along the river, above the trees, and I could see a winding road in the distance. The air was so clean, with no air pollution or industry smells. I breathed deeply and felt myself getting saturated with the clean air and beauty around me. Slowly, my anger cooled.
It stopped me in my tracks in shock. I hovered on the spot and felt Rue getting further away until he stopped and flew back towards me. I landed and started thinking. It wasn’t me. That was the fire inside me.
I had a flash of a memory of Sonak yelling at us for staying in a luxury suite in Vegas while his friend was being held captive. He had two classes with Fire: A Fire Mage and a Pyro Knight. For the first time, I understood his temper. There was too much fire in him. I still thought he was an idio. His zealotry and tendency to jump to conclusions without asking questions were entirely his traits and had nothing to do with the elements. But for the first time, I understood him a little.
The thought of me turning into Sonak, at least in temperament, scared me. I had to find a solution, and urgently. I thought about it. The wind was the mind, and the earth was the body. Both balanced each other. The wind was light and chaotic, and the earth was heavy and settled. Together, they created a balance.
Water and fire were both elements of the spirit aspect. Fire was the drive, and water was the calm. I had to connect with water to balance the fire inside me. Otherwise, right now, I would be dangerous.
Luckily, we were near a river. I didn’t want to sit by this river because I saw boats on it occasionally as we flew by. I opened the Map and saw a stream that was close by and connected to this river.
“Come on, Rue, I must take care of something.”
We flew towards the stream and arrived after half an hour. I flew along the stream until I found a picturesque spot with trees and flowers. As soon as I landed, I went into the water to establish a connection with it. For a long time, I lay on my back in the water, ignoring the cold, unable to make the connection. It felt like there was a barrier within me. Something was stopping me.
Rue came up to me. “Rue hungry.”
I snapped at him, “Can’t you see I’m busy? Stop thinking with your stomach!”
Immediately, I felt terrible, jumped out of the water, and hugged him. “I’m sorry, buddy. I’m not myself right now. Instead of me controlling the fire, it’s controlling me.”
Full of intent, Rue looked me in the eye and said, “Fire is not friend.”
The first time he said it, I thought he meant he feared the fire. But now I understood.
From the mouth of babes—or a dog, in this case.
The fire was not a friend. I didn’t earn this affinity honestly. I didn’t reach understanding, then connection, unity, friendship, and finally control. Instead, I forced the fire down my body and mana channels, kept myself alive with magic, and basically forced myself to be attuned to the element. But I didn’t understand fire. How could I control something I didn’t understand? Of course, the fire controlled me. To control something, you need to know it, to understand it. I didn’t understand fire, so I couldn’t control it. That was what blocked me with the water. I didn’t try to get to know or understand water but to extinguish a fire. Of course, it didn’t work.
I had to learn about fire and understand it. Knowing the aspect and being able to color my mana with the aspect of fire wasn’t a fundamental understanding. It was an imitation. I needed to attain a genuine understanding and knowledge of fire.
I took some wood from my Storage, lit a fire, sat, and looked into the flame. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t understand it. Fire was fire; what was there to understand?
A memory floated up. There was a fire in the foster home I lived in when I was ten. The father, Mr. Santon, was drunk and fell asleep on the couch with a lit cigarette. When the fire started, he ran out and didn’t even try to save us. The neighbors called the fire department. A firefighter rescued me and Mark, the boy who slept in the room with me, through the window. When he got us out, I saw them put the other two kids in the house into an ambulance, and the paramedics looked frantic. That night, social services took us away, and I never saw Mark or the other kids again. When I tried to ask what had happened to them, the social worker told me not to concern myself with grown-up things.
Even then, I suspected that one of the children, or even both, didn’t survive. The urgency of the paramedics and the fact that no one agreed to tell me what happened was a pretty big clue that I understood, even at the age of ten.
I looked at the fire and realized that I was afraid of fire. That experience colored my opinion. Later, when I worked in the ER, I treated quite a few burn victims—people who survived a fire and firefighters. I looked at the fire and tried to forgive it.
It didn’t work.
I sat and remembered more and more things about Mr. Santon. How he would shout and curse when he was drinking. His impatience with me when I asked for something. How he would ignore my questions. How he called me ‘white trash.’ And I understood. For the first time, I understood. It wasn’t the fire’s fault. Fire was just fire. You can’t blame water for being wet or the ground for being under our feet. These things exist. Fire is just fire.
She burns—that’s her nature.
The one to blame wasn’t the fire. Mr. Santon fell asleep with a lit cigarette and ran out when the fire started without thinking of us. I felt something release. I let go of the anger about the fire and the fear of it. Fire was just fire.
I knew I had regained some control, but it wasn’t enough. I had to reach true oneness and, from there, Unity and friendship. Acceptance was not enough.
What do I like about fire?
I like to cook, and I like delicious food. You can’t cook without fire or its derivative—heat.
I tried to imagine myself living my whole life on raw food and shuddered in horror. There was no chance!
I smiled at the fire and felt closer to it.
As I was thinking, I tried to remember what else I liked about fire.
The rat island came to mind. We did burn the forest there, but I knew we also burned most of the rats’ bodies. I was sure that without the rat infestation, the environment on the island would thrive, and a big part of that was the fire that burned away their contamination.
Fire is renewal.
I felt closer to the fire.
I tried to think of something else and remembered all kinds of sayings and clichés related to fire: Burning Curiosity, Set the World on Fire, Trial by Fire, Light a fire under someone, Fire in the belly…
Although these were just metaphors, and it wasn’t a physical fire, it was still fire—simply in a different embodiment. Fire is ardor, passion, drive, courage, energy, creativity, resilience, and a relentless spirit that refuses to be extinguished.
It took a whole day and night, but I finally understood fire and appreciated her. I felt the closeness to this element, the connection to it. A flame jumped from the fire and landed on my palm, making me jump in surprise. I didn’t feed the flame with my mana, but it burned on my palm. It tickled and felt like laughter. I felt the wind giggling on the breeze. Fire giggled with warm tickles on my palm.
Rue came over, sniffed the fire, and sneezed. The fire jumped from my palm onto the tip of his nose and just burned there.
“John smart. Now fire friend.” He informed me in a serious tone and licked my face.
I realized I didn’t need unity. The element was already inside me, a part of me. We already had a much deeper Unity. Now was the time to build friendships, and we took the first step.
