Zayn sat at the depths of a lake, under the water. Like a monk who had mastered meditation and entered the state of Zen. His insides, however, were anything but calm. The lingering heat of the flame still raced in his veins, cracking and bolting through him, making a barbecue of his insides.

  Verdant Skin(Apprentice) has ranked up from Mid to High!

  With him as the center, water hissed. Weaving and forming into bubbles. [Minor Flame resistance] allowed him to hold an impossible amount of heat within his veins, more than what any human should survive.

  So he sat underneath the lake and let his skill handle the heat transfer.

  As for breathing? Not a problem. Ever since he had gotten Bloodmetal, his need for oxygen lessened, as his blood could carry plenty of extra oxygen.

  He only had to exhale to let out the toxic buildup.

  The problem was that he’d occasionally forget he was underwater. He'd exhale and attempt to breathe back. Force of habit. Caused the water to burst through his airways.

  “Mmph.”

  Once again, he choked on his own breath and cursed himself as he burst out of the water.

  The air kissed his skin, turning misty. He huffed, checking the sizzling lake with a bit of a smirk. The water level had gone down almost a foot from the residual heat alone.

  His body shivered even now as he walked. Half from the heat, half from the adrenaline. While Bloodmetal could certainly be a decent conductor, he hadn’t known if it could sustain the heat long enough to work. He didn’t know, yet charged into the unknown anyway. It made him feel alive...in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

  There was no way he’d have died—with [Undying Cockroach], Verdant Skin, and all that. Worst-case scenario, he just had to bring out the magic patch and run the hell out.

  No longer his concern.

  He won. That's all that mattered!

  He stared at his hard-earned feat again:

  The First Spark (Silver) – This is too much reward for a madman like you. You’d have done the same thing if someone told you that setting yourself on fire gives you stats in fortitude. Too bad — this feat won’t grant you any more boons for your madness!

  Effect: +3 vitality, + 3 constitution. Additionally, 0.1%+ fire affinity.

  He hadn't quite understood it at first. He thought he could make enough fire to burn a whole friggin' leaf!

  It was a weak fire, after all.

  Flame: 0.18%+

  Then he realized...his fire was not static. It was capable of growth. Every single one of his movements caused fluctuation in it.

  He began to put it to the test. Stretching his feet, he took a step…then a leap.

  Flame: 0.30…0.41%+

  Muscles stretched, he leapt the furthest he could with each step. As the air struck him, he felt it. He felt the impact of his heel hammering the land.

  Each movement lit up a small, tiny spark in his body.

  Alone, they were insignificant, incapable of amounting to much. But they weren't alone.

  Flame: 0.55…0.57%+

  His bones popped and began to work in tandem. Each of his limbs became part of a precise engine, carrying the friction. His muscles became the wire to transfer the sparks. They turned into latent heat, channeling into his veins.

  Flame: 0.60…64…68%+

  Each fragment of metal in his blood heated up, carrying the heat upwards. As they struck against each other, they transferred the energy. Rapidly gathering towards his heart.

  Flame: 0.99%+

  Then came the threshold.

  The sparks raced into his veins and joined into one—then ignited.

  Flame: 1.00%+

  Fire enveloped him like a veil.

  It burned around his body. Freely. Against the wind.

  He understood what his feat was…

  It was about going against the flow. Friction and kinetic energy. Movement against reality itself.

  Every interaction he had with the world, the wind battering him, his steps hammering the ground, all of it became heat, fanning the fire within him.

  Flame: 1.34%+

  With a grin, he struck the nearest tree with his palm.

  It dented.

  And the white bark that was resistant to flame finally reacted. From his palm as the center, fire spread out, oozing out of his pores into a wave of flame. The tree began to burn. Its bark lost luster and turned charred wherever the fire touched. Soon, the parts it touched began to crumble and shatter into ash. Almost half of the tree vanished before the fire went out.

  Unfortunately, that wouldn't give him levels, or he would have finished getting a hundred levels today.

  Already, he had cleared up a lot of the treant. He would have gone again, but decided he had played enough with fire today.

  While his fire wouldn't really give him that much power boost, it would prove significant against the treants. At the very least, they would be scared of him after that. They would remember him. Soon, it won't be the sage they fear, but him!

  More than him, his benefactor was losing it!

  Northwalker: What is that Aspect?

  Northwalker : ... .that is…a…what…

  Northwalker: This is weird. You are weird. There was no way your method should have worked! The First Spark? I’ve never even heard of anyone with that Flame Aspect…Usually, sparks are associated with lightning and wind. That’s so weird.

  “Whatever.” He wasn’t sure if benefactors verbally abusing their sponsees was allowed. But he’d let it slide since it sounded like praise.

  He began running again, just to keep the fire burning within his chest.

  Northwalker: Just like you, you found something weird for your first aspect. You weirdo.

  “Yes, yes,” a shit-eating grin appeared on his face. “Praise me more.”

  Northwalker didn’t like that one bit.

  So, for the next five minutes, he got lectured by his benefactor, who was only limited by the number of his messages. He kept running without paying any heed to it, and as he watched Northwalker run out of messages, he laughed manically.

  He won!

  Huffing in relief, Zayn stopped, putting his hand on his knees as he breathed in.

  He was happy to have his own version of Gandalf, Dumbledore, or Sherlock Holmes, but he realized the bad part of having a mentor was that scoldings came naturally.

  At least he should be safe for a while, since the messages ran out.

  Or so he thought.

  Until he saw the next system text.

  Northwalker has subscribed to lv3 benefactorship!

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  You’ve gained fifty thousand grade 3 Arax!

  He sighed, “Here we go again.”

  Northwalker: What do you mean, here we go again?! It's a huge deal. You’ll understand it later. Good job, for now. That was incredible. You've passed a threshold, and I can't tell you why it's so amazing. The weirdest thing was that your starting class had that kind of quest. Usually, people get that in their later class advancement—'

  “Oh, right, tell me more about classes and advancements.” Zayn suddenly felt curiosity spark inside of him again.

  Northwalker: I am on my third warning! Are you scheming to get me muted forever? The earlier stuff I explained was things even toddlers in the greater universe know! The System thinks you’ve earned the right to know what even toddlers know! You’ll learn of class and class advancements when it is due time. But let me see…your next class quest is…

  His benefactor grew silent. Prompting Zayn to take a look.

  Class quest (V) —Bloodletting!

  Lose a hundred litres of blood (0/100)!

  Reward: Passive Class Skill - [Repository] unlocked!

  Zayn, too, was speechless now.

  Even though he likely had more than ten litres of blood in his ever-expanding system, losing a hundred litres would take a while. Worse, ever since he’d gotten bloodmetal, he planned not to lose much blood.

  He thought that was the end of it.

  But no, he’d once again be forced to look like a manic madman!

  Northwalker: That checks out :p.

  He snorted.

  Even that is fine.

  He didn’t really care about that anymore.

  Instead, he began running again. Exhilarated by the freedom he felt in his chest.

  He bolted into the forest.

  It was empty still—stone golems overextending their paid vacation days—letting him swagger around butt-naked. But he could do so much more than just run. Craning his neck high, he stared at the branches, and a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes.

  He shot a blood vine out of his veins—thinner and more flexible than ever before—and latched onto one of the branches. Then, like a spring, he made it yank him upwards.

  He glided through the air, hands raised, feeling the wind caress his naked body. Slinging from one branch to another. Grinning like a happy monkey!

  Perhaps this was true freedom?

  “I am frigging Spider-Man now!” He beamed. “No—Vine-Man! No, too uncool. Tree-Man? Maybe Entangle-Man?...Nah, that one’s a bit weird.”

  ***

  “What the hell is he doing?” Nova Rain muttered, staring at the naked man swinging around the trees like a damn moron.

  [An interesting thought!]

  Ugh

  [From Contestant Zayn’s facial expression, body language, and laughter, it appears he may have a severe case of disassociation! He thinks he’s a human spider or a living tree. Probable causes:

  1. A hit in the head when he was young.

  2. A hit in the head...just about a few hours ago.]

  She shot the floating notification a tired glance, then proceeded to ignore it. Her eyes unabashedly ogled at the naked Zayn. Not because of attraction, she didn’t even like men, or humans for that matter. They were too plain for her taste. Too basic.

  Right now, though, she was just very, very confused.

  Whatever species of human this was, this couldn’t be the standard cultural practice. Right? To run around naked?

  “At least he’s still wearing the mask,” She snorted. Certainly, hiding his face was more important than the dangling thing between his legs.

  The world was going insane. Or perhaps just her.

  Adult content has been detected in your stream! Initiate safe-watching?

  “Nah, that’s fine.” She rejected, adding with a mutter. “I’ve seen bigger ones.”

  What is that fire, though?

  [An interesting thought! Analysis active!]

  By now, she was beginning to learn how to control the thoughts that triggered the skill. Though she knew the on switch, but did not know the off switch.

  [‘The First Spark’ is a growth-based aspect of fire. That diverts him from the usual static Aspects that give a fixed affinity. Instead, this fire grows with kinetic action, and most importantly, it has…no limits.]

  A limit breaker aspect. That is exceptionally rare.

  Nova frowned. The first aspect that one gains reflects their soul and desires more than anything.

  This was important. That meant his hunger for growth was an ingrained trait. He was going to grow steadily.

  [Exactly. One day, he’s going to grow into a wildfire.]

  She'd won huge.

  The point of purchasing the level three benefactor package was the live broadcast feature. She could now keep a close eye on him, and that was important. Until now, the biggest danger to Zayn was…Zayn himself.

  And there was a problem.

  Your sponsee has gone up to rank 29! Send a congratulatory gift?

  How? He didn't even know about the leaderboards! He was clueless, and in the hell zone!

  Monster hunter leaderboard(Area 7, Zone C)!

  29. Stoneheaded

  Thankfully, he didn't have his astral account opened, or he might have gotten swarmed with benefactors by now. But why was he in the leaderboards? The rules for such "stranded" people weren't exactly clear to her.

  The name Stoneheaded, it fit him, actually, but whoever had named him that was being an nuisance.

  [An interesting thought. Only someone of a high-ranked overseer’s authority could do that, temporarily, if the contestant does not choose the name themselves. As for why [Stoneheaded], you should know.]

  Huh? Because of the feat?

  The corner of her lips twitched.

  Now that he was on the leaderboards, everybody was just waiting to snatch him away from her. She couldn't allow that.

  This was a chance.

  Unlike her father, she had never been gifted in fighting. She wasn't gifted in the affinities like her mother. Instead, she inherited her father's stoic temperament and her mother's icks.

  So, she had assumed she would never make a name for herself.

  But Zayn...he could change everything.

  In the greater universe, there were two ways to be powerful. Either you were strong, or you had someone really strong backing you up. Eventually, would be strong enough to take the world, if they had some external guidance and support.

  Not the leeches, but someone genuine who'd help him out as a favour. An investment. She could be that figure, for him.

  If she didn't, someone else would.

  At that moment, she decided.

  “Overseer Sun, I forfeit!” She stated. At his level, he perceived any call directed at him as long as she uttered his name with intention.

  “After all that?” The Overseer's voice was coloured with surprise.

  Forfeiting after all that meant humiliation on AstralSpace. Only proved Aman’s point further. His fangirls would jump on her again, making fun of her.

  Pierce a rare-grade or higher metal using ≤1mm3 of the Element [Water] (76/100)

  Reward: Feat [Water Savant]

  She could complete it within a week. But that's still a few days.

  She couldn’t waste that much time here.

  A much bigger plan brewed inside her head. She couldn’t count on Zayn not finding out about the livestreaming feature by himself. Once he did, others would go mad to have him in their faction.

  She couldn’t allow that.

  As long as she brought Zayn into her faction before others, she could get more support from the clan elders. Even if she couldn’t come to power herself, she’d become a roadblock in Aman’s path.

  Temporary humiliation? That she could endure. But Aman wasn’t becoming the clan head while she was alive.

  She repeated, “I’ve decided, I forfeit the challenge.”

  ***

  After slinging around for a while, Zayn found himself exhausted of mana and spirit, and quietly rested atop the branches. Their stingers didn’t pierce his skin anymore. In fact, they were on their way to becoming as tough as a rhino’s skin. Strangely, though, they didn’t lose their flexibility.

  Reforged under the fire, his veins and arteries had become crystalline. Every inch under his skin was covered with thicker veins and arteries—forming an interwoven net for his bloodways. His blood was rapidly adapting to hold the fire coursing within him. For every vein damaged, another was being rebuilt with more grit, girth, and resilience. Blood surged through and out of them like a vigorous river, and he felt a breakthrough.

  Scarlet Veins(Apprentice) has evolved to Blood Channels(Initiate)!

  The near vampiric shade of his skin had become even more pronounced, pale as a corpse. He also looked extra veiny now. And his veins would occasionally flash red, like an RGB light.

  Not something he'd complain about. He knew a few dudes in the gym who would pay for this look.

  Charge capacity has increased to 25!

  Each charge is generated every 15 minutes. Additionally, you gain 1 Charge for every 6% of maximum health lost and 2 charges each time a new buff activates on you.

  Charge: 25/25.

  The main change was that his charges could now naturally regenerate themselves very fast. From zero to full within just six hours or so. Moreso, he could also gain charges by taking damage.

  And every time buffs were activated.

  Maybe he should team up with someone who could buff frequently. Like a certain…old man with a ghost hanging around him.

  Though he seemed to have vanished again.

  And, he found quite an interesting…thing.

  You’ve unlocked buff: ‘Bloodburn’!

  Using the stored racial blood, you can activate the buff ‘Bloodburn’.

  In this state, your skill reserves open up, allowing you to choose 2 additional skills. In this state, the cost of using the chosen skills is half. In this state, there is no cooldown to the chosen skills. In this state, all of your skills deal an additional ‘Flame’ damage.

  So…like renting the skills? Was he renting the skills?

  The length and duration of the buff depend on your blood reserves. The flame damage is based on your aspects and affinity.

  Interesting.

  He couldn’t wait to use it, but the thing was…he had to wait. For some weird reason…the ape and turtles had vanished. And it rang an ominous tune in him.

  The sun still burned brightly in the deep blue sky, hanging in the middle. Still, half of the day cycle was left, he supposed. But the growing red spot in the sky unsettled him. It was as if the sky had been stabbed in the chest with no way to close the wound.

  He felt the storm brewing underneath.

  Hell zone being silent for this long meant something very serious was going to happen anytime. He still had no idea of what happened to the Stone Ape last night.

  Assuming Faeria had defeated it after he went unconscious, where was she right now?

  What had she been doing for the entire night?

  Given his quests still showed ‘Defeat the stone ape’ as a clearable objective, it was definitely going to make a return.

  Perhaps tonight.

  In that case, he was going to be caught unaware and sandwiched between the treants and apes.

  A noise caught him off gaurd.

  Rustle

  He noticed an abnormally long black pair of hands swinging around the area. What?

  He did a double-take. How could a pair of hands be hanging around all by itself…and it was so obnoxiously long…like it belonged to a friggin’ ghost.

  Even after all he saw at the inverted forest, he wasn’t quite okay with the idea of a pair of black arms being a monster.

  ‘I see through it’ active!

  When he followed his gaze down, he finally saw a figure wearing a white gown down below, hanging upside down.

  Battlewraith – ??

  He scowled. It was just the ghost of gravekeepers wife. Why was she hanging from the trees? Was she copying him?

  No, he certainly hadn’t looked that silly, for certain. Wasn’t she like Raka, a corpse that came to life? It didn't make sense that she could stay during the day while Raka had to go.

  Back when he first met her, she overpowered him. He could barely stop her with bloodflare. Now that he was stronger, he didn’t need to fear her as much.

  At the very least, he could run.

  He stared at her with intent, “Let’s see what you really are.”

  ‘I see through it’ has seen through ‘Battlewraith’!