Chapter 7: Pseudo-Extreme Flame Meteor
The outdoor magic training grounds of the Hysterm Family were vast but largely abandoned. Though spring had arrived, no grass had grown, leaving patches of bare earth. The enclosed experimental huts, standard for any training ground, had dilapidated doors and windows. The guard posts that once prevented outsiders had been removed, and the tool shed stood empty, overgrown with weeds. It didn’t reflect the Hysterm Family’s wealth, resembling more an abandoned outdoor square outside a neglected factory.
Yet, the grounds were indeed expansive. From the edge, the main building of the Hysterm Family appeared diminished in size. A brief look into the Hysterm Family’s situation would reveal why this was normal. Will’s older brothers, while not particularly accomplished in magic, possessed considerable business acumen and now held important positions in various merchant guilds and adventurer-related economic sectors. Consequently, this training ground had fallen into disuse.
This continued until today, when Will arrived. He had set up a square wooden table on the desolate grounds, laid out his draft paper, and placed a magic auxiliary lampshade—in short, he had made the area look quite serious. Because this training ground was located outside the Hysterm Family estate, it was semi-public. As soon as Will finished setting up, a crowd had gathered outside the fence. The Hysterm Family had strong ties with the Adventurer’s Association, and a sizable branch was located nearby, which explained why Will’s correspondence with S was so convenient. The chattering crowd consisted of passing adventurers, including many experienced captains and vice-captains, and countless individuals skilled in magic.
“Oh? Isn’t this the Hysterm Family’s training ground? It’s usually deserted,” one of them remarked.
“Indeed. And that person is the current popular figure of the Hysterm Family, Young Master Will, who took first place in the magic entrance exam at Entak First Academy,” another chimed in. The Hysterm Family naturally attracted the attention of these adventurers. Will observed the onlookers, his hands not ceasing their movements.
“Alright, the table is set. This item is a coin, it should meet the requirements. Now… the catalyst is also prepared…” Will noticed a burly man with a large crimson sword strapped to his back, built like a double-door refrigerator. This was likely the captain of “Lava,” an adventuring team ranked thirtieth. Their team’s name reflected their preference for fire-based dungeon assaults.
“He seems quite capable. We might be able to invite him to our adventuring team later,” one adventurer mused.
“Ah, Captain, don’t joke. Setting aside how precious a young master from the Hysterm Family is, do you know that while he got full marks in academics, his potential and talent tests were deemed unsatisfactory? And his physical training courses were just barely passing,” another replied.
Though it was painful, Will had to admit that, as a cannon fodder character in his past life destined to be crushed by a Slime, he had done his best over the past fourteen years. As for magic studies, it was an open-book exam for him because he had been involved in the game’s magic skill design—from visual effects to attack multipliers, number of hits, and mechanics, everything had passed through his hands. However, physical training was beyond him. Due to his premature birth and the Hysterm Family’s inherent frailty, he couldn’t improve regardless of his efforts. It was truly troublesome that Entak First Academy’s grades were publicly disclosed. Now, the entire city knew he was weak.
“Young Master, can Iaar help with anything?” Iaar seemed to notice his reaction to the overheard conversations and tilted her head, asking.
“Hmm… for your safety, you don’t need to participate yet. Please place the stone slabs I brought about ten meters in front of me. We’ll conduct a preliminary experiment to gather important data. You can join after it’s confirmed okay.”
“Understood.”
Will also brought a small cart loaded with several bound ice crystal slabs. Each slab was about ten centimeters thick, uniform in texture, and when bound together, they formed a meter-thick stack.
“They’re so pretty…”
“Aren’t they? They’ll be gone in a moment,” Will said, patting the slabs. “These are calibration plates, used to measure the exact intensity of bombarded magic. How many layers they can penetrate determines the power of a specific magic. The material is usually standardized magic crystals. I had to beg my father to buy them from the Magic Academy; these experimental materials aren’t usually sold to the public.”
It’s so complicated, Iaar scratched her head. Anyway, she did as the Young Master said, pushing the slabs about ten meters away, to a line also drawn on the ground. She dragged and pushed them into place. Was the Young Master going to bombard this thing with magic? And break through it? She didn’t quite understand, but even dragging it into place, the item felt incredibly heavy and solid.
“Hmph, what is that kid playing at now, using the Hysterm Family’s wealth for some pretend research. Does he think learning to use calibration stones counts as research? A one-meter thick ice crystal calibration plate requires at least 8,000 ‘xi’ of energy. A student’s magic would be lucky to reach 200 ‘xi’. Using an ice crystal plate far exceeds the test’s resolution!”
Will glanced over. The one speaking seemed to be a professor from Tifars Academy, an old man with a white beard and a tall magic hat. It wasn’t unusual to find people from academies around here trading materials from the dungeons. ‘Xi’ was a unit of magic strength. After researching for a few days, Will discovered it was equivalent to the damage value of a character’s attack with a skill multiplier of 1, without considering other buffs, when the opponent’s defense was 1—essentially, raw damage. How useful it was to be a numerical planner for this trashy novel back then.
“Ah, let’s disperse, let’s disperse. I thought it was something big,” one person said.
“It’s just the Young Master playing house.”
“How boring. I thought the decadent and declining Hysterm Family might produce a little genius.”
Hearing this, Will paused his action of applying the catalyst to the coin. He chuckled lightly. It was his time to perform. In a way, choosing the abandoned outdoor training grounds of the Hysterm Family was precisely to prove himself and Iaar’s strength to these bystanders.
“Iaar, move further away. Yes, over there. I’ve drawn a line; that’s the safety line.”
“Oh, okay… okay…” Iaar pouted and, wagging her tail, retreated step by step. On the overgrown grass, she saw a line drawn in chalk by Will, though she hadn’t noticed when he’d drawn it.
“Young Master, is this alright?”
“Mhm.” Will raised the staff placed beside the table, letting the coin hang a few centimeters above the clamp supported by an alcohol lamp. Due to the catalyst, it had ignited but hadn’t yet exploded.
“What we seek is the ultimate flame, what we await is the meteor in the night sky, what we desire is the imitation of a demigod.”
Inhaling deeply, Will channeled magic into his staff, reciting the incantation. He felt the surrounding air heating up, seemingly flowing with his breath. Although it was only a small area of air, about a meter in radius, it was as described in ancient texts, the necessary condition for combustion, flowing and gathering around the coin with the incantation. The coin, which with the catalyst was only a small burning object, began to grow towards a giant fireball, becoming larger and larger. Will felt as if he were rolling a snowball down a mountain; the snowball, initially the size of a coin, would grow thicker and faster with its increasing volume, and with its accelerated speed, it would roll even faster, giving a sense of imminent loss of control.
“Imprint our fate, incinerate our souls, scorch our lives. This is the Extreme Flame Meteor—”
The air and wind around him swirled. Uttering the final words, Will lightly gestured, and the coin, like a shooting star, rapidly hurtled towards the calibration plate—
On a clear, crisp day, the long-abandoned training grounds of the Hysterm Family blazed with a light more brilliant than the sun.
