125 – Plans Are Made to Be Discarded – 4

What she could feel from the cold was always only solitude, sadness, and anger.

Whenever her kindred died, the cold always hovered around them.

To deal with the Flame Humans, a powerful race where each individual matched the strength of a group, enemies had always risked their lives, repeatedly luring some of them into traps.

Although they tightly united, trusting only their own kind on this hellish continent, there were still always those who died from a single moment’s mistake.

‘Never hand over my heart to the enemies. I hope this at least remains by your side to protect you…’

After coming to this continent, snowflakes caused by magic traps bloomed without fail near the Flame Humans who met their deaths.

Every time she retrieved the red jewel that froze everything except for Flame Humans from the corpses covered in countless snowflakes,

even her heart, which had been warm like fire, seemed to freeze little by little.

‘You have talent, Tilla. To think you obtained a title that grants the power to endure the cold! There is no doubt that the one to reach the legendary realm next after me will be my daughter.’

Every time her kindred decreased, the red jewels in her arms increased one by one.

Although her father had said that she would be able to grow using those jewels,

and that those who died would also wish for it, she had absolutely no intention of consuming them.

When looking at the jewels, she could clearly tell who had left them behind.

How could she dare use them?

Even if her life were to be endangered, she had no intention of using the hearts of her kindred.

On the day death came to her, just as it had to the rest of her kindred,

she would keep them shoved deep inside her inventory so they would not fall into anyone’s hands, and meet a sparkling death together with them.

‘Tilla, survive and become strong. If only you can succeed me and reach the legendary realm, I could wish for nothing more.’

And before her, it was her father’s turn.

Her father, a powerhouse who could have easily survived on his own, had sacrificed himself without hesitation to protect her.

‘I don’t want to be alone.’

‘Don’t worry too much. Someday, you will definitely meet someone who will cherish and love you like your own kind.’

‘There is no such person. Everyone except our own kind has only tried to kill us.’

‘Tilla… this continent is very wide, and there are many people we haven’t met. Surely… among them, there will be someone who will cherish you even more than our own kind…’

Her father’s words were wrong.

Nowhere did anyone who would love her exist.

There were only those targeting the massive points she would yield upon her death as the sole remaining representative of her civilization.

As expected, she could trust no one other than her own kind.

If even Rodim, the Red Flame Beast, had not been by her side, she might have made the worst choice.

It was only natural, but

since the day her father died, the Flame Human hearts had never come out of her inventory.

‘Why isn’t she freezing?! Just how much do you think we spent to set up these conditions—!’

‘Perhaps it is because I have seen too many of my kind die like that. Thank you, you trash.’

There were two reasons why Scintilla was able to survive until she became the last Flame Human.

One was because her father had risked his life to protect her,

and the other was because she had obtained the title ‘Flame Sculpted from Ice’ while recovering the hearts of her kindred who died before her eyes.

It was a title that made her more resistant to the cold and allowed her to spark a strong flame with even a handful of heat.

She hated that title, which had saved her, so very much.

Because it reminded her of the snowflakes that had bloomed over the corpses whenever her kindred died.

It felt as if the countless snowflakes piled up under her feet, desperately clinging to her as if begging her not to forget them.

Because their shapeless emotions, which piled up and could not be shaken off, were so heavy and terrifying,

from some point on, she had been wandering in search of a place where she could die.

Perhaps that was why she had moved without hesitation even after hearing the story that there was another Flame Human besides herself, which could only be a lie.

‘Even if we are of different races, you are my companion.’

She did not believe it.

There was no way she could believe it.

But because she wanted to believe, she decided to believe that he was a Flame Human.

It was a very foolish thing to do—and because she had run away from reality until the end, she had put him and others in danger—

but even so, he had saved her.

Since then, she was no longer alone.

‘Then we are in the same party. I look forward to working with you, Tilla.’

She recalled the voice of the one who had pulled her out of the countless piles of snowflakes.

She finally realized.

Now, even in the cold, she could recall a handful of warmth—his warm touch.

The cold was no longer an object of fear and anger.

Feeling the warmth that filled her chest in an instant, she opened her eyes.

“Ah.”

Clearly, just a moment ago, it had been cold enough to make her wonder if her entire body would freeze.

But now, the coldness filling the surroundings did not dare invade her body.

In other words, it could no longer steal her heat.

The center of the heat was her heart.

Every time her heart beat, she felt a heartbeat that seemed to respond to it.

It was the warmth transmitted from the man standing back-to-back with her.

‘Indeed, no wonder it is warm.’

If Gi-jun had not stayed by her side, it would have taken her a long time to recall this warmth.

Perhaps she would have died before then.

She quietly raised her hand.

The mana flowing from the red jewels, the hearts of the Flame Humans placed all over the inside of the box, faltered all at once.

Now that she had learned how not to let her heat be stolen, it was her turn to steal from them.

“Thank you. I will become strong.”

Thank you for protecting me until now.

Thanks to that, I was able to meet Jun.

From now on, I think I can live without relying on you.

Now, I will protect the people precious to me.

—Ko-o-o-ong!

Sensing the change occurring in his master, Rodim cried out loudly and was absorbed into her body.

A change suddenly swept through the room that had been filled with cold air.

The heat stored inside the red jewels rushed out all at once, starting to heat up the inside of the box terribly.

The Flame Human mana, unable to steal Tilla’s heat, transformed into flames all at once and was completely absorbed into her.

Watching the jewels that had all their internal mana stolen shatter and sublimate one after another, she smiled faintly.

‘Goodbye, Father.’

Simultaneously with the shattering of her father’s heart, which had endured until the end, her transformation also came to a close.

Over her body, which had already become naked, a dress sculpted of flames was draped.

Her power, which had gone beyond the simple realm of mana and turned into the authority of fire, had manifested in the form of equipment.

“Fuuu…”

She accepted all the power she could take in to the limit, and released the rest without any lingering regret.

Watching Ur, the spirit with as good a sense as his master, take it in and eat it on his own, she laughed softly.

—You have transcended the limits of your species and become a Legendary-grade [Divine Flame Human ()]! Transcending your unique realm, your flame that freely dominates all heat is already close to the power of a god. The stat Flame Mana (L) changes to Divine Flame (L)!

—You have transcended the limits of your species and become a Legendary-grade [Divine Flame Human ()]! Transcending your unique realm, your flame that freely dominates all heat is already close to the power of a god. The stat Flame Mana (L) changes to Divine Flame (L)!

“Huh?”

Having completed her advancement, she tilted her head as she looked at the messages floating in front of her.

Because it was quite different from the species name her father had told her.

“The knack for the advancement was the same, so where did it change?”

But since the realm she had reached looked better than her father’s no matter how she looked at it, it seemed fine.

Her father would also only be happy that his daughter obtained a better result than him, and would definitely not dislike it.

She looked back at the primary contributor who had raised her to the legendary realm.

Perhaps he had also obtained what he wanted, as he had his eyes closed gently with a smile on his lips.

“Jun!”

“Uwoah?!”

She suddenly hugged Gi-jun.

Gi-jun, who was startled and opened his eyes wide thinking she was naked, soon realized a dress of flames was draped over her body and felt relieved, but… the next moment, he tilted his head and expressed his doubt.

“What is that? It’s a flame, but why isn’t it hot?”

“That’s because Jun is not my enemy. My flame changes its heat depending on the target.”

“Right, I figured as much. Thanks for making all that talk about heat and flames I rambled on earlier completely useless. …And congratulations on your advancement, Tilla.”

Even his appearance—replying in a drained voice while being surprised as if he had really lived in a world without mana, even after hearing something that was not surprising at all to a Flame Human—was lovely.

While she was racking her brain to somehow share her current overwhelming emotions with this man, who always feigned indifference while showing love that no one could imagine, Gi-jun suddenly wore a horrified expression as if he had realized something and backed away from her.

“Even if you are wearing clothes, I’m still naked!”

“Then should I strip too?”

“Don’t strip!”

In her heart, she wanted to start the work of rebuilding her civilization with him right now, but she could not push ahead while ignoring the other party’s feelings.

For now, it was time to wait like an adult.

Though even she was not confident about how long she could endure.

—Oh my, I thought someone would break down the door and barge in around this point, but they didn’t come in after all.

“Lucy, stop casting curses and come cover her eyes!”

* * *

—You resisted without being swept away by the flow that overwhelmed you, and finally succeeded in establishing and protecting your own unique territory within it. A very positive correction is given to the Unfailing Body Clock (L) skill. It seems you will be able to handle the [Fragment of Unique Territory (L)] more easily.

—Without stopping the tuning within your body even under extreme conditions, you succeeded in tempering yourself with divine steel, significantly increasing the skill proficiency. The skill Adamant (L) has reached Level 20, and the skill Salutaris (L) has reached Level 23.

—You gained a great realization in controlling the heat through the fire spirit and strengthened your willpower. The skill Fire Spirit Arts (U) has reached Level 20.

—The fire spirit succeeded in accepting the transcendental heat and absorbing it as its own. The skill Fire Spirit Arts (U) has reached Level 35!

—You endured until the end in an extreme environment that was impossible to withstand. The Endurance (U) status has transcended its limit and grown to the Legendary grade. Endurance (L) has become 1.

—You resisted without being swept away by the flow that overwhelmed you, and finally succeeded in establishing and protecting your own unique territory within it. A very positive correction is given to the Unfailing Body Clock (L) skill. It seems you will be able to handle the [Fragment of Unique Territory (L)] more easily.

—Without stopping the tuning within your body even under extreme conditions, you succeeded in tempering yourself with divine steel, significantly increasing the skill proficiency. The skill Adamant (L) has reached Level 20, and the skill Salutaris (L) has reached Level 23.

—You gained a great realization in controlling the heat through the fire spirit and strengthened your willpower. The skill Fire Spirit Arts (U) has reached Level 20.

—The fire spirit succeeded in accepting the transcendental heat and absorbing it as its own. The skill Fire Spirit Arts (U) has reached Level 35!

—You endured until the end in an extreme environment that was impossible to withstand. The Endurance (U) status has transcended its limit and grown to the Legendary grade. Endurance (L) has become 1.

If Scintilla had not been the type to take his words deeply to heart, Gi-jun would have hugged her and shouted that he loved her over and over.

It was certainly cold.

And though it was hard enough to make him wonder if he would really freeze to death,

the fruit was sweet enough to surpass his imagination.

He was truly grateful to her for sharing such an opportunity.

‘Not only did my original goal, Endurance, safely transcend its limit, but Adamant and Salutaris also rose by more than five levels each…!’

As mentioned time and time again, Legendary-grade skills were really monstrously difficult to grow.

Yet to grow them by six and five levels all at once.

Though that also meant the environment he had been in until just now was that harsh.

But actually, there was a change even more incredible than that: Ur’s growth.

Before starting this trial, Gi-jun’s Fire Spirit Arts (U) had been only Level 11.

Since he had grown the skill to the Unique grade only recently, even this was considered very fast growth.

but in the process of desperately resisting to not let the heat be stolen, Gi-jun’s understanding deepened, and Ur, in his own way, took in the heat that Tilla failed to absorb and strengthened himself, skyrocketing to Level 35 in an instant.

—Kee-eet, keeeee!

As if he felt himself getting stronger, Ur also let out a much more confident cry.

While Gi-jun smiled and stroked the fellow, Ji-hye narrowed her eyes and asked him.

She had been in this state ever since she saw the two of them come out of the room looking somewhat awkward after finishing their training.

“Tell only me honestly, Oppa. What on earth did you two do in there?”

“Extreme training. Thanks to that, my Endurance reached the Legendary grade.”

“No, I mean, what kind of extreme training was it? If it was just difficult training, why has Sister Scintilla been smiling so brightly since earlier?”

Gi-jun, who was stroking Ur, glanced back. There, Tilla, who had been wearing a smile since earlier, was sitting quietly on the sofa, looking at him.

Behind her, the figure of Lora, hiding behind a pillar with an expressionless face, was also visible.

Avoiding her eyes, which held truly many meanings, Gi-jun turned his head and said,

“She reached the Legendary grade. She became a powerhouse who can hold her own anywhere, so she must be happy.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Because I can be of strength to Jun wherever we go now, I’m smiling because I’m happy about that.”

“So suspicious…! The fact that you two are in perfect sync is especially suspicious!”

“You’re persistent, kid.”

Gi-jun, having stroked Ur to his heart’s content, stood up and said to Ji-hye,

“Unlike you, I have no intention of causing romantic drama within the party, okay? Huh?”

“No, why do you say I caused trouble when I haven’t even been able to confess properly once!”

“You had so much time, you should have confessed at least once… Anyway, leave it at that. Leave it.”

If she had just settled it quickly somehow, Shin would have finished with less heartache.

Shaking his head, Gi-jun headed to the kitchen of the hotel they were staying at in Cor.

Because he had spent time undergoing the Flame Human’s trial, he wanted to quickly prepare the dishes before Ye-min’s group arrived.

“Really suspicious…”

Unable to resolve her doubts, Ji-hye watched Gi-jun’s departing back before turning her head to Tilla.

“Now that Oppa is gone, tell me honestly, Sister. It’s not because you’re conscious of Lora that you can’t speak, right? In times like this, it’s better to be honest so we can come up with a countermeasure.”

“C-Countermeasure?”

Lora, who had been stealing glances at Tilla with an expression she could never bring herself to show Gi-jun, cried out in surprise.

“I-I don’t really… know what you are talking about.”

“Lora, your mask was taken off a long time ago, yet you’re still pretending to be innocent.”

“Nothing really happened, so neither of you needs to worry.”

Replying with a broad smile, Tilla stood up from her seat.

“I plan to help Jun cook, how about you two?”

“…I shall join you.”

Lora followed closely behind Tilla, muttering the word ‘countermeasure’ only to herself.

Ji-hye nodded, saying it was a relief she at least had some quick wits, and spoke.

“Then I’ll run away for a bit.”

“Huh?”

“The kid currently running to Cor said she would kill me if she saw me. I need to hide until she meets Oppa and calms down.”

“Then, adieu!” Waving her hand, Ji-hye quickly vanished.

Left behind, Tilla and Lora stared at each other for a moment, not understanding her words.

“Didn’t she say they were originally companions?”

“I’m not sure about that, but a countermeasure will indeed be necessary.”

Lora replied gloomily to Tilla’s question.

That evening, three members of Ye-min’s party arrived in Cor.

* * *

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): You always cause big trouble. To think you met one of the Seven Sages.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Indeed, you are not in a position to be intimidated by the Seven Sages. In the first place, you are the only Rare-grade who hunted a Divine Beast even if you search all of Leta.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): A girl, on the shorter side, and with purple hair… she is someone I know.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Of course she’s a bitch, why even ask? If you can bury her without anyone knowing, bury her whenever you can.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): She said she would give you a gift? Her? She’s an extremely prideful bitch, so she must have been terribly intimidated by our Jjun.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Still, go to the Magic Kingdom only after you reach at least Level 50 Unique. She might not do anything since she staked her name, but other Sages might try to harm you.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Justification? You haven’t experienced enough of Leta Continent yet. Jun, you gave them immense humiliation by destroying the Magic Tower and making a Sage back down. It doesn’t matter who was actually in the wrong. Those so-called powerhouses of this continent are just anxious to somehow kill the guy who gave them crap and hurt their pride.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Exactly, they are all just petty bastards. You might find it hard to believe, but the Hero of Light who is with you right now is actually quite excellent. The reason he went out of his way to tell you to come to the Empire and get certified as a hero was probably to protect you from the Magic Kingdom.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Stop flattering me—!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): You really can stop now. Yes, I’m satisfied.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): The vampires are disguising their stats to mimic the Summoned? Ah, that is definitely crossing the line.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): If it were the person who actually achieved the feat, that might be one thing, but spreading it indiscriminately like that will definitely make them pay the price.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Yeah.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): In cases like that, you don’t take it up with them, but report it to the higher-ups. Keep that in mind if you didn’t know.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): What do you mean by higher-ups?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Why, the system, of course.]