Kalon pulled the chair back and sat down at the round table with the nine members of Ten Dragons.
The moment he settled into the seat, the atmosphere in the circular chamber grew heavier.
Jacques Roulet, the Second Dragon, rested both hands on the table and spoke first.
"We will keep this direct. I have three questions that I would like to ask you."
Kalon nodded his head.
"First. What is your current rank?"
"Low Gold."
A brief murmur moved around the table. A first-year student at Low Gold was already unusual.
Jacques continued without pausing.
"Second. Give us the full details of the fire skill you used in the recorded footage."
Now, Kalon hesitated.
He had two options. Lie, or reveal one of his secrets.
He could lie. He could understate the skill and keep the true rank hidden.
For a second he considered it. Then he looked at the nine figures sitting around him, people who stood at the peak of professional flame combat in the world, and the thought faded away.
This was the best chance he would get at a sponsor powerful enough to match his growth. Holding back now would only waste it.
With the affinities he already carried, he was not limited to fire the way they were. The Ten Dragons were masters of flame and nothing else. If he continued to rise, he could eventually stand above them.
The seat at the head of their table had once belonged to the First Dragon, the woman who had disappeared years ago. A woman who was said to have mastered multiple affinites.
How would they treat someone who might eventually master all affinites?
Kalon decided to tell the truth.
"The skill is called Ninefold Sunbreaker, It is SSS-rank."
The reaction was immediate.
Several of the Dragons straightened in their seats. One of the women on the far side of the table’s jaw dropped. Jacques’s scarred face remained controlled, but the temperature in the room rose by a noticeable degree.
"SSS-rank," Jacques repeated. His voice was quieter than before. "You are certain?"
"I am."
"Third question then," Jacques said. "How is a Low Gold student able to activate and control an SSS-rank skill? The gap should make it impossible."
Kalon lifted his hand and showed them the simple dark ring on his finger. It looked ordinary.
"This was passed down to me by my father," he lied. "It is called the Ring of Skill Bridging. It allows the wearer to use skills of any rank as long as the body can endure the elemental load. Without it I would not be able to handle Ninefold Sunbreaker at my current rank."
The Ninth Dragon, a black man with burn marks along his fingers, leaned forward.
"An item that removes rank restrictions on skills. If that is true, the implications are extreme. But still, the question remains why you came into possession of such a powerful skill."
Jacques studied the ring, then Kalon’s face. Finally he pushed his chair back and stood.
"Words are not enough. We will see the skill ourselves. There is a training dungeon beneath this castle. The walls are reinforced to handle high-level flame combat. You will demonstrate Ninefold Sunbreaker there under our observation."
None of the others objected.
One by one the nine Dragons rose. Jacques gestured for Kalon to follow. They left the circular chamber through a side door that led to a descending stone stairwell.
The air grew hotter with every step downward.
By the time they reached the bottom, the heat was intense enough that anyone without strong fire resistance might have burned alive.
...
The underground training dungeon was a vast open cavern reinforced with blackened metal and layered heat wards.
Scorch marks covered the walls from previous sessions.
In the centre of the space the nine Dragons spread out and raised their hands in unison.
Flames poured from each of them. The fires twisted together, layer upon layer, until they formed an enormous circular shield of condensed flame that hovered in the air.
The barrier pulsed with dense orange and white light. The combined output of nine high-level flame specialists made the air shimmer and crackle. The heat rolling off it was oppressive even for Kalon, who had an Emberheart Physique.
Jacques’s voice carried across the dungeon.
"That shield is the strongest defensive formation we can create on short notice. Break it if you can."
Kalon walked forward until he stood a clear distance from the barrier.
He could sense how indestructible the shield was. Surely it was in the triple S ranks.
Still, he raised one hand.
Ninefold Sunbreaker activated.
Nine blazing golden-orange spheres of solar flame condensed around his body, orbiting in a tight, controlled formation. The temperature in the dungeon spiked again.
Several of the Dragons narrowed their eyes against the sudden intensity of the light.
Kalon did not launch them one by one.
He brought all nine spheres together for the first time.
The orbs merged in front of him, collapsing into a single massive sun of concentrated fire that roared and expanded until it was larger than a man. The light it gave off was almost white at the core.
He thrust his hand forward.
The combined sun shot across the dungeon like a meteor and slammed into the centre of the Dragons’ flame shield.
For a fraction of a second the barrier held. Then the fused power of Ninefold Sunbreaker overwhelmed it.
The dense shield of flames shattered outward in a violent explosion of heat and light. The shockwave raced across the cavern, forcing several of the Dragons to defend themselves further.
One of the women among them, a tall figure with dark red hair and specialised flame tattoos along her arms, opened her mouth wide and activated a skill.
"Flame Swallow!"
The remaining mass of solar fire that had broken through the shield was forcibly drawn into her body.
She consumed the entire remnant of the attack in a single, desperate motion. The skill worked. The fire disappeared down her throat.
But the consequences of swallowing SSS rank fire followed immediately.
Her body locked up. Steam burst from her skin. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed hard onto the dungeon floor, unconscious and clearly injured from forcing the SSS-rank flames into herself.
The other eight Dragons stared at her fallen form, then at the scorch marks where their combined shield had been, then at Kalon, who still stood calmly in the centre of the dungeon with the after-heat of Ninefold Sunbreaker rising from his shoulders.
No one said a word.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter