The Achievement Junkie 238 Playing with Fire

In the middle of the enclosed courtyard, Jack was building a small tower of wooden beams that were crudely cut and shaped, most likely bought at a discount from the local carpenter. To the right of that were a few iron ingots stacked on top of each other. And finally to the right of that was a small nugget that seemed to be made of a blue steel.

With a smile on his face, Jack hurried back to the edge of the courtyard and stood in between Daliea and Bowzer. "All right, let 'er rip."

Daliea nodded and patted her Flame Tiger at her other side. The tiger stepped forward with the bestial smile on its face.

Its fangs opened wide as red and orange flames spewed from his gullet and out of its jaws. It did its best to control the fire so that it would only target the center of the courtyard, the same place where the wooden beams, the iron ingots, and the blue nugget laid on the ground.

After thirty seconds the tiger closed his mouth and took a step back. The others then came forward and took a closer look at what remains in the center of the courtyard.

Eliza and Keela were also watching from the side but had no way of participating. So, instead, they cheered the others on and were curious to see who's flames would be the strongest even if they already had a solid guess.

First, they inspected the wooden beams. They were still ablaze but were mostly intact after the thirty seconds, apart from some having split in half or fallen out of the pile.

Secondly, they checked the iron ingots. They were brightening in color but still didn't manage to reach any shade of red.

The little blue nugget of the side seemed unaffected entirely but no one seemed surprised by that at all.

"I guess it's my turn." While the others went back to the side Daliea used a steel rake to brush the burning beams and the heated ingots to the side. At the same time, Jack placed a new bungle of wooden beams and some ingots where the others once were.

A few deep breaths later Daliea lifted both of her hands. Bright red embers sparked and spewed from her palms as they gathered around the items in the center of the courtyard. 30 seconds passed and she quickly called off the flame.

Everyone was all smiles as they gathered together to compare her results with that of the tiger.

The bundle of burned a bit fiercer, as almost all of the wooden beams had cracked and fallen apart. The iron ingots had become slightly brighter than when the tiger had done so but still didn't manage to reach red-hot. And of course, the blue nugget was again unaffected.

They scattered like before and left Jack alone in the center. He placed a new wooden pile and three new iron ingots after pushing the old ingots and broken beams to the side.

With one hand Jack's casted fire started to gather and launch at his inanimate targets. Another thirty seconds passed and they checked his results.

What surprised them all was that he did worse than both the tiger and Daliea, albeit not by much. But they also had to remember that he hadn't yet activated his flame body.

He quickly pushed the rubble to the side, replaced them with new sets, and that the others back away even further than they had before.

Jack let loose a low growl as his body expanded and burst into flames. 

Unlike before Bowzer's evolution, Jack's level was unaffected by the addition of his flame body. However, the ferocity of his flames was far stronger than anything he had before. At the tip of his red-orange flames there were hints of white and everyone in the courtyard felt the heat wave wash over their skin.

Focusing on his targets Jack barraged the wooden beams, ingots, and the blue nugget with his fearsome flames. Those merciless thirty seconds seem to last much longer than the prior attempts due to the exhausting heat beating on everyone's faces.

Jack calmed down and dispersed his flame body with a few deep breaths. With his legend-tier cloak keeping him clothed, Jack motioned for the others to come and check out the damage he had caused.

The pile of crude wooden beams was practically nonexistent with only charcoal remaining. The iron ingots had just barely managed to become red-hot and somewhat malleable. The blue nugget, however, still seemed untouched.

"The blacksmith wasn't kidding" chuckled Jack. "I guess it wouldn't be mythril for nothing."

Bowzer started jumping for joy as it was finally his turn to test his flames. Though it had been some time since he'd evolved, the fox had never had many opportunities to use his flame body or his new flames to the fullest extent since then. Now he could let loose and see just how powerful his fire had become.

The others stood back as far as possible. Eliza and Keela, in particular, were no longer in the courtyard but in the house with the courtyard door open.

A quick howl sounded as Bowzer suddenly engulfed his entire body in flames as his body grew and grew. 

Jack then sent a message mental message to make sure that Bowzer wouldn't grow too large and damage the courtyard by accident, so the Fox obliged and did exactly that, only letting himself grow to two meters in height.

Like Jack, Bowzer also had white in his fire but much more of it. The root of his flames was still bright orange as it turned to white and then at the tip there was a hint of black. 

Even with Bowzer controlling the size of his flame body the intensity of his flames could cause damage to the courtyard without even touching a thing.

A fireball was coughed out of his mouth before Bowzer was forced to lose his flame body entirely by Jack.

Even if he didn't breathe fire for thirty seconds like the others, everyone knew his flames were far more deadly and far more threatening with only a single fireball. The results spoke volumes.

There was no pile of wood, at least not anymore. Not even charcoal marked where the pile once stood, only dust and ash. The iron ingots had already started melting and pouring over each other. And little blue nugget of mythril had started to change colors but only to a lighter shade of blue.

The fox was happily panting with his tongue out, waiting for the team's judgment as the others were in awe of his destructive power.

The Flame Tiger started at Bowzer with fear in his eyes as if he were looking at a king of monsters. Jack was laughing almost uncontrollably as he imagined eventually getting those very same flames for himself.

Daliea was the most awestruck. She turned her attention from the remains toward Bowzer. "With fire like that… You can almost ignore levels entirely so long as the gap's not too wide."

Hearing that only heightened Jack's excitement. Sadly, he had thirty-nine skill points leftover and not forty. if he had but one more skilled point Jack could upgrade his companion bloodline skill to level 3 and increase the ferocity of his flames.

Eliza and Keela, on the other hand, looked around at the courtyard. Their thorough inspection revealed some heat damage and warping in some parts, especially where Bowzer stood. 

Jack had stood in the same place and had already damaged the granite but Bowzer had melted it and any other granite within a two-meter radius.

"Look what you've done now, Jack." Eliza shook her head as she laughed at her husband.

Jack laughed back, "What? Don't blame me, blame the fox."

"True, but he's your fox so you're paying for it," added Keela with a snicker.

Everyone started laughing as they let the Hell-flame Fox roll around in the pile of ash particles like it was freshly fallen snow.

Soon a message reached everybody's mind. "I finally got something good. I'll explain more when I get back, but be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

After everyone got Rydel's message the atmosphere grew slightly more serious, apart from the playful fox.

Daliea and Jack volunteered to clean up the courtyard and do their best to fix the little damages they could while committing to pay for the rest. 

Eliza made her way to the kitchen and started to prepare a feast for their last night in town.

Keela was already gone and on her way toward the market to grab any last-minute items or supplies that they could need.

Everyone already knew what to do as they had spent the past three days talking about what preparations they might need and what supplies they should acquire for the plan. And now that they had a solid lead it was time to make their final preparations.

Chapter end