It had been three days since they entered the mountains.
During that time, they had experienced quite a few battles.
That was still the case even now.
At this moment, Hans and Myers were locked in a struggle against a saber-toothed tiger, one of the monsters that appeared in the mountains.
“Young Master! To your left!”
“Got it!”
Myers swung his sword calmly. One of the saber-toothed tigers let out a scream.
Saber-toothed tiger.
A beast that uses its powerful leap and long, razor-sharp teeth to bite into the vital points of its prey.
Of the five that had charged at them at first, three had been swiftly dealt with.
Only two saber-toothed tigers remained.
The two beasts ignored Elena and charged solely at Hans. It was because the man wielding the greatsword was terrifyingly strong.
A beast’s instinct was designed to target the weakest first.
Both beasts lunged at Hans at the same time. He managed to block one, but the other was a different story.
Hans’s eyes widened as he saw the saber-toothed tiger leaping at him.
There was no way he could dodge at that speed.
In the next instant, the beast’s long fangs grazed his neck.
“Hiiik!”
The creature let out a shrill scream.
Elena, who had been sticking close behind, tapped Ethan’s arm.
“Ethan, that looks kind of dangerous… Will they be okay?”
“It’s not dangerous.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. At that level, Myers is protecting him well enough.”
“But I think I just saw blood splatter from the steward’s neck…”
“Myers pulled him back at the waist, that’s why he survived. Otherwise, those fangs would’ve been buried in his neck by now.”
And buried deep, at that.
Ethan had been ready to step in if things got dicey. But Myers was performing better than expected.
Hans was the perfect teaching aid for Myers.
By protecting Hans, Myers’s defensive skills were improving by leaps and bounds each day.
‘In about two months, he’ll be reliable for sure.’
After that, he could probably entrust one axis of the group’s defense to the youngest.
The battle, which had lasted ten minutes, finally ended.
Hans touched his neck and collapsed to the ground. Three days ago, after the fight with the spider, all his spices had been confiscated.
The reason wasn’t hard to guess.
‘They must be trying to train the youngest master.’
His assigned role was to be Myers’s practice partner.
Thanks to that, every time a monster charged at them, Hans felt like he was hovering between life and death.
‘Ugh.’
His whole body ached.
But he couldn’t just lie there.
On this journey, his role was both porter and cook.
Though unexpectedly, he’d also been made Myers’s training dummy.
Hans kindled a campfire and took a small pot from his travel bag. He looked at Ethan.
“Young Lord, I was thinking of making stew. Would that be all right?”
“01.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hans began bustling about. After three days in the mountains, he had become quite adept at preparing the food needed for camping.
Meanwhile, Ethan was separating the saber-toothed tiger’s fangs and hide.
To proceed with the Fire Festival, they had to offer a tribute at the altar deep within the mountains.
The hide and fangs of a saber-toothed tiger made for decent offerings.
There were plenty of other offerings as well. They had encountered quite a few monsters during their exploration.
‘We’ve gathered enough materials.
Now all that’s left is to reach the Fire Altar.’
Slurp!
“Ahh, this is great. Please, eat up while it’s hot. Stew is best when it’s piping hot.”
The four of them quickly polished off the food in their bowls. As Hans had promised, the stew tasted excellent.
“I’m really glad we brought the steward along. Right, brother?”
“Yeah. It’s delicious.”
Myers was right.
If they hadn’t brought Hans, they would’ve been chewing jerky for a whole week. He couldn’t let his sister suffer like that.
He’d experienced that kind of life more times than he could count in his previous life, fighting dragon heads.
‘It was absolutely miserable.’
He hadn’t enjoyed a single aspect of daily life—food, clothing, or shelter.
Now that he was back in the past, and the Dragonkin had signed some sort of nonaggression pact or whatever, there was no need to repeat that hardship. This was exactly why he’d brought Hans along.
As long as things were manageable, it was best to eat and live like a proper human being.
The meal ended quickly.
After cleaning up, Hans rummaged through his backpack and pulled something out.
It was an insect repellent sold at the general store. Hans sprayed it around their camp.
“Then, sleep well.”
The group quickly drifted off to sleep.
Hans, who was on the first watch, recalled what he had heard in passing.
‘The Blessing of Fire, huh.’
He remembered that before they set out, this had been described as one of the family’s traditions.
Everyone on this journey except for him was a direct descendant of the Ducal House. The Fire Festival was probably a secret event known only to the direct line, not the ten branch families.
‘So why did they bring me to such a place?’
He couldn’t help but wonder.
All he could do in the mountains was act as a cook and porter at best.
Would they really reveal the direct line’s secret just for that?
From Hans’s perspective, it didn’t make sense.
‘Maybe they want to use me for something important?’
He hadn’t built up a deep trust with them yet.
Still, he had shown quite a bit of dedication to Ethan.
Over the past days, he’d tried to do everything he could for the Young Lord and his family.
Maybe these actions had made an impression on Ethan.
‘Besides…’
Right now, except for his family, the Young Lord had no trusted retainers he could rely on. To accomplish anything significant, loyal vassals were essential.
Perhaps he intended to entrust one of those roles to Hans.
The Young Lord and the ten branch families.
Hans’s heart was gradually tilting toward the former.
‘His talent really is monstrous.’
It had only been about two weeks since Ethan awoke. Even so, the divine power he displayed was growing at a remarkable pace.
It was only natural that Hans’s feelings were starting to lean one way.
He stared into the campfire, organizing his thoughts.
Deep within the Psyches Mountains.
There was a place known as the Temple of Fire.
It was said to have existed since ancient times.
One of the previous generations had discovered the half-abandoned site, and since then, the family had held rituals there, receiving blessings from the fire spirits.
‘It should be around here somewhere.’
Even if the past had changed, a structure deep in the mountains wouldn’t just disappear.
After several hours of searching, they managed to find a building that looked like the temple.
It was an old, vine-covered structure that seemed to have been neglected for a long time.
“Is that the Temple of Fire you mentioned, brother?”
“It should be.”
Ethan opened the temple doors.
The air was thick and stifling, as if the place hadn’t been ventilated in ages.
‘It’s been completely abandoned.’
In his previous life, it hadn’t been like this.
At least once a year, the family would visit and clean up the temple.
But this time, the war had broken out sooner than before.
That must be why even the Temple of Fire had been forgotten.
Just as they were about to enter the temple—
“Um, Young Lord.”
“What is it?”
“Is it all right for me to enter here? It seems like an important place…”
“Come in.”
He had brought Hans here to show him anyway.
The moment he received the blessing of fire, Hans would clearly understand which side to choose between the direct and branch families.
“Understood.”
Hans carefully stepped inside.
Except for the thick layer of dust, everything inside the temple was as it had been.
Ethan approached the altar.
“Hans.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take out all the materials.”
“Yes, sir.”
The byproducts they’d gathered from hunting monsters on their way here were laid out one by one.
Ethan looked at Elena and Myers.
“From now on, we’re starting the Fire Festival. The method is simple. We offer the tribute, and once the sparks start flying, we just have to dance around the altar.”
“Dance?”
Elena tilted her head.
“Just do the biggest, most flamboyant dance you can think of.”
“Then the spirits will appear?”
“That’s right. Once the spirits gather, they’ll bestow their blessing.”
“That easy?”
“Probably.”
After awakening here, Ethan had spent some time reading history books to see how much the past had changed.
‘Fifteen years.’
It was a completely different time from the past he remembered.
All the major events that happened before that were the same.
It had been well over a hundred years since the fire spirits and the House of Ardan began their relationship.
So the ‘pact’ between their ancestor and the fire spirits should still be in effect.
And if it wasn’t?
‘Too bad, but if we don’t get the blessing, that’s that.’
They’d not only brought tribute, but would also perform a dance that the spirits would enjoy, so there was no reason for the spirits to be hostile.
“Let’s get ready.”
“Okay.”
Ethan placed all the materials on the altar.
He set candles in the candlesticks around the altar and lit them.
The once-dark temple began to flicker with light.
Ethan began chanting in the ancient language.
It was a phrase he’d learned from his father in his previous life.
O spirit of fire.
A descendant of Ardan has come.
We offer this tribute.
We offer fire.
We offer our dance.
Reveal yourself.
The instant the six lines of the ancient tongue used for the ritual were finished—
The candles flared to life.
Tiny sparks began to fly among the dozens of candles.
‘They’re here.’
The path of fire had opened.
As Ethan nodded, the group began to dance.
Tiny sparks swayed this way and that, following their dance, and began to stick to each of them, one by one.
The more sparks that clung to you, the greater your affinity for the fire element.
Highest, high, medium, low, lowest.
The family classified affinity into these five ranks.
‘Myers is about medium.’
If he’d been training with the Breath of Black Flame since childhood, he would have had high-level talent.
It was a bit disappointing, but now was the perfect time for the blessing, so there was nothing to be done.
Elena’s talent was about low level.
Soon, the sparks that had gathered near them began to take shape.
[So you’re the descendants of House Ardan.]
[What a cute little girl.]
The mid-grade fire spirit Ifrit, and the low-grade spirit Salamander.
Countless sparks formed around the two spirits, causing a commotion in the area.
But the uproar was short-lived.
All the spirits’ gazes suddenly focused in one direction, as if by prior agreement.
[Good heavens.]
[What on earth is that…]
Standing before the altar was Ethan.
Even though he hadn’t danced, countless sparks clung to him, completely enveloping his body.
In his previous life, Ethan had reached the stage where his very presence drew fire to him. He had far surpassed the highest level.
The one who commands fire.
That was one of his nicknames.
In his past life, he’d received the blessing of the highest spirit, Ignis, at a young age…
‘But now, even Ignis isn’t enough.’
He couldn’t be satisfied with just that anymore. The experience of a transcendent had already permeated his very flesh.
Even now, just by vibrating the essence of fire in his wrist, countless sparks clung to him.
“Who will give me their blessing?”
Ethan spoke toward the now-enlarged path of fire.
At that moment, the path began to tremble.
[His Majesty descends in person!]
[Revere him! Blood of House Ardan!]
The path grew to fill half the temple.
Countless fire spirits gathered near the path. The moment they all merged into one—
[Was it you who called me?]
A voice resounded from within the blazing heat.
Just hearing it made their bodies tremble from the sheer force of it.
It was clearly a spirit lord, a level above the highest spirit, Ignis.
A true catch, seen only in texts.
“I did. I want your blessing. From you, directly.”
Ethan’s eyes gleamed.