The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Fire Essence – 1

[Do you wish to take on the trial of the 4th floor of the Tower of Evolution?]

“Please.”

The next second, Damian found himself standing in a foreign environment.

[Welcome to The Infernal Mount, a fiery, flame-elemental-infested land owned and abandoned by Pheynix, one of the 72 key rulers of Hell, holding the 37th position in the biblical Hell.]

[Infernal Mount: A place that is home to everything of the flame element. It has fire running through its currents, houses fire elemental beings birthed, soaked, and raised in the essence of fire.]

[4th Trial Condition: Retrieve the Fire Essence Stone from the deepest part of the Infernal Mount.]

“This place is hot.”

Damian’s foot felt as if he were standing on molten metal, even though he was still in the outermost areas of the Infernal Mount.

He was standing on jagged, charred wastelands with molten rivers crisscrossing the surface.

They looked like veins with blood flowing through them, except it wasn’t blood; it was pure, liquid lava streaming from the dark, charred, rock-filled mountains.

Even the rocks were blackened and brittle, often glowing with molten veins.

Geysers of superheated steam and flames erupted sporadically, adding to the realm’s fiery nature.

Damian felt a slight vibration under his feet, as if something dangerous lurked underground.

The air was unbreathable, thick with ash, soot, and poisonous fumes.

Everything was hot.

It smelled hot, it felt hot, a land of unbearable heat, and it would only grow hotter if he ventured deeper, where the temperature would feel like walking on pure lava.

“It’s better to be naked,” Damian muttered, quickly removing all his clothes until he was entirely bare, storing them in the system’s storage.

He didn’t want to risk burning his clothing in this fiery realm and wasting the gold he had earned.

He planned to use his gold in the first Tower Realm, Solarta, so he was determined to save as much of it as he could.

As Damian read through the description of this place, his eyes widened.

“Biblical Hell? Hell, Heaven, gods, demons… everything really does exist, huh?” Damian took a deep breath.

He had already heard of these things in reports during his time working for the Italian Awakener Association before his regression, but he had always been skeptical.

However, seeing the message from the system and the name of one of the demons, he couldn’t deny the truth anymore.

The orphanage where he was raised was a Christian institution, and he had grown up as a Christian.

Moreover, he had always had a great interest in learning about various mythologies.

The name ‘Pheynix’ was familiar to him.

He remembered reading about the demon in a book called Ars Goetia.

Supposedly, Pheynix was one of the 72 key rulers of the biblical Hell, a demon with dominion over flames and Resurrection.

“Let’s get going then,” Damian said as he began to walk toward the peak of the mountain visible in the distance.

The land was hot, but not unbearably so for him.

His talent, [Boundless Refinement], had adapted his body to withstand fire and pain, and his constitution, [Unyielding Warrior’s Physique], granted him the [Fire Resistance] trait.

This combination gave him incredible resistance to fire.

For Damian, this heat was manageable, but for an average Awakener, enduring such conditions would be extremely challenging.

Damian was elated to discover that his talent, [Boundless Refinement], and his constitution, [Unyielding Warrior’s Physique], complemented each other perfectly and had exceptional compatibility.

[Boundless Refinement] gave Damian the ability to adapt to anything that pushed his physical or mental limits.

The more he was exposed to a challenging condition, the better his body and mind adapted to it.

It was akin to building endurance through repeated exposure, like running progressively longer distances to improve stamina.

Each time he faced the same challenge, he could handle it better and longer.

This talent worked on virtually anything that affected him: reading, thinking, processing, enduring pain, or anything else.

As long as it impacted him, he could slowly develop greater proficiency in dealing with it.

On the other hand, [Unyielding Warrior’s Physique] specifically affected his physical body.

It allowed his body to endure and grow stronger under extreme physical stress.

For example, punching a brick wall repeatedly would eventually harden his fists and bones over time.

The main distinction between the two was that [Unyielding Warrior’s Physique] was a constitution and only enhanced his physical body, while [Boundless Refinement] was a talent that influenced every aspect of his being, including his physical body, mind, and internal energy systems.

For instance, [Boundless Refinement] could help Damian adapt to intense mental stress, increasing his mental fortitude and power, something beyond the scope of his physical body.

Another example would be the constant circulation of energy in his dantian.

With [Boundless Refinement], his efficiency in energy circulation would improve over time, enhancing his energy circuits in his inner world.

Meanwhile, [Unyielding Warrior’s Physique] would strengthen his body’s resilience against external conditions, granting it various traits to endure and thrive.

“It’s getting increasingly hotter now,” Damian muttered, narrowing his eyes as the heat began to feel like a genuine nuisance.

He was still about a kilometer away from the heart of the Infernal Mount, a fiery region located at the center of the lava-producing mountain.

Observing his surroundings, he noticed vein-like cracks on the ground, seemingly formed by the flow of lava.

The oppressive heat intensified abruptly, as if something burning was approaching him from the side.

Sensing danger, Damian quickly leaped away from his spot.

A giant flaming rock crashed where he had been standing moments before, shattering on impact and exploding violently.

Damian’s senses heightened as he detected presences closing in on him.

He turned to see a dozen beings that resembled humanoid figures but were made of rocks, with streams of lava and flames coursing through their veins.

—–

[Name: Earth Flame Elemental Spirits]

[Level: 105]

[Description: These beings are an amalgamation of rocks and earth flames, formed from the condensed essence of earth flames gaining sentience. Highly territorial like all elemental spirits, they possess the ability to generate high-temperature earth flames from their bodies.]

—–

Damian’s eyes narrowed in alertness as he observed the twelve Earth Flame Elemental Spirits.

Each one was distinct in form; some resembled humanoid figures, while others took on the shapes of animals.

Gripping his twin swords tightly, Damian dashed toward one of the spirits and slashed at its head with full force.

Clank!

The sound of metal striking solid rock echoed, but Damian’s attack failed to penetrate.

“Let’s try using just my physical strength without relying on the effects of my class or techniques,” Damian muttered, a smirk forming on his face.

He wanted to gauge his raw strength, unassisted by his class abilities or techniques.

Even though he was only Level 47, his stats were comparable to those of a Level 100 warrior.

With his body’s resilience enhanced by his talent, [Boundless Refinement], he was confident he could hold his own against these Level 105 creatures.

Damian didn’t even channel Qi to strengthen his body as he put some distance between himself and the spirits.

Attempting the same strike again, this time with his full physical strength, he swung his sword at the creature’s head.

This time, his blade managed to cut through the rock, though not very deeply.

Before Damian could retrieve his sword, another flame spirit attacked, spitting a blazing fireball from its massive mouth.

Damian dodged swiftly and retaliated, targeting the same spirit he had attacked before, only to realize something alarming.

The wound on the creature had already healed.

“Damn, they can regenerate,” Damian muttered, narrowing his eyes.

He burst forward with incredible speed, his figure blurring as he leaped onto the flame spirit.

With both swords, he swung with all his might.

This time, he managed to sever the creature’s head.

But his brief satisfaction vanished as he noticed the system had not notified him of a kill.

The spot where the head had been severed began to shift.

Rocks and flames coalesced, forming a new head with burning eye sockets.

Damian cursed under his breath.

“I guess this isn’t the time for holding back,” he said grimly.

[Dance of the Sacred Sword: Sword Technique Activated]

Damian’s Qi surged from his Dantian, enveloping his twin swords in a shimmering light blue aura.

The blades gleamed with enhanced sharpness.

[Walking the Sacred Passage: Movement Technique Activated]

His figure blurred again as he released a spark of Qi, dashing toward the flame spirits.

In a flurry of motion, he slashed from all directions, severing chunks of rock from their bodies until a glowing fiery-red core was exposed in one of them.

Damian struck decisively, destroying the spirit’s body entirely.

However, as he observed the remains, he saw the rocks beginning to reform rapidly, returning the spirit to its original state.

“Damn it. They regenerate too fast,” Damian muttered, dodging another fireball.

Jumping from spot to spot, he tried to come up with a strategy.

The spirits’ regenerative abilities were draining his stamina rapidly.

Each strike required his full strength to penetrate their rocky bodies, and the constant exertion was wearing him down.

“Hmm… I think that might work,” Damian thought aloud.

Activating both [Dance of the Sacred Sword] and [Walking the Sacred Passage], he released a wisp of energy and leaped onto one of the flame spirits.

Moving with precision, he slashed relentlessly, dismembering its body entirely until the glowing source core was fully exposed.

Without hesitation, Damian reached into the chunks of rock and grabbed the core.

The moment he removed the source core, the flame spirit’s movements ceased entirely.

[You have killed a Earth Flame Elemental Spirit.]

[Experience gained.]

[You have Leveled Up]

“So, I just have to remove their source cores to kill them, huh?” Damian muttered, a grin spreading across his face.

“Easy.”