Humanity Return

Ch. 5 – Fire Weird

The setting sun caused a rapid drop in temperature and took the eyesight of most of the newcomers in the forest.

The sounds of the forest dwellers during the day were becoming inaudible and replaced with night animals that began to come out in search of food, making this time the most dangerous time for humans who dare to spend the night in this forest.

“And done already!”

An excited voice came out from the black-haired young man sitting in front of a pile of tree branches that had just been collected by him.

A few pieces of meat were also scattered over the large leaves in front of him, looking extremely fresh.

“Oooh..” The aura let out an amazed voice.

Aura saw Leinn take out a transparent pouch with pieces that looked like animal flesh from his big bag.

He also took out a small red bottle and poured the contents of the bottle onto a piece of meat on top of the large leaf, which was, and that piece of meat instantly absorbed that red water in an instant and finally formed the fresh meat that was in front of him just now.

“Please light this fire, the night in the forest will be quite cold” he said as he pointed at the pile of twigs.

Aura did not give an answer for a while, then shook her head.

“I... can't do that.” said Aura in an almost inaudible voice.

“OK...?” Leinn raised one eyebrow.

He looked puzzled for a moment after hearing that, but finally paid him no heed and walked over to his big bag then grabbed into it. From inside there he pulled out a red stone with a strange carving, then a black stone with a different carving beside the bag.

Leinn then walked beside the pile of twigs while hitting the red stone with the black stone, then threw the red stone into the pile of twigs in front of him.

Clacks

The fire emerged from that red rock and spread to the surrounding tree branches, successfully forming a bonfire in an instant.

Leinn found two stones flat enough to sit on and put them across the edge of the campfire.

“I'll start cooking this meat”

“...”

Aura gave no answer and still lowered her head, trying not to see Leinn's gaze.

Seeing this, Leinn did not give any reaction and began to prepare their dinner.

...

The sun had already set for quite a while and had been replaced by a moon shining in the dark sky.

The extremely cold night wind blowing between the trees made anyone he touched begin to shiver, but the bonfire in front of Leinn and Aura managed to keep them from feeling cold at all.

“...”

Aura had said absolutely nothing since this afternoon, just like Leinn who had also said nothing after putting skewered meat on top of the campfire to cook it.

Only the sound of wind and birds in the distance could be heard, which did not help the cold atmosphere between the two of them.

“Do you not wonder..” a small voice suddenly broke the silence of the forest.

Hearing this, Leinn raised his gaze from the campfire to the girl in front of him. He knew what Aura meant, but he did not directly answer her question.

“You must be thinking how strange a Magic User can't make fire right?”

Leinn could clearly see Aura's face staring back at him, with a mocking smile on the girl's face.

“Funny right? But this is real-“

“I don't know you” voice with a flat tone cut off that insulting sentence of himself.

Hearing this, Aura instantly fell silent.

“I don't know your situation. Like I said before, I'm not from this place”

Leinn did not stop.

“We just met this afternoon, and of course I know you're a Magic User Fire of your hair color”

Leinn grabbed a short twig beside his foot, and threw it into the campfire.

“If you don't want to tell a story, I get it. You don't need to show such an expression, I won't force you” he looks at the girl in front of him once again then turns his attention back to the bonfire in front of him.

Leinn began to sit quietly while watching the bonfire again, while Aura lowered her head again and did not answer.

The forest was completely desolate, the sound of wind and bonfire in front of them became quite loud.

“I am the only daughter of the current clan head of the Flameheart” a weak voice can be heard once again.

Leinn raised his face and looked into Aura's eyes, this time finding a different smile on the girl's face.

“This is not a secret, almost all residents of Blazing Sun city know this”

“Klan Flameheart we are one of the largest clans in Blazing Sun city which is famous for the Gift derivative of our main family, namely Fire Soul. The fire belonging to our clan is known as the never extinguished fire, which is able to burn away whatever is blocking it”

“...” Leinn could see the bonfire reflected in the red eyes of the girl in front of him.

“But I.. I don't have that fire.... I don't even have a regular fire! Fire Princess of the Flameheart clan cannot even burn the withered leaves!”

Tears began to gather in both of the girl's eyes.

“Three of my sisters have amazing talent and a very bright fire, and My First Brother is the most different. On the night my first brother raised his Soul Fire, the night sky of Blazing Sun city lost its darkness.”

A smile appeared on the face of the girl who looked almost crying earlier.

“The biggest and brightest fire shines through the night sky, turning it as bright as morning. First Brother's entire body was shrouded in smoldering flames, making him look like a brightest fire”

Aura took one deep breath, then continued on without caring for her irregular breath.

“At that time also the entire clan elder knew how high a position he would reach. He was an incomparable genius throughout the history of the Flameheart” clan his voice seemed to be getting more excited every word that came out.

Hearing this, Leinn's eyes looked slightly widened and Aura began to calm her breath.

“She sounds great” she became curious about the identity of that ‘First Brother’.

“Of course he's great! At the age of 10 years he awakened his Gift that shook the Blazing Sun city, he also managed to make a Contract with the Sacred Firebird of the ancestral mountain dwellers of our Flameheart clan! At the age of 16 he defeated our Father and became the youngest Flameheart clan head in history!” clearly Aura while swinging her right hand in the air.

Looking at the wide smile on the girl's face, Leinn could see just how tall Aura looked at this first brother of hers.

Then his expression began to return to normal, then became sad again.

“I don't understand the reason First Brother sent me to take this test, I'm not sure how I can pass. But I don't want to laugh it off.” a strong determination can be heard at the end of that sentence.

“Yes, now that I'm here you don't have to be afraid of failing this first test”

A calm feeling emerged after seeing Leinn's smile and hearing what she said. The aura finally showed a small smile.

Leinn realized an unclear part of the story.

“So, what do you mean your fire can't burn anything? How could such a thing happen?” asked the young man without any restraint.

“... I can show you..” Aura stood up then extended her hand.

With her palm open over the bonfire, the girl cast her magic.

[Box]

A white fireball as big as a human head appeared on the palm of Aura's hand.

Seeing that, Leinn immediately jumped to his feet and watched closely the fireball. He seems very interested in that.

“Hoh..” Leinn let out a amazed voice.

This fireball was different from the one he had seen all along.

First, size. Fireball is the most basic magic for fire-type attack magic and its normal size is only slightly larger than a human eyeball.

Second, color. This fireball in front of him had a white color, in contrast to the orange Fireball that most Fire Magic Users had.

And thirdly...

“Heh..” Leinn drew his face closer to the fire and realized what Aura meant.

The fire was not hot at all, only slightly warm. Even the warmth was barely noticeable seeing the bonfire that lay beneath it.

Leinn said nothing and just stared at this white flame, and seeing the slightest reaction made Aura feel a little awkward.

“Since the first fire I managed to create, and whatever fire magic I used afterwards, only this kind of fire has appeared. This fire has never appeared in the history of the Flameheart clan, and it is because of this that I am ostracized in my family.”.

Leinn did not release his eyes from the white fireball in front of him, then he extended his hand into the fireball.

“The only advantage is that this fire can heal small wounds. I don't understand how it works, but my fire will look like it burns the wound it touches. Besides..”

The aura stopped his Mana flow, eliminating his fireball.

“...api this can not burn what-HUH?” his feeble voice turned into a scream as he looked at the scene before him.

“oooh.... this feels strange” said Leinn who was feeling a new sensation.

In Leinn's right hand, the hand he put into the white fireball, was clearly lit with white flames.

His entire palm was covered by that white flame.