I convinced the forge owner by letting him study my blade after we finished this experiment. His forge runs off fire elemental crystals, and I have a few from farming elementals for a while.

"So what my fuel system does, is use the pure fire essence found in these crystals as a fuel source for the flame we use. If we wanted, we could use a lighter, and the fire would be the same as if it came from there, only we could make it hotter."

"What fire do you usually use?"

"Volcanic, it's remarkable for forging, adds an earthy taste."

"..."

"That was a joke. It's abundant since you can find it underground, but the good stuff is rare. It's earth fire. It's used for purifying metal but lacks in other ways."

"What other kinds of fire are there?"

"Well, fire is fire. It's all the same. It only matters if it's magical or a special kind of essence. Magic spells nine times out of ten use mana fire, which makes sense. You can find a fire that burns souls and a fire that never goes out. You can even find a fire that burns cold."

"What about [Fire Elementals]?"

"Depends on where you find them. If they are born near earth fire, they will burn earth fire. I've heard of tamers selling those elementals to smiths so they can have a free source of that fire type."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but elemental tamers are rare, and so are fire elementals worth the effort to tame and sell."

I look over at my tamed beasts, particularly Duchess since she has a skill called [Breath Weapon]. It uses her vigor stat instead of her mind.

"My tamed beast can breathe a few elements, including fire. What about that?"

"Oh? That's life fire. It's literally fire-burned using the creature's life force unless you are implying a gland is involved, which then would mean it's a chemical fire similar to napalm."

Does it hurt when you use it, Duchess?

[Prolonged use makes thisss one uncomfortable, but thisss one's breath would diminish to the point of inoperativeness before thisss one's life becomes threatened.]

"Is life fire good?"

"Yeah, if it's from a high enough quality beast, it can purify anything."

I put the egg in the forge before the process begins. Since the egg isn't that big, it isn't hard to sneak it past the forge owner. We use Duchess' fire to spark the elemental crystals and stoke the flames until it burns bright enough that the forge owner has to wear protective goggles. Even with the insulation and protection, the forge is burning the air around it. Random pieces of paper caught fire as the forge continued to heat up. The forge owner is now wearing a complete set of protective gear.

"Sorry, I have to bail. My forge can't take anymore!"

The forge owner starts fiddling with his forge while I'm trying to spot the egg, but I can't see it right now. After a few minutes, the forge cools enough that the owner is comfortable enough to open it. The egg is still inside, so I immediately grab it.

It's so hot to the touch it sears into my flesh, but I don't care.

[Resistance: Fire 499 > 500 (600)]

[Awaken Egg]

Damn, I thought it would hatch right away! I run my finger in the spiral as my flesh heals itself from my passive healing. The egg isn't as hot fresh out of the forge, but it now has its own heat. Good thing the egg is still sturdy. I cradle it in my arm before turning to the confused forge owner.

"Don't worry about it. Here, you can check out this sword."

"Ooooh! I'll bring it to my teacher and see if we can fix it. Give me your number, and I'll contact you with updates."

"...you won't steal it, will you."

"No, if you're worried, you can register the weapon or inform the institute of the repair, so your ownership is insured with the institute and other agencies."

"How do I do that?"

"I'll walk you through the process."

~

I've been using Flash Gordon as a hotplate to keep the egg warm. Flash Gordon's okay with it, I asked. It's been a day since my egg has 'awoken,' but I haven't seen any changes. I've been feeding it mana every once and a while. My [Lexicon] has no idea what kind of egg this is or what beast would come out. It's a metallic egg, and that's rare. It means that this beast has an extremely high affinity with metal.

Even Durnar, the dwarf spirit I found in Vanderblitz temple, didn't react when I showed the egg to him. He had no idea what it was, and he lives near where it was laid. I wonder what kind of creature lays eggs in a volcano forge. I wonder when it was placed and why it went dormant. What kind of creature can go dormant before even being hatched. I feed the egg again before moving on.

I keep checking the rankings since we launched into third place. I was hoping for an easy first, but I'll need to keep working for it.

1. The Auroran Institute

2. Greenvile's Institute

3. Bluefield Institute

4. First Bastion Institute

5. Silvervein Insitute

6. Goldworks Acadamy

7. Singlebridge Vocational School

8. Ironworks Martial Acadamy

9. Littlerock Institute

10. ...

Unfortunately, I couldn't return to the volcanic fracture since the clearance I got from the dean here was one time. I should've stayed there longer. I should spend the last few days before the next event nursing my egg and training my beasts. They've been slacking, even Duchess, who did the bare minimum for gaining new spells. I took her books with me in the manor when I galavanted through the desert.

I gave Duchess her books and looked for training grounds, eventually finding a massive barren field with trenches and mounds everywhere. Bunkers and barricades are half buried in the dirt as barbed wire litter the land. Rob is happy with this place.

Flash Gordon and Rob only have two skills that can level up, and Khan only has one. Every hour I force Flash Gordon to use [Fragmentation] against the bunkers to train both [Fragmentation] and [Seige Weapon]. Since Duchess is busy with her own magic and can't help Rob learn the basics of his, he is just hitting me with a shovel to help level [Tool Mastery]. He takes breaks to use the tools for their intended purposes since that should help level the skill. Since it's passive, he needs to keep using it.

Khan's one skill is passive and called [Bite]. So I make him bite me. It hurts more than I thought. I have him cycle his damage type with [Power of the Strom] to additionally train my resistances. I have forty-eight hours before I need to get ready for the next event, and I intend to use every hour.

~

I also spammed every skill I had off cooldown until my mana dried out, then I'd replenish it and continue one. I didn't let my beast stop, giving them my stamina with [Master's Gift]. My exhaustion resistance didn't grow, however.

[Bolster Resistance B lv2 > lv3

The user can spend mana equal to half of their target resistance stat to double it.

Duration: 10 minutes ⬆]

[Master's Whip B lv2 > lv3

The Master is a great motivator for all of their servants. The Master gains loyalty from their servants faster and can punish them at will. Loyal servants are rewarded with a boost in their training speed and yield.]

Master's Whistle C lv2 > lv3

The Master may whistle to summon their servant. The servant must not be incapacitated. The servant is summoned within five feet of the Master and may bring everything they carry.

Mana Cost: 25

Cooldown: 40 Minutes ⬇]

[Empower C lv3 > lv4

You can empower a single tamed beast for 1 minute.

Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Mana cost: 50

Buff: 25% to all stats ⬆]

[Hurl D lv2 > 4

Thrown attacks are stronger.

Damage: + 40% ⬆

Velocity: + 40% ⬆]

[Resistance: Piercing 300 > 399 (499)]

[Resistance: Slashing 220 > 300 (400)]

[Resistance: Lightning 175 > 250 (350)]

[Fragmentation lv1 > lv2

The user may shoot their body out in fragments to deal massive damage. The user reverts back to normal after the skill is used.

Fragments: up to 7 ⬆

Damage: Might/2

Cooldown: 1 hour]

[Tool Mastery D lv1 > lv2

Deal 60% more damage with tools. ⬆]

[Bite C lv1 > lv2

Bite attacks deal more damage and penetrate armor.

Damage: 55% ⬆

Penetration: 25% ]

I spend the few remaining hours resting to refresh my body before heading to the arena with my team. I want more time to train my beasts and myself. That's a crucial part of being a tamer, and I've been neglecting that even before the desert.

"Hey, Ellis!"

"What's up, Jerry."

"What do you got there? That's not Flash Gordon."

"He's in his spot in my pocket. This is going to be my newest tamed beast."

"Oh shit, for real! Congratulations man! What is it? What are you going to name it? Is it a boy or girl?"

"I don't know anything, only that it's an egg, and it might hatch one day."

"Hey, I have a skill I could use. It should help the egg. May I?"

"...what skill?"

"Don't worry about it."

Jerry reaches for the egg, but I lift it out of his reach. He looks at me weirdly before I put my arms down and let him get a look at the egg. He touches the egg before recoiling.

"Hot!"

Jerry then taps the egg and puts his ear next to it before nodding at himself and rubbing his ear. I heal him, but he isn't hurt, only first-degree burns.

"It's hungry and needs about a week, maybe less. It depends on incubation."

"What skill did you use?" I try to inject more mana, but it doesn't take it.

"Oh, something I got from handling eggs from a young egg. I spent a lot of my childhood in the family incubator."

"Your family has an incubator, you know what. Never mind."

"No, it's alright. Lizzie's mom is owned by my dad and overproduces eggs. You know, except for the metal and the pattern, that egg seems similar to a [Bearded Dragon] egg or other similar eggs. Actually, it's spherical and not egg-shaped, so the only thing that's the same is the heat."

That tells me nothing, but it might be related to a [Bearded Dragon] just because it's hot. I didn't realize that it was that hot. It feels lukewarm in my hands, but it's hot enough to burn other people. What are you?

I have Duchess breathe fire on the egg before letting Jerry recheck it. In real-time, he tells me that the egg was satisfied, then got peckish. Hopefully, this child of mine won't break out of its shell because it got too fat. Having Flash Gordon next to it seems to keep it satisfied since Flash Gordon is an [Elemental Stone] and can give out fire energy. I could use him as a lighter if I wanted to get into some bad habits.

We've been standing around for quite a while before the Auroran Institute dean comes out on stage with the other deans following him. He speaks into a microphone and addresses the crowd.

"Hello, students and spectators! Welcome back to this week's event! This is a special one! Since this event isn't a team competition but a solo one!"

Murmuring spreads among the students, and even my team is affected. I ignore their questions since they should be answered by the dean's following few sentences.

"This is a tournament to find the best of the best! Teamwork is crucial, but this event will show the best of each class! If we could have this be a personal event rather than a scheduled one, we would. But to have every class separate into each type and congregate in one location would be one hell of a coincidence!"

"Now, split off into weapon, magic, and tamer classes. Unarmed fighters, please go with the weapon classes. If you are a utility class that doesn't fit the other categories, go with the magic users. Once you find your location, please await further instructions."

Students start shuffling around, trying to find where they are supposed to go. Most students fall under "weapon class," with magic being second, with tamer being a close third. Except for a few rare cases, most teams have two magic casters. A healer and a mage, while the rest of the team are in weapon classes. Although the tamer class is restricted by how many they can get because a squad of tamers would outnumber any other group easily, they are hard to rear and rarely can hold their own in a fight without their beasts.

Because of that, the tamers' worth is determined by the quantity and quality of their beasts. The average tamer will have an average beast. I'm excited to see the various tamed beasts and their masters. And to see my creatures trample over them.