CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 51: EPIPHANY

"It’s to the left."

As soon as Ivan finished speaking, he was smashed to pieces.

His body was struck by Sally’s enormous hammer, wrapped in flames, reducing it to fragments in one blow.

Oddly enough, there wasn’t any gruesome scene of flesh and blood splattering.

The shattered body of "Ivan" crumbled into a heap of ice shards and some water stains.

"Hmm?"

Andrew’s eyes narrowed, showing a surprised expression, "Ice? And... water?!"

At almost the same moment the "Ivan" on the right was shattered, the real Ivan appeared on Sally’s... left side, just as he had said!

It was as if he emerged from the air, materializing from nothing, still landing soundlessly.

And Sally had no time to swing her hammer back!

"Cook, you set me up! Clearly, it’s to the left, and you told me right!?" Sally shouted angrily.

At the same time, her entire body erupted with flames, the Flame Warrior’s unique "Flame Gauze Clothing" combined with Cook’s "Molten Rock Armor", and her defense soared!

"Come on, let’s see if you can break through my defense!"

Although Sally was angry, she was very confident she could withstand it.

Flame Warriors are naturally adept at defense, and the "Puppet Fire Series" to which "Molten Rock Armor" belongs, is known for defense and survival in the magic series.

With such dual defense, as long as she could withstand an attack from the opponent, she could recover her strength, and then—

Swish!

Ivan, holding a black short dagger, with a massive physique moving with a light grace, swept past behind Sally.

The black short dagger in his hand seemed to flicker for a moment.

One slash.

It was just one slash.

The "Molten Rock Armor" cracked.

The "Flame Gauze Clothing" shattered!

A stream of blood spurted from Sally’s back, and she fell powerlessly to the ground.

"So... powerful?"

Sally’s eyes were filled with horror and disbelief.

She fell to the ground with a thud, actually being deprived of the strength to fight with just one slash from Ivan!

"...So strong!"

Everyone present couldn’t help but feel a jolt in their hearts.

The difference was that the morale among Hubert’s Magic Apprentices became increasingly low.

While Andrew’s group was pleasantly surprised and shocked: everyone knew Ivan was strong back in the day, but he became sullen and reclusive after his lung injury, wasn’t expecting him to still be this powerful?!

Especially Aunt Sofia, who looked at Ivan in amazement, unable to connect the cold-blooded killer in front of her with the irritable man who once demanded food in exchange for her body.

However...

None of the people present, including the unconscious Sally, knew—

That Ivan was, in fact, the most surprised person!

"My... my lungs... what’s going on?!"

Ivan could clearly feel his lung burns—originally only partially healed by Andrew—suddenly healing at an incredible speed!

This was because, at the same time Ivan acted, Andrew acted as well.

But not to help fight Sally, instead, he directly shot a "Seed of the Water Spirit" into Ivan’s body!

"Actually, I had already sensed it with Water Spirit Sensing when I told little Sophie not to step out of my drawn circle, and when I left the tent, that Ivan and his partner had returned."

Andrew thought, "At that time, they were patiently waiting and poised to act next to the quicksand area outside the camp. A typical style of Desert Hunters."

And when facing Sally and Cook simultaneously, I truly could have won a two-on-one fight.

But there was no need.

The simple logic was: if you can pair up, why can’t I?

Though I didn’t know how well I, a Water Mage, would coordinate with Ivan, a Desert Hunter.

However, the important thing was that Ivan was willing to act, and that was enough.

Otherwise, having a Desert Hunter lurking and scheming, Andrew would also worry about Ivan playing the "sandpiper and clam" script to gain the upper hand from conflicts.

After all, one should not have harmful intentions, but must be cautious.

Once Ivan indeed acted, Andrew’s worry dissipated.

That’s when a "Seed of the Water Spirit" was shot out immediately.

Since Ivan responded to my call for help by taking action immediately, I wasn’t going to leverage his lung injury to make demands either.

"Oh my gosh..."

Ivan now wore a face full of surprise and joy.

What he didn’t know was that when he and Andrew made their deal, Andrew only knew "Water Spirit Technique", not even "Seed of the Water Spirit".

And now, Andrew not only mastered the "Seed of the Water Spirit", but the water spirit seed planted in Ivan’s body was also enhanced and activated by Water Magic, plus the automatic blessing of Invisible Enchantment—the healing effect was much stronger than Ivan expected, while naturally subtle and quiet.

Indeed, Ivan’s injuries were very severe.

Thus, during the healing process, a large amount of "Fire Extinguishing Value" was naturally redeemed.

Meanwhile, Andrew confirmed something: "It seems like there’s a special connection between Desert Hunters and me, a Water Mage!"

Not only because, after seeing Ivan’s false body being smashed, it turned into "ice" and "water".

But also because, after implanting a "Seed of the Water Spirit", that strange "connection feeling" appeared again!

And it’s far stronger than the connection with anyone else.

For a moment, Andrew suddenly had such a thought in his mind: "An ’Earth Fire Mage’ pairs with a ’Flame Warrior’, a ’Warm Fire Mage’ pairs with a ’Crimson Knight’, could it be that I, a ’Water Mage’, am meant to pair with someone like Ivan, a ’Desert Hunter’?"

How else to explain the unbelievably intense connection I feel with Ivan?

"And if my guess is right, then—" Andrew gritted his teeth, "It means that this Flame Realm originally had ’Water Mages’! And they were partnered with Desert Hunters!

But for some reason, Water Mages disappeared, vanished!

Desert Hunters also declined into a marginalized profession, although they somewhat restrain Fire Mages, therefore being hired by many Mages as bodyguards, but in reality, under the guise of hiring, they’re completely disarmed and declawed, extinguishing the entire profession!"

What exactly happened in this world?

What is this Tear of the Water God, left by whom? Why did it fall into my hands? What does my journey as a Water Mage with the Tear to extinguish fire truly signify? Who’s been pushing and orchestrating things behind the scenes?!

Questions swarmed around.

One thing, however, seemed pretty certain: my ongoing mission in this Flame Realm to implement the Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method will definitely continue. But what needs strengthening isn’t just personal prowess, it’s rallying a group like myself to grow stronger together.

The strange connection between myself and Ivan, An Ya, and others—though its nature remains unknown—seems to be the Tear of the Water God’s implication... no, it should be clearly indicating to me:

It’s not enough to just become strong on my own!

I must also inspire a group to become stronger, form teams, unite forces, and truly develop a faction capable of contending with the Magic Guild!

Even further, unravel the occurrences and issues plaguing the Flame Realm!

Simply put: it’s not a mere "Solo Adventurer Path", perhaps a "Colony Development Path"—unlocking the true way to engage with this Flame Realm!

With thoughts spinning rapidly.

When Andrew regained his senses, he realized he had subconsciously maintained his advancing posture, bypassed Sally, and had come face to face with Cook. And Cook stood as the last barrier between him and Hubert.

"..." Cook was looking at him with a strange expression.

Andrew looked down and saw his fist, pressed against Cook’s diaphragm between his chest and belly.