Chapter 79: Others succeed where others fail
Meanwhile, the princess, engaged in training with her illusionary opponent, abruptly halted. Her blazing spear came to a brutal stop, creating a vacuum above the river’s surface. Elreth glanced at her smart bracelet, which had vibrated, and noticed their score had risen by 26 points—only a few points behind the leading team. A chuckle escaped her lips.
"I guess he can’t stop himself. I thought he was doing well, but I knew he couldn’t hold it for too long. Well, that works in my favor. Tomorrow will be fun," she grinned. Having grown up alongside Lux and the others, she understood them to some extent. She was aware of Lux’s darker persona that emerged when he faced monsters, and she was curious to see how much he could hold back. During their hunt earlier in the day, he had managed to keep that side of himself in check, but tonight, it seemed he had lost control and embarked on a killing spree.
While it was a good thing for their score, bringing them closer to Nero’s team, Elreth recognized the larger picture. Normally, she could have seized the opportunity to hunt at night and surpass them, but that wouldn’t be wise. They needed rest, and more importantly, the night could be utilized for recovery and further training rather than wasted on a nighttime hunt. If they exhausted themselves, they would struggle to keep up with the competition when day broke. It was a simple logic, one that she understood well, and she was determined to play the long game.
"Let’s refine my skills some more!" Elreth declared, feeling wide awake despite the late hour. She resumed her practice, focusing on perfecting her spear techniques. With the new type of flame she had unlocked—the pale blue flame—she had gained significantly better control. This flame was hotter and deadlier than the previous orange flames, capable of inflicting more damage, but it also drained her prana far more quickly. Determined, she continued refining her abilities to use this new flame effectively in combat.
As she practiced, a sudden idea sprouted in her mind. "It would be incredible if I could move through the sky. Let’s create wings made of flame to facilitate aerial combat!" The thought excited her, and she immediately set to work on implementing it. However, as she began to mold the flames into wing-like structures, she quickly discovered that it was easier said than done.
Elreth focused intently, channeling her prana into the flames as she envisioned the wings taking shape. She crafted a rough framework, trying to shape the flames into elongated forms that resembled wings. As she concentrated, the pale blue flames flickered and danced, but maintaining the structure proved to be incredibly challenging. Each time she felt she was making progress, the flames would sputter out or lose their form, slipping from her grasp like water through her fingers.
Hours passed as she struggled, and by late into the night, she had only managed to create a rough outline of the flame wings. The framework glowed brightly for a moment, but it lacked stability. Each attempt drained her reserves of prana more rapidly than she anticipated, leaving her increasingly fatigued. The energy required to sustain the flames and shape them into wings was far greater than she had accounted for, and she found herself grappling with the limitations of her current abilities.