"What do you want from us?" Vlad demanded, taking a defensive stance.

"You see, your little girlfriend roughed up my boys," the man behind the black cloak muttered, pulling the cap from his head to reveal his middle-aged face, his fingers pointing toward the two young men standing beside him.

They were Theo and Matteo. Half of each of their faces was covered in the scars of severe burns.

"They are the thugs from yesterday," Vlad muttered, recognising them.

"Chloe, did they attack you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes, but I smacked their faces," Chloe replied, her expression carrying no visible trace of fear or surprise. She seemed completely calm.

"At first it was for revenge," Ronald, the man in the black cloak, said. "I would have let it slide after having a little fun with that bitch. But you idiots offended someone out of your league. Don’t blame me too much for this. After all, you brought this upon yourselves."

The moment he finished speaking, the thugs surrounding Vlad and Chloe began closing in.

"Chloe, hold the front," Vlad ordered, turning back. "I will open the escape route."

Chloe nodded, stepping forward.

’Alright, three opponents,’ Vlad noted inwardly, his focus locked entirely on the approaching figures. ’The muscles on both forearms of the one on the left are tensing, so he must be aiming to grab me. The one on the right is angling low for my legs. The one in the centre has his fist clenched. In that case...’

Vlad dipped slightly, letting the left thug’s grab pass over him. In the same motion, his hand shot out and seized the man by the collar. With a sharp jolt, he swung him like a sack of rice, slamming his back into the man on the right who had been diving for his legs.

As they hit the ground together, Vlad had shifted his attention to the third man, whose fist was already closing in on his face.

He was fast. But not as fast as the sword strikes Chloe had thrown at Vlad for ten years.

Vlad struck the side of the incoming fist with his palm, redirecting it, then drove his other hand upward in a sharp uppercut to the man’s chin.

His body went airborne. Blood poured from his shattered jaw as he crashed onto his back.

"Chloe, the path is open. We need to le—"

The words died in his throat as he turned.

Theo, Matteo, and the third opponent beside Ronald were unconscious on the ground. But what shocked Vlad was Chloe’s condition.

She was on the ground, barely able to sit upright. Both of her ankles were bleeding where scorching metallic shackles had been clamped around them.

---

A few seconds ago...

As Vlad went for the enemies behind them, Chloe rushed forward, her body moving in a sudden blur.

"Damn, here she comes again," Matteo muttered, reluctantly stepping forward.

The three of them spread out to limit Chloe’s movement and strike at her blind spots. However, their plan did not go the way they expected.

Chloe leapt off the ground. In midair, her legs snapped outward into a split, catching Matteo’s neck on one side and Theo’s on the other. In the same instant, she drove them together with that same blinding speed, forcing the two to slam into the third opponent who had been charging from the middle, crushing him between them like a vice.

Before she could land, Theo and Matteo, barely conscious, snapped the metallic cuffs around her ankles.

"G-got you, bitch," they gasped before collapsing to the ground.

"You are indeed fast," Ronald said in an amused tone, picking up the ends of the chains connected to the cuffs on Chloe’s legs. "I can see the reason for your S-ranked talent."

Chloe didn’t react to his words or to the cuffs at her ankles, and charged straight at him.

"But you see, there is a vast difference between someone who knows magic and someone who doesn’t."

His free hand moved in a slow, deliberate circular motion as he murmured, "Ember Fireball."

The air around his hand stirred. His face was painted gold as a fist-sized fireball materialised before his palm.

He slammed it into the links of the chain. The flame travelled like a serpent through the metal, turning it scorching red.

Chloe’s movement halted the moment she reached him. Her eyebrows furrowed as a burning sensation radiated from her ankles.

Smoke rose and the air filled with the smell of burning flesh. Chloe groaned in pain and fell to the ground.

It was the moment Vlad turned to find her in this condition.

"Oh, I underestimated you, brat," Ronald said, turning to Vlad, his voice carrying a mild note of surprise. "You took three of my men down that quickly."

"Set her free!" Vlad shouted, bolting toward Ronald.

"Stay right there."

Ronald increased the intensity of the flame, causing the cuffs to burn even hotter.

"Angh..." Chloe groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.

Vlad skidded to a stop, his face twisted in frustration and helplessness.

"Stop hurting her. Just tell me what you want from us," Vlad muttered, clenching his fists.

"Who wants anything from trash like you?" Ronald said with a shrug. Turning to Chloe, he continued, "My interest lies here. Someone paid me handsomely to bring this girl to them."

A twisted smirk curled on his face. "But they never said they needed her in one piece. She has to pay for what she did to my men."

For the first time in his life, Vlad felt such rage toward another person. His knuckles had turned white from how tightly he was clenching his fists. Veins bulged at his temple as he watched Chloe groan in pain before him.

’I need to do something, but if I make a move, he might cripple her permanent—’

His thought cut off as something heavy struck the back of his head.

He turned to find the man he had slammed into the other thug, now upright, holding a metallic rod in his hand.

"Did you think you could walk away unscathed?" Ronald chuckled.

"N-no... Vlad," Chloe gasped, trying to rise to her feet despite the burning pain.

"And one more thing. You know what happens to her if you try to retaliate."

Before he finished speaking, the rod cracked across Vlad’s forehead.

Ring...

His vision blurred and his ears rang from the impact. Blood trickled down his face and dripped from his chin to the ground. Yet he stayed upright and did not move.

"What is this kid made of?" the man muttered, driving the rod into his gut.

As Vlad’s body buckled from the blow, he struck again, this time across the back of his head.

"Vlad, s-stop holding b-back," Chloe cried, her eyes breaking into a rare display of tears. "Pl-please, just run—"

"Flame Fireball!"

The narrow street turned bright as a large fireball, nearly the same size as Vlad’s torso, materialised above Ronald’s palm. With a jolt of his hand, he hurled it forward. It struck Vlad square in the gut.

Smoke and fire erupted from the point of impact, swallowing him from view.

Chloe’s eyes went wide. Her expression shattered into fury and terror.

As the smoke cleared, Vlad’s battered body came into view. He was pinned against the wall, face hanging downward, blood dripping steadily. His shirt had burned away entirely, exposing his upper body covered in deep burn marks.

’I-It hurts. It hurts so much.’

He couldn’t even form the words aloud.

"Haha, this is what you get for being arrogant, kid," Ronald laughed. "Did you think you could change the world after your awakening? Let me give your delusional self some news. The D-ranked talent you awakened will offer you nothing but mediocrity. No matter how hard you train, no matter the quality of skills or teaching you receive, you can never surpass the limits you were born with."

’M-maybe he is right. With such a pathetic talent, I will never achieve anything. I couldn’t even defeat these street thugs or protect Chloe. Maybe I was never meant to be the Lege—’

"Vlad will become the Legendary Knight!" Chloe shouted, her eyes filled with tears.

"Eh? What did you just say?" Ronald demanded, his eyebrows drawing together.

"I said Vlad will become the Legendary Knight. Take your words back and apologise to him for what you said!"

"I need to knock some sense into this one as well," Ronald muttered, forming a fireball in his hand the same size as the one that had struck Vlad.

Chloe did not flinch before the incoming flame, as though it didn’t frighten her in the least.

Another tower of smoke and fire erupted from the collision.

But what the fireball struck was not Chloe. It was Vlad, standing with his broad back to her.

"V-Vlad..." Chloe murmured.

"I’m sorry, Chloe, for that pathetic display," Vlad mumbled, raising his foot. "From now on, I will never doubt myself again."

He brought his foot down onto the chain, splitting it apart against the ground.

"H-how are you still moving?" Ronald demanded, his eyes shrinking in shock.

"This spell of yours," Vlad murmured, his voice low. "That’s the best you can do, isn’t it."

"So what?" Ronald ask, annoyance evident on his face.

"I will surpass it."

Vlad’s voice started low, then exploded outward with burning determination.

"I will surpass your flames.

I will surpass this so-called D-rank limit.

I will surpass every hero who came before me...

From a street thug like you to the Legendary Knight who ended the War of Dragons — I WILL SURPASS THEM ALL!"

The moment those words left him, something inside him flickered. A flame born from the declaration he had made to the world. The air around him stirred, and several small patterns trembled within his molten red eyes.

A translucent screen materialised before him.

Ding...

[Initialising system...]

[Congratulations! The Host has been selected by the Legacy System!]

[Welcome, Host!]

[Your first quest has been triggered!]

[Quest: Surpass the Fire!

Description: Defeat Ronald, the Two-Ring Mage!]