[Ding! Congratulations! Your SSS-rank talent - Hell Suppressing Flames has successfully bloomed into the Supreme Art: Nether Flames!]

Ulric nodded as he stared at the notification, feeling streams of knowledge flood into his mind. His understanding of the new art deepened with every passing second.

And as the insights kept pouring in, he couldn’t agree more. It was quite the upgrade.

Itching to test it, he raised a single finger and willed it forth. Instantly, the air around him twisted violently, hissing sounds echoing out. Before an ethereal red flame — with a slightly darker shade than before — bloomed to life.

The contrast was obvious. In an instant, the ground stretching for a thousand meters around him was charred black. Flames took root and spread dangerously at a rapid pace.

In the span of a single second, the damage unleashed was untold. Only after he snuffed it out did he let out a quiet breath.

The flames had grown far more intense than before. And this time, they didn’t even wait for his command, almost as if they had a mind of their own. Certainly far wilder.

If he had let it burn for a few more seconds and spread toward the city gates, he could only imagine the catastrophe.

Previously, the Hell Suppressing Flames had been undying, and they still were. But now... he could sense they had evolved. A vile smile stretched across his face.

When unleashed on lower-ranked opponents, death was undoubtedly their only fate. But what about when facing far stronger opponents? Would that still hold true?

The intensity of the flames determined their damage. And as most people’s physiques advanced with strength, even endless burning wouldn’t do much good if the flames couldn’t inflict meaningful harm.

But the Nether Flames... Ulric exhaled. They didn’t merely feed on flesh and material objects to grow stronger. They consumed everything, especially life force.

No matter how strong one grew, their lifespan remained finite. Once the Nether Flames ate away enough... death would be the only outcome.

The thought made his breath hitch slightly. He supposed it would be especially effective against older monsters who possessed overwhelming power but stood at the edge of their lifespans.

When facing such foes, this would come in especially handy. But that wasn’t all.

With the intensity it had just displayed, he was sure it was finally powerful enough to be used in craftsmanship, whether refining weapons or pills. If he had the necessary knowledge, he could easily become a craftsman or alchemist. Both great professions that could prove useful in the future.

But not now. His flames were still too wild, and such crafts required great precision and control. If he ever wanted to walk those paths, he would first need mastery.

Summing it all up in his mind, Ulric nodded slightly. It was definitely a great improvement in the right direction. But something still felt missing.

He could feel a void burning inside him, urging him to dig deeper.

***

Far to the side, Mistress Aria took another step back.

"That... flame," she muttered, her voice a whisper. Her heart thumped rapidly as her eyes fluttered.

For a brief moment, the dark-robed youth had snapped his fingers, and a flame had formed at the tip of his finger.

Yet its intensity... was straight-out terrifying. The terrain around Ulric only reinforced that thought. In a split second, the ground had been charred deeply, with fissures forming across it.

She had a feeling that if it had burned even a few seconds longer, the earth would have turned into molten sludge.

What kind of power was that?

The elders beside her whose arts were aligned with fire were even more depressed.

Just when they thought they had taken a step forward, they were reminded of the monstrous gap between them and the young lord, despite him being a newly advanced D-rank.

It was as if the young lord’s flame was a burning sun while theirs was a flickering candle. There was simply no comparison. Could it be that he had awakened a special flame?

But even special flames weren’t that exceedingly powerful. As they sank deeper into their thoughts, they couldn’t help but wonder: Was there truly no limit to the young lord’s power?

***

Hurriedly rushing back from the edges of the city gates, even Tara was shocked, a tinge of fear flickering across her eyes.

At first, she had felt as if she were in a haven. But near the end, when Ulric summoned his flame, everything changed.

Her own flames were extinguished as a prickling sensation, one that grew increasingly worse, pressed down on her, despite the thousands of meters between them.

And when the flames spread, she felt an eerie sensation oozing from them. One she knew too well: death.

Which was strange, she thought as she looked back. His power had never pressed against her like that before, nor against Lyra and the rest.

But this one was different. She gulped audibly as she continued stepping back warily. A thought took root in her mind, circling repeatedly.

How strong would a flame have to be to easily snuff out one conjured by someone with a near-peak S-rank talent? It had to be monstrous. The realization left her a little concerned about the dark-robed figure.

***

"Huh... what is he doing?" Graegor muttered, largely unbothered by the scorching intensity of the flames. All his attention remained fixed on the dark-robed youth.

Who now wore a thoughtful expression as he paced around, mumbling beneath his breath. The glint in his eyes grew brighter with every passing second.

Why was he not yet emerging from the wastelands? His breakthrough was complete... right? It had to be!

Everyone had watched him bloom multiple talents into arts, and given he wielded their extremities as well, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he commanded all the elements. There was no room for further advancement.

Or was there? Graegor’s brows arched in surprise as he watched brilliance glow brighter than ever in the youth. Before he suddenly plopped back to the ground as if he had grasped something profound.

But that wasn’t what caught his attention most. Looking back, the young lord had been happy with every talent that bloomed into an art.

But only for a few seconds before pressing for more. This time was different. He could see the familiar crazed smile spreading across the dark-robed youth’s face, one that stretched wider with every passing minute.

If he didn’t know better, he would have assumed the lord was far happier than when all his talents had advanced successfully. But that would be impossible!

Based on power, at least at his current stage, there shouldn’t have been anything that excited him more. So what was it?

The more he stared, the more his thoughts spiraled. Curiosity gnawed at him. Even with all this, was there still something he had missed?

The other elders, snapping out of their daze, soon grew surprised and equally curious. Watching as the lord plopped back to the ground as if preparing for another advancement, multiple questions raced through their minds.

A great silence descended as the tension rose dramatically. Just as they could no longer take it,

A series of explosions echoed from the wastelands. Narrowing their eyes, they watched as the different elemental energies from all his arts seeped out of his body and began swirling mystically around him.

***

*What is he doing?* Lyra mused, rubbing her nose as she watched the sea of energy ooze out of him and wrap around his form.

He couldn’t be showing off, right? Her lips twitched at the thought before she discarded it. It didn’t seem like it.

Just as she was about to sink deeper into her thoughts, she suddenly paused, noticing a change.

At first, the energy seeping out of his body had distinct differences; the crushing pressure of earth, the freezing coldness of ice, and so on.

But as time slowly passed, those differences blurred. The lines between them grew hazy, making it difficult to differentiate one from another.

It was almost as if they were...

***

"They are merging!" Graegor suddenly yelled, his pupils constricting violently as he finally figured out what was happening. From another perspective, this was no different from courting death.

It was well known that every element was distinct from the others, with those differences only growing sharper as ranks increased.

Trying to merge them would only result in unstable energy that would explode, killing anyone foolish enough to attempt it.

His yell drew the attention of the elders. They stared at the dark-robed figure in panic. Their future was exceedingly bright with the lord, they couldn’t imagine one without him.

***

Unaware of the concern and panic spreading among the elders, Ulric suddenly burst into maniacal laughter as he finally understood what was missing.

A chant slipped from his lips as his eyes grew hazy with enlightenment.

"The elements are not singular. Within earth lies metal. Within ice flows healing. Within darkness rests light. Within flame sleeps lightning.

All things are born from one another. All things complete one another. Only when the extremities converge... can true perfection be attained."

As he spoke the final words, his eyes snapped open as he exhaled.

"Converge!"