Prominence

High heat.

Heat.

Wind pressure.

The hot wind spewed out by the flames swept past her.

Americano passed through the hail of heat.

Hongyeom, with a surprised look, kept the flames spewing from her staff while extending her other hand.

It was a distance of less than 10 centimeters, but Hongyeom’s actions were skillful despite her completely surprised face.

The fireball in her hand scorched Americano’s body.

Bang.

The compressed flames exploded.

Unable to resist, she was blown away.

Before bouncing off the ground,

She braced herself on the ground.

Thanks to her experience of getting hit by Bomber Witch, she didn’t pass out. It was a more powerful explosion than that time.

Her feet touched the ground, and she tried to brake, but she dug a long trench in the ground.

This Map was a thriving city.

A concrete forest of skyscrapers.

The city stretched out infinitely.

The city had a simple structure, with straight roads monotonously extending across the flat land.

An artificial stage where one road stretched out infinitely in a straight line.

Breaking through the asphalt floor, she flew far and long, barely managing to stop.

She tried to get up.

Her leg Strength gave out.

Her knees buckled.

She opened her mouth wide.

“Haa…!”

She took a breath she hadn’t been taking.

How far did I fly?

She circulated her Magical Power to the max.

But even so, I flew this far?

Thanks to the heat, she strongly activated Boost without risk.

Thanks to the Boost she was going to use for attack, she was able to put Strength into defense. The judgment was lightning fast. Her Awakened Ability instinctively formed a Magical Power field to protect her body.

If not,

‘One of my limbs would have been blown away.’

An arm or a leg.

A long, straight road.

The dirt ground was exposed in two lines.

Her two feet had dug into it.

Hongyeom is visible far away.

Just as she was about to run out again.

Whoosh.

As she moved her body, she heard the sound of flames fluttering.

Flames were attached to her arm.

It wasn’t just her arm.

Cheek.

Neck.

Shoulder.

Chest.

Arm.

Waist.

Hip.

Leg.

Embers were clinging to various parts of her body.

The embers alone melted the Frost of Magical Power that had been drawn up by Boost.

She was sweating coldly.

How hot is it?

She recovered the skin burned by the embers with Heal, stood up, and stretched, looking up at the sky.

Even though she ignores the pain and fights, putting her body in the flames is always scary and frightening.

‘I’m doing this because I don’t die.’

If she died, she would have run away long ago.

But it’s a game.

I can enjoy it.

“Hoo…”

She took a stance.

She placed both hands on the ground and raised her hips high.

She wrapped Magical Power around her legs and Leap.

Leaving a straight line of smoke.

The Frost beyond the heat of the embers left Frost in the path she had passed.

She instantly closed the distance with Hongyeom, who had been walking leisurely.

Hongyeom emitted flames.

Flames spreading like billowing clouds.

Light shone within those flames.

A dazzling flash of light burst forth.

The flame of a turbo lighter flew towards her as a clean Ray.

“….”

She saw it from above.

Sensing the momentary crisis, she jumped up and dodged the Ray.

She landed on the side of the turbo flame and kicked off the ground.

Every time she stepped on the ground, the asphalt cracked.

The turbo flame was swung around.

She jumped to the opposite side and dodged it like jump rope.

The turbo flame followed her, but she lowered her body and spun around.

Evading as if spinning, she was one step away from reaching her hand.

Roughly 100 meters.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Hongyeom shook her head, stopping 100 meters away. She tapped the staff on the ground and then raised it high.

In an instant, the world brightened.

Hongyeom said.

“The Sun.”

Even though she muttered softly, it was etched into her ears.

Soon, Hongyeom’s figure, and the surrounding environment, were dyed pure white.

Just as she was going blind from the whiteness.

She burst into flames.

It’s hot.

She burned.

Her body, protected by Frost, couldn’t withstand the heat, extinguished the Frost, and created a heat haze.

The bright light was sunlight.

Like gathering light with a magnifying glass to burn, the light gathered and heated up.

Suddenly losing her sight, her foot caught on a piece of asphalt.

She fell to the ground, and in the moment of falling, she immediately pushed off the ground with both hands and feet, moving away from the presence of the turbo flame.

She hid inside the building next to her, but the flames and light attached to her body didn’t come off and followed her.

The turbo flame melted the walls of the building.

It melted the pillars, and as it melted half of the building’s floor, the building went thump. It couldn’t withstand its own weight.

It tilted and collapsed.

The movement of the turbo flame was slow, but even if she couldn’t see it, she knew.

She sensed that the moment she touched that turbo flame, she would lose.

It wasn’t something she could withstand.

It was physically impossible to withstand.

It was slow, and the further away it was, the more it whipped like a whip.

If she could see it, it would be easy,

But since she can’t see it,

She focused on the slightest changes and fled from the turbo flame.

She struggled to avoid the collapsing building and reached the upper floors, but the turbo flame was not hindered by obstacles.

Breaking through the glass windows, she escaped the collapsing building.

A high cloud of dust rose from the ground where the building collided.

The turbo flame didn’t stop even in the cloud of dust, but soon the presence of the turbo flame completely disappeared.

In the radiance where she couldn’t see in front of her.

She didn’t know why,

‘Now…!’

It’s an opportunity.

Americano relied on the Electrical Signal to pinpoint Hongyeom’s location.

She tried to jump into the next building and hide,

But she used the wall of the building as a foothold.

A very short bound.

Enduring the heat of the radiance attached to her body with Nine Yin Constitution, she gradually drew up more and more Magical Power.

The output itself was insufficient, but the more Magical Power that accumulated outside her body, the stronger and faster she became.

And thanks to the heat of the radiance, Magical Power gathered on an unprecedented scale.

She stepped on the ground, and all the glass windows of the building shattered.

The remaining 100 meters to Hongyeom instantly evaporated.

She was now within reach.

Right then.

Hongyeom raised her hand.

“Volcano.”

With Hongyeom’s one word, Americano saw a flash from below her.

A pillar of fire.

A cloud of flames rising high.

Unable to resist the flames sprayed at high pressure, she flew high.

Spinning around and around.

Her body turned.

She fell without any additional hits and landed helplessly on the ground.

Sizzle.

Sizzle.

She braced herself on the ground and stood up.

She couldn’t see in front of her.

It’s dazzling.

I can’t see.

It’s hot.

It hurts…!

It’s hard to breathe.

Magical Power…

It’s hot…

‘It hurts.’

Nine Yin Constitution provides infinite Magical Power instead of making Magical Power cold.

Of course, there was some ambiguity in the word infinite, as it was only as much as she could handle the Frost contained in the Magical Power.

But if the conditions were met, the Magical Power of Nine Yin Constitution would become infinite.

Because it was cold, the heat was Strength.

She was careful not to freeze,

‘I’m going to burn to death before that…!’

Full Magical Power release.

Maximum output.

I’m already doing it!

She circulated all of her Magical Power, Yin Energy, and Frost through the Magical Power pathways of her Awakened Ability.

She poured out everything she could at once. Light pierced through her eyelids.

But,

“───!”

She couldn’t cool it down.

It’s hot.

It’s painful.

It hurts.

Ice Crystal

Ice Crystal

Ice Crystal

‘Ice Crystal…!’

She tried to freeze the flames, but the source of the flames was her Awakened Ability.

She can’t freeze natural phenomena.

She released Magical Power.

She didn’t wrap it around her body.

That would just be a waste, only filling her with Frost. She couldn’t use the released Magical Power as power, but she couldn’t think about things like that.

She had been ignoring the pain.

She could do that.

Rather, her instincts turned away from the pain, and all of that became vitality.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, and it went beyond the level of pain she could ignore.

As it went beyond that, her will poured all her nerves into suppressing the instincts that screamed in pain.

It hurts.

It’s okay.

It hurts!

It’s okay!

It hurts!!

The more I pay attention, the more it hurts!!

It hurts so much!!!!!!

I’m not going to die anyway!!!!

It hurts!!!!!!!

‘─!’

Crackle.

Crackle.

Electricity began to be etched into the empty Magical Power space by her will.

Crackle.

She braced herself on the ground and endured the flames, but in the pain of being burned alive.

For the first time, cracks appeared on her face, which had been frozen as if she was okay.

A silent scream erupted from her wide-open mouth, and her wide-open eyes were bloodshot.

Both hands shook off the flames attached to her head.

Both legs shook off the flames attached to her body.

She struggled,

And rolled on the ground.

She spammed Heal.

It’s useless.

Magical Power.

Frost.

The Strength that had been cooling her body was gradually pushed back by the Strength applied to the flames, and crackle. The surface layer of her skin burned black.

Heat and Frost.

The balance was broken.

Americano rolled on the ground.

She hugged her body and soothed the pain.

Tears of smoke burst from her eyes at the pain of new skin being torn and ripped.

Her body bounced.

“───!”

She braced herself on the ground.

Kill her.

Her instincts pleaded.

A silent scream erupted from within the flames, but Americano’s reason whispered calmly.

‘Kill that guy.’

Then I’ll make it easy for you.

The sharply raised Heavenly Slaughter Star rolled its eyes.

Her eyes, blackened and scorched, glimpsed Hongyeom’s shadow in the dazzlingly shining world.

Ranked 3rd in the country.

Ranked 7th internationally.

A fire mage boasting the world’s greatest firepower.

Prominence Hong Joo-ah.

She, who was active under the Duel Arena nickname Hongyeom, met an unranked player in the battlefield where SSS Ranks were rampaging.

A Match opponent with a mannequin skin bearing the nickname Espresso.

She didn’t treat the unranked player any differently from others.

She looked down on them all the same.

Hongyeom had the Strength to look down on others.

Above all, she didn’t have an obsession beyond competitiveness in a mere game.

Although she was trapped in the game, the fun she aimed for in the game was always the same.

Burning the opponent to death with high firepower.

She knew common sense and was an ordinary person no different from others, but she could relieve stress through deviant behavior. As she boasted the world’s greatest firepower, her firepower was always restricted.

To Monsters.

To villains.

She can’t use her full Strength.

If she used her full Strength, the surrounding damage would be severe.

Even if the flames didn’t touch, the ultra-high heat would burn everything around them.

The firepower, which emitted ultra-high heat comparable to the sun, melted the city that had become this Map like chocolate.

As if warning that such a scene would unfold if she used her full Strength in reality.

Even the Strength that melted the city was weak compared to her full Strength in reality.

In the midst of melting the city.

“Crazy.”

A lump of light.

A human body with the nickname Espresso was shining brilliantly.

The ultra-high heat that would evaporate the human body and even cause it to explode was the culprit that melted the city. Asphalt melted around Espresso, and dirt melted, creating a lava zone.

It evaporated the lava and sank downwards, but she didn’t die and endured.

She was surprised that she didn’t die easily, but,

Whatever it is,

“My victory.”

She stuck out her tongue and celebrated her victory.

She laughed, “Kuhuhu,” as if Espresso’s resistance was amusing.

She had experienced opponents who were completely immune to her abilities, but had there ever been an opponent who endured while being affected?

‘There wasn’t.’

In that sense, Hongyeom engraved Espresso in her mind.

She became an opponent recognized by her, who was ranked 7th internationally.

I’ll remember the nickname and add her as a friend later.

‘If she doesn’t have trauma, that is.’

Her too much Strength had instilled fear in someone again.

She shook her head at her frightening Strength.

“But it’s late.”

Victory message.

At that time.

Thud.

A sound was heard.

The lava zone, deepened like an antlion’s pit. Something ‘burning bright red’ in the bubbling lava touched the surface of the lava.

Thud.

Thud.

It looked like a human hand.

As it touched the lava surface, flames reflecting a human skull crawled out of the lava.

By the time it had taken out its legs, there were no muscles left, only bones remained.

Above that head,

The words Espresso

Were floating.

Espresso staggered closer, her body on the verge of crumbling.

She walked.

Got faster.

Jumped.

And ran.

“Ugh…”

Hongyeom felt chills for the first time since Awakening.

She reached out and fired high-powered flames.

She was going to blow her away for now, but,

“..!”

“───!!”

Espresso spewed flames from her eye sockets and dug through the flames.

She reached out her arm, which had been charred black like a cremated body, and lightning dwelled in that arm.

The moment the lightning flashed.

An explosion occurred.

The nearby buildings flew away like jelly.