Arriving once again in the world of clouds, Max noticed a new door aside from the ones leading to the Dimension of Time and the Dimension of Spirits.
The new door was blazing with flames.
'Let's see what the Dimension of Flames has to offer,' Max mused as he opened the door and stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was flames. All around him was a world consumed by fire, but strangely, he didn't feel any heat from these flames.
Looking around, Max noticed that the world was limitless, with no boundary in sight. The whole world seemed to be ablaze with flames.
But he did notice something else in the fiery world. At the center stood a raised altar about his height, with a flame dancing atop it.
'According to the new memories I received, this altar possesses a very unique power. It could grant me different types of abilities depending on the flames I place on it,' Max mused. Continue reading at empire
It was said that many types of flames existed in this world, each possessing unique abilities. But aside from his black flames, Max hadn't seen any other flames in action.
Thinking of different flames, he took out his Lantern of Purple Death.
'Let's see what happens,' he thought as he controlled a wisp of the purple flames and let it fall onto the fire burning atop the altar.
But to his surprise, the purple flames didn't fall into the flames atop the altar. Instead, it floated above them and began to change shape until it took the form of a small lantern-like symbol.
Almost instantly, something clicked in Max's mind as he held his hand forward.
Purple flames began to blaze in his hand, surprising even him.
"No, this flame is different," Max muttered. He had a feeling that this flame would be useless against any living thing. "Only the dead should be affected by it. With this flame, I can extract memories from the dead." He muttered as the realization struck him.
He hadn't expected to obtain such an ability, but he guessed it was to be expected, given that the source of the flames was an artifact called the Lantern of Purple Death.
'This ability is good… I shall call it Ashes of Insight,' Max mused as he thought about his black flames.
'I am still unaware of what abilities my black flames possess.' Aside from having good control over them and allowing him to manipulate the purple lantern, Max didn't know the full extent of his black flames' potential.
'Let's see what abilities I can gain from my black flames,' Max thought as his hand began to burn with black flames. Controlling them, he separated a portion of the black flames and let it fall on the altar. But just like before, the flames floated atop the altar and began to change shape until it took the form of a dragon.
Just then, some information arrived in Max's mind as he looked at the black flames in his hand. "With these black flames, I can absorb—or should I say, devour—anything in this world," he muttered, his expression wild with excitement.
The ability to devour anything seemed like a very powerful power, and Max knew better than anyone that with his class combined with this ability, he would be unstoppable in the future.
"Good!" Max laughed in joy. "Just wait another nine months, and I'll go to the Lost Continent." Finding his sister was his ultimate goal, and becoming stronger was the key to achieving it. He hadn't forgotten about her. He couldn't forget about her.
"Could the flames I got from the Flame Creation skill also have some ability?" Max wondered, putting away the black flames and using the skill to create a blaze in his hand.
From the outside, it appeared to be just another normal flame, but Max had a feeling it wasn't a typical flame, especially since it was created by a mad scientist to make golems.
Without thinking much, he controlled a portion of the flame and dropped it atop the altar. Like the last two times, it floated above the flames and began to change shape.
Ultimately, it took the form of a string, which surprised Max.
At that moment, a notification popped up in his vision.
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for completing the 'Flame Creation' skill.]
[The skill 'Flame Creation' has been upgraded to Uncommon Rank as a reward.]
Max's eyes widened, not because of the notifications before him, but because of the ability he gained from the flames.
Looking back at the flames in his hand, Max muttered, his voice trembling. "This flame is like a living string, which is needed to create puppets. But if used carefully, it could solve the problem Daniel Winchester was facing when he was creating golems."
Daniel had tried to copy the intricate mana runes on the cores of the Lava Golems, but he had failed—not because he couldn't replicate the patterns inside the cores, but because when he replicated the runes on another core, the golem he created became lifeless.
After Max read the entire journal of Daniel's research, he had developed his own understanding of the situation and realized why Daniel failed to create a golem.
The reason was simple: Daniel couldn't replicate the life force within the cores of the golems. The golem he created was like a human body without a soul. It was missing an essential aspect.
'I need to conduct proper research on golems,' Max thought. All his knowledge about golems came from Daniel's journal, which, unlike runes, was incomplete. But if he wanted to create a golem of his own, he would need to do more research.
'This living thread ability will come in handy once I understand everything about golems. If all goes well, I should be able to create one,' Max mused, excitement bubbling inside him.
Then it clicked. "So, Daniel was on the right path when he created this skill, but it seems he faced some issues in the end, causing the skill to remain incomplete," Max muttered in realization.
But then another question arose in his mind. "Are humans able to create skills?"
Master Sophia mentioned that humans and other races could create techniques, but she never spoke about creating skills.
"This Daniel Winchester seems… I need to check if he's on the Extranet," Max muttered as he tapped his holowatch and searched for his name on the Extranet, but found no such person.
'He's either not well-known or is a complete mad scientist who keeps to himself while conducting his research,' Max thought as he exited the Dimension of Flames.
Hovering in the world of clouds, he turned to the door leading to the Dimension of Spirits and entered. He wanted to see the progress of the spirit seed he had planted some time ago.
Arriving in the dreamlike world of floating mountains and waterfalls, Max took a deep breath, feeling the fresh air of this world. "I wonder when I'll be able to enter this dimension physically," he murmured in anticipation.
Looking down, Max saw a very small plant, which only had a stem and a strange red-colored leaf.
"From the looks of it, this needs more time," Max muttered before leaving the Dimension of Spirits and waking up.
"Let's have a bath before heading to Rune Tower," Max thought aloud as he went ahead to take a bath.