Not only more corpses. Floundea had also brought him all kinds of armor and laid them by type on a table. Suna picked one helmet full of holes that looked like an egg. This one looked so inconvenient. How the heck was someone supposed to see anything?

  Then his hand touched a part that allowed the visor to go up and down, opening more eyelets.

  “Ah,” Suna mumbled.

  “Can you recreate them?” Floundea asked.

  “I can only make one based on my class,” Suna said, putting the helmet down.

  “Based on your class…” She tapped her lips thoughtfully. “No heavy armor then.”

  “Something with Mobility over Mass,” Suna said. He did not think about the wind and fire factors in his class. Those can take care of themselves after he created them.

  Suna found an armor. Its texture was light, with a slick reflection of clean steel. Rather than a heavy plate, it looked like a closed jacket with a steel coating.

  Putting them down, he went over to the new set of corpses wheeled in by Tieflings.

  “I see he actually hid more corpses,” Suna remarked.

  “Yes, these are found naturally through our examination. We’re pretty good at sniffing out treasure. Does the armor tell you anything?” Floundea asked.

  “It tells me what kind of shape to avoid. But, further than that, I don’t think they’re helpful.”

  “Well, every bit helps,” Floundea shrugged.

  “I will take it part by part,” Suna said. He loosened his Shadow Gauntlet. Sometimes he forgot he was wearing it as it had already become part of his skin. Taking one off, he trailed its shape, and with his other hand, he conjured Pyreflame.

  “Keep it calm,” Floundea said, watching the Pyreflame intently. “I saw the way you use your fire arrow. It is easy to tell that the magic string of yours did most of the work to contain your magic in your arrows."

  The bluish flame roared, and Suna began to form them into the Shadow Gauntlet’s shape.

  “How do I keep them calm?” He asked as the clear steel began appearing as the Pyre-flame started to wane.

  “Usually—well, forget what usual. You’re an Integrator. The best method for you is the one you resonate with the most. Slea imagines a serpent flame with its own will, and she acts as if she fed it a suggestion.”

  “Hm, that's interesting,” Suna mumbled.

  The Gauntlet formed, and the result was a sad-looking thing. Part of it was charred, and some parts straight up contained a huge crack that went through its top.

  Another fractured result.

  “This one did not cost that much mana,” Suna said.

  “Its better to start from the ground up then,” Floundea said.

  For the next two hours, Suna tried multiple parts of armor, copying them from its leg armor all the way to the helmet. The part he had the most success with was Gauntlet. It might have something to do with him using the Shadow Gauntlet constantly.

  [Pyre-Gauntlet] [Poor]

  “Should congratulations be in order? It's not broken this time?” Floundea asked from her sofa. She seemed to find that Suna’s constant failure entertaining.

  The Gauntlet was still charred with a trail of blackness covering it like someone just smoked it for an hour. But this was still a step in the right direction.

  “Maybe having your imagination limited to real armor was too taxing for you?” Floundea suggested, “Some people just do better when they are not limited.”

  “Are you saying just create whatever comes to my mind?”

  “No, what I’m saying is let your class take care of the armor shaping. All you should have done was control the flame and the process. Tell me what the skill exactly says?”

  [Pyreforged Armor][Mystic]—The flame of corpses carries many wishes—one such wish is the grand desire to protect the body of its owner. The Pyre flame hated death; it loathes it. The moment Pyre-flame is harvested from a dead body, it swears an oath to prevent the death of the new body it resides in.

  “Grand desire to protect your body,” Floundea recited. “You could take this as it will shape according to your class to maximize your fighting capability.”

  Suna could see that.

  A desire to protect from a flame that loathed death. It clicked in his mind. He was an Integrator, and he should not limit himself to the usual path. What he should have done was to come up with a concept to control the flame. No, actually, why didn’t he just let the Pyre-flame take control? The Pyre-flame had a great desire to protect, so why would Suna contain them?

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He liked the way Slea did her flame magic. He should just copy her by letting the Pyre-flame do whatever they wanted.

  So Suna opened his palm, both of them. He closed his eyes and imagined a blue flame, letting it into his body, and suggested an armor-making intent.

  Something flickered, a curiosity took the lick.

  The flame latched onto his class, and Suna felt the surge of fire blazing through his body. He let out a breath as his lungs felt like they were heated, and his eyes started to get dry.

  A small ring of steel crashed against the library’s floor. Suna opened his eyes and saw a gauntlet with the color of a clear sea. He bent, picking it up, making sure there were still five fingers.

  [Wind Gauntlet] [Well] [Uncommon]—Pushed out wind pressure out of Wind Gauntlet palm.

  Like Wind Veil? It just straight-up took one of Suna's abilities and made it a Gauntlet.

  “May I see?” Floundea asked.

  Suna bumped his back into a table and sent armor clattering in a loud roll when he saw she was suddenly beside him.

  She was a Tiefling all right.

  “Sure, it just copies one of my skills.”

  Floundea inspected it, peering closer into the gauntlet’s inside, closing one of her eyes. Then she equipped it and aimed at one bookshelf. Wind pressure left her palm, and it scythed into the old oak, leaving a light gash upon it.

  “Not bad, did not cost that much mana either,” she muttered and smiled at Suna for the first time. “Why don’t you try for boots? For the Gale Step.”

  “I don’t know if I get to choose,” Suna said, preparing to do it all over again.

  This time, he did not close his eyes; he just let the flame shape to its desire. It coalesced from both of his hands and this time formed into another Gauntlet. But instead of a clear blue color, the steel took on a deep molten red gleam. A very familiar color to him.

  [Ember Gauntlet] [Well] [Uncommon]—With enough force gathered, allow forth a flaming punch that coats the Ember Gauntlet.

  Interesting, this time it was Emberwind.

  Suna tried the Gauntlet with his right hand. It fitted snugly to his size, even though it was slightly bigger earlier. He formed a fist and slammed it down onto the wooden table, cracking it, and a burst of flame soared through the gauntlet. Whisk of ember follows the trail of destruction, causing burning pieces of wood to scatter over the floor.

  Excitement drummed inside of him. It worked. He could do this.

  “That will be useful for those who want to try learn fire magic,” Floundea said. “Yes, with these Resonances you spoke of, if I were to teach a child from their fighting ages…” she muttered, possibility swirled around her.

  “I still haven’t figured out how to push the skill that I want, though.”

  “You should make it a goal to try and create one with Gale Step; such an enhancement is very precious, the Tiefling will be thankful,” Floundea said.

  Yes, that sounded useful. But Suna needed to work on his class. His objective should be to make a piece of armor that contains Pyre-flame. Also, he almost forgot. He should really learn how to combine arrows to get the Night Fire arrow. Suna assumed he could not get any armor based on his Shadow Arrow because his class did not exactly support it. But what about dark flame?

  He could combine Shadow Arrow and Emberwind with this Arrow hearth and possibly use Pyreflame as the flame source.

  “Of course, I will give them to you if I manage to make some Floundea,” Suna said.

  “Do I sense ‘But’ coming?”

  Suna bit his cheek and contained his annoyed smile. “But, I need to combine arrows too, to get Nightfire Arrow.”

  “Nightfire?” Floundea’s eyes shone, and her Tiefling’s eyes peered curiously at Suna. “Interesting. I will watch. First Pyre-flame, then the Necromancer Necrotic-flame, and now you came with the Night-flame. I still had a lot to learn. Yes, this is a welcome rest.”

  “Sure, you can watch. Also, guide me if necessary, like you just did.”

  “I will be glad to, Archer,” FLoundea said.

  “Its Suna, you call Slea by name. So, just call me by my name also.”

  She nodded, thoughtful. “Very well, Suna, then please allow me to observe. I find this very fascinating.”

  Without any further ado, Suna chose a spot on the corner where two walls met. This spot should offer enough protection from the wind. With his right hand, he summoned Pyreflame. Suna casted Arrow Hearth with his left hand, and a circle on the floor appeared, like a thin black glowing line with a single dot right in its middle.

  There was something about that dot, like it was supposed to hold something.

  “Anchor point,” Floundea said. “It will hold fire. The circle you just summoned seems to constrict it, like a smoldering destruction intent of the flame.”

  Suna let the Pyre flame into the dot, and just like a candle, it held the blue flame in a calm, peaceful state.

  “It prevents destruction, you say?” Suna asked, confused.

  “This spell goal is to create an arrow, no? So yes, this is the purpose of the hearth.

  Suna summoned Emberwind. The fire Arrow came alive with a sudden swish of flame. Putting it down just around the kindling Pyreflame, a prompt suddenly jumped across his vision.

  Arrow (1/2)

  - Emberwind Arrow.

  It won’t be this easy, would it?

  Suna summoned his Shadow Arrow, placing it right across the Emberwind. The inky arrow settled down. He could see part of the Shadow Arrow melted under the two flames. He should hurry and combine them already.

  Arrow (2/2):

  - Emberwind Arrow

  - Shadow Arrow

  Hearth: Pyre Flame.

  Combine?

  Yes/No

  “Yes.”

  The glowing circle slowly tightened, like a snap of taut rope. They decrease in size, slowly touching the two arrows Suna had laid. When the circle touched them, the Emberwind’s flame snuffed out, transferring its molten glow into the circle, while the Shadow Arrow’s inky texture bled into the circle from the opposite side of the molten fire of the Emberwind.

  Two of the arrow factors slithered around the circle like colored water. The moment darkness and fire met, a spark rustled upward. Suna and Floundea flinched back, still keeping their eyes on the corner floor.

  Compatibility: 20%...

  Failure.

  Compatibility: 20%→22%...

  Has the compatibility increased? Wait, does this mean Suna could keep trying again?

  The circle was all ruined now, with a dark tear of black gash running across it. He crouched and, with his legs, swept the mess. With new space to work with, Suna quickly cast the spell again and put the Pyreflame in with Emberwind and Shadow Arrow.

  Compatibility: 22%...

  Failure.

  Compatibility: 22%→24%...

  “Should I move the Mana bottle here?” Floundea asked.

  “Ah, yes, please. This took a bit of Mana.”

  “Then better keep going, remember you only have four days from here on.”

  “Four days should be more than enough,” Suna said, smiling as he saw the new mound of corpses carted in and all the Mana resources he had. Now all he needed was a relentless push of magic. He hoped his body could handle this.