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Vur rubbed his chin. Ahead of him, Deowi and Kax Ammer were still wrestling by punching, pinching, and pulling on each other. There weren’t any weapons involved, nor was any mana being used. Despite that, Kax was perfectly capable of grappling a flaming man without being seriously injured. Vur glanced at Gaegukja Yeol and eyed her from the top of her to the bottom of her feet, causing her to shift her weight from one foot to the other.
“Is there something you’re looking for?” Gaegukja Yeol asked.
Vur nodded. “Fighting Deowi looks tough.”
“Does it?” Gaegukja Yeol asked without hiding the traces of doubt in her voice. She looked at the pathetic fight happening in the middle of the recruitment area. People weren’t even watching because of how low-level the action was. “It doesn’t look very tough to me.”
Vur nodded again. “He looks too weak. It’ll be hard for me to fight him without breaking him.”
“You’re looking at them the wrong way,” Stella said from her spot on Vur’s shoulder. “They’re made of flames, so that makes them fragile, but at the same time, losing limbs and stuff like that won’t kill them. They’ll just grow everything back. You can break Deowi as much as you want, and everything will be fine.”
“Is that true?” Vur asked, looking at Gaegukja Yeol.
The flaming woman had a dark expression on her face. “It is harder to kill someone from the fire spirit race than it is to kill a human, but we’re not immortal. I think you might be underestimating Deowi because of his current opponent,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “He’s the strongest explorer in our clan, someone who’s reached the eighty-third floor by himself.”
“Dragons are on the ninety-first floor?” Vur asked.
“I did tell you that earlier,” Gaegukja Yeol said and nodded, her head moving slowly.
Vur scratched his stomach. “Has Deowi ever fought a dragon before?”
Gaegukja Yeol laughed. “He hasn’t,” she said. “If he had, he wouldn’t be here right now. Has anyone ever fought a dragon and lived?” Geagukja Yeol cleared her throat. “I just want to clear something up,” she said. “Hyeonnam Tokki, during the examination, he told the other guides something … strange. Are you, by any chance, a dragon?”
Vur nodded. “I’m a dragon.”
Gaegukja Yeol swallowed and nodded. “I see,” she said and stared at Vur some more.
Tafel frowned and wrapped her arm around Vur’s, sliding her forearm around his elbow. “Why are you looking at Vur like you want to eat him?”
Gaegukja Yeol’s eyes shifted onto Tafel. “Have you ever been going about your day when suddenly a gigantic pile of money appears out of nowhere?” The flaming woman’s lips curled into a smile. “You’d stop and stare, wouldn’t you?” Before Tafel could respond, Gaegukja Yeol turned around and waved her arm. A hand made of fire appeared beside Deowi’s shoulder and gave him a few taps. “Deowi, let’s skip the assessment and go straight to signing papers.”
Like a fire traveling along a trail of gasoline, Deowi’s body turned into flames and flew through Kax towards Gaegukja Yeol. The flames stopped roaring and recondensed into a humanoid shape in front of Vur’s group, leaving Kax whirling around to find his opponent. Deowi grunted, and crystalline armor grew out of his body, the previous set having fallen off during his short spar. Deowi raised his left arm and propped his elbow up using Gaegukja Yeol’s shoulder. He used his dangling left hand to point at Vur. “You seem strong. Do you want to spar?”
Gaegukja Yeol’s eyes twitched, and she shrugged off her brother’s elbow. “Is sparring the only thing on your mind?”
“Of course not,” Deowi said and chuckled. “But it’s certainly at the forefront of my thoughts.” He grinned at Vur. “You agree with me, don’t you? There’s something to be learned from everyone, and the best way to communicate is through these babies.” He raised his hands up in front of his face.
“Vur’s a dragon,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “He’s not from the tower, and he wants to see other dragons, so we’re going to help him climb to the ninety-first floor.”
Deowi blinked and pointed a flaming finger at Vur’s face while making eye contact with Gaegukja Yeol. “This guy’s a dragon?”
Gaegukja Yeol grabbed her brother’s arm and dragged it down, pointing his finger into the ground. “Yes,” Gaegukja Yeol said in a low growl. “He’s a dragon. Be respectful.”
“I’ve seen a dragon once,” Deowi said and nodded at Vur. “It didn’t look nearly as friendly as you.” He scratched his neck. “How about this? If you beat me in a spar, I’ll personally support you as you climb up the tower.”
Gaegukja Yeol slapped her forehead. How many times did her brother have to court death? She looked at Vur. Although Hyeonnam Tokki wasn’t a reliable rabbit, spewing more lies than truths, it was a fact his body had been turned into an undead creature under someone else’s command. Was the untrustworthy rabbit lying about Vur’s dragon transformation? Gaegukja Yeol cleared her throat. “If you can help it, please don’t break my brother.”
Vur looked at Tafel. “What do you think?”
“Auntie’s here, so even if he gets grievously injured, it’ll be alright,” Tafel said. She put her hand on her chin. “And it does sound like we get a free guide once you win.”
“You’re not going to try to spar Deowi in Vur’s place?” Stella asked.
Tafel rolled her eyes. “I know the appropriate times to act up.” She narrowed her eyes at Deowi and bit her lower lip. His showing against Kax wasn’t impressive, but there was something about the way Deowi manipulated his flames that reminded Tafel of Minerva. It’d be better to let Deowi fight Vur while she watched to get a better understanding of the fire spirit race member’s flame manipulation abilities.
“Don’t hold back,” Deowi said and grinned. He distanced himself from the group before thumping his crystal-covered chest with his arms. “Come and get me!”
Thanks for the chapter!
Is vur going to get the fire elementals natural abilities?
I think asking Vur to hold back is a huge mistake, don’t you?