Drip....drip...drip....!
Cold raindrops woke him up the other day.it's already afternoon when he woke up. Due to more frequent rains and unstable weather conditions and all the commotion going on for the past few days, the roof of the hut got damaged.
He woke up with hyped energy levels and make temporary arrangements for the roof and closed the windows and doors. He can clearly feel the hyped energy levels in his body.
After checking on the baby and completing all the miscellaneous issues, he then lights up a lamp and sits beside the lamp. He usually lits the lamp.
But this time around when he lights up the lamp it started to burn brighter than before and he wasn't feeling cold at all even in this chilling weather. Normally he would wrap himself up like a cocoon. While he was still thinking about the lamps behaviour he heard the giggles of the baby. He goes near the baby to check on the baby. But when he reaches the baby he found some things were amiss the light in the room was reduced a little.
How could it be? Why did the light reduced all of sudden? He then goes near the lamp and when he was at a certain distance from it the fire on the lamp starts growing and when he finally reaches the lamp, it glows brightly as before.
It's like he is the oxygen for fire it's growing when he is near the fire. At that moment he remembered all the encounters with fire. And every time it seems like the fire came out of nowhere. While it looks like it came out of nowhere there is one common thing and that was him.
It happened every time either to what he was holding or something he had contact with. It didn't take much time for him to get into a conclusion. The fire was being produced by him. And after seeing the abnormalities in the fire in front of him he stretches his hand to touch it. It was a moment of curiosity but he was confused and a scared to touch the fire. His first thought was that he didn't get hurt when he was holding the burning Wooden branch when he was fighting with the beast. Would it be the same as before or is it going to hurt? He stretches his hand to touch the fire. To his surprise it really didn't hurt him he kept his hand in the fire and it doesn't even hurt the slightest. And the fire inside the lamp grown brighter and had a scarlet red flame.
Seeing this sight unfolding in front of his eyes he widened his eyes in disbelief. He wasn't really expecting to see this turn of events. Thinking about how did he get into this he retracts the hand from the lamp however the fire in the lamp splits and one of the halves was still burning on top of his finger. With a thought, he was able to control the fire and was able to move it to his palm from the top of his finger. However, it didn't last long after he got control and shifted its place it only stayed for a second before vanishing into thin air, also the fire on his hand was in scarlet red and the fire in the lamp was regular.
He again tried to hold the fire a few times and every time it quickly dissipates within a second. And he also realized that he wasn't able to produce fire on his own whenever he wanted. After playing with the fire a bit he understood that the state of mind was highly important to control and produce the fire. He also understood that his physical strength also got a huge boost. The big question was how did he get this ability to control fire? And what made his physical ability to get a boost? Why was he exhausted after fighting the beast yesterday?
Suppressing all the questions he had, for now, he could only say one thing that if he wanted to get strong. He needs this ability and he should learn to control it.
understanding the importance of magic, he didn't waste any time and write everything that he just learned in a book. After that he sat Quietly with his legs crossed and closed eyes, he then started thinking about what happened previously and starts to concentrate on his body. Time past like someone was spinning the clock. His palms started getting warm he could feel the influx of energy inside him.
After reaching the certain point he opened his eyes a small spark of fire could be seen on his hand. It's working. He wasn't able to bring the flame all by himself previously but now he was able to bring a spark. It raised a sliver of hope in him. So there is still room for my growth. Just after holding the spark for a few seconds, he felt like heavy pressure crushing on him. He is getting weaker every second. He opened his eyes in horror. He still has to feed the baby and he still needs to eat something. He rested for a while as he sat down against a wall. Not long after, John felt like his energy getting better before long he was back to his peak.
John was much better after the rest. He can feel his strength slowly returning to him. Playing with fire had a backlash, It would drain his energy.
He looked at the lit fireplace and crawled his way to it. He sat cross legs and slowly reaches his hand to the burning fire. He was hesitant before, but now he had placed his arm directly at it. The warmth was very comforting. Soon after he touched fire, he was recovering. He was regaining his lost strength quicker. Soon afterwards, John had found out that he was being able to keep the fire dancing on his fingertips, but that was his limit for now. He was determined to surpass his limitations someday with rigorous training.
He suddenly remembered that he brought the dead body of the beast with him and it was currently near the fence. He was so weak when he had to drag it to his field. Back then, there was no way that he would be able to bring it with him, nevertheless, the body of the beast lay rest near the fence.
Soon, he had fully recovered his strength. He headed out to see whether he could find anything to do with it. With his recovered strength, he can drag or even carry the heavy beast. He dragged it to his domain, after which, he carefully examines it. He wanted to know everything he could know about the beast so that he could use it to his advantage in future encounters. One must know that there are many such beasts in the forest. It was still a bit suspicious that some beasts have never crossed the fence his old man-made. There must be something different about it, unusual in a sense. He never really gave it a thought. In throughout his life, never did he inevitably encountered such a massive beast before. There would be few rabbits and other wildlife crossing the fence now and then. But the fence is not clearly strong enough to stop these massive beasts away. Knowing it is pointless since he doesn't know the slightest thing about the fence, and the only possible man who could tell about it wasn't around anymore.
As John carefully examines, he notices the fur on the beast was silky and shaggy that could be used as a coat or perhaps a cover from the rain. It could also turn into something that would be smooth to sleep in, like a blanket. John then took out his knife and starts slicing the skin, carefully separating the fur and tough muscle of the beast. He then remembered his old man used to feed him the cooked meat. Remembering those good old day's he set the beast on fire. Instead of using an accelerant to light fire, this time, he wanted to practice his magic. If he wanted to get stronger, he would need to learn how to use and control the fire so he decided to use it whenever he gets the opportunity.
The fragrant aroma of the beast was strong and tempting. He then picks a piece and started eating. Since heat doesn't hurt him, he didn't even bother to remove the beast from the fire and he was too hungry to think about it. After eating it to his heart's content, he spends some time with the little boy before promptly going to sleep.
It was bright the next day, not a single cloud could be seen. John headed out for the morning refreshing air.
When he went out, he saw the entire body of the beast was burning to ashes and only bones were left. He took a few steps and halted his movement when he took notice of something. He turned to look at the ashes and bones. He crouched down to lift up a bone. To his surprise, it was lightweight, a kind of good material. It wasn't extremely bulky and wasn't heavy either. It was slightly flat and it got extensions to the curved side of it. He tries to swing it but then thought of something. He swings the bone with his hand to hit a nearby plant around. The plant met its end, breaking into two. He subsequently took another swing to another plant. There was not a single scratch to be seen on the bone.
This is a strong one, John thought. Fire cannot burn it and not easily breakable. Isn't this just what he wanted. A suitable weapon that could withstand his magic and strong enough to inflict damage. Combine this with his newfound strength, and he might just be able to stand his ground. One must know beasts would naturally possess superior physical strength compared to humans. Not to mention, sharp claws. So defeating a beast with just his strength and this weapon is still out of his reach.
The bone is strong. But to inflict a crushing devastating blow, he needed to sharpen the bone like a sword. With a glint in his eyes, he quickly finds his carving knife and started to sharpen the edges of the bone so that he could either stab or cut and was planning to make it double-edged. But while doing so, he realized the carving blade was losing its sharpness. The blade was small so sharpening it, again and again, would make it fragile. At present, he was in a tight spot whether to do it or not. At that point, he realized that even if he loses the carving blade, he would still have the bone that he picked up which was sharpened to able to cut.
After working for some time on the bone, the sun was already directly upon his head. He was starving by then. He collected some fruits that he grows nearby before heading back home to feed the little guy, after which, he also had something to eat for himself.