In the end, Ace managed to slay the Flame Serpent while conserving his mana. He felt satisfied with the end result. Despite not having reached level 30 yet, he already possessed the physical prowess of a rank 2 evolved monster and even surpassed the early ones.
Ace was content with the outcome, but he wanted to test one more thing before returning to the settlement. He wished to experiment with his two new flames: the sunny red one and the dark, gloomy one, individually. To do so, he needed to find two different groups of rank 2 monsters to engage with.
Ace no longer concerned himself with rank 1 monsters or considered them a challenge, as he had vastly outgrown that rank. Perhaps there were rare rank 1 beings capable of posing a threat to him, but even then, encountering them would be exceptionally challenging.
After stowing the Flame Serpent's body in his storage ring, Ace promptly mounted Blue and set out in search of a new test partner.
