Chapter 22 - Chapter-21 Dumb Indeed

Another week passed, and it had been about two weeks since Ewan contracted Orange. Even though he was only a Level-0 Astylind, he still nurtured Ewan's soul and strengthened it over time. His 'Spirit' grew to 1.5 from the feedback—an increment of 0.1 per week. 

But today, things changed. When Ewan sensed it, he let Orange out and cast . 

[Astylind Name: Fire Monkey (Mutant)]

[Astylind Level: Level-1]

[Astylind Grade: Grade-D]

[Anima Affinity: Fire]

[Skills: Fire-Recipient]

[Gender: Male]

[Description: Natives of Airadia. They are blessed with decent fire-element affinity (Recipient) but lack the skill to make use of it.]

[Grade-Exalt Requirements: Astylind Core (Fire), Blood-Firos Leaves, Fire Coral, Volcanic Rock.]

[Remark 1: Can be trained as a vanguard but require more attention with the elemental skills.]

[Remark 2: They look cool, so can make them your mascot.]

[Remark 3: I agree with the second remark.]

He advanced to Level-1. There weren't any noticeable physical changes in Orange, he was still a small kid, the size of Ewan's palm. But he gave off a stronger aura now. And more so, he stood in the hall yet burned nothing, even the rug and the wooden floor remained intact. Except for a higher temperature around him, he didn't affect his surroundings—a much better control than his mother and many other Astylinds that either scorched or froze his yard. 

One other change to his details was the addition of 'skills', this part popped up because of their contract, the information came through their connection. Fire-Recipient, the skill denoted the affinity level Orange had—the first and basic level of affinity that barely grazed the Anima. 

Ewan put Orange on his shoulder and brought him to the basement with expectation budding in his heart. Regardless of the affinity level, with the control he showed, he could have a better talent at elemental spells than his brethren. A pure physical fighter and an element user, the difference was big. 

In the corner where he practiced his spell, Ewan directed Orange and told him to create a blob of fire. But all he received in return was a blank stare from the beady eyes. 

"Do as I do."

He traced the spell circuit in his soul space and cast the spell using the minimum Anima needed. His speed was several fractions faster this time, and the tracing remained stable throughout the process. 

Ember.

A smaller than before blob of orange fire floated in front of him. He didn't hurl it at the wall but let it float and showed it to Orange. Orange jumped and tried to grab the fire, cackling, and hooting; a sense of fascination and excitement passed to Ewan through their bond. 

"Orange!" he scolded with a stern face. 

It deflated the little monkey, and he did what Ewan asked. He brought his two hands together at his chest and focused on it. One second passed, and it soon became a minute. A few minutes later, the two stared at the empty space between his hands. There was no spark, let alone a blob of fire. 

Ewan doubted his optimism, rubbing his forehead, but just focused on training Orange for now. Even if it took him a lot of time, he wouldn't lose heart. 

"Try punchi… Do as I do."

After canceling the spell, Ewan jabbed a few times and showed it to Orange. He was no expert, far from it, and all his 'skills' came from watching others. But it was enough to explain what 'punching' meant to the little monkey. 

Orange followed his master and copied him; he threw out his tiny fist. And the heat distorted the air, sparks scattering about. 

"Right, right. That's the way," Ewan said with a gleeful smile. 

Punch after punch, Orange practiced. While Ewan supervised him, he also thought about the skill that could complement the little monkey. If he were to make him a melee fighter, he needed to choose between two types—agility and brute force. With Orange's size, brute force was out of the window. Even though he could get bigger as he got older, that was not an option right now. So, agility was his only choice; he had to scour for some information on how to move forward with this…

As his thoughts took him to the hub, an ear-ringing boom exploded in the basement. The walls quivered, the table vibrated, and he lost his balance.

The source had him gaping with his eyes wide open, and he lost his sense for a second. His thoughts had just distracted him, and Orange punched the wall. And the area he punched reddened and scorched—it radiated a hissing wave of heat. 

Ewan's eyes twitched as he cast on Orange in a hurry, but his status showed no injuries. He cast it on himself and checked Orange's status through his own, it also showed no negative status. His heart still thumped, and the rush of blood blared in his ears, so he examined Orange. He checked his bones, his joints, his skin, his muscles, but he showed no discomfort or pain. And there were no fractures, nor were there any muscle tears—the little bastard just cackled at him and reached for his hair. 

Even with that extent of explosion, he had suffered no recoil… It astonished Ewan. That kind of impact with his tiny body, the recoil damage would've torn him apart in a normal scenario. And more than that, the source of power was questionable… His small limbs didn't have enough strength to produce it. 

After the process of elimination, the only plausible answer emphasized the fire element. If he employed the explosive nature of the fire element, he could produce similar results. It would need little to no physical strength, the impact from the fire element would do the job. 

He looked at the little monkey. "Are you dumb or a genius?" And he got a confused look from him in return. Ewan nodded, dumb indeed.

Regardless of whether this was his inherent talent or his personal instinct though, it gave Ewan a clear picture of the development path he could train Orange in.