Chapter 8
The very next day, Grey was seen rising happily as he took his breakfast while happily chatting with his mother at the table.
"So I was thinking of going out to look for a job so we can feed." Clara said while looking down cast.
"Don't look so down mum, things would change for us soon. Don't worry, you are not alone. I will soon go out and look for work also." Grey said.
"No! I don't want you stressing yourself over the household things let me worry about them." Clara said.
"Mum, there's nothing you can say that will convince me. I have made up my mind and don't worry, I won't do anything stressful or harmful." Grey retorted.
"Look honey, I know you want to help me and I really appreciate it. But there's nothing a person your age can do." Clara tried to reason with him.
"Yeah, that's cause I'm useless." Grey sighed as he stood up from the table. "I'm heading out, I will be back quite late." Grey said and he soon stormed out the house.
After leaving the house, Grey was gently strolling the streets. He wanted to head over to somewhere quiet so he could practice the fire magic he learnt from the book and he knew where to start.
He was currently heading to a place that was as dangerous as the forest. Why was he heading there? Because the book he read instructed he did so and now Grey had started his journey.
As he went west away from the town while heading into a different forest from before and he kept going in deep. He walked into the forest for a few minutes and slowly, the forest was being cleared.
The area was being cleared of trees or forests making it open and he could hardly see any animals or beasts of any kind as he kept on walking.
And slowly, the whole place was getting hotter and hotter as he went in deep. The hotness was becoming quite unbearable but Grey beared through the atmosphere as he felt his skin burning off the more he went in deep.
And slowly, the land beneath Grey's feet was no longer brown as it became black seemingly from being scorched or burnt. The whole area was black and scorched while signs of lava was seen on the ground.
The lava kept spewing out of the ground and now, Grey stood in front of a huge volcano that spewed lava while making the whole place unbearably hot and uncomfortable but Grey's determination kept him going.
And soon, he couldn't move again as he fell at the foot of the burning volcano.
"Darn! This place is Soo hot! Why must the requirements of unlocking the fire attribute be that the person must cultivate in somewhere hot?" Grey gritted his teeth in anger as he slowly sat up.
"At least this one is some what better than the lightning attribute which is for me to be struck by lightning. How ridiculous?" Grey said as he slowly sat down cross legged.
Then he closed his eyes as he quickly went into the state of meditation even though the whole place was burning hot and his skin was being scorched slightly, he still kept his eyes tightly closed while concentrating on what he was doing.
Grey kept breathing in the hot air slowly while breathing it out and then at the same time kept moving his mana around his body trying to get used to the feeling.
He started with moving the mana around his core a bit while still gently breathing in more mana that had been mixed with in the hot air burning his lungs slightly.
Grey circulated the mana around his body for five hours straight without flinching or moving as he kept on cultivating and meditating. Unknown to him that he was currently breaking down his body and refining it.
Even his core was now reacting strongly after a straight five hours worth of meditating. His core was now shaking with power until Grey felt a burst of hot power inside him while also noticing that the heat didn't affect him like before as his body was now used to it within five hours.
Grey didn't understand what it meant as his core was reacting strongly and he didn't even notice his body was no longer affected by the heat of the lava as he was in too deep in the meditation he didn't even realized that time had been far spent.
That was when something interrupted his concentration.
"GROWLLLL!"
The growl shattered Grey's focus like a thunderclap. His eyes snapped open, locking onto a wolf-like beast emerging from the shadows. Its fur blazed like molten lava, and its crimson eyes gleamed with predatory malice. Droplets of molten saliva hissed against the scorched ground as it snarled, baring its jagged, fiery fangs.
"A beast? Here?" Grey thought, his heart pounding in his chest. The oppressive heat had dulled his senses, but now adrenaline coursed through him like a wildfire.
The beast didn't hesitate. With a deafening roar, it slammed its paw into the ground, sending tremors rippling outward. A jagged shard of obsidian rock erupted from the earth, its edges glowing with searing heat.
Before Grey could react, the rock ignited mid-air, transforming into a blazing missile. It struck him square in the chest, sending him hurtling backward. He crashed into the base of the volcano with a sickening thud, cracks spider webbing across the volcanic stone.
"Kuh!" Grey spat blood as pain radiated through his body. His legs trembled as he forced himself upright, his vision swimming.
"This... This is a level 3 beast," Grey muttered, his voice tinged with both awe and dread. "And it's wielding fire and earth attributes. I'm completely outmatched."
The wolf growled again, its fiery fur flaring brighter as it prepared another strike.
Beasts had different power levels ranging from 1 to 8 with 1 being the lowest and 8 being the highest. The wolf that had earlier attacked Grey before he was summoned, was a level 1 beast and now, he was faced with a level 3 beast that could use elemental abilities.
Grey was now going to be in a tough fight of his life as he himself didn't have any elemental power or does he?