NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16: Chapter 16 – [Nullfire]
It was already night, with the pale moon emerging from behind a veil of clouds, casting a soft glow over the rows of houses. The silvery light illuminated the facades, creating shimmering patterns on the pavement and highlighting the shadows that flickered in the windows.
Cyrus, dressed in nightwear, sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes were fixed on the watch, as if entranced by it, while an unquenchable anger simmered in his chest, ready to erupt.
He had no choice but to accept the deal. However, he had planned to flee, regardless of the consequences. Unfortunately, after putting on the watch, Albert revealed something that made him regret his impulsiveness—it also contained an explosive. The moment it was worn and locked, it would detonate if the wearer tried to remove it. He studied it with Eyes of Void and noticed it had only two functions—a bomb and a tracker.
But Cyrus realized he didn't have a choice. They also warned him against going certain distances from the town, or else he would go 'BOOM'!
'Wait! What if I use Chained Lock to freeze it and then remove it? I can do that in ten seconds. Is it viable?'
He began making calculations, leading to one conclusion—it has a higher chance of failure with Chained Lock.
Though he only had a rudimentary knowledge of Chained Lock, he understood that it didn't freeze time but rather anchored an object to a spot. Moreover, he couldn't move objects locked by the skill; it felt independent of his control, likely due to his lack of suitable class.
When it had locked those crabs, it hadn't stopped their thoughts or internal systems—he could see fear in their eyes and resistance in their movements. Blood oozed from their stab wounds. Chained Lock felt like an external entrapment.
'There is only one way—get powerful enough to remove it, lock everything, and be capable of withstanding or surviving the explosion if things don't go as planned. But hunting… I need to understand all my skills well enough to make effective plans. Running multiple tests tomorrow should be fine. Maybe I might get lucky and freeze the watch.'
With that thought, he crawled into bed and fell asleep, praying for Freya to leave for the academy as soon as possible.
***
The next day, Cyrus woke up, and the sight of the watch strapped to his wrist soured his mood. He took a quick bath, freshened up, and changed into casual clothes before heading out to buy breakfast. After that, he strolled to his shop, a bag slung over his shoulder containing a few necessities.
Now, he was weaponless—his armor, sword, daggers, and other equipment were stored in his spatial ring.
But the only advantage of the spatial ring was that, as long as the owner didn't die or actively remove ownership, it remained inaccessible to others. That's what his sister had told him.
Entering his shop, he pulled out a few metal ingots and prepared to leave. He also extracted the beast core from the crab in his basement, though he knew it would be tainted with impurities since it had been dead for a while and exposed to the atmosphere. He took the sharp pincers as well since he was weaponless.
His previous plan to use his basement as a site for testing and experimenting with his new skills was now void, as his location seemed compromised. If an Archon was involved, they were the highest power in Silvaran, meaning one thing—his place was as accessible as a public library.
The wild might be better, though not perfect, as there could be invisible spies trailing him. Or he might get a visit from the wild neighbors, who came to say 'hi'. And their 'hi' will end up with him in their stomach. Still, in his position with limited options, the wild was the best choice.
Carrying his bag, he left Silvaran. Instead of heading to the train station, he diverted toward the Green Forest.
Treading through the rough path with his dark shades on, he periodically scanned his surroundings with the Eyes of Void, which could see through physical forms. He was surprised to find no one on his tail.
'Are they so sure I won't escape?' he thought in confusion.
'Or… ' He raised his wrist and looked at the watch, which resembled an ordinary timepiece. 'They must be very confident in their device. Maybe the best stealth human is following me? No! Hiding from my Eyes of Void, even with the best stealth class, is nearly impossible for anyone below Archon.'
Not dwelling on it, he quickened his pace, entering the Green Forest. The trees grew taller as he ventured deeper. Navigating through the underbrush, he made his way to the resting cave he had found in the wild, where he sought fresh dead bodies for his experiments.
This time, he tread carefully, as he was without armor. Praying that no beast had taken the cave for its home, he soon reached the entrance.
Cyrus stood at a distance and used the Eyes of Void to study the cave's interior, and thankfully, it appeared devoid of beasts. Perhaps it was well-hidden, or because the entrance was so narrow that it could barely fit a human.
After scanning the surroundings one last time, he entered the cave. A flicker of anger surged within him, knowing that those guys would likely discover the cave after today if they were tracking him with the watch.
The silver lining was that, upon checking the watch, he confirmed it didn't have a camera or voice transmitter—his privacy was safe for now.
Inside, it was damp, with a rough, rocky floor that sloped deeper and abruptly stopped at a sealed end. Cyrus sat down at the back, rummaging through his bag and pulling out items one by one: a pair of crab pincers, a pack of bottled water, some jerky, and a few ingots of steel.
When he was done, he opened his palm and activated Nullfire. A black flame, speckled with tiny purple dots and emitting no heat, danced in his palm to the rhythm of the light breeze.
Cyrus watched it, unsure of what it could do.
Picking up an ingot of steel, he brought it close and slowly pushed it into the strange flame dancing on his palm.
The moment the metal entered the fire, the flame surged like gasoline was added, losing its docile nature and transforming into a wild inferno that devoured the ingot like an insatiable wolf, releasing a chorus of sizzling noises.
Instead of melting into liquid, the piece of metal scattered into purple firefly sparks that vanished before they touched the ground.
Gazing at the scattering sparks, which resembled the final brilliance of their existence, Cyrus muttered absentmindedly, "A pure destruction…"
The fire consumed the metal, spitting purple sparks like a wild beast gobbling its prey and casting aside the bones.
Each crackle and pop echoed like the growls of a creature feasting.
He tried to deactivate the skill, but nothing happened. Instead, Nullfire grew increasingly violent, its flames dancing defiantly as if mocking his attempts.
'I knew something would go wrong when I got a skill I didn't work for,' he thought bitterly, frustration bubbling within him.
He tried again, focusing all his energy, but the fire only roared to life, spiraling out of control. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his face as he struggled to regain command over the chaotic flame.