Fire-Igniter Leckmod

Fire-Igniter Leckmod

Rogue's expression remained utterly calm as he gripped the Worn Sword and slowly stepped into the pitch-black, empty cavern.

Splash...

The sound of his feet parting the water echoed through the silent cave.

Unlike the pitch-black passage leading here, the ceiling of this vast cavern gave off a faint dark-green glow.

Rogue looked up and spotted the moss-like luminescent plants.

The light they emitted filled the entire cavern with a dim glow, its reflection on the water making the place seem deep and eerie.

Lowering his gaze, Rogue looked ahead.

There was only one pit in the entire cavern, blurry and black.

By chance, the ripples caused by Rogue's earlier movements had already spread to it.

Blub blub...

Bubbles rose above the pit as the water churned, as though something was about to burst forth.

Swish—

Rogue's face remained calm. Light gathered around the Devilfish Tail Staff in his left hand, while azure flames suddenly flared from the Worn Sword in his right. The intense heat warped the air, and steam rose from the pool below.

Splash!

A mass of dark-green algae suddenly erupted from the pit, mixed with what seemed to be scarlet human flesh and... broken iron armor.

Rogue watched the scene calmly without reacting.

Naturally, he understood the principle of striking first, but he wanted to see whether this was an intelligent being capable of communication.

Even if it was not, he was confident he could deal with the creature before him.

After all, the Spirit Candle's perception told him that it was not much of a threat.

Blub blub...

The algae rapidly gathered together, its flesh and armor reforming along with it.

Before long, a "human" clad in mottled light armor, with most of its exposed body made of strange algae, stood across from Rogue.

It was hunched over, its joints and posture both profoundly inhuman.

"Hello."

Rogue greeted it politely, his expression calm, though holding a staff in one hand and a flaming sword in the other made him look anything but friendly.

If the thing before him had been human—or at least an intelligent lifeform capable of communication—its response might have been friendly or hostile. Even an outright attack would have made sense.

But its reply was unexpected.

"Restore... Leckmod..."

Its Dark Algae lips buzzed stiffly, while its face twitched uncontrollably. No emotion could be seen in its swollen, pale eyes, and the sound it produced was a strange, indistinct mumble.

Rather than speaking, it seemed to be unconsciously babbling.

Combined with the dark environment of the pool, it was exceptionally terrifying.

Rogue narrowed his eyes.

He regretted that the creature was clearly incapable of communication, but he was also puzzled that he could understand its words so clearly.

It seemed the Spirit Candle still held many hidden secrets...

"Kill!"

Suddenly, the Dark Algae monster seemed to lose its mind. It let out a roar in an entirely different, horrifying voice and raised its hand toward Rogue.

Boom!

A large amount of black secretion sprayed from the cluster of Dark Algae like a fountain, carrying a thick stench and unknown toxicity.

Rogue sidestepped, and the flames on the Worn Sword in his hand burned even brighter.

Since it couldn't communicate, there was no need to say more!

Not long after.

A harrowing wail rang out. The Dark Algae monster could no longer maintain its form and collapsed into the water with a splash, turning to ash.

[You have slain (Unnamed)]

[Obtained: Candlewax ×20]

[Obtained: Rusted Light Armor ×1]

[Obtained: Rusted Light Helmet ×1]

[Obtained: Soaked Nautical Diary ×1]

After collecting the drops, Rogue did not rush to inspect them. Instead, he killed it several more times.

The Dark Algae monster's revival time was far longer than that of ordinary monsters.

He obtained another clump of warfire ash and a Rusted Iron Badge.

After identifying them, Rogue named them separately before casually putting them away.

He stored the light armor and helmet as well, leaving only the [Soaked Nautical Diary].

It really was soaked... completely drenched...

Rogue thought to himself. Then a faint light appeared in his palm, giving off just the right amount of heat as he slowly dried it.

A moment later, he opened the nautical diary. Its pages were filled with incomprehensible writing, but the power of the Spirit Candle allowed Rogue to understand its meaning.

"My dear mother... I secretly set out to sea. This will surely make you sad, and I am sorry, but I had no choice..."

"The glory of Leckmod has already reached the brink of extinction. I cannot betray Father's expectations before his death..."

"...If the path of igniting my own flame has been cut off, then I will follow in my ancestors' footsteps and... draw flame..."

"..."

Beside the Spirit Candle, Rogue turned the pages one by one.

It was the diary of a young man from a fallen noble family. The remnants of flesh within the Dark Algae monster likely came from him.

In search of hope to revive his family, he had wagered all his savings to build a ship. Those skeletal sailors had come from it.

The outcome was naturally obvious. The young man's burning passion had been forever buried within this cold, sunless cavern...

"Fire-Igniter Leckmod..."

Rogue sighed softly and changed its name.

Since the diary's owner had not revealed his name, Rogue could only give it his family name.

He had been the fallen family's only hope, and his failure had likely brought about its complete decline as well...

Besides that, the diary contained two even more important pieces of information.

[Flame Ignition] and [Fire Drawing]!

Although this was only a diary and its owner's account was incomplete, Rogue had more or less deduced their meaning.

...In this world, to master truly powerful strength, one had to ignite Warfire.

This Warfire did not refer to war, but rather the flame of life's battle.

Those who ignited Warfire could possess all manner of miraculous powers and embark upon a dazzling path of burning.

There were generally two ways to ignite Warfire: Flame Ignition and Fire Drawing.

Flame Ignition referred to a lifeform tempering itself over a long period, breaking through its limits, and igniting Warfire on its own.

Fire Drawing, as its name implied, meant drawing the flame of a lifeform that had already ignited Warfire into oneself, thereby gaining Warfire as well.

However, the diary owner's words made it clear that this method was extremely dangerous. Perhaps this young man had most likely died because of it.

"Warfire..."

Rogue closed the nautical diary, lost in thought.

He and the players possessed Candle Spirit Physiques forged by the Spirit Candle. Could they ignite Warfire as well?

It would have been nice if the methods of tempering oneself to ignite Warfire had been described in greater detail...

Rogue silently thought to himself, intending to study it properly after returning.

Once he had finished sorting everything out, he prepared to leave. Before departing, he swept the surroundings with his perception once more.

After doing so, he suddenly stopped and looked toward the pit where the Dark Algae monster had appeared.

There seemed to be something else inside...

Without hesitation, Rogue jumped into the narrow pit and found a strange little stone within.

Tiny, strange flesh tendrils covered the stone. It looked sticky and gave off an eerie power.

Rogue had a feeling that it might be connected to the abnormality of the Dark Algae monster.

After settling everything, Rogue climbed out of the pit.

After inspecting his surroundings and carefully scanning them again, he finally found traces of Gray Fog in a corner.

Only after placing another Milestone Spirit Candle as a marker did Rogue enter the Gray Fog and return to the vicinity of the ocean vortex...

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