In the forest.
A small squad of several people was working together to attack a level 2 beast.
With reasonably coordinated teamwork, they finally managed to slay the beast, albeit with great difficulty.
"Not bad for a level 2 beast… really dangerous!"
"But we still killed it, didn't we?"
One of them, covered in blood and scratches, forced a smile. But in the next moment, his expression froze.
The others noticed his gaze and looked in the same direction. Instantly, their eyes widened in shock. The entire forest in that direction had turned red.
Looking more closely, it was a forest fire.
"A… forest fire?!"
The recruits stared in disbelief. Once they fully processed what they were seeing, their shock only deepened.
"Is this part of the assessment? This has to be a joke!"
"No, this must be an accident. The officers will probably go to put it out soon, or else the assessment can't continue like this."
"How strange… why would it suddenly catch fire?"
The recruits were stunned and wary, but no one was foolish enough to approach the fire. Only someone truly reckless would walk into the inferno.
Most of the other recruits reacted similarly: they kept their distance, watching the flames from afar, either startled or terrified.
The fire kept spreading, and eventually nearly every recruit in the forest noticed it. Some even felt their hearts tighten.
At this rate, the live combat assessment might not be able to continue.
The beasts in the forest, influenced by the wildfire, began to go berserk. The danger level in the forest had at least doubled.
If it continued unchecked, it wouldn't even take the fire spreading across the island to cause serious casualties among the recruits.
Meanwhile, in the navy monitoring room aboard the warship, officers were also troubled by the situation.
At first, they were amazed at Roya's flame ability. But as the fire spread, amazement gradually turned into shock.
When the forest had become a massive blaze, jaws dropped everywhere. Every officer stared in disbelief.
Roya's flame sword could be unleashed without limits.
What kind of joke was this?
Was this the sword's flame aura, or some kind of natural "burning" fruit ability?!
Seeing the entire forest almost consumed by fire, the officers realized the assessment might have to be halted—because this recruit's power exceeded what the exercise could handle.
This was utterly ridiculous.
For a moment, all the officers were troubled, unsure how to proceed. Normally, they should have stopped Roya immediately, but the rules of the assessment didn't explicitly forbid damaging the forest.
"Five monitoring devices have already been burned out."
"Is this a combat assessment, or an arson test…?"
Almost all officers watched helplessly as Roya swung his sword again and again, unleashing torrents of flame. Heads ached in frustration.
This wasn't the first live combat assessment, but it was the first time they had encountered such chaos.
It was no longer a question of how many points Roya could earn. Now, the real question was whether the assessment could continue at all.
Even Zephyr couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
"Garp, at this rate, we're going to have to stop him."
"This brat really knows how to stir things up! Bwahahaha!."
Garp had already completely relaxed while Roya effortlessly defeated more than a dozen beasts and continued munching on his snack.
Zephyr could only shake his head. Garp loved chaos, and his son even more so—joining the navy would only bring more trouble.
Just as Zephyr prepared to intervene and put out the fire so the assessment could continue, Roya finally stopped hunting the beasts. The expansion of the wildfire ceased.
Under Roya's control, the area—nearly one-tenth of the entire island—gradually saw the flames weaken and die down.
The navy officers present finally exhaled in relief.
They all exchanged glances. A recruit from the regular camp had nearly ruined the live combat assessment and given so many senior officers a headache.
A normal recruit staying in a regular camp? Absurd.
An elite camp of monster recruits was where someone like Roya truly belonged.
---
In the midst of the inferno, the flames seemed to part, as if welcoming a king of fire.
Roya, gripping Engetsu, walked slowly through the blaze, surveying the scorched surroundings. He muttered to himself, "That should be enough. If this keeps burning, the examiners won't be able to stand it."
He smiled slightly, holding the flaming sword before him. He joined his index and middle fingers and gently traced the sword's blade.
Silently.
The coiling flames gradually dissipated.
As the fire on the blade faded, the massive wildfire behind Roya began to die down.
Finally, the inferno extinguished completely, as if everything combustible had been burned away.
When the fire subsided, only charred black and crimson earth remained—no greenery in sight.
"The flames… extinguished?!"
Behind Roya, Hina whispered, awe written across her face.
Having followed him through the fire, Hina realized she could only move with Roya; she couldn't navigate the inferno alone.
Roya didn't mind Hina following him.
Hina wasn't entirely a burden either. Occasionally, she would take down beasts that Roya didn't have time to pursue. With her gun, her attack range surpassed Roya's flames, which only extended a few meters.
Looking at the scorched land, even Roya himself couldn't hide his shock. With the flames gone, he could finally see the full scale of destruction he had caused.
Quickly regaining focus, Roya ignored the still-shocked Hina and activated his thoughts. A semi-transparent status panel appeared before him.
[Stage Two: Ancient Soul Sword +6
Attributes: Attack +75, Strength +20
Special Attribute: All Things in the Universe, Turn to Ashes: Sword attacks can freely add fire damage
(evolution conditions not met)
Enhancement Energy: 70/70]
"Unexpectedly, even this chaotic battle boosted my enhancement energy so much."
Seeing the enhancement energy fully charged, Roya selected to strengthen immediately.
Hum!
A golden light flashed, visible only to him. The status panel updated:
[Stage Two: Ancient Soul Sword +7
Attributes: Attack +80, Strength +22
Special Attribute: All Things in the Universe, Turn to Ashes: Sword attacks can freely add fire damage
(evolution conditions not met)
Enhancement Energy: 0/80]
"+7 already… looks like Stage Three is not far off." Roya murmured.
Previously, +6 felt distant. At +7, the third stage evolution suddenly felt within reach.