While lost in thought, Lin Dong tried to fully open his eyes, which had been stung painfully by smoke but improved after being soothed by the "Water Spirit Technique."
He only had Andrew's memories of "impressions" about this world, yet hadn't personally seen it.
Thus, after regaining his composure, he still wanted to see this Flame Realm into which he had crossed with his own eyes.
But upon opening his eyes, Lin Dong felt his heart tighten suddenly.
The people originally surrounding him had somehow backed away.
And what appeared before Lin Dong was not the scene of the Flame Realm.
It was a pair of eyes, very close!
Black pupils with a hint of dark red, resembling the color of lava. In the depths of those eyes, there seemed to be flowing magma.
They were the eyes of the old mage, Humboldt.
...
...
The fire continued to spread like a pair of red shorts swaying wildly in the night wind, painting even the star-filled night sky above the desert red.
No one dared to extinguish this fire.
Fortunately, there was an "isolation belt" around each house in the civilian area.
No matter how fierce the fire was, it stopped naturally upon reaching the isolation belt where there was nothing to burn.
In fact, besides the "isolation belt" and the "Flame of Extinguishing," there were no other "legal" fire-extinguishing methods in this Flame Realm.
Extinguishing fire with water? Not possible.
Whoever dared to try would be seized by the Magic Guild and burned alive for desecrating the Holy Fire.
"You... what do you want to do?"
Sofia intervened, watching the approaching Sheriff Raymond cautiously like a mother hen protecting her chicks, and guarding her daughter who miraculously survived but was still unconscious.
The crowd had originally gathered around Sophie and Andrew.
But as Raymond approached, most people instinctively backed away.
Raymond sneered, put on gloves, and picked up a piece of cloth from the ground near Sophie.
It was the cloth Lin Dong had just wet himself.
During the escape, Sophie awoke briefly, coughing uncontrollably.
Lin Dong then shared with her the cloth originally wrapped around his own face, which was the main reason Sophie was fine now, while Lin Dong almost died from lung damage.
Sheriff stared at the piece of cloth for a moment.
He leaned in to sniff it curiously.
His expression changed, and he exclaimed loudly: "So that's it, this is a... diaper! Hmph, daring to use such a method to attempt to escape the return to the Holy Fire's glory? Undoubtedly, this is decadence!"
Yet his true thoughts were: this is actually a good idea! If I ever unfortunately encounter a fire, I might give this a try!
He intended to further question Sofia and her daughter to curry favor with Humboldt.
But the old mage interrupted mercilessly: "Fool, how could a twelve-year-old girl come up with such a method?"
Humboldt walked straight to Andrew, who was now Lin Dong, revealing a peculiar smile on his wrinkled face and said slowly: "Interesting. Though a mortal body cannot withstand my magic flames, this method can to some extent resist the dense smoke."
"Was it your idea, Andrew?"
After asking, he fixed his gaze on Lin Dong.
—It was at this moment when Lin Dong, getting up to face the old mage's eyes!
This was Lin Dong's first time facing a mage in this Flame Realm.
He wondered if it was an illusion, but being so close to the old mage's eyes, Lin Dong felt a terrifying sensation of being seen through from inside out.
It seemed the opponent's eyes could see into his deepest thoughts!
This was not the manner of speaking about some great figure's insightful eyes from the old world, but an actual magical power.
Lin Dong almost uncontrollably spoke: "I'm no longer the Magic Apprentice Andrew you knew, I'm Lin Dong!"
Fortunately, the pendant "Tear of the Goddess" trembled slightly.
The "Water Spirit Technique" activated again, circulating throughout his body, forming an invisible protective shield, isolating the old mage's eye power that pierced through hearts.
Lin Dong regained his sanity.
His mind was shocked: "Holy cow! What kind of devilish thing is this, those old guy's eyes are terrifying!"
Indeed, they were frightening.
Yet Lin Dong felt no lasting fear!
Because before fear could fully emerge, a peculiar emotion of "violated dignity," pride and anger surged from his heart—no, it should be said, from the "Tear of the Water God" on his chest—and spread through his body with the "Water Spirit Technique."
Lin Dong's gaze narrowed, and he met Humboldt's eyes without backing down, uttering an unexpected response:
"Sorry, I'm not obliged to answer your question."
The scene was silent for a moment.
The teenager's calm words resonated on the street not far from the central square of Wildfire Town, seemingly carried away by the cold night wind, fluttering far away.
The crowd taking refuge on the street, and some who had come from other parts of the town to watch the spectacle, paused for a long moment before exhaling lowly with a "hiss."
This boy... is he mad?
As a mere Magic Apprentice, although just barely entered the magic circle, he actually had the guts to speak to a seasoned Fire Mage like that?
Even if escaping the flames made him angry at the mage responsible for the fire and his laboratory, he should bear with it. How could he say it out loud?
Is he suicidal?
As expected, Sheriff Raymond hesitated before jumping with excitement: "You... you're bold! Are you seeking death?"
The Magic Guild is the true ruler of this world; worldly power in the sheriff's hands is negligible before the guild.
Raymond had already decided to punish Andrew harshly.
There was no better way to curry favor with the old mage!
"Hold on!"
Sofia called out.
After ensuring her daughter was unharmed, she regained some composure.
Though usually not close to Andrew who lives on the same floor, and puzzled by timid Andrew's willingness to risk himself to save her daughter from the flames,
Nevertheless, Sofia felt compelled to repay the favor as much as possible, saying: "Andrew just escaped, he's... he's still confused!"
Some residents who knew Andrew also plucked up courage and said: "Yes, he's just a child. You should be magnanimous, let him go."
Lin Dong didn't know what effect those words had on the sheriff.
He only knew that they sounded illogical to him.
So I escaped the fire and saved a little girl; in this world, that's a crime?
Though he had understood from Andrew's memory that this world worships fire to the point of a blind pathological state, this was Lin Dong's first time witnessing it through his own eyes.
That offended anger originating from the pendant had subsided.
But Lin Dong, based on his own will and reasoning, pointed at the blazing fire that no one managed, asking incredulously: "This fire, won't anyone put it out?"