The training grounds still smelled of smoke the charred scent clung to the air, sharp and bitter, sinking into the stone tiles that were still warm beneath the midday sun.
Students lingered in clusters at the edges of the arena, their eyes darting toward Alex as though he were some strange beast who had suddenly grown horns.
He sat alone on the cold bench, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths.
His palms trembled faintly, but in one of them he could still feel the ghost of heat, the faint memory of the flame he had called forth.
It was gone now, vanished into the smoke of the brazier, but the warmth lingered, proof that it had not been a dream.
Proof that after sixteen long years of emptiness, the fire inside him had finally answered.
And yet, even as he sat there, catching his breath, he could still hear them.
"The late flame…" someone whispered.
"Sixteen, and only just awakened? Ridiculous."
"No, worse dangerous what kind of anomaly awakens this late? What if he's unstable?"
"Maybe cursed."
Each word was a dagger. Alex clenched his fists until his knuckles ached he wanted to shout at them, to tell them that they had no idea what it meant to wait, to fight, to hope for something that never came until it finally did.
But he kept his gaze low he would not give them the satisfaction of seeing him flinch.
Across the arena, Instructor Caldor remained where he stood the man's presence was like a mountain: scar splitting his brow, eyes hard and unblinking, voice sharp enough to cut steel.
He had not looked away from Alex once since the spark first appeared his expression, unreadable as it was, carried the weight of something beyond mere curiosity.
Finally, he spoke.
"Alex of Elderleaf. Step forward."
The hush that fell over the courtyard was absolute even the breeze seemed to pause Alex's knees wobbled as he rose, but he forced himself to walk each step echoed like a drumbeat on the stone tiles.
The crowd's whispers subsided, their gazes heavy as chains, until he stood before Caldor and the still-smoking brazier.
The scarred instructor studied him for a long moment, saying nothing then, in a voice like gravel, he spoke again.
"You failed every affinity test until now you could not summon so much as a spark and now, at sixteen, you suddenly ignite fire such cases are… rare." His eyes narrowed "And very dangerous."
Alex swallowed hard, his throat dry "But it happened," he whispered His voice sounded small even to his own ears
"It did," Caldor admitted, though his tone gave no comfort he looked at Alex as a smith might examine a flawed blade that still held promise.
"Late awakenings are unpredictable sparks that delay may burn brighter… or consume the one who wields them do you understand?"
Alex nodded stiffly. His legs shook, but he held his ground.
"Good" Caldor's scar furrowed deeper, though there was something almost grudging in his tone, as if he respected Alex's stubbornness. "We will test again tomorrow if you can produce flame once more, your affinity will be formally recognized."
A ripple went through the students gathered at the edges some scoffed. Others whispered with a mix of fear and disbelief a few, however, fell silent, their gazes lingering not with scorn, but with something else curiosity.
Before Alex could reply, a sound cut through him. A chime, crystalline and sharp, ringing not in the air but within his mind.
The world blurred.
A panel unfolded before his eyes, translucent yet burning with fire-edged letters it wasn't the same crude interface he had seen before the text glowed sharper, as if reforged, refined, alive.
[System Notice: Milestone Reached.]
[Congratulations, Alex. Your flame has awakened.]
[System Core Protocol: Level Up Unlocked.]
His breath caught more words spilled across the glowing panel.
[New Interface Access Granted: Character Progression Panel.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Skill Evolution Tree.]
[Stat Synchronization Enhanced: Training now yields double efficiency when linked to elemental affinity.]
Alex's pulse thundered in his ears this was no ordinary notification this was the System itself… evolving.
And then, at the bottom, darker letters shimmered into being.
[Private Message Available.]
His blood froze he had never seen this before the System had always been mechanical, cold, a list of quests and rewards but this… this felt directed Personal.
With trembling hesitation, Alex willed the message open.
[Private Message — Confidential.]
The words burned into his mind, different from the sterile tone of normal tex they carried weight, almost a voice beneath them.
"The ember has stirred the delay was not weakness, but protection the world would have devoured you had it seen your fire too soon. Step carefully, Alex you are not like the others do not trust every smile await the next flame."
The message vanished before he could grasp it fully, leaving only a shiver down his spine and a hollow ache in his chest.
Protection? Not weakness? Who… or what… had sent that?
Caldor's voice yanked him back to reality. "Step back."
Alex obeyed, barely aware of the murmurs following him he sank onto the bench once more, his body numb, his mind reeling. His flame had awakened, the System had changed, and now now it spoke to him personally.
As the students dispersed, he caught a glance from someone across the courtyard. Mira.
She was a slender girl with sharp eyes, dark hair bound neatly behind her, her uniform crisp and spotless unlike the others, she wasn't sneering or whispering.
Her gaze was steady, curious, her head tilted slightly as though she had seen more than just his flame as though she had noticed something deeper his trembling, his fire-born exhaustion, or maybe the shadow that lingered in his expression.
She didn't speak, not then but she didn't look away either.
Alex clenched his fists for the first time, he wondered if someone else might understand.
That night, the dormitory hummed with noise the academy's stone halls carried every whisper, every rumor, and Alex's name was on every tongue some laughed, calling him the "late flame."
Others muttered about danger, curses, instability afew spoke of possibility, but their voices were drowned beneath the mockery.
He ignored them all he retreated to his small chamber, shut the door, and sat cross-legged on the floor. The lantern cast a dim glow, shadows dancing on the walls.
"System," he whispered. The panel bloomed before him.
[Status Screen — Updated.]
Name: Alex
Race: Half-Elf (Human/Elf)
Age: 16
Level: 6
EXP: 120/300
HP: 110/110
MP: 85/85
Strength: 14
Vitality: 13
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 11
Perception: 10
Charisma: 11
Swordmaster: Lv. 6(72%)
Survivalist: Lv. 2 (34%)
Pyromancer (Locked): Lv. 0/???
New Feature: Skill Evolution Tree → (View?)
Alex's heart pounded Pyromancer locked, but there proof his flame wasn't an accident.
He willed the Skill Tree open, and fire-veined branches spread out before him, glowing faintly.
[Skill Tree — Pyromancer]
Basic Flame Control (0/100%) — Ignite and sustain a flame.
Fire Resistance (0/50%) — Passive reduction in flame damage.
Flame Channeling (Locked).
??? (Hidden).
Each branch carried requirements progress bars and cryptic conditions his gaze snagged on the blurred one, unreadable, as though the System itself was concealing it from him.
And at the bottom, a chilling reminder:
[Next Private Message Unlocked at Pyromancer Lv.1.]
Alex shivered the System wasn't just evolving it was guiding him Watching.
The next day, the training grounds were more crowded than ever word of his awakening had spread, and now every student wanted to see whether Alex would prove himself or humiliate himself.
He stood in the center, heart pounding, hands trembling slightly. Master Caldor raised a hand "Begin."
Alex closed his eyes he reached inward, seeking the warmth that had flickered in his chest. At first, there was nothing. Whispers stirred.
"Fluke."
"I knew it."
"He won't do it again."
Then he found it a flicker. Fragile, but alive he coaxed it upward, breathing carefully, guiding instead of forcing.
A spark leapt from his palm then a flame larger this time Steadier.
The whispers died Silence fell.
The System chimed.
[Quest Complete: Ignite Flame Twice in Succession.]
Reward: +50 EXP. +1 Intelligence.
Pyromancer Progress: 0% → 37%.
Alex's lips parted the flame wavered in his palm, its glow reflected in wide, disbelieving eyes around him.
And then, in the faint shimmer of the firelight, words appeared only he could see.
"Good the ember grows do not let them snuff it out."
The words vanished with the flame.
Alex's hand lowered slowly his breath shook around him, the students stared in silence, their scorn replaced with something sharper, fear, respect and curiosity.
And at the edge of the crowd, Mira watched him again, her expression unreadable.
For the first time, Alex felt the stirrings of something more dangerous than flame. Hope.