Episode 204: Armor of Flames
Rui hurriedly splashed the water from the washbasin onto Yuma, but flames erupted and scattered around.
Although the flames on Yuma’s right hand disappeared, embers spread to the floor and bed, and they began to burn.
Akito beat at the fire with a pillow, and Rui desperately stomped on the fire on the rug. Yuma, while shaking his burned right hand, used Water Magic with his left hand.
A water ball about the size of a baseball flew and extinguished the flames.
When the fire subsided after about three minutes, the three of them stood dumbfounded in the room. On their first day in Indonesia, they never imagined they would cause a small fire in their hotel room.
Akito was the first to speak.
“What the hell, you’re burning the room!? You’re way too clumsy!”
“S-sorry…”
Akito roared with a ferocious intensity.
“Well, it was my fault for trying it in the room. I should have done it outside. Yuma, after we clean up here, let’s try it again in the hotel garden.”
“A-ah. Understood.”
After that, the three of them cleaned up the room. Akito helped while grumbling, “Why do I have to do this?”
They apologized to the hotel staff for burning the room and somehow managed to get forgiveness.
They were told that the repair costs would be billed to the state government, so it would be fine, but Yuma felt sorry when he thought of Hendri’s face.
Leaving Akito, who had sulked and said, “I’m going to bed,” Yuma and Rui moved to the hotel courtyard.
“There’s no need to worry about fire here, so you can go all out. Let’s concentrate and try using Fire Magic again.”
“O-okay.”
Urged by Rui, Yuma raised his right index finger and placed his left hand on it.
He concentrated his mind and visualized the image of “fire.” Gradually, his fingertip became hot.
With a “poof” sound, a flame ignited. This time, both of his hands were burning.
“Gyaaaaaaaah!?”
“Yuma! Are you okay!?”
The two of them hurriedly tried to put out the fire. Rui beat at the fire with his hands, and Yuma used Water Magic to somehow extinguish it.
“That was bad for my heart,” Yuma said, sitting down on the ground with Rui, who was grumbling.
“I guess the Red King Magic Gem is too powerful, and it’s hard to control?”
“I wonder. It’s my first time using Fire Magic, so maybe I’m just not used to it.”
Yuma rubbed his hands. He seemed to have suffered a slight burn on his right hand.
When he concentrated on his left hand, it emitted a faint light. He tried using the Recovery Magic he had just learned. The burn on his right hand gradually healed.
“You can use Recovery Magic. You can use Fire Magic, Water Magic, and Recovery Magic… I don’t know if you’re clumsy or skilled.”
Rui said with a wry smile.
“That’s true… But why can I use Recovery Magic when I can’t use Fire Magic well? Is there a reason for that?”
“Maybe it’s compatibility.”
“Compatibility?”
Yuma frowned at Rui’s words.
“It’s said that magic has compatibility. Even if you’re not good at Fire Magic, you might be good at Water Magic or Wind Magic.”
“Can you tell right away?”
“No, since there are hardly any people who can use multiple types of magic like you, Yuma, compatibility isn’t really considered important. Depending on the job, you might even be told which magic to learn.”
Hearing that, Yuma remembered.
Certainly, large companies prioritized learning Fire and Lightning Magic, while small and medium-sized companies prioritized Water and Wind Magic. So, you can’t always choose for yourself.
“Anyway, let’s try out the weapon’s performance.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Yuma reached into the bag he had brought and took out the Variable Pickel.
“Alright, let’s try it out.”
As Yuma held the Pickel, Rui said, “Ah, wait a minute!” and went somewhere.
After waiting for a while, Rui returned with a bucket filled with water.
It seemed to be a measure against fire. Placing the bucket aside, Rui called out, “Okay.”
“Alright! I’m going all out.”
Yuma concentrated on the head of the Pickel. This time, his hands wouldn’t burn. Even if the tip of the Pickel burned, it wouldn’t be a problem.
He poured Magical Power into it all at once.
Rui swallowed nervously, looking tense.
The next moment—
With a “poof!” sound, black smoke rose from the head.
They waited, but nothing more happened.
“Eh? That’s it!?”
Yuma’s eyes widened. He had expected the head to burst into flames, but it had only emitted smoke. Rui also looked disappointed.
“Hmm, is it still difficult… If that’s the case…”
Rui thought for a moment and turned to Yuma, saying, “I’ve got it!”
“Wouldn’t it work better if you Metallized? Can you become the Black Armor?”
“Ah, I can, but…”
Yuma looked around. There weren’t many people around, but it was the hotel courtyard. You never knew when someone might be watching.
“Is this too conspicuous?” Rui asked.
“Probably. But if I’m just Metallizing, it shouldn’t be that noticeable.”
Yuma put strength into his body and began to transform his entire body into metal.
Gradually, his skin turned black, and even his hair became steel.
“Amazing! You can turn into metal while keeping your human form. That’s pretty convenient.”
“If you look at it from a distance, you won’t be able to tell that I’m not a normal human. I think it’s okay even if people see me.”
Yuma raised the Pickel and poured Liquid Metal into the handle and head.
The Pickel was covered in black steel and quickly transformed into a Hammer.
“If I put Fire Magic into this…”
He concentrated and poured Magical Power into the entire hammer. Then, red streaks ran through his right hand and spread to the hammer like blood vessels.
“Ooh!”
The iron was heating up and emitting steam. There was no doubt, it was a success.
“It looks like it would hurt to get hit by that.”
“Yeah, it would. I can’t control the Fire freely, but it should be fine for use in battle.”
For the time being, he was relieved that he could use Fire Magic. Even if he had obtained the Red King Magic Gem, it would be meaningless if he couldn’t use it.
Yuma felt good and tried to see if he could do anything else.
“I’ve got it! If I run Fire Magic through my whole body, wouldn’t my defense increase? I’d probably become resistant to Fire Magic and Water Magic too.”
Yuma enthusiastically poured Fire Magical Power into his metal body.
The red blood vessels ran through his entire body like Bloodstained Ore, glowing red. He was pleased, thinking it looked like Armor of Flames, but—
“Aaaaaah! My clothes!? My clothes!!”
His clothes were burning fiercely. Rui was surprised and poured the water from the bucket at his feet. However, the fire did not go out and continued to burn Yuma’s clothes.
Because he had Fire Resistance, it wasn’t hot. However, Yuma was caught off guard by the sudden event and could do nothing but stand there dumbfounded as he became a human torch.
Five minutes later—Rui gave Yuma, who was standing naked, a look of pity, saying, “Well… I guess that would happen.”
In the end, Rui lent him his jacket, and he returned to his room with his crotch exposed.