Despite Dekai’s words, there was no single hint of doubt in his voice. It was as though he had no doubt Atticus was telling the truth.
They each gave Atticus some space, Dekai bursting into flames and appearing in the distance.
Afterwards, Atticus closed his eyes and focused, him and the fire molecules in the air becoming one.
They each ignited, an intense fire erupting and encompassing the whole space. The molecules coalesced and gathered in front of him, the forms of legs forming from the bottom, molecule upon molecule until the figure of Magnus was formed.
An ethereal spear appeared in the construct’s arm before solidifying and turning into a thick and long spear.
Atticus’s gaze snapped open, his focus at its peak.
His mind replayed every single movement Dekai’s construct had done, dissecting it to the last detail.
Waves of force spread out from his body as he gave each molecule distinct and direct instructions.
The construct responded in kind as it abruptly coiled back with its spear held tightly. Mana transferred from one molecule to the other as it moved from its feet to its arms.
Its movement was seamless and smooth, swift and deadly, a perfect copy of Dekai’s demonstration.
The art Dekai’s construct had used was a simple novice-rank art. It was created so that the novice ranks in the family would still be able to utilize the elements.
At this point, with his insane perception, mimicking a simple novice-rank art was easy.
Dekai smiled. ‘Remarkable. His fire is not only perfect but it took him just over a minute to create the construct.’
The other Ravenstein master+ ranks in the area gawked at Atticus’s sheer display of skill. None of them had achieved what he had just achieved, and they had been here for years!
The construct moved without hesitation, an intense beam of fire shooting out of its spear.
The wide-eyed gazes of the people of the third summit focused on the ongoing beam, a wave of disbelief hitting them like a tidal wave.
He had actually done it. It wasn’t as powerful or hot as Dekai’s, but regardless, it was something great.
“You’ve exceeded my expectations once more.”
This time around, Dekai just couldn’t control his emotions. Immediately after Atticus’s construct had shot that beam, he appeared in front of him in a burst of flames, startling Atticus slightly.
“One week, one week, unbelievable,” Dekai murmured constantly, scrutinizing Atticus thoroughly.
“How is this possible?” he asked in disbelief. Dekai was happy, he was excited about what the future would hold, and he was anticipating the rise of the Ravenstein family.
However, despite this, deep down inside there was this sense of bafflement within. Dekai just couldn’t understand how he was this talented. It wasn’t slightly; it was an overwhelming amount of talent.
Dekai wanted answers, but unfortunately, aside from him being an honorable man, the man that brought Atticus to the sanctum could not be challenged.
‘I’m sure he’s currently watching,’ Dekai shivered slightly. He could feel Magnus’s gaze on him.
Clearing his thoughts, he spoke with a small smile, “You still need more practice to completely master it. I advise you to spend the rest of the day doing that before ascending to the next summit. I’ll see you on the fourth summit.”
Dekai waited for no answer and disappeared from the scene.
Atticus sighed, releasing a large exhale. He kept on getting disbelieving glances from the other Ravenstein men and women of the third summit. Feeling another lit flame appear on his back, Atticus nodded.
He smiled slightly and bowed his head towards the burly man and others who had helped him earlier by explaining each of their experiences. They had helped him fast-track everything.
“Young master!” they each bowed back. Words could not begin to express how good they felt to actually be of help to such a monster.
The members of the Ravenstein family, as with other families, were always praying and hoping for a strong, confident, and charismatic leader to lead them. Looking at the back of the retreating Atticus, each of them couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride. He was perfect.
Atticus did just as Dekai asked and used the rest of the day to practice the move. He tweaked the structure of the construct a few times, making sure he was perfectly adept at controlling them.
The day passed by quickly, and Atticus descended the summit to get some rest. As the morning sun illuminated the sanctum, the figure of Atticus moving up a bunch of burning steps came into view.
The temperature was scorching. It was well above eight thousand degrees Celsius already. His proficiency with the element might have increased, but his potency still remained the same. Atticus could feel an intense heat wrack the entirety of his body.
However, like he had always done, he endured.
Soon enough, Atticus reached the fourth summit, his gaze scanning around the area.
On the fourth summit, there were only five individuals.
Atticus’s gaze flashed, his eyes meeting that of Joana standing in one corner of the summit. Along with the rest, she showed visibly shocked expressions on her face.
Unlike the people of the third summit, they had already sensed Atticus while he was still ascending the stairs.
At first, they had believed that someone had finally passed the test of the third summit and was ascending, but they each had been baffled. None of them were expecting any company anytime soon considering the average time frame the third summit always got completed.
The last person they had expected was the boy who arrived a week ago!
‘I heard he was ascending fast, but isn’t this too much?’
A man with thin eyes narrowed his gaze as Atticus approached.
‘Was he that talented? Is this why William lost?’
He was the same man with a powerful aura who had been staring at Atticus when he first reached the fire sanctum. He was none other than the older brother of William, whom Atticus had slapped the living daylights out of during the award ceremony, Cerron Ravenstein.
He was basically the older version of the boy, and oddly enough, they both wielded the longsword.
“Whoa, whoa, tune down your killing intent a bit. The boy’s just 16. What could he possibly have done to you?”
Cerron clicked his tongue irritably, ‘This will be bothersome.’
After that incident at the award ceremony, his father and their family had basically earned the wrath of the main family.
Anastasia had acted. Lyanna had acted. Even Sirius and Nathan had acted. His father had been demoted, their status in the Ravenstein family declining at a fast rate.
Cerron hadn’t even been present when it happened. He had been roaming the human domain searching for a way to enter the sanctum when he heard about the events.
All of this happened because of one boy, and that same boy was standing in front of him.
“Cerron.”
“Cerron.”
“Cerron.”
“What!?” Cerron’s head snapped to the side, the temperature around him rising. His voice had been loud, earning a glance from the others.
Cerron clicked his tongue irritably, his gaze narrowing and focused on the man who had been calling his name.
“What is your problem, Duran?”
The man was short, especially for a man his age, about 5 feet 7 inches. However, he had the confidence to make up for his low height. His white hair was cut in a low style, and he had a bright smile while staring at Cerron.
“Ohh, you look like you’ve seen your arch-nemesis. Mind sharing?” His grin widened as he spoke those last words.
The temperature around Cerron became more intense, his gaze staring at Duran dangerously. If looks could kill, he would be dead already.
However, Duran didn’t back down.
“Oh, are you threatening me?”
The molecules around Duran also began emitting intense heat. Both their gazes flashed, and immediately two distinct large constructs formed in front of them within seconds, both their forms lunging forward with supersonic speed.
Just as they were about to collide, the sound of a stick hitting the floor echoed, both constructs instantaneously dispersing.
“Save your useless bickering until I finish speaking.”
Hearing Dekai who had suddenly appeared speak, the expressions of both Duran and Cerron simultaneously changed. They both turned and instantly bowed toward Dekai in respect.
Joana and the others mimicked their actions, including the instructors.
At that moment, Atticus also reached them and bowed toward Dekai. His gaze couldn’t help but narrow. ‘Looks like those on the fourth summit is at a different level than the others,’
Dekai hit the butt of his walking stick on the floor, prompting them to raise their heads.
“I’ll make one thing clear: there is no foul play, nor was there any cheating. I personally observed every test and can confirm that Atticus Ravenstein reached the fourth summit naturally in just a week.”
Atticus felt the gazes of the five for a second. He felt weird that Dekai was complimenting him like this. ‘I might be wrong about this, though. He might just be stating the facts.’
Dekai continued after his pause,
“With that, if you have any problems with him being here, now is the time to speak.”
Each one of the five felt an intense pressure enveloping them. They all gulped. Anyone speaking up now would mean they were claiming that Dekai had been lying.
The pressure on their shoulders was enough for them to understand what would happen should anyone speak.
A few seconds passed, and Dekai hit his walking stick on the ground.
“Good, let’s get to it then.”
