Chapter 32: Experiments
Boom!
Lumien braced himself for a small explosion, expecting the fireball to only leave a few scorch marks on the rock’s surface. But what happened next was far beyond anything he had anticipated.
When the fireball collided with the rock, it was instantly obliterated. The sturdy medium-sized rock, which he had chosen specifically for its durability, shattered into countless fragments as if a massive hammer had smashed through thin glass.
Lumien stared in stunned silence at the spot where the rock once stood. Now, only a few scattered rubble pieces remained, none of which were larger than his palm. The rest had disintegrated into fine debris.
"What the hell?" Lumien finally found his voice as the shock slowly began to wear off. His mind was still reeling, trying to process the sheer destruction he had just witnessed.
He strode down to the shattered remains of the rock, crouching to inspect the jagged fragments. His fingers brushed over the rough edges, feeling the grainy residue left behind. His brows knit together in disbelief.
"I checked it before. That rock was solid. If you smacked someone over the head with it, they’d probably pass out on the spot. There’s no way it was fragile. So how the hell did one fireball reduce it to dust?"
His thoughts spiraled as he struggled to make sense of it. Fireballs, at least in every game and story he’d known, were flashy but predictable. They burned things, left scorch marks, or maybe cracked a surface. But, they didn’t obliterate rocks like some kind of siege weapon. Unless his fireball was a special one?
"This doesn’t make any sense," he said, running a hand through his hair before letting out a dry laugh. "Then again, since when does summoning a ball of fire out of nowhere make sense?"
The laugh echoed faintly around him before fading into silence. For a moment, Lumien simply stood there, gazing at the remnants of the rock.
"Is this... what I’m truly capable of now?"
He clenched his fists, feeling a surge of exhilaration and awe.
"If just a basic fireball can do this, what’ll happen when I level up? When I learn more abilities? And then there’s upgrading my class..." His lips curled into a grin as possibilities danced in his mind. "Heh, maybe it won’t be long before people start addressing me the Flame Emperor."
He tilted his head, considering.
"Or... does Dragon King have a better ring to it?"
His grin widened as he ran through titles he’d often seen on Earth in novels or games. Flame Sovereign, Infernal Overlord, Scorching Tyrant—each one more ridiculous and exhilarating than the last.
Unable to suppress his growing excitement, Lumien turned his focus back to his experiments.
Drawing a steady breath, Lumien once again conjured the image of the sun—its blazing heat, its overwhelming energy, the sheer, raw power it radiated. He imagined that energy condensed, contained, and held firmly in his palm.
As the vivid image filled his mind, flickers of flames danced within his eyes. The now-familiar surge of heat coursed through his body, traveling down his arm and settling into his palm. His hand grew scorching hot, but he felt no pain.
The air around his arm shimmered slightly from the rising temperature as another fireball flickered into existence, hovering steadily above his outstretched hand.
"Go," he commanded, using the strange, instinctive connection he had with the fiery sphere.
This time, his target was a nearby tree.
The fireball shot forward, a streak of glowing orange light cutting through the air.
Swoosh
Boom!
Another explosion rocked the quiet clearing, the sound echoing through the secluded area. When the smoke cleared, Lumien could see a gaping hole in the tree trunk, large enough to see the other side clearly.
Strangely, the tree itself didn’t catch fire despite the violent impact.
"Huh... interesting," Lumien murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I should do more tests."
And so, for the rest of the morning, Lumien busied himself experimenting with his newfound ability.
With each fireball he cast, he grew more familiar with the process. His movements became smoother, his concentration sharper, and his casting time noticeably quicker. What once took several seconds of focus and visualization now felt almost natural, like clicking an ability icon.
Through his practice, he began to notice a peculiar trait of his fireball: while it possessed immense explosive force and destructive power, it seemed to lack significant combustion. It didn’t set objects ablaze the way one might expect from a fire-based spell.
"This must be the drawback," Lumien thought, observing the aftermath of yet another test. "It’s explosive and destructive, sure, but it’s not great for burning or starting fires."
He wasn’t disappointed by the discovery, though. The mere fact that he could cast magic at all still felt miraculous. Besides, having such a powerful, destructive ability was more than he could have dreamed of just a day ago.
"What’s there to complain about?" Lumien said with a grin, wiping the sweat from his face.
Another thing Lumien noticed was the toll casting fireballs took on his body. It didn’t physically exhaust him; his muscles weren’t sore, and he didn’t feel out of breath. Instead, it was as though some invisible energy within him was being drained—a sensation of emptiness gnawed at him from the inside.
"Ha... Is this what it feels like when your Core runs out of mana?" he wondered aloud. "Wait... do I even have a Core to begin with? I mean, I’m casting magic through an unconventional method—a system. It doesn’t follow the orthodox approach at all."
The thought hadn’t occurred to him earlier, mainly because it had only been an hour or so since he first gained the ability to cast magic and he was too excited to care. But now, doubt began to creep into his mind.
"Am I even an Awakened?" he muttered, furrowing his brow. Sure, he could cast magic, but only because of the system. Without it, would he still be able to? Was he truly an Awakened, or was he something else entirely?
Determined to find out, Lumien decided to test his theory.
Quickly, he searched for a quiet spot to sit. His gaze fell on a tall tree near the base of the hill, its thick branches offering a comforting shade. Without hesitation, he settled beneath it, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees.
He took a deep breath, then another, working to steady the erratic rhythm of his heart. With each exhale, he let go of the tension in his body, allowing himself to sink into a calm, meditative state.
Inhale. Exhale.
His breathing slowed, becoming deep and rhythmic, like the gentle ebb and flow of a tide.
Once he felt his mind was clear, he closed his eyes, letting the world around him fade into the background. He turned his focus inward, searching for the telltale sign of a Core—the mystical energy source said to reside within every Awakened.
From the books he’d read, descriptions of the Core varied slightly depending on the author, but they all agreed on one thing: the Core was round. Perfectly spherical. As for its color, texture, and other details, those depended on an individual’s rank and affinity.
A person with a water affinity, for instance, would typically have a Core that glowed with a serene, water-blue hue.
"Since my class is Pyromaniac, if I have a Core, the color should be red or orange, right?" Lumien wondered to himself.
Closing his eyes tighter, he concentrated harder, diving deeper into the recesses of his awareness.
At first, there was nothing but an endless void—an empty expanse stretching out infinitely. But Lumien didn’t let this deter him. Instead of growing impatient, he steadied his breath, allowing his mind to sink deeper and deeper into the stillness of his spiritual world.
He lost track of how much time passed. Minutes? Hours? The outside world seemed to fade into irrelevance as his focus sharpened, tunneling inward.
Then, something shifted.
A faint glimmer appeared in the darkness, so subtle at first that Lumien thought he’d imagined it. But as he directed his awareness toward the flicker, it began to grow clearer.
"What is that?" he muttered inwardly, trying to sharpen his focus.
"It looks like... a sun?"
Indeed, what appeared before him was very similar to a miniature sun. A glowing sphere hung in the void, its surface emitting faint pulses of fiery light. Yet, as Lumien inspected it closer, he noticed several peculiarities.
For one, it lacked the overwhelming heat and radiance one would associate with a real sun. It didn’t possess the grandeur or magnificence of the celestial body he’d envisioned earlier. Instead, it seemed... incomplete.
The sphere felt like a cheap imitation of the sun—an attempt at mimicry that fell far short of the original. Its surface was blurry and indistinct, as if it were an unfinished painting or an image struggling to come into focus.
Then it suddenly hit him.
This sun-like sphere matched the description of an Awakened Core perfectly. It was said that in its nascent stage, a Core was unrefined and incomplete. It required consistent refinement through the absorption and circulation of mana to transform into a Refined Core.
"So, this sun-like sphere is my Core?"
It was undeniably round, just as the books had described. But curiosity sparked another question in his mind.
"Are all Cores supposed to be round? Or could there be Awakened out there with cylindrical or square Cores? What if someone’s Core looked like a triangle? That’d be wild."
"I remember that Apothecary told my family that my illness could only be alleviated if I became Awakened. Does that mean I’m healthy now? No more weakness? No more vitality penalties?"
The realization brought a wave of relief and exhilaration crashing over him. For as long as he could remember, his frail body had been a constant source of frustration and limitation. If his awakening had indeed cured him...
"Hahahaha!"
"I’m finally free!"
"Ahh!!"
Lumien’s exclamation was sharp and startled as he opened his eyes, expecting to see the familiar clearing around him. Instead, he was met with a startling sight:
A pair of glowing red pupils stared back at him, mere inches from his face.
