Chapter 155 – East Ocean (1/2)
While Fatty merged the two skill books, across from him, West the Flame Ruler immediately transferred the seal over to the Fire Kirin Beast. West let out a long, excited wail. The Flame Ruler raised a hand and issued a series of thunderous sparks that exploded in the air like fireworks.
“Big Bro, congrats on regaining your freedom,” said Fatty, pocketing the skill book.
“Heheh, I have Lil’ Bro to thank for this!” West exclaimed with a bright grin. He was extremely happy, and he affectionately patted Fatty on the shoulder.
“What are you gonna do next? Go to the East Ocean?” asked Fatty.
“Nah, not yet,” West hedged. “Before I go, I have to eat the Icefire Lotus first to harmonize water and fire effects, which would reduce the water magic’s binding.”
Fatty cupped his fist in salute. “Then, this little bro wishes you the best of luck, Big Bro.”
“Hehehe,” West chuckled. “Thank you! Lil’ Bro, you wait here for a bit while I clean up this place.”
The Flame Ruler swung his hand to pluck the Icefire Lotus from over the lava pond, then raised a leg and kicked the Fire Kirin Beast into the bubbling mire. “Get in! From now on, you can just stay here! This old man is finally free!”
West wrapped up his stuff very quickly; several items appeared from God-knows-where and flew into his sleeves. At last, the Ruler only held the Icefire Lotus in his hand.
“Raaaauh!” Roaring, West tossed the Icefire Lotus into his mouth. In a blink, a flame at least three meters high gushed from body, almost consuming the nearby Fatty. The rogue stumbled and rolled aside to dodge, and West retracted the flame. A crackling layer of ice then condensed all over his body.
“Formidable! So this is the dual effect of ice and fire?” Fatty clicked his tongue. Such a strong elemental effect could outplay any typical player. They would either be burned to ashes or frozen into an ice sculpture.
Flaring fire and crawling ice took turns enveloping West. The Flame Ruler trembled, sweating one moment, yet frozen the next. He would then melt and freeze again. After half an hour of such torture, West suddenly let out a thunderous cry. The flames shrank, and the ice vanished.
“Haha! Success!” West was delirious. His body was no longer fiery red as before, but a translucent flush of scarlet.
“Lil’ Bro, thank you big time! If not for you bringing the Fire Kirin Beast so that I could transfer the seal, I wouldn’t be able to break free and become even stronger. Now, I’m not far from rising in rank.” West expressed his gratitude to the rogue once more.
What? Not far from the next rank? Fatty’s face instantly changed with the revelation.
Noticing the reaction, West asked dubiously, “What’s wrong?”
Fatty pondered deeply a moment; but, he eventually clenched his teeth and took out one of the two remaining Dragon Revolution leaves. “Big Bro, would using this get you to the next rank?”
“Dragon Revolution Herb?!” West’s expression shifted sharply. He quickly grabbed the leaf from Fatty’s hand and scrutinized the leaf before his eyes; he even gave the foliage a sniff. “It’s really Dragon Revolution Herb!”
West carefully stowed the leaf and solemnly declared, “Lil’ Bro, you’ve done me an extremely huge favor. From now on, call upon me whenever you’re in need.”
I was waiting for those words exactly, thought Fatty. A leaf of Dragon Revolution Herb in exchange for the ability to summon an expert meant he still benefited. But, of course the rogue wouldn’t say such a thing out loud. “You exaggerate, Big Bro. This Dragon Revolution leaf isn’t of much use to me. Since you have some use for it, you can have it.” Fatty acted magnanimously.
“Haha, my little bro is generous! Didn’t you want to gather all of the basic elemental arts? How many do you presently have? I’ll help you get the rest.” West volunteered for the task.
Overjoyed, Fatty shouted, “Thank you, Big Bro!” He had been 80% sure that he could find the two other books if he had the relevant information; but, now that West had offered to help, the matter was 100% solved! “I still lack the Waterwalk and Metalwalk books,” the rogue eagerly explained.
“Waterwalk and Metalwalk?” West creased his brows in thought. “Actually, I want to visit the East Ocean to seek revenge on an old enemy. If you lack Waterwalk, then let’s go to the East Ocean together. I know a place where it might be.”
“Big Bro, why don’t you increase your rank first before we go? You’ve been sealed for so long, your power might not have grown as much as your enemy’s. What if—” Fatty attempted to suggest out of goodwill.
“Don’t worry,” West assured him, “I won’t take my revenge now. The Dragon Revolution leaf will only help increase my rank. I’ll collect some Water Essence; I can eat it to gain the power of both water and fire once I rank up. That way, I’ll never be afraid of water magic restraint again.”
The main city closest to the East Ocean was naturally Azure Dragon City. Fatty and West went to Vermilion Bird City to check on Qian Xiaoqian, then teleported to Azure Dragon City. After a long journey—during which Fatty logged off once to rest and eat—they finally arrived at the shore of the East Ocean.
The trip only went so smoothly because Fatty rode the pterosaur, and West used his Fire Cloud to travel. Otherwise, the journey would have taken them at least ten to fifteen days since there were far too many monsters on the way.
West’s powers were no joke! Even on the pterosaur, Fatty couldn’t match the Flame Ruler’s speed. One swish from West could leave the pterosaur several hundred meters behind. By the time the duo reached their destination, the pterosaur was utterly exhausted from chasing after West.