Rogue Villain-Chapter 268: Streaming

Viztar lashed out with his arm before Ackster could even get close. Ackster saw that Viztar was still several strides away. His attack shouldn’t land. But during his movement, Viztar conjured a rod of solid green fire that crashed into Ackster like a runaway train.

Ackster folded in half before crashing into the ground with a burn wound covered in licks of green flame.

’That stings.’

Viztar’s fire lingered and refused to leave or let Ackster heal. It was a lot more stubborn than Tararat’s. But it was finally something that could train his fire and magic resistance skills and bring them to the next rank. Ordinary volcanoes and magic wouldn’t do the trick anymore, no matter how much he bathed in them.

So, Ackster let Viztar’s fire continue to stop his healing. He wouldn’t die, anyway. It was fine as long as his injuries didn’t worsen.

Ackster raised his sword after standing up and facing Viztar. It was right in time for a stream of green fire to pour down on him like a coursing river. Ackster used his sword to cut through the stream and the Sun God Token to catch the fire and heat that he couldn’t parry. Of course, his sides, shoulders, and outer thighs ended up charred and infected with the flames.

Viztar’s fire continued seemingly without end until he realized Ackster was still unbothered and eager to fight.

"What a stubborn bastard you are!"

Viztar chuckled slightly in astonishment as he cut off his fire and looked at Ackster’s burned body, struggling to fend off the festering flames. Viztar’s eyes shone as he responded to Ackster’s grin with one of his own. He raised both hands and pointed them toward Ackster.

"Let’s see how much you can handle, then!"

As he spoke, Viztar started channeling two streams of fire from his hands that joined up halfway to Ackster to create one large storm of blazing green fire that melted the ground below it and around Ackster.

The stream of fire pulsed as Viztar put in more mana, more force, and more heat into his magic. The flames grew in brightness and intensity as they continued to ravage Ackster’s body.

Ackster still used his sword to parry the brunt of the flames, but they were still eating through his flesh down to the bone. It was getting difficult to think and breathe due to the heat. Thankfully, Ackster didn’t need to do either of those things.

However, Ackster realized that he wasn’t making any progress like this.

Viztar’s flames were enough to eat through his defense and weaken him. But right now, they weren’t threatening his life unless he held the stalemate until he ran out of nourishment and nutrition in Smelting Furnace.

’Wait a moment...’

While thinking of his skill and facing enough fire to envelop him completely, Ackster had a crazy idea. He didn’t know how to strengthen or advance Smelting Furnace. It was still at the same D-rank as it was when he first acquired the skill. Of course, he could have acquired it, and it ranked up before he checked his Nomu. But Ackster still didn’t know the conditions for improving the skill.

However, when he thought about it, he realized a possibility.

The incomprehensible portal to the Smelting Furnace for the things he ate was through his stomach. He wasn’t sure how it interacted with Monster Muncher. But things that weren’t monsters or beasts but could be inedible materials from them ended up deep inside his being, where it got melted down and used to strengthen his body.

The most obvious way to increase Smelting Furnace’s efficiency and speed in refining what he ate into his body would be to increase the heat.

Ackster wasn’t sure about that idea since he knew some materials couldn’t handle too high heat. He also didn’t know in detail how Smelting Furnace worked.

Still, ideas were made for trying out.

So, Ackster opened his mouth and lowered his sword slightly.

If it failed, Ackster would only worsen his condition further and lower his chances of winning. But if it succeeded, Ackster would become stronger. He would tolerate fire, especially Viztar’s better, and his future would be brighter.

Ackster received Viztar’s fire with his mouth with the intention to eat and devour it. The fire still burned through what remained of his face and torched the inside of his mouth and skull before passing through his esophagus, throat, and digestive system, leaving them all charcoal.

But Ackster’s mind was clear, and he felt how the fire lost its intensity after arriving at his stomach area. It also seemed to have disappeared while still lingering in his stomach. It was a strange feeling that occurred due to the Smelting Furnace’s metaphysical existence. It was like his mana. It both existed in his body and not at the same time.

Viztar raised an eyebrow as his fire disappeared.

No, it didn’t disappear. Viztar narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ackster’s stomach. It wasn’t completely gone, but it was like it was very far away. He didn’t know what Ackster had done, but it didn’t really matter. It was just proof that he was handling Viztar’s flames his own way.

Viztar grinned and continued upping the intensity of his fire.

If Ackster was still alive, it just meant Viztar wasn’t going all out.

And since Ackster was handling things to this degree, Viztar was starting to get curious about what Ackster could handle before he croaked. It wasn’t the first time he met a strong human who had managed to scratch him.

But it was the first time he met someone who wasn’t strong enough to do that, actually do that. If Ackster didn’t have the survivability of a cockroach, he would have never managed to harm Viztar, especially since he used several lifetimes of vitality to sharpen his blade.

With his current level of strength, recovery abilities aside, Ackster wouldn’t even touch Viztar’s toes.

"I hope you didn’t forget about me."