Ascension of the strongest God

The Troll's mouth curled into a wicked grin as it ruthlessly smashed the club down on Kieran.

Kieran crossed his hands over his chest, bracing himself for impact.

Wham!

Crack!

Kieran winced as the pain tore through his limbs.

He felt his bones bend inwardly, and he could hear the faint crack from the fractured hands.

He gritted his teeth as the pain rampaged through his body.

In that instant, a notification appeared in front of him.

{10x flame burst = flame explosion!}

Seeing the notification, Kieran didn't think even for a second.

{Skill Activated!}

Kieran's eyes shone with greater resolve as the flames rose from around him.

The fire... It was hot.

No... It was scorching.

Even air seemed to melt with its contact.

The Troll moved back instinctively, a fear that it had never felt before.

As it looked at those dancing bright blue flames, it could tell that there was something different.

These weren't normal flames. There was something else... Something primal.

Something that screamed danger.

Kieran felt this as well, and as he looked at the flames,

they seemed to dance in a way that invited him, as though waiting for a command... One word.

Kieran looked at the flames, and he could only mutter one word.

"Incinerate."

Kaboom!

A deafening sound exploded through the entire forest, clearing the entire path.

Burning down the trees, destroying the landscape.

Nothing was left of the Troll, its life only flashing before its eyes as the bright blue flames engulfed it entirely.

It was swallowed completely... Nothing, not even ashes, could be seen where it once stood.

All the animals scurried away, trying their very best to get away from the consuming flames that rampaged through the entire forest.

Only one person stood as the flames approached.

Rather than run, her eyes shone with deep admiration.

Those flames, they filled her with a warmth that she once lost.

"This power, his bloodline... Don't tell me... How?"

She was utterly confused and lost.

However, what she saw, it couldn't be mistaken.

"A son of Typhon," she muttered as she let the flames swallow her, bathing her in their scorching warmth.

Kieran, on the other hand, faced the other side of the coin.

{Divine constitution low!}

{Life force has been used as a replacement for skill!}

{Ding! Life energy: 30%}

Kieran felt his eyelids become heavy, as though they were suddenly mounted with 30kg weights.

In that moment, everything went black.

******

"What do you mean you can't find the boy?" The Dean raised his voice, his bald head red like a tomato.

The pressure was already mounting on him.

All their supporting factions had already contacted him.

They all wanted one thing.

The 'SSS' ranked student, whom they now had no idea where he was.

"Sir, we have checked everywhere within the school premises... We didn't find him," a bead of sweat rolled down the teacher's face.

Since this was also their means of livelihood, they felt just as much pressure as the Dean himself.

Being a hunter was quite risky work.

Where one's life would always be on a loose thread each time they stepped into a realm gate.

Nothing could be determined; they couldn't tell if they would live to see the sunlight again.

Feel the rain wash over their skin.

Have the feeling of a stomach upset.

They couldn't tell anything at all.

It was only in that last moment, where it seemed as though everything was about to slip from their grasp.

All the teachers in the academy, even ones with high talent ranks,

it was quite clear why they all decided to be teachers and get good pay rather than enter into the realm gates.

"He's an orphan, right? Why isn't he within the school dormitory? Where the hell did he go?"

The Dean was furious.

The clock was ticking, and each tick was a step towards the crumbling of his empire and his years of hard work.

'Will I have to go back... Back into that realm gate?' A picture flashed in his mind, a smile that sent cold chills down his spine.

'No, I can't! I won't risk my life again!'

"Isn't Jane close to the young lad? She has always been taking care of him, and she was even the one who recommended that the academy take him in."

"I have asked Jane already. She says she has no idea where he went or where he is... She didn't seem like she cared either," the teacher reported, finding it a bit strange himself.

"I don't know how you want to do it! Check all the security footage, find that freaking boy! Put the school on temporary lockdown. None of the students are to receive their ID. All of them should remain inside the school until we find that boy! Call Jane for me as well."

"Y-yes, sir," the teacher left with hurried footsteps, shutting the door behind him.

The Dean slumped back in his office chair.

He drew a deep sigh.

He naturally wasn't the type that was good with pressure, and at the moment, he was tense with all the happenings.

But now, with no one there, in this momentary feeling of being lost in his own thoughts, a question popped up in his mind.

'Ten SSS ranked talent holders... Is this meant to be good news or bad news? I just hope it's the latter. It would be nice if someone who can defeat that... that... thing comes out.' The mere thought of that person sent a shudder through his body.

Similarly, in another office, two people were having exactly the same discussion.

"Do you think this is good news?"

The woman sat cross-legged, facing the man who stood in front of the glass wall.

Her smooth legs were covered with long black socks, which matched her black skirt and black singlet.

Overall was her ash-furry coat that hugged her body, accentuating her voluptuous figure.

"News? This is no news at all... If you all think this is something, then I'm afraid you're yet to know what awaits us."

The young man stood with his hands elegantly crossed behind his ash-colored suit, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he gazed through the glass wall at the bustling crowd below, each person absorbed in their daily routine.

"This is only the beginning..."