Burning Wind Fire
This Caryll Rune was the one Goki retrieved after destroying a fragment of the God of Burning Wind, the power that had been stolen from him.
In Yharnam, Goki had many Runes—Communion, Moon, Oedon Writhe… each with different, very useful effects.
However, strangely, Goki had never encountered a Rune named "Burning Wind Fire."
So, during his time away from Acahuala, whenever he had a moment, Goki would study this palm-sized Rune. Skadi would sometimes watch him, but she would lose interest after a while.
Goki could feel that this Rune contained his own power, but also the power of the God of Burning Wind.
It was as if a new power had been created by the fusion of their two powers.
Therefore, maintaining extreme vigilance, Goki meticulously examined it for a long time with the eye of a professional Hunter.
Finally, he determined that although the Rune contained the power of the God of Burning Wind, it did not contain his will and posed no harm.
Although the God of Burning Wind acted like a simpleton, this only meant he was a hot-headed brute; it didn't diminish his status.
If the God of Burning Wind himself were to descend, even in a weakened state, the current Goki would simply be swatted to death by him.
To slay a God as he did in Yharnam would require a great deal of preparation.
Moreover, the reason the God of Burning Wind was such a brute wasn't solely due to his inherent personality; his divinity perhaps represented fire, anger, impulsiveness, and ferocity, which made him appear so… "down-to-earth."
Undoubtedly, usurping the power of a deity is a rare feat—not everyone, like Goki, gets half their power devoured by some bastard deity in a hazy daze while traversing worlds.
Don't let me catch you, you stinky brat who took my stuff!
Gods stealing from Hunters: not allowed.
Hunters stealing from fellow villagers: allowed!
Such a double standard—but then again, are we really human if we don't have double standards?
In any case, after Goki confirmed that this thing was essentially harmless, he carefully inscribed it into his mind using Rune tools.
The entire process looked quite simple from the outside: just directly branding the glowing red Rune onto the body.
But in reality, it was the imprinting of knowledge belonging to a Great One into Goki's Soul.
Unlike the game, where the limit for Runes is four, the number of Caryll Runes that can be imprinted in reality depends entirely on an individual's endurance limit. Once imprinted, they cannot be removed for life—this thing is carved into the Hunter's mind, forever accompanying his Soul, constantly influencing Hunters.
And the effect of the Caryll Rune, Burning Wind Fire, was—manipulating flames.
After that… Goki awakened a brand new power.
"Wuwuwu—Sorcerer! Burning monster! Don't come closer, don't come closer!"
"Spare me, spare me! I have an eighty-year-old mother above and a three-year-old child below—"
Accompanied by extreme fear and terror, several dismembered, torn, and still burning corpses lay nearby. The bandits who had miraculously survived were securely bound by Skadi and thrown next to the wrecked jeep.
They had never expected that a seemingly easy-to-bully hostage would, in no time, take down all their brothers.
That woman, who looked delicate and tender, was a complete humanoid armored vehicle. She could flip a jeep with just a wave of her hand, and a single stomp could flatten a person's shoes and flesh into a pancake!
That man was even more terrifying. The bandits had occasionally seen mercenaries who could throw fireballs, and they dared not provoke those sorcerers—but this guy directly ignited his entire hand, his arm inside already burned red and scorched, yet he remained composed. He simply couldn't be considered human!
Looking at the corpses scattered everywhere, some of them were so scared they had wet their pants and collapsed on the ground, making Skadi frown.
However, for the two "robbed" individuals, this was nothing new.
After nearly three months of traveling back and forth in Sargon, Goki and Skadi had grown accustomed to bandits occasionally surrounding and robbing them—there were more robbers than those being robbed.
There was nothing they could do about it. A man who looked "as thin as a stick," plus a "fragile and easy-to-bully" girl, walking brazenly through this desert where even a caravan of dozens dared not travel alone—it would be strange if they weren't targeted.
What's wrong with being thin? An Old Hunter has this physique! The Undead next door are even thinner!
So, Goki and Skadi were already quite adept at dealing with these scoundrels.
Generally speaking, if they were just petty thieves who robbed homes, a beating and leaving them on the road would suffice. But if it was this kind of robbery with intent to steal wealth and lust, and they intended to kill to silence witnesses from the start… then the ringleader and the most boisterous ones were cut down, and the rest were tied up and left in the wilderness for beasts and giant sand worms to deal with. Their life and death, wealth and poverty, were up to fate.
Like this time, the bandit leader who wanted to "rob Skadi of her virtue," and the scoundrel who kept staring at his backside, were both instantly burned to charcoal by Goki, without a shred of mercy.
Standing not far away, watching Skadi tie people up, Goki vigorously shook his arm, making all the flames burning on it dissipate.
"Hiss, this crappy ability, it really is Fire Fist, no, maybe more like a Lord of Cinder."
Goki looked at his arm, whose outer skin had been scorched off, turning it the color of a roasted suckling pig and emitting a fragrant aroma. While injecting himself with freshly collected blood, he couldn't help but complain.
This was the effect brought by the Caryll Rune. Simply put, he no longer needed that small bottle with the living flames.
Goki himself had become a burning kindling. This flame consumed his Life Qi, devouring everything it touched with vigorous and intense flames, including Goki himself.
The first time he tried the Rune's effect, Goki's entire body, not just his hand, instantly turned into a burning Human Torch.
Skadi, who had just entered the room to call Goki for dinner, was startled, thinking he was a surviving minion of the God of Burning Wind, and almost struck him with her sword before recognizing him as Goki.
Of course, even without being stabbed, Goki was directly burned half to death by his own ability.
Fortunately, just like that Agni brother, although he couldn't regenerate infinitely, at least he could recover his blood by using a blood vial. The pain was real, but the side effects could be ignored.
Before, he was a bit proud that a Hunter wouldn't suffer the "on fire" status effect from monsters wielding torches, unlike the Wolf of Ashina Castle.
But then, he ended up setting himself on fire.
Fortunately, just as the Rune's description stated, Goki could shape flames as he wished.
He only practiced for a while before successfully changing from his whole body being on fire to only his arms being on fire—whatever else, the Old Hunter was very confident in his brain and Mental Energy.
Whether it was igniting a finger to light a fire, or igniting his arm to wield a flaming punch, if he could also make it explode, he would be like Prince Taro, able to use an Ultraman bomb.
If Goki wished, even his 'Little Goki' could turn into a burning flame sword! How terrifying! Even against a Nian sister with an internal temperature of 1400 degrees Celsius, his 'Little Goki' was confident enough to challenge her!
Forget it, it'd turn to charcoal.
Of course, the intensity of the fire could also be adjusted, but there was an upper limit; it couldn't be as terrifying as Sister 42's 'duangduangduang.'
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And the strangest thing was… from the perspective of Gavial and the other Witch Doctors and shamans of the tribe, what Goki used was Originium Arts.
They felt the fluctuation of Originium energy, but it was purely a release of power, without any… coherence. There was only raw Originium energy, no exquisite artistry to be seen, so it could only be called "Half-Originium Arts."
Like Surtr, his Originium Arts were more instinctual releases, not systematically learned—they were all suddenly Awakened.
Considering the steadily increasing concentration of Originium solution in his body, Goki eventually accepted this explanation.
Regarding this, Gavial still suggested that Surtr and Goki find a fire-elemental sorcerer to learn from, at least to reduce self-harm during spellcasting.
Goki didn't know any sorcerers, but perhaps a certain Old Lynx could help him analyze the effects of this "Half-Originium Arts."
As an Old Hunter, Goki could utilize the power of Runes and cast Spells through items, but it was indeed his first time casting a Spell directly himself, which felt quite unaccustomed.
Moreover, although the flames were powerful, they harmed both friend and foe, and their range was even shorter than Goki's flamethrower, making their practical value mediocre.
A Hunter's primary method of attack will always be to slash people with weapons; this will never change.
However, the good thing was that Goki could freely create fire paper, and even directly enchant weapons.
And the best part was—Skadi thought Goki looked super cool like that!
Of course, she also felt very sorry for Goki's burned hand, so she would only occasionally suggest he perform it while cooking.
Being able to make Little Orca happy is enough!
"Let's go, the meat is almost ready."
Leaning against the bandits' car, Goki ignited a blazing flame in his palm, grilling the seasoned lizard tenderloin, and smiled as he looked at Skadi approaching.
"These bastards are so troublesome, a waste of time, hmph!"
Having her time with Goki wasted by these foul-mouthed bandits, Skadi was particularly displeased.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry, don't be angry. They even brought us a car. Eat, eat. There's a lot of good food in Qin Jiao Town."
Handing the medium-rare meat strips to Skadi, Goki burned off the grease on his hand, and with his still warm hand, he covered Skadi's face, wiping away a few drops of enemy blood.
"Okay, when we get there, we'll go shopping together."
The unhappiness on her face instantly vanished, and Skadi's indifferent expression became sunny again. She immediately, full of anticipation, climbed into the carriage.
Bang—
The next second, two of the bandits' already old and worn tires suddenly exploded, and the entire car collapsed.
"Ugh————"
Her little face instantly flushed, and Skadi, who was particularly conscious of her weight, froze awkwardly on the spot.
Then, she directly tore off the car door and dashed northward.
"Skadi, wait, wait, there are a few more here, and a trailer, let's try again—this must be because the car is too old, too worn out! Rubber tires will age! Come back! It's really not your problem."
And Goki could only watch the Little Orca disappear into the dust, quickly getting into an old car and chasing after her.
Their destination was the worst lawless zone in Iberia, and a place easier to sneak into Columbia than the Sargon border.
There, once stood a glorious and magnificent city, an oasis in the yellow sand.
In Qin Jiao Land, Goki had an old acquaintance, and so did Kaltsit.
——————
"Boss, two outsiders have arrived outside the market, the ones we've collected information on."
In a somewhat dim basement filled with various instruments, a fully armed Caudus entered the room, panting as he reported to the figure inside.
"Oh, let me guess, are they those two Hunters who've recently gained fame? No need to be so impatient—did you test them according to the procedure?"
Inside the room, a tall, handsome orange-haired man straightened his back from in front of an electron microscope, turned to look at his subordinate, and a mere casual glance made the Caudus immediately stand at attention.
"Yes, it's those two! As per custom, we sent a good hand, disguised as a thief, to pick his pocket, but he was caught directly—those two are definitely not to be trifled with."
Unlike those brainless bandits, the residents of Qin Jiao were very cautious and humble, testing everyone who came to this place.
"By the way, boss, those two Hunters directly released my man, and also had him deliver a message, saying they want to see you."
Taking a deep breath, the Caudus subordinate said cautiously.
"I'm just a little curious about her, but they came looking for me. Are they looking for 'Sha Zu' or 'Zuzu'? If they have a request for me, they'll have to pay a reasonable price—your coming to see me means they can afford it?"
Not caring about these trivial matters, the man who called himself Sha Zu intended to continue his experiment.
He had clear goals, and time was exceptionally precious; he had no time to entertain any boring guests.
"No, boss, they're not looking for Sha Zu, nor Zuzu. They said they want to ask you for someone, saying you must know where he is."
Scratching his broken horn on top of his head, the Caudus subordinate pondered for a moment, then slowly said…
"They said they're looking for a boy named Elliot Grove…"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz————
In an instant, streaming golden electricity surged around Sha Zu, making his subordinate retreat a step in fear.
He had never seen the man in front of him, who could manipulate everyone in the desert, show such an astonished and excited expression.
"Where are they? Find them, tell them I will meet them—and call Old Ysian too, we have something to do."
Collecting the electricity around him, Sha Zu—Elliot Grove—released his hand. His palm was already bleeding from his fingernails.
"Kaltsit…"
Elliot Grove knew that his past seemed to have come to find him ahead of time.
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