Aunt Sofia fell silent.
The others who spoke up for Lin Dong also looked horrified.
The voice of Sheriff Raymond was even sharper, almost to the point of breaking: "Nonsense! Kid, do you know what you're talking about? Mr. Hubert, rest assured, I'll take this kid away and lock him up, awaiting your and the guild's decision!"
"No, that's not necessary." The old mage finally spoke again.
Just now, when he used "Heart Fire Eyes" to gaze at Andrew, it seemed like he could see through the other's eyes and heart, but suddenly he encountered some kind of obstruction.
This slightly surprised the old mage.
Although "Heart Fire Eyes" wasn't his specialty, Hubert never imagined it would be ineffective against a magic apprentice indistinguishable from ordinary people.
Just as he was surprised, he was retorted by Lin Dong's words, "I have no obligation to answer your questions."
For a moment, Hubert really thought he might be getting old, that there was something wrong with his ears.
Because in his memory, it had been so long... so long since anyone had been so rude to him.
Compared to others, Hubert, who was directly offended by Lin Dong, was the most shocked!
But now, Hubert instead calmed down, even showing a slightly difficult smile.
He slowly stood up, looking down at Lin Dong from above: "I know you, you are my laboratory's apprentice, aren't you?
Looks like tonight I not only have to re-plan the next step of the experiment, but also find a new recruiter, since he cannot recruit a fool into my Magic Laboratory."
——He completely regarded Lin Dong's repeated confrontations as utter foolishness and madness.
Simply put, he thought Lin Dong had gone mad.
Indeed, if he weren't a fool, he wouldn't be completely unresponsive to "Heart Fire Eyes." That explains it, indeed! thought the old mage.
"But Mr. Hubert..." Raymond hesitated.
"No buts."
Hubert waved his hand, "In front of the sacred flame, this fabric (pointing to that piece of cloth) doesn't even count as an ant, and taking it seriously would be a disgrace. As for this brat..."
The old mage cast one last glance at Lin Dong, "I should have killed you right away, but you inhaled the dense smoke caused by my magic flames, causing irreversible damage to your lungs. In seven days, you will surely die, and it will be an extremely painful death. That is the best punishment for you. Alright, let's go!"
With a flick of his sleeve, this time he truly left.
With the old mage's departure, Sheriff Raymond also left, casting a vicious glance at the silent Lin Dong before leaving.
A large number of city defense troops and mid to high-level apprentices from the laboratory started bustling at the scene—beginning to repair the Magic Laboratory.
The civilian houses on fire weren't allowed to be extinguished with water, they could only let the fire burn to a firebreak and naturally die out.
The Magic Laboratory, however, was equipped with the rare "Flame of Extinguishing," so the source of the fire wasn't much damaged.
Lin Dong sat dazed on the ground, looking at the left side where the civilian houses were burning fiercely without anyone caring, then at the right side where the Magic Laboratory was already being restored and rebuilt.
This scene in Lin Dong's eyes was almost absurd!
Aunt Sofia beside him seemed to continuously thank him, eventually bursting into tears as she thanked him.
Many other residents also looked at Lin Dong with sympathetic eyes, not knowing what words to say to comfort him.
Everyone had heard the old mage's assertion: Andrew would undoubtedly die within seven days.
Lin Dong, however, felt a surreal sense of being in a dream.
His gaze swept over the residents on the street, seeing more than anger in their eyes, but worry, and numbness.
"This world, there's something wrong with it."
Lin Dong thought, "This world isn't just problematic, it's downright sick!"
Suddenly he bent over with a violent cough.
"Water Spirit Technique" was miraculous, but ultimately couldn't immediately heal the lung damage.
Rest was still needed for a few days for full recovery.
In the eyes of outsiders, this exactly confirmed the old mage's "seven days to die" verdict!
Coupled with the exhaustion of escaping the sea of flames, Lin Dong could no longer hold on and fainted.
Before losing consciousness, that melodious female voice seemed to echo in his mind again: "Now you are our only hope, Andrew."
...
...
When he awoke, it was already late at night.
According to Andrew's memory, Wildfire Town was located in the heart of the continent in the depths of the "Inner Sea Desert."
Although the Inner Sea Desert was in the center of the continent, it was a place even thieves rarely had interest in visiting.
The nights in the desert were extremely cold.
When Lin Dong awoke, he found himself lying in a tent, although simple, he was covered with a blanket made of what seemed to be some kind of animal skin, and it was quite warm.
Lying silently under the warm blanket.
Only now did he fully accept the fact that he was a traveler from another world.
The engulfing sea of fire, and the absurd scene witnessed after escaping it, were not a dream!
It's just that...
Raging flames, desert, a sickly Magic Guild, blind flame worship—what kind of world have I come to? Lin Dong felt a headache.
Fortunately, there was also some good news.
Lin Dong raised his hand, feeling for the tear-shaped pendant hanging on his chest.
At this moment, the dull gray pendant seemed completely inconspicuous.
But this should be what that lovely female voice in his mind referred to as the "Tear of the Water God."
Previously, when he activated "Water Spirit Technique" to heal his lung damage and used Water Spirit Technique to resist the old mage Hubert's seemingly magic-infused eyes, Lin Dong felt the power emanated from this pendant on his chest.
"However, for now, the point is not 'Water Spirit Technique.'" thought Lin Dong.
The voice in his mind had said quite a bit earlier.
The part that concerned Lin Dong the most wasn't "acquiring initial basic ability Water Spirit Technique," nor was it "now you are our only hope."
Rather, it was the first sentence: "The Tear of the Water God has been activated!"
Yes, what concerned Lin Dong the most was this sentence.
What did I do to activate this "Tear of the Water God"?
Lin Dong had no intention of becoming anyone's only hope; he just wanted to survive well in this Flame Realm.
To achieve this, a "Water Spirit Technique" with only protective and healing effects was definitely not enough.
Further development of this "Tear of the Water God" was needed to gain more and stronger powers!
"I should have activated the 'Tear of the Water God' after saving little Sophie from the fire."
Lin Dong pondered seriously, "So the activation and further unlocking conditions are 'saving people'? No, no, it shouldn't be that simple..."
If he remembered correctly, Lin Dong recalled that when he was retorting the old mage Hubert and said "shouldn't this fire be put out," the "Tear of the Water God" on his chest also reacted and vibrated!
Thinking back to the words before he lost consciousness, "Now you are our only hope," Lin Dong took a sharp breath:
Could it be that the method to unlock all abilities of this "Tear of the Water God" doesn't lie in "saving people."
But in... "extinguishing fires"?
Putting out a fire is a moment of pleasure, putting out fires continuously is endless pleasure?
As long as he extinguished fires, he would become stronger?
The problem is, daring to use water to extinguish fires in this world, one might be taken to the crematorium by the Magic Guild at any moment!
Lin Dong couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
There is one thing for sure: from now on, I am no longer Lin Dong, but Andrew.