Chapter 60: Divine Flame

The tiny golden flame flew through the air.

The Inferno Core Beast didn’t notice it. Several Solar Elementals were knocked away as the beast swung its massive claws, but before it could attack again, the golden flame touched its body.

The flames covering the Inferno Core Beast suddenly turned golden.

The change happened so quickly that even Ethan was surprised.

The beast’s body trembled, and a furious roar came from its mouth.

"ROOOOOAR!"

The golden flames spread across its body, replacing the red flames that had been burning over its volcanic armor. For a moment, it looked as if the Inferno Core Beast had been covered in an even stronger fire.

But instead of becoming stronger, its body began to break apart.

The black volcanic rock covering its body started melting. Cracks spread across its chest and limbs as molten rock poured onto the ground.

The Inferno Core Beast roared again and tried to move, but the golden flames continued spreading across its body.

The flames that should have been protecting it were now burning it instead.

Ethan watched as the golden fire slowly consumed the beast.

The Inferno Core Beast suddenly charged toward Ethan, but before it could reach him, its body completely melted away.

A glowing core dropped onto the ground.

Ethan looked at the core before turning his attention to the golden flames still burning across the ground.

They showed no sign of going out.

"So it really doesn’t stop burning."

Ethan looked at the Mana Reservoir in his hand.

"Only 1,000 Mana."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"This skill is stronger than I thought."

[You have killed a Level 20 Inferno Core Beast.]

[You have received 2,000 Exp.]

[Hell Difficulty dungeon has been cleared.]

[Title: Hell Slayer has reached Level 2.]

[Title Effect has been strengthened.]

[Requirement for the next level: Solo 15 Hell Difficulty dungeons.]

Ethan looked at the notifications.

He had already soloed several Hell Difficulty dungeons since obtaining the title.

He hadn’t expected it to level up here.

"Not bad."

Ethan dismissed the Divine Flame.

The golden flames covering the ground disappeared.

He picked up the glowing core and put it into his inventory.

The dungeon had served its purpose.

He had wanted to test Divine Flame against a powerful fire-type boss.

Now he knew exactly how dangerous it was.

Ethan looked down at his clothes.

There was barely anything left of them after being exposed to the extreme heat.

"Good thing I brought extra clothes."

He quickly took a new set from his inventory and changed before the remaining cloth could burn away.

Then he quickly recalled the Solar Elementals and walked toward the exit portal.

Ethan stepped through the exit portal and appeared at the dungeon entrance.

A student standing nearby noticed him first.

He stared at Ethan for a moment before looking past him at the Hell portal.

"Wait..."

The student pointed at Ethan.

"He came out of Hell."

The people nearby turned toward the portal.

The cooldown was still counting down.

Nobody had entered the Hell portal with Ethan.

Nobody had come out before him.

"Did he really go in alone?"

"I saw someone enter earlier."

"I thought I was seeing things. Who would actually enter Hell alone?"

The whispers continued as Ethan walked away from the dungeon entrance.

He hadn’t gone far when the Nightmare portal suddenly brightened.

Ethan slowed down and glanced back.

Seven people stepped out of the Nightmare portal, with Darian leading the Silver Fang Squad and a wide smile on his face.

"We finally cleared it!"

He turned toward the other students around the dungeon entrance.

"We did it! We cleared the Nightmare Difficulty dungeon within the one-hour limit!"

The other members of the squad followed behind him, looking just as pleased.

After failing the quest five times, they had finally completed it.

Darian looked around, expecting the students to congratulate them, but nobody seemed interested. Their attention was still on Ethan.

"What happened? Why is everyone so quiet?"

Ethan didn’t stay to listen. He turned and continued toward the Exchange Facility.

Darian watched him leave, then looked back at the students around him.

"Who the hell is that guy? And why is everyone staring at him instead of us?"

Something about the situation felt wrong.

One of his teammates noticed it too and called out to a student standing nearby.

"Hey, what happened here?"

The student hesitated before answering.

"That guy just came out of the Hell portal."

Darian’s expression changed.

"What?"

"He went in alone."

Serene finally spoke.

"You’re saying he entered Hell alone?"

The student nodded quickly.

"Yes."

Serene looked toward the Hell portal, then in the direction Ethan had gone.

"And he came back out alone?"

"Yes."

She was quiet for a moment.

"That doesn’t make sense."

Darian’s expression became serious.

The Nightmare quest they had just completed had required seven people, and they had failed five times before finally clearing it within the one-hour limit.

Yet someone had entered Hell alone and walked out before them.

"Who the hell is that guy?"

Serene glanced at him.

"Whatever the answer is, we can figure it out later. Let’s get our rewards first."

Darian nodded.

"Right."

The Silver Fang Squad left the dungeon entrance and headed toward the reward counter.

Even as they walked away, Darian couldn’t stop thinking about the person who had entered Hell alone.

Ethan continued toward the Exchange Facility with the Inferno Core in his inventory.

He had no use for it, and he needed more Academy Points for what he planned to do next.

When Ethan arrived, he walked straight to the exchange counter.

An employee looked up as he approached.

"Do you want to exchange something?"

Ethan took out the Inferno Core and placed it on the counter.

The employee’s expression changed when he saw it.

"This is an Inferno Core from a Second Order dungeon."

"Yes."

The employee picked it up and examined it carefully.

After checking its energy level and quality, he entered its information into the exchange system.

"Level 20 Inferno Core Beast. The academy will give you 2,000 Academy Points for this."

Ethan nodded.

"Exchange it." ℴℴ𝘮

The employee completed the transaction.

[2,000 Academy Points have been added to your account.]

Ethan checked his balance.

He turned and left the Exchange Facility.

His next destination was the marketplace.