Eren got rid of his ragged clothes and walked toward the flame himself before touching it with his bare hand.
'Don't disappoint me.'
Before closing his eyes, the butcher addressed the flame. He could immediately feel that the flame left behind by Tim was on a whole new level than what he had digested so far. The torture techniques he acquired during his last timeline paid off at this point.
"Hmmmmmm!"
The butcher felt like he had the most soothing orgasm he had in a while after he started processing the wrath flame. His mind became blank as he lost himself in the process. Something pulled his consciousness into an unknown blackhole that skewed the concepts of space and time.
State of epiphany!
Eren was dragged into a wondrous state where his connection with the higher consciousness was established all of a sudden. At first, it remained static, as if the higher consciousness wanted to remain as a mute spectator.
But the butcher's willpower, his accumulated experiences, and his immature soul sense made it possible for him to have a forced conversation. It suddenly occurred to Eren that his use of fire-element spells up to this point had been too mediocre. His questions about the way of the fire were answered by the higher consciousness even before he asked them.
'Fire.
Something that has the power to purify. To baptize. Applied correctly, it has the power to affect the tangible and the intangible.
The way of fire is not only about burning everything to cinders. But to demolish something that had become fragile over time and make room for something new.
Sometimes what's dead and useless must be burned away to make room for new beginnings. Sometimes death is the salvation a few things need before they are re-sprouted anew.'
The butcher found himself to be in complete bliss as he experienced Tim's attainment in fire and made it his own. With each passing second, he was gaining an unprecedented level of knowledge in the way of fire.
It was as if he was re-living Tim's life experiences from his childhood till the moment he died. With each passing second, the butcher's state of epiphany resembled weeks and months of diligent work that he would normally have to invest in making such progress. He was channeling the Rootless ranking technique unconsciously throughout this process, making the clouds of Ace rank mana appear once more before him.
His gains weren't done yet.
'Way of fire.
Let the brittle bits of the past ignite and burn in my fire. Let my path ahead get lit up as those flames begin to dance in front of me.
No. I will not turn my back on the blazing light. No matter how much destruction or regeneration they cause, they are born out of me and thus are a part of me. I accept this element as part of my existence.'
Tim's attainment in his element and class was only the beginning. It served as a foundation for Eren to gain a firm grasp on those attainments. Something that he could call his own.
It meant that the butcher didn't stop at making Tim's achievements his. He started adding his own experiences and his own understanding of fire to those attainments. He started to progress further in the way of fire than what was previously dictated by the wrath flame left behind by Tim's previous self.
'O flames of the past and fires of tomorrow,
I'll witness with open eyes, your smoke, soot, and haze.
It'll be a cold day in hell before I forget the reasons
That required such a blaze.'
During Eren's ascension to the solid stage of the Ace rank, a distinct pulse of mana was released in the surrounding area. His core used the Ace rank mana present in its surroundings to stabilize its condition.
Eren had a feeling he would advance faster and further than he did in his previous timeline. When he unlocked Life-Drain enhancement mode, that belief was strengthened further.
The Rootless ranking technique that he was currently practicing focused on bloodline purification and atavism. Using only the experimental ranking technique, he wouldn't have been able to progress in such a short time.
But then, Eren gained the Domain of Wrath to counterbalance the odds that had been placed in his way. The Domain of Wrath gave him the confidence he needed to finally accept the ranking technique meant for his bloodline.
But even with all his advantages, Eren could have never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would be able to break into the solid stage of the Ace rank anytime soon. He subconsciously thanked Tim and Langdon for such a valuable contribution in making him grow at such speed.
Things were yet to get wrapped up.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Eren suddenly cried in pain and went to his knees when something painful started happening to his body. It was as if his blood was boiling and trying to escape from the orifices of his skin.
Ertaur tried to help his master by getting near him. But his mana body was dispersed before he could reach Eren. The bull's soul was dragged into the tattoo placed on Eren's chest before he could reach his master.
Since Eren had lost control over his body and mana circuits, the beast contract spell couldn't remain active. This wasn't something Eren had imagined would happen when he had said 'don't disappoint me' to the flame.
His mana circuits and mana points were changing as per a brand-new layout. That's why the butcher was experiencing an unbearable amount of pain. It was as if someone was trying to remove all the veins in his body at once.
Eren spat out a mouthful of blood as he yelled in agony. It happened because his internal organs were getting hurt in the process. Still, the butcher was doing a lot better than any normal ranker, thanks to his unique half-blood constitution that reduced the effects of most side-effects of such a cruel process. Otherwise, he would have been in a life-threatening situation by now.
Eren's aura started fluctuating when that happened. His mana signature changed once again into something completely different. Despite all that, his Rootless ranking technique was still active. Since it wasn't related to any class or element, it didn't create any conflict for him.
That's right.
Eren was transitioning through a class change.
He was becoming a summoner.
