Chapter 782

Chapter 782: The Path of Flames

“Don’t try to summon another succubus,” Jesse warned. “The last person I met who did that ended up hanging himself with his own intestines at home.” “What… what is that supposed to mean?” the Dark Iron Dwarf blinked, asking, “Is that some kind of metaphor?”

“Literal meaning,” Jesse replied. “He wanted to summon two succubi and have them compete for his affection, but it didn’t go well, or rather, it went too well.”

Rueg gulped, glancing at the succubus beneath him.

“He’s not wrong, master. Promise me you won’t fall in love with any other Sayaad,” the succubus said, tugging at her master’s outer robe. The words, meant to be flirtatious, sounded more like an ultimatum coming from this fierce Sayaad.

Rueg immediately replied, “I promise I won’t fall in love with any other demon; as long as I have you, that’s enough… I swear!” “Then when can you teach me how to communicate with the fire element?” Jesse asked.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Rueg said unhappily. “Now that I have my Sayaad, I will teach you. Can’t I have some time to enjoy this? You need to leave… give me a moment!”

“I’m short on time, none at all,” Jesse said. “You’ll have plenty of time to indulge with this succubus later, so either take me to meet the other members of your Thorium Brotherhood—those who understand flames better than you—or teach me what you know.”

Rueg held the succubus closer and said, “Take you to see my colleagues? How would I explain why I brought you? Because you helped me summon a succubus? That’s impossible! I will teach you how to handle flames, but not now! After that fight, I need at least a few days to rest.”

Jesse’s expression grew colder as he sensed Rueg meant to delay.

A Dark Iron Dwarf was still a Dark Iron Dwarf; even the Thorium Brotherhood was the same. Want benefits but not pay the price? “Your name is Geya’tan, right?” Jesse turned to the succubus.

“What about it?” the demon raised an eyebrow.

“You said before you’d rather be my servant than this Dark Iron Dwarf. Is that true or just part of your Charm magic?” Jesse asked.

The succubus hesitated, glancing at her master, then at Jesse. Her gaze softened, but Rueg’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Jesse raised his hand slightly, pinching out a bit of shadow light and said, “I can help summon this demon, and there are many ways to claim her. Have you heard of the demon enslavement spell?”

At this, the succubus perked up, seeming not to care about her master’s feelings.

Rueg, seeing this, panicked and said, “You said a warlock can’t control two succubi! You already have your own succubus, don’t you?”

Jesse replied, “I believe my partner would rather I punish you for being an untrustworthy, self-righteous fool first.”

“Untrustworthy and self-righteous? Don’t say that about me!” Rueg scrambled off the succubus, saying, “Hey, come on, Seso! I said a few days! I just wanted a break. I didn’t know you’d get so angry; you seemed friendly. Besides, talking to the elements takes patience. They won’t answer easily…”

“Patience?” Jesse scoffed. “You expect me to believe your people have that?”

Rueg frowned and replied, “Don’t blame the whole race! Listen, starting tonight, we’ll begin our path of flames. Of course, if you have no talent or don’t click with the fire element, that’s not my fault.”

He kissed the succubus’s dark lips and said, “Sorry, Geya’tan, the master can’t please you now; blame this demon master! He won’t give me time to make you happy!”

“Am I to wait here, master?” the succubus asked.

“Yes! Of course!” the dwarf said excitedly. “You’re so thoughtful! I’ve never met a woman who treats me so well and obeys so much!”

“Female demon,” Jesse corrected him.

“Female demon, but what’s the difference?” Rueg swallowed hard. “Do you think female dwarves wouldn’t stab you at night, skin you, or use weird powers to change you? Heh… who knows which is worse? I bet you never heard of the witch Modgud.”

As he spoke, he stood up, brushed off dust, picked up his iron staff, and took a deep breath, saying, “Follow me, Seso.” In truth, Jesse felt relieved too.

Though he had threatened, he didn’t really plan to do it. Even if pushed, he would just kill the succubus to show the Dark Iron Dwarf things weren’t fully in his hands.

Geya’tan… just smelling her scent made Jesse uneasy, let alone getting close. Rueg giving in so easily made it simpler.

Anyway, losing a succubus was deadly for warlocks, especially with this one wavering.

Leaving the cramped room, they walked toward the corridor, where the heat kept rising. No braziers were there, but it stayed bright.

At the deepest part of the hall, there was a narrow window looking out onto a river of lava. Jesse gazed through it and was reminded of the corridors of the Dark Iron city in the Blackrock Depths from the game. The deepest parts of Ironforge were also full of magma. The sounds of hammers hitting anvils echoed through the canyon but were drowned out by the bubbling lava.

“Come and meet this big guy,” Rueg said, pointing to a corner where a two-meter-tall black metal puppet crouched. It looked like a pile of stacked metal boxes if not examined closely.

He went on, “For a long time, he was a helper for the Thorium Brotherhood here. But the one who could start the puppet isn’t around anymore, so no one can control it. That makes it a good practice target for us.”

After saying this, the Dark Iron Dwarf raised his iron staff and waved it, chanting something Jesse couldn’t understand. Right away, flames burst around the puppet.

But they didn’t last long. Driven by the fire element’s power, they burned briefly and then went out fast because the puppet was all bare iron plates with nothing to burn.

“Just like this,” Rueg said as he stepped aside. “Show me what you can do now, Seso. Since you want to learn fire magic, I guess you have some skill of your own.”

Jesse didn’t know any ways to talk to elements. All he knew were the chants for the Scorch Curse and Fireball that the mages at the Wizard’s Sanctum had taught him.

Of course, he also knew the Sacrifice and Burning Pain spells by heart. But those fire spells were mixed with fel magic… clearly not good for communicating with the fire element.

“Kibimophrosas!” Jesse recited the Scorch Curse, and a burst of flames erupted on the puppet’s shoulder!

The whole puppet shook with a loud bang, and a metal plate clattered to the ground. Rueg raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, “This… surprised me.”

“What’s wrong?” Jesse asked.

Rueg replied, “That was the Scorch Curse chant; I know that one too. I’m not good at arcane magic. I only learned it out of curiosity from those mages, and it was tough for me. But it’s clear that when you use arcane energy to guide the flames, they aren’t just following arcane guidance. I can feel the fire element wanting to listen to you… what’s happening?”

“Maybe I have a talent for being a Pyromancer,” Jesse chuckled.

“That’s why you came to us,” Rueg said with a nod. “But the fire element doesn’t get your reasons. They just feel you want them to come, so they do. That makes the Scorch Curse stronger than expected! But they need to understand your meaning better; they have to grasp your words!”

“Come on, listen to me, Seso,” Rueg said. “Repeat after me: Eldu, Vandal, Milg, Flag!”

“Eldu, Vandal, Milg, Flag,” Jesse repeated after the Dark Iron Dwarf, but nothing happened.

“Not to me; talk to the flames,” Rueg said as he handed his iron staff to Jesse. “Feel the flames floating in the air. You should feel them easily in Ironforge. You need to speak to them. Don’t think they’re not real, and don’t think this is a fake ritual. Talk to them and show you’re sincere!”

Jesse looked over at the narrow window again, watching the flickering firelight as he repeated the words, but still no response came.

Rueg frowned and said, “This shouldn’t happen. I truly believe you have a bond with fire; I can feel it. This isn’t a hard request… at least there should be a little reaction.”

“What does that mean?” Jesse asked.

“Make your weapon burn with flames, put fire power into it,” Rueg explained. “I mean, what does the phrase itself mean?” Jesse questioned.

“Ah, yes, I should tell you… it means—‘Flames, bless the thing in my hand, burn!’” After this, Rueg smacked his lips and said, “Saying that in Common feels really awkward.”

“I understand,” Jesse nodded.

He gazed back at the firelight outside the window and said earnestly, “Eldu, Vandal, Milg, Flag!”

Suddenly, he felt a strong heat rush from his waist. The sheath of the Azuresong Mageblade burst into flames instantly, and the sword fell to the ground. Jesse dropped the iron staff, used a spell to pull the burning sword into his hand, and lifted it slowly.

The blue sword was now covered in red flames. It wasn’t just a quick flash; it kept burning steadily. The sight was so amazing that it felt like a dream.

“I almost forgot; this is my weapon.”

Just saying the elemental language wasn’t enough; you needed to understand what you meant. More importantly, you had to make the elements feel what you wanted to say… this wasn’t about words or sounds but about real mutual understanding.

The Dark Iron Dwarf next to him was amazed. Staring at the sword, he said, “Wait while I go borrow that book on elemental languages, Seso.”