Boos rained down on to the platform led by none other than Julian who had been expecting a show. Was a fireball the best he could conjure? To make matters worse, it did not even look like a fireball in the first place. Instead. It was just a floating flame that could not even be termed as a fireball!
Lyren was flabbergasted on the stage as he looked around helplessly. He had not forgotten about his own rule to use the lefthand only but he realized that if he was going to have to implement that rule, he was going to have to awaken the channels of the left hand which he could not in the first place.
He could not imprint a pattern on the left hand too the same way he had accidentally done for his right hand. He had tried back then but there was no reaction. It appeared that there as a limit to how much his body could handle. He felt a shiver when he recalled the burning sensation on his right hand back then.
His hand had turned a golden as though it was about to melt. He did not want to relish that feeling once again and so he came back to the present. He had been assigned the role of class representative and now he was being seen as arrogant. If he were to go any further, it would no longer be arrogance but rudeness painted as discipline.
Still, there were activities he was going to restrict himself from doing with his right hand. This was just one of the only activities that required him to use his right hand instead. It was doubtful he was going to have to use the right hand again and this was why he was going to restrict the maximum time he can use the right hand on a left hand's day to three times. And since they had wasted the first trial, he was going to use the second one.
Lyren felt an evil smile creep up on him as he took a few steps back and raised his hand as he extinguished the first flame. His palm opened as though he was trying to support the sun on it. The students went quiet and looked expectantly at him make a show. Lyren glanced at them all and decided to ignite all his Elyria if possible.
He felt his core turn and Elyria surged through the single channel and as it approached his palm, he ignited it and the next sight was a spectacle to behold. The flame that was produced was so big that it covered almost a ten meters radius in the air. The flame spread out and for a moment, it surpassed the light of the sun on the platform.
The fire wavered and it kept appearing that it could fall down anytime but that dd not happen. Instead, it seemed to exude some sort of arrogance. There was no way that it could get extinguished. It gave you the impression that it could compete with everything and the sun was a clear example to this. But brightness and hotness were not the same thing but this was a show and not a competition so it did not matter.
That was not all as Lyren could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He could feel the heat and he glanced at madam Sarah who stood there unperturbed. Well, it was to be expected because there was no way a flame from a seventh stage could make someone of her caliber even the slightest bit uncomfortable. She just stood there amused.
But it was different matter to the first years. If anything, their eyes were shining with stars as they saw the huge flame on the platform. They were so excited and at the same time determined.
"Can you believe that he is only one year older than us?"
"What does that tell you about cultivation?"
"Personally, I think we have been cheated to cultivate slowly. Reaching the seventh stage at thirteen…"
"Some senior drop out even before reaching the same level even when twice his age…"
"That mean that we all have potential to be able to reach his level faster."
"…"
The murmurs on the stand went and Madam Sarah finally told Lyren to extinguish his flames as her objective had been achieved. The beads had turned to droplets and his breathing had increased. His face had turned serious after that and he had just looked at her with a pleading look.
Lyren heaved and extinguished his flames and he took a deep breath before focusing on the students who were still murmuring. They stopped when they saw him and their cheers filled the amphitheater. That was their class representative! How many people could even think of comparing to him. They could not help but feel that he should be in the rankings. He ought to be there.
"Now that you have seen this, I hope that you all are going to do your best and show us how you can control your flames. Do not worry about them going astray, I am here and I will guide you on how to control it. so, who amongst you is going to come to the platform first?" Madam Sarah asked and everyone shot their hands up.
She smiled at this and then looked at the back seat that was occupied and called the student from there. The boy came forward and Lyren went to have a seat next to Julian who had grabbed a seat for him. He made way through the legs and the student made way with no resistance.
Julian was the most excited here. This was exactly the reason he wanted to learn from Lyren. He looked at Lyren as he sat down and he noticed that he appeared to be weary. Well, it was to be expected. Someone had chosen to kill a rat by burning the house.
It was just in time as the boy on the stage lit up a fireball and they all watched intently. He tried several times and after a while, a spark lit up and after a few more tries, he produced a candle light flame. Which brought him so much joy and he smiled sheepishly.
Madam Sarah congratulated him because this was the standard first year entry behavior. One should not be fooled by an SSS grade and think that the boy had failed. It was not going to be much of a shock to see the next person fail to even produce sparks. The first years clapped for him as he went back to his seat and she then called the next person to come to the stage.
It was yet another guy who did not struggle much and he produced a fireplace flame. They clapped for him and he went back to his seat. Julian who was observing all this realized that that was going to the biggest flame that they could produce. If nothing was done, nothing was going to change. His neck jerked towards Lyren.
"How do you make your flames?" Julian asked and Lyren scratched his head. He might have been using the most indigenous method to conjure fire. This made him reluctant to reply. He looked at Julian and he could only oblige and give an answer.
"I just burn my Elyria," Lyren replied so casually and for those who happened to hear this all stood up and leapt away. Even Julian stood up and scrambled away.
Lyren was confused because he could not understand their reaction. Weren't they supposed to making fire?