Chapter 95 Fire in His Hands

The morning sun cast a pale golden sheen over the gravel staging yard outside the upper smelter workshop. A quiet crispness filled the alpine air as Ren stood before a cluster of discarded ore containers and charred timber pallets.

He raised his right palm, tuning his inner mana channels to the fiery resonance of his newly bound C-rank mask.

[ Equipped mask: Firecrest Salamander | Source rank: C ]

[ Personal rank: C | Core Reserves: 100% | Thermal Output Active ]

A sharp spark ignited at his fingertips, swelling into a dancing tongue of bright crimson flame that hovered three inches above his calloused skin.

The ambient temperature around his hand spiked to hundreds of degrees, yet his palm registered only a gentle warmth thanks to his innate heat resistance.

"The active mana draw is remarkably stable during the ignition phase..." Ren observed, narrowing his eyes as he modulated the output. "I can maintain this small flame lance for twenty minutes without exhausting my core reserve!"

Akane stepped out of the workshop shed carrying a pair of forged tongs and a replacement ceramic test bracket.

"Do not get overly proud of a campfire spark until you test how the flame behaves against dense targets!" Akane called out, setting the bracket upon a metal tripod. "Channel three seconds of continuous discharge directly into this scrap basalt slab!"

Ren focused his intent, thrusting his palm forward with a sharp exhalation as the flame surged into a concentrated jet of orange fire.

The fiery beam struck the test slab with a roaring hiss, heating the stone to dull red within two seconds and blasting soot across the gravel. Thick black smoke billowed from the scorched timber beneath the fixture, enveloping Ren in a suffocating cloud of carbon and ash.

Ren instinctively inhaled, immediately breaking into a fit of harsh, coughing gasps as the acrid smoke burned his throat.

He cut the mana flow instantly, stumbling backward out of the black plume while clutching his chest with both hands.

"Coughing like an amateur apprentice on his first day at the smelting furnace..." Akane teased gently, handing him a cup of fresh mountain water. "Heat resistance protects your skin from blistering, but it does not supply oxygen to your lungs!"

Ren drank the cool water gratefully, clearing the stinging soot from his throat before taking a deep breath of clean alpine air.

"An essential tactical distinction that could save my life inside a burning tunnel..." Ren admitted with dry humor, wiping a smear of charcoal from his jaw. "The Firecrest mask grants thermal immunity, but smoke asphyxiation remains a lethal threat."

Akane took the ceramic test bracket, inspecting the scorched surface where the thermal shock cracked the mounting ring.

"That sudden temperature surge fractured the mounting ring beyond repair..." Akane noted, holding out her hand with a professional smirk. "A pair of silver coins for a replacement test fixture from the quarry inventory!"

Ren reached into his leather coat, retrieving a pair of silver coins and placing them into her open palm.

"A pair of silver coins for the broken fixture..." Ren said, recording the small expenditure in his accounting notes. "That adjusts my remaining cash balance to exactly two hundred twenty-two silver pieces."

[ Personal Cash: 222 Silver | Workshop Fixtures Replaced ]

Akane pocketed the coins, stepping over to the communal cookstove where a kettle of cold barley tea sat waiting.

"Since you have mastered the art of creating miniature volcanic eruptions at will..." Akane said, gesturing toward the unlit charcoal beneath the kettle. "Why not demonstrate your grand martial technique on something practical?"

Ren stepped up to the hearth, concentrating his mana into a tiny, refined spark at the tip of his index finger.

"Behold the Crimson Talon of the Salamander King..." Ren announced with exaggerated solemnity, touching the tiny spark to the dry birch kindling.

The dry kindling caught fire instantly, crackling into a steady, cheerful flame that heated the bottom of the kettle in seconds.

Akane burst into a bright laugh, shaking her head with affectionate mockery as she adjusted the kettle lid.

"The grand Crimson Talon of the Salamander King makes a truly wonderful domestic fire-starter!" Akane declared with a radiant grin. "I will be sure to inform the high guildmasters in Ouka that our legendary hunter has revolutionized kitchen efficiency!"

Yui walked onto the veranda carrying a basket of dried alpine chamomile and fresh honeycombs, her eyes crinkling with quiet delight at their playful banter.

"If the guild masters in the capital discover Ren can boil water with a finger tap, they will hire him as their personal chef!" Yui added with a gentle smile, setting the honey on the wooden table. "Though I suspect his hourly rates for tea brewing might be slightly higher than ordinary tavern prices!"

Ren poured hot water over the chamomile blossoms, smiling as the soothing floral steam mingled with the crisp mountain breeze.

The comfortable domestic peace they shared provided a welcome respite after days of grueling combat in the subterranean furnace. For a few precious moments, the grim realities of monster hunting and corporate exploitation faded behind the simple pleasure of warm tea and shared laughter.

Reiji arrived at the veranda steps carrying a bundle of sharpened wooden survey stakes and a roll of boundary twine.

"The perimeter traps along the western ridge are fully reset and marked with safety ribbons..." Reiji reported, setting the wooden stakes beside the doorway. "If any minor scavengers crawl out of the lower flues, the warning bells will alert the camp immediately!"

"Your perimeter security gives our workers the peace of mind they need to rest," Ren replied, pouring a third cup of hot chamomile tea for the seasoned hunter. "Have a seat and drink with us before the morning inspection begins."

Reiji accepted the steaming cup with a respectful nod, settling onto a bench beside the tool rack.

The four companions relaxed together in the morning sunshine, enjoying the quiet fellowship forged through shared survival on the frontier. The serene atmosphere reflected the harmonious community they intended to build once the final corporate debts were cleared.

"The miners from the third shift mentioned that Foreman Gendo received an urgent courier hawk from Ouka at midnight..." Reiji added, lowering his voice as he looked toward the administrative offices. "The executive board demanded fifteen hundred tons of grade-one volcanic crystal before the end of the fiscal month!"

Ren took a slow sip of his chamomile tea, his expression hardening as he processed the political reality behind Gendo's desperation.

"A production quota of that magnitude cannot be met safely without triggering massive geothermal blowouts across the central ridge," Ren noted with sharp strategic insight. "Gendo is cornered between corporate penalties and guild regulations, making him far more dangerous than any wild beast."

The tranquil morning air was suddenly shattered by the sharp clinking of brass gears near the outer wall.

Ren turned his head toward the central steam distribution panel, where a large brass pressure gauge was mounted against the pillar. The mechanical needle on the dial suddenly began to vibrate wildly, jumping from three atmospheres of pressure straight into the red danger zone.

A high-pitched hiss escaped from the safety release valve, venting plumes of superheated steam into the empty yard.

"That pressure jump is impossible..." Akane murmured, her smile vanishing as she rushed over to the gauge with her wrench. "The lower furnace is completely shut down, and the salamander was slain yesterday evening!"

Ren touched the vibrating pipe, activating his seismic vibration sense to peer into the deep rock strata below.

[ Equipped mask: Glassfoot Spider | Source rank: E ]

[ Personal rank: C | Agility: 56 | Perception: 55 | Seismic Vibration Sense Active ]

The vibrational pulses revealed an immense surge of superheated geothermal fluid rushing through the deep extraction conduits beneath the quarry.

The pressure wave did not originate from the abandoned natural vents, but from the deliberate activation of the secondary industrial pumping station located three levels below. Foreman Gendo secretly restarted the high-pressure extraction drills, recklessly pushing the unstable geological fault lines toward a catastrophic volcanic rupture.

"Gendo bypassed the safety seals and fired up the deep drills without venting the steam lines..." Ren stated, his voice turning cold and resolute. "He is risking the lives of every worker on this mountain just to meet his production quota before the guild inspectors arrive!"

Akane gripped her magnetic flux cutters, her eyes burning with righteous fury as the warning siren began to wail across the terrace.

"We cannot let that corporate tyrant bury this entire valley in molten rock!" Akane shouted, strapping her tool roll to her back. "Let us head down to the pumping station and shut those rogue drills down for good!"

Yui stepped forward, handing both hunters two insulated respiration masks treated with activated charcoal and herbal filtering paste.

"Wear these masks if you encounter dense smoke or pressurized steam in the lower station..." Yui urged with urgent concern, checking the seals around their collars. "I will coordinate with Reiji to evacuate the miners to the high ridge immediately!"

Ren nodded firmly, securing the breathing mask around his neck and drawing his reforged hooked sword with lethal purpose.

The veteran mechanic hurried up the terrace steps with a blueprint of the secondary pumping station, spreading the parchment across the workbench.

"The emergency bypass breaker is located behind the primary compressor manifold on sub-level four!" the veteran miner explained, pointing to the red ink marker. "If you trip that mechanical breaker, the entire drilling array will lose hydraulic power within five seconds!"

"We will trip that breaker and secure the workers before Gendo can trigger a blowout," Ren promised, locking his reinforced shield to his arm.

They turned as one toward the dark descent shaft, sprinting down the steps with unwavering resolve as the alarm sirens echoed across the valley.

The time for peaceful negotiation was over—the final confrontation for the fate of Mount Kurotake was at hand.