“Are they like testing areas or something?”

Atticus’s question echoed around the scorching area, but it didn’t get an immediate answer. His guide seemed to be taking her sweet time to respond. It was as though her focus was elsewhere, which Atticus found quite odd. In fact, he felt slightly offended.

Perhaps he was already too used to the Ravenstein family members fawning over him that he felt weird meeting one that was indifferent?

Atticus couldn’t help but inwardly chuckle,

‘Looks like I got a bit proud,’ he realized.

Atticus turned and gave his guide a good look. She was clad in the same simple robe with yellow flames littered all over it.

Her skin was flawless porcelain white despite having spent time in what many would call a place many times hotter than a forge.

To add the cherry on top, she was very beautiful, and Atticus had no doubt that her family was well off in the Ravenstein family hierarchy.

‘But not as beautiful as my Zoey,’

‘What is with this aura of control around her?’ Atticus was baffled. He had always made it a point to be observant of either the people around him or the environment.

As Atticus kept on moving deeper into the sanctum, he could feel the heat increasing around him. However, his guide’s situation was different; he could feel it. There was not a single ripple of temperature change around her.

It was as though the temperature 5 meters away from her remained stagnant. To be more precise, many could even call the temperature around her cold!

Her every step left very visible indentations. It wasn’t because they were heavy, no, it was because everywhere she stepped, the temperature of the scorching ground would plummet.

It was unnerving. She was doing so much with the fire element by simply walking.

His gaze narrowed slightly as he noticed the three distinct shapes of glowing flames in a circular motion on her back.

‘That definitely signifies something,’

Atticus could still vividly remember earlier when he observed the crowd in the area. He had luckily been able to see the back of a few people, noting that each had either one or two lit-up flames on their backs.

He hadn’t really seen many, but Atticus could sense that having three would be rare.

“You could call it that.”

After a few seconds, she finally responded.

“To reach each summit, you must climb the stairs. And once there, you would only be allowed to continue your climb should you pass the test. Instructors would be at each summit to guide you, and they would also be your judges.”

This time around, she spoke without pause, and Atticus made sure not to miss a single word coming out of her mouth.

“The summits are the most important part of the fire sanctum, and should you reach a point where you feel like you need rest or time to recover, you would be allowed to descend.”

“And when I’m ready to continue, do I get teleported there or—”

The woman suddenly shot Atticus a stare, warning him not to interrupt her again.

Atticus, initially baffled, simply raised his hand in defeat. ‘What a weird woman,’ he thought.

The woman turned her gaze forward and continued, 𝚏𝚛ee𝐰n𝐨𝘃l.𝐜𝐨m

“When you’re well-rested and ready to continue, just like before, you will start your climb all over again to reach your initial stop.”

Atticus’s expression changed. Should he decide to rest, he would have to start all over again? That sounded so unfair on many levels.

Atticus turned, ensuring she wasn’t about to speak, and seeing that he was free, he asked his question,

“Can’t we rest on one of the summits?”

The woman turned towards Atticus with an unreadable expression, but Atticus couldn’t help but feel as though she was calling him stupid.

“You’ll understand once you start your climb.”

Atticus awkwardly cleared his throat. This had to be one of the weirdest conversations he had ever had in his life.

He was finding it hard to understand the woman walking beside him. What made him even more confused was the fact that she didn’t even show a hint of ill intent towards him, nor did she show even a shred of curiosity or shock.

The Aegis crew members had been shocked beyond words when they heard he was going to the sanctums, and yet, this woman hadn’t even asked a single question.

‘Maybe I’m just overthinking things. It certainly feels weird to not be the center of attention.’

The walk went by quickly, and they soon reached the point where different buildings had been built.

“As I said earlier, the summits are the most important part of the fire sanctum. The sanctum only focuses on advancing the mastery of our element, and so aside from this, there are only essential buildings.

“There are only three buildings you should look out for. First, the residential building,”

She gestured towards a myriad of simple one-story buildings located west of the sanctum,

“There are many that are unclaimed, so take your pick. You’re allowed to use it for as long as you want, and they all have the basic amenities you would need. The second is that mansion over there,” she pointed to the east where a large mansion lay,

“it is where the sanctum head and the instructors live. No student is allowed to go there, and this is strictly abided by.”

“Lastly, the mess hall. This is where you get your meals. Every meal is free, and it is always open.”

Atticus noted down the three structures with ease. The woman hadn’t been lying; that was basically all the structures the sanctum had.

The woman suddenly stopped walking and turned towards Atticus,

“As for the other rules, I suggest claiming a building immediately to get your uniform, as it is mandatory to always wear it. Fights are allowed, but no killing or crippling damages, and any battle happening in the fire sanctum must be fought with fire only. No other abilities, not even utilizing mana.”