The corners of Arthur's mouth twitched slightly upon hearing the words.
"But your father can't help you stand at the pinnacle of the wizarding world," Arthur said slowly, his voice like a steady flame, "but I can help you go beyond a mere title wizard!"
"Your father can't make you the one who dominates an entire era. But I can!"
"Your father can't make you invincible. But I will!"
With each sentence, Arthur's aura grew more intense. A terrifying magical pressure erupted from his body like an unsheathed sword gleaming with killing intent. The sheer force of his magic surged forward, crashing down upon Wilson like a tidal wave. It was vast. It was sharp. It was suffocating.
Wilson's body trembled slightly, not from fear—but from awe.
"Stand at the top… invincible in this world…" he whispered, repeating the words. His eyes were locked onto Arthur's, and his expression grew increasingly complicated.
There was doubt. There was excitement. There was yearning.
All these emotions warred across Wilson's face, each vying for dominance.
Unlike Adam, whose desire for strength came from a noble dream—to build a peaceful haven where children could be taught safely—Wilson's ambition was different. It was raw. It was burning. He wanted strength not just as a means to an end but as an end itself.
Wilson admired the strong. He craved challenges and worthy rivals. Except of Adam, the world had seemed dull to him, unworthy of his full strength. The cooperative structure of the so-called "Title Wizards" bored him. He longed to crush that order and stand alone.
To rise to the top of the wizarding world—that was Wilson Ember's current ambition.
"But…" he hesitated, the fire in his eyes flickering, "Can I really do it?"
In Wilson's original plans, inheriting his father's role as head of the Ember Family and eventually defeating the Frost-Heart Family would have been enough to mark his name in history.
After all, the Frost-Heart and Ember Families had stood as ancient rivals for generations. If he could lead his family to total victory over them, to extinguish the Frost-Heart line entirely, it would surpass anything his ancestors had achieved.
But standing at the top of the world?
He knew all too well how vast this world was… how many wizarding families existed whose strength rivaled or even surpassed the Frost-Hearts and the Embers.
It was an impossible dream—or so he'd thought.
Arthur looked at him steadily and nodded.
"Of course," he said simply.
Wilson said nothing for a moment. Then he took a deliberate step backward and bowed deeply.
"Please, accept me as your disciple."
The world around them changed.
Fire raged in every direction, the flames licking at the air like living beasts. Above them hung a blood-red moon, casting a haunting glow over the land. Swirling clouds of concentrated fire-element magic surged across the sky like a storm on the edge of explosion.
The land beneath their feet was a vast, barren expanse of scorched earth.
Here, Arthur and Wilson looked like two small figures in an endless, burning world.
This was Wilson Ember's personal training dimension.
Following the formal initiation of apprenticeship, Arthur and Wilson had entered this space together. It was constructed with Wilson's own innate fire-element power, a space designed to temper and challenge him.
Unlike Adam, who had reacted with deep emotion upon being taken in by Arthur, Wilson's reaction was much calmer. But even so, upon realizing the nature of this dimension and the depth of power required to create it, he could not hide his astonishment.
Even in the ancient records of the Ember Family, the legendary wizards never had such incredible abilities—creating an independent world was beyond what even they had managed.
As Wilson sorted through the influx of new knowledge, Arthur stood quietly.
Then, in his mind, the voice of the system whispered gently in his ear.
"Second disciple—Wilson Ember—has been successfully accepted."
"Acquired character-related abilities: Emberforge Heart Flame (semi-awakened), Ancient Ember Bloodline, and access to advanced fire-element spells."
Arthur frowned slightly, sensing the changes.
"Only semi-awakened?" he muttered.
He wasn't exactly disappointed, but compared to Adam—who had immediately unlocked the Absolute Zero Ice Source—the result seemed a bit underwhelming.
Only the semi-awakened Emberforge Heart Flame?
"Is it too shallow…?" he mused.
The system responded with calm assurance.
"With the Ancient Ember Bloodline, the evolution of the Emberforge Heart Flame will be far smoother than that of ordinary Ember wizards. It will progress naturally as strength increases."
"Most Ember descendants can awaken the Heart Flame, but the thinning of the bloodline prevents them from fully activating its true source power."
Arthur nodded. That made sense.
"Alright," he said aloud. "Let's begin the multiplier draw."
The light screen flickered before him, and the familiar roulette wheel appeared once more.
With a single touch, the pointer spun rapidly, glowing with magical light.
It eventually slowed… and stopped.
100x.
Arthur's eyebrows lifted slightly, but he didn't appear too impressed.
Compared to the earlier result with Adam, this wasn't unexpected.
After taking inventory of his gains, Arthur turned his focus to the next task: training his disciple.
But unlike with Adam, Arthur wasn't entirely sure how to approach Wilson's training just yet.
With Adam, the direction was clear. Unlocking and nurturing the Absolute Zero Ice Source was the path, and Arthur merely had to guide and cultivate it patiently. As long as Adam continued down that road, his power would naturally grow in time.
Adam was still in the seedling stage, his core magic source yet to be fully awakened.
But the Emberforge Heart Flame was a different story. For members of the Ember Family, awakening their flame source was not especially difficult—especially for someone like Wilson, whose bloodline was exceptionally pure.
Arthur glanced at Wilson.
A new idea began to form in his mind.
Wilson's future strength wouldn't come from just one aspect. He had potential in many.
The proud and ancient fire-element spells of the Ember Family? Wilson had already mastered many of them with precision.
The Ember Bloodline? It granted him the Heart Flame, which not only allowed him to create deep illusions but also enhanced his reflexes through the constant tempering of the source flame.
In terms of physical ability, Wilson could stand toe-to-toe with groups of wizards alone. Unlike many spellcasters who neglected physical conditioning, Wilson trained both body and magic.
However, there was one noticeable weakness: swordsmanship.
Though Wilson wielded a sword in battle, he used it more as a blunt instrument. A tool of overwhelming power. His method was to smash his way through everything with brute strength.
But to Arthur, that approach bordered on crude.
"What's the difference between swinging a sword like that and wielding a war hammer?" he wondered aloud.
In truth, few wizards took swordsmanship seriously. They saw blades as mere tools, not extensions of their will. Only a rare few dedicated themselves to the true study of the sword.
And the Ember Family? They were certainly not a lineage of magic knights.