Legendary Traveler: By Earning Progress Points I will Become Supreme!

Snow, rocks, trees, occasional feces, a few scratches here, a few there, and maybe an occasional battleground were all Aoni observed as he was led further down the mountain.

And with each passing mile that went by without any action, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep Glacia behaved. After all, she's just a baby, so her getting bored easily was bound to happen.

It wasn't that he didn't want to let her run around and play in the snow; this was new land for her, wide open and ready to explore; however, the underlying ever-present danger was more than enough of a reason to keep her close.

Just when Aoni was about to call it quits and say it was time to head back, Anthony suddenly stopped in place, causing him to bump face-first into his older brother's back and allowing Glacia to wiggle free of his grasp.

"The hell, Ant, warn a guy before you randomly stop walking; ah, Glacia, stay put, be a good girl, and you can have fun bathtime when we get home." Noticing his summon was about to enter furry missile mode and disappear, Aoni swiftly snatched her up and held her in front of his body with both arms, much like Cammy would with stuffed animals too big for her to carry normally.

"Fun Bathtime…ugh, you may wanna step back; we are here, and I need to get rid of all this snow." Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Ant didn't bother inquiring further on that topic and instead clapped both hands together and chanted a spell.

Following his brother's words, Aoni made a hasty retreat and watched in amazement as a perfect ring of Fire Energia surged to life between Anthony's hands as they spread out slowly.

"Ama-tei, basia katta ko, ventrilliaio daetum blessim, Firo cirillium bestian tretotlau. Fifth-Circle Spellcasting: Sol-Ring."

Finishing the last word, Ant took a stance and hurled the ring of fire into the air as if it were a giant frisbee.

Instantly, the temperature in the surrounding area spiked to an uncomfortable level as the ring expanded and hovered in the air, growing by multiple feet at a time, before finalizing at around 1/3 the size of Aoni's Cavern.

In his arms, Glacia trembled with eyes wide and mouth open as she watched what could only be described as a portal to the sun open in the sky.

Aoni wasn't much better; he'd seen a lot since coming to Genovia, but this…this took the cake.

Anthony's spell was a display of pure power and magic prowess, something that Aoni felt he'd never be able to achieve, seeing as he could be considered a combat jack of all trades.

Then again, little did he know that with his special casting ability and physique, so long as his Stats and Passives were high enough, pulling off a spell on this scale was only a matter of time.

Regardless of personal reflection, at that moment, he knew that if there ever came a time when it was him versus Anthony, it would be a one-sided beatdown, with Aoni having zero chance of ever fighting back so long as his brother could still wield magic.

'25 seconds, that was all it took for Ant to summon up that hell ring…and the size of it, this could easily destroy the entire fort or, worse yet, my village in seconds.' Thinking this, Aoni examined what kind of state his brother was in and was shocked to find that apart from being fully focused on controlling his spell, Anthony appeared as if it didn't affect him at all.

'To make matters worse, he isn't even weaponizing this spell; its only purpose is to clear the area of snow…meaning he could easily increase the temperature and turn the ring into a death beam from above if he wished…'

| Correct, 5th Tier Spell: Sol-Ring is a scalable, wide-area attack in which the caster can regulate the temperature output. Although Anthony Thurston's casting time is in the top 25 percentile, he would have no problem shortening the time as well as increasing the damage output by at least 500% |

'Way to make me feel even more inferior.' Aoni thought while reading the chat box and hugging Glacia close to his body for comfort.

---

While Aoni stood there like an idiot arguing with his Attribute Notice, Anthony spent around 15 minutes revealing what was once hidden by over 10 feet of snow, or at least to himself, that is, considering Aoni still couldn't see a thing.

Once content that his job was done, only then did Ant release his control of the spell and cut off the flow of energia to the ring, allowing it to fizzle out and fade away into the sky.

"Well, I gotta say, you baby brother, have a hell of a lot more luck than I could ever hope for." Crossing his arms and turning to face Aoni, Ant wore an expression half amusement, half cocky.

"Oh, done showing off already, let's see what the big reveal is…" Ignoring his cheeky brother's antics, Aoni shoved Ant aside and saw something that caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"Ruins…you found some ruins…you dragged me, ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE, For some fucking RUINS!" Gritting his teeth, Aoni released Glacia and grabbed Ant by his robes before shaking him and causing his brother to burst out laughing.

"Ohhh, poor ignorant baby brother, these are more than just RUINS, as you so ineloquently put, no no, this…is FAR more than that."

Shrugging out of Aoni's grasp, Ant spun around his brother, avoiding Aoni's grubby fingers, and he began walking into what was once a small, primitive city.

"Can't you feel it, Aoni? Close your eyes and focus, then come back and call these merely ruins."

| It is beneficial to the Host's progress if they follow Anthony Thurston's advice |

'HEY, Whose side are you on?' Aoni screamed in his mind before unwillingly shutting his eyes and slowing his breathing.

That's when he saw it: bright lights, well-crafted buildings made of stone, a large palace, aqueducts, this city…was nothing like what he saw when his eyes were open.…it almost felt like he'd suddenly been thrown back in time.