After Vaan descended into the depths of lava, he had various thoughts and expectations regarding the Trial by Fire's first stage.

However, the scene was completely different from what he had imagined, which took him by surprise.

The expected sea of lava was not there. Rather, it was found much deeper below, where another whirlpool of lava could be seen.

Most likely, the second lava whirlpool was the entrance to the next trial region, the second stage. At the same time, the whirlpools acted as funnels to channel air into each trial region.

More importantly, the overall surroundings were vast open spaces, which allowed dragons the freedom of flight.

Besides the vast open space, numerous lava pillars connected the first and second lava layers, and countless more geysers of blazing infernos erupted from the second lava layer.

Several rock islands could be found floating on the second lava layer surface, filled with countless growing fire-attribute magical plants.

Periodically, smaller rock boulders were lifted by the inferno geysers before they dropped with a big resonating splash, sending waves of scorching hot air and lava in all directions.

It was pure chaos.

The scorching hot air itself already possessed a higher temperature than the lava outside the trial region, but the splashing lava below was even greater than that.

Still, the first stage was not much different from a sauna; it was a level of heat Vaan could easily endure.

Vaan only took a few glances to capture the overall situation of the first trial region as he free-fell towards the second layer below.

Nevertheless, he manipulated the speed of his descent and softly landed on a small rock island filled with Rank 1 fire-attribute magical plants and a few Rank 2.

[First-time Trial Challengers may take one and only one magical plant per stage. Refusing to comply is punishable by death.]

[You may receive one drop of the Fire Dragon God's blood essence upon passing the first stage.]

A Fire Spirit's deep voice, filled with power and authority, resounded throughout the first trial region with booming intensity.

Space itself seemed to have trembled under the Fire Spirit's powerful voice, and Vaan's head rang for several breaths before it finally stopped.

'Is this the Lord Fire Spirit that Lord Narvim spoke? The Fire Dragon God's lifelong companion?' Vaan guessed with narrowed eyes.

The Fire Spirit's vocal power was so strong that it could affect space and suppress someone with his level of mentality.

There was even a vague sense of divinity in the Fire Spirit's presence.

'A Divine Fire Spirit?' Vaan immediately guessed but shook his head in the next moment, "No, that doesn't feel right. This Fire Spirit definitely feels stronger than Narvim and Khaleesi, but its aura of divinity is rather subtle and weak."

Although Vaan had never encountered a Rank 6 divine being, he possessed the bloodline of two Divine-rank beings.

Thus, he imagined Rank 6 divine beings to possess a much stronger aura of divinity than what the Lord Fire Spirit had revealed.

'A Fire Spirit that is stronger than Peak-level Rank, but not comparable to Rank 6 beings A Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit?' Vaan guessed.

Due to the lack of information regarding Rank 5 and above, he could only come up with his own term to call the Fire Spirit by.

Nevertheless, the Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit showed no interest in Vaan.

After it delivered the standard message to first-time trial challengers of the first stage, its presence disappeared.

At the same time, Vaan didn't dwell on the Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit and focused on his objective. That said, he wasn't in a hurry to enter the second stage.

After Vaan fully explored the first trial region, he finally stepped into the sea of lava and submerged his body for body tempering.

The effects were limited, but if he wanted to pass all five stages of the Trial by Fire, he had to think strategically and act accordingly.

After all, resources and rewards were limited.

'If I want to guarantee the highest chance of passing all five stages, I must fully utilize the benefits of each stage,' Vaan figured.

The Trial by Fire was designed to find the successor to the Fire Dragon God. Thus, the resources and rewards of each stage must serve a purpose.

He had taken a look at all the fire-attribute magical plants growing in the first region earlier.

While the highest quality he found was Peak Rank 2, Vaan wouldn't find it surprising if the environment was suitable for growing Rank 3 fire-attribute magical plants.

Even True Dragons from the Red Dragon Clan had to be at least Rank 3 with some fire affinity to endure the heat of the first stage.

Thus, all the Rank 3 fire-attribute magic plants in the first stage must have been taken. Despite that, the first stage was still left as is.

In other words, the fire-attribute magic plants weren't the most important resource, nor was it the only resource in the first stage.

The fiery environment itself was also a type of resource.

He might be overthinking, but it was better to overestimate the Fire Dragon God's design for the Trial by Fire than to underestimate it.

Vaan decided to temper his body in the lava for an extended period.

It didn't matter if he had the wrong idea; it would only mean he wasted some timetime he could afford to lose.

It was a trivial setback, not a serious one.

Ding!

<Your body has been tempered by fire>

<You have gained one point in defense>

<You have gained two points in strength>

<Your fire affinity has increased>

After soaking in the lava for five hours, Vaan managed to raise his fire affinity by 1%.

Although raising 1% in five hours was extremely slow, even by Vaan's standards, one must remember his fire affinity was already at a staggering 60%.

Even additional Peak-Rank 4 fire-attribute magical plants would have little effect on increasing his fire affinity.

Thus, there was something special about the lava sea in the first stage.

Although the process was slow, the gain was guaranteed, no matter how little it was. As such, Vaan didn't intend to leave until the tempering benefit was exhausted.

'My body has grown too swiftly recently. I don't know if this will impact my future cultivation, but I will just take this as a chance to solidify my foundations,' Vaan thought.