Florida Man in Magus World: Unleashing Liberty and Freedom

The sea of fire raged on, but the overall temperature held steady at a blistering 1,000 degrees Celsius.

Felix stood unmoved, arms crossed, gazing at the chaotic scene below. The tables had turned dramatically. What was once a serene lake had now become a bubbling water, cooking the 500 basilisks within it. Steam rose from the water's surface as it boiled, and vapor clouded the air with suffocating heat.

The basilisks, panting with tongues hanging out, were struggling. Without sweat glands like humans, their bodies couldn't effectively release heat. While their natural resilience allowed them to survive in temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius, being submerged in boiling water for over 30 minutes had begun to take a serious toll. Their once impervious scales were starting to fail them.

As the lake continued to heat, some of the more desperate basilisks scrambled towards the only possible escape: the cave behind the waterfall.

Rushing frantically, they tried to slip inside, seeking the cool refuge of the dark interior. But as soon as the first group entered, a massive surge of water blasted them back, followed by an unexpected surprise—a towering ice wall erupted from the ground, sealing off the cave entrance.

It was Diana! She prevented them from entering her cave!

A panic-stricken screech echoed through the crowd as the basilisks piled onto each other, frantically clawing and slithering to break through the frozen barrier.

The stronger ones tried to force their way through, but with bodies crushed under the weight of their kin and no progress being made, the situation descended into pure chaos.

Felix, still standing in the midst of the fiery inferno, watched them with chilling calm. He strolled leisurely around the edge of the lake, fire licking the soles of his feet without any effect, as if he were simply out for a walk.

When he neared the waterfall, his lips curled into a sinister grin—an idea had taken root in his mind, one so dark it would make anyone shudder.

Opening his system inventory, Felix quickly navigated to his oil storage. With a slight grumble, he reluctantly discarded an old pair of underwear to free up a slot.

That small sacrifice allowed him to transfer 999 cubic tons of crude mana oil from his oil derrick into his private inventory. The liquid shimmered with dark blue energy, its presence in the inventory slot ominous.

And then, without hesitation, Felix began ejecting the mana oil into the boiling lake. Dark blue oil spread across the water's surface like a vile blanket. The air around him thickened with the scent of mana-infused crude oil, an unmistakable smell of impending disaster.

Felix couldn't help but chuckle, knowing full well this would be considered a heinous war crime on Earth. In any civilized world, this act alone would land him in prison for life—if not worse.

But here?

In this wild, untamed land?

Nobody had invented the war crime laws yet. Even the local hadn't defined the terms!

As there was no defined laws, he had done nothing wrong!

"Anything goes," Felix muttered to himself with grim satisfaction.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Felix reached into the roaring wall of fire beside him, letting the searing flames dance along his arm. His hand glowed as it became enveloped in orange light, crackling with raw energy. With a light flick of his wrist, Felix dipped his flame-covered hand into the lake.

*FOOM!*

The entire lake erupted into a hellish blaze. Mana oil, infused with volatile energy, ignited instantly, turning the once boiling water into an inferno of destruction. Flames spread across the surface of the lake in mere seconds, engulfing everything in their path.

The surviving basilisks, once fighting for their lives in the boiling water, now found themselves being consumed by fire. Their agonized screeches filled the air as they burned alive in the lake of flames.

Felix stood at the edge, watching with dark amusement. The landscape around him had turned into a fiery apocalypse, and all of it was his doing.

Felix had a twisted grin on his face while he opened his arms, letting the scene unfold like a work of art.

"I am the Lord of the Frenzy Flame called DEMOCRACY! Worship me, you heathen!"

*DING*

<Lifespan increased by one year.>

<Lifespan increased by one year.>

<Lifespan increased by one year.>

<Lifespan increased by one year.>

<Lifespan increased by one year.>

With every second that passed in the mana-infused flames, Felix was rewarded with more time added to his lifespan. He couldn't help but chuckle as his actions continued to benefit him in ways beyond what he had even planned.

"Maybe I'll do this more often," Felix mused, standing amidst the raging inferno, immune to the destruction he had unleashed.

.

.

.

The fire raged on for three relentless days and nights, transforming the once-vibrant black fir forest into a scene of total devastation. The lake, which had been the basilisks' last refuge, continued to burn like an infernal cauldron. Even the mighty waterfall had succumbed, evaporating into thin air, leaving only a barren rockface behind.

By the morning of the fourth day, what was once a flourishing, dense forest was now nothing more than a desolate, scorched wasteland. The black fir trees, which had towered majestically into the sky, were now reduced to nothing but charred stumps and smoldering ashes. The ground itself was a cracked and blackened crust, still crackling with embers.

Here and there, patches of fire continued to flicker weakly, like the dying breath of the destruction that had consumed the land.

The once ominous black smoke that had choked the sky had thinned out, turning a sickly white. It carried with it the chemical stench of burned mana oil and scorched organic matter, filling the air with a nauseating odor.

Felix wrinkled his nose but stayed put, surveying the apocalyptic scene with calm detachment.

He stood in the very center of what had been the lake's deepest point, now nothing more than a massive crater of charred earth and dried sand. The water had long since boiled away, leaving behind a grisly scene of death and destruction.

Countless fish, which had once called the lake home, lay strewn about the cracked bed. Their flesh had been cooked to the point of disintegration, leaving nothing but bones and remnants of their scorched scales scattered across the barren ground.

Felix crouched down, idly poking at the dried-out remains of a particularly large fish with the tip of his foot. Its once sleek form was now a grotesque pile of flaking skin and cracked bones.

"Looks like I overcooked dinner," Felix muttered to himself, half-amused by the dark irony of it all.

As he stood in the heart of this decimated landscape, Felix couldn't help but reflect on the scale of the destruction he had unleashed. What had started as a simple attempt to deal with some troublesome basilisks had escalated into a full-blown environmental disaster, the likes of which could be felt for miles around.

Even so, Felix remained indifferent. He had achieved exactly what he wanted—a massive boost to his lifespan.

Current lifespan: 265,259 years!

Three days of standing in the midst of roaring flames had been more than worth the destruction. Felix had amassed over a quarter of a million years of life!

A single tear of joy welled up in his eye as he gazed at his status screen.

"If only I'd known about this little trick a month ago," he muttered wistfully. Had he realized this sooner, he would have set the entire black forest ablaze much earlier and kept the fires burning indefinitely to milk every year of lifespan he could.

Despite the success, Felix couldn't shake a nagging thought. As tempting as it was to continue farming lifespan, there was a looming concern.

The stability of the oil deposit beneath the forest was questionable. It was too volatile to ignore. He pulled out the oil radar pocket watch and glanced at it, then addressed Jessica.

"Jessica, status check on the area?" Felix asked, his eyes scanning the charred remains around him. Something about the stillness felt off, as if the land itself was waiting to retaliate.

<The fire has consumed 99% of the forest. The remaining basilisks are all dead. However, the mana oil deposit beneath the forest remains intact but has become destabilized, likely causing further environmental changes. I advise caution if you plan to stay here. There is a 76% chance of a sudden earthquake, land collapse, and fractures forming across the terrain.>

Felix nodded thoughtfully, a smirk curling at the edges of his lips. "Destabilized mana oil, huh? Sounds like a future problem... for someone else."

Jessica, ever practical, chimed in. <You can still build an oil derrick on top of this place.>

Felix's smirk vanished in an instant, replaced by an exaggerated expression of righteous indignation. Felix dramatically raised a hand to the sky, as if calling upon some unseen force for justice.

"That won't do at all! We must act immediately to stabilize our precious natural resources! Oh, mother nature, who could have committed such a heinous crime against you?! I swear by the sacred Floridian bloodline that I shall restore this land to its prime! I will plant trees—nay, an entire forest!—and return this place to its former glory!"

Jessica remained silent, her screen blinking, unsure whether to correct Felix or just let the theatrics continue.

Felix, undeterred by her lack of response, clasped his hands together, continuing the over-the-top display.

"A tragedy such as this… must be met with equal dedication to environmental restoration! I shall take responsibility for this disaster, which I had absolutely nothing to do with, and make the forest bloom again! Starting with... maybe one tree. Or two. You know, for symbolism."

Jessica stayed silent for a long moment, as if processing the sheer absurdity of it all. Finally, she sighed and facepalmed.

<Like ancestor, like descendants.>