Magma felt like water to Kade—hot water, but still, just water. That’s where the good news stopped.

The magma wave still had all the properties of a wave. It trucked into Kade with all the force the dense magma possessed. It threw him off the island, knocking the air out of his lungs.

The weight of the magma shattered the islands as Kade fell into the magma pool below. The ash blooms had turned into ash. His pants caught on fire, destroying the starberries in his pocket and, most importantly, his [Soulrend] was out of his reach.

He let out a frustrated growl as he fought against the pull of the magma below. This was an absolute, unmitigated disaster.

Kade glared as the wave retreated unnaturally. Something controlled the wave. Obviously.

Which meant he obviously wanted to kill it for causing him such distress.

His inability to summon his [Soulrend] back only made him more furious. It was sinking into the magma, but that shouldn’t have been enough to prevent it from answering his call. His only relief was that the [Soulrend]’s wood shaft hadn’t caught fire. It shared the same fire resistance that the metal blade possessed.

Your Soulrend has been shattered.

The howl of anger that left Kade’s mouth belonged more to a beast than a human. He immediately understood what he faced was far more intelligent than any other monster he had fought.

He couldn’t afford to reform the [Soulrend]. Not until he had access to something that could restore his health immediately. On top of that, he couldn’t show any of his abilities and allow whatever was hiding to prepare for it.

Kade punched the semisolid magma with a grunt. It briefly separated, allowing him to lift himself out of the pool slightly. He repeated this over and over. He looked like a madman as he fought with the magma, but it was working.

Kade slipped his legs out of the clutches of the magma—saving his pants from the knee up—and that was all he needed to find purchase on the semisolid surface for a fraction of a second. He launched himself out with a powerful jump, landed on solid ground in a tumble, and swiftly turned to face the magma pool.

He saw the wave sinking back into the pool as if it had never existed, but he still couldn’t see what caused it.

Kade scanned the obsidian islands within a few seconds’ range if he pushed his speed to the limit. However, none of them had anything worthwhile for him.

He was looking for plants that he didn’t recognize. Magma lilies were the closest thing to a healing resource on the islands, but they would not help restore his health. Not when the description for it specifically singled out burn injuries.

Kade flinched when another massive wave surged from the magma pool surface and demolished the islands.

His hands clenched as he stared with furious eyes at the pool. The unknown thing did that on purpose. Plenty of other obsidian islands were above the pool, but the wave only destroyed the ones he had looked at.

It’s playing with me.

Kade switched his focus. If this monster was so free to be playful, he was not in a pleasant situation. He had to prioritize retreat.

He glared at the pool as he thought of an idea. It likely wouldn’t work, but there is no harm in trying. He glanced towards the chamber wall.

No magma wave appeared this time.

Kade had hoped to use the wave to create a slightly higher point that he could use to return to the upper level. Whatever was creating the waves wasn’t as cavalier as he hoped. His eyes sharpened when he noticed a change.

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The magma bubbled more than usual at the center. It bulged not long after before a creature slowly rose in dramatic fashion.

It had a hairless head with skin that resembled cold lava—dark, cracked, and rugged—with pointed ears and fiery eyes behind thin slits. Smoke curled out with every breath as it grinned in amusement. Its appearance significantly heated the chamber so that even Kade felt uncomfortable despite his fire resistance.

He could only describe it as a buff goblin. However, it couldn’t be a goblin since [Goblin Slayer] had no effect on it.

Kade heightened his senses, keeping his body tense and ready to react. Although this monster was only 5 feet tall at most, he felt it was not to be trifled with. His sense of others’ strength hadn’t failed him yet, and currently, those senses were telling him to run.

“System,” Kade said quietly as he backed away slowly. “Is something of this level allowed to exist in this Rift Zone?”

Class E Rift Zones commonly contain lifeforms at [Arcana Level 40]. Higher-level lifeforms are possible but uncommon. Your current opponent is not an anomaly.

“Great. I’m fucked.” That was a statement, not an emotion.

Kade had stumbled into something far above his current level and couldn’t see a way out. He found himself locked inside the chamber with this creature.

He clenched his empty hands again when the humanoid monster laughed. It sounded like rocks grinding against each other.

He couldn’t risk summoning his [Soulrend]. Not when he required every bit of health to stay alive. But that wasn’t important in his view.

Kade couldn’t see how he could damage something this much stronger. Especially since it literally lived inside a magma pool. His most powerful attack depended on fire, which was utterly useless here.

Kade grunted in surprise.

A sudden force threw him back, blurring the world around him. He slammed against the obsidian wall, slid to the floor, and collapsed in a heap. A glowing indent of a palm on his chest slowly faded as he struggled to get back on his feet.

For the first time in a while, Kade felt genuine fear. He hadn’t been able to see the creature move. It was slowly walking towards him, purposely giving him time to understand how outclassed he was.

Kade was glad it was playing with them. The palm he received was more cosmetic than anything else. It barely sapped his health. In fact, the collision against the wall did more damage.

He didn’t hesitate to dump his [Free Points].

Free Points: 5.5—>0

Speed: 10.5—>16

Kade didn’t know if that was enough to close the massive gap, but he had done all he could. He waited for the creature to make its next move. His [Speed] had increased, but he hadn’t changed his [Dexterity].

[Dexterity] was one that improved his perception. He might be faster, but he still couldn’t react any quicker. The only solution was to just… try harder.

He knew that was an idiotic solution, but it was his only one. He couldn’t afford to spare any points for [Dexterity]. Not when the creature moved so fast that he wasn’t even aware it did so.

Kade immediately acted when he saw the creature move its leg differently. He assumed that meant it would shift from its slow walk.

He was right.

Kade heard the obsidian will shatter behind him. He had shifted positions in time to avoid any damage. More importantly, he had moved farther than the creature needed to travel to reach the spot where he had just been.

His perception was still shit, but at least now he knew it was possible for him to be faster than the creature… when it was feeling playful.

With the way it narrowed its fiery eyes at him, he could safely assume that the playfulness was about to end.

Kade cracked the ground when he shifted to the side. Small pieces of rock peppered his body. The area he had been standing on was gone. The creature glared at him, pulling its fist back out of the ground.

He was happy that dumping points into [Speed] helped tremendously.

Kade allowed a small to appear on his lips. This monster was intelligent, and he wanted to give it a reason to kill him faster. This was the ultimate test on whether he could proceed with the next step.

His muscles strained as he contorted his body and stepped to the right as quickly as he could. He felt the hot air douse his face as the creature’s fist sped by.

Kade’s eyes widened when he saw the dark fingers suddenly glow a hot red inches away from his face. Flames erupted from the creature’s hand and tried to burn him to a crisp.

He barely got out of range in time to avoid the fire from making contact.

Kade took a deep breath and felt a deep satisfaction at his success. He noticed how the creature slowed tremendously the moment it used fire. It is possible that the creature could only use its full speed in physical attacks.

“Soulrend!” Kade still felt silly saying that out loud, but he enjoyed the look of surprise on the creature’s face when his [Soulrend] appeared in his hands.

Warning: Your health has fallen below 50%!

Unfortunately, sacrificing his health severely diminished the enjoyment.

He still didn’t expect to cause devastating damage, but he just needed to make it wary enough to give him time to think.