The creature’s decision to back away towards the magma pool shocked Kade. He thought about making a run for it and try to reach one of the obsidian islands, but he quickly crossed that out.
Even if there was something worthwhile on them, a magma wave could reach the islands far quicker than him.
He stared at the creature like an obsessed fan.
There had to be a reason it was returning instead of keeping up the pressure on him now that it was no longer playful.
Kade noticed how it always kept him in its view as it returned. He was so busy competing with that in a staring contest that he almost missed what it was leaving behind with every step.
Flakes of blackened skin fell off its body every time it moved. He wouldn’t have known to look for it if it had not been for the material left behind under his foot after every step.
This was not the case when the creature first stepped out of the magma pool. Even though its skin was naturally hard and cracked like cooled lava, it wasn’t nearly as brittle as it was right now.
He felt an urge to throw his [Soulrend] before it could submerge itself back in the magma. Again, he stopped himself from doing something stupid.
The [Soulrend] would shatter if he lost his grasp on it. He wouldn’t be able to create another, since it would literally kill him if he attempted to.
Kade heard rocks grinding together—its laughter—after the creature’s legs entered the magma pool. He ignored it and stared with intense fascination at the blackened skin.
It looked more… lustrous. More put together.
The creature couldn’t stay on land for too long before it deteriorated.
I can work with that.
Kade had a stupid idea that just might work. He tightened his fist around the shaft of the [Soulrend]. He prepared himself.
The monster’s triumphant smile almost looked mocking. It waved at him, nearly making him miss its following strike from surprise.
Two massive balls of compacted magma rose from the pool, following the motion of the creature’s hands. It waited as if it wanted to give him time. He realized that the revitalization had made it playful again.
Kade felt it must’ve been beyond bored locked up in the chamber. There was no other reason he could think of for it not to get rid of him immediately, not that he was complaining.
It waited for a little too long.
“Throw your damn balls already!” Kade ordered in frustration.
For the first time, the monster showed anger and roared. The magma balls rocketed towards him, but with slower-than-expected quickness.
Kade kept his eyes on the monster and stepped to the side to dodge the super-heated balls. The monster didn’t give him time like before.
It launched itself out of the magma pool with a rumbling snarl. A gigantic wave of magma followed closely behind as its surrounding air became so heated that it turned red.
Kade quickly retreated to the right, doing all he could to escape the combined attacks. It was what he wanted.
He aimed to draw the creature’s attention towards attacking him while he collected the required material to prepare himself.
The magma wave doused the monster, locking its vision for a moment. That was enough.
Kade’s movement cracked the ground below him as he sped to the closest obsidian island. He jumped over the magma pool to land directly on his target, the force immediately shattering the obsidian island.
He didn’t care.
Kade haphazardly grabbed all the magma lilies he could before jumping off the crumbling island. His timing was perfect since the magma pool below surged to swallow the island.
He heard the monster roar in anger but suspected its anger wasn’t specifically because of the magma lilies he picked. It was more due to him being able to pick anything without its go-ahead.
Kade zigzagged at the multitude of magma balls shot toward him. However, it was nowhere near as quick since the monster wasn’t in the magma pool. It seemed the angrier it got, the more idiotic its actions were.
He liked that. A lot.
“Try again, you overgrown torch!” Kade taunted, giving the creature the middle finger with his free hand.
He didn’t know if he could understand him, but it worked.
The air around the monster caught fire as it clenched its fists and roared mindlessly at him. The pool erupted with numerous magma balls as the monster rushed towards him. Its claws burst into flame as it sliced the air before it.
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Kade’s eyes widened when ranged attacks beset him. The magma balls from the pool and flames in the form of claws that came from the monster itself.
He pretended to struggle to handle the multitude of attacks, trying to encourage it to continue on this path. The more it used such attacks, the slower it moved.
At its reduced capabilities, Kade wouldn’t have needed to dump his points into [Speed] at all. But since he did, he could run rings around the monster when it was time to counter. Of course, this was as long as he manipulated the monster to stay just as angry.
While leading the monster in a circle around the magma pond, Kade continued to barely avoid the ranged attacks. He couldn’t move forward with this plan while the air around the monster was on fire.
The magma lilies could handle a good amount of heat—evidenced by growing in this atmosphere—but they could not handle direct flames. Especially ones that made even him uncomfortable.
He saw the monster was regaining control over its emotions. He figured verbal taunts could only go so far. It was time to mock it with action.
Kade switched from allowing near misses with a strained expression to suddenly having a casual, sneering look as he effortlessly dodged everything thrown at him.
It worked.
The monster roared even louder than before as it frantically tried to increase the pressure on him. However, it was extremely noticeable that every single attack had less power in the last. The surrounding air gradually dimmed until it started shimmering from the heat instead of being on fire.
Kade noticed the flaking of its blackened skin increased drastically as seconds passed. He couldn’t allow this to go on forever. Although it was easy to provoke the monster’s anger the first time, he couldn’t count on a repeat.
He waited for a few more seconds until he saw a bit of realization return in the monster’s fiery eyes.
Kade chose that as a moment to rocket towards it at full speed. The monster’s eyes widened in surprise before roaring furiously at his boldness. The raise attack stopped, and it prepared to meet him in close combat.
That was perfectly fine with him. It had become weak enough that even with his low [Dexterity], he could perceive every movement with relative ease.
He had his [Soulrend] clutched in one hand and the magma lilies in the other. Both are important for this next step.
The monster’s fiery eyes gleamed as it brought its claws down on his head, expecting to slice through him like butter.
Kade used [Ethereal Glide]. He was vaguely aware of the monster’s surprised snarl, but focused entirely on completing his plan. He phased through the monster, turned to face its back when he reached the other side, and quickly deactivated the ability.
This step was a gamble. He hoped [Armor Break]’s description wasn’t literal and weakening the monster would be enough for the ability to work on it.
Kade thrust the [Soulrend] with [Armor Break] active. He heard the pained roar, but it didn’t satisfy him. His [Soulrend] had broken through the outer layer of its skin to reveal a cool, dull red sub-layer.
This was another gamble.
Kade slammed his handful of magma lilies into the exposed sub-layer before activating [Ethereal Glide] again. And he was just in time.
The monster had finally turned and made an attempt at slicing him into ribbons with its elongated claws, but once again, his intangibility caused it to miss him entirely.
Its fiery eyes bulged as it seemed to fall further into his anger before it froze with a surprised look.
The monster screeched in panic for the first time. It shattered all the obsidian close by from the sheer volume and clawed at its back, right where his [Soulrend] had opened a gaping wound.
Kade smirked while looking at it directly in the eyes. It seemed like his gamble with the magma lilies worked.
If it was effective against burn injuries, it must be poison for a monster that needed fire to survive.
He felt [Ethereal Glide] about to deactivate. He allowed it, and he thrust his [Soulrend] directly at the distracted monster’s face with [Armor Break] active.
The monster’s jaw broke off from his [Soulrend]’s strike. Kade activated [Armor Break] again and grunted as he used every bit of strength to thrust the [Soulrend] into the wounded face.
The screeching suddenly stopped. The monster didn’t have a mouth to make any noise. It barely had a face. However, it remained alive.
It collapsed to the ground, but was still trying to move. Its target was the magma pool.
Kade wouldn’t let that happen. He held his [Soulrend] above the monster’s back. He thrust down to impale it and activated [Armor Break] again.
Insufficient [MP]. You must have a minimum of 3 [MP].
The sudden appearance of the interface surprised him, but luckily, the [Armor Break]’s activation didn’t matter. [Soulrend] successfully broke through the weakened monster’s outer layer of the skin and finished the job.
It turned into a white powder.
You have destroyed a Molten Orcling (Arcana Level 37)!
Kill 100 Monsters (81/100)—>(82/100)
Kade found it surprising that this wasn’t a corrupted lifeform with how strong it was.
Footwork (Level 10)—>(Level 12)
Spear Thrust (Level 10)—>(Level 11)
Spear Impale (Level 7)—>(Level 9)
Level-up! (x4)
Arcana Level 28—>Arcana Level 32
MP Recovery: 8.4% per minute—>9.6% per minute
Free Points: 0—>4
Constitution: 30—>34
Endurance: 16—>18
Strength: 30—>34
He dismissed the interface and stored his [Soulrend] before sitting on the shattered ground. He needed to regain some [Endurance] before he attempted to leave.
Everything in this chamber was dead. The tiny fireflies he saw at the beginning and the decile chameleons. The molten orcling’s rampage destroyed everything.
Kade noticed he didn’t get credit for any of these as indirect kills. The same applied to all the monsters killed by the platform’s explosion above. He found that curious.
“System, what applies as indirect kills?”
He didn’t receive an answer, but he found that strange, unlike the other times it happened. This question was not superfluous.
Kade forgot about the non-answer when the chamber rumbled dangerously. The walls cracked, the platform above broke even further, and magma seeped up through the cracks in the ground.
He immediately stood and looked around frantically. The air was getting so hot that he felt like he was about to burn up.
Warning: You are experiencing excessive heat!
That was an alert Kade had never expected to see. He immediately set to find a way back to the forest above.
Before he took a step, the interface appeared again. This time with an even more unbelievable message.
Anomaly detected. The Rift Zone must be reclassified.
Class E—>Class S
Kade could barely take in the ridiculous alert before the chamber shattered.
He witnessed a massive finger breaking off the top of the mountain, visible through the hole in the broken platform. After that, all he saw was fire. And all he felt was unimaginable pain.