Chapter 19: That Year, I Stood with My Hands in My Pockets
Viktor was now at the bottom of the volcano, in the sealed alternate dimension.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, his coat fluttering in the hot waves.
A phrase automatically flashed through his mind.
That year, I stood with my hands in my pockets, not knowing what a worthy opponent was.
A shocking pillar of fire rushed towards him. Viktor calmly watched as a curtain instantly rose from the magic array at his feet, easily blocking the attack.
Empowered by countless magic arrays, he teleported and maneuvered, with waves surging all around.
The enormous boss in his eyes was like nothing more than an oversized, entertaining toy.
Guledon's body gradually rose, surprisingly carrying a small mountain on its back.
Lava gushed out from its body, kicking up sand and stones in its wake.
The sand and stones passed through his body, but it was as if they had hit a water screen.
A stream of water fell, and the original Viktor disappeared.
[Second-tier Magic: Water Phantom]
The next second, the real Viktor appeared behind the magical beast, condensing a tidal spear made of water in his hand, thrusting it towards Guledon's rear.
Due to elemental weakness, Guledon felt the damage from the water spear intensely.
In pain and anger, it spewed lava towards Viktor once again.
Seeing Guledon's increasingly fierce output, Viktor easily dodged those lethal attacks, relying on his invincible evasion.
Whenever Guledon raised its hand, Viktor knew exactly what it was about to do.
Guledon thrust both palms into the ground, and a towering pillar of fire erupted from beneath Viktor's feet.
Viktor instinctively waved his hand.
[Second-tier Magic: Water Curtain]
An instantly generated blue water membrane blocked the fire pillar's assault.
Guledon narrowed its eyes at Viktor's easy response, feeling utterly frustrated. It let out a long roar to the sky, venting its discontent.
After a long battle, Viktor remained as relaxed as he was at the start.
However, Guledon's health had only decreased by about a few dozen points.
Seeing Viktor handle the situation so easily, Vega fell into self-reflection.
Being able to fight toe-to-toe with a calamity, is this guy really human?
Unable to figure it out, it simply gave up thinking and shouted at Viktor:
"Hey, it's been hours! Are you going to keep fighting?"
Hearing Vega say this, Viktor pondered for a moment.
When he first saw Guledon in the game, he and the player alliance fought it for three days and three nights.
So then...
"Let's fight for another three days."
Viktor rubbed his hands together, eagerly anticipating this exhilarating battle.
......
[Second-tier Magic: Gale's Ice Storm]
[Second-tier Magic: Death Ritual]
[Second-tier Magic: Still Water]
......
Countless techniques were used at Viktor's fingertips, magic arrays flashing one after another in the air, like stars under dark clouds.
Vega, watching Viktor pour out spells, was completely stunned in mid-air.
"Damn, this guy is really a freak."
"This is nowhere near the power of a third-tier mage."
Numerous colorful wave attacks continued to wear down the towering monster.
The surrounding rock was also dissipating under the intense pressure.
Guledon, under attack from so many spells, felt as if countless thorns were pricking its body. Though not fatal, it was painful.
Its tail whipped violently, suddenly shearing off half of the narrow volcano mouth.
It crashed into the magma with a thunderous boom, splashing thousands of meters high.
Viktor, stepping on a black array at his feet, instantly vanished into black mist.
Reappearing on the intact side of the volcano mouth, he seized the gap in the attack to continue his output.
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Guledon opened its fangs, a fireball as bright as the sun forming in its throat, ready to unleash.
Boom!
The fireball suddenly burst forth, striking the nearby mountainside.
Rocks shattered, dust billowed to the sky.
Viktor formed a magic array, swapping places with an ice shell he had buried nearby.
The ice shell took the point-blank magical sphere in his place, vaporizing into the air.
[Second-tier Magic, Ice Substitute]
With his remaining long-distance teleportation still cooling down, Viktor had precisely calculated the maximum evasion distance of the ice substitute.
Flying sand and stones lightly grazed his clothes.
He hadn't taken a bit of damage; the boss's skill had just barely missed him.
Viktor clasped his hands together, and a giant gate glowing with white light appeared behind him.
[Third-tier Summon: White Spirit's Evil Tongue]
As Viktor gave the command, the huge white marble gate behind him slowly opened.
Billowing mist instantly engulfed the entire volcano.
Vega's vision was instantly obscured by white fog. It shouted at the top of its lungs, "Viktor! Viktor! I'm still here! Don't let whatever you summoned attack me!"
With Vega's knowledge, it certainly knew what Viktor had summoned.
White Spirit's Evil Tongue, indiscriminate in its attacks.
Guledon, enveloped by this white mist, constantly waved its giant claws trying to dispel the fog.
But the white mist clung to its surroundings like a spider's web, impossible to tear away no matter how it tried.
A pair of thin, pale arms, as if withered, slowly extended, reaching for Guledon.
Guledon's head was grabbed by the hands, forcefully being pulled towards the gate.
But due to the Lava Demon God's immense weight, the White Spirit couldn't budge it no matter how hard it pulled.
So the white gate began to sway precariously.
The first part of the White Spirit's body to emerge was a head, or something resembling a head.
Seven eyes were spread around its head in a circle, each gaze causing Guledon intense dizziness.
Its body continued to stretch out, the lower half intertwining like three sky-covering pythons, covering the magma at the volcano's bottom.
It tore open the skin at the back of its neck, forcibly producing a third arm.
Pulling out its own spine, it transformed it into a blade, cleaving open Guledon's rock armor.
Seeing the white gate collapse, Viktor could only hold his forehead and sigh.
"This guy is still so reckless."
The summoner's strength wasn't as great as his, its only advantage being that it was tougher than him.
With the White Spirit entangling Guledon, Viktor freed himself up to cast dozens more weakening spells on the magical beast, preparing for the next round of magic.
Viktor pulled some materials from his backpack, crafting some magical items on the spot, casually tossing them at the boss.
The effect was minimal.
"Still better than nothing," Vega consoled himself, watching him.
Soon, after Guledon's health bar had emptied by about ten percent.
The flames in Guledon's eyes became more vivid, and the lava on its body flowed away rapidly.
Its hands were enveloped in an intensely violent flame. Rock spikes also gradually formed on its tail.
Viktor's eyes lit up, a sense of excitement rising in his heart.
He had regained the feeling of battle from the past.
That excitement made his brain flush with blood.
In this form, Guledon's defense increased significantly, and its skills were also greatly enhanced.
This was the true reason it was called the Furnace Beast.
The flames turned into lava, leaving Viktor nowhere to stand on the lava-covered ground.
Even the White Spirit screamed in pain from the enhanced environment.
"Since there's nowhere for me to stand, I'll make a place myself."
As Viktor said this, he drew a regular square in the air.
With a snap of his fingers, a block of water vapor turned into a high-density ice block floating in the air.
The battle continued, with Viktor standing on the ice block to continue casting spells.
Meanwhile, outside, Mount Vesuvius was showing an alarming state.
Most of the knights had already gone to evacuate people from the towns at the foot of the mountain, leaving only Gwen and a few knights who had retreated to the middle of the mountain, constantly monitoring for any special anomalies in the volcano.
Just as Gwen's intuition had predicted, it really happened.
They looked up, staring at the gradually reddening surface of the volcano, with streams of water vapor rising from the crater, as if the true color underneath was revealed after the outer shell had fallen off.
"Knight Captain, the volcano mouth is as hot as an iron plate now!" one of the knights warned her.
Gwen's expression was grave as she turned to notify the few knights:
"Quickly! Report to the capital immediately! Request reinforcements!"
The knights nodded and ran towards the town to contact the capital using magic crystals.
......
At the Duke's mansion.
Erica was in her room, holding a bottle of blue potion, sitting on the bed with a blank stare.
She felt like all the knowledge she had learned in her life had been for nothing.
Previously, she would have thought spending so much money to buy these few bottles of potion was definitely a loss.
"Just this one bottle of potion can sell for a thousand Geo?"
But now all she could think was:
"This thing only sells for a thousand Geo?"
She stared at the bottle of potion in her hand, lost in thought, her mind in a jumble.
The Duke had gone out on business and hadn't returned home yet, but she was already eager to tell her father about this discovery.
"Your Grace, do you need me to inform the young lady that you've returned?"
Hearing the servant's voice outside the door, she darted out like an excited fawn.
However, Duke Levi's response left her at a loss.
"No need, tell her I'm going on a long trip and won't be back for a few days."
Standing at the door, Erica had heard everything and stopped in her tracks.
Seeing his beloved daughter had already heard, Duke Levi showed a bitter smile.
"Erica, the Emperor has issued a mission, urgent support is needed."
She was very confused and couldn't help asking the Duke:
"Father, you're a Duke, why do you need to go personally?"
Duke Levi beckoned her to come closer, and Erica obediently walked over.
He stroked Erica's head, gently explaining:
"My dear daughter, this is no small matter. All third-tier mages in the capital are required to go, and naturally, second-tier mages are in the lineup as well."
"Because you're relatively young, you won't be summoned by the royal family."
Erica suddenly remembered Viktor, who had gone on a mission a few days ago.
He was also a third-tier mage.
Now that her father was also being summoned, could they be going to the same place?
"What exactly has happened there? Why do they need so many mages?"
Erica asked her question, but before the Duke could continue explaining, she eagerly said:
"I want to go too!"
Hearing Erica say this, Duke Levi immediately became serious and refused.
"No, you're still young, and you need to go to school."
"I'm not young anymore, I'm a second-tier mage now. If all second and third-tier mages in the capital are leaving, naturally the academy is no exception. Am I supposed to go find the principal to teach me personally?"
She knew the principal wouldn't easily leave the capital because he was the only fourth-tier Holy Mage within the capital's borders, needed to personally guard the capital and deter those hidden lawbreakers.
As for others, Erica arrogantly and confidently believed that besides Viktor, no one in the academy could teach her anymore.
"Even if you say so..."
The Duke thought carefully for a while, hesitating.
As Erica said, she was no longer young.
At seventeen, next year would be her coming of age.
He couldn't keep Erica protected in his hands forever; that way, she would always remain a fledgling.
Erica had her own dreams, so when necessary, he also needed to let her go.
He couldn't let his excessive fatherly love clip his daughter's proud wings.
"Alright, Erica, I allow you to accompany me."
"The place we're going to is Mount Vesuvius. The Royal Knight Order has sent out a distress signal."
"To be precise, Mount Vesuvius might be about to erupt."