"Turns out this guy really is a Flame Giant!" Xiao Hua was hiding nearly forty meters away, watching the enormous burning stone figure at the end of the cave. Despite the distance, the intense heat made him feel a strong sense of pressure!
The Flame Giant stood atop a ten-meter radius circle of red-hot, bubbling lava. The lava reached up to its shins, and the giant slowly moved its flaming body back and forth over the lava. With every step, burning lava dripped off its feet.
From the edge of the lava area to where Xiao Hua was hiding, there was a distance of more than thirty meters. The ground in between was wide open, easily able to accommodate six or seven hundred people. However, what puzzled Xiao Hua was that this expanse of red-hot rock was completely empty except for the distant Flame Giant.
This was strange. In the Thousand-Year Ice Lake, there were nearly two hundred fierce and powerful Frost Dragonlings guarding the lair of the Frost Dragon. Surely, even if the Flame Giant wasn't a super boss, it should have some minions, right?
With these doubts, Xiao Hua did not dare to act rashly. Instead, he retreated about seven or eight meters, summoned a decoy, and stealthily approached to investigate.
The passage leading to the final lava cave was shaped like a gourd. Xiao Hua controlled the decoy to sneak through the passage and onto the open red-hot rock ground of the cave. When the decoy stepped onto the scorching rock, a burn damage value appeared above its head.
—200!
The moment the decoy touched the red-hot rock, it took a burn damage of 200 HP! It turned out that the ground itself inflicted burn damage on anyone standing on it!
The decoy's stealth was broken, but the Flame Giant, standing far away, remained unmoved, indicating that it was still out of range of its aggro.
—200!
Before Xiao Hua could have the decoy try anything else, it took another burn damage of 200 HP!
200 HP per second burn damage!
Seeing this, Xiao Hua immediately understood the situation. With 200 HP of burn damage per second, even large life recovery potions, which restore 100 HP per second, would be useless. Without a way to counteract the damage, no amount of potions would help, even instant recovery potions wouldn't suffice!
No wonder there were no minions. This land was clearly the domain of the Flame Giant, making it nearly impossible for anyone to get close! The decoy, unable to take potions and with only 1400 HP, could only last six seconds on the scorching rock before dying on the seventh second, making it the least likely to approach the Flame Giant.
In just seven seconds, Xiao Hua tried to gather as much data as possible. The decoy managed to run less than ten meters before collapsing, failing to even enter the Flame Giant's aggro range.
Back at the Thieves' Guild, Xiao Hua had already anticipated that the quest would be difficult, but he hadn't expected it to be so challenging. No wonder Lina was so generous—she must have known that an under-leveled thief like him couldn't possibly complete it. Reaching this point and seeing the boss was already quite an achievement!
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"What the hell do I do now?"
He summoned another decoy, only to see it fall after running about ten meters again. Xiao Hua scratched his head, feeling helpless.
Given this situation, without a way to neutralize the burn effect, any attempt would be futile. Even if he went in himself, the result would be the same. Since the Flame Giant never left the lava, Xiao Hua guessed it had ranged attacks, making it impossible to sneak up on it.
"Would a realm environment card work?" Xiao Hua thought of the cards, recalling how the Ice Seal Guild used the Spring Warmth card to counter negative effects. If a card could neutralize burn damage, the Winter Chill card seemed like the best option.
"Can the Winter Chill card neutralize burn damage?" Xiao Hua messaged Piaoling, wondering about the specifics.
"Yes!" Piaoling responded quickly, showing her expertise with these cards.
"Great! What level of card would be needed to neutralize 200 HP per second burn damage?" Excited by the prospect, Xiao Hua asked eagerly.
"..."
Seeing Xiao Hua's message, Piaoling was speechless.
"Hey, what's wrong? Answer me!"
"Well, let me be honest. An F-grade Winter Chill card can neutralize 10 HP per second burn damage. To neutralize 200 HP per second, you'd need an S-grade card."
"How hard is it to get an S-grade card, and how much would it cost?"
"..."
"Come on, don't keep me in suspense!"
"The Ice Seal Guild spent nearly a month collecting F-grade Spring Warmth cards to produce one A-grade card. You'd need three cards of the same grade to make a higher-grade card. You do the math!"
A month for one A-grade card, and who knows how long for an S-grade card, not to mention the cost involved.
"Are there any other ways to neutralize the burn damage?"
"Simple, use resistance potions!"
"Okay, go on."
"I know there are resistance potions, but I'm not sure which ones specifically counter burn damage. Only Master-level resistance potions might have that kind of effect."
"You know a Master Alchemist, don't you? Ask him!"
"Think Master-level recipes are easy to come by? He got one with the help of a guild. He can't make Master-level resistance potions, so asking him is pointless. Same goes for the alchemists I know—they only have Grandmaster-level recipes, and burn resistance potions might not exist."
"Are there any other options?"
"Yes!"
"Oh, tell me!"
"Get a super-rare piece of equipment that provides immunity to burn damage, or find a skill book that grants burn resistance."
"Seriously, I'm asking seriously!"
"Hehe!" Piaoling chuckled, having successfully teased Xiao Hua.
"What are you doing needing to resist such high burn damage?"
Xiao Hua explained the details of his advancement quest.
"Looks like it's impossible. Just pay the 6 million gold and get the epic medal," Piaoling advised.
"But I want to steal from the boss!"
"In that case, ask around the guild if anyone knows a Master Alchemist who can make burn resistance potions. Or go back to your mentor at the Thieves' Guild; she might have some ideas."
Right, why did I forget about Lina? If she has the gold, she might have some solutions.
Xiao Hua got up and carefully retraced his steps out of the cave. Entering was dangerous, but leaving was even more painful. After great effort, he finally escaped the cave, almost considering just dying and respawning.
...
"Such a rare item, it would be great if I had one!" Lina said, looking both sad and regretful. If she had such an item, she could have extorted a fortune from this promising thief apprentice. It was a pity to lose such a golden opportunity.
Xiao Hua spent nearly two hours rushing back to the Thieves' Guild, only to be disappointed by Lina.
"Just give up and pay the 6 million gold for the epic medal, how easy!"
...
"If you decide to give up, come see me!"
Xiao Hua refused to abandon the boss so easily. As he left the Thieves' Guild, Lina's voice followed him.
"Does anyone know a Master Alchemist who can make burn resistance potions?"
"No."
"Don't know."
...
As expected, several guildmates denied knowing anyone.
Finally, Xiao Hua decided to ask his few friends, starting with Old Fei from the Treasure Pot Auction House.