Aren leaped backward without thinking. The moment his feet left the ground, a massive chunk of lava crashed into the place where he had stood just a moment ago.
The lava swelled from within the pond, rising to take shape.
First, two thick legs, then a broad torso, and finally a terrifying head made of rocks with lava flowing between them.
A four-meter-tall monster composed entirely of molten rock and fire.
The creature had no eyes, only a horizontally glowing slit like a burning ember in the middle of its face. When it opened its mouth, it unleashed a deafening roar that made the ground tremble.
"GRAAAAAGHH!"
This was a lava golem.
With its roar, the lava that spewed from its mouth scattered around. A few drops fell onto Aren's robe.
If it were an ordinary fabric, it would have instantly caught fire and stuck to Aren's skin. But the Royal Dragon Silk Robe was different; the lava drops slid right off the fabric.
"It's very strong. Be careful." Seraphina said, her voice tense.
Aren drew his black sword.
Without losing his calm in the slightest, Aren said, "Seraphina, shouldn't you have told me things like this a bit earlier? I could have died."
In a guilt-ridden voice, Seraphina said, "You are right. I'm sorry."
Aren didn't press the matter.
The Golem swung its hand with a speed that belied its clunky appearance. Its hand came down on Aren like a sledgehammer.
Aren dodged to the side. When the Golem's fist crashed into the ground, the volcanic floor exploded, and pieces of stone scattered around like shrapnel.
Aren seized the opportunity and made a move toward the Golem's arm.
Mana Reinforcement.
The sword covered in golden flames came down on the Golem's arm.
The sword cut through the magma layer, reached the rock, but stopped.
The sword had slowed down inside the dense and viscousmagma.
As the Golem's other hand swung toward Aren, Aren pulled his sword out with difficulty and did a backflip.
"Stop trying to cut it like a lump of meat! That is a 'Golem' born from an 'extreme element'. The only way to destroy it is to shatter the core inside it." Seraphina said.
"Core?" Aren paused for a moment while also dodging the lava ball the Golem shot from its mouth.
"How?"
"What are your eyes for, idiot!" scolded Seraphina.
"Use your Basic Vision! Find the node where its mana is densest, where the flow starts."
Aren took a deep breath. He focused his mind while waiting for the Golem's next attack.
'Basic Vision.'
That familiar golden gleam appeared in his eyes.
The world changed in an instant. The colors of the crimson forest faded, giving way to shades of gray. However, the Golem in front of him was glowing as a blinding mass of orange light.
Inside the Golem, the channels through which mana flowed had spread throughout its entire body like a spider web.
Slightly below its ribcage, not where the heart should be, but rather in the diaphragm area, there was a fist-sized, densely burning ball of energy like an ember. All these mana channels were connected to this ball of energy.
"Found it." said Aren.
The Golem went on the attack again. It brought both of its hands together and raised them in the air to crush Aren like a sledgehammer.
This time, Aren didn't run away. The target was clear.
He bent his knees. He loaded all his strength into his legs.
The ground collapsed. Aren launched himself directly onto the Golem like a bullet.
While the Golem's clunky fists were coming down to the ground, Aren was gliding through the air.
He was locked onto that bright spot on the Golem's torso.
Aren gripped his sword with both hands and thrust it with all his might under the Golem's chest, towards that bright energy node.
The black sword pierced through the molten rock and buried itself inside. And suddenly, it hit something hard.
A metallic sound echoed. The tip of the sword had rested against the Golem's core.
"NOW!" shouted Seraphina. "Shatter it!"
Aren didn't stop. In a single second, he transferred half of the energy in his Mana Pool into his arms, and from there to his sword.
The golden-colored mana surged from the tip of the sword towards the core with immense pressure.
The flow of orange magma inside the Golem suddenly stopped. A cracking sound came from deep within its chest. It was as if a glass sphere had been broken with a sledgehammer.
The Golem's roar turned into a muffled groan.
Seraphina's anxious voice echoed in his mind. "RETREAT, QUICKLY!"
Unfortunately, Seraphina's warning was a second too late.
The pressure inside the Golem exploded like a bomb.
BOOOM!
Aren tried to leap backward, but the shockwave of the explosion was faster than him. Since he was caught in the explosion while mid-air, the shockwave sent him flying several meters.
Bullet-fast pieces of molten rock flying out of the Golem's shattered torso whizzed through the air just like the shrapnel pieces a missile scatters after exploding.
Although the Royal Dragon Silk Robe had blocked the shrapnel pieces and most of the damage, due to the impact of the explosion's shock, his bones were broken in many places and his organs were damaged.
Aren gritted his teeth. The pain was spreading throughout his entire body. He suppressed his bloody coughs with his hand. His palm filled with hot and sticky blood.
"AGGHHHH"
His body hadn't burned thanks to the robe he wore, but the same wasn't true for his face. Many parts of his face were covered with severe burns. If he hadn't instinctively protected his head with his arms in time, it could have been much worse.
At the same time, many parts of the Royal Dragon Robe's sturdy fabric were burned, even torn. The robe's self-regenerating property had activated; it was mending the fabric like a spider spinning its web.
"Get up!" shouted Seraphina. "Now is not the time to whine!"
Aren stood up with difficulty. Even though he was standing, the world was spinning for him. He could barely maintain his balance.
All that was left of the Golem were smoking black pieces of rock scattered around. That bright orange light had completely gone out.
A notification appeared in front of him.
Experience gained.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Level 16 > Level 17
Your stats have increased by 1 point.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Level 17 > Level 18
Your stats have increased by 1 point.
Aren grinned despite the pain. His teeth had turned crimson red from his own blood.
He had defeated the Lava Golem.
However, there was no time to celebrate. The price he paid was exceedingly heavy. As for his mana pool, it was dangerously depleted.
He turned his gaze to the lava pond.
The Crimson Lotus had miraculously not been affected by the explosion. It was still glowing with its mesmerizing crimson color. However, due to the impact of the explosion, it had been blown from the middle of the lava lake to the shore.
Feeling his ribs piercing into his lungs with every step, Aren headed towards the Crimson Lotus.
His body was working frantically to heal his broken bones and damaged organs, but the damage was too great.
He bent down and picked up the Crimson Lotus from the ground with his trembling, bloody hands.
'Hot.' he thought.
The thing he held in his palm wasn't just a flower, but pure power. The dense life energy and heat emitted by the plant alleviated Aren's pain, even if just a little.
"Throw it into the ring immediately" said Seraphina.
"And get away from here. The sound of the explosion woke up the whole forest."
He sent the Crimson Lotus into his storage ring.
The mission was complete.
'Rule #1: Survive.' he reminded himself.
Now all he had to do was find a safe place and heal.
Aren turned his back.
With heavy and limping steps, he advanced towards the edge of the clearing, towards the shadowy border of the forest. With every breath he took, bloody bubbles came out of his mouth.
Just as he was about to blend into the shadows and get away from there, his sharp senses heard approaching footsteps.
Aren took a deep breath. Trying to ignore that sharp pain in his lungs, he braced himself for what was to come.
Aren brought his trembling hand to the hilt of his black sword. He tried to stay standing by leaning his back against a thick tree that had been charred by the impact of the explosion.
His legs were struggling to carry him, but the deadly presence of his stance remained unchanged.
"Come out." he said. His voice was wheezy; the taste of blood was coming from his throat.
A slow, rhythmic, and annoyingly mocking sound of applause came from the shadow of the trees.
Clap... Clap... Clap...
"Bravo… Truly bravo. You noticed us the moment I deactivated my skill."
That familiar, skinny figure smirking with a bow in his hand walked out of the shadows as casually as if he were stepping onto a theater stage.
Rick.
Right behind him, his spearman and swordsman appeared. All three were looking at Aren.
But there was no fear in their looks. On the contrary, there was that greedy, sly gleam of hyenas that had cornered a wounded, bloody, and exhausted lion.
Rick's eyes focused first on the black sword in Aren's hand, then on the torn robe on him that was trying to repair itself, and finally...
On Aren.
The smirk on Rick's face widened.
Seraphina's astonished voice appeared in his mind. "How can this be? How did I not notice them?"
Aren didn't answer.
Holding the bow in his hand loosely, Rick took another step towards Aren. That disgusting, self-assured smirk on his face widened even more as he examined Aren's bloody and burn-covered face.
"The mysterious 'number 1' is standing right in front of me. Look at your state, buddy..." said Rick, with a fake sense of pity.
"I'm surprised you can stand. That explosion... I bet the sound of it was heard from miles away. Your battle with that creature was exceedingly exciting."
Rick's gaze slid to the storage ring on Aren's left hand. A greedy gleam appeared in his eyes.
"I had seen that ring in the Market. It's a real shame there was only one in stock, otherwise I would have definitely bought it. Instead, I bought this raggedy thing."
Rick pointed to his own bag.
"I suppose that weird flower you got is also inside that ring, isn't it?"
Aren was solely focused on breathing. His lungs burned with every breath, but his mind was as cold as ice.
"Were you watching me?" said Aren. Meanwhile, he was trying to buy time to recover his mana.
"Watching?" Rick started laughing out loud.
"Man, I've been following you since the moment we killed that boar. Actually, we almost lost track of youbecause of your tremendous speed, but as luck would have it, I'm a former hunter; tracking a rookie like you wasn't very hard."
Had Aren been capable of surprise, he might have been, but instead, his face was masked with calmness and pain.
"Did you think I didn't notice you when you hid in the shadow of the trees and watched us like a bug?" Rick said, with a slight smile on his face.
Rick continued, emphasizing every word as he savored his victory.
"You're surprised, aren't you? 'Stealth' to evade the eyes of the Gods and 'Intuition' to see even the darkest secrets..."
"At least the system gave me two wonderful skills named this way. The moment you were watching us, I had already noticed your location thanks to my 'Intuition' skill. You actually scared me a lot, man. If you had attacked us right there, you could have easily killed us."
'So this is why he was able to gather this many people around him in a short time. He found them thanks to his skill.' Aren thought.
Seraphina said in a shocked voice, "Divine skills… And two of them at that… How can this be?"
Rick started circling around Aren like a vulture.
"You didn't kill us. Maybe you took pity, or maybe you saw us as too lowly to be worth it. But here was your mistake. Mercy or arrogance... Whichever it is, this became your end."
"Thanks to my 'Stealth' skill, you cannot see or feel me unless I fight or want you to. Thanks to you, I feel this skill is even more valuable. We got right under your nose but you didn't realize a thing. Watching your battle with the Lava Golem was a complete spectacle. It happened exactly as I expected. The lion is wounded, and now the hyenas are sitting at the table."
"Do you understand, Aren? No matter how strong you are, intelligence and patience always beat brute force. This is humanity's method of huntingsince the dawn of time. Now, hand over that ring, sword, and your armor nicely; if you give them, I will let you go. I'll even give you a healing potion. What do you say?"