Chapter Fifty-Five: The Volcanic Lava Beast

Coordinates: outer edge of the Sacred Land of Fire. The Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain region lies in the advanced leveling area southwest of Sigh Canyon, about an hour’s walk from Blaze City—though, with my Gale Wolf King, it takes only ten minutes.

Beyond Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain stretches a vast wasteland, which connects with the Blood Wasteland to form an enormous plain. There is neither grass nor trees here, only swirling volcanic ash. The region lives up to its name—a true volcano, looming black and majestic, piercing the clouds, its slopes barren and devoid of life, a bleak expanse of death. In the distance, the crater perpetually belches black smoke, as if on the verge of eruption. As soon as I step onto the main road, a wave of heat assaults me. At the volcano’s base lies a forest called the Flamewood. Nothing here is ordinary—plants that survive such conditions are anything but.

This Flamewood spans several thousand square kilometers, set in the peculiar center formed by three active volcanoes arranged in a triangle, with Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain directly ahead. The Flamewood is an advanced leveling area, crawling with ferocious, powerful monsters. The magma beasts and fire creatures here are especially dangerous to any player who dares to intrude. Few have the courage to penetrate deep into the forest; many have entered in hopes of treasure, only to depart defeated, leaving behind experience and gear. This is one of the most notorious and perilous regions now explored by players.

And so, on this seemingly calm and beautiful morning, I, together with my beast companion, plunged into the heart of the forest, heading for Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain.

I took out the map Sasha had given me before I left. The magma fissure marked on it was far away, requiring not only a trek through the Flamewood but also a climb over Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain. The fissure itself was in the Flame Gorge behind the volcano—clearly, the journey ahead would be long and fraught with danger.

With the map, I had direction and would not wander aimlessly through this treacherous forest. As I relaxed a little, the ground beneath the Gale Wolf King suddenly shook violently, the terrifying sound of splitting earth ringing in my ears, and a fissure ten meters long instantly cracked open beneath us.

The event was sudden, but the Gale Wolf King reacted with lightning speed, leaning left, its paws kicking hard as it rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the gaping crevice.

From alertness to power, from rolling away to springing upright, the Wolf King completed the entire sequence in under three seconds. Meanwhile, I had stowed the map in my backpack and, when I regained my footing, my hand already gripped the Ruyi Staff.

I was no stranger to such ambushes. Monsters that preferred to lurk underground often used similar surprise attacks. Should a player fall into such a trap, even if they survived, they’d be badly wounded and vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Suddenly, magma blazing with fierce fire erupted from the fissure, spraying four or five meters high. Riding the surge, a round, bulky monster burst out!

With its round head, body, and arms, this creature was clad in blackish-brown rock armor, its visage twisted and fearsome. Flames spewed from its mouth as it landed, swinging both arms to smash down toward me.

Its arms were barely over a meter long, and it stood some five meters away—swinging its fists from that distance seemed strange. But in an instant, its fists collided, a shower of sparks flying. Suddenly, a fireball the size of a soccer ball shot toward me!

Boom! I dodged the fireball, which exploded against the massive rock behind me, shattering it. Some fragments struck me, knocking off more than twenty points of health.

Though the loss of so little health would mean nothing to anyone, the fact that a mere stray fragment dealt such damage spoke volumes about the monster’s power.

Volcanic Magma Beast, level 50, elite class.

Luck wasn’t on my side. I’d looked up this creature on the official site before coming in, researching all known monsters. The Volcanic Magma Beast is a formidable foe, mostly found in the Flamewood, rarely on the outskirts—but rare didn’t mean impossible.

Not only did it possess powerful physical attacks, but it also wielded potent fire magic, making it particularly troublesome. Worse, the outskirts of the forest where I now stood were sparse, with few large rocks or trees—hardly any cover for dodging.

Since escape was futile, I struck back at once: Pulverizing Strike, Energy Burst, and Assault hit the three-meter-tall beast in rapid succession! A section of its rocky armor shattered, exposing the orange-red flesh beneath—its body beneath the armor appeared to be made of magma itself, and once the shell broke, the inner fluid sprayed out like blood.

Wherever the magma splashed, the grass burned to charred black cinders—a testament to its searing heat.

Roaring in pain, the wounded Magma Beast unleashed a furious bellow, flames erupting a meter from its mouth. It suddenly crouched low, then raised its fists high and smashed them down with tremendous force.

I retreated at once. As its fists slammed into the ground, the earth within several hundred meters in front of the monster instantly transformed into a sea of boiling magma. The lush grass vanished, and the molten rock bubbled and burst, the air itself seeming to combust in the attack’s radius.

The scale and ferocity of this strike caught me completely off guard; its range left no room for escape. In shock, I watched as the magma engulfed the feet of both myself and the Gale Wolf King—our bodies began sinking!

I endured the burning heat, damage values flickering above me as the Magma Beast’s trap devoured my health, my HP falling in chunks. The worst part was the magma everywhere—there was nowhere to hide.

I immediately summoned Dragonwar, commanding it to carry us to safety. Lying on Dragonwar’s back, I gulped down healing potions, withdrawing the exhausted Gale Wolf King—its health, like mine, nearly depleted and in need of rest to recover.

The magma persisted for ten seconds. I’d only been caught in it for three before losing 1,850 HP. Without Dragonwar, I’d likely have died then and there.

Clearly, for an average player, such an attack would be absolutely devastating.

Yet the Volcanic Magma Beast had no intention of letting me go. As soon as the magma receded, it straightened up—its ultimate move had failed to kill me, so it began hurling fireballs at me in the air by smashing its fists together.

They flew fast, and dodging them would have been a sorry sight, but with Dragonwar’s nimble flight, we weaved left and right, evading them with ease. The beast and I were only about ten meters apart; as it launched fireball after fireball, Dragonwar counterattacked, breathing jets of flame that, though not terribly damaging, relentlessly battered the Magma Beast, shattering more armor and opening up fresh wounds. Scarlet magma streamed from its injuries, quickly covering its entire body and rendering it even more grotesque.

A drawn-out battle would certainly end in Dragonwar’s victory. Realizing this, the beast began digging, preparing to escape.

“Dragonwar, close combat!” I shouted at once.

“Yes, master!” Dragonwar replied, swooping down from the sky. Its right hand gripped the hilt of its black sword, and as it approached the beast, it drew the blade and slashed—3,820, 3,499, 3,211… a string of numbers flashed up as torrents of magma poured from the beast’s wounds, especially its head, which Dragonwar targeted relentlessly. The relentless strikes had battered the armor there until it was nearly destroyed; the once blazing red eyes now flickered dully.

The beast’s movements slowed, its hammering fists growing feeble. Dragonwar raised the black sword and, with flawless precision, drove it straight through the monster’s skull, ripping it apart and piercing its body, a stream of molten blood trailing behind the blade! A trophy floated above the beast’s head—this blow was fatal. It let out a feeble wail, its raised arms falling limply as it toppled backward.

Its round body crashed to the ground and broke apart, scattering a heap of loot.

I let out a sigh of relief. I had expected the troublesome creature to unleash some final desperate attack, but in the end, even a level 50 elite monster was nothing more than a pushover before Dragonwar—easily dealt with.

Just as I finished gathering my spoils, a voice suddenly called out from behind, “Friend up ahead, please wait a moment!”