Misha's Trial (Part 4)

"Pant, pant... That's it?" "This counts as the hardest trial?" Mantou sat astride his wyvern, resting his greatsword on his shoulder as he spoke through heavy breaths. Setting aside the fact that he was charred black from head to toe like a scorched meat patty, the pose was actually quite dashing. "You're practically a burnt bun, and you're still posturing?" Singo, clinging to the cavern wall atop his own wyvern, roasted him mercilessly. "Scars are a man's medals." "Yeah, but you're burnt." "Flames are the marks of battle." "Yeah, but you're burnt." "Listen here, you little..." Shattered rocks and the mangled remains of steam bats littered the area. Thanks to the combined efforts of several dozen top-tier players, the cavern's monsters had been mostly cleared out. Xiaye Qiuyu sighed. "Don't celebrate just yet. Even bribing the Ministry of Magic only got us intel on this first stage, the Path of Burning. "The rest of the trial is entirely decided by Misha, the 'Daughter of Dragonfire.' Even they don't know what's coming." *Hiss—* A collective gasp rippled through the group. If the very first stage was already this grueling, packed with an outrageous density of mobs that had eliminated over two hundred players, just how perverse would the remaining stages be? Still, they had already come this far. They had no choice but to bite the bullet and push forward. The Machine Cult players bulldozed ahead in their Firewarden armor. Mantou and Singo rode their wyverns on either side of Xiaye Qiuyu, keeping vigilant watch against ambushes. Meanwhile, the players of Magic Coin advanced wrapped in radiant magical auras and fortified by a wide array of buffs. Pressing forward along the Path of Burning, braving all manner of traps and monsters, the players finally emerged back into the open air at the volcano's summit. Before them lay the searing magma pool of the volcanic crater, and in the distance stood the Tower of Karmic Fire. Mantou turned his head, grinning as he patted his wyvern on the skull. "This is the final stage? "Doesn't look like much. What, a few hundred baby steam bats flying out, or a couple of rock lumps jumping out of the lava? "At most they'll self-destruct and lob a few bouncy bombs. Nothing we can't handle!" His words sounded breezy, but his teeth were clenched tight. Not a single patch of pale skin was left on Mantou's body; he was charred black all over, looking as if he had swapped races entirely. "No." Xiaye Qiuyu's expression was grim, the glow of the flames reflecting in her golden eyes. Singo was equally blunt. "Burnt Bun, look behind you before you run your mouth." Mantou turned around, glanced up toward the sky, and muttered under his breath. "Holy shit..." The exact same phrase slipped from the mouths of the other pro players, though some chose the cruder variant, "Holy f—" Within the crater, magma churned sluggishly. The air warped in the blistering heat, giving off plumes of toxic volcanic fumes. Ribbons of fire danced across the magma's surface, intertwining with thick plumes of black and white smoke. They flowed, spiraled, and converged, coalescing into fire whirls above the molten lake. "Trial-goers..." "I..." "By the will... of Master... Misha..." Amid howling winds, fire and white vapor gathered into a cohesive shape. A towering, indistinct humanoid figure nearly ten meters tall rose above the magma pool, looking down upon the players with "eyes" formed of twin spheres of molten rock. Its massive, incorporeal head appeared to be made purely of steam and flame, with a flickering tongue composed of dancing fire licking outward. The surrounding air distorted, popping and crackling while exuding a pungent stench of sulfur. Finally, a roar broke forth from the snapping, crackling flames. "Am—your—end!" Elder Fire Elemental Challenge Rating: 13 (10,000 XP) Mantou froze in stunned disbelief and whispered, "This thing... is the advancement quest prepared for you guys? "You call this an advancement quest? "Damn it, if anyone could beat this, why the hell would they even need a class promotion?!" "Trial!" The Elder Fire Elemental exhaled billowing plumes of smoke, and its arm transformed into a flame whip that lashed out directly toward the group. *Crack!* A scorched fracture instantly tore through the expensive shield held by a paladin of the Wangquan Guild, and the player behind it was severed into two burning halves. "Holy crap, an instant kill?!" "Are you kidding me?!" "That was an uncommon green piece of gear!" The Elder Fire Elemental cracked its whip through the air, sparks snapping as it gathered power. "Ordeal!" *Crack! Crack! Crack!* A series of air-ripping strikes exploded. This time, the target was the Firewarden armor. The terrifying flame whip slammed into the armor again and again, causing its surface flame-warding forcefield to dim rapidly. Finally, with a loud crash, the fire shield shattered. The flame whip came down solidly against the already deformed metal hull. Half of its chassis was sheared clean away, taking the operators inside with it. In Elezerg, the temperature of fire generally depended on the caster's level and the creature's nature. Generally, a Fireball cast by a low-level wizard might reach only a few hundred degrees, whereas a Fire Storm cast by a high-level wizard could easily surpass a thousand. The Elder Fire Elemental's flame whip was unmistakably in the latter category. Under this sheer level suppression, even the "heat-resistant metal" they had painstakingly prepared was shattered after just a few lashes. "Fuck, we can't hold out!" "No!" "Everyone! Initiate the final protocol!" The Machine Cult player in the primary cockpit yelled, slamming his hand down on the red button beside him. *Bang!* The sorcerer player, Art is an Explosion, who sat at the armor's core, was launched clear by the ejection seat, a protective barrier deploying around her. The pilot shoved the throttle lever all the way down and hit another button marked with an ominous exclamation mark. Several players raised their arms, their faces flushed with fanatical fervor. "Machine Spirit, protect us! Deliver us from this biological cage of decay!" The thrusters on the back of the Firewarden armor ignited with a roar, propelling the Arcane Armor straight toward the Elder Fire Elemental at blistering speed. *Beep, beep, beep.* The metal sphere at the core of the chassis flashed with an insistent red light. *Crack!* The Elder Fire Elemental glared, sending another flame whip hurtling down to meet it. The armor was battered and mangled, and several more operators were killed on the spot, but it kept hurtling forward—finally arriving right beside the sweltering elemental. "Sorry, Brother Kuangchao! Activating reserve hidden power!" *Beep, beep-beep.* The cadence grew increasingly frantic. *Boom!* The Arcane Armor detonated violently. Shrapnel, gears, and the severed limbs of the pilots scattered in all directions. Taking into account the Elder Fire Elemental's fire resistance, they had dumped every ounce of the armor's energy reserves into discharging a massive burst of ball lightning. "Feeble!" "Insects!" The Elder Fire Elemental threw its head back and roared into the heavens. Blinding arcs of electricity crackled and surged over its colossal elemental frame, sizzling continuously.