Back at the top of the tower, the conflict had escalated to a fever pitch. Players from various factions faced off in the center of the hall, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife.
"Treasure belongs to the worthy! This purple ring rightfully belongs to Wangquan!"
"Bullshit!"
"Our Jiange entered first! Finder's keepers!"
"You really want to pick a fight? You'd better think twice! This is the Tower of Karmic Fire—special NPC territory!"
"If you break the rules inside the tower and strike first, you'd better be ready for the consequences!"
"Damn it, you Wangquan bastards have no shame! Just you wait!"
Wangquan's players clustered together in a tight circle, their eyes filled with unmasked greed as they stared at the ring clutched tightly in their hand.
"We've struck it rich this time..."
"Hahaha, I never expected such an unexpected windfall."
"Yeah! Just imagine how thrilled the guild master will be when he sees this! He might even... give us a massive bonus."
After all, this was the entire server's very first piece of purple gear!
Once they brought this ring back to the guild, Bazhe—their vainglorious, fame-obsessed guild master—would undoubtedly be ecstatic.
In his sheer euphoria, it was entirely possible he would throw hundreds of thousands of yuan at them as a reward!
This was no longer just a game.
It was about changing their real lives.
Yet, their senses blinded by avarice, they failed to notice that the surrounding air was growing hotter and more stifling—in the most literal, scorching sense.
*Crack...*
A faint popping sound.
Ashes and sparks danced in midair as threads of trailing flame drifted like silk ribbons, warping the atmosphere around them.
Immediately after, a clear, furious female voice rang out, shattering the players' reverie.
"Insolence—!"
"Reckless thieves courting death! How dare you steal the offerings dedicated to His Majesty Cassius!"
The players whipped around in horror, only to see ferocious tongues of flame tearing open the fabric of space. Clad in a crimson spirit robe, a young woman abruptly materialized in midair.
The mysterious girl looked quite young, yet an incandescent, fiery beauty radiated from her features.
She pointed a slender finger at the players.
"Stealing sacred offerings, defiling the glory of His Imperial Majesty—"
"Not only are you unworthy of becoming noble Dragon-Pact Sorcerers, you are unworthy of becoming glorious citizens of the Empire!"
Ripples of fury flashed in her stunning golden eyes.
When the players present clearly saw the display floating above her head, cold sweat instantly drenched their backs.
[Dragonflame Maiden - Misha]
[Faction: Cinder Empire]
[Class: Dragon-Pact Sorcerer?]
[Challenge Rating: ???]
*What a gorgeous NPC!* Xiaye Qiuyu's eyes immediately lit up—this was the ideal character model she had been chasing all along!
"Holy crap..."
The Wangquan player who had just been gloating felt impending doom wash over him. The hand clutching the Ring of the Efreeti Noble began to tremble violently.
Teeth chattering, he urged frantically, "Quick..."
"Grab the gear and run—right now!"
"Run for it!"
"They left the gear right in front of us, how could we not be tempted?!"
"Damn it, the damn devs are literally entrapment-policing us!"
"File a complaint! We have to submit a ticket!"
"We cleared so many trials, who knew there'd be a trap like this?! It's all those Wangquan bastards' fault!"
Players wailed in panic.
Those who had grabbed loot immediately resorted to every trick in the book: some vanished into invisibility, some activated teleports, and others went into stealth sprints.
Like mice spotting a cat, they scrambled frantically toward the exit.
"A laughable struggle."
Misha sneered, a chill flashing across her golden pupils.
*Snap!*
She snapped her fingers with a crisp pop.
*Boom—!*
Accompanied by a concussive blast of displaced air, a blazing, searing wall of flame erupted before the doorway, completely sealing off their escape route.
It was the 4th-level spell, Wall of Fire!
"Aaargh!"
"She blocked the door!"
"Holy shit, we're dead!"
"What the hell is this damage?!"
Shadowy silhouettes materialized inside the blazing barrier—invisible players caught within the inferno, flailing desperately before burning to ash.
A single touch meant instant death.
The remaining players steered clear of the fiery wall in terror, not daring to step an inch closer, huddling against the far corners of the hall.
Yet it availed them nothing.
With a cold, impassive gaze, Misha opened her palm.
*Whoosh—!*
Brilliant flames blossomed across her hand, firing piercing lines of searing heat that struck the chests of a dozen players in rapid succession.
Scorching Ray!
Empowered by the dual enhancements of Child of the Elements and Heart of the Dragon, this mere 1st-level fire spell burned with staggering intensity, reaching temperatures well over a thousand degrees and effortlessly boring clean through the players' chests.
"Holy shit, what kind of damage is that?!"
"That's Scorching Ray?!"
"Is that even the same spell I use?! Where's the low-damage beam people mock as 'burning ants with a magnifying glass'?!"
"I regret everything... this Dragon-Pact Sorcerer is way too cracked!"
*Boom!*
Misha's fighting style was breathtakingly magnificent. With a casual wave of her hand, radiant ribbons of flame burst forth, disintegrating player after player.
In this moment, she was the master of flame, an avatar of natural catastrophe.
Watching the battle unfold, Xiaye Qiuyu's eyes shone with raw fascination, her whole body trembling with excitement.
Unmatched power combined with sublime aesthetics.
And she could sling real fire!
She definitely hadn't come to the wrong place. This was the exact class she wanted!
Xiaye Qiuyu focused all her attention on observing the fight.
The player from the Wangquan guild still clutched the ring tightly, refusing to let go—this was his shot at a payout worth hundreds of thousands!
He glanced around and gritted his teeth. "Gamble it all! This is the server's very first purple item, it's worth dying for!"
"Cover me!"
The remaining Wangquan players nodded vigorously, deploying smokescreens and magical shields.
Meanwhile, he pulled a precious Teleportation scroll from his robes and tore it in half, activating the spell through the rawest, most direct method.
A spatial rift opened, and the Wangquan player laughed brazenly. "Have fun without me, suckers! Daddy's out of here!"
A fiery bolt lanced across the chamber, but the player vanished through the rift at the very last second, slipping out of the Tower of Karmic Fire.
"Stealing things belonging to His Majesty Cassius..."
"Not a single one of you will escape."
Misha's cool, aloof voice cut through the smoke and arcane barriers, reverberating throughout the entire tower.
"Wait, I didn't steal anything!"
"I only thought about it, I didn't actually do it!"
"Big boss, stop hitting us, stop!"
"I was wrong! I'm sorry!"
The players' desperate pleas fell on deaf ears.
The next instant, an enormous, blistering fireball tore through the dense smoke, filling their vision and casting an incandescent glow over their faces and dilated pupils.
"That's—"
"Holy fuck."
"You call this a goddamn Fireball?!"
*Boom—!*
Amidst terrified screams, a deafening blast tore through the air as explosive flames instantly engulfed every player who had laid hands on the offerings.
Fireball!
Yet, under Misha's exquisite control, despite its terrifying destructive power, the explosion did not harm a single innocent bystander.
This was the final trial, and a slaughter of those who had desecrated the Emperor.
"That was Fireball!"
"It's... it's incredible!"
Watching the display, Xiaye Qiuyu's eyes brimmed with fanatical fervor, tears nearly spilling over her eyelashes.
A Fireball like that—it was the dream she had envisioned all along!
No matter what, she was going to become a Dragon-Pact Sorcerer!
Meanwhile, Misha gazed outside the tower. Peering through the spatial layers, she spotted the fleeing Wangquan player, smoldering anger still lingering in her golden eyes.
"Vile thief..."
"That was a treasure I claimed from the efreeti nobles specifically to offer to His Majesty Cassius."
"You cannot run."
Misha gave a cold huff.
Flames burned in midair, scorching open a layered rift in space, and the young maiden stepped right through.
Chapter 433