The Trial of Fire and Ice

“Two rare Level 10 pieces of equipment…?”

Tian Zheng, upon picking up the weapon and its accompanying armor, couldn’t help but reveal a look of astonishment after discerning their attributes.

Hearing this, Bai Xia was similarly struck by the realization that Qingcheng was indeed a true magnate!

Leaving aside divine gear like the Asura’s Doom, finding an NPC in the entire game who would casually hand out three pieces of rare equipment for your use would be an exceedingly rare feat.

Though it was highly probable these weapons were merely for their trial, and whether they could keep them even after winning would ultimately depend on the woman’s mood, Bai Xia felt little attachment to them.

****

Simultaneously, as time wore on, the Lava Giant finally began to stir.

Its sculpture-like body shifted slowly, and the flames that had merely clustered around it now showed signs of spreading outwards.

Having calculated the remaining time, and seeing the battle was almost instantaneous, Tian Zheng, despite having just donned his new equipment, still had the presence of mind to inquire about something else.

He extended a finger, pointing at Bai Xia.

“Speaking of which… what’s with your outfit? Do they sell sailor uniforms in the 新手村 (TL Note: newbie village)?”

Tian Zheng’s curiosity was understandable, given her exceptionally distinctive attire.

However, Bai Xia had no intention of answering, only unconsciously tightening her grip on the Crystal Dagger as she replied evasively, “Focus, alright, Great God? We’re about to face the most formidable enemy we’ve encountered so far.”

The man raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful expression on his face, while Bai Xia’s resolve to eliminate this colossal foe at all costs solidified further.

After all, if it didn’t perish, she certainly would—and it would be a far more cruel death, one of the spirit!

Thus, to preserve her dignity, she could only bid the Lava Giant before her a peaceful demise, even though their current predicament was nothing short of a desperate struggle for survival.

Yet, no matter how slim the hope, one must always strive for it, mustn’t they? After all…

‘I certainly don’t want to quit the game because of something like streaking naked in public!’

Bai Xia murmured this in a voice only she could hear, and as her words faded, the time Qingcheng had granted them finally elapsed.

****

Then, in the very next instant, accompanied by a faint hum, the magma on the surrounding ground seemed to burst to life, instantly painting the entire world in a fiery crimson hue!

A scorching heat washed over them, and even knowing they were merely within a game, a subtle psychological vexation was unavoidable.

In such an environment, both Bai Xia and Tian Zheng were inevitably affected, while the fully awakened Lava Giant not far away was quite the opposite; this was precisely the environment it favored most.

Evidently, when setting all of this up, Qingcheng had no intention of letting Bai Xia pass the trial with ease; rather, one might say she desired to witness Bai Xia ‘dancing on a knife’s edge.’

Hence, she had deliberately heightened the difficulty in her choice of environment.

Fortunately, Bai Xia did not allow this to distract her.

She knew she had to keep her nerves taut throughout the ensuing battle, for her current body was far too fragile, allowing no room for even the slightest error!

With such brittle HP and defense thinner than paper, a single swing from the Lava Giant’s arm would likely cause her to instantly explode.

‘Why did Tian Zheng get two pieces of equipment, both armor and a weapon, while all I have is a dagger?’ she wondered.

As for the sailor uniform she wore, while powerful, it didn’t fundamentally boost her defense much.

One couldn’t forget that all of Bai Xia’s previous armor had been utterly destroyed!

Since she possessed no other defensive gear, the various attributes it added were merely increases to her base stats, resulting in her current defense being not much higher than before, a net effect of one step forward, one step back.

A wave of dejection washed over Bai Xia at this thought, yet it also sparked the idea that if she managed to clear this stage, she absolutely had to stock up on backup equipment for future dungeon runs, just in case.

Of course, thinking about such things now was useless, and truthfully, no one could truly be blamed.

After all, this was still the newbie village; who could have imagined encountering such a formidable monster and being compelled to defeat it?

Regardless…

“Let’s go!”

After a few practice swings of her dagger in the air, finding her rhythm, a cold glint flashed in Bai Xia’s eyes.

Tian Zheng remained silent, yet he was clearly in a state of readiness for battle.

****

The Lava Giant opposite them, however, seemed even more eager for combat, for the moment the trial commenced, it let out a roar, and its massive, five-meter-tall body charged forward like a small mountain!

It must be said that when a creature reaches a certain size, every movement it makes carries an astonishing aura.

The ground trembled slightly with the Lava Giant’s charge, but to Bai Xia and Tian Zheng’s simultaneous relief, its speed, while faster than anticipated, remained within an acceptable range.

This meant their pressure would be significantly alleviated later on.

Yet, as the Lava Giant drew nearer, the flames burning around its body caused Bai Xia to frown once more, for this continuous scorching fire would be incredibly difficult to deal with without a proper strategy.

Approaching it meant being burned, and the Lava Giant’s hide was impossibly thick; even attempting to slowly wear it down would make their side the more perilous throughout the entire process.

It would truly be comical if they failed to wear it down and ended up being burned to death first.

But how exactly should they handle it?

Bai Xia felt a headache coming on, but just then, she suddenly heard Tian Zheng exclaim softly, “Ice Frost Aura!”

As his voice rang out, a blue halo flashed over both of them, and then circles of beautiful ice spirits wrapped around their forms, instantly clearing the once scorching air.

[Ice Frost Aura]: Summons ice spirits to bestow a spiritual blessing upon the user and up to two companions. The surrounding frost resists a certain amount of damage and slows down approaching enemies. Lasts one minute, cooldown three minutes.

Ice Frost Aura was an active skill inherent to Tian Zheng’s Ice Crystal Battle Armor.

Bai Xia hadn’t checked the full attributes of those two pieces of equipment earlier, so she hadn’t anticipated such an effect now.

Evidently, this was also Qingcheng’s deliberate design.

Ice Frost Aura perfectly neutralized the burning sensation caused by the Lava Giant’s proximity; even the burning damage was offset.

However, it could only be sustained for a mere minute, so they couldn’t waste a single second.

The Lava Giant, clearly despising this chill, grew increasingly agitated, and upon closing the distance, it unleashed a punch at the two of them without hesitation.

The massive fist created a searing gust of wind that rushed towards them; calling it a fist felt inadequate, as to Bai Xia, it resembled nothing so much as a towering, blazing stone pillar!

“Bang!!”

Though the Lava Giant’s colossal fist was easily evaded, its impact on the spot where they had just stood caused the magma in the surrounding cracks to erupt, and the ensuing shockwave made both their untouched bodies involuntarily sway.

Undoubtedly, a direct hit from such power would spell a grim fate for either Bai Xia or Tian Zheng!