“This behemoth is about to spit all over the place!”
Despite this being the Lava Giant’s inaugural use of its Lava Bomb skill, Bai Xia instantly recognized the impending attack, betrayed by its overtly obvious movements and the burgeoning glow of firelight.
Spitting indiscriminately was, of course, an utterly uncivilized act, made all the more egregious by the fact that the resulting spittle carried the potential for both explosive devastation and widespread contamination.
Thus, while she possessed the ability to phase into shadow and evade the incoming assault, Bai Xia refrained from doing so.
A superior alternative presented itself: she would force the creature to swallow its own ‘spit,’ teaching it through decisive action that such uncouth behavior was utterly unacceptable.
With her focus intensely narrowed, the young woman’s eyes remained locked onto the incandescent light within the Lava Giant’s maw, and just as it reached its fiery zenith, she surged forward instead of retreating.
As an eerie luminescence flickered within her gaze, the dark power previously coiled around the Shadow Dagger erupted into a seething tempest, akin to fiercely burning flames, and in the subsequent instant, it radiated a perilous, brilliant glow.
Nether Flash!
Nether Flash, an enhanced skill of the upgraded Shadow Dagger, diverged significantly from Lava Bomb; while the latter demanded a brief period for energy condensation, the former unleashed an instantaneous, straight-line piercing assault.
Consequently, even as the Lava Bomb remained lodged, unreleased, within the Lava Giant’s gaping maw, Bai Xia’s strike had already found its mark upon its colossal form.
Spanning a five-meter traverse, a shaft of dark energy streaked forth in a perfect line, piercing the Lava Giant’s immense body with the instantaneous force of a lethal arrow.
In the realm of gaming, a skill in progress, unprotected by the ‘Super Armor’ (TL Note: A common game mechanic where a character becomes immune to crowd control effects while performing an action) attribute, would invariably be interrupted by any incoming attack.
Lacking the ‘Super Armor’ (TL Note: A common game mechanic where a character becomes immune to crowd control effects while performing an action) attribute during its skill cast, the Lava Giant reeled from a momentary stagger as the black radiance tore through its flesh, effectively disrupting the nascent condensation of the Lava Bomb.
This, however, was far from the worst of its predicament. More calamitous still, the nearly materialized Lava Bomb, rather than dissipating upon interruption, underwent a catastrophic magical rampage, detonating violently within the Lava Giant’s own cavernous maw. Simultaneously, the residual dark magic left by the Nether Flash’s piercing strike also erupted.
As both forces detonated concurrently upon the Lava Giant’s frame, the sheer concussive power sent its enormous body reeling, stumbling backward before collapsing with a thunderous roar, much like a small mountain succumbing to a landslide.
Then, before Bai Xia could even complete her turn, having just unleashed her skill, she found herself enveloped by a vast, descending shadow.
“…No way?”
****
Boom!!
The Lava Giant’s colossal form slammed into the earth with a deafening reverberation, its impact so immense that wide fissures spiderwebbed across the surrounding ground.
Witnessing Bai Xia’s diminutive form seemingly crushed beneath the behemoth, Tian Zheng’s pupils constricted sharply. Yet, just as he prepared to utter a warning, the young woman materialized from a nearby patch of shadow.
“Phew… bloody hell, that was close!”
Reaching up, she patted her rather modest chest, the recent harrowing experience still leaving Bai Xia with a palpable sense of dread. It was fortunate indeed that she had reserved Shadow Stealth as a crucial escape ability, for without it, she would undoubtedly have been flattened into a grotesque pulp.
“Are you alright?” Tian Zheng instantly closed the distance, his gaze briefly flicking to the distant Lava Giant, which had yet to rise, before he posed the question.
Bai Xia shook her head, her attention unwavering as it remained fixed on the Lava Giant before her. Yet, just as she poised herself to capitalize on the downed boss, intending to inflict further damage, the colossal creature stirred, rolling its massive form upon the earth.
In the very next moment, its furious, crimson eyes re-locked onto their forms. The Lava Giant let out a thunderous roar, and instantly, its colossal body became wreathed in surging, incandescent flames.
“Roar!!!”
A potent sense of impending peril washed over her, causing Bai Xia’s pupils to contract minutely. Then, she watched as the flame-shrouded giant lifted an arm, now entirely transmuted into molten lava, and in the subsequent second, brought it crashing down with immense force upon the earth before them!
“Watch out!”
Tian Zheng’s urgent warning proved utterly futile. In but a fleeting instant, accompanied by a cataclysmic roar that dwarfed the sound of the Lava Giant’s previous collapse, a dreadful, flame-laced shockwave erupted, spreading furiously outwards before slamming into their forms!
Bai Xia had utterly failed to anticipate that the Lava Giant, having suffered the interruption and subsequent auto-detonation of its Lava Bomb, would immediately unleash yet another devastating skill.
Even if she had, the realization would have been moot, for they possessed no time whatsoever to evade the attack.
Bai Xia was flung backwards by the expansive flame impact, her once-robust health bar plummeting by three-quarters in an instant. Tian Zheng, however, found himself in an even more dire predicament; despite the Lava Giant’s strike lacking any discernible wind-up, it still sent him reeling and stunned him in place. The behemoth, now fully upright, seized the opportunity, pursuing him with a devastating arm-swing that reduced his health to a mere sliver.
He had only survived thanks to his newly equipped gear, coupled with the protective effects of Frost Aura and elemental resistance, which collectively mitigated a substantial portion of the damage. Without these boons, he would undoubtedly have been instantly annihilated.
Having been thrust into immediate peril, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng, both scrambling to widen the distance, exchanged a look of shared alarm. They had initially believed that this sluggish behemoth could be slowly eroded through coordinated attacks, confident that its demise was merely a matter of time.
To their shock, a single lapse in vigilance had nearly resulted in their complete annihilation!
Fumbling in her backpack, she retrieved a healing potion and quickly gulped it down. Though verdant halos, indicative of life restoration, continually shimmered around her, Bai Xia found herself utterly devoid of any sense of security.
With a quick glance at the man’s rapidly dwindling health bar nearby, she could only sigh in resignation and once more surged into the fray.
Fortunately, having unleashed two potent skills in quick succession, the Lava Giant’s immediate threat had significantly diminished. Moreover, it did not relentlessly hound Tian Zheng despite his critical health; after a few well-placed attacks from Bai Xia, the behemoth was easily redirected to another area.
Briefly retreating from the maelstrom, the man remained silent, dedicating himself entirely to restoring his vitality. The moment his health bar crept back into a safe range, he plunged back into the heart of the conflict.
Freed from the immediate menace of Lava Bombs and the earth-shattering assault, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng steadily chipped away at the Lava Giant’s health, replenishing their own vitality with potions as they fought. Yet, just as they began to inflict a visibly noticeable dent in its colossal health bar, another pressing concern loomed: the Frost Aura’s duration was nearing its end!
Feeling the corrosive bite of the flames once the protective blue light faded, Bai Xia deftly sidestepped a sweeping blow from the Lava Giant before calling out to Tian Zheng, “Tsk… Great God (TL Note: A respectful and common online gaming term for a highly skilled player), do you have many potions left?”
“Enough,” Tian Zheng affirmed, retreating a step to quickly survey his remaining supplies. A brief glance was all it took before he nodded in confirmation.
To fulfill the village chief’s previous quest, he had not only acquired new equipment but also stocked up on a considerable quantity of potions. Having expended few during their encounter with the goblins, these reserves now proved exceptionally timely.
It was a well-known fact that restorative potions in this game typically fell into two distinct categories: instant recovery and gradual recovery.
Instant recovery boasted the benefits of rapid replenishment and swift cooldowns, though the total amount restored was comparatively modest. Gradual recovery, conversely, offered sustained healing over time, ultimately restoring a greater sum of health, albeit with a slightly extended cooldown period.
Without the Frost Blessing to negate the scorching flames emanating from the Lava Giant, their only recourse was to rely on gradual recovery potions. Failing that, they would undoubtedly succumb to the inferno long before they could wear down the monstrous golem.
“I hope my hands don’t break off before I manage to hack it to death.”
Following their brief exchange, Bai Xia gulped down another potion and charged once more at the Lava Giant. She harbored a grim suspicion that even if victory were eventually hers, the sheer resilience of this absurdly tanky monster would leave her with a lasting psychological scar for a considerable time to come.
Yet, ‘surrender’ was not an option available to her now. After all, she possessed no inclination for allowing her body to be admired by countless strangers, even if this loli-esque form was not, in essence, truly her own.
At this thought, the waning surge of motivation coursed through Bai Xia’s veins anew.
“For my innocence, die, you monster, ahhh!”
Tian Zheng flinched at her sudden, piercing cry, nearly misstepping into the path of the Lava Giant’s sweeping arm. Witnessing Bai Xia’s newfound ferocity, however, left him utterly bewildered, his face a canvas of unspoken questions.
What in the world? She’d just consumed a healing potion, not some kind of stimulant, hadn’t she? Why was she suddenly acting as if she’d swallowed the wrong concoction entirely?