Chapter 432: Misha's Trial (IV)
“Phew… That’s it?”
“Is this really the hardest Trial?”
Stuffed Bun, perched atop his Wyvern, heaved the Longsword onto his shoulder, panting heavily. If you ignored the fact that he was completely charred—looking more like a burnt Steamed Bun than a human—his stance was still pretty cool.
“You’re practically a charcoal pancake. Still trying to flex?”
Singo, riding a Wyvern alongside him, leaned against the side of the beast’s flank and fired off a merciless roast.
“Scars are a man’s Medal.”
“But you’re burnt.”
“Fire is the mark of Battle.”
“But you’re burnt.”
“Damn it—”
Scattered debris and the twisted remains of Steam Demon Bats littered the ground. After the combined efforts of dozens of top-tier Players, the monsters deep within the cave had been mostly cleared.
Xia Ye Qiu Yu sighed.
“Don’t celebrate yet. Even if we bribed someone in the Magic Ministry, we’d only get intelligence on the first stage—Path of Burning. The rest of the Trial is entirely decided by the ‘Dragonfire Maiden’ Misha herself. Not even the Ministry knows what comes next.”
“Whew—”
A collective intake of breath rippled through the group.
This first stage was already brutal—over two hundred Players eliminated, monstrous waves stacked to the point of madness. What on earth lay ahead?
But they’d come this far.
There was no turning back.
The Mechanical Divinity units surged forward in their Fireproofers, plowing through the ruins. Stuffed Bun and Singo rode atop the Two-Headed Dragon, flanked by Guarded Escort units on either side of Xia Ye Qiu Yu, ever vigilant against ambushes. Meanwhile, the Magic Coin Players advanced in a shimmering cascade of Arcane Radiance, enchanted spells glowing across their forms.
Following the path, they pushed through traps, fought through swarms of monsters, and finally—emerged into the open.
Before them, the summit of Fire Mountain loomed. A seething pool of magma boiled at the mountain’s mouth, and beyond it, the distant silhouette of the Tower of Conflagration stood like a jagged tooth against the sky.
Stuffed Bun turned, grinning as he patted his Wyvern’s head.
“So this is the final stage?”
“Honestly? Meh. Just a few hundred Steam Bats flying out, some rock-like things popping up from the magma. Maybe a few exploding bombs, a little root spell. Nothing special.”
His words were light, but his jaw was clenched tight.
Now, Stuffed Bun was nothing but blackened ash. Not a single patch of white remained on his body. He looked less like a man and more like a new species entirely.
“No,” Xia Ye Qiu Yu said, his tone suddenly grave. His golden eyes reflected the flickering flames.
Singo cut in without mercy:
“Look at yourself, Charred Bun. Then talk.”
Stuffed Bun turned, gazing upward at the sky.
“Holy—”
The same stunned exclamation echoed from every seasoned Player present—some of them even muttering crude, vulgar variants: “Holy shit.”
Before them, the magma in the mountain’s mouth flowed slowly, heat warping the air into shimmering distortions. Toxic volcanic gas belched into the atmosphere. Flames roared from the magma’s surface—intermingling with thick white smoke and choking black plumes, swirling and spiraling into the sky. Above the pool, towering Fire Tornadoes spun like furious whirlwinds.
“Trialers.”
“I—”
“Obey Misha’s Master…”
A roaring wind swallowed the words. Fire and white smoke coalesced, forming a shape.
And then—there it stood.
A towering figure, nearly ten meters tall, rising from the magma. Its face was a molten lava orb, eyes of seething, liquid flame, staring down at them with overwhelming presence. A massive, formless head made of steam and fire, its tongue a flickering flame that darted in and out. The air around it warped and cracked, the sound of snapping heatwaves filling the air, mingling with the sharp stench of sulfur.
Then—finally—a roar, born from crackling fire.
“It is—your—end!”
[Fire Elemental Elder]
Challenge Rating: 13 (10,000 experience points)
Stuffed Bun blinked, stunned.
“…This is the preparation for an Advanced Quest?”
“You call this advanced?”
“Damn it—if we could beat this thing, why even bother with Career Transition?”
“Trial!”
The Fire Elemental Elder roared, its arm transforming into a whip of molten flame, lashing out at the group.
Crack!
The Paladin from Royal Power Guild’s expensive shield cracked instantly, blackened and split. The Player behind him was severed in two—engulfed in fire before he even hit the ground.
“Shit—killed in one hit?”
“No way!”
“That was a rare Green Gear! A legendary piece!”
The flaming whip cracked through the air again and again, building power.
“Testing!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
This time, the target was the Fireproofer armor. The whip struck again and again, each blow weakening the FireShield barrier. The protective layer flickered, dimmed, then—
Crack!
The barrier shattered. The whip struck the already deformed metal shell with brutal force. Half of the armor, along with its pilot, was cleanly sliced off.
In Ailezegai, fire temperatures typically depended on the caster’s level and the monster’s type. Low-level mages might summon fireballs at a few hundred degrees. High-level casters could unleash firestorms exceeding a thousand degrees.
But the Fire Elemental Elder’s whip? It was in the latter category.
Under such overwhelming power, even their specially-prepared heat-resistant alloy was shattered in just a few lashes.
“Shit—can’t hold!”
“Not yet!”
“Everyone—activate the final contingency!”
The Mechanical Divinity pilot in the cockpit roared, slamming his hand down on a red button.
Boom!
The Mage Player seated in the heart of the armor was violently ejected—ripping through a protective membrane, sent flying. The pilot shoved the lever to its absolute limit, then slammed his hand onto another button marked with a bold, ominous !
The others screamed, eyes alight with fanatic fervor.
“Machine Soul, Protection! From this creature’s Decay Prison!”
The Fireproofer’s propulsion unit erupted in a geyser of flame, launching the Aether Armor forward at terrifying speed—straight toward the Fire Elemental Elder.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The core’s metal sphere pulsed with a frantic red glow.
Crack!
The Elder snarled, lashing out again with another whip of fire.
The armor was torn apart—pilots dead, hull shredded—but it kept flying. It reached the scorching heat of the Elder’s domain.
“Sorry, War狂 Brother—activating Backup Hidden Power Source!”
Beep. Beep-beep.
The sound grew faster, sharper.
BOOM!
The Aether Armor exploded violently. Shards of metal, components, and fragmented limbs of the pilots scattered like shrapnel.
Knowing the Elder’s immunity to fire, they’d poured every last ounce of energy into a spherical lightning burst—
“Pathetic!”
“Insects!”
The Elder raised its massive form, letting out a long, thunderous roar. Arcs of electric current danced across its elemental body, crackling like live wires. The air buzzed with energy.
—Please vote for the moon!—
(End of Chapter)
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