Chapter 147: The Burning Mountain

By the following morning, Jet had reached the foot of the volcanic mountain.

The enormous formation rose above the surrounding wilderness, its dark slopes covered in jagged rocks and ancient streams of hardened lava.

Patches of vegetation clung stubbornly to the lower elevations, but farther up, the landscape became increasingly barren.

Thin columns of steam emerged from cracks scattered across the mountainside, and the air carried a persistent smell of sulfur.

Although the volcano had been considered dormant before the First Red Moon, the concentration of Fire Mana surrounding it suggested that its interior had undergone considerable changes over the past fifty years.

Jet stood beside a weathered boulder, studying the mountain while eating the last portion of his breakfast.

He had spent the previous night inside a sheltered rocky depression several kilometers away, deliberately avoiding the valley where he’d discovered evidence of an unusually powerful Mana Beast.

The enormous footprints and destruction he’d encountered were enough to convince him that some creatures inhabiting this region exceeded what he could comfortably handle at 2-Star.

Fortunately, the beast responsible hadn’t appeared during the night, allowing him to rest without interruption.

He finished eating and stored the remaining supplies inside his inventory.

"Now comes the difficult part," Jet remarked, looking toward the mountain.

His knowledge of the previous timeline had brought him to the correct region, but it offered little assistance concerning the treasure’s exact location.

The reports he’d remembered mentioned a Fire-aligned Origin Treasure discovered somewhere beneath the volcanic mountain. Unfortunately, the articles hadn’t included a detailed account of the route taken by its discoverers.

Jet would have to find that route himself.

He began climbing.

---

The lower slopes were relatively manageable, although the uneven terrain occasionally forced Jet to abandon the obvious paths and climb directly across sections of exposed rock.

His improved Strength and Agility made the ascent considerably easier than it would have been before his advancement.

He could leap across narrow ravines, maintain his balance on unstable surfaces, and climb steep formations without exhausting himself.

However, the mountain wasn’t uninhabited.

His first encounter occurred beside a narrow ravine where several enormous lizards were resting on rocks warmed by Fire Mana.

Their bodies were covered in dark reddish scales, and glowing orange patterns extended along their backs.

Each creature measured nearly four meters from head to tail, with powerful jaws and thick claws adapted for gripping stone.

The nearest lizard noticed Jet approaching and immediately raised its head.

A faint orange glow appeared inside its throat.

Jet recognized the warning and moved before the creature attacked. A stream of flames erupted from its mouth, sweeping across the rocks where he’d been standing moments earlier.

The heat blackened the stone, but Jet had already drawn the Vorpal Blade and closed the distance.

His first strike severed the lizard’s neck.

The second creature lunged from behind a boulder, attempting to seize his leg. Jet pivoted and drove his blade through its skull, killing it before it could complete the attack.

The remaining lizard retreated toward the ravine, apparently recognizing that the intruder was considerably more dangerous than expected.

Jet didn’t pursue it.

He examined the two carcasses before retrieving his harvesting knife from the inventory.

Both creatures belonged to the Lesser Rank, although their Fire-aligned abilities made them more dangerous than the ordinary beasts he’d encountered in the forest.

He extracted their Blood Essence and several valuable materials, including their heat-resistant scales, before storing everything away.

"Fire-resistant scales might fetch a decent price," Jet remarked, cleaning his knife.

He continued climbing shortly afterward, following a natural depression between two enormous ridges. The surrounding temperature gradually increased, and he occasionally noticed faint red light glowing beneath cracks in the volcanic stone.

By midday, he discovered the first entrance leading into the mountain.

It was a wide opening partially concealed beneath an overhanging cliff, with warm air flowing steadily from its interior.

Jet examined the darkness beyond the entrance before stepping inside.

---

The passage descended gradually into the mountain, its walls composed of dark volcanic rock threaded with occasional reddish mineral deposits.

Small crystals embedded in the stone emitted faint light, providing enough illumination for Jet to navigate without additional equipment. The air was noticeably warmer than outside, and the concentration of Fire Mana increased with every few dozen meters he traveled.

Jet could feel the elemental energy surrounding him, although he couldn’t absorb it directly with the same efficiency as an Awakener possessing an awakened Fire-aligned Divine Rune. The Eight-Armed Asura enhanced his physique and combat capabilities, but it didn’t grant him authority over flames.

This made him want to awaken Ilios even more.

He followed the passage until it divided into three separate tunnels. The left descended sharply, while the right appeared partially blocked by fallen rocks. The central passage continued forward, although several enormous claw marks covered its entrance.

Jet considered his options before choosing the central route.

He hadn’t traveled far when a low growl echoed through the tunnel.

A massive creature emerged from the darkness ahead.

It resembled an enormous mountain lion, although its body was covered in patches of black scales rather than ordinary fur. Its shoulders stood nearly two meters high, and a mane of reddish hair surrounded its neck. More concerning were the flames flickering around its paws, leaving glowing footprints wherever it stepped.

Jet immediately recognized it as a Greater-Rank Mana Beast.

The creature lowered its body and sprang forward.

Jet drew the Vorpal Blade and sidestepped its initial attack, but the beast twisted unexpectedly and swept one flaming paw toward his chest. He raised his weapon to intercept the strike, and the collision sent a powerful impact through his arms.

The beast landed several meters away, growling.

Jet adjusted his grip.

"You’re faster than the others," Jet observed, watching its movements.

The creature attacked again, this time releasing a burst of flames from its jaws before lunging through the fire.

Jet avoided the flames and activated the Asura Physique, allowing its enhancement to reinforce his body. His movements accelerated immediately, and he slipped beneath the beast’s claws before delivering a powerful slash across its shoulder.

The blade cut through scales and flesh. The creature roared and attempted to retreat, but Jet followed with another strike, severing its neck before it could recover.

Its enormous body collapsed against the tunnel wall.

Jet exhaled and examined the fallen beast. The encounter had required greater attention than his earlier battles, particularly because the creature had combined its physical attacks with elemental abilities.

Nevertheless, his improved 2-Star strength had allowed him to maintain control throughout the exchange.

He harvested its Blood Essence, Beast Core, and several valuable materials before continuing deeper into the mountain.

Nearly an hour later, Jet discovered that the tunnels were considerably more extensive than he’d anticipated.

Several passages ended abruptly against collapsed rock formations, while others descended into chambers filled with steaming water or dangerous concentrations of volcanic gases.

At one point, he encountered a narrow bridge of hardened stone stretching across a deep fissure.

Far below, streams of molten rock moved slowly through the darkness, illuminating the surrounding walls with an ominous orange glow.

Jet crossed carefully, avoiding sections where the stone had begun cracking beneath his weight.

On the opposite side, he encountered another Greater-Rank creature resembling an enormous armored salamander. Its body was nearly six meters long, and thick plates of reddish stone covered its back.

The creature attempted to block his passage, releasing bursts of scorching vapor whenever he approached.

Jet quickly discovered that its defenses were considerably stronger than those of the mountain lion.

His first attack barely damaged the armored plates.

Rather than wasting strength striking the same area repeatedly, he waited for the creature to expose its underside while attempting to bite him.

Jet slipped beneath its jaws and delivered a powerful upward strike, piercing the softer scales protecting its throat.

The salamander collapsed after a second attack.

Jet harvested the valuable materials and continued onward, increasingly aware that the mountain’s inhabitants were becoming more dangerous.

Then he encountered something that made him stop immediately.

The passage ahead opened into an enormous cavern, its floor covered in broken stone and scattered bones. Several large creatures rested near a glowing pool of molten rock, their bodies resembling monstrous horned bulls covered in thick volcanic armor.

Jet counted four. Each possessed an enormous muscular frame, with flames occasionally escaping from gaps between its armored plates.

However, it was the creature resting behind them that caught his attention.

It was considerably larger than the others.

Its horns curved upward like enormous black blades, and its body was covered in thick layers of dark armor streaked with glowing cracks. Even while resting, the beast radiated an oppressive presence that made Jet instinctively tighten his grip on the Vorpal Blade.

He immediately understood that this wasn’t an opponent he should challenge.

The creature’s strength clearly exceeded that of the Greater-Rank beasts he’d encountered earlier. Fighting it inside an enclosed cavern, surrounded by four additional monsters, would be an unnecessary gamble.

Jet slowly withdrew from the entrance.

One of the smaller bulls raised its head, apparently detecting something unusual.

Jet stopped moving. For several tense seconds, the creature stared toward the passage before lowering its head again.

Only then did Jet continue retreating.

"Definitely not going that way," Jet muttered after putting sufficient distance between himself and the cavern.

He had no intention of discovering the limits of his new strength by provoking five powerful Mana Beasts simultaneously.

Jet spent the next several hours exploring alternative passages, occasionally encountering weaker creatures that he dispatched without much difficulty.

The mountain’s interior proved increasingly confusing, with tunnels twisting around enormous chambers and descending toward sections where the temperature became almost unbearable.

By late afternoon, he was beginning to wonder whether he’d entered the wrong part of the mountain.

Then something changed.

As Jet approached another intersection, he noticed an unusual concentration of Fire Mana flowing through the surrounding passage. Unlike the ordinary elemental energy he’d encountered throughout the mountain, this Mana felt extraordinarily dense.

He stopped and examined the walls.

Several thin cracks glowed with a deep golden-orange light, considerably brighter than the reddish mineral deposits he’d seen elsewhere.

Jet placed his palm against the stone.

The warmth radiating from it was intense.

More importantly, the Fire Mana seemed to be flowing from somewhere beyond the wall rather than originating from the surrounding volcanic rock.

Jet’s expression brightened. "Could this be it?"

He followed the glowing cracks along the passage until they disappeared beneath a section of collapsed stone.

At first glance, the obstruction appeared to be an ordinary rockfall, but when Jet examined it more carefully, he noticed a narrow opening concealed between two enormous boulders.

Warm air flowed through the gap.

And with it came an extraordinary concentration of Fire Mana.

Jet crouched beside the opening and looked into the darkness beyond.

The passage descended sharply, disappearing into a faint golden glow emanating from somewhere deep beneath the mountain.

He could feel the elemental energy even from where he stood.

It was considerably stronger than anything he’d encountered since entering the volcanic region.

Jet slowly smiled.

After spending nearly an entire day navigating the mountain’s dangerous passages, he had finally discovered something promising.

He couldn’t yet confirm that the Origin Treasure was waiting below.

But whatever was producing that extraordinary concentration of Fire Mana was certainly worth investigating.

Jet tightened his grip on the Vorpal Blade and stepped toward the concealed passage.