Chapter 148: An Extremely Hot Lava Pool

Beside a black stone mound, Victor stepped onto a relatively intact rocky platform and finally stopped.

Only now did he fully register the soreness and numbness in his right arm, along with the burning pain in his palm.

The enormous flaming wheel released by the Level 41 mage had been far more powerful than ordinary fire-attribute magic.

Even though he had avoided the direct impact as much as possible, he had still endured considerable recoil.

"Second Tier magic really isn’t something I can casually take head-on for now."

Victor lowered his head and examined his palm.

Fortunately, his injuries were not serious.

His skin had suffered only minor burns, and his ability to wield his sword had not been noticeably affected.

Rather than waste time treating the injuries, he surveyed his surroundings.

The area looked completely different from what he had observed at a distance.

The surface of the black stone mound was uneven and covered in densely packed crimson patterns. Several small streams of lava flowed along the rocks before converging into an enormous fissure beneath the mound.

Strangely, the rocks surrounding that fissure possessed a dull golden-brown coloration.

Compared to the surrounding stones that had been heated crimson by the lava, they appeared particularly unusual.

Victor crouched down and extended his hand toward the rock wall.

His High Level Fire Element Affinity came into effect once again, and after a short while, he confirmed his suspicions.

This black stone mound was not an ordinary natural rock formation.

For countless years, fire energy had gathered beneath this place, melting the surrounding rocks over and over until the entire mound had taken shape.

And the pale golden flame he had been searching for was hidden somewhere deep within it!

"No wonder I couldn’t sense its source directly earlier, no matter how hard I tried."

Victor stood up.

What had been blocking his spiritual perception was not the lava itself. Rather, the dense fire energy within the mound had concealed the flame’s presence. If he wanted to reach it, he would have to find a way inside.

Continuing along the edge of the mound, he soon discovered the natural fissure he had previously observed from afar.

Its entrance was concealed between two enormous black rocks and measured less than two meters wide. Waves of scorching air flowed from within.

Most importantly, the rock surfaces inside the fissure were covered in the same dark-golden patterns.

Victor took out the thumb-sized Fire Crystal he had already looted from the lizard, placed it at the fissure’s entrance, and observed the changes within it.

Before long, the mana on the crystal’s surface began draining away, some of it even traveling along the dark-golden patterns toward the depths of the fissure.

Watching this, Victor gained a clearer understanding of what was happening.

The fissure most likely led to wherever those streams of energy ultimately converged.

He retrieved the Fire Crystal, gripped the Crimson Flame Fang, and prepared to enter.

Just then, a gloomy voice sounded behind him.

"Brat."

Victor stopped and turned around.

The Level 41 middle-aged mage had made his way back along another rocky path around the basin’s perimeter.

He did not approach recklessly, however, remaining on elevated ground several dozen meters away and glaring at Victor with a dark expression.

"It seems I underestimated you," the mage said in a measured tone. "Only First Tier, yet you managed to exploit the changes in the earth veins to break through my spell blockade."

Victor offered no reply, only adjusting the sword in his hand.

His opponent had arrived somewhat faster than expected.

However, the fire energy around the mound was much more unstable than elsewhere in the basin. If the mage continued attacking recklessly, he might not necessarily gain the upper hand.

The middle-aged mage clearly understood this as well.

His attention shifted to the natural fissure behind Victor, and a trace of greed flashed through his eyes.

"It seems you’ve already found a path leading to that flame."

Victor smiled. "What? You want to go inside too?"

"Move aside," the mage said in a deep voice. "I can overlook what happened earlier."

Victor laughed aloud. "You’re the one who nearly burned me to death just now, and you’re telling me you’ll overlook it?"

The middle-aged mage’s expression grew even uglier.

"Young man, don’t be too greedy."

Rather than continue arguing, the mage raised his staff.

Just as the fire-attribute crystal at its tip was about to glow again, an extremely faint humming sound emerged from the depths of the fissure behind Victor!

Buzz——!

A pale golden glow spread rapidly along the dark-golden patterns inside the fissure!

Immediately afterward, the fire-element mana that had been flowing underground accelerated!

\[Detected an increase in the source fluctuations of a high tier natural flame!\]

\[The target is absorbing large amounts of surrounding fire elements!\]

\[Warning: Abnormal energy fluctuations detected within the current earth-vein node!\]

Reading the notifications, Victor realized something was wrong.

The golden flame seemed to be entering an even more active stage.

If he remained outside fighting this mage, he might miss his chance to approach the flame’s source.

And so he decided not to waste any more time.

"Want that thing?" Victor glanced toward the middle-aged mage. "Then come and take it yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and charged directly into the natural fissure!

"Bastard!" The middle-aged mage roared furiously, but before he could pursue, the earth veins surrounding the black stone mound began trembling violently once more!

Rumble!

A crimson pillar of lava erupted from the ground between them, severing the previously passable rocky path!

A blast of scorching air rushed toward the middle-aged mage, forcing him to retreat temporarily.

By the time he regained his footing, Victor had disappeared into the depths of the fissure.

"Damn it!"

The middle-aged mage’s face turned ashen with rage.

He had originally believed that with his Level 41 strength and two Second Tier companions, controlling this area would be effortless.

Who would have thought that a young swordsman who was only First Tier would manage to enter the earth-vein node right under his nose?!

Still, he had no intention of giving up because he could sense it too. The source of the high tier natural flame was releasing increasingly powerful fluctuations from deep within the fissure.

If he delayed any longer, that treasure might genuinely fall into the young man’s hands first.

The middle-aged mage raised his staff again and began searching for a way through the erupting lava.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Victor was making his way deeper through the narrow underground fissure.

The surrounding rock walls grew increasingly hot, while the dark-golden patterns became denser. Even the fire elements in the air were beginning to flow forward at a speed barely perceptible to the naked eye.

Finally, after passing through a slightly winding rocky passage, the view before Victor opened up.

A natural cavern appeared before him.

At its center was a pool of slowly rotating crimson lava.

Directly above the lava, a pale golden flame no larger than a fist hovered silently.

It burned without any fuel and remained unaffected by the surrounding lava, continuously absorbing the fire-element energy converging from every direction.

With each faint flicker, the fire-element mana throughout the cavern fluctuated in response.

Standing at the entrance, Victor gazed at the genuine high tier natural flame before him, and an excited smile appeared on his face.

"Finally found you!"

But his luck didn’t last. Just as he prepared to approach, the previously tranquil pale golden flame underwent a change.

Buzz!

At its center, an even more dazzling golden light emerged.

Immediately afterward, the entire pool of lava began churning violently, splashing magma into the air.

Before his eyes, the pale golden flame, originally no larger than a fist, rapidly expanded. Within a few seconds, it had transformed into a golden fireball nearly a meter in diameter!

The temperature throughout the cavern soared.

Dark-golden patterns covering the surrounding rock walls lit up one after another. Massive amounts of fire elements surged along those intricate lines toward the center, while the magma that had been rotating slowly began to churn violently, sending scorching lava splashing out of the pool.

Victor immediately retreated several steps.

WHOOSH!

A golden tongue of flame swept across the magma, passing only a few meters from where he had been standing.

Several pieces of black rock in its path began to soften despite their extraordinary hardness, their surfaces rapidly turning dark red.

"That power..."

Victor examined the changes in the rocks, his expression growing serious.

Rocks capable of surviving in such an environment for extended periods naturally possessed exceptional heat resistance.

Yet they could not withstand even a moment of contact with that golden flame.

Had he been struck directly, even his High Level Fire Element Affinity might not have been enough to protect him from injury!

...

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