Master Of None

Chapter 2310: 2310. Ancient Problem

Looking carefully, Walker could tell that the lava flowing from the volcano had lowered. It was being held back yet again by something. Whether a blockage or whatever he had sensed changing the flow of earth and fire mana, it didnʼt matter. He and Ignus were nearly at the top so they could handle this.

There was a shaking here and there though. Like the earth could feel the pressure which shouldnʼt be there and was building up even more than before. While this could be somewhat true, Walker felt that it was all a precursor. A warning that things had gotten worse again.

Along the rim of the volcano, Walker spotted cooling crystals and ores. They had been stuck there when they were forced up through the magma. Then they fused to the edges creating a whole ring of ores which normally would not be mixed together.

It would make an interesting harvest, unfortunately, that thought could only sit with Walker for a single breath as he noticed that the theory they had was true.

”Half of this volcano is still sealed!”

The stone that was blocking half of the magma from moving was nothing like what Walker or Ignus had expected. They had both expected an obsidian black rock that had cooled from the magma. Being much more dense and flat. Yet, that was not the case at all.

The stone they were looking at looked somewhat spiky and a pale gray. As if the stone had been mixed with something else other than what normal magma would create. That was the only explanation as Walker looked at it.

He couldnʼt keep himself focused though. The only way that he was able to even see the stone was because Ventus was guiding the smoke away at a better rate allowing him the clarity. Regardless, he was struggling because bubbles of magma were sending molten bits nearby.

Just because he had a high fire and earth mana resistance, did not mean that he was completely impervious to it. The heat would be enough to make most people fall as they were. ”The fire angels have arrived.” Ignus looked up as he saw the flapping shapes appearing.

They had used the elemental rune teleportation formation to get here from the Sigil continent. After that, they had been playing catch up to Walker and Ignus. To be fair, the pair moved very quickly, even dealing with other issues.

However, Walker could see the strain on their faces. They had been resisting the higher amounts of fire mana than what they were used to. Their bodies could easily get the fire mana they needed to use skills, unfortunately, they were being overloaded.

”Use your skills and release your fire mana faster. That should cut down on the pain and direct those flames at the stone right there.” Walkerʼs plan was simple, break up the blockage.

He could see the larger pieces of stone that were bubbling up from the magma too. Half of the mouth of the volcano was being caught up by it. The ores tempered by the volcanic power were incredibly tough and took time to change forms again at the top of that magma. And since there was a breeze, they were cooling and getting stuck together more easily.

”Understood!” the angels all replied. They had come to help and they were waiting for this chance. Especially since they had managed to meet up with a few of the fire affinity dragonkin who had been moving about to handle a monster trapped by Walker and Ignus.

Multiple sword slashes using flames and condensed fire balls erupted toward the mouth of the volcano. Ignus watched and was very impressed by the changes in their strength. He had personally seen the fire affinity angels once before. A few of them had visited Genesis.

They had the ability to take in the purer fire mana around them and use it as their own. That sort of skill was natural for them due to their species. It was similar to having the best possible buffs for whatever magic of skills were being used. But for the angels, it was buff to their natural affinity and bodies as a whole.

A high amount of magical and fire based skills had been sent at the gray stone along with the stuck together ores. The results were not what was expected though.

Instead of breaking the stone and freeing the magma flow to break that build up of pressure, there was another change. An unexpected change.

Shaking began immediately. Not from the pressure of the volcano, but from the changes in the stone. Walker was witnessing the stone shift. ”I see why I couldnʼt get a proper all around appraisal. It wasnʼt because the smoke and bubbling magma pieces were everywhere. It was because I was only seeing part of it.”

ʼVolcanic horror

This is considered one of the most terrifying of ancient volcanic monsters. Not because of its spiky legs and spider like appearance. Instead, it is due to the fact that it lives by creating nests within the mouth of a volcano and causing terror to unfold through the entire volcanic area.

They purposefully build pressure to expand the volcanic area and alter it from within the mouth of the volcano. This creates a better nesting place for their eggs and also expands the potential for their food to grow in larger lava lakes.

While a hundred eggs can hatch, only one will often survive to be able to take over the mouth of a volcano. Others may attempt to travel outside of the current volcanic area and risk losing their fire affinity becoming an earth affinity crag spider which carves its hidden nests in to the sides of mountains.

These monsters can use their fire and earth affinities to create webbing made of magma itself. This allows them to force ores, stone, and other aspects of volcanic magma to fuse together. They will have a solid stone cover to block the flow of pressure so that they can forcefully expand their territory.

Their constant changing of pressure forces monsters deep within the magma lakes underneath the solid ground upwards in the belief that they feed.

When cornered or under threat, the volcanic horror will use its immensely tough molten exoskeleton as a bashing weapon, its tempered ore legs as spears, and molten stone or ores as its venom. Their large size can also cause small earthquakes.

Its body will often be dissolved in to the volcano when it dies, however, remnants of it can be found and used as nearly mythical crafting materials only written about in ancient writings…ʼ

Walker wished he could focus more on the all around appraisals. The massive creature moving out from under the stone cover it had made to block the magma from flowing. The legs it had glinted with unrefined ore, but the pressure they had been under caused them to become dense and much sharper regardless.

There was a semi molten exoskeleton covering its whole back, it was more similar to a crabʼs shell than what Walker had seen on a spider. Not that he could care about this right now. From what he saw, he could tell that just a few hits would not be enough to deal with it.

The molten aspect of its exoskeleton would allow for it to absorb some of the force when it came to physical damage. Therefore, allowing it even more resistance in a battle. But what really stood out were the long and pointed fangs that glowed red hot but did not melt.

”Ancient monsters that could even change an entire landscape. Even controlling volcanos. I canʼt do that alone without ruining everything. That thing can.” Walker could hear a small bit of jealousy in Ignusʼs tone.

He understood though. This monster could perfectly balance earth and fire mana so that it would control the pressure within a volcano. On top of that, it was within that pressure as well. Tempering itself to become stronger while building the perfect environment for its food to grow and for its eggs to incubate within.

”This one needs to be beaten right now.” Walker saw one of the legs shooting through the air and digging its way up from the mouth of the volcano. It was preparing to attack those that had come to bother its nest. ”But the younger pens that arenʼt this larger can be left alone. We will have to hunt those that cause issues in the future.”

While there was a risk here, Walker saw this as a species of ancient monster that did not have to die. They only grew this big if they were allowed to. They could be hunted at certain sizes to protect the environment and also learn from them. His focus matched Ignusʼs as they prepared for a harsh battle.

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