The outer ring was least affected. Aside from occasional scholars visiting to study the volcano, no one else set foot on Volcano Island.
Carried by the hot wind, their ship sailed into the waters surrounding the island.
The island had almost no vegetation, its most striking feature being an orange-red river. It was a river of molten lava, stretching from the island’s base to the sea; the rest of the area was barren.
Although it was an active volcano, Alka hadn’t expected lava to be continuously flowing from it.
As the surging lava flowed into the sea, they navigated their ship around the island to observe it. Halfway through their observation, they discovered a very good spot to dock.
They imdiately docked the ship, then jumped off the sailboat and set foot on the island.
Pororo remained standing on the deck, waving at them. This ti, he would stay behind on the ship.
The island’s hot and dry environnt made him very uncomfortable, and Julia felt the sa. If Alka and the others were truly to enter the lava to search for the Treasure, they would need Julia to control the Treasure to assist them. So, she would have to be slightly inconvenienced, but Julia didn’t mind.
Treading on the sand and soil beneath their feet, they headed directly toward the volcano’s crater.
This volcano had a vast surface area, but its slope was gentle and not hard to climb. One just needed to find a good position to ascend, as there were no steep or highly angled cliffs.
The higher they climbed, the hotter the air beca. They once again saw the continuously flowing river of lava, the rising hot air distorting the space around it.
A humidifier Alka had made for Julia circled incessantly around him, spraying mist. The humidifier was set to maximum power, which also helped to cool Alka and the others.
The pungent sll of sulfur grew stronger.
They finally reached the volcano’s crater.
Looking downward, astonishing heat surged towards them. Below, the orange-red molten lava continuously bubbled and boiled.
Seeing the lava below, the three turned their heads to stare at Alka.
Lucilia, sitting on Alka’s shoulder, patted his cheek and couldn’t help saying, "Why don’t we just give up? How are we supposed to retrieve it?"
Even Lucilia couldn’t comprehend how they could enter the extre heat of the lava below to acquire the Treasure with their current abilities. It was simply courting death. Dying here would an no remains would be left.
Looking at the lava below, Alka too began to feel hesitant.
Facing it and imagining it were entirely different things. He had never truly seen the inside of a volcanic crater before, let alone lava. He felt that even with Frost Nova assisting, it would be impossible to descend and obtain the Treasure. Not to ntion Julia; although she had so grasp of the Treasure, she hadn’t deeply controlled or mastered it. This Treasure was ant for the Church; focusing too much energy on it would an the losses outweigh the gains, and it would also alter the properties of the Magic Circuits within her body.
"Why don’t we give it a try?" Julia suggested. They had co all this way; if they didn’t try, this trip would be a waste, and that would be too unfortunate.
Hearing Julia’s words, Alka nodded, since she had suggested it.
By Julia’s feet was a box for storing the Treasure, which she was currently safeguarding. After all, her strength had reached Three Spirals, and she also had experience at the Six Spirals level. Protecting the Treasure was well within her capabilities.
Then, a puppet appeared in Alka’s hand, one he had developed when previously crafting a new body for Lucilia. Although it hadn’t completely achieved the goal of enabling Lucilia to move, the item itself was already scrap. It was perfect for testing, and strictly speaking, it could be considered a Magic Item. It was just sowhat crude.
Julia, having regained control of the Blue Treasure Pearl, showed another change in her eye color. The area around Alka and the others grew cooler, causing them to sigh in relief.
"Are you ready?"
Alka nodded.
Julia extended a finger, Frost spreading from her fingertip as she touched the puppet. Thick white Frost imdiately covered it; even Alka’s palm felt the biting cold. But he didn’t release his grip.
Once it was completely enveloped, Alka imdiately threw the puppet into the lava below.
The Frost-covered puppet quickly fell into the lava, and a large amount of white steam billowed upward. As the outer layer of Frost vanished, the puppet was slowly subrged by the lava.
Alka closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. After a mont, he opened them. "It only lasted ten seconds before the Frost coating was burned away."
Surviving for ten seconds in the lava was already quite an accomplishnt. But ten seconds wasn’t nearly enough ti for them to retrieve the Treasure below. Alka’s plan had been to use his Dream Realm body to retrieve the Treasure. After several months of rest, the spiritual cracks from his previous death had mostly healed. Even if his substitute body died once more, it wouldn’t harm him or affect his spirit. However, he only had one chance. Trying more than once could damage his spirit, an outco Alka found sowhat unacceptable. Because if he failed once, he couldn’t guarantee success on the next attempt. Ultimately, he might waste both chances. Any further attempts risked irreparable damage, and Alka would absolutely not harm his own fundantal essence for a Treasure.
"Then let’s try again," Julia said. "I can add a thicker layer of Frost, as long as this puppet can withstand it."
Hearing Julia’s words, Alka nodded.
Another puppet appeared in his hand, and he placed a Mirror on its hand. This Mirror was crafted by Alka through card fusion, incorporating Chadite’s reconnaissance ripple. It was a close-range ripple, capable of detecting the target’s condition with great clarity.
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