Chapter 18: You Dare Show Your Health Bar, Huh?
Scorching lava dripped from Gulton's body down into the volcano, sending molten rock splashing up several ters in all directions.
Gulton's awakening blanketed the sky above the volcano in burning black clouds, with glowing cinders drifting through the air like scattered stars.
Subjected to intense heat over such a long period, the thick armor covering its body had taken on a blazing crimson sheen.
Thousands upon thousands of fangs looked ready to swallow everything on the volcano whole.
The great beast threw its head back and let out a thunderous roar, and the entirety of Mount Vesuvius shuddered with the force of it.
"Weija! Establish a link with !"
"What? Establish a link? Are you joking—are you seriously going to fight it?"
"I have no desire to get myself killed!"
Weija flew through the air, shouting at Viktor with everything it had.
Its mind was in complete collapse. If it had known Viktor was this unhinged from the start—
It would have died before ever signing a Contract with Viktor.
Going along with Viktor like this, it could drop dead any day. And it still had dreams of rising to prominence again?
What a joke!
"We've already co this far. I suppose there's no way around it if I don't link with you."
Weija, deeply reluctant, reached out with 1 wing and touched Viktor's forehead.
In an instant, a far clearer connection materialized in Viktor's mind.
【Establishing link with Evil God 'Habika'……syncing…】
【Sync successful】
Viktor saw a Crow icon appear in his status bar and imdiately knew the link had been established.
"Now that you've linked with , why not strengthen your Teleportation Magic and get us out of here! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Weija darted back and forth beside his ear, clamoring without pause.
Viktor paid no heed to Weija's pleas to flee. Feeling the scorching heat of the Crater around him, he was, if anything, filled with excitent.
"Run?"
A proud smile spread across Viktor's face. In Weija's eyes, he had absolutely lost his mind.
Viktor hadn't lost his mind at all. He had long been itching to challenge this Calamity.
From the mont he heard the na Mount Vesuvius, he knew he had to co.
Exactly as he had imagined—the Molten Fiend Gulton was sealed in the deepest layer beneath the Crater.
This place was a pocket dinsion. No matter what scale of battle erupted here, it would have almost no effect on the outside world.
It was practically a natural arena.
After Gulton was defeated for the first ti, it had been resealed within this space, made accessible to players in the manner of a Dungeon.
And so the Gulton that remained sealed here now was roughly comparable in strength to the one found in the Dungeon.
Viktor looked at the beast that blotted out the sky and found himself entirely confident.
He had lost count of how many tis he had beaten this thing.
And now he was using the far more powerful body of Viktor, with even stronger skills to boot.
On top of that, he had Weija—a Cheat Ability in the flesh.
He hadn't been lying when he said it. Weija truly was an indispensable and formidable asset to Viktor.
Unlimited magic—this Cheat Ability conferred its greatest advantage when used by a Mage above all other classes.
Weija's 1 eye began to flicker with a faint blue glow. Viktor felt a vast ocean of magical energy filling his body, and the magic value in his status bar surged wildly.
10,000……20,000……breaking clean through the limit.
Viktor knew—this was the maximum magic value the ga could hold.
【Viktor】 LV39
HP：1000
MP：999999/999999
With this much magic, it was doable.
Gulton was still stirring. The long period of slumber had left its body encased in a thick shell of massive stone armor, but this also restricted its movent.
It would be so ti yet before it fully broke free from its restraints.
This was Viktor's window to prepare.
He raised both hands, constructing Magic Formations in the air.
Layer after layer of intricate formations spread across the space around him.
Weija watched from above as an endless array of formations began cycling and arranging themselves in sequence, and marveled inwardly at Viktor's mastery of the arcane arts.
Viktor's hands showed no sign of stopping even as he finished laying everything out. Instead, he produced several transparent crystal stones and embedded them into the 6 cardinal points of the Crater.
"Viktor! Are you trying to use this entire volcano as your formation field?"
Viktor said nothing. But when Weija saw the smile on his face—
It had guessed correctly.
The volcano was covered in cryptic Runes, and countless formation wheels cycled through the sky.
The 6 crystal stones began to link together. Runes surfaced upon them. Countless lines began to connect, bend, and leap between them.
A massive Magic Formation descended like a lid over the mouth of the volcano.
With a snap of 2 fingers, spells of varying colors and forms materialized as rotating rings encircling Gulton.
Viktor glanced at the status bar beneath Gulton.
Frozen, Poisoned, Vulnerable, Frenzied……
Countless debuffs began stacking onto the great beast.
He stamped his foot lightly. Dozens of faint beams of light shot from the formation and flooded into Viktor's body.
Attack increased. Water-attribute attack strengthened by 7 levels. Fire resistance……
Viktor felt a torrent of mixed energies moving through every part of his body.
"So this is what a Buff feels like……"
He could feel his muscles noticeably strengthened, his reactions sharper than before.
He could even make out individual drops of lava falling from Gulton's body in clear detail.
Viktor looked up when everything was done.
In that mont, a health bar appeared over Gulton—already towering into the clouds.
Its length was enough to drive an ordinary person to despair—a hundred ters would not be an exaggeration.
With the Buffs active, Viktor's enhanced perception allowed him to make out the far end of the health bar.
LV50!
In the gaming world, a saying had long circulated to praise the greatest players.
As long as you dare show a health bar, even if you're a God, I'll cut you down.
A crimson light flared in Gulton's eyes, blazing across the horizon.
It had awakened.
Everything around them grew vastly more dangerous. The temperature spiked sharply. Flas began spontaneously igniting in broken bursts through the very air, and waves of heat swept across everything on the volcano.
"This is Gulton's Natural Disaster—Scorched Earth!"
The Crow called out from Viktor's shoulder in warning.
Viktor already knew what was happening, but he gave Weija a symbolic nod all the sa.
10 identical blue Magic Formations appeared at the tips of his 10 fingers. A subtle movent—
And an azure castle shimred to life in midair, its heart erupting in surging tidal waves that swept across heaven and earth!
"【3rd-Tier Magic: Tidal Sanctuary!】"
***
Gwen led the Knight Company up the mountain, casually cutting down a monster along the way.
Gwen looked at the fallen monster's body. It resembled a crab, carrying a shell of smoldering rock on its back.
Even after death, its 2 claws kept snip-snapping at the air without stopping.
Before long, the shell suddenly cracked open, and a red crystal stone ca rolling out.
Gwen, quick-eyed and swift-handed, picked up the glowing red crystal stone and examined it carefully.
She imdiately recalled that Viktor had ntioned sothing about needing these crystal stones to craft magic items, and it stuck with her.
"Everyone—whenever you encounter this type of monster, rember to collect these crystal stones!"
She held up the red crystal stone for the Knights to commit its appearance to mory.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Knights responded in unison.
Viktor had helped her quite a bit the night before, and she had no desire to owe anyone a favor—so she thought to help Viktor gather so materials.
A rumbling sound carried down from the Summit, reaching every Knight's ears.
Gwen snapped her head up sharply, eyes turning toward the Crater. A column of black smoke was rising slowly from the top of the volcano.
Then, from the Summit, ca a stunning roar that shook the heavens and earth.
She stared at the Summit with a grave expression and asked.
"Did you all……hear that? That roar?"
Gwen wasn't entirely sure—it had simply sounded like an enormous roar.
The Knights exchanged glances with one another and shook their heads.
"Knight Commander, you must have misheard. It was probably just the noise of the volcano venting ash."
Gwen shook her head at his words, unconvinced, and thought to herself:
Am I the only one who can hear it?
What on earth is that thing?
Gwen turned it over in her mind, and suddenly a flash of clarity struck her.
Viktor had said he was heading to the volcanic Crater.
Could he have discovered sothing up there?
"All Knights! Move to the Crater at double speed! Find Viktor!"
The Knights received the order and quickly ford up, advancing toward the Crater in tight formation.
But even after the Knights had covered the entire periter of the Crater, they found nothing.
The Knights reported back to Gwen that the temperature around them was rising steadily, reaching levels that were not at all normal.
"Spread out and search!"
Gwen imdiately issued the order. The Knights divided into 5 teams and began searching for Viktor at once.
After a long while, the Knights trickled back one by one, every one of them gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.
"Knight Commander! All 5 teams—not a single trace of anyone! The horses can't take the temperature anymore. They've been moved to rest at the Mid-slope."
Gwen herself was feeling faint, sweat pouring down her forehead. How had this volcano suddenly grown so unbearably hot?
"Could this Dormant Volcano actually be about to erupt?"
She shook her head. She had no energy left to think much further on it.
Whether horses or Knights, everyone was gradually reaching the limits of what they could endure in the rising heat, and they had no choice but to descend and rest.
Even her own armor, specially forged and fitted with a tier-1 fire resistance effect, was now nearly unbearable to wear in this heat.
Gwen raised her hand and was just about to lead the Knights away—when a pillar of fire shot suddenly from the Crater straight toward her.
"Everyone, down!"
The Knights, not knowing why, moved swiftly and dropped to the ground. Even the horses obediently knelt down on the Mid-slope.
Gwen turned. The column of fire gradually dissipated into scattered sparks that landed across the ground. The staggering heat left everyone present feeling an oppressive tightness in their chests, their breathing ragged, as though their airways were on fire.
The Crater? How was sothing like this shooting out of it?
The more Gwen thought, the more confused she felt—but there was no ti left for further thought.
"The volcano may be on the verge of erupting! Go evacuate the people at the foot of the mountain imdiately!"
She swept her hand down and issued the order. The Knights rushed down the mountain and made for the town at speed.
Gwen stared at the volcano growing ever more restless, her heart filled with unrelenting worry.
"Viktor……where on earth did you go?!"
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