Chapter 386: Playing With Fire

Hellfire Trial…

Qin Ruo frowned deeply, peering closely at these keywords in the system notification, and then at the two exits from the cavern, which both appeared identical to each other.

If he was not mistaken, whichever one he chose, it should take him to his actual Tier 5 Advancement Quest, and he would be given more details then.

But Qin Ruo was still unsure: Both ways really did look exactly the same, and he could not see what lay beyond either one. Things were nothing like what he had imagined, and the plans he had made were all for naught.

At the moment, it looked entirely like a matter of chance, and that gave Qin Ruo a headache! It was truly a cruel situation to be placed in!

This massive cavern should be in the belly of a mountain somewhere, perhaps an active volcano. Maybe the two ends of this corridor each led to a different quest, but the environment would probably remain the same. It was the worst kind of arena for Qin Ruo.

For the System to have put him in such a place, it probably meant that the two quests were equal in difficulty, neither one easier nor harder than the other! The only difference would be in what he’d be asked to do.

‘If that’s the case, there’s no point worrying about it.’

Gritting his teeth, Qin Ruo began to run toward the exit in front of him. As he ran, he brought up his Darkfrost Shield, downed a flask of Great Tree Sap, and scarfed down a portion Special Roasted Snails.

Originally, he had decided not to risk such precious consumables during his Advancement Quest, but the harsh conditions within the volcano had upturned all his plans, and conditions were more dangerous than he had ever been in! Qin Ruo felt he had to do something to compensate for the reduction in his abilities.

In the blazing heat of this furnace, he would not be able to use his Aquamorph skill.

His Twelve Frostramparts Formation might also be of little use here. In such an environment, there was scant little water to be found. Even with all his equipment providing him with a total increase in casting speed of 56%, he would be back to base casting speed in these conditions. A simple Frostrampart would take about two seconds to bring up—amassing twelve of them would take forever, while using up several times the MP!

Besides that, if all the monsters in the volcano had some affinity for fire, then they’d be in their element here. They’d have nothing to fear from his Water Magic or Chilling effects.

Deprived of his Aquamorph, Twelve Frostramparts Formation, and the debilitating effects caused by his Water Magic, Qin Ruo was unable to estimate how much it had damaged his chances of making it through successfully.

Now that things had gotten to this point, however, there was nothing for it but to keep pushing forward. Admittedly, he was also curious to see how bad this so-called “Hellfire Trial” could be!

***

Boom! Rumble rumble rumble rumble!

As he neared his chosen exit, a great commotion erupted behind him.

Looking back, he saw the stone bridge beginning to collapse from the far end, enormous chunks of rock breaking off and tumbling into the lava below with a terrific splash!

Amid the deep rumbling, the rest of the bridge began to disintegrate rapidly, the master-crafted masonry falling to pieces as though having suffered a fatal blow. The devastation progressed along the entire bridge, travelling toward Qin Ruo.

Qin Ruo raced ahead, somehow managing to make it to the exit before the whole thing fell away beneath him. He turned around just in time to see a colossal burst of flame soar up through the cavern, throwing off incredible heat. Even through his Frostbarrier, Qin Ruo could feel some of that broiling heat which could roast a man alive.

As Qin Ruo stood there, already feeling defeated by this Hellfire Trial, and gazed wistfully at the path not taken, now out of reach. He’d been thinking that if he got the chance, he’d go over and take a peek—now there was no chance of that, so never mind.

Into the emptiness, a new system notification rang out:

The Tier 5 Advancement Quest has begun.

The Hellfire Trial has begun: Slay fifty Level 52 Flametongue Toads!

Slay thirty Level 55 Wildfire Foxes!

Slay fifteen Level 58 Lava Giants!

Slay two Level 62 Fire Trolls!

Acquire the Grade 3 herb, “Magmashroom” from the volcano’s peak!

The workload was exactly like what he’d gone through during his Tier 4 Advancement Quest, except for the difference in levels. For this Tier 5 quest, the monsters involved were all of a generally higher level.

Also, during his Tier 4 Advancement Quest, he didn’t recall having to face monsters beyond that tier, such as those Fire Trolls.

But what caught Qin Ruo’s attention was that final task…

Grade 3 herb, Magmashroom!

Back in the Graveyard of the Gods, there had been a Cerberus guarding the Grade 3 herbs. The greatest challenge in this quest would likely involve a Tier 5 Elite Miniboss like that, at the very least.

Without the aid of the Amethyst Orc, he and his Pet would have to somehow get past a Tier 5 Elite Miniboss and acquire a Grade 3 herb. It would probably be at least as difficult as actually killing that Elite Miniboss outright—harvesting a Grade 3 herb would take nearly twenty seconds!

“This is getting interesting…” His brow furrowed as though with a plough, Qin Ruo chuckled wryly and rubbed his forehead, then turned back around and ventured deeper down the tunnel.

***

Truth be told, even in the daunting conditions of this Hellfire Trial—with his casting speed reduced and his Aquamorph skill unusable—Qin Ruo wasn’t the least bit flustered.

He walked down the narrow tunnel through the volcano as calmly as though he was having a pleasant stroll through a garden. Now that he was further away from that intolerable heat, it almost felt like he was on vacation in a region with a bit of unusual scenery. Nothing to worry about at all.

Even if the quest was a little more difficult than usual, things couldn’t get too crazy in the Tier 5 Advancement Quest.

Back when he was performing the Tier 4 quest, a set of ordinary Level 39 Gold equipment had been good enough to get him through the one-of-seven challenge.

Now he was wearing two Legendary items and three Dark Gold ones. Just with their basic attribute bonuses alone, he could flatten all the Tier 5 and Tier 6 monsters in the first four tasks!

The only threat Qin Ruo took seriously was that last task!

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After walking for a dozen seconds or so, Qin Ruo paused before a crooked crossroads.

Turning to look down each of the three paths that lay ahead, he saw that each one twisted this way and that—he couldn’t see more than ten meters down each one, so that there was no way to know what lay in store that way except by actually venturing in.

‘Waste of time.’ Qin Ruo frowned, chose the tunnel which led directly ahead, and continued on!

Moments later, a thunderous croak was heard up ahead.

Qin Ruo paused. ‘Flametongue Toads?’

With an effort of will, he silently began gathering together what little moisture there was in the tunnel. Seconds later, a triple Lycan Barrage appeared, whistling as the wolf heads circled around him. Moving swiftly, Qin Ruo darted around the corner to attack.

It was just a Level 52 monster. At most, its Magic Attack would be, what, two hundred? Couldn’t even scratch his Barrier.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

As he charged in, it seemed that he had triggered some sort of response: three searing lines of fire raced in from the distance, and crashed against Qin Ruo’s Frostbarrier.

As though shot from a flamethrower, the flames streaked through the darkness with startling speed, washing over a broad area, and rushing in with palpable force!

Safe behind the protection of his Frostbarrier, Qin Ruo was unhurt, but his freshly conjured Lycan Barrage was instantly reduced to steam by the scorching blaze.

And that was a Tier 4 spell wasted.

That wasn’t all: The three tongues of flame twisted together, bathing the entire tunnel in fire, the rock walls painted deep red. The glow of lava began to appear as fine tracery all along the tunnel, growing bolder and more extensive with each passing moment.

Qin Ruo watched, stunned, as the entire tunnel was lit ablaze by the Flametongue Toads, transforming it into a genuine hazard! His Frostbarrier, in contact with the dark scarlet lava bubbling at his feet, began to take ongoing damage—two points at a time!

The cracks in the wall were widening, as well. A tremor began rumbling through the tunnel, as though lava was about to spout from the walls at any moment!

The pressure was growing to the point that Qin Ruo could ignore it no longer!

“Damn!” he cursed. Things looked bad. Abandoning the three Flametongue Toads at the far end of the passage, he hastily retreated from the red-hot glow of the tunnel.

Foom!

Barely a moment after he’d escaped from there, dark red lava burst forth from the walls on either side, almost filling up the whole tunnel completely!

And then, the lava began to pour out of the tunnel!

“For goodness’ sake, there’s no end to it!” Qin Ruo turned and fled, retracing his steps back to the crossroads.

As he returned to the crossroads, deep croaks began to issue from the other two passageways—and they were getting closer.

“Crap! I’ve screwed up!”

Now Qin Ruo regretted looking down on those Level 52 Flametongue Toads. With their unexpected ability to take advantage of the volcanic environment, if he allowed the same thing as just now to happen again, and they successfully flooded the other tunnels with lava, he would most likely perish in this accursed place!

He had to break out if he wanted to live!

The croaking from the passageway to the left grew louder!

The moment a huge red toad came into view, crawling upon the wall, Qin Ruo charged straight at it. Reaching into his backpack, he drew something out and flung it open.

“Darkfrost Sting!”

A couple of Flametongue Toads that had appeared in his view immediately froze in alarm, as though sensing Qin Ruo’s power. Frantically, they opened their gaping mouths to draw breath!

Croak!

Dark red cheeks expanded dramatically, full and round! Undeterred by Qin Ruo’s incoming attack, the Flametongue Toads exhaled mightily, spewing great gouts of flame.

Firespray!

Two bolts of flame, each over a meter wide and nearly ten meters long, came speeding in toward him!

Once again, the tunnels were lit up in a storm of fire!

***

Bang! Bang!

Two solid collisions were heard, and both of the Flametongue Toads were batted off the walls and into the rapidly rising heat of the tunnels.

Croak! Croak, croak!

The Flametongue Toads were damaged and Stunned.

The Toads warbled in alarm, waddling across the floor toward Qin Ruo.

Too late!

Boom!

The walls of the tunnel, already spiderwebbed with glowing red fractures, burst apart as lava spilled forth! The poor Flametongue Toads had been playing with fire, but it was they themselves who got burnt.

Flametongue Toad killed. Forty-nine remaining!

Flametongue Toad killed. Forty-eight remaining!