Chapter 390: Playful Poochie

Attacked by Volcanic Demon.

Darkfrost Shield lost 102 Defense; Frostbarrier lost 18 Defense!

Darkfrost Shield lost 106 Defense; Frostbarrier lost 21 Defense!

Darkfrost Shield broken!

Frostbarrier lost 47 Defense! 239 damage taken!

The system notifications rang in Qin Ruo’s ear, and each detail was a great surprise.

Why was he taking so little damage? If it was a Magic Attack from a Tier 6 Megaboss, his Darkfrost Shield should have broken instantly, and then it should have pierced right through his Frostbarrier to clean off his two thousand-odd HP.

It was not the Infernal Dragon!

‘Volcanic Demon?

‘What’s a Volcanic Demon? Some monster the Infernal Dragon summoned?’

He was in a high panic, a million thoughts racing through his head. Immediately, he canceled the harvesting process halfway through, and then turned to flee, to get away from the Magmashroom!

It was at that moment a loud smack was heard from within the smoke, followed by a hideous groan of pain.

Poochie successfully hit target, dealt 387 damage to Volcanic Demon!

Volcanic Demon Stunned for 2 seconds!

The unexpected system notification caused Qin Ruo to turn back with delight, commanding Poochie to force the big fellow out so he could have a good look at what sort of monster the Infernal Dragon had summoned.

Wham!

Receiving his orders, Poochie set to work immediately.

No sooner had Qin Ruo emerged into clear air than a winged monster of moderate size was sent squealing out of the smoke as well.

This was a Volcanic Demon? It was very different from the towering leviathan Qin Ruo had been expecting.

The Volcanic Demon was reminiscent of an imp from fairy tales: humanoid in form, pitifully skinny, with bat wings sprouting from its back, and a slender tail. The only thing that deviated from this concept was its red skin, like a boiled lobster.

First impressions notwithstanding, the actual Attributes of the Volcanic Demon came as a bit of a shock for Qin Ruo.

Volcanic Demon:

Level 50 Megaboss.

Magic Attack 370-390

Physical Resistance 100-100

Magic Resistance 200-240

500,000 HP

Specialized to survive in the environment of a volcanic caldera; Innate Talent: Smoke-Shaping (use the smoke of the caldera to mimic the form of any creature, and duplicate their essence, skills, and power.)

Before he had the time to digest all this information, the Volcanic Demon was already recovering from being Stunned. It lowered itself to the ground, spread its leathery wings, and shot two dozen meters into the air.

As it escaped, the Volcanic Demon crossed its hands and sent two Dragonlances hurtling down toward Qin Ruo, now without a Darkfrost Shield to protect him.

As quick as the Volcanic Demon was, Poochie did not lag behind either.

Cheep, cheep!

Squeaking with rage, Poochie activated Shadow Form and flashed like a bolt of golden lightning as it threw itself before his Frostbarrier, swiping across with its broad tail.

Whoosh!

The two Dragonlances instantly fizzled away in a shower of sparks—Shadow Break!

The smoke was fading away, and Qin Ruo could see clearer now.

The Infernal Dragon was no longer anywhere to be seen in the skies above the volcanic caldera. There was only a red Volcanic Demon, glaring at Poochie as it worked to cast another spell.

Qin Ruo sucked in a breath of cold air. Now he understood!

Now, he understood everything!

The Infernal Dragon had only been a Smoke-Shaped imitation, along with its Draconic Presence, Flame Breath, and all the other bells and whistles—it had all been part of the Volcanic Demon’s ploy.

The last Boss of this Hellfire Trial wasn’t a Tier 6 Megaboss at all.

‘That damned Volcanic Demon had me spinning round in circles.’

Although Qin Ruo was fuming about this, the revelation did help to clear up any questions about the difficulty level of the Hellfire Trial. He felt a clarity in his thoughts like never before. Without pause, he recalled Poochie to himself as he withdrew from the battlefield.

Although he was now faced with the ‘lower difficulty’ of a Tier5 Megaboss—one with a markedly low Physical Resistance for a fire-elemental Megaboss—Qin Ruo felt that it would be best to withdraw for now and figure out a plan, then do battle in earnest later.

Now that his opponent had become a Tier 5 Megaboss of the fire element, Qin Ruo felt like he finally knew where things stood. The end of the quest was finally within sight.

However, the Volcanic Demon seemed to realize that it could not allow its adversary the chance to regroup and rally. Emitting an unearthly wail, it called down a Meteor Shower from the heavens.

In a blur of golden light, Poochie evaded the area-attack spell, darting beyond its area of effect. The little Shadowfox hopped about in agitation, chittering and squealing at the Volcanic Demon, but there was nothing that could be done to stop the assault.

Qin Ruo was hit by a wave of meteors, losing 87 Defense and more than 300 HP! It seemed that getting away from the flying Volcanic Demon would be unlikely. Now that the ruse with the Infernal Dragon had fallen through, the Volcanic Demon was no longer concerned with environmental features.

Qin Ruo gritted his teeth. “Let’s go!”

With a deft motion, he retrieved a Darkfrost Potion from his pack and gulped it down.

Then, a whole flurry of Magic Scrolls began flying from Qin Ruo’s hands.

“Darkfrost Sting!”

“Frostbullet Storm!”

“Snow Eagle Dive!”

With the combined effects of the Special Roasted Snails and the Darkfrost Potion, Qin Ruo’s Magic Attack was not quite the equal of the Volcanic Demon’s—but not very far behind either.

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Water Magic spells, bitterly cold, flew forth at a speed not even the Volcanic Demon could match. Without that much Magic Resistance to speak of, the Tier 5 Megaboss paled at the sight of this onslaught.

But Qin Ruo was worse off: under the constant barrage of Fire Magic from the Volcanic Demon, his Frostbarrier was a hair’s breadth from total collapse. One more spell, and he’d be completely exposed before the full firepower of the Volcanic Demon.

‘There’s no other choice now!’ Qin Ruo dug in his feet and fought to ignore his instinct to flee. Charging forward instead, he suddenly broke into a flat-out run toward the Magmashroom, as the Volcanic Demon watched him, dumbfounded.

Realizing where he was headed, the Volcanic Demon seemed to take exception to this action on his part, belting out another indescribable wail. Three bolts of white-hot fire flared into being, and then streaked down toward Qin Ruo’s back as he ran.

“Tidal Roar!” Sensing the incoming wave of heat upon his back, Qin Ruo didn’t even look back as he swung the Water Dragon’s Staff around to point it behind himself.

A dragon of water, one meter stout, burst from the tip of the Water Dragon’s Staff with a piercing cry, and rushed out to intercept the Volcanic Demon’s three Dragonlances.

On one side, three Fire-Magic ‘Dragonlances,’ each one with as much as 370 Magical Attack. On the other side—and no less powerful—an Water-Magic ‘Tidal Roar,’ extending outward in a straight line.

As the two different spells collided into each other, a tremendous cloud of steam was produced, spreading outward in all directions!

Everything happened so quickly!

Whap! Whap! Whap!

But it was the Volcanic Demon’s magic which won out.

The three Dragonlances tore the spell-formed water dragon apart in a mess of hissing steam, and continued to hurtled onwards! And yet, they didn’t immediately strike the last wavering remnants of Qin Ruo’s Frostbarrier.

A shield of solid water had formed, just beyond the Barrier.

This was the first time Qin Ruo had ever been placed in such desperate straits during a one-on-one duel that he had to use this trick to save himself!

A technique as familiar to him as clapping his hands, he used it to absorb the brunt of the Dragonlances’ power!

It made a huge difference!

Having already lost much of their energy, the three Dragonlances were like the last faded remnants of a stray comet landing upon an iceberg in the South Pole. They fizzled away without a trace, never even reaching the Frostbarrier.

Meanwhile, Qin Ruo seized the moment and continued his headlong charge toward the Magmashroom.

He came to a halt…

… turned around…

… and was not disappointed to see that the Volcanic Demon was diving out of the sky after him, just as he had hoped it would.

“Form!” At Qin Ruo’s bidding, an Aquarampart shimmered into existence, floating in mid-air.

Cheep, cheep!

Poochie shot in from the distance, and then leapt high into the air, as the Volcanic Demon watched with trepidation.

“Freeze!” Choosing his moment, Qin Ruo hardened the Aquarampart into solid ice.

Demonstrating perfect teamwork, Poochie alighted upon the newly formed Frostrampart, and then sprang up even higher. Twisting around in mid-air, it shot toward the Volcanic Demon, which had already figured out that they were up to something, and had pulled out of its dive mid-way.

Seeing how Poochie, with Qin Ruo’s assistance, was able to ascend to a height of twenty meters, it was beginning to grasp the extent of this human adventurer’s sinister designs. Scrambling to halt its dive, it mustered to climb back up to a safe height, away from Poochie, a creature with a skull harder than Darksteel.

But then again, at this point, would Qin Ruo really allow it to escape?

As Poochie reached the apex of its jump, there was a blinding flash of light from the crystal on his cloak, and then winter descended upon the land!

Without warning, twelve Frostramparts appeared in the caldera. With the boost from the Darkfrost Potion and the Special Roasted Snails, the wintry cold of the Twelve Frostramparts Formation instantly glazed the burning ground with a sheet of icy frost.

Thoom!

All twelve Frostramparts settled firmly upon the ground in unison!

Caught in the paralyzing chill, the Volcanic Demon stalled in mid-air.

Pow!

That gave Poochie the opening it needed to knock it out of the sky!

Poochie hit its target! Dealt 487 damage to Volcanic Demon.

Volcanic Demon Stunned for 3 seconds!

As the system notifications came up, Qin Ruo’s face contorted with vindictive ecstasy.

He issued a series of orders to Poochie, and then crouched down over the Magmashroom, surrounded by the Twelve Frostramparts Formation. Dim purple light glowed as he hastily laid both hands over the mushroom.

The harvesting had begun!

***

Stunned, the Volcanic Demon fell right down into the Twelve Frostramparts Formation, and was immediately caught in the grip of deepest winter.

With its Resistances reduced, its red skin became coated with a fine layer of frost.

Poochie continued to harass the Volcanic Demon. Already badly Stunned and Chilled, the Volcanic Demon was forced back by its relentless harrying until it was at the border between the Twelve Frostramparts Formation and the edge of the volcanic caldera, at which point Poochie finally eased off a bit.

Three seconds passed, and the Volcanic Demon opened its eyes.

Before it could have a chance to appraise the situation, a streak of golden light passed before its eyes, blurring as it split into multiple Shadowfoxes.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Clone Shadowstrike!

With its target Chilled, Poochie was able to apply a full nine-second Stun!

Right after being Stunned for three seconds, it now had to endure another nine seconds of the same.

In this way, Poochie bought Qin Ruo fully twelve seconds to finish harvesting the mushroom!

Fifteen to twenty seconds would be a conservative estimate of the time required to harvest the Magmashroom. Poochie still needed to get Qin Ruo another nine seconds somehow. The little creature hopped and skipped over to the edge of the caldera, then peered down.

With a swipe of its bushy tail, it casually batted the Stunned Volcanic Demon out over the caldera. There was a flash of golden light, and then Poochie stomped down hard upon the Volcanic Demon, even as it began its free-fall.

Wham!

Having performed this cruel deed, Poochie hopped back up to the lip of the caldera and turned around to watch with fascination as the pitiful Volcanic Demon plummeted downward, until it was lost within the depths of the volcano.

Once it was well out of sight, Poochie flicked its tail around and let off a little fart before darting back into the Frostramparts Formation.

‘Let’s see you fly back here in time.’