"A B-rank soul, huh…" Lein muttered, examining the lava golem's stats displayed before him.
Its towering figure and molten body made it look like a giant from the depths of hell. Yet, to Lein, it was nothing more than a practice dummy. He was confident he could take it down in seconds.
"This thing has 30,000 more soul energy than the Hard-Shelled Turtle I fought earlier... And 3,000 defense? How tough could that be?" Lein mused, comparing the lava golem to the previous turtle. It was like night and day.
"Well, it is a B-rank golem," he said lightly, feeling no sense of threat.
Far off, the lava golem had already detected Lein's presence. The massive creature began to move, its steps heavy but deliberate, advancing through the bubbling lava pool toward him.
The golem raised its massive right hand, clutching a blazing fireball that spun wildly. With slow but powerful movements, it hurled the fireball straight at Lein.
"Damn... that's fast!"
Lein was shocked to see the fireball shoot like a bullet. Without thinking, he immediately jumped to the side, dodging the attack.
The fireball struck the ground hard, creating an explosion that shook the earth around Lein, leaving a large crack where he had been standing moments ago.
"Not bad... pretty strong," Lein said with a slight smile, observing the smoky fissure in the ground.
Lein was still focused on the explosion area when he suddenly sensed another attack. Without needing to look, his instincts kicked in, making him kick to the side to dodge. Sure enough, the lava golem wasn't stopping—this time, it hurled several fireballs at once.
One fireball after another shot towards him, but Lein evaded them with ease. His movements were swift, leaping between lava rocks gracefully, as if dancing amidst the rain of fire. The fireballs were fast compared to the previous attacks from the Hard-Shelled Turtle, but for Lein, it meant nothing.
He knew that while the golem's attacks were fierce, its real strength lay in its defense, not its offense.
As Lein was enjoying his evasive movements, the ground beneath his feet trembled oddly, as if something was about to burst from the earth's surface.
The ground fractured, emitting a flash of orange light. From within the crack emerged a massive skeletal hand, blazing with orange lava. The giant claw shot up from the ground, swiftly reaching for Lein's leg.
Lein gasped. Before he could react, the lava claw had already seized his leg. Its grip was firm, and the heat from the lava burned even through his Aqua Barrier protection.
[Your body has received 10 points of damage...]
A system notification appeared at the corner of his vision, making Lein frown. "Damage notification? Huh, interesting..." he thought, slightly surprised. But he had no intention of staying trapped. Quickly, he raised the golden sword in his right hand and slashed toward the claw gripping him.
The golden sword sliced through the lava claw like a hot knife through butter. The claw shattered into pieces, and lava splattered in all directions.
Lein immediately jumped back, creating some distance from the trap, his sharp eyes monitoring the golem still standing across from him. The golem seemed to move faster, perhaps enraged by its failed attack.
"I need to finish this quickly..." Lein muttered as he prepared his sword, readying himself for a counterattack.
Lein's eyes locked onto the Lava Golem, which was now approaching, each step making the ground tremble as if echoing the power of the earth itself.
"You're pretty strong, Golem," he said with a sly smile, giving a thumbs-up. Even though he had just escaped from the claw's grasp, Lein showed no signs of frustration or anger. Instead, he looked like someone who had just found a new toy.
Watching how the Lava Golem moved—slowly but with undeniable power—Lein couldn't help but feel curious. "I wonder if I can get a soul in the form of this lava golem?" he thought to himself, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
He recalled that every soul gate contained only one soul entity—like when he had previously entered a soul portal and fought the Hard-Shelled Turtle.
After defeating the turtle, the system detected that Lein had slain it. Since he had only killed one turtle, it confirmed that each soul gate contained only one soul.
"In that case, what if I try duplicating it later?" he whispered softly, as if making a promise to himself. This soul gate was a special item, just like the Alpha Orb during the system's first event.
If that could be duplicated, then perhaps the soul gate could be as well.
But Lein didn't want to drag this out. The fight had to end soon. With steady hands, he activated one of his favorite abilities, "Divine Eyes."
Sharpness of vision and reflexes are significantly enhanced when this skill is active, making it easier to detect enemy weak points and speed up actions. This skill is ideal to activate before battle or when facing a tough opponent. Active for 30 seconds, it increases attack and speed by +50% when striking enemy weak points.
- Level: 9 (20%/8.640k exp)
- Base Sharpness: +120%
- Requirement: Tier-3, Universal
A golden aura enveloped Lein's eyes, making him look like a god observing the world from above the clouds. His eyes, now sharper and clearer, scanned every movement of the Lava Golem, detecting weaknesses in the layers of stone and the flow of lava that encased its body.
With Divine Eyes active, every move the golem made appeared slow in his vision, every weak spot glowing bright before him. He could see indicators marking the eyes and joints as critical points.
"Vortex Plate," he whispered in a low yet controlled voice. Instantly, a thin white disc materialized from thin air, hovering in front of him. His favorite flying device appeared as if summoned by its master. Without hesitation, Lein jumped onto it, his body floating lightly in the air, ready to strike.
From atop the Vortex Plate, Lein could see the entire lava pool churning below, along with the sturdy body of the Lava Golem walking steadily toward him.