Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Darkness.
It was as dark as night! No, it was worse than dark! The place was so devoid of any traces of light that one could not even see his own fingers.
This was Qin Ruo’s first impression of the secret chamber on the third floor of Aricus Underground Ruins!
“It’s fortunate that the entrance of the secret chamber is very out-of-the-way. As long as you don’t walk more than fifty meters, you don’t need to worry about being attacked by monsters that guard the secret chamber,” Violet Orchid said. It was the best news she could give to them.
The six of them then entered the secret chamber. They remained motionless until the appearance of light orbs, which were green like fireflies. Gradually, they illuminated the dark room. The light grew stronger and brighter until the darkness was purged by the Illuminating Crystal in Violet Orchid’s palm. It was only then that Qin Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.
The Illuminating Crystal that Violet Orchid held was of a higher tier, the kind that could illuminate an area of up to fifty meters with a little magic. It was far better than Qin Ruo’s Illuminating Crystal!
However, Qin Ruo had no mood to envy that. When their surroundings became visible, he instantly looked around the environment.
He was totally amazed by the scene that he caught sight of.
There was an extremely magnificent and long, spacious corridor in front of him, which was about 30-m wide. Additionally, the corridor was also twenty meters in height! Both the start and end of the long corridor were covered in darkness. This revealed an abnormal silence and a mysterious atmosphere around them. Qin Ruo could pretty much smell the stench of danger.
It was hard to imagine that the secret chamber that everyone had been talking about was so huge. Besides... it was surprising that the residents of the Underearth race could build such a thing to store their treasures.
If Brother Da was there, he would have definitely wiped his nose and said, “Awesome!”
Of course, Qin Ruo was not Wang Da, thus the first thing he did was quickly check the degree of moisture in the underground palace. This had become one of his habits. When he arrived at a new place, he had to check the humidity of the surrounding environment. It was an index for him to cast Water Element Magic, telling him if his affinity to the water element needed to be increased or decreased.
By comparing it with Kane Jungle, the Ruin’s second floor and third floor...
The Water Element on the Ruin’s lower second floor was the highest since there were water puddles everywhere. Besides, the Water Element in the air was abundant and very active. It was a lot more effective to manipulate it compared to normal situations.
Kane Jungle was slightly inferior, but it was still an ideal battle place. Otherwise, Qin Ruo would not have been able to face a Galewind Wolf King alone.
The worst place was in the Ruin’s third floor... He could not get any aid from it. Otherwise, he would not have been in a tight spot when he was dealing with the Deathfiend Spider, and died once.
“Water, Condense!”
In the blink of an eye, an Aquarampart of more than ten centimeters thick was successfully condensed in front of Qin Ruo.
Everyone looked at him strangely, wondering his purpose of condensing the Aquarampart. After seeing Qin Ruo’s movements as well as his speed, on Burning Rose seemed stunned and enlightened.
“Fire! Ignite!”
Next, a flame came into view on Burning Rose’s palm. It gradually grew, and a second later, it became a considerably large fire pillar. The red flame of light rose up and looked extraordinary. As a result, the light suddenly illuminated a larger area.
When this flame grew, people on the spot instantly noticed something!
Both were also Tier 1 Elementalism, however Burning Rose’s condensing speed was obviously slower than Qin Ruo’s by at least half a second if not one. Although the fire cast by Burning Rose seemed to have more grandeur, the Aquarampart, which was floating in front of Qin Ruo actually gave people an image that it could extinguish the flame in Burning Rose’s hand at any time.
“Why is this so?”
Burning Rose could instinctively perceive the difference between the two. Thus, she inexplicably stared at Qin Ruo, wondering why the condensing speed of a Tier 4 Pyromancer was far slower than a Tier 3 Aquamancer. Furthermore, she was already wearing Pyromancy Bracers that increased her condensing speed by 8%. Yet, the different was still so big.
“This place is very humid, and it’s good for Aquamancers,” Qin Ruo replied. After that, he restored the Aquarampart back into the Water Element. He turned around and saw Burning Rose still looking puzzled. He then explained again.
“There’s a certain amount of elements in the air. Elemental Magic is formed by the resonance of it. If the amount of the element in the air is higher, then it’s easier to condense its magic. For example, my Water Element Magic is easier to cast in a humid environment. In terms of speed and attack, both will also have some slight increases. On the other hand, it will be the other way around for you, as a Pyromancer. I think... dry and hot environments will suit you better.”
“So, you mean that the environment has a great influence on Elementalists!” Slayer’s Heart chipped in.
Qin Ruo shrugged. “It’s not very big, but also not very small. For example, in Kane Jungle, it’s not a problem for me to face a Galewind Wolf King alone.” Upon listening to this, a few of them tacitly exchanged shock looks.
“If on an ordinary open field, I would be torn apart even if there’s two of me,” Qin Ruo frankly answered as he continued to shrug. Next, he followed with, “Nevertheless, this place isn’t bad. It’s as good as the Ruin’s second floor, and in here my strength shouldn’t be worse than a normal Tier 4 Elementalist.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Burning Rose gave him a stern look and snorted. It seemed like she had misunderstood the meaning of Qin Ruo’s words.
Qin Ruo was completely drenched in sweat, and explained immediately.
However, Burning Rose paid him no heed. With her head raised up, she said, “So you’re saying that the environment here’s comparable with Kane Jungle’s. Does that mean that you can encounter a monster that’s of the same level as the Galewind Wolf King alone?”
“Ah...” Looking at Burning Rose who fell out with him, Qin Ruo speechlessly opened his mouth in a dumbfounded manner. He actually did not mean that she was a normal Tier 4 Elementalist.
Fortunately, Slayer’s Heart and the others were not like Burning Rose. After Slayer’s Heart muttered to himself, he asked Qin Ruo, “If you say so, this means you can bring into play a stronger power than when you were in the Ruin’s third floor?”
Feeling Burning Rose’s blazing eyes cool down slightly, Qin Ruo was instantly relieved and he nodded without any hesitation.
“Great!” Slayer’s Heart cheered up. “By the way, I could see earlier that your condensing speed of the Water Element was faster than before. If you need to condense the Twelve Frostramparts Formation later, how long will it take?” After he listened to Violet Orchid’s story of her last encounter there with Scarlet Bauhinia, Qin Ruo knew that the Twelve Frortramparts Formation would come in handy.
However, this trump card would only be utilized when the six of them were in really deep sh*t.
Qin Ruo took a deep breath, and solemnly said, “If there’s no disruption, it’ll only take fifteen seconds...”