[A wave of intense heat surges towards you as you finally reach the core area of the first level: The Temple of Flames.]
[The Temple of Flames is teeming with the Lord of Fire, a high-level monster hailing from the abyss. The Fool has captured it, forever imprisoning it within the temple where it guards the exit of the Underground City. To progress, you must slay it and only then will you be able to pass through the temple and find the hidden entrance to the second level.]
[A maximum of one team can enter the temple at any one time. Defeating the Lord of Fire will result in a citywide announcement and precious rewards for the victorious team. The slain Lord of Fire will revive at a random time within the next five to ten days.]
Mu You is relieved. At last, they were able to find the exit on time.
Going by the description, this so-called Lord of Fire must be the ’boss’ guarding this level. Only by defeating it can they progress. Although it will revive again later, for a few days, at least, there won’t be another boss guarding this place.
"Damn, it’s the dungeon boss!" exclaimed Lin Hai with delight. As an experienced online gamer, he clearly understood that encountering such a boss meant glory and abundant rewards were on the horizon!
"Should we go in directly?" Xia Chongyubing questioned.
"There’s no time. Let’s just go in and check it out." replied Mu You.
Now, with only six minutes left in the instance, it isn’t clear whether they can defeat the final boss, which is usually very strong, in such a short timeframe.
[Leading the vast flock of summoned creatures, you and your team members step into the Temple of Flames.]
[You find yourselves on a massive, circular platform. A square recess in the center of the platform gives the impression of a copper coin. Looking down through the recess, you can see roiling lava connected to the abyss below.]
[After a sweep of the area, you discover the platform is completely empty.]
"Where’s the boss we were told about?" asked Lin Hai, baffled.
They had entered the final stage with great anticipation, but they hadn’t seen the monster yet.
"Let’s go to the center."
Mu You led the team towards the abyss in the center of the platform. The fact that no monster is in sight means that it must be hiding in the abyss in the middle.
Sure enough, a minute later, a new prompt pops up.
[As you near the lava abyss, a booming roar echoes from below.]
[You look down to see a gigantic humanoid monster, over ten meters tall, slowly climbing out from the abyss.]
[This monster has an face similar to an octopus, garbed in a fiery-red human robe and brandishing a massive Magic Wand. The ruby on the top of the Wand gleams brilliantly under the reflection of the lava.]
[Lord of Fire (Level 25 Un-Evolved): Attack Power 256-310, Defense Value 580, HP: 27500 points, Magic Power 17000, Abilities: Fire Element Immunity, Freeze Immunity, Magma Bomb, Firestorm, and Firebrand.]
[The Lord of Fire leaps onto the platform, spies the numerous invaders trespassing into its territory, lets out a furious roar, and launches an attack on you.]
[Massive Magma Bombs explode randomly in various areas of the platform, covering two-thirds of the entire expanse. Skyrocketing pillars of fire abruptly sprang up from these areas, the extreme heat inflicts enough damage to incinerate any creature present in the area into ashes instantly!]
[Your Shadow War Eagle has perished...]
[Your Netherworld Demon Child has perished...]
[Your Legendary Witch Doctor has perished...]
[Your zombies have perished...]
[Your ally Qing Yashuang enters a deathlike state and is forced to leave the Underground City.]
[Your ally Xia Chongyubing enters a deathlike state and is forced to leave the Underground City.]
Mu You stares, dully. The boss’s entry was truly shocking. With the first attack, it wiped out two-thirds of the summoned creatures and two teammates on the field.
Moreover, it killed them immediately, leaving no time to react.
He and Lin Hai, the Sagittarius, are currently alive not because they had the strength to withstand the boss’s attack but pure luck in not being within the range of the fiery column.
Mu You quickly reviews the Lord of Fire’s abilities, and finds the problem.
[Magma Bomb: The Lord of Fire commands the power of fire, and upon casting creates magma zones in random areas around it, inflicting 1000 points of fire damage along with a 100 point per second of ongoing burn damage. The cooldown time is ten seconds.]
[Firestorm: Summons a firestorm across the entire platform, dealing group damage and a large amount of fire damage. The cooldown time is thirty seconds.]
[Firebrand: A passive talent that becomes active in environments with a high concentration of fire elements. Each enemy present and every enemy defeated by the Lord of Fire increases its damage by 20%, and also doubles the range of its Magma Bomb.]
The first two core abilities do not seem to be a big issue. They’re a bit stronger than high-level magic but not by much. The real problem lies with the last one: Firebrand. This is a passive talent, which increases its effect based on the number of enemies around. Each additional enemy amps up the power by 20% and also doubles its range?
They’ve come in with waves of summoned creatures. The total headcount on the field exceeds fifty, meaning the Magma Bomb’s power has increased tenfold. Anyone getting caught in it would receive a shocking ten thousand points of damage instantly and a burn with a thousand points per second afterwards.