Chapter 209: The Second Totem: Sun Anglerfish, a Magma Bath
A stream of magma, thousands of degrees hot, spewed from the Sun Anglerfish's massive maw, the blinding crimson light illuminating Tang Zheng's vision!
A terrifying heatwave instantly surged forward.
*Boom!*
The crimson magma transformed into a colossal, sky-high wave.
"Seventh-Tier Magic: Chain Water Dragon!" Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed as he began a low chant.
Faced with such a move, magic of other attributes was clearly unsuitable. Any other type of magic would inevitably explode upon colliding with the magma attack.
In that case, the splashing magma would pose an even greater threat to Tang Zheng.
Rushing currents of water coalesced. Even in this high-temperature environment, thick streams of water easily formed around Tang Zheng, encircling him completely.
*Bang!*
Two massive water dragons suddenly burst forth from Tang Zheng's arms, crashing into the red magma in mid-air.
*Pshhh—*
The moment the two attacks collided, a vast amount of white steam and smoke billowed out. The overwhelming tide of magma was easily dispersed by the two water dragons.
The two astonishing forces blasted the surrounding air away, forming an invisible, gale-force heatwave that spread in all directions.
Wherever the water dragons passed, they rapidly cooled the intense heat radiating from the magma. Large swathes of magma solidified into blackish-brown rock fragments, which then rained down from mid-air.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
These fragments scattered, striking the surrounding ground and the Rock Wall, producing a series of dull, dense thuds!
*Boom!*
After dispersing the crimson magma, the Chain Water Dragon slammed into the Sun Anglerfish's enormous body once more.
"Aaargh..." The Sun Anglerfish let out a mournful cry. It rolled over twice on the ground before lying there, powerless.
The dense fog generated by the collision of the water-attribute attack and the magma enveloped the entire area, obscuring Tang Zheng's vision.
He looked at the blackish-gray mist that permeated the area, like dust, filled with the pungent smell of sulfur.
A glint flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes as he raised a hand and aimed forward. "Third-Tier Magic: Wind Sphere!"
Using the attribute conversion of his [Mad Mage] class, he transformed the lightning-attribute "Lightning Ball" into a wind-attribute attack.
*Swish!*
Pale blue air currents surged from the surroundings, gathering in Tang Zheng's palm and rapidly expanding to form a swirling ball of air the size of two basketballs.
*Zzz— Zzz—*
A closer look would reveal a faint, dense buzzing sound around the sphere of air, as if invisible wind blades were constantly slicing through the surrounding atmosphere!
Tang Zheng pushed his palm forward.
The Wind Sphere smashed into the gray fog and then rapidly expanded, instantly dispelling the view-obstructing mist completely.
In the distance.
The Sun Anglerfish's massive body reappeared in his line of sight.
It was lying motionless on the ground. A deep, several-meter-wide crater had appeared on its somewhat flat head, clearly a grievous injury caused by the earlier Chain Water Dragon.
From afar, it looked as if it had completely lost all signs of life.
"To be hit by three consecutive seventh-tier magic spells and still be breathing… its HP is really high." Tang Zheng naturally didn't believe the Sun Anglerfish was dead. No creature could play dead in front of him.
After all, the acquisition of experience could not be faked!
A cold glint flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes. He raised his arm and made a grasping motion in the air. "Purifying Throwing Spear!"
*Swish!*
A sacred white light appeared.
The next moment.
A massive divine spear, over three meters long, appeared in his hand. The spearhead was particularly large, and under the reflection of the area's crimson light, it glinted with a cold, terrifying metallic sheen.
The spear was wreathed in white light. This light was not gentle; instead, it was filled with an intense, dazzling brilliance.
There was no need for Tang Zheng to make a throwing motion.
The Purifying Throwing Spear instantly flashed from mid-air, transforming into a brilliant streak of light that shot toward the Sun Anglerfish.
The [Purifying Throwing Spear] had a special ability that consumed a certain amount of mana to produce a guaranteed-hit effect, but the current situation clearly didn't require its use.
*Swoosh!*
In the blink of an eye, the Purifying Throwing Spear directly pierced the Sun Anglerfish's head, as if its seemingly tough red scales didn't exist at all.
*Boom!*
The entire three-meter-long spear plunged into the Sun Anglerfish's head.
"AARGH!!"
The Sun Anglerfish, which had appeared lifeless just moments ago, suddenly struggled to raise its head, letting out a pained howl as its entire body began to tremble violently.
Its heavily caved-in, bloody head lifted.
Its crimson fish eyes stared at Tang Zheng's position. It opened its mouth and, with immense resentment, unleashed a visible, crimson sound wave.
[Scorching Roar]!
*Omm—*
The surrounding air seemed to ignite. Wherever the red sound wave passed, the air itself could be seen visibly rippling like a wave, surging in all directions.
"This is... a wide-range attack." Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed. He quickly retreated, but the attack's speed was too fast, far exceeding his imagination, and reached him in the blink of an eye.
A combined fire- and sound-attribute attack?
The thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind, and he unleashed a job skill from his [Valkyrie] class without a moment's hesitation.
"Defiling Shock Shield!"
*Boom!*
A black energy shockwave radiated out with Tang Zheng at its center, forming an invisible force field that spread around him, creating an all-around defense.
The two forces collided. The seemingly astonishing Scorching Roar melted away like snowflakes in the sun, dissipating without a sound.
*Omm—*
A message appeared on his status panel.
*Experience Gained: 779,893*
*[Experience Bar: 2,660,668 / 2,600,000]*
Seeing the Sun Anglerfish finally die after unleashing its last attack, Tang Zheng let out a breath.
"Trying to launch a sneak attack before dying... these high-level monsters really can't be underestimated. Good thing I specifically saved one use of 'Defiling Shock Shield'."
Tang Zheng spoke softly. The speed of that last attack had startled him, and his status panel hadn't given any warning.
This meant the ability the Sun Anglerfish had used was likely an innate skill.
That fire-attribute sound wave attack had been incredibly powerful; he estimated it was at least on the level of fifth-tier magic.
Although [Defiling Shock Shield] was powerful, it could ultimately only be used twice a day.
"Perhaps I should acquire some defensive magic and skills," this thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind as he looked up at his status panel.
His experience had already exceeded two million, but for now, he had no intention of raising the level of either his [Genius] or [Shaman Master] jobs.
He had no other jobs he could level up, so all this experience was suddenly useless.
This gave Tang Zheng the feeling of having become suddenly wealthy.
Hm?
Tang Zheng glanced over his [Ability List] and suddenly discovered two new passive abilities had inexplicably appeared.
*[Fire Resistance (1%)]*
*[Minor Poison Resistance]*
This is...
Tang Zheng was somewhat stunned. How had these two passives appeared?
He hadn't acquired a new job, nor had he gained any special skills. Under normal circumstances, a "passive" couldn't just appear out of thin air.
Tang Zheng suddenly thought of something and quickly looked down to check his skin.
He saw that the large patches of red marks on his arms and other exposed parts of his skin had completely vanished.
These red marks were in the places stained by the Dragon Blood. Now that the red marks were gone, did it mean the Dragon Blood had been absorbed by his skin?
Was that why he had gained these two passive effects?
Tang Zheng couldn't be certain for a moment, but it seemed to be the only possibility.
First, his HP stat had increased slightly, and now he had two new passives.
Was the effect of Dragon Blood this strong?
Tang Zheng found it a bit incredible, but he quickly shook off his surprise and looked up toward the Sun Anglerfish.
Now was not the time to be thinking about the Dragon Blood!
*Swish!*
Tang Zheng took a step, quickly rushing to the front of the Sun Anglerfish's enormous corpse.
An equally enormous, illusory soul slowly rose from the Sun Anglerfish's body and appeared in his sight.
He lifted his chin.
This was the first time Tang Zheng had seen such a massive soul, and he subconsciously swallowed.
His [Totem Imbuement] ability hadn't worked on the ancient fire dragon. As a member of the special Dragon Race, it wasn't classified as a wild beast or magic beast and was thus immune.
The Sun Anglerfish, however, was clearly a magic beast.
But!
The Sun Anglerfish's level was too high, and the sight of its massive soul made Tang Zheng suddenly doubt whether his skill could even absorb it.
[Totem Imbuement]
"Become my power, Sun Anglerfish!"
Tang Zheng stared at the massive, ethereal soul and let out a low shout.
*Boom!*
A verdant green light flashed from Tang Zheng's body. The soul, which had been quietly floating above the Sun Anglerfish's corpse, suddenly began to vibrate.
*Skill effect activated. Please select an imbuement location.*
...
*Head (Empty)*
*Chest (Empty)*
*Arms (Forest Sage King Hamsuke · Physical Defense +50)*
*Back (Empty)*
*Legs (Empty)*
...
The information scrolled quickly across his status panel.
After a moment of thought, Tang Zheng silently said in his mind, "Chest."
*Swish—*
The verdant light that had been shimmering all over Tang Zheng's body suddenly gathered at his chest, forming an even more dazzling green glow.
The Sun Anglerfish's soul, floating in mid-air, was immediately guided by this power and surged toward Tang Zheng.
The moment the massive soul came into contact with the verdant green light emanating from Tang Zheng's body, it began to shrink at a visible rate, rapidly being absorbed into his chest.
Under Tang Zheng's deliberate control, a simple, fist-sized totem in the shape of a Sun Anglerfish appeared on the right side of his chest.
Immediately after.
Tang Zheng felt the Sun Anglerfish totem seem to emit a gentle warmth that flooded his entire body before quickly dissipating.
*Totem Imbuement successful—Please choose Physical Reinforcement or Specialty Selection.*
At the same time.
Tang Zheng glanced at the [Attribute Sheet] on his status panel and immediately noticed his HP had increased.
*Chest (Sun Anglerfish · HP +50)*
"Last time, Forest Sage King Hamusuke increased my Physical Defense, also by 50 points. This time, the Sun Anglerfish increased my HP, also by 50 points."
"As expected, the maximum stat increase from this skill is 50 points."
As Tang Zheng looked at the information on his status panel, a look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He silently said in his mind, "Acquire Specialty!"
*Select one of the following abilities to make permanent. Once chosen, it cannot be changed. Please choose an ability that is compatible with your race, jobs, and traits; otherwise, it may be weakened or unusable:*
*①: Flame Vision*
*②: Tenacity*
*③: Lure Grab*
*④: Sharp Teeth*
*⑤: Bite Enhancement*
*⑥: Flame Stealth*
*...*
*②⑥: Lava Shield*
*②⑦: Lava Impact*
*Please make your choice.*
Seeing nearly thirty abilities appear at once, Tang Zheng couldn't help but blink, taking a deep breath.
He knew he had won against the Sun Anglerfish so easily because he took advantage of its inability to move freely on land.
But after seeing the list of its abilities.
Tang Zheng realized he had gotten a huge bargain. The creature's greatest strength was actually close-quarters combat, especially its various methods of controlling magma.
In the sea of magma, the Sun Anglerfish could have displayed its full strength, instead of being immobile on land and killed by Tang Zheng's ranged attacks.
Among these abilities, more than just one or two caught his eye.
However, many of the abilities.
Were clearly related to the Sun Anglerfish's own race, such as [Lure Grab].
Even if Tang Zheng chose that ability, he probably wouldn't be able to use it. Sifting through the numerous abilities, Tang Zheng quickly found the specialty he truly wanted.
"I choose [Fire Attack Nullification]."
*Specialty selected successfully!*
Tang Zheng's body trembled. A fiery red light suddenly enveloped him before disappearing.
The originally scorching high temperature of the lava zone.
Right now.
In Tang Zheng's perception, the heatwave that occasionally billowed from the direction of the magma sea, which would have made one break out in a dense sweat.
Now felt like a normal, gentle breeze. Tang Zheng felt no heat at all; instead, it felt comfortable as it blew against his body.
"It worked!"
"As expected, this kind of attribute resistance didn't suffer from deterioration like when I acquired 'Body Armament'."
Seeing the new passive appear on his status panel, a look of joyful surprise appeared on Tang Zheng's face.
With the appearance of [Fire Attack Nullification], the [Fire Resistance (1%)] effect he had gained from the Dragon Blood seemed to have disappeared.
Tang Zheng's smile faded. He walked up to the enormous Sun Anglerfish corpse and, with a wave of his hand, stored it in his item box.
He raised his head, looking toward the churning magma sea in the distance.
A thought suddenly flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. He began to walk, step by step, toward the center of the lava zone.
The closer he got to the magma sea, the higher the surrounding temperature became, and the crimson glow of the flames grew more blinding.
And yet, all of this!
It had no effect on the current Tang Zheng.
*Hwaa—*
Suddenly, his clothes were ignited by the high temperature, turning Tang Zheng into a fireball. A moment later, the flames died down.
Completely unharmed, a naked Tang Zheng had arrived at the edge of the magma sea.
"To feel no heat damage at all... it's incredible that a single resistance can be this powerful."
Tang Zheng raised his arm, sensing the gentle warmth on his skin, a look of amazement on his face.
There were no other creatures in the entire lava zone, so Tang Zheng didn't feel embarrassed by his current state.
He looked down at the churning, crimson magma.
Tang Zheng moved his feet and leaped from the high bank.
*Plop!*
Tang Zheng quickly sank into the surging magma, and for a time, there was no movement at all.
After about three or four minutes.
The red-hot, churning magma surged.
*Splash!*
Tang Zheng burst out of the fluid-like magma, a brilliant smile on his face. Streams of hot magma slid down his skin without leaving even the slightest red mark.
"This feels amazing!" Tang Zheng raised his arm and smashed it into the magma before him, sending up a huge splash of magma as he laughed heartily.
(end of chapter)