Chapter 103 - High Flame

After Wain killed the massive crocodile, he decided to head to the center of the Nest. That was where the king of the zone had been last time. 

Wain still didn't know if it was possible to get a reward if he killed all the monsters in the Nest, but he had no desire to check.

At this point, Wain wanted to fix the problem and hunt while Clovis built the bridge.

'Frankly, I didn't expect Gisle to act so drastically. Despite the recent apocalypse, he's not afraid to start real war against other people.' Thought Wain as he walked past the lava lake.

Some might have thought that Gisle was acting foolishly or even wrong, but that was not that. In most cases, alliances were more beneficial and better for both sides than war and usurping power. 

However, the apocalypse and the presence of superpowers in humans changed all the existing rules.

Gisle wasn't against alliances, but he didn't have that much time. He had to get on with his evolution, and his organization had to keep up with the progress of others. 

Otherwise, they would always be a tier-2 organization, and the gap between them and the strongest would increase every day.

War, taking power, and territories by force were the most profitable option in the current circumstances. 

...

Wain had been walking toward the center for more than ten minutes, but he never encountered any enemies.

"Hmm, this area is rather deserted. Moreover, apparently, all the monsters are hiding underground or in the lava lakes. It's open terrain here, and a few trees don't prevent me from seeing everything around me." Mumbled Wain and took a step forward.

Crackling.

Suddenly the ground beneath Wain's feet collapsed, and he began to plummet downward rapidly. Wain tried to jump aside, but he was unsuccessful, for the ground within ten meters was a thin layer that could not support Wain's weight.

'So this is a multi-level Nest?!' Wain thought to himself, looking at the massive lava lake below.

Wain's stats were very high, considering how much time had passed since the apocalypse began, but he could not have survived the fall into the lava. It was impossible. Not even Grut could have pulled it off.

In a split second, Wain's mind began to conjure up ideas on how to choose out of the situation. His brain was urgently trying to come up with a plan.

'I can use the second form and temporarily freeze part of the surface of this lake. In that case, I'll bounce to the side and get a grip on the wall.' Thought Wain as he flew three meters down.

'No, that's too irrational. I can't be so careless with my energy.' Wain plunged down another meter.

'Maybe I should try changing the direction of my fall by summoning a plasma sword.' Wain thought as he flew halfway down.

'I could use Kinetic Shot, but I don't think there's enough power to make the lava disperse sideways. Is my only option really to activate the second form? Damn...' Thought Wain as he slowly approached the lava.

Soul Essence began to build up around him, he didn't want to do that, but he had no other way to survive.

Suddenly, however, Wain's eyes widened. As a dark red shell appeared from the lava lake, he noticed something.

Wain smiled and did not use the second form.

Whooosh.

He bounced sharply away from the shell peeking out of the water and caught his sword on the wall.

'I'm lucky this lava lake is inhabited by something. It looks like it was some kind of turtle.' Thought Wain looking around.

On the other side of the lava lake, he saw a tunnel leading to a system of small caves. Wain decided to go there since he couldn't find a source of fire at the top.

In a few leaps, Wain landed on the heated and dried out the ground and went on his way.

'Most likely, the fire comes from a single point and spreads upward almost imperceptibly. Normally this would be impossible, but if it's a special ability or monster's skill, nothing is surprising about it.' Thought Wain walking through the tunnels.

Whooosh.

Suddenly a flaming arrow flew toward Wain. The projectile flew precisely at his head, but Wain had no problem dodging it by making minimal movements. 

He swung his head to the left, and the arrow flew a centimeter from his neck.

Then three more arrows flew at Wain, but he dodged them as easily as last. However, Wain still could not see his enemies. 

He tried to find them, but even though the tunnels were brightly lit with fire crystals, it was as if the enemies did not exist.

"Damn, why do all the enemies here like to hide? I expected the fire zone to be a living hell, and I would be attacked by hundreds of monsters." Wain muttered and dodged another arrow.

His opponents were good at hiding, even in well-lit and overlooked terrain. This annoyed Wain. Normally he was calm and judicious, but even his patience was limited. At that point, he wanted to use Oblivion Thunder and destroy tunnels.

But, Wain had one way to make the monsters more aggressive and active toward him.

'The description of my cloak says it's garbage, but can garbage be useful?' Thought Wain, and the next moment dark energy began to emanate from his body.

The energy of the evil spirit originally inhabited this cloak because of Lea's mistake during the creation of this outfit.

Then Wain saw the stone in the tunnel rise and a short monster with two crimson horns, a wide toothy mouth, and red eyes emerge from the hole.

The monster had two bombs in its hands, which it threw at Wain, and it was a deadly mistake. Lightning boots appeared on Wain's feet, and he was instantly in front of the monster.

Wain swiftly kicked the monster's head, and it flew aside like a ball, crashing into the cave wall.

Then the other monsters pounced on Wain. They were used to acting cunningly and cautiously and always attacked their enemy from afar, but the aura emanating from Wain made them furious. They could not control their emotions and attacked Wain in a rage.

Whooosh.

A plasma sword appeared in the air, and Wain swung his arm. The next moment, about ten small monsters were cut in two. They were like imps, just as small and agile creatures.

Then eleven white souls flew into Wain's body.

[Soul of Fire Imp (Destroyed)

Chronicle: Primary

Rating: Common]

Imps weren't strong monsters, but when they were outnumbered and out in their own territory, they could cause a lot of trouble for any enemy. Furthermore, Imps were not only cunning but also quite clever and resourceful.

They were able to create various weapons such as spears, swords, shields, etc. The same goes for armor and several types of explosives such as fire and acid bombs.

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Imp level 13.]

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Imp level 11.]

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Imp level 12.]

'Although these monsters are quite weak physically, they have a high level. I wonder if they have some sort of base here. Perhaps that's where the fire is coming from.'' Thought Wain and crushed the last soul.

Soul Essence headed into his body. It was like a few drops in a vast ocean. To level up, Wain would have to kill at least a thousand monsters of that power.

[You get Common Rating Spiritual Box]

Suddenly a white box appeared in the palm of Wain's hand. He didn't expect that he would get a Spiritual Box by killing only eleven monsters, so it was a pleasant surprise.

"I actually underestimated the Spiritual Box before. I didn't understand why many people would give hundreds of souls for these small boxes in my world. But, every time, I found something useful in the Spiritual Box." Wain thought and crushed the box.

The Spiritual Box disappeared, and in its place, a large skeleton-shaped bomb appeared in Wain's hand. This bomb had many small holes in it.

Wain immediately opened the description of the item.

[Imp's Needle Bomb (Primary Chronicle, Rare Rating)

After five seconds, hundreds of sharp, metallic needles start flying out of this bomb when ignited. These needles are sharp and strong enough to deal severe damage to all creatures in the Primary Chronicle.

Once the last needle is out, the bomb will explode and destroy everything around it within a one-meter radius]

'It's not a bad item, and it's Rare Rating, I'm surprised. I didn't know it was possible, but considering the number of times I've opened a Common Rating Spiritual Box, the chance of getting a higher ranked item is pretty slim.' Thought Wain and moved the bomb to the Ring of Damned.

When a person unlocked a Rare Rating Spiritual Box, for example, there was a small chance to get an Epic Rating item. 

However, this rule did not work in the opposite direction, in which case it was impossible to get a Common Rating item.

This happened quite rarely, but sometimes someone could get lucky, and it could even save his life.

"I still don't know where the flames are coming from, but it looks like I'm on the right track. The Imps had guns and even bombs, which means they might have a base or camp here somewhere. I need to thoroughly investigate these tunnels." Wain muttered and headed on his way.

Wain wanted to fight someone powerful. He hoped that he would meet the monster from First Chronicle in the Imps' lair.. He was somewhat like the monsters in this, for he was just as hungry for a battle.