Leon flew for a while, but it looked like the scenario was repeating itself, he could only see magma, walls, ceiling, and rocks. As if that wasn't weird enough, those odd creatures that couldn't be analyzed by Appraisal never stopped from coming.

"I need to change my tactics. At this rate, I will die after exhausting my mana or even by this annoying and hellish heat."

Leon stopped above a rock and confirmed that only three magma creatures were following him. For whatever reason, they couldn't keep themselves working after getting away from the place they appeared. So, instead of continuosly running away, it was better to deal with the three of them before others join the group.

"Let's see how well Frost Wave can deal with them..."

Leon shot a sphere of ice, and when the sphere hit the creatures, it exploded and ice-covered it. As it was expected, the heat of the river of magma soon started to melt the ice. To counter that, Leon moved the blocks of ice using Telekinesis to the ceiling, but even there, the ice was melting.

"This will only buy me a minute or two... it won't solve the problem."

In the end, Leon could only solve the problem with brute strength as always. He was out of time, but he still decided to solve a lot of problems he was going to have at once since Leon lost his items.

Leon created a thin layer of earth under himself and sat on it while it approached the ceiling of that hellhole. After that, he started to meditate. His goal wasn't to increase his mana and intelligence. Instead, Leon wanted to learn Zen since it would be much more efficient to recover his mana using that.

Meditation started to recover Leon's mana, but the magma creatures began to attack his Mana Armor. He wasn't losing his focus, but it was clear that he was losing more mana than he was recovering... Leon had no time for that. There was no point in keeping Mana Dominion active. If he feels every single movement of the magma creatures, he will get distracted, so he deactivated it. However, it took a full hour before Leon could reach the level of focus necessary to receive the notification. Still, at least in that state, he didn't have to worry about the heavy air and the heat. His body was still suffering a lot, but he wasn't suffering mentally all that much.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Zen.

You obtained 01 status points.

"Since I'm already at it... I should level up the skill while I can. Who knows for how long I will face only this many enemies and when a new and more powerful one will appear..."

Congratulations! The skill Zen has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Mana Armor has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Zen has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Mana Armor has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

...

When Leon deactivated Zen, he saw his clothes drenched in sweat. Although his mind was at peace, his body was still suffering due to the heat and the stagnated air. His mana was reaching dangerous levels, Leon wanted to make a weapon at least made of steel, but it looked like he wouldn't have enough time to do it.

Congratulations! The skill Fire Resistance has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

"At least made the heat decrease dammit... why this shit skill levels up and I don't feel any better?"

Leon didn't even have time to think about that. He had to deal with the magma creatures. Using Thunder Ray, Leon stopped the creatures and saved some mana because he stopped their attacks, but Leon used much more using Thunder Ray. The magma on the creature's bodies hardened, and they started to fall back to the river, but Leon stopped them using Telekinesis and moved to some rocks.

"This should buy me some time..."

Leon started to work on a steel spear, but before he could complete half of it, the magma creatures freed themselves. They only stayed stuck on their own hardened shells for two minutes...

"Give me a break."

It was a waste of time, so Leon decided to attack the creatures and send them back to the river of magma. They would return in thirty seconds or so, but at least Leon wouldn't spend too much mana. Using his half-made weapon, Leon destroyed the monsters' head in a single strike, but even without their heads, the creatures could still move.

"They are like puppets... exploding their heads isn't enough."

In the end, it was a waste of time to save mana and lose time using his own strength. Using Telekinesis, Leon controlled his half-made spear and split the creatures in two, making them fall on the river of magma. Without wasting time, Leon started to meditate, and when the creatures returned a few seconds later, he destroyed them in the same manner.

Congratulations! The skill Meditation has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Leon repeated that process over and over again until his mana was full. In the blink of an eye, he built the remaining parts of the spear.

Steel Spear

It grants you Strength + 10, Speed + 10.

"A very crappy spear... but it will do the job."

The monsters returned once again, but Leon didn't waste time in killing them. However, it looked like Leon would have to let them close a little more. His spear had just been made, but it was already losing its edge thanks to the heat and the magma on the creatures' body.

"I never can catch a break..."