Forbidden Fire had a strengthening effect on monsters.
In the Desert Stratum, the Desert Sword Attendant had relied on the empowerment and madness of the Forbidden Fire to suppress several adventurer teams at once.
Furthermore, the heroic gargoyle before him was different from the two Brock had encountered previously.
The heroic gargoyle in front of him not only had two heads, but its frame was also a full size larger than a normal heroic gargoyle.
Its heavy armor possessed a metallic weightiness, unlike the stony texture of a standard heroic gargoyle.
If other heroic gargoyles were composed of ordinary rock, the one before him seemed to be made from a single solid block of metallic ore, smelted and forged by the Forbidden Fire until it gained a metallic sheen.
Its massive mana was also far superior to that of a normal heroic gargoyle, nearly double the amount.
Looking at the two heads of the Forbidden Fire heroic gargoyle, Brock even wondered if the Forbidden Fire had caused two separate heroic gargoyles to fuse into one.
In the hands of the Forbidden Fire heroic gargoyle was a heavy greatsword.
The greatsword looked as if it were made from a single block of crudely refined ore, its surface pitted and uneven like a meteorite.
Held in the grip of the Forbidden Fire heroic gargoyle, it exuded a raw, domineering aura.
Burning Forbidden Fire was coiled around the blade, and liquid flames dripped from its surface.
Clearly, this greatsword was the key to the seal—the Nail of Sealing.
Brock peered cautiously behind the two-headed heavy armor heroic gargoyle.
The pedestal, constructed of rock, was constantly spewing Forbidden Fire.
There was a palm-long slot on the pedestal, matching the width of the Nail of Sealing's blade. The Forbidden Fire was erupting specifically from that gap.
‘As long as I thrust the Nail of Sealing back into the slot, I should be able to re-seal the residual flame of the Forbidden Fire.’
The two-headed gargoyle before him obviously wouldn't hand over the Nail of Sealing willingly.
After all, gargoyles were not intelligent monsters; they weren't as easy to talk to as monster merchants or purple-skinned blacksmiths.
Furthermore, based on the nature of the Forbidden Fire, it was clear that its presence would override any intellect with madness, causing the creature to lose its sanity.
After confirming his two objectives, Brock carefully observed the environment.
The gargoyle and the pedestal sealing the residual Forbidden Fire stood openly in the clearing before him.
If Brock wanted to charge in, there was no room for a sneak attack or a detour.
If he wanted the Nail of Sealing, he had to mount a direct frontal assault.
The strength of the two-headed heroic gargoyle should be somewhere between an elite monster and a boss. Could he actually win?
As a first-rank mage at his peak, Brock's only real advantages seemed to be his naturally high mana capacity compared to others of his rank, and that bottle of Frost Magic Water which could counter fire-attribute monsters.
Taking a deep breath, Brock made his decision.
He removed the glass bottle from his waist, opened it, and slowly poured the contents.
Brock drenched the gemstone at the tip of his staff with the magic water, which was saturated with dense ice-attribute mana.
He only stopped once he had consumed a quarter of the Frost Magic Water in the bottle.
By then, the white crystal at the tip of his staff had been dyed an icy blue by the magic water.
The uses for magic spring water weren't limited to being a precious material.
The water itself was an extremely valuable consumable item in combat.
Even magic spring water without any specific attribute could serve as a medium for spellcasting, accelerating the speed of magic and reducing mana consumption.
He would take the initiative with the first strike.
Brock aimed his staff at the distant heroic gargoyle.
From this distance, using the rock wall as cover, he was positioned exactly in the two-headed heavy armor heroic gargoyle's blind spot.
Using this advantage, he would start with a full-power blow!
“First-rank magic, Ice Arrow Rain!”
A blue magic circle expanded, and the dense fluctuations of ice-attribute mana quickly drew the target's attention.
While he could take advantage of a sneak attack, the mana fluctuations and the appearance of the magic circle once the spell was cast were impossible to hide from the target.
However, relying on the effects of the Frost Magic Water to shorten the casting time, Brock still managed to unleash the spell first.
Noticing the commotion, the two-headed heroic gargoyle charged forward, dragging the Nail of Sealing behind it.
Sharp ice arrows shot out in rapid succession.
Realizing it couldn't reach Brock before the attack hit, the two-headed heroic gargoyle swiftly raised the Nail of Sealing.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The ice arrows struck the Nail of Sealing repeatedly. Frost quickly spread across the sword, freezing into a layer of ice.
Brock took the opportunity to rush forward.
As a mage—or rather, a summoner—Brock naturally wouldn't close the distance to confront a heroic gargoyle directly of his own volition.
He was only charging forward because he had only two paths: forward or backward.
To his left was lava; to his right was the rock wall.
The two-headed heroic gargoyle was not an intelligent monster, but that didn't mean it lacked combat intuition.
Seeing Brock rush toward it, the two-headed heroic gargoyle quickly turned, using the Nail of Sealing to block the continuous barrage of ice arrows while simultaneously charging toward Brock's position.
The Nail of Sealing swung down like a heavy hammer meant to shatter stone.
Having already fought two heroic gargoyles, Brock was now familiar with this type of monster.
Facing the Nail of Sealing crashing toward him, Brock quickly pulled out a card and threw it, simultaneously activating his Summoning Blessing.
“Snake Bone of Eternal Imprisonment, summon!”
The thrown card rapidly expanded into a magic circle. Sharp, white bones pierced through the earth, blocking the heroic gargoyle's heavy strike.
Then, a chain lightning burst mercilessly from the snake bone, instantly enveloping the heroic gargoyle.
Brock took the chance to press in, pressing his staff against the two-headed heroic gargoyle's chest.
“Explosion!”
Brock repeated his old trick, using the explosion magic that countered heroic gargoyles.
However, things did not go as planned. The two-headed heroic gargoyle, though enveloped by the chain lightning, was only paralyzed for a single instant before the greatsword swung down again!
Clearly, this two-headed heroic gargoyle's magic resistance was far higher than that of a normal heroic gargoyle.
Brock rolled away clumsily, narrowly avoiding the strike as it grazed past him.
The two-headed heroic gargoyle, its attack having missed, now displayed an extraordinary level of aggression.
Seeing Brock dodge, the two-headed heroic gargoyle stepped forward rapidly, aiming a stomp at the rolling Brock.
Brock had no choice but to fire all his remaining ice arrows to disrupt the attack, scrambling to his feet to put some distance between them.
The agility and physical strength he displayed were far beyond that of a normal mage.
After all, he had the comprehensive physical enhancement from the wood armor monster.
Without the physical capabilities granted by it, Brock would never have been able to dodge the two-headed heroic gargoyle's attacks while wearing a heavy fireproof suit.
Brock had barely put some distance between them and hadn't even steadied his ragged breathing when the two-headed heroic gargoyle attacked again.
It was another simple, unadorned heavy strike with the greatsword.
Brock was forced to pull out his last monster card and throw it.
“Heroic gargoyle, summon!”
Rate on N.U.
