The forest was quiet.
The smaller giant snakes that could devour everything had not pursued him deep into the forest. Perhaps Erich had run too fast, or perhaps they did not want to stray too far from their mother.
Erich had no time to ponder this. The quiet environment made it easier for him to sense the sparse elemental particles in the air. The fire elements were distributed on the glowing surfaces of the moss, the earth elements lay deep within the soil beneath his feet, and the water elements were densely scattered throughout the air. Back when he was first-tier, he could also sense these elements, but that perception had been incredibly blurry—he could only tell if they were present or not. Now, it was different. He could vaguely discern their flow, their concentrations, and even the balance between them.
Perhaps it was because he had mastered second-tier magic, or perhaps it was because his Spirit and Willpower had each increased by thirty points.
But neither of those mattered right now. Erich continued on his way without a clear direction, simply following a faint warmth radiating from the ground beneath his feet.
Ever since descending to the third floor, Erich had been wondering about one thing: how did this forest survive? The glowing moss overhead provided light but barely any heat, and the dungeon lacked the solar radiation of the surface. For an ecosystem this vast to exist, it had to have a source of energy.
Geothermal heat.
That was the only possibility. There had to be active geothermal activity deep within this dungeon. Geothermal heat would warm the groundwater, and the warm spring water would bubble up somewhere to nourish the forest.
He had not walked far when the humidity in the air suddenly spiked, carrying a faint scent of rotten eggs. Walking a few dozen more paces, the dense forest suddenly opened up. A small pool of water appeared before Erich, its surface steaming and covered in a thin layer of white froth, with several clumps of aquatic plants he could not name growing along the edges.
Sure enough, there was a hot spring.
Erich squatted down and placed his palm close to the water's surface, letting his mana seep into the ground through his fingertips. He could feel a stable geothermal vein just beneath the surface, continuously outputting heat.
He carefully channeled his mana deeper into the earth, tracing the thermal vein and guiding the dispersing heat toward the surface.
The heat began to gather. The soil beneath his feet grew warmer, and the froth on the water's surface began to bubble, steaming up massive clouds of water vapor. At the same time, Erich raised his right hand. A wind blade spun above his palm, forming a small vortex. He adjusted the angle of the vortex, gathering the rising warm, humid air into a single draft and sending it toward the dark dome above the forest.
The warm, humid draft rose high into the air, reaching the lower edge of the glowing moss layer. The temperature there was much lower than on the ground, causing the vapor to cool and condense into tiny water droplets. However, water droplets alone were not enough. For clouds to gather, they needed condensation nuclei. Erich was just wondering what to use as dust particles when he realized he did not need to worry. Upon sensing the moisture, the moss growing on the rock walls began releasing a massive quantity of spores. Though they were nearly invisible to the naked eye, they served as perfect natural condensation nuclei.
Water vapor condensed into droplets around the spores, releasing latent heat that warmed the surrounding air, drawing up even more vapor. More spores were swept into the cycle, causing further condensation. Once this positive feedback loop was established, Erich did not have to worry about the rest of the process. With barely any more mana input from him, the cloud overhead expanded at a visible rate, transforming from a thin layer into a heavy, grayish-black mass that continued to thicken.
The water vapor in the dungeon was far more abundant than he had imagined. Perhaps because the vapor cycled repeatedly within the closed environment of the dungeon, an astonishing volume of water had accumulated over the years.
The clouds grew thicker and thicker, but one last condition was still missing.
Erich raised his staff. Gathering his mana, dozens of ice spikes condensed around him and shot toward the clouds. The ice spikes pierced deep into the cloud layer and exploded, causing the temperature within to plummet. The water vapor rapidly desublimated onto the surfaces of the ice crystals, forming larger ice particles. As these particles collided and rubbed against one another, an electrical charge began to build within the clouds.
The electrical charge accumulated in the clouds like a warehouse filled with gunpowder, lacking only a fuse.
With the preparations complete, Erich dashed toward the center of the city. The wind elements wrapped around his feet and back, propelling him much faster than usual. The trees of the dense forest rushed past him in a blur as the light ahead grew brighter. It was the glow of fires; amidst the chaos, Corrosive Fang City had already begun to burn.
When Erich reached the battlefield, he happened to see:
Marcus was kneeling in the middle of the ruins, his massive shield planted in the ground before him, completely exhausted. Grace was half-kneeling behind him, her left arm wrapped in a makeshift bandage. Lilith stood beside them, anxiously raising her hand toward the giant serpent. Bryant and his two companions had retreated to the flanks, but their attacks were clearly no longer enough to stop the giant serpent from charging its attack. The foul green beam of light was already gathering in the serpent's maw with devastating power.
Erich's wind magic erupted with full force, launching him into the air. He soared over the collapsed, low-lying ruins and landed not far from Marcus and the others. The moment he touched the ground, his wind elements expanded once more, turning into an invisible force that pushed everyone backward.
Then, facing the giant serpent, Erich stomped his right foot hard on the ground, causing a massive earth wall to rise with a rumble.
The thick earth, mixed with gravel, instantly formed a barrier over two meters thick, colliding head-on with the serpent's breath. The green corrosive liquid splashed against the wall, causing the soil to sizzle and peel away in large chunks.
The earth wall held for only a brief moment before cracking and crumbling, but Erich was already gone from behind it.
The giant serpent stared in confusion at the empty space behind the wall, its pupils darting as it searched for the missing figure. However, its perception relied too heavily on sight. Erich had already closed in on its body from the side. He drove the butt of his staff into the gaps between the snake scales, using the leverage to pull himself up and rapidly climb up its massive, wall-like body.
Feeling the foreign object on its back, the giant serpent rolled and thrashed violently, trying to throw him off. But Erich clung to the serpent as if glued to it. His wind magic created negative pressure beneath his soles, sealing every step firmly to the giant serpent's body. The gaps between the scales served as his footholds, while his staff became his third point of support. With every thrust, the butt of the staff wedged into the gaps, pulling him upward.
The serpent raised its head high, desperately trying to look back at the person on its back. However, it was too massive, and its neck was so thick that it could barely bend, let alone reach behind itself. Erich took advantage of this, skirting around the side of the serpent's neck to avoid the swaying caused by its thrashing, climbing upward section by section.
When Erich finally stood atop the giant serpent's head, the entire battlefield of Corrosive Fang City fell silent.
The tiny figure stood in the center of the serpent's head, looking incredibly small compared to the ruins below. Lilith looked up, desperately wanting to cry out, but no sound came. Bryant also wore a grim expression, clearly not expecting the student he had dismissed to go this far.
Sensing the tiny presence on its head, the giant serpent let out a furious roar and shook its head violently. Erich steadied his stance in the center of the head and raised his staff high.
The wind blew back his medium-length silver hair, making his robes rustle and flap. The giant serpent beneath his feet writhed frantically, yet he stood there like a weather vane pinned to the center of a storm.
“I am heaven's wrath.”
The white shard at the tip of his staff suddenly flared, and a bolt of golden lightning shot from the tip, piercing straight into the clouds.
The depths of the clouds lit up. That single bolt of golden lightning detonated the entire sky, which had been building up charge for so long. The clouds responded with a massive golden pillar a hundred times thicker. A blinding column of lightning cascaded from the heavens, striking the giant serpent squarely on its head.
Erich's figure was also swallowed by the blinding white light.
Then, the torrential rain poured down.
The rain hammered down with tropical violence, beating against the ruins, the serpent's body, and the faces of the people. Thunder rumbled across the dome, one clap after another. Lightning danced wildly across the sky like crazed silver serpents, illuminating the giant serpent as it convulsed violently within the pillar of lightning. Starting from its head, its scales exploded and peeled back one by one, exposing scorched flesh and blood.
Lilith ran forward a few steps through the torrential rain, only to be held back firmly by Grace. Her lips were moving, but even she could not hear what she was screaming. The rain was too heavy, the thunder too loud, and the giant serpent's screeches too agonizing.
The golden pillars of lightning continued to strike, again and again.
The rain fell in sheets.
Rate on N.U.
