Weapons of Mass Destruction

The doors open and heat washes over me even harder than before. The hallway outside the room starts to melt as its walls absorb the heat from outside. The walls on the other side of the door seem to be made from a material different from what I’ve encountered until now.

Detecting the doors starting to close I slip inside and look at the view in front of me.

It's a massive room. I don't even know if it can truly be called a room. Some time ago, back on Earth, I saw a documentary about the Tokyo flood tunnels. Giant structures that served to redirect water to keep it from flooding the surface. This place is similar, though it’s bigger and taller. Instead of water, I find a lava-like layer of molten metal. The space I find myself in stretches over a huge distance leaving the ceiling to be supported by a number of massive pillars.

A quick pulse of detection is all I need to confirm that all the heat being absorbed from the surface is being pulled through the pyramid and absorbed by this massive pool of metal. Perhaps by design, maybe it’s being caused by the entity swimming around inside of it, or it may be something else entirely that lies deeper within.

I know that the being inside the pool has detected me already, yet it's not attacking for now. It seems to be wary of me. Well, more likely it's wary of the thermal orb I have with me.

I wonder if it ate the body of the Champion. Is it something that came into existence as a result of the Mana Radiation from the champion’s corpse? Is it some creation of the Champion's skills? It could honestly be either.

But now, standing here, looking through the lens of my [Perception], I confirm that the body of the Champion is still there. Lying at the bottom of the pool of molten metal. The heart continues to pull in the heat, using the pyramid to do so. It even beats with long pauses in between. These pauses are perfectly in sync with the heatwaves that push their way through the pyramid and the appearances of Heatseekers.

I give the shy guy in the pool of molten metal an opportunity to attack but it doesn't take the bait. Annoyed, I create three tricolored orbs and fire them off, targeting what I think is the being’s location. The molten metal explodes into the air sending ripples through the surface and pushing me back with the shockwave, almost making me fall even as I activate my defenses.

Even then no counterattack seems forthcoming.

Annoyed, I boost myself into the air with kinetic energy and repeat a few more times until I land on a ledge projecting out from what I think is the central pillar. It’s thicker than the others and much more densely inscribed. Up close I even notice that there’s much less heat moving around it, and some of the molten metal seems to have solidified at its base.

I land on the surface of that solidified metal and tear out a few huge chunks which I send through my [Tether] to the anchor I left in the living quarters near the core. Being done, I boost myself up and land on the ridge in front of the doors on the pillar's side. They are extremely smooth, almost feeling painted on. My mana doesn't even seem to do anything and even my senses can't feel much.

While thinking, I throw another tricolored orb to where I think the being is. Then I take a bit of thermal energy from my orb and send it to the door. The lines light up and it looks like they are melting the surface and it spreads through the entirety of the door until they melt away entirely.

I go inside and the door starts reforming behind me and only now do I see how thick the wall of metal is, at least as thick as I'm tall.

Infusing my mana arm with thermal energy, I tear off a chunk of the metal and send it through the anchor as well. Then I do it a few more times until the hole closes. Only then I turn to the room I found myself in.

Of course, the room is nearly dark, lit only by a few lines that seem to be powered by the bit of thermal energy I used before to light up the place.

The control panels near me don't react to my mana and there don’t seem to be any other doors. It's just a circular room that encloses a space in the shape of the pillar it sets within.

Knowing now what the problem is, I let thermal energy seep out of me causing the panels and devices to start lighting up. Even the ceiling changes, the lights taking on the appearance of swirling lava.

I don't think thermal energy powers it all, that would be weird. It's more like thermal energy serves as the key. That or the room has some means of converting it into mana and using the result as fuel.

Anyway, is there anything I could sell?

I grab one of the chairs and try to send it through the anchor only to find myself unable to do so.

Cheeky place seems to have engaged some form of shielding after it closed itself off. Hell, my thermal energy may have reactivated the defenses. For some reason, I find the idea funny.

I release more of my thermal energy and more devices light up, some of them even projecting a map of the pyramid and an uninteresting series of letters and numbers.

So where do I find the last will stating: "If you’re reading this I'm long since dead."?

It takes a few minutes but I do manage to find a switch and when I activate it the walls of the room become transparent, allowing me to see the pillars and pool of molten metal outside.

More than that, it allows me to see the monster coiled around the pillar as one of its huge eyes tries to stare inside.

[Volcanic Hydra - lvl ???]

My laser-like stream of thermal energy hits the now transparent wall and starts melting through, right over the monster's eye.

The monster doesn't react in any way and my attack continues to melt through the wall very slowly. It would take minutes for it to pierce through. Annoyed, I throw a tricolored orb against the uselessly thick wall and cancel my thermal attack.

As I watch the tricolored orb turn bright white, I come to think that that might not have been such a great idea.

My eyes activate for a moment and I quickly move my mana, tearing the orb apart before it fully destabilizes. There is still a small shockwave, but most of the devices survive it just fine.

That also makes me realize that the monster can't see me; the room only allows for a one way view. Most likely even cloaking what's happening inside.

Watching the hydra for a bit longer I only become angrier.

Cowardly little thing. Did it wait until I went inside to crawl from its pool? What, Is its subclass Patience? Should I go to sleep?

At this point, I may as well temporarily nickname the monster 'Savant,' lovingly shortening it to 'Savi.'

Savi has three heads, each one exactly the same. They grow from a single lizard-like body with long nimble-looking limbs and a similarly lithe tail. Savi's body is entirely covered in dark gray scales and his heads keep snapping and biting at the pillar.

After a while, Savi becomes uncomfortable; the pillar seems to be absorbing even his heat so he disappears back into the pool of molten metal.

Turning away and back to the devices, I examine what I can, but most of it’s been encrypted. The ones I can't gain access to, I try to pull the mana stones from but the moment I do so, the mana stone crumbles into tiny particles. Maybe it’s some kind of mechanism to defend against spies or something.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I’m In the middle of examining a file when Savi starts attacking. Waves of molten metal crash into the pillar, hot enough to cause damage, and parts of the pillar start slowly melting.

I let it continue for a few minutes while learning more and more.

The Champion here was truly the second strongest person on this planet, right after Absolute Tassian. His name was Laten, bearer of the Ignition Wavelength Eyes and a skill called [Thermal Convergence]. Some of the records even theorize that if he had been given a few hundred years he could have become even stronger than Tassian, even with Tassian's head start.

All the notes I'm reading seem to have been left behind by the people who helped build the pyramid. People who were essentially mana scientists, some of whom were Champion candidates, and disciples. All were people who worked with Laten, examined his body, traits, and skills to find the best ways to apply them.

They did it here, right over the biggest active volcano on the planet. A volcano they estimated could throw out enough ash to bring about a new ice age. Yet, these beautiful maniacs used it to help power the Veil. This ignition Station does a huge chunk of the work even when compared to the other stations.

Of course, a lot of these people were from the Enchanters’ Guild, they were the people who attempted to enslave the young divine beast. But damn if Laten isn’t a fascinating if dumb man. Why did he allow his skills and traits to be noted here? Not like I intend to complain though, it's fun reading.

Another attack shakes the pillar and with an annoyed sigh I release a huge amount of thermal energy and this place takes it all in, using it to fix the outer surface which has begun to take damage. The metal of the pillar quickly melts under my thermal energy and restores itself to a perfect state.

Savi stops attacking, most likely shocked or scared. Maybe he wants to forfeit now, coward.

I turn back to the mana stone I was examining. A lot of the information on it has been redacted. Some by Enchanter Guild and some by the system, likely containing knowledge I shouldn’t have yet. Letting go I check the timer and decide it's enough. I need to deal with Savi before Lissliss comes so I open the door to break the shielding and send a few more things to the living quarters. A mana stone, a piece of a device, and a chunk of a wall.

For some reason, a memory of watching shows about hoarders filling their houses with trash flashes through my mind. Could never be me, the things I collect will surely find a use later.

Done with it, I exit the pillar, the heat hitting me right away. This time Savi’s waiting for me outside, his three heads lowered and air reverberating under the sound of his hissing and a threatening amount of mana surrounding him.

Savi is scared of me. Of my thermal energy. Thermal energy so similar to Laten's, even if it is so much weaker than the Champion’s.

He is scared because Savi is probably all that remains of the giant snake that attacked the pyramid. Something like the slivers of intent.

A monster from the planet that paired with this one, one that was once just below Champion rank.

Savi failed, probably because the head of the Champion served to maintain the defenses and killed Savi when he attacked the pyramid.

The nearly dead powerful monster, its intent, its egg, perhaps even a piece of his flesh, whatever it was found its way here, mutating and trying to regain its power within the radiation of Laten's dead body and his still beating heart. The body and heart of a Champion too strong and hot for Savi to take over.

So close to pulling it off, yet still unable to take over. All while feeding on the Heatseekers over hundreds of years and leveling up.

That's the theory I go with after my many observations and what I found in the records.

Looking at the way Savi moves through the molten metal, collecting more and more heat, I don't think he wants to tell me anything new. He seems to agree as he starts hurling rivers of flame from all 3 heads.

I quickly create a shield and infuse it with golden thermal energy, the orange flames of the hydra rolling off the surface impotently. Savi hisses, just that single clash telling him more than enough.

Decisively one of the heads moves quickly and bites into the neck of the next. With one strong pull, it tears the head off and along with the second one, they devour it.

I should probably use the opportunity to attack but at this point, I'm too fascinated. So I watch as the two remaining heads fight each other before one of them devours the other.

Bones tear through the back of the monster and pierce through the air, forming a shape reminiscent of wings. The blood still drips from the white bones when mana flows through them.

Then the monster roars, sending ripples through the pool of molten metal, and the inscriptions on the pillars light up in response.

My body is pushed against the pillar, my crown and thermal orb threatening to destabilize. I activate [Mana Domain] to bring them both back under my control, the blueish light of it clashing with the dark orange color of the heat radiating from the volcanic hydra.

The pool of molten metal ripples and from its surface emerges dozens of spear-like spikes the length of my body, all aimed directly at me.

[Redistribution] activates, and I absorb all the heat, causing the attacks to visibly lose power and speed until the metal spikes sit frozen, pointing at me as they pierce the surface. A few coming to a stop just an arm's reach away.

These spikes made out of metal fall back into the pool where they melt once more. I boost my body with kinetic energy and fly off to the side, avoiding another wave of spikes piercing through the surface of the huge pool.

They follow me as I fly, some crashing into the pillars I’m using to avoid them. The amount of heat they contain is impressive and even with my defenses, I can still feel it scorching my skin.

Savi looks dried up now and much thinner, his ribs beginning to show. Yet the bony wings are bigger than before. The thinner he is the quicker the attacks are and the more heat they carry.

Over time bigger and bigger sections of the pool begin to fall under his control.

Sometimes I absorb the heat of entire wave-like attacks, which creates waves of metal, seemingly frozen in time.

The spikes coming my way continue to fly even as I absorb the heat, piercing into my shields or causing injury.

Then there are Savi’s attacks; even though he’s found himself looking at his deathbed, the hydra continues to move quite nimbly, swimming through the lava and snapping at me with apparent vigor.

I form a suit of armor around my body, increasing its size until we find ourselves the same size. It's so much easier now, my mastery over kinetic energy is much better, allowing me to move the huge armor with less resistance.

So we clash, my mana corroding and melting every time it touches the pool and Savi seizing the advantage. His attacks have even changed now, accounting for my ability to absorb the heat.

As the fight goes on he becomes stronger and stronger and at the same time, he comes closer to his death. His body is just skin and bones, and his bone wings are beginning to crack and for the first time, he starts taking damage from the lava.

However, the Volcanic Hydra continues. I know I should save as much of my mana as I can to use against Lissandra but at this point, there are no such thoughts dwelling in my mind. I just fight, one side trying to kill the other.

[Redistribution - lvl 49 > Redistribution - lvl 50]

And then when the time finally comes and Volcanic Hydra slows down, I redirect my attacks, barely avoiding its head. The monster is missing three of its legs, its tail is broken from one of my attacks, one of its eyes has been destroyed and its bone wings are nearly gone.

Even then it still has that determined gaze in its eyes as he stares me down in challenge as I float over him. The hydra doesn't try to escape and in the end, we both know he gave it his all. One last hurrah from a monster trapped for over a hundred years, unable to break through its limitations and regain its previous power.

“You gave it your all, didn't you?” I say, sure he can understand.

The Volcanic Hydra doesn't say anything but its eye seems to confirm the sentiment.

“I'm no Champion yet but I hope you had fun fighting one last time.”

The monster's neck straightens up and its eye stares at me full of expectation.

I let golden thermal energy flow through my arm of mana and for the first time during our fight, I use it to attack. The golden flames devour the monster and I let its bones sink back into lava without stopping to take any of them.

[You have defeated Volcanic Hydra - lvl 329]

[Lvl 249 > Lvl 250]

Level 250 status reached. This marks a significant leap in human potential.

Your body will undergo a crucial upgrade, designed to enhance your cellular regeneration, bone density, and muscle efficiency.

This upgrade will enable your body and mind to endure the strain of higher leveled skills and support more powerful traits and passives.

Note: Following the upgrade, your body's requirements for air will diminish.

Well done!