Volume 5: Protracted War Chapter 19: Magma Pool Mutation
Fortunately, I didn't encounter the trouble I imagined. Just as I was anxious, Taotao appeared behind some thick smoke and ran to my side quickly. It seemed that it sensed my worries and rubbed me affectionately with its big head. After a brief exchange, it turned out that just after I was resurrected, a skeleton wizard holding a magic bone staff came over here. It can use netherfire magic to attack remotely. If it approaches a certain distance, it will be very dangerous. Taotao was worried that I would encounter it when I appeared, so he took the initiative to provoke it and lured it to a place a little farther away nearby to avoid threatening me who came back.
After two evolutions, the little guy's intelligence has improved rapidly, and he has made great progress. He can better understand what I mean, and will take the right actions on his own, with my safety as the top priority. This is also one of the reasons why I took so much trouble to "cultivate" him. Red Star only showed a little independent consciousness in battle, and there are still great limitations. It may be because the Terror Knight itself is not a kind of undead with high IQ, and the room for growth is limited. If I can cultivate Taotao, who can evolve, into a top pet that absolutely obeys my orders and has a relatively complete independent consciousness, and make full use of its abilities to serve me, I don't have to give detailed instructions on how to act one by one. It will be much more helpful to me. Especially in some critical moments, if the pet has a high enough IQ, it can timely judge the danger according to the situation and launch rescue operations in advance, which is equivalent to an additional layer of protection. For these, although there is no specific explanation in the official information, some senior players have already put forward similar views. Combined with my actual situation, it can naturally be verified, and I can't help but believe it.
I patted Taotao's big head to encourage him, and then continued to move towards the top of the mountain. The environment became more and more dangerous, and the situation became more and more dangerous. The "magma fire rain" gradually became scarce, and was replaced by frequent "lava storms". It was no longer like the initial one where just a huge or a fist-sized piece of lava was smashed down. There were at least hundreds of them as big as basketballs, and some even bigger ones were mixed in. Once encountered, one would definitely die.
For alien creatures that break into the "Hell Volcano", needless to say, the "lava storm" that hits them head-on is an absolutely insurmountable "gate of hell". If I were alone and relied on my own reaction to dodge after hearing the sound of lava breaking through the air, I would have died countless times. A large piece of lava is falling down, and no matter how fast you move, you can't avoid it. You can only leave it to fate and hope that it doesn't hit you. But luck is not something that I have exclusively. I can rely on it once or twice, but it won't always "protect" me for a long time. If it takes a nap occasionally, I may die.
The only reason they could continue to hold on was thanks to Taotao. The extremely harsh living environment of the "Hell Volcano" was tailor-made for the undead creatures of the Hellfire type. The overwhelming "lava storm" was not much of a threat to the undead creatures living in this area. They could always predict the direction of the lava in advance and dodge in time. Even if the "lava storm" covered a large area, their movement speed was not very fast. At least they could avoid the center of the attack. With their tyrannical strength, as long as they were not unlucky enough to be hit by the huge volcanic lava, they would not suffer fatal injuries. Taotao, a hell skeleton horse, also belonged to the undead creatures of the Hellfire type and inherited this ability. He could detect the threat from the air in advance, accurately judge the direction of the attack and the coverage range, and hide in a relatively safe place in time.
When Taotao first entered the "Hell Volcano", he probably didn't perform well because he was not familiar with it and didn't adapt to it. He reacted slowly and sometimes even dodged in the wrong direction and suffered injuries. Fortunately, most of it was "magma fire rain", which only contained a small amount of lava. Occasionally, there would be a "lava storm", and the mistakes he made were not fatal. As time went by, his innate instincts were gradually stimulated and he performed better and better. When he entered the relatively dense , Taotao was like the native undead creatures on the volcano, and could accurately judge the coming of "lava storm" and avoid danger in time. I didn't care about its ability at the beginning, but I was just happy that I didn't have to be distracted by it and could concentrate on taking care of myself. Later, "lava storm" appeared more and more frequently, which made me always in a state of fear. I was getting more and more worried and constantly thinking about ways to prevent it. Until one time when I was almost crushed to death by a volcanic lava, but Taotao, who was originally staying by my side, escaped in time and was safe and sound, I finally came to my senses. After careful questioning, I finally figured out its special ability. Isn't it obvious that I can use it! With its help, I tried my best to follow its actions and escaped countless "lava storms". Taotao's wisdom is still not high enough and needs further improvement. With such a useful ability, he didn't remind me, his master, to use it earlier, which made me worry for so long in vain.
Thanks to the previous hard mountain climbing experience, I gradually adapted to the terrain here. It is no longer as difficult as it was at the beginning. Although the mountain is still steep, it is not too strenuous to climb. Even if I am harassed from the sky and the ground from time to time, I can still hold on. All of this is in line with the overall design concept of "Tianxia", starting with easy and then difficult, gradually increasing the difficulty, giving you time to adapt. "There is always a way out", there is still a glimmer of hope in the seemingly extreme danger. As long as you are lucky, you may be able to do something beyond your ability.
The further we go, the harder it is to walk, and the more dangerous the situation becomes. The difficulties we encounter are beyond my imagination. I originally thought that the fire-immune "Phoenix Feather Cloak" should be able to resolve most of the dangers and the journey will be much smoother. I didn't expect that it was only the most basic requirement to enter the "Hell Volcano", and it was not a real test at all. Every step forward must be cautious, highly focused, and always in touch with Taotao. As soon as I sensed any movement, I immediately ran with it at full speed. I was almost nervous. Even if it just ran and jumped a few steps to stretch its body, I would follow it without thinking and chase after it. The only consciousness was to make sure to stay by Taotao's side for safety.
In addition to the harsh natural environment, the increasing number of undead creatures also posed a great threat to me. Although they had no fixed territory and just wandered aimlessly on the volcano, each individual seemed to have a sphere of influence that could not be crossed, and absolutely did not allow other undead creatures to invade. Moreover, the distance seemed to be different according to the strength of the undead creatures. At the same distance, I could be safe and sound when facing one kind of undead creature, but I would be attacked and expelled when facing another kind of undead creature. The four forbidden areas in the "Dead Space" were hidden secret places, and there was no public information for reference. The undead creatures I encountered were not recorded in the "Undead Creatures Encyclopedia". The dead old man only mentioned them roughly, and refused to explain the specific situation despite my repeated inquiries. I also couldn't figure out the strength level of these undead creatures, and couldn't accurately judge the sphere of influence of each kind of undead creature to avoid them. I could only act as carefully as possible and stay away from them. Fortunately, few of these guys are good at speed. After I got familiar with the terrain and mastered certain climbing skills, I relied on "One Ride Away" and "Phantom". The melee type couldn't catch up with me. Occasionally, when I encountered some guys who were faster than me, I could use "Blind Fog" to trap them and buy time to escape. The undead that can attack from a distance also use fire magic, and have "Phoenix Feather Cloak" to protect their bodies. As long as they are not directly hit by powerful attack magic, ordinary attacks will not cause much damage to me. The biggest trouble these undead creatures bring me is that I have to change my route frequently. I need to bypass them from time to time to avoid getting into trouble and causing unnecessary conflicts. Sometimes I even encounter several undead blocking the road in a row. I have to move parallel for a long distance to avoid them, which often delays a lot of time. I may not be able to move forward much in six hours.
It took me nearly five days to climb a three or four thousand meter "hell volcano". If Taotao and I were not both relatively agile individuals and had escaped death several times with our speed, it would have been impossible for us to break through the many dangers and successfully reach the top of the mountain. Of course, this is also due to Taotao's intelligence and alertness. Even when I had to go offline to rest, it could avoid those dangers in time and survive alone in such a harsh environment. It only moved around the area I designated for it. Unless it encountered any danger, it would generally not disobey my instructions and would quickly rush over to join me after I re-entered the "dead spirit space". However, after such a long delay, in addition to being more agile and reacting to external behaviors faster, I did not gain much in major tasks such as seniority and winning subordinates. For Taotao's growth and evolution, I have invested a lot of time and money. I only hope that these efforts can help me achieve a satisfactory result and never let me down.
The top of the "Hell Volcano" is a large flat land, estimated to be at least four or five square kilometers. Unlike the " lava storm" that erupts from time to time on the mountain, the top of the mountain is quite quiet and not disturbed by the outside world. Not only does the flying lava not fall here, but even the rampant undead creatures have not been seen. The most eye-catching and largest area is a huge magma pool. The fiery red magma is boiling and rolling in the pool, making a "gurgling" sound. The surface of the magma pool bulges with bubbles of different sizes from time to time. After a "pop" sound, a white light smoke emerges and disappears in an instant. I think this should be the "Hell Magma Pool" introduced by the dead old man that can help Taotao grow and evolve. It is obviously different from the black and red magma in the craters or cracks on the mountainside. There are no impurities and the texture is more pure.
Is this a success? I almost couldn't believe it. Although it took a lot of time, I finally arrived at the top of the mountain and saw the "Hell Magma Pool". On the way, I was more tested by the harsh natural environment. There was no life-and-death battle with unknown powerful undead creatures as I imagined. This was the first time I encountered such a situation in all the missions. It was really beyond my expectations. In fact, if I think about it carefully, the threat of the environment alone is not as terrible as it appears. As long as I don't rush for success, I will take steady steps, have Taotao as a guide to avoid danger, and add the "Phoenix Feather Cloak" to protect my body. If I am willing to spend two more days and not be so aggressive, I can reduce a lot of risks, avoid many dangers, and don't have to worry for so long. I almost met the dead old man several times. Now I still feel scared when I think about it.
All the dangers have passed, and now it is time to reap the fruits of victory. At the command, Taotao, who seemed to have been unable to contain himself in the face of the "Hell Lava Pool", raised his head and neighed, and rushed over quickly, eager to enjoy the "lava bath" that I had described to it many times, to catalyze its own growth.
Taotao covered this distance in a flash as he ran at full speed. He stretched his body and jumped into the "Hell Lava Pool" with one stride. According to my instructions, he swam for a while and felt no discomfort, then dived to the bottom of the pool to better absorb the energy of the magma. There was nothing for me to do next. According to the information revealed by the dead old man, according to Taotao's current strength, he can soak in the "Hell Lava Pool" for ten days every month. Without it as a "guide", I dare not go down the mountain alone. It seems that there is no way to stay in the "Dead Spirit Space" for the next ten days. I can only go to the human world and find something to kill time.
Although it was still early for resurrection, there was really nothing to see on the top of the mountain. I didn't want to go back to accept the baptism of the "lava storm", so I could only sit quietly on the ground to kill time, which was also an opportunity to calm my nervous mood for a few days. Suddenly, accompanied by a strange loud noise, the "Hell Lava Pool" rumbled loudly, and the magma began to surge and turbulent rapidly, turning up "waves" several meters high. Because the distance was relatively close, it almost splashed on me. Then there was a "crackling" sound, and Taotao quickly jumped out of the magma pool, ran behind me in a panic, shrank his head and stared at the rolling magma pool, feeling very scared, as if he was very frightened. Faced with this sudden change, I also felt extremely nervous. I didn't know what happened. I couldn't help but pull Taotao back again and again, trying to keep a distance first.
