Harvesting the Obsidian Rose was a delicate task; Lynn could not simply use a tool to roughly pull it over.
Damn it, if only he knew “Mage Hand.”
But soon, Lynn did not have to worry about how to obtain this Obsidian Rose anymore.
Because the monster Tomo and Toby had mentioned finally appeared before Lynn.
“In the year 442 of the New Star Calendar, adventurer Lynn unlocked a new entry in the monster encyclopedia—Bone Snake. Current unlocked entries: 27.”
The slag-like lava at the bottom of the pit moved first, writhing, squeezing, and fracturing like chunks of semi-solidified asphalt.
Immediately after, a serpentine creature composed of segments of massive white bones broke through the lava layer, emerging from the steaming magma.
Just the half of its body exposed to the outside was over three meters long.
“Roar—”
It was a mystery how this monster, despite being nothing but a skeleton, could make such a sound.
“A... Tier 2 monster, a Bone Snake!”
Tomo spoke tremulously, then quickly nudged Lynn.
“Lord Mage, let's run! Hurry and have the people above pull us up with the rope!”
Lynn glanced at him, ignoring his words.
This was the perfect opportunity to practice on this Bone Snake.
Seeing that Lynn seemed to have no intention of running, Tomo felt a bit resentful.
This guy was able to beat me, but did he really think he could defeat a Tier 2 monster?
Arrogant!
Yet, despite his immense reluctance, Tomo still raised his nearly ruined heater shield and stood in front of Lynn.
Tomo knew in his heart that with his own strength, it was impossible to defeat the Bone Snake.
If he wanted to survive, he had to protect Lynn and give him enough opportunities to deal damage.
Lynn merely raised his staff in silence.
The Bone Snake had just emerged and was still roaring toward the ceiling.
But Lynn's Magic Missile had already smacked it right in the face.
The effect was outstanding.
The Bone Snake's skeletal body was tough enough, but it lacked resilience.
When a Magic Missile hit, it only left a mark on one of the bone segments, but the subsequent explosion caused the Bone Snake immense suffering.
Its massive size meant it took the full brunt of the missile's secondary explosion damage, and the shockwave peeled a layer of bone shards off the Bone Snake.
The Bone Snake felt no pain, but the sluggishness in its movements caused by the damaged bone joints still made it sense the threat of the tiny human before it.
“Clack, clack—”
The lower half of the Bone Snake's body remained submerged in the lava, while its upper body coiled into a bow, gathering power like a tensed spring.
Lynn had already begun chanting his second Magic Missile, while keeping his eyes locked onto the Bone Snake's movements, ready to use 【Burst Step】 to dodge its attack at any moment.
Both the human and the snake tacitly ignored Tomo, who stood between them holding his shield.
The Bone Snake's head swayed slightly, its eye sockets burning with psionic fire as they locked onto the damned Mage below it.
Just as Lynn's spell was about to finish chanting—
The Bone Snake's upper body suddenly snapped straight, launching itself at Lynn like a thrown javelin.
Relying on the 《Blade Ward》 he had been maintaining, Lynn triggered 【Burst Step】, appearing several meters away with a single step.
Boom—
The massive skeletal snake head crashed into the andesite, sending bone shards flying everywhere and causing the entire deep pit to tremble slightly.
The sulfur on the andesite peeled away, the fissures widened, and the flames shooting out suddenly flared up.
The vaporized sulfur gas and flames spewed toward Lynn's face.
If he had not drunk the fireproof potion, this alone would have probably left Lynn with second-degree burns.
What was even more dangerous was that the spot where the Bone Snake had just struck was less than a meter away from Lynn.
While still in mid-air, the monster had already caught Lynn's change in position. Relying on the abnormal neural reflexes of a snake, it immediately adjusted its direction, striking toward where Lynn was moving.
If Lynn had not been so fast, he might have actually been hit by this serpentine monster!
Furthermore, the monster's attack was far from over.
With its first strike missing, the Bone Snake left almost no gap for a second target acquisition. After retracting its head, it immediately launched a second surprise attack.
Without much charging, the giant snake launched itself again, sweeping forward with boiling lava and hot wind.
Lynn stood his ground without moving, calmly aiming.
Only by casting a spell could he trigger 【Burst Step】.
“Vas!”
The Magic Missile left his hand, guided by “Evocation Control” as it flew toward the spot where it had first hit the Bone Snake.
The Bone Snake had no intention of dodging.
It wanted to trade its own injuries for Lynn's life!
Lynn did not panic. The power of the Burst Step Rune had already gathered beneath his feet.
But just as Lynn was about to use 【Burst Step】 to shift his position—
Tomo, whom no one had paid attention to, suddenly moved.
“You damned beast, don't look down on me!”
Having been ignored, Tomo suddenly tucked his entire body behind his heater shield and charged at the incoming snake head.
“Shield Charge!”
Clang—
A heavy sound of impact rang out between the metal heater shield and the white bones.
The white light of the Skill attached to the shield quickly dissipated, and the shield itself sizzled under the splashing lava.
Tomo, the shield-user, was also pushed back by the Bone Snake's immense strength, rolling several times on the ground.
If he had not been grabbed by the dual-dagger man, Toby, he would have nearly fallen into the magma.
However, the Bone Snake's strike had its rhythm disrupted by Tomo's sudden intervention.
Lynn was slightly surprised; he had not expected Tomo to take the initiative to help him at this moment.
He did not waste this opportunity. While the Bone Snake was still stiff, his second Magic Missile hit the exact same spot as the first.
The bone joint was damaged once more, with nearly half of it ground away.
The surrounding bone joints were also left tattered under the force of the explosion.
The Bone Snake finally felt a fatal threat and immediately wanted to burrow back into the magma.
Naturally, Lynn would not let this guy go.
Against an undead creature like the Bone Snake, Lynn had the best method.
Psionic energy!
Although Lynn did not quite know how to precisely use psionic energy as a Skill, even the crudest operation was effective against the Bone Snake.
Lynn released all of his psionic energy at once, stabbing it toward the Bone Snake's soul fire.
The Bone Snake was instantly frozen in place.
And following closely behind the psionic energy was Lynn's third Magic Missile.
Boom—
A massive explosion swept through. Hit by three consecutive Magic Missiles, the Bone Snake snapped directly into two halves, falling back into the magma.
Its soul fire had already been extinguished.
“Killed one Bone Snake, obtained Bloodline Points (Skeleton) * 250 (Over-level double multiplier x200%).”
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【Bone Snake】: One of the evolutionary forms of the “Beast-Armored Skeleton,” a Tier 2 monster. They prefer to live in high-temperature environments, particularly common in the Abyss, Hell, and volcanoes. Magma tempers their bones, making them stronger. Their massive bodies are the source of their great strength, but this also makes them extremely fearful of area-of-effect attacks.
Rate on N.U.
