Shua!
When his vision cleared, Max found himself standing in a volcanic region.
Just like Rima, he was also stunned to realize they were separated and also became worried for her.
Unlike her, however, he could roughly sense the direction she was in and knowing that as a mage nearing the absolute peak of Four Star, she could handle herself as long as she didnât face opponents higher in realms head-on, he didnât become too distressed and looked around the place he was in.
Immediately, he realized two things.
One, this region had highly condensed Fire Elemental Mana and therefore was a wonderful place for a Fire Elemental Mage.
Unfortunately, his dantian was
locked
so he couldnât cultivate. Still, he could try to comprehend Fire Elemental Law, but unfortunately again, he only had one month in which he needed to collect at least 1000 Merit Points and find Rima.
Second thing he realized was that... he was surrounded by some strange beasts that seemed to have taken this territory as their home. Luckily, they seemed to be hibernating and hadnât sensed his presence yet.
But Max wasnât a slightest bit relieved because the weakest of these beasts, who looked to be made from volcanic rocks and numbered several hundred, was a mid-stage Tier 4 beast and the strongest seemed to have reached peak Tier 6, equivalent of a Peak King Mage.
One wrong step could startle them awake and he would definitely become their food because without him able to use mana, he didnât have any hope of escaping them.
Even though his physical strength was quite high to the point that he wouldnât be afraid to engage a mid or even a high-stage Five Star Mage in close combat even now, against magic beasts who possessed superior physical bodies, he was afraid he might not be able to compare with even an Early-stage Tier 4 beast let alone deal with these stronger beasts.
Taking a quiet breath, he turned around and started walking away but just as he took the first step, his heart skipped a beat because someone had locked onto him.
Turning his head in the direction of the active volcano, he saw one of the rocky beastsâthe peak Tier 6 oneâhad its eyes open and was staring down at him.
Bang!
A split second after their gazes met, Max stomped the ground and bolted at his current top speed while cursing his bad luck.
However... he hadnât fled even ten meters when...
Shua!
Bang!
A large, hill sized shadow appeared in front of him and before he could react, a sharp pain shot through him and his consciousness flickered like a candle in a fierce storm.
A moment later, he blacked out.
...
An unknown amount of time later, Max felt as if he was being cooked alive from inside out. He wanted to groan but couldnât make any sound.
Moment by moment, his consciousness grew clearer along with the burning sensation and the pain became increasingly unbearable.
âIâm not dead?â Temporarily ignoring the pain, he thought, relieved but confused.
âDonât tell me the beast didnât want to eat raw meat so itâs cooking me?â He wondered in a daze because he couldnât think of any other reason why he was still alive.
Then suddenly, he had a flashback.
Right before he blacked out, he seemed to have seen a figure in white clothes clashing against the rocky beast.
âSo that guy arrived to save me from the beast but I was still struck and lost consciousness?â He mused. Right then, his other senses became clear and he realized he was floating on some stimy material that was very hot and the air around him was toxic.
âWait!â His eyes snapped open and the sight of black stone walls stretching into sky along with the boiling sound from beneath him confirmed the thought he just had, âIâm in the volcano.â
âWhen the beast was about to kill me, that guy appeared but I was still struck and was sent flying... into this volcano?â He mused.
âDid that guy die? Or maybe he thought I was dead so he didnât bother checking the volcano and left?â
He couldnât hear the sound of fighting so he guessed the battle must have already concluded and either the guy was dead or left thinking
he
was dead.
âForget it. I should first leave the volcano or I would melt into nothingness in a shortââ He stopped thinking about what might have happened and focused on his current plight. Then suddenly, a thought struck him.
âWhy arenât I already dead?â
The temperature of this volcano was so high that he should have melted within a few seconds after he fell here, but not only was he still alive, only his skin was burnt and flesh was slightly charred. This didnât make sense.
Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum!
Suddenly, he noticed something and his heart started racing.
âThis is... fire elemental mana?â He thought, feeling an incomparably pure fiery energy enter his body.
This energy was also the reason why he was feeling as if he was being cooked because as it entered him, it permeated all his organs before converging toward his dantian.
Suddenly, his pupils constricted because he could now feel and access his dantian.
Not wasting any time, he sent his bloodline sense into it and let out a sigh of relief because his mana was still there even though countless cracks marred its surface.
After he observed his dantian for a while, joy flashed in his eyes. âTruly a blessing in disguise!â
He had thought he was done for when he was transported into the volcanic beastsâ territory but what he thought of as a disaster turned out to be a blessing because not only he was able to access his dantian once again, but his almost destroyed mana core was now healingâthe cracks on it were closingâas the Pure Fire Elemental Mana from the volcano entered it.
Immediately, he discarded the thought of leaving, suppressed his pain receptors and dove deeper into the volcano.
Feeling the Fire Elemental Mana become denser, he was overjoyed. Activating his cultivation technique, he started to greedily absorb the mana.