Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King Chapter 179: Transmutation · The Lava Elemental and the Fire

The outer rim of the lava zone simred under oppressive heat.

Lyle wiped the sweat from his brow, exhaling heavily. "All that effort, and they only countered my resurrection spell once. Honestly thought they'd try harder."

During his third attempt at reviving Quaiesse, Lyle had sensed that the Slane Theocracy had responded with resurrection magic of their own. Their reaction speed had far surpassed that of the Zurrernorn.

He'd been cautious from the start, preparing for the possibility that the Theocracy might deploy higher-tier resurrection spells.

Fortunately, tucked away in his passive skill Spell Preload, he still had an unused 7th-tier spell: Resurrection stored up.

Of course, if they had used a 9th-tier resurrection spell, he'd be utterly outmatched.

But that seed far-fetched.

It had been over six centuries since the Six Great Gods walked this world. Any scrolls or artifacts of that caliber would have been depleted by now.

And besides, Lyle seriously doubted that the Theocracy would burn a priceless magic item like that just to revive Quaiesse.

Even spending a 7th-tier spell seed extravagant.

He turned his gaze toward the mind-controlled Quaiesse, asking flatly, "What relics from the Six Gods still exist in your Theocracy?"

Each ti he revived the boy, he got three questions. And since Quaiesse's knowledge was incomplete, Lyle had to be picky about what to ask. Just as he finished the third question...

Bzzz—

[Detected spell: "Object Locate"— Requires Psychic Caster Level: 22–28. Current condition not t.]

[Detected spell: "Clairvoyance"— Requires ntal Caster Level: 29–35. Current condition not t.]

Lyle's expression darkened.

"So… it begins. Ti to speed this up."

Without hesitation, he glanced over the notification panel one last ti and redirected his focus back to Quaiesse.

A clean slash ended Quaiesse's life.

Then ca the questions.

Then another resurrection.

Again and again.

This cycle drained Lyle's mana rapidly. Eventually, Quaiesse's level dropped to the point where he could no longer be revived, sowhere around Level 3 or 4.

His fragile body simply couldn't handle the stress of another revival spell.

Unlike the last ti, when he'd conserved mana by recycling the corpse of a gray-robed caster, this ti he had no such intentions.

"Raise dead."

Lyle invoked the final use of his Mad Archmage class skill. A holy white light engulfed Quaiesse's remains.

But it was too late.

The man's body, unable to withstand the power of resurrection, began to bubble and disintegrate, vanishing completely in monts.

Lyle let out a long breath and wiped his forehead, now drenched with sweat from the sweltering heat.

"Finally done."

He stood up. The intelligence he'd gleaned about the Slane Theocracy painted a much more formidable picture than he had expected. As the most powerful human nation in existence, their capabilities had clearly been underestimated.

"But before I leave..."

He flipped his palm over and withdrew several magical items stripped from Quaiesse's body - a ring, a necklace, and a few other trinkets.

"A sha, really. These were excellent pieces."

He cast a spell.

[3rd-tier Spell: Composite Elent Summon – Swamp Elental Spirit]

Squelch!

A mass of muddy sludge ford on the scorched ground, rising to about five feet in height. It had no arms, legs, or face - just an amorphous block of glistening muck.

The mont it appeared, the sweltering environnt around it began to hiss. Water vapor boiled off its body in thick, curling plus of steam.

"Elental Attribute Change – Fire."

With that command, Lyle triggered his Mad Archmage passive ability.

The swamp elental began to quiver and distort. Flas flickered across its muddy surface, gradually spreading. Half of its body had turned crimson with fire.

Then sothing went wrong.

The transformation stalled. The elental started to collapse in on itself, unable to stabilize.

"What the—?"

If the passive worked on elental spirits, this should have been a simple transformation.

Suddenly, Lyle's eyes narrowed. He realized that only half of the elental had converted to fire. He had an idea.

"Elental Attribute Change – Fire and Earth!"

BOOM!

The instability ceased. Fire and earth energies rged, creating a surge of high heat that radiated outward in a visible wave.

Monts later, the swamp elental had fully transford, its entire body now glowing with molten lava, a walking embodint of volcanic fury.

The Lava Elental Spirit was born.

"That's more like it."

Lyle's eyes glead. Composite elentals like this were far more durable than single-elent types.

With a wave, he tossed all the looted magical equipnt into the elental's waiting arms.

The Lava Elental trudged forward toward the lava sea deeper in the zone.

Lyle watched with a wince.

Those items from Quaiesse were worth a fortune.

But after discovering that the [Omnipresence Walk] spell could be used to track items, he had no choice. Keeping those artifacts would have made him a glowing target.

At least the Lava Elental, with its resistance to extre heat, made it to the lava's edge without a hitch.

Then it dropped the artifacts into the molten sea.

FWOOSH!

In the very next instant, a wave of lava surged upward.

Sothing erupted.

A massive, lantern-shaped organ, resembling both a hand and a grotesque lure - lashed out from the depths and seized the elental in one fluid motion, dragging it beneath the molten surface.

SPLASH!

The lava churned violently.

From the inferno rose a colossal creature, over 50 ters in length. Covered in thick, blazing red scales, it resembled so hellish anglerfish built for a world of fire.

It was a fish-like monster, but calling it a "fish" felt like calling a dragon a lizard.

BOOM!

Two enormous, glowing crimson eyes, each larger than a human torso - locked onto Lyle from across the sea.

It hung in the air for a breathless mont before crashing back down, sending lava geysers shooting skyward.

A blistering heat wave followed in its wake.

"La-Angler Lava Lord..."

Lyle raised his arm to shield his face, eyes squinting.

Fifty ters long and seething with elental power, it was a true terror of the molten deep.

Even he felt a chill from the sheer presence of such a beast, especially as it moved effortlessly through the lava like a fish in water.

Lyle's face hardened.

That thing was Level 47.

No way he could fight it head-on right now.

Luckily, the La-Angler couldn't leave the lava.

As long as he didn't approach the sea, it couldn't do anything to him.

He turned to leave.

Only to stop abruptly.

Above him, the sky darkened.

A crimson shadow swept toward him, closing the distance in re seconds.

Wings spread wide.

A creature over 20 ters long descended, wings flapping in the thick air before landing squarely in Lyle's path.

The pressure shifted. The air, already stifling, grew even hotter.

Lyle's expression turned grim.

Red scales. Massive fra. The telltale ridges along its serpentine neck.

No doubt about it.

"A Surface Sovereign… an Ancient Fire Dragon."

He cursed under his breath.

Why was this thing here?

The original records had only ntioned it in passing. It wasn't even supposed to show up.

The dragon's glowing eyes narrowed.

"Human," the dragon rumbled. Its voice was deep, ancient, and disturbingly smug. "Hand over your magical treasures."

Lyle didn't respond.

The Ancient Fire Dragon studied him with a blend of greed and wariness.

It could sense the mana building up in Lyle's body - dangerous, unstable, and ready to explode.

A predator's instincts… tempered by caution.