'It's holding up better than I expected.'
Izroth moved through the depths of the lava pool. His body was encompassed by a thin layer of dense cold energy that repelled that heat from the lava as the two forces fought one another.
Rather than a thick ss of molten lava that was hard to traverse, this particular lava seed to behave closer to that of water. This allowed Izroth to see his surroundings with a greater deal of clarity than he initially anticipated.
Also, unlike the pool above that was only ten ters in length and five ters across, the inside of the lava pool was several tis more spacious.
'The effects of the Cold Yin Flower will last for around 30 minutes. I have to find the Demonic Heart Lotus and make it back to the surface before then. Otherwise, in my current state, I will be incinerated in this lava once the cold aura protecting fades away.'
The first thing Izroth did when he entered the lava was spread out his Energy Vision Sense to try and get a decent grasp on its depths as well as what resided within the lava pool. However, the concentration of the fire elent was too strong after reaching a certain depth, making it impossible to peer too far in. Therefore, Izroth had no choice but to rely on his natural sight.
Izroth descended deeper into the depths of the lava pool and had reached a depth of ten ters. Yet, there was still no end in sight.
'There doesn't seem to be any monsters down here. It seems that Franz Winsor at least had sowhat of a conscious.'
Izroth visually scanned whatever he passed by on the way. He also occasionally used the skills Appraisal and Deep Insight along the way to act as another pair of eyes.
...
In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes passed as Izroth had now reach a depth of fifty ters. There was still no end in sight to the lava pool.
More importantly, Izroth could already feel the effects of the Cold Yin Flower's protective cold aura weakening as the heat intensified the further down he went into the lava pool.
'If I go much further than this, even if I manage to find the Demonic Heart Lotus, I won't be able to reach the surface before the effect of the Cold Yin Flower ends. Do I have to give up and find another Cold Yin Flower? No, I was lucky and found one at the pseudo-ancient rank. There's no guarantee that next one I co across with be the sa. At that point, I will have even less ti to search than now. Will I have to settle for the one I collected earlier?'
When Izroth reached a depth of twenty ters, he discovered a Demonic Heart Lotus growing from the wall of earth within the lava pool. Unfortunately, it was not a fully blood Demonic Heart Lotus. Nevertheless, it was still ancient-ranked in quality and a reliable back-up; therefore, Izroth decided to collect it.
Of course, an ancient-ranked Demonic Heart Lotus paled in comparison to its mythical-ranked counterpart that was needed for the pill recipe.
Izroth was confident in his ability to successfully craft a grade four Demonic Suppression Pill with the ancient-ranked Demonic Heart Lotus; however, achieving S-grade in all categories of the evaluation would be out of his reach.
Even though Izroth wanted to complete the trial dungeon quickly, he was not the type of put half-effort into sothing requested of him.
'There is still plenty of ti left until the deadline. If necessary, I can try another two or three tis, depending on how long it takes to find other Cold Yin Flowers. Worst case scenario, I will be forced to use the lower quality Demonic Heart Lotus and will have to make so adjustnts to aim for a higher grade.'
16 minutes...
17 minutes...
18 minutes...
After being in the lava pool for 18 minutes, Izroth reached a depth of 65 ters. However, when Izroth reached the 60-ter mark, it caused him to slightly furrow his brows.
Izroth looked down at his hands and noticed that the once dense layer of protective cold energy that encompassed him had lost much of its vigor.
'If I try to go any deeper than this, the effects of the Cold Yin Flower won't be able to hold up. I have already pushed past the limit of the ti I can remain at this depth. It looks like I have no choice but to turn back.'
Izroth could only inwardly sigh. If he had the full protection of his Heavenly Golden Body and Might stat, even without the Cold Yin Flower, he was confident in withstanding the heat of the lava pool. Unfortunately, he had to follow the rules and restrictions set in place by the trial dungeon.
Izroth stopped his descent and turned his gaze upward.
Suddenly, right as Izroth was ready to start his ascent, he abruptly turned around and crossed his arms before him.
The next mont, a powerful wave of heat crashed into Izroth, knocking him back a couple of ters. Following that was a series of lesser intense heat waves that all seed to originate from the sa source below. Then, after a few seconds, the heat waves ceased as if it never erged in the first place.
'This is...'
Izroth narrowed his eyes as he set his sights at the location that the heat waves ca from. Without hesitation, Izroth activated Flickering Steps as he sped toward the source.
In less than a breath, Izroth arrived at a depth of 75 ters within the lava pool. At this temperature and depth, the Cold Yin Flower started to show its ineffectiveness as Izroth felt his body flood with fire energy.
'The Cold Yin Flower within is fighting against the fire energy. But, my body won't be able to hold up at this rate. That aside, it looks like my trip wasn't in vain.'
In front of Izroth was a unique looking dark crimson lotus wrapped in dark purple flas. It emitted a source of heat that made the temperature of the lava pool pale in comparison and shook further shook the protective cold aura of the Cold Yin Flower.
Izroth briefly examined the lotus as a carefree smile ford on his face.
Na: Demonic Heart Lotus
Rank: Mythical(166)
Usage: The Demonic Heart Lotus grows in areas with pure fire energy and is said to bloom a total of three tis, increasing its overall effectiveness with every bloom. It can aid in greatly enhancing vitality and physique, while also granting powerful fire resistance and augnted fire-type effects. It holds many unknown secrets. Due to the heavy concentration of pure fire energy the Demonic Heart Lotus contains, it is capable of overwhelming even high-grade fire cores, making it incredibly difficult to process.
Without hesitation, Izroth swiftly grabbed the Demonic Heart Lotus and moved it into his garden bag.
〈System Alert: You have collected x1 «Demonic Heart Lotus»!〉
'To be able to hold items like the Extre Yin Evil Roots and the Demonic Heart Lotus while maintaining their perfect condition—this garden bag is comparable to at least an SS-ranked magic item.'
Of course, the garden bag could not compare to a player's inventory provided by the system. However, when one's inventory beca unavailable, an item like the garden bag was priceless.
'Based on the commotion it just caused, the Demonic Heart Lotus must have just blood again. Judging by its appearance, that should have been the second ti it blood. If it's already a mythical-ranked item at two blooms, does that an it's capable of stepping into the territory of a divine plant when it blooms three tis?'
Izroth felt that it was a waste to use sothing as precious as a mythical-ranked Demonic Heart Lotus on a grade four pill; however, he had already made up his mind.
'There will be more opportunities in the future. For now, I have to deal with the challenge in front of .'
With that thought, Izroth began to make his rapid ascent back toward the lava pool's surface.
'Previously, I estimated that I had thirty minutes to remain inside of the lava pool. Originally, I should have had twelve minutes left of the Cold Yin Flower's protective cold aura before it ran out. But, after travelling to this depth and enduring the heat wave from the Demonic Heart Lotus blooming, I have less than six minutes to reach the surface. Even with Flickering Steps active, it will be close.'
...
Approximately 6 minutes later...
Iron Cauldron stood at the edge of the lava pool and peered downward.
"How can he stay in there for so long? He didn't die, did he?" Iron Cauldron muttered to himself.
However, after checking Izroth's status through the party status window, Iron Cauldron should only release a helpless sigh.
At the mont, Izroth's na was grayed out in the party status window.
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