Chapter 31: Xingxing’s Fiery Onslaught

Xingxing’s grip tightened nervously around the ‘Lava Staff’ she held.

Her gaze flickered from the colossal beast slumbering before her to the three rows of status bars displayed for her character.

Only then, having steeled her resolve, did she bravely take the first step into the White Tiger’s alert radius.

The staff clutched in Xingxing’s hand was, in fact, one of the few truly rare items found throughout the entire forest.

Typically, monsters within the Mystical Forest dropped only melee weapons, differentiated solely by whether they were designed for one hand or two.

The damage inflicted by these melee weapons relied entirely on a character’s inherent attack power, implying that, save for those possessing unique special effects, most melee weapons offered little disparity in combat efficacy.

However, the ‘Lava Staff’ Xingxing now wielded had dropped on the third night, during a group hunt for a fire-attribute elite monster deep within the forest.

This particular staff did not inherit a character’s attack power, rendering it practically useless for blunt force trauma, yet it uniquely inherited a character’s intelligence!

All spellcasting in this game was accomplished by launching orbs, and the effectiveness of these orbs also scaled with a character’s intelligence.

The ‘Lava Staff’ was no exception; without an orb, it could not cast spells independently.

So, what precisely was its function?

The ‘Lava Staff’ could reduce the mana consumed when using an orb, and, more significantly, it could split a single orb into three for deployment.

While each smaller orb would deal only one-third of the original base damage, every single one of these mini-orbs would fully inherit the character’s intelligence!

In practice, an orb’s base damage was never particularly high; the true potency stemmed from the character’s intelligence attribute.

With such a distribution, each individual orb could inflict nearly triple the damage!

It was crucial to remember that spellcasting in this game featured only a channeling cooldown, not a conventional cooldown.

Consequently, more orbs translated directly to higher burst damage, and reduced mana consumption allowed for an even greater number of orbs to be unleashed in rapid succession.

The absolute most crucial point, however, was why it earned the moniker ‘Lava Staff’: its unique ability to amplify fire-attribute orbs!

Fire-attribute orbs were already renowned for their devastating damage, and the ‘Lava Staff’ doubled that fire damage!

Considering the White Tiger was a gold-attribute monster, and Fire suppresses Gold was common knowledge, a single fire-attribute orb, once split, would deal triple damage.

Then, amplified by the staff, it would become six times the damage, and finally, with the elemental counter bonus, it would achieve an astonishing twelve times the damage!

Why, then, was such a formidable staff entrusted to Xingxing?

The two grown men had declared their preference for engaging in direct melee combat, suggesting that the spell-slinging from the rear was better suited for ‘fragile girls.’

In truth, Xingxing suspected they simply lacked confidence in the girls’ close-combat prowess, which was why the staff had been passed to them.

Xue Hu, for her part, found it far too cumbersome to simultaneously wield a wooden board in one hand and the staff in the other, all while fumbling for orbs to hurl, and thus graciously ceded the staff to Xingxing.

“If I can’t win even with this, then I might as well just die!”

After silently steeling her resolve, Xingxing took a deep, fortifying breath and stepped into the White Tiger’s alert radius, her eyes fixed on the beast as it abruptly opened its own, locking onto her.

She thought to herself.

‘There’s nothing left to fear!’

“Mortal!

How dare you trespass upon our domain!

Spare your excuses; you may prepare to die!”

The White Tiger majestically straightened its body, its tail rising stiffly towards the sky behind it, every muscle taut with tension as its four powerful limbs gripped the ground.

“Roar! White Tiger’s Roaring Wave!”

As the saying goes, ‘clouds follow the dragon, winds follow the tiger’ (TL Note: A traditional Chinese idiom describing the natural phenomena associated with powerful mythical beasts, implying the White Tiger’s inherent might).

This White Tiger, a supreme ruler among its kind, had every movement accompanied by ferocious gusts of wind.

It roared its fury at Xingxing, unleashing a shockwave that hurtled directly towards her face.

Xingxing, displaying an agility she hadn’t once used since entering the game, evaded the attack with extreme precision.

Had any other player witnessed this scene, they would undoubtedly have forbidden Xingxing from attempting to capture the White Tiger alone, insisting instead on shadowing her every move.

“What’s wrong?

Is that all you’ve got?

You can’t even hit me, can you?

Then I won’t hold back!”

Having skillfully dodged the ‘White Tiger’s Roaring Wave,’ Xingxing immediately felt a surge of confidence, and brandishing her ‘Lava Staff,’ she declared:

“Now, it’s my turn!

Lava Hell!”

In truth, there was absolutely no need to shout out an orb’s name when using it; one merely needed to gently or forcefully launch it forward.

One could observe Xue Hu as an example; she never spoke, simply raising her wooden board as a gesture when launching an orb.

Extrapolating from this, even if one were to shout something other than the orb’s actual name, it would not affect the orb’s efficacy in the slightest; it would only make them appear more ‘chuunibyou’ (TL Note: A Japanese slang term referring to a ‘middle schooler syndrome’ where one imagines themselves to possess special powers or knowledge, often leading to overly dramatic or embarrassing behavior) or simply foolish.

Nevertheless, the effect was indeed spectacular.

Through the ‘Lava Staff’s’ splitting ability, fire-attribute orbs rained down upon the White Tiger like a torrential downpour, instantly transforming the ground into a sea of flames, truly living up to the name ‘Lava Hell.’

Struck by numerous fire-attribute orbs, the White Tiger let out pained howls.

Though Xingxing couldn’t see the White Tiger’s exact health data, its health bar visibly diminished at an alarming rate, indicating that if this onslaught continued, the White Tiger was doomed!

‘It’s working!

And its health is dropping fast!’

As Xingxing witnessed the scene, her eyes immediately gleamed with surprise and delight.

She accelerated the rhythmic swings of her ‘Lava Staff,’ causing the fire-attribute orbs to rain down, one after another, overwhelmingly barraging the White Tiger.

In just a mere dozen seconds since the engagement began, the White Tiger’s health had already plummeted by half, while Xingxing, remarkably, remained at full health!

‘I ask you, how could I possibly lose this fight?!’

Although the White Tiger felt the agony, and its health was halved, it retained the pride of a grand boss.

Rather than fleeing in disarray, it raised its regal head, then let out a furious roar towards the heavens:

“Roar! Tiger’s Roar Suppresses Heavenly Might!”

This furious roar was not directed at Xingxing, leaving her perplexed as to its effect.

Despite a faint premonition of ill omen, Xingxing, lacking practical combat experience, grew careless.

She did not cease her spellcasting, continuing instead to assault the White Tiger with fire-attribute orbs.

“Faster, faster!

Just a little more, and I can kill it!

Once I kill the White Tiger, I can capture it and claim victory in the game!”

Xingxing redoubled her efforts, unleashing spells with fervent hope, desperate to end the battle before the White Tiger could unleash any major ultimate skill.

Yet, this was already the absolute limit of her casting speed; no matter how much she urged herself, she simply couldn’t go any faster!