"Masha!"
Masha was trapped between streams of lava.
The Zakarlong was about to unleash its deadly skill.
Without wasting time, I ran toward her, gathering ice energy in my left hand.
"Cryo Bomb!"
I hurled the Cryo Bomb at the Zakarlong, catching it off guard.
The icy explosion froze the beast in place, but I knew it wouldn't hold for long.
"Need some help?"
Masha turned to look at me, her face full of disbelief.
Jade and Jenna were also staring in shock.
They clearly didn't expect anyone to come to their rescue.
At first, they thought it might be Jareth or Bonnie, but freezing a Zakarlong wasn't their style.
-THUD! -THUD! -THUD! -CRACK!
The Zakarlong began breaking free from the ice, its rage evident.
The cave, filled with molten lava, offered no safe ground.
"Ground Freeze!"
I cast the skill to freeze the lava-covered floor.
This gave us solid footing and created a path for Masha and her group to escape.
"Hey! You three, get out now! Zakarlong is about to break free!"
They hesitated, still stunned by what they were witnessing.
I shouted again, snapping them out of their daze.
Realizing the danger, they started running toward the cave's exit.
"Thank you!"
Jade and Jenna called out as they passed me.
"We'll repay you someday!"
With them safely on their way out, Masha paused and turned to me.
"Xerox, what are you doing here?"
"Same as you. I'm here to take down that thing,"
I said, pointing at the Zakarlong.
Masha looked surprised but quickly nodded.
She remembered the power I had shown during the MistShade incident three months ago.
She wanted to stay and help, but her injuries would only slow me down.
"You should get out of here,"
I said, handing her some health potions.
"Take these."
"Thanks,"
she said softly.
"No problem. Be careful!"
With that, Masha left.
Now it was just me and Zakarlong.
The creature roared furiously as cracks formed in the ice binding it.
-HUFF-
"Let's finish this,"
I said to myself.
The Zakarlong shattered the remaining ice with a blast of lava.
Its fiery body glowed brightly as it roared in anger.
Without warning, it spewed flames directly at me.
"Ice Wall!"
I shouted, creating a thick wall of ice to block the attack.
The fire raged against it, melting the wall bit by bit.
Just as it seemed the flames would overwhelm my defense, the Zakarlong stopped.
But instead of retreating, it began pouring lava around us, trying to trap me.
"Ground Freeze!"
I froze the lava again, keeping my mobility intact.
Losing the ability to move freely against such a powerful opponent would be a death sentence.
The Zakarlong charged at me, swinging its massive tail.
I jumped out of the way just in time.
"Ice Shard!"
I fired shards of ice mid-air, but the Zakarlong's protective barrier blocked my attack.
I continued to press forward with everything I had, but the creature's shield and fire defended against each move I made.
The battle was far from over, but I wasn't backing down.
This Zakarlong would fall.
"Time to test out my new skill. Ice Embodiment!"
The Ice Embodiment skill boosted my attack power and strengthened my defense.
I could have used Dual Skill, but I wanted to try this skill first.
Dual Skill puts too much strain on my body.
Ice began to cover my entire body, forming armor that I could control.
It felt like wearing a suit of ice, solid yet flexible.
The Zakarlong opened its mouth to attack.
This time, instead of dodging or blocking, I charged straight at it.
-KHAAAAKKK
The Zakarlong unleashed its fire, but I didn't stop.
The flames hit my ice armor, but I felt no pain.
The armor absorbed the heat as I sprinted closer.
When I was two meters away, I jumped toward its head.
I shaped the ice around my arms into massive spearheads, sharp and deadly.
While the Zakarlong continued breathing fire, I drove the icy spear into its head.
-GUOOOOO!
The Zakarlong roared in pain as blood poured from its head.
It shook violently, trying to throw me off.
I thrust my icy weapons into its head repeatedly before leaping to the ground.
Zakarlong's head was soaked in blood.
Its once fierce demeanor had vanished, replaced by fear.
Trembling, it stumbled backward and began to run.
It headed toward the cave's exit, unknowingly running straight into a trap.
I had placed a Cryo Bomb at the entrance earlier.
The bomb detonated, freezing the Zakarlong in its tracks.
If it had used its protective barrier, it might have resisted the attack.
But in its panic, it ran without paying attention, leaving itself completely vulnerable.
I dashed toward the frozen Zakarlong.
I didn't know how long it would stay frozen, so I acted quickly.
With a swift slash, I beheaded the monster, ending the fight.
"Hah... Hah..."
I exhaled heavily, relieved it was over.
The battle wasn't too dangerous, but it would have been impossible without my Ice-type attacks.
After confirming that Zakarlong was dead, I headed for the cave's exit.
As I stepped outside, I heard loud noises.
-THUD! -THUD! -WHOOSH!
Looking around, I saw students and monsters running in the same direction.
The monsters didn't even attack the students—they were fleeing in panic.
Even a Rank-3 monster looked terrified.
(What could scare a Rank-3 monster in this dungeon?)
Rank-3 monsters were the strongest in this area.
For them to be this frightened, something incredibly powerful must be approaching.
I turned in the direction they were running from.
"Hey, you! What are you doing?"
a student shouted as he ran past me.
"Me? I just came out of the cave. What's going on? Why is everyone running?"
"You were in the cave?"
He glanced behind me, confused.
"Were you hiding in there the whole time? Never mind. That's not important. You need to run now. There's a group of terrifying monsters heading this way!"
He pointed to the horizon.
I turned to look. In the distance, a massive black cloud approached from the sky.
It was moving fast.
Focusing my gaze, I realized it wasn't a cloud at all.
My heart sank as I understood what it was.
"Really, Eclipse Academy! Did you have to go this far?"