Chapter 243 - 168: Altar Vine Lizard (2)
The pressure on Li Miao suddenly intensified.
However, as one of the "Prison Players," his ability to handle pressure had grown by the day.
THUD! The massive lizard’s tail whipped against the Law Knight’s Shield.
Behind the Large Shield, Li Miao gritted his teeth and braced himself with one hand. With the other, he drew the Longsword formed from his Applicable Curse Formula and, wreathed in Warfire, unleashed a Gulard Heavy Strike against the pillar.
CRACK!
The sturdy pillar, having already taken one hit, shattered on impact.
The moment the pillar shattered, the Altar Vine Lizard’s aura visibly weakened. As if dealt a heavy blow, it crashed to the ground, its previously lustrous right forelimb dimming to a dull gray.
Seeing this, Li Miao’s eyes lit up.
’It’s showing a weak spot!’
Seizing the opportunity, Li Miao switched to the Frost Riding Spear and used Frost Piercing to instantly appear before the lizard.
Just as he was excitedly preparing to land a devastating Gulard Heavy Strike, a wave of weakness suddenly washed over him.
’Not enough Physical Strength.’
Li Miao’s face fell.
’Shit, I got too carried away with the fight and forgot to replenish my Physical Strength.’
Left with no choice, he had to abandon the opportunity to deal damage. He took out a Recovery Wax Block, quickly replenished his Physical Strength, and prayed the Altar Vine Lizard would stay down a little longer.
But his hopes were dashed.
The Altar Vine Lizard quickly got back on its feet.
The opportunity not only to deal damage but also to land a Lethal Strike was lost just like that.
A wave of frustration washed over Li Miao.
But, frustrated or not, the fight had to continue.
Moreover, although the Altar Vine Lizard’s power hadn’t decreased much after losing a pillar, its movements were now significantly hindered by its grayed forelimb.
This reduced the pressure on Li Miao.
Having already died several times, Li Miao naturally wouldn’t be as careless as before. The recent incident had taught him a lesson, and he started to keep a close eye on his Physical Strength, replenishing it whenever necessary.
And so, after Li Miao repeated the process three more times...
The Altar Vine Lizard collapsed to the ground once more.
Watching the Altar Vine Lizard struggling on the ground, Li Miao’s gaze hardened. He raised the Frost Riding Spear, gripped its shaft with both hands, and plunged it fiercely toward the creature’s head.
Lethal Strike!
BOOM!
Warfire blazed, Spirit Candle Power swirled—a two-pronged assault!
With a great rumble, the Altar Vine Lizard’s body collapsed, shattering into countless pieces of rock that scattered across the ground.
The vines also lost their Life Force and faded away, leaving behind only a few faintly glowing drops.
[You have slain the Altar Vine Lizard]
[Acquired: Wax Oil ×55]
[Acquired: Vine Lizard Tail Whip (Excellent)]
[Acquired: Altar Key]
"Phew..." Li Miao let out a long sigh of relief.
’If it weren’t for this stupid altar, this fight wouldn’t have been so damn hard.’
’Still, I have to admit, the design for this boss fight wasn’t half-bad. That finishing move felt amazing. The devs can have half their mothers back.’
RUMBLE.
Just as Li Miao was picking up his loot, a sound came from the center of the altar as stone blocks began to shift.
Soon, a mechanism rose from the center, appearing before Li Miao’s eyes.
A keyhole was clearly visible on the mechanism.
Seeing this, Li Miao’s eyes lit up. He glanced at the Altar Key in his hand.
[Altar Key]
[Type: Special Item]
[Effect: Unlocks the altar’s mechanism.]
[Explanation: An ancient key, hidden within the belly of the Altar Vine Lizard.]
Without a doubt, this key was meant to unlock the altar’s mechanism.
With this thought, Li Miao quickly approached and inserted the key.
He tried turning it for a moment, then his brow furrowed. Gritting his teeth, he ignited Warfire in his hand.
CLICK.
Boosted by the immense Power of Warfire, the mechanism finally turned. After a rumbling sound, the stone floor beneath Li Miao began to move.
Startled, he quickly moved aside.
A moment later, a dark passage leading downward finally appeared before his eyes, its destination unknown.
At the same time, a mysterious power began to rapidly radiate outward from the altar’s center.
The force that had been constantly throwing off Li Miao’s sense of direction was dispelled, and the guiding light of his Spirit Candle stopped flickering.
Without a doubt, he could now finally explore Gael’s Depression without any trouble!
Li Miao was elated.
However, he wasn’t in a hurry to press onward. Instead, he returned to the Milestone Spirit Candle and teleported back, preparing to share the news with the other players.
...
"Holy shit, this damn lizard! Is this really a Molten Slag Ash Tier monster?"
"That tail whip almost split me in two!"
"This monster’s stats are way off the charts, right? How are we supposed to fight this?"
"Devs, get out here and take your beating!"
𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"Hey, hey, hey! Stop making fools of yourselves. Just hit the pillars. It’s obvious the altar is buffing the lizard. If you’re going to complain, at least have a valid reason."
"Bros, I can’t beat it... The altar is too small, and I keep getting knocked off..."
"I’m done. I hit it over ten times and its health barely budged, but I take one swipe from its claws and half my HP is gone. What kind of bullshit game design is this?"
"Stop making such a big deal out of it. What’s so surprising? You should be glad you weren’t one-shotted."
"That’s just the player experience for you~"
"..."
Just as Li Miao expected, some players hadn’t realized the altar’s effect on the mini-boss lizard at all, and were pinning the blame directly on the developers.
Seeing this, Li Miao couldn’t help but smile. He then posted his discoveries and combat advice.
The news that dealing with the altar would completely solve the directional interference problem also got the other players fired up.
This naturally drew a wave of envy and praise from the other players. However, some of their compliments were just flattery that completely missed the mark.
"Leave it to Brother Miaozi! So fast! I bet he cleared it on the first try!"
"Tch, you underestimate the First Player of the Server’s skill. Even without hitting the pillars, our Brother Miaozi could take down that lizard without a scratch."
"Exactly!"
"..." Li Miao felt a little awkward.
He was too embarrassed to admit that he had wiped several times, so he just stayed silent and lurked.
Meanwhile, in the Prison Players’ group chat, a new message from Brother Mangzi left the other players dumbfounded.
"Holy shit!"
"@everyone, guys, I found the Divine Hall!"
Unlike Brother Mangzi’s excitement, the others were stupefied when they saw his message.
My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: "Huh? I haven’t even found the altar yet, how did you already find the Divine Hall?"
I do Bull’s Push-ups: "Mangzi, you sure you didn’t eat some funny mushrooms and start hallucinating?"
Storyteller: "What’s the story? Spill."
Prompted by everyone’s curious questions, Brother Mangzi explained how he found the Divine Hall.
Battle Bliss: "I didn’t follow the Spirit Candle’s guidance. I just wandered around randomly, and after a while, I saw this huge building."
Battle Bliss: "It’s got a snake head with a mane on top, and there are broken stone pillars around. It should be pretty much what Little Demon described, but the thing didn’t disappear when I approached."
The others: "..."
That’s right. His method was that simple, that crude, and completely impossible to replicate.
It was a good thing Black Mountain Little Demon, that Krypton Gold-spending whale, was still in a dungeon. Who knows what he would think if he saw Brother Mangzi’s words...
It just goes to show, sometimes, a bit of recklessness can solve a problem through a freak coincidence.
Battle Bliss: "Gotta go, guys. I still haven’t beaten these two Python Guards at the Divine Hall entrance. There’s a big chest behind them, no idea what’s inside. I’ll talk after I’ve killed them."
With that, Brother Mangzi went offline, leaving everyone else in stunned silence.
’It can be that easy?’
’Brute force really does work wonders?’
...
Luo Ge wasn’t lurking in the chat this time. He was busy feeding Recovery Wax Blocks to Xiaoluo, with Noxia beside him.
Xiaoluo’s growth had never ceased. Her body grew bigger by the day, and her Abilities were gradually strengthening.
Just moments ago, her power had risen once more, and she had advanced to the [Embers] Tier on her own.
With this advancement came the awakening of a new Talent.
[Shell Divination: Use the Power of your shell to perform divination and receive vague guidance about destiny. The cost of divination is the Shattering or damage of the shell, but it will slowly repair over time.]
Right now, Xiaoluo was lying on her shell, hugging a Recovery Wax Block and gnawing on it, her cheeks puffed out.
Seeing Luo Ge and Noxia staring at her, Xiaoluo tilted her head in confusion.
"Bloop bloop?"
’Why do you keep staring at Xiaoluo?’