Chapter 155 – East Ocean
While Fatty merged the two skill books, across from him, West the Flame Ruler immediately transferred the seal over to the Fire Kirin Beast. West let out a long, excited wail. The Flame Ruler raised a hand and issued a series of thunderous sparks that exploded in the air like fireworks.
“Big Bro, congrats on regaining your freedom,” said Fatty, pocketing the skill book.
“Heheh, I have Lil’ Bro to thank for this!” West exclaimed with a bright grin. He was extremely happy, and he affectionately patted Fatty on the shoulder.
“What are you gonna do next? Go to the East Ocean?” asked Fatty.
“Nah, not yet,” West hedged. “Before I go, I have to eat the Icefire Lotus first to harmonize water and fire effects, which would reduce the water magic’s binding.”
Fatty cupped his fist in salute. “Then, this little bro wishes you the best of luck, Big Bro.”
“Hehehe,” West chuckled. “Thank you! Lil’ Bro, you wait here for a bit while I clean up this place.”
The Flame Ruler swung his hand to pluck the Icefire Lotus from over the lava pond, then raised a leg and kicked the Fire Kirin Beast into the bubbling mire. “Get in! From now on, you can just stay here! This old man is finally free!”
West wrapped up his stuff very quickly; several items appeared from G.o.d-knows-where and flew into his sleeves. At last, the Ruler only held the Icefire Lotus in his hand.
“Raaaauh!” Roaring, West tossed the Icefire Lotus into his mouth. In a blink, a flame at least three meters high gushed from body, almost consuming the nearby Fatty. The rogue stumbled and rolled aside to dodge, and West retracted the flame. A crackling layer of ice then condensed all over his body.
“Formidable! So this is the dual effect of ice and fire?” Fatty clicked his tongue. Such a strong elemental effect could outplay any typical player. They would either be burned to ashes or frozen into an ice sculpture.
Flaring fire and crawling ice took turns enveloping West. The Flame Ruler trembled, sweating one moment, yet frozen the next. He would then melt and freeze again. After half an hour of such torture, West suddenly let out a thunderous cry. The flames shrank, and the ice vanished.
“Haha! Success!” West was delirious. His body was no longer fiery red as before, but a translucent flush of scarlet.
“Lil’ Bro, thank you big time! If not for you bringing the Fire Kirin Beast so that I could transfer the seal, I wouldn’t be able to break free and become even stronger. Now, I’m not far from rising in rank.” West expressed his grat.i.tude to the rogue once more.
What? Not far from the next rank? Fatty’s face instantly changed with the revelation.
Noticing the reaction, West asked dubiously, “What’s wrong?”
Fatty pondered deeply a moment; but, he eventually clenched his teeth and took out one of the two remaining Dragon Revolution leaves. “Big Bro, would using this get you to the next rank?”
“Dragon Revolution Herb?!” West’s expression s.h.i.+fted sharply. He quickly grabbed the leaf from Fatty’s hand and scrutinized the leaf before his eyes; he even gave the foliage a sniff. “It’s really Dragon Revolution Herb!”
West carefully stowed the leaf and solemnly declared, “Lil’ Bro, you’ve done me an extremely huge favor. From now on, call upon me whenever you’re in need.”
I was waiting for those words exactly, thought Fatty. A leaf of Dragon Revolution Herb in exchange for the ability to summon an expert meant he still benefited. But, of course the rogue wouldn’t say such a thing out loud. “You exaggerate, Big Bro. This Dragon Revolution leaf isn’t of much use to me. Since you have some use for it, you can have it.” Fatty acted magnanimously.
“Haha, my little bro is generous! Didn’t you want to gather all of the basic elemental arts? How many do you presently have? I’ll help you get the rest.” West volunteered for the task.
Overjoyed, Fatty shouted, “Thank you, Big Bro!” He had been 80% sure that he could find the two other books if he had the relevant information; but, now that West had offered to help, the matter was 100% solved! “I still lack the Waterwalk and Metalwalk books,” the rogue eagerly explained.
“Waterwalk and Metalwalk?” West creased his brows in thought. “Actually, I want to visit the East Ocean to seek revenge on an old enemy. If you lack Waterwalk, then let’s go to the East Ocean together. I know a place where it might be.”
“Big Bro, why don’t you increase your rank first before we go? You’ve been sealed for so long, your power might not have grown as much as your enemy’s. What if—” Fatty attempted to suggest out of goodwill.
“Don’t worry,” West a.s.sured him, “I won’t take my revenge now. The Dragon Revolution leaf will only help increase my rank. I’ll collect some Water Essence; I can eat it to gain the power of both water and fire once I rank up. That way, I’ll never be afraid of water magic restraint again.”
The main city closest to the East Ocean was naturally Azure Dragon City. Fatty and West went to Vermilion Bird City to check on Qian Xiaoqian, then teleported to Azure Dragon City. After a long journey—during which Fatty logged off once to rest and eat—they finally arrived at the sh.o.r.e of the East Ocean.
The trip only went so smoothly because Fatty rode the pterosaur, and West used his Fire Cloud to travel. Otherwise, the journey would have taken them at least ten to fifteen days since there were far too many monsters on the way.
West’s powers were no joke! Even on the pterosaur, Fatty couldn’t match the Flame Ruler’s speed. One swish from West could leave the pterosaur several hundred meters behind. By the time the duo reached their destination, the pterosaur was utterly exhausted from chasing after West.
“For a Yao beast, you’re pretty dumb,” grumbled Fatty as he jumping off the pterosaur’s back. He kicked it, displeased.
Without sparing the rogue a single glance, the pterosaur collapsed on the ground to catch its breath.
Layer after layer of bubbling white waves crashed against the sh.o.r.e with rumbling noise, spraying a fine mist that disappeared in the air. In Eternal, the sea was far more beautiful than in reality. The pure, unpolluted beach was already unrivalled in real life. Currently, there were many players at the East Ocean sh.o.r.e.
People swept surprised glances as Fatty and West flew in. Some even stared at the Fire Cloud and the pterosaur with whirling pupils; a wicked glint flashed in their eyes while they considered murdering and robbing the pair. However, upon seeing West insta-kill a high-ranked monster with a single slap, the players instantly gave up on the immoral idea.
As for Fatty, he purposely wore a haughty gaze that practically sneered: Come, come! Kill us and get loot! The players he pa.s.sed grew hot-headed; and, unable to hold back, they charged the duo… only to be killed by West and drop plenty of gear.
“Let me think,” muttered West. “Where were those guys staying again?” Although he had come straight there without second thought, the Flame Ruler abruptly furrowed his brows. After what felt like half a day, he sheepishly came up with the answer, “Can’t remember.”
Irritated, Fatty spat, “s.h.i.+t! What are the names of these guys?”
“Names? Oh, they’re just some petty water monsters.” West felt like he had lost face. “No need to hurry! I’ll just beat up everything along the way, and we’ll be sure to find them eventually.”
I’m not in a hurry, Fatty thought bitterly. With a free tank on hand, why would I need to hurry?
West did exactly as he said: Flying into the sky on the Fire Cloud, the Flame Ruler soared across the sea; and, everything he ran into along the way, animal or monster, was ferociously one-shotted.
“Big Bro, you’re too strong!” Fatty raved, reaping dropped rewards as he followed. The rogue had West beat the monsters nearly to death, then he, himself, delivered the finis.h.i.+ng blow. This method earned Fatty a great amount of experience in addition to the equipment.
More than an hour later, the pair reached the deep sea under West’s guidance.
Boom! All of a sudden, a wall of waves surged upward and blocked their path. A ma.s.sive monster slowly rose from the depths, its eight limbs dancing. This was, indeed, a giant octopus. Fatty tossed out Appraisal.
Octopus King
Yao boss
Level:???
……
Notes: A Yao beast that resides deep in the sea. Strong, violent, and ruthless, it often attacks anyone that pa.s.ses by.
In the deep ocean, there were truly too many monsters; any of them could be a Yao beast. Fatty wondered about the cephalopod’s level, worried that it might pose a threat to West. The Flame Ruler swept a glance over the creature, and his brows creased. Fighting such a monster in the water would put West at a disadvantage. Moreover, West already suffered the restrictions of the sea territory’s water attribute. He could only display, at most, 80% of his strength.
In a rather timely manner, Fatty said, “Big Bro, let’s retreat if this is too hard.”
West’s expression dropped. “Don’t look down on me, Lil’ Bro. Let this big brother show you my true power!” With that, West let out a mighty roar. His hands trembled, and fireb.a.l.l.s shot from his fingers toward the Octopus King.
Boom! The fiery orbs struck the Octopus King with and exploded, turning the monster’s flesh into a sea of flame. The Octopus King writhed to spray sea water over elf and effectively put out the fire.
“Zzzzaa!” the Octopus King let out an extremely ear-piercing wail. Suddenly, two ma.s.sive tentacles thrust out of the sea and whipped at Fatty and West. Fatty tapped at the pterosaur’s flanks, and it immediately shot high into the sky. Right below the mount’s body, a tentacle carved a neat curve through the air before falling back into the water.
“You seek death!” West furiously swung his hand. A fire blade over a dozen meters long appeared in his hand to hack at the other tentacle.
Poof….
The fire blade effortlessly slashed off the offending limb, and a smoky steam curled from the cut. The wound smelled of burned meat, and even Fatty caught a whiff of it from a distance.
“Zah!” The Octopus King shrieked in pain. A wall of water shot up and barreled in West’s direction.
“Stupid thing!” West’s lips curved upward as he wiggled to dodge the water wall. He then directly charged at the Octopus King.