Desperately, the sapphire serpent tried to retreat, but Lassim was relentless.
He pursued the creature across the frozen pond’s surface, using his water mana to create barriers of ice and prevent its escape.
The once fearsome guardian was now a wounded beast, struggling to stay afloat as Lassim’s attacks grew more precise and deadly.
With a final, powerful strike, Lassim brought his halberd down on the serpent’s head, shattering the last of its defenses.
The serpent let out one final roar before collapsing into the water, its massive form sinking beneath the frozen surface with a heavy splash.
Lassim stood at the edge of the lake, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he watched the serpent’s body disappear into the depths.
The cavern was silent once more, the only sound the faint crackling of ice as the frost continued to spread.
He had defeated the first guardian.
As if in response to his victory, a soft glow appeared beneath the ice where the serpent had fallen.
Lassim watched as a small, luminous fragment floated to the surface, its light growing brighter as it approached.
The fragment was the size of a fist, smooth and round, with a soft azure glow that pulsed gently.
Lassim reached out and took the fragment in his hand.
"One down," Lassim muttered, slipping the fragment into his magic pouch, "Three to go."
The icy chill of the Sapphire Serpent’s lair still clung to Lassim as he made his way back to the central platform.
His body, though more frozen than exhausted from the intense battle, didn’t feel as stiff as he expected. The Tidal Rune he had comprehended and absorbed was truly miraculous. He wondered just how tough it was truly making his physique.
Three more fragments remained, each guarded by possibly equally formidable beasts. However, he felt like he had cracked the code and would be on the lookout for what was required to overcome them.
He paused for a moment at the platform, his gaze shifting to the three remaining pathways.
The air around him seemed to hum with a light cheer as the presences he felt watching him were praising him for his success so far.
He then chose the pathway to his right this time, its entrance marked by faint, green, coral-like formations growing along the walls.
The air was warmer here, and the sound of flowing water reached his ears, accompanied by the faint scent of salt and brine.
As Lassim moved deeper into the passage, the coral formations became more pronounced, their vibrant shades of greens contrasting with the dark stone of the corridor.
They twisted and turned, creating a labyrinthine path of stairs that forced him to slow his pace and carefully navigate the intricate steps.
The air grew heavier with moisture, and the sound of the ocean became more pronounced, as if he were drawing closer to a hidden shore.
After several minutes of navigating the winding path, Lassim emerged into a massive, open cavern bathed in an ethereal green light. The walls were covered in living coral, their bright hues of emeralds, tinges of orange, and tiny specks purple that made up the surreal, bioluminescent glow over the entire space.
The floor of the cavern was submerged under shallow water, and in the center, a massive coral reef had rooted itself, growing up from the depths.
At the heart of the reef, nestled among the corals, was a dome shaped set of corals and a giant beast.
The creature was immense, its shell a fortress of living coral that seemed to pulse with the heartbeat of the ocean itself.
The beast’s head and limbs were covered in thick, leathery skin, with a coral beard growing from its long snout.
But it was the shell that truly drew Lassim’s attention. This massive turtle creature’s back looked like it was an impenetrable barrier, reinforced by the coral that grew upon it.
It was like an entire coral city, a coral metropolis, sat on top of the back of the giant.
The turtle’s eyes opened slowly as Lassim approached, its gaze locking onto him with a calm, ancient intelligence.
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This was definitely no less fearsome of a beast than the sapphire serpent; it was a creature that had existed for centuries.
Lassim could feel the weight of that power pressing down on him, the turtle’s presence filling the cavern with an overwhelming sense of age and gravity.
Lassim took a breath, tightening his grip on his halberd as he assessed the situation.
The Coral Turtle didn’t move to attack; it simply watched him, as if daring him to make the first move. But Lassim knew better than to rush in blindly.
The turtle’s shell was most likely to be nearly indestructible, immune to damage from conventional means like the first guardian.
The turtle’s eyes glinted with an almost amused look as it watched Lassim ponder its impenetrable shell. It seemed to sense his hesitation, and in its ancient wisdom, the creature decided to initiate the attack, deeming Lassim too weak to pose a real threat. It thought it was best to dispatch the intruder quickly and get back to resting.
With a slow, deliberate motion, the Coral Turtle raised its head. From its nostrils, a sea spray covered the cavern and the air around Lassim suddenly grew thick with moisture.
The cavern, already humid, became unbearably damp in an instant with the sound of hissing steam filling the space.
Lassim’s vision blurred as the turtle exhaled a dense mist that rapidly spread through the cavern, turning the air into a heavy fog.
Lassim’s grip tightened on his halberd as the mist clung to his skin, soaking through his martial robes and making even the light material somehow feel like they gained several hundreds of kilos in weight.
Every movement felt sluggish and heavy as he tried to eye the turtle in the heart of the cave with his eyes and spirit sense. The moisture was everywhere, heavier than it ought to be, and obscuring his senses like a thick curtain.
The Coral Turtle remained still within the mist, its massive form barely visible through the thick fog. But Lassim could sense it moving—slow, deliberate movements as the turtle began to manipulate the coral around it to move itself.
The coral formations reacted to the turtle’s will and control of the water mana in the air, growing rapidly and twisting into jagged, spiraling shapes that reached out toward Lassim like grasping hands.
Lassim leaped to the side as a coral spike shot up from the ground where he had been standing.
He swung his halberd downward with a [Slice], briefly cutting through the dense fog and clearing his vision as the halberd bounced off the rubbery coral. But the heavy water moisture in the air refilled the gap left behind with more steam as the coral continued to grow. It formed a dense net of branches that threatened to catch him within its grasp.
The humidity in the cavern was becoming oppressive as he noticed the coral turtle lifted its head once more and began to release another wave of steam from its nostrils. His robes now fully saturated and weighing him down with whatever this unnaturally dense water was.
Lassim’s thoughts raced as he used [Tempest Steps] to dodge another set of coral spikes that jointly attacked him. One appeared under his left foot and another down from above at the same time. He narrowly avoided being pinned to the ground in their vice.
It was clear to him that whatever the solution was to this particular challenge, it would most likely need to be a way that counters the turtle’s control over the environment.
"Okay, let’s evaluate it… It’s using the moisture to its advantage, and making the air thick and heavy with whatever this ’water’ is. It’s also able to form the rubbery and grippy corals easily with some sort of innate ability that involves the ’water’. How do I get rid of the water though? I’m not a fire elemental user.
I could probably use lightning to vaporize it, but I’d probably vaporize myself in the process with how soaked I am. What to do…" He thought to himself as he leap frogged through the mist around the cavern with [Tempest Steps].
He leaped onto a nearby rock formation, trying to get away from the coral network that was beginning to cover the entire floor; leaving him with few options for solid ground to not get captured by.
Lassim’s eyes narrowed as he observed the turtle’s movements through the mist with his spirit sense. The creature seemed almost smug, swaying its head with a swagger, confident in its control over its home field. The coral fortress it was building was shielding it from direct attacks or allowing Lassim to get closer, and the humid air was starting to sap Lassim’s strength with each passing moment.
Then, as Lassim wiped the excessive moisture from his brow, an idea struck him.