Viridian Gate Online~Firebrand by J. D. Astra & James Hunter

Author:J. D. Astra & James Hunter [Astra, J. D. & Hunter, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: virtual reality MMO litRPG role playing steampunk, wizard mage shapeshifter warrior thief assassin, men&#8217, cyberpunk apocalyptic dystopian quest gamelit, science fiction thriller sword sorcery superhero, s adventure video game adaptations young adult
Publisher: Shadow Alley Press
Published: 2019-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

Lava Pits

I LOOKED AT THE QUEST again and cursed as I fanned myself with my hand. Basalt Hollows was apparently fancy shorthand for unbearable inferno mines filled with creatures of fire. Otto and I had already sweated about a bucket in the short thirty minutes we’d been here, and according to the map on the quest update, we still had a good mile down to trek.

The walls were thick black stone, dimpled and pockmarked from air bubbles getting trapped in the once liquid rock. Veins of red-hot magma ran through the walls behind shimmering quartz, which was mineable, but I could only imagine the hot fluids would pour through the second those stones were removed. It did create a beautiful ambiance, though. Without the insane heat, this cavern would be enchanting... romantic, even.

We’d encountered [Flametongue Salamanders], Doberman-sized geckos that breathed fire, and [Leatherwing Heatleachers], bats the size of a basketball whose sole purpose in life was to wrap themselves around anything that gave off heat and suck it out. They usually came in swarms of three or four and moved so fast that only my Fireball could take them out. But Naitee forgot to mention one thing.

All the beasts in the Basalt Hollows were creatures of fire, which had resistance to fire... which meant all my spells, except Smokescreen, did 25% less damage, and Burning Affliction did literally nothing at all. I was completely hamstrung in here, and already down two Health potions and one Spirit.

Otto wiped sweat from his brow and leaned against his sword. “How,” he panted, “much farther?”

I got a sense of deja vu, and chuckled. “Not far,” I lied. The cavern wound in a downward spiral, like we were traveling the path of an ancient volcanic eruption deep into the heart of the mountain. Every few hundred feet the cavern would open up, giving us a good view of what was above and below, and a break from the heat. The bottom of the pit was a smoking, burbling pit of hot lava, disincentivizing us from trying to climb our way down a bit faster.

The chittering of a new swarm of bats put Otto on his guard, but we had this down to a science now. I popped Fire Inside and followed it up with Smokescreen, increasing the visibility debuff from 50% to 100% just as the squad came into view. The bats shrieked behind the thick black clouds of choking smoke and dropped to the ground, stunned. Otto chopped down through the cloud with his sword and cut an unlucky bat clean in half.

Fire Inside ended, and the crawl of my Spirit regen returned to its normal pace. The cloud disappeared, and the dazed bats struggled to get back in the air. Two fireballs and another devastating blow from Otto’s sword, and the pack was down.

“That’s getting pretty easy.” Otto grinned as beads of sweat dripped into his squinted eyes.

“Yeah.” I punched his shoulder. “Good thing I’m such a badass.”

Otto hefted his sword over his shoulder, and we continued down the corkscrew path of black lava rock.

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