Volcano eruption?

Li Pu doesn't think so.

He feels as though the entire volcano is about to blow.

"Could it be... that you provoked something?"

He glances at Caocao, seriously suspecting that's the case.

[Grass!]

Caocao: Summoner! You can't say it like that! You clearly instructed Ben Cao to do this!

Caocao retorts on the spot.

"Stop soaking. Let's get on shore too."

Now Li Pu is worried, wondering if there might be some guardian beast-like entity dormant in the volcano.

But it seems like the dungeon places a power cap on entrants and local magical beasts, somewhat akin to world rules, so it shouldn't be as strong as a guardian beast.

All in all, staying here any longer is probably not a wise choice.

"Run quickly! It feels like a natural disaster is about to occur!"

"Damn, seems like something really bad is happening!"

"When that pot of lava scalds down, it's gonna be hell!"

"You guys take your time to run; I'm just gonna fly, damn it."

Apparently, the contenders at the shoreline are thinking the same thing.

Everyone who could ride their summoned beasts mounted up and fled; some even had their summoned beasts fly them away.

Those whose summoned beasts aren't rideable are quite unfortunate and can only rely on their legs to run down the mountain.

However, if one were to trip and tumble down, they might not be slower than those riding creatures.

"At a time like this, wearing clothes is meaningless."

Li Pu doesn't fear the lava; anyways, no one's gonna be bothered to admire his body now, so he leisurely climbs out of the Volcanic Pool.

Watching the fleeing contenders, he is also preparing to descend the mountain.

Among them, he counts as an exception.

His summoned beast is also rideable.

Though, relying on [Sprint] is faster.

Boom!

Just when he steadies himself, the entire Volcanic Pool behind him explodes.

A massive amount of lava shoots up tens of meters high, then rains down like a shower.

Simultaneously, a significant amount of lava spills over the pool's edge, surging down the mountain like a tide.

[Eat, eat, eat!]

Bubu: Scared~ Sweet~

Bubu finds an excuse and bites Caocao's head.

Li Pu lets the lava wash over him, carrying Caocao down the mountain.

"Holy sh*t!" xN

But many contenders couldn't be as calm as them.

The lava has already caught up with the heels of the slowest runner.

"Ouch, damn it, it's scalding me!"

That contender exclaims in pain, quickly reaching overhead with a hand.

His light orb responds and flies into his hand, which he crushes in an instant.

Whoosh!

A streak of light shoots towards the dungeon's exit.

He opted to withdraw.

No choice, after all, it's just a competition.

Where do rankings stand when life is at stake?

"This is suicidal; I'm out!"

"Withdraw, withdraw, good luck to you all."

"I can't do it; I'm too exhausted to continue!"

The lava tide quickly forced all runners using their legs to crush the light orb, exiting the competition.

Persevering through this volcanic disaster, aside from Li Pu, were only those riding summoning creatures.

If this were a natural volcanic eruption, they would easily evade danger.

But clearly, it's not.

Boom!!!!!!

What Li Pu imagined happened next; the upper third of the volcano actually exploded.

This is not just a lava tide or lava shower problem.

The explosive blast of lava ensures no contenders can escape.

"Damn! This is not an ordinary volcanic eruption!"

"What in the world is going on? I'm frustrated!"

"It's infuriating; we were just short a few Fire Element Crystals to advance!"

The contenders, regretful as they are, nonetheless prioritize survival and crush their light orbs to exit the competition.

Li Pu, propelled into the sky by the explosive force, is equally in trouble.

Though unafraid of lava, falling from this height might be problematic for him and Bubu, despite Caocao's softer body.

"Luckily, I'm prepared earlier."

Li Pu, however, is not panicking or intending to crush his own light orb.

Instead, the dual forces flowing inside him instantly complete a closed loop circuit.

Whoosh…

A gentle force immediately supports the trio, instantly slowing their descent.

"Really, thanks to that boss..."

Faced with such circumstances, Li Pu can't help but sigh thankfully.

...

In the arena, the largest screen is showcasing the spectacular volcanic explosion.

As the screen displays the most gripping content of the moment, it's captivating the audience's attention.

When one contender after another is forced to voluntarily exit the dungeon, it draws many viewers' sighs.

No one expected a bizarre natural disaster could cause so many teams to falter.

However, an ordinary middle-aged man's view in the spectator area is different, precisely the booth owner who evaded fines.

He's staring at a mosaic blob on the screen, his expression extremely excited and gratified.

Others might not make out anything yet, but he sees differently.

"He's grasped the second phase of [Gravity Field] so quickly!"

"Seems I've entrusted the right person..."

...

[Gravity Field] doesn't exclusively apply gravity pressure on targets alone.

The second phase effect is exactly the opposite of the first phase.

It's the action of reducing gravity.

For the past days, Li Pu hasn't solely focused on fishing.

During his downtime, he managed to learn the second phase of [Gravity Field].

Acknowledging what the booth boss said, the complexity of the second phase far exceeds the first phase.

Reversing the operation route of the first phase doesn't suffice to complete it.

It took him over a day to grasp the trick.

The time and effort required are more demanding than multilateral compound [Hardening].

Concerning the third phase of [Gravity Field], Li Pu dares not to imagine it now.

The difficulty even exceeds his recent aim to conquer full-body [Hardening], lacking the courage to attempt.

Feeling that with his current control over power, trial might lead to going astray.

"The falling speed is still somewhat fast."

Li Pu currently focuses on the present situation.

Although the dual forces [Gravity Field] are serving as a buffer, he's yet to be adept enough, feeling that only 30-40% of the real effect is achievable.

If he falls like this, trouble seems inevitable.

He contemplates briefly, pulling Bubu over.

Then he concentrates [Gravity Field]'s effect, in the most condensed range, onto himself entirely.

This results in Caocao accelerating in a rapid plunge again.

[Whoa GrassGrassGrassGrassGrassGrassGrass!]

Caocao: Ben Cao may not be human, but Summoner, you're truly grass!

Suddenly awakened, Caocao curses and swiftly falls.

"Don't worry; at this height, you won't die from the fall."

Li Pu holds a confident faith in Caocao's resistance to impacts.

Bang!

Ultimately, Caocao lands first, making a small pit on the solid lava ground.

But the harsher trial it will endure awaits.

Opening dual forces [Fatherly Love] Li Pu carrying Bubu, plants feet onto its belly directly!

[Grass!!!]

Caocao: Painful! But exhilarating! My body is fully restored!

Li Pu's buffer and healing combination method of descent allows the trio to survive without a scratch from the high fall.

"Seems this time you really did provoke a big guy."

Handing Caocao a bottle of cola, Li Pu turns to look behind.

[Roar!!!!]

Upon the half-damaged volcanic ruins, a colossal entity is roaring skyward.

This is arguably the largest magical beast Li Pu has ever seen.

An elongated body, somewhat snake-like, somewhat fish-like.

Entirely a fiery stone color, like it could melt into lava at any moment.

...

...

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