Boundless Cultivation-Chapter 51 - Experimentation and Suffering

Alaric released a sigh, relishing the brief break in the fight. The previous attack depleted a huge chunk of his mana. But he was happy.

I finally have a powerful long-range attack skill. He marched ahead on the path carved by his mana blast attack. But it consumes too much mana. I’ll have to adjust its output.

He surveyed the setting, preparing for battle once again. As the smoke from the explosion settled, he spotted the lava fiend champion hunched over, one side of its head now missing.

However, pools of lava were amassing around the missing section, reconstructing its body anew.

It’s healing. Alaric smirked. No matter, I just have to obliterate it completely. But first…

Alaric turned around. The lava fiends were retreating back into the pool. You are not escaping anywhere. He leveled a finger at one of the monstrosities. Let’s see if this works.

Alaric triggered his [Mana Blast] skill and condensed mana at the tip of his fingers. He restrained the output of the power of the skill to conserve his mana. His finger seared and throbbed with pain but he didn’t relent.

A shimmering blue sphere materialized in front of his extended finger. The condensed mana threatened to unravel and detonate on his fingers but he stabilized it with his willpower. Shrinking the condensed mana to a pinpoint, he launched it at the lava fiend.

The small ball of mana shot forward like a bullet and collided with its head, exploding on impact and annihilating its head. Hah…how does it feel to taste your own medicine?

The lava fiends all around him scrambled into action. They began flinging lava globs at him, but Alaric effortlessly deflected or dodged the attacks. He unleashed carefully constructed condensed mana projectiles at them from afar, killing them with one shot each.

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The mana javelins didn’t work but the condensed mana projectiles were surprisingly effective at destroying their bodies. With the lava fiend champion still regenerating, the lava fiends were were no longer a problem.

The whole battlefield became his playground. He experimented with launching different sizes of mana projectiles and attempted to fire multiple projectiles at once. Forming mana projectiles the size of a pea was sufficient to detonate their heads. It was the best combination of power and efficiency.

However, with his current skill level, he wasn’t able to manifest and discharge more than one projectile even when using multiple fingers. No matter. I’ll master it soon.

With most of the lava fiends eradicated, he fixated on the lava fiend champion, which was almost done regenerating completely. Alaric aimed his palm and discharged another mana blast at its gigantic form.

A huge orb of mana surged at the massive creature and collided with its head. This time, there were no obstacles in the way and the explosion completely obliterated the head of the creature.

The headless body of the giant collapsed back into the pool of lava but it wasn’t dead yet.

Threads of lava intertwined around its injured neck and began reconstructing its head. Alaric lunged forward, preparing to unleash another mana blast. He resolved to finish the creature in the next move.

This time, he cupped his palms together and expended almost a tenth of his mana to empower the mana blast. His body recoiled from the force of release, and he felt the bones in his elbows fracture.

A swirling mass of mana the size of a basketball devoured everything in its path as it approached its target. Alaric instantly activated his [Vital Mana Flow] skill to heal his body and withdrew to evade the blast’s radius.

The ball of mana collided with the body of the lava fiend champion, carved a hole through its center, and sank deep into the pool of lava. The creature began disintegrating from the center outward, leaving only a small ruby gem in its wake.

Alaric advanced, seized the reward, and stowed it away, planning to examine it later.

After a while, a tremendous explosion shook the whole ground, and the lava pool erupted into a shower of molten rock. Alaric shielded himself.

Multiple dings rang in his mind, but he chose to ignore the notifications.

The whole region continued to tremble, as if an earthquake had struck. A vortex swirled within the lava pool, pulling everything toward its core. As the lava drained away, Alaric spotted a pathway leading deeper inside.

Should I head deeper inside the pool or explore the region of the surface?

However, he didn’t have the luxury to decide at leisure. Disturbed by the chaos, a nearby volcano erupted, drenching the entire area in smoke and lava rain.

It began covering the pool once again with molten lava. No, I have to get there before the entrance is sealed shut again.

Alaric conjured a mana shield around his entire body, activated his [Zen Flow] and [Mana Strengthening], and plunged into the half-empty lava pool. Searing heat scorched his body, but he funneled more mana into his [Vital Mana Flow] skill to accelerate his healing.

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Black smoke and ash obscured his vision, but he zipped through it all, focusing on reaching the entrance. Just as he dove inside, the pool was engulfed once again by molten lava.

For a moment, Alaric was enveloped in darkness and the sensation of weightlessness. Then, a surge of heat rushed past him, followed by a blinding crimson glow. He crashed onto a scorched obsidian ground, the impact reverberating through his bones.

Congratulations! You have discovered a hidden zone - The Infernal Arena

Warning - This is a concealed hidden zone. Proceed with caution.

Alaric rose and took stock of the area. He was inside a vast, circular arena carved within the heart of a volcano itself. Towering walls enclosed him on all sides—jagged cliffs of black stone streaked with glowing veins of magma.

Thick plumes of smoke billowed around him from the ground, periodically erupting into geysers of scorching fire. He realized he was standing inside a massive sigil that was engraved into the obsidian ground.

Suddenly, molten lava flowed through the carvings of the sigils, and Alaric sensed the mana of the area stir into motion.

It’s some type of summoning spell. He instantly sharpened his focus, activating all his skills to brace for any danger.

The temperature in the area skyrocketed, and black smoke and fire coalesced into a humanoid form. It was an unstable mass of fire and smoke, shaped like a human specter draped in a rugged smoke cloak.

Molten red chains wrapped around its translucent limbs, and it hovered just above the ground. Two small globs of fire sparked to life where its eyes should be, and it fixed its gaze on Alaric.

Boss Event Triggered - Defeat the Pyroclasm Wraith. Reward - ???

The wraith made no attempt to advance toward him. It merely tilted its head, scrutinizing his presence inside its lair.

Alaric’s danger sense flared. This boss felt entirely different from all the previous enemies he had faced inside the Tutorial Rift. He immediately hurled a mana javelin at it, but it merely phased through the creature and struck the wall behind.

The creature wailed and thrust a hand toward him. He darted to the side as the spot he had occupied erupted into flames. Alaric fired a mana projectile at it, but it, too, passed through the creature without inflicting any damage.

Alaric continued to launch mana projectiles and javelins at it, hoping to discover an opening, but each time, his attacks simply phased through the creature. Do no physical attacks work on the wraith?

The wraith still hadn’t moved from its position. Does it not consider me a threat yet? Alaric scrunched his brows. The creature simply blasted flames after flames at Alaric, snickering all the while.

It was toying with him, and Alaric didn’t appreciate that.

He shielded his body from the flames, but his mana was depleting quickly. He couldn’t keep this up. He had to figure out a way to inflict damage on the wraith. Alaric scoured his mind for any potential exploit.

He analyzed its every movement, every gesture, every attack, and finally discovered a pattern. Just before launching an attack, its body turned a shade darker. Alaric charged a mana blast but didn’t launch it yet.

Instead, he waited for the wraith to make its move. Just as it was about to strike, Alaric unleashed his attack, synchronizing the timing perfectly. The ball of mana detonated within its form, scattering its body into smoke and fire. The creature wailed but rapidly began reforming.

Hah…that’s punishment for not taking me seriously. Alaric smirked and readied another attack.

The wraith was no longer in a playful mood—it no longer waited and watched. Instead, it began moving erratically, flickering between solid and ethereal states while bombarding him with blasts of fire.

It became difficult to target the wraith in this state, forcing him to concentrate more on his defense. Alaric wasn’t prepared for what happened next. Tendrils of black smoke reached for him and coiled around his limbs.

They were intangible, making them impossible to evade. However, once the smoky tendrils wrapped around his limbs, they solidified into chains and yanked him down to the ground, stretching his limbs in four directions. His skin charred where the chains wrapped around his body.

A searing, nerve-racking pain surged through his body. It wasn’t just physical torment; it was burning his very soul. Alaric gritted his teeth, clinging to his sanity.

He depleted a drop of root chakra on top of strengthening his body with mana but couldn't break free.

His vital mana skill failed to heal him fast enough to counteract the physical damage, and it proved utterly ineffective against the agony ravaging his soul.

The wraith drifted toward him, savoring Alaric’s torment. It peeled back its cloak to expose a grotesque face twisted into a wide grin lined with jagged black teeth.

“Ah... ooh. Isss, hea yeom,” muttered the creature, gesturing towards the arena.

Alaric couldn’t decipher a single word. All he understood was that the creature possessed intelligence and was attempting to communicate with him.

Is it a sentient creature? But why is it trying to communicate with me?

When it noticed Alaric’s confused expression, its face darkened. The wraith repeated the words, gesturing more fervently for emphasis, but shrieked in frustration when it realized communication with him was futile.

Multiple strands of fiery orange hair, sharp as needles, hovered around the wraith before stabbing into his flesh. Alaric screamed in agony, barely clinging to consciousness.

The wraith giggled, delighted in his suffering.

You will regret this. Alaric promised internally. Even through the soul-wrenching pain, he concentrated on his sacral chakra, channeled mana into it, and compelled it to spin.

With each rotation of the chakra, he envisioned it siphoning the waves of physical and emotional torment, storing the suffering within, and alleviating his mind and body.

Gradually, the burden on his being lightened. The mind-tempering process was progressing well.

The wraith continued torturing him by piercing his body with searing needles. Alaric lost his sense of time, but he was grateful for the assistance in the mind-tempering process.

His sacral chakra spun faster and faster until, eventually, it ceased absorbing his mana. It became self-sustaining, pulsating with an orange glow. It had partially awakened.

Alaric felt tranquility wash over him. He gazed at the wraith with serene, unshaken eyes. The wraith flinched, suddenly realizing something was amiss. As if wondering where the terror in its prey’s eyes had vanished. And why had his screams ceased?

With his mind now calm, Alaric experienced a spark of inspiration for a new skill.

It wasn’t documented in any book he had studied on mana techniques. Nor had Master Vellan or his friends ever mentioned it. It was born from his desperation to wound the wraith and escape these accursed chains.

When the wraith materialized to attack him again, Alric drained a drop of his solar plexus chakra, condensing all the mana in his body at once near his core. The next moment, he unleashed his grip over the mana and it rebounded, surging in a wave through his body and outside it in a spherical globe.

The effect lasted for only a split second, but it was enough. The infernal chains wavered, their mana composition disrupted, and Alaric immediately seized that opportunity to break free from the chains.

Before the wraith could comprehend what had happened, he clasped its face with his palm, cycled his sacral chakra, and discharged a mass of purified orange energy—it was all the pain and suffering he had accumulated during his mind tempering process.