Karsha stopped and gazed in the direction of the sound. Since he was about 3 kilometers away, he couldn''t see it clearly, so he moved forward a little, and lo and behold, the most terrifying scene appeared.


    "This is madness," Karsha muttered, immediately dismissing any notion of stepping further.


    In front of him was not a forest made of trees, but rather a ring of fire about 10 kilometers wide. The scene before him was a ferocious ring of fire. The mes were orange with a hint of red here and there. The ring of fire wasn''t just burning; it seemed to be pulling in or swallowing the air around it, making even breathing difficult.@@novelbin@@


    But the most terrifying part wasn''t the fire; it was the colossal 90-meter-long snake lying in the middle. The sight made even the now overpowered Karsha shudder. It was a fiery serpent with scales that burned with an intense, molten heat. These scales glowed like moltenva, radiating an unbearable heat that seemed to scorch the very air around them.


    Its huge eyes were a zing orange, filled with a fierce, destructive rage. As Karsha looked into those zing eyes, a chill enveloped him, making him momentarily forget his strength as a Level 5 Grandmaster. The snake was that terrifying.


    As Karsha continued to stare, the snake''s mouth opened, revealing fangs that dripped with moltenva venom, capable of incinerating anything they touched. The fangs were sharp and long, much longer than those of thest two Overlords he had faced.


    The serpent moved its colossal body to readjust, and as Karsha watched, its scales seemed to absorb the mes inside the ring of fire. This further added to Karsha''s hesitation. However, just when fear could set in, a system message appeared.


    < Host, the mes here are very rich. If you cultivate here for a few hours, your understanding of the me element will increase, and your fire attacks will be stronger. Don''t miss this opportunity, host. >


    "Are you crazy, system? That''s a giant boiling ring of fire! How am I supposed to survive in that?" Karsha, still in shock, immediately rejected the system''s suggestion.


    < You can survive about an hour inside the mes. This will also be the best time to see how strong you''ve be. >


    "This is madness," Karsha muttered, looking at the snake that seemed to be staring at him with ferocity.


    "Human, you are the one who killed the other two losers," the snake said, clear disdain in its voice. Karsha looked at the serpent for a few seconds, trying to calm himself down before answering.


    "I did, and also, I wouldn''t be quick to assume they are losers since you will be falling soon too," Karsha replied, trying to look tough.


    The snake stared back at him for a few seconds before spitting out a ball of me toward Karsha. He immediately used his movement technique and dodged it. Another ball followed, and before Karsha could realize it, balls of mes started raining down on him. Each impact on the ground sent powerful shockwaves a few kilometers in every direction.


    Karsha, at the receiving end, moved swiftly through each attack, his body a blur as he dodged the fiery projectiles. The intense heat and pressure made it hard to breathe, but he remained focused, preparing himself to enter the ring of fire. As he dodged the mes, he could feel the power of the inferno around him, the heat singing his skin, and the force of the shockwaves rattling his bones.


    The snake never stopped shooting fireballs at Karsha, but thanks to his recent level-up, his agility was now over 10,000. With his enormous speed, coupled with his Wind and Lightning elements and his movement technique, the fireballs seemed to move in slow motion from Karsha''s perspective.


    "Here we go," Karsha muttered, steeling himself. After making up his mind, he dived into the ring of fire and quickly closed the gap between him and the snake. As he entered the inferno, a warmth seeped into his body. He knew that without channeling and refining the me, the longer he stayed inside, the hotter it would get, eventually burning him from the inside out.


    Understanding the limitations, Karsha refrained from using his Ice attacks and instead focused on his fire-based abilities. He unsheathed his swords, immediately activating the [Call of the me] skill on his left sword and the [Fire Beam] skill on his right sword. A golden aura enveloped his body, and a sword auraced his des.


    Karsha also activated the [Rage Swordsman] skill, heightening his offensive capabilities.


    The snake shot a massive ball of me, but Karsha sliced it in half with his right sword, using the Fire Beam skill. Without missing a beat, he followed up with a powerful Fire Arc from his left sword. The snake coiled its body and defended with ease, but Karsha wasn''t done. He closed the gap between them and activated his [Cyclone Dash] movement variation.


    The air around him stirred, forming a miniature cyclone that mixed with the mes to create an evenrger cyclone. This increased Karsha''s speed and provided him with a second blindspot to strike from. He aimed at one of the three me Sacs located right under the snake''s mouth.


    His sword shed like lightning as he severed one sac. The snake roared, causing the surrounding mes to boil. A powerful shockwave erupted from its body, pushing Karsha back. He momentarily lost his bnce but quickly sensed a powerful attacking from his left. Without hesitation, he summoned fiveyers of [Titan Walls].


    The snake''s tail mmed into the walls, shattering the first threeyers instantly. Karsha had anticipated this and immediatelyunched a ive forward, targeting the snake''s left eye. Sensing the danger, the snake shot its tail forward to block the ive, which was part of Karsha''s n.


    Using the slight dy, Karsha maneuvered behind the snake, charged his right sword, and activated the Fire Beam skill, aiming it at the remaining two sacs. Sensing the imminent threat, the snake activated two skills: [Sr re] and [Heat Mirage].


    Immediately, a blinding light shed. Karsha''s third eye activated on its own, sparing him the need to close his eyes. The Heat Mirage skill followed closely. Had Karsha relied on his regr eyes, he would have seen three different snakes: one moving left, another right, and thest charging straight at him.


    But with his Third Eye active, Karsha saw through the illusion. Still, he had miscalcted the snake''s speed. The real snake was now just a few meters away, its mouth wide open and ready to swallow and roast him.


    Facing this imminent danger, Karsha smiled and then moved instantaneously, appearing on the left side of the snake''s face. He stared intently into its fiery orange eyes. His smile widened as he channeled his power. Like Superman, two darkser focus beams shot from his eyes, striking the snake dead center on the left eye of the Monster snake.


    The snake let out a deafening roar and staggered on the floor, thanks to Karsha''s precise and lethal attack. The [Death Beam] skill had undergone a two-tier upgrade, making it even more powerful than Karsha had hoped. With his Third Eye now consistently operational, Karsha realized he had just discovered a formidable new skill for sneak attacks. Your journey continues at empire


    With its left eye blinded, the snake began thrashing wildly. mes sprayed uncontrobly from its mouth. Seeing the destruction the snake was capable of, Karsha quickly activated one of the eight variations of his second-level movement technique: [Electroburst Dash]. This technique allowed him to move with lightning speed and maintain that velocity for as long as needed.


    He became a streak of lightning within the zing ring of fire. Despite the snake''s powerful attacks, Karsha only sustained a few minor burns. He realized that using the snake''s second weakness wouldn''t be feasible right now. Since he wasn''t using the domain, he couldn''t deploy the all-in-one spear.


    While he could use the ive, he was reluctant to risk it. He couldn''t gauge the true temperature inside the snake''s stomach, and sending his precious ive into the belly of this monstrous creature didn''t seem like a sensible move.


    So, Karsha devised his own strategy—a weakness he had engineered for the snake. By blinding the snake and destroying thest two me Sacs, he could cut off its ability to use fire spray, which was its most destructive skill at the moment. Once that was aplished, he would have the opportunity to take the snake down for good.


    However, Karsha had to hurry. Nearly 30 minutes had passed since the battle began, and the heat inside his body was rising. The system had warned him that he could onlyst an hour inside the ring of fire, so time was running short. Seeing the urgency, Karsha increased his speed and started striking with greater force.


    "Here we go, kill two birds with one stone," Karsha said, aiming an attack at the snake''s right eye. The snake defended against it, but Karsha smiled and controlled his ive to slice the second me Sac in half. The snake let out a painful roar, but Karsha wasn''t finished.


    As the second me Sac was destroyed, Karsha used the ensuing chaos tounch two Fire Beam attacks—one at thest me Sac and the other at the right eye. The snake could only save one. Surprisingly, it coiled its body to defend against both attacks, but this resulted in another angry, painful roar.


    With the ive striking forward, Karsha managed to blind the snakepletely. While it was preupied with defending against the double attacks, Karsha directed the ive to strike again, ensuring the snake was fully blinded before it could react. The ive''s speed and near-invisibility made it nearly impossible to detect unless one had exceptionally powerful senses.


    "It''s time to pay for burning my skin, you wretched snake," Karsha said, his killing intent palpable as he watched the snake roll and thrash its tail on the ground.