《GITA: The Hero Conspiracy》31. Brave and Bald
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Naomi chugged down his second mana potion. He was two-thirds done with casting a Fireball.
But for some reason, instead of feeling relief, his expression was horrified by the thought.
Casting magic was an art by itself, much like painting. However, the artist needs a brush to paint his canvas. Without a brush, all he can do is spill pain upon a blank sheet in hopes of accidentally making something avant-garde.
Naomi was in a difficult situation. To properly cast a fireball, one would need way more than a book and some pent-up mana. One would need a proper source of magic, much like a relic, and some kind of outlet which could be used to form the spell into its supposed being.
He had neither of those.
A small fire sparkled before him, but it died as quickly as it appeared. Without the proper tools, the chances of him casting a fireball were on par with a divine miracle. And unfortunately, Naomi was as atheist as one could get.
Chucky still lay on his back, watching as the boy cursed before a sparkle of light.
"Shit!" Naomi hissed, getting more frustrated with every failed attempt.
Chucky gazed at the small orange light. It reminded her of so much, like the summer sun and the color of her chainsaw.
"Oh." She whispered as an idea grew in her mind.
She reached for the chainsaw on her back and placed it before Naomi.
"Use this!" She whispered into the boy's ears.
Naomi looked at the chainsaw. It was identical to those in his world, which was kind of strange, but also very lucky for him.
He took it in his hands and after a while, he found the small hole where fuel could be restored.
"The tank is still full!"
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"It uses gasoline, mixed with a few special ingredients." Chucky whispered. "But don't be afraid, you can ignite them."
Naomi was hesitant at first. He remembered all the instructional videos from school that taught him to never play with fire.
But it looked like today would be an exception.
Still casting his fireball, he put his hand before the chainsaw. The small sparkles of light were not enough to form a fireball, but they were more than enough to ignite the gasoline.
The flames spurted out from the tank and Naomi swiftly kicked it away. The chainsaw fell towards the bottom of the mine, right atop the sea of rock monsters.
As the acid stored inside the rock monsters and the ignited gasoline met, a large explosion ensued, that spread even further as the flames touched the other rocks.
It was like looking at fireworks, but they only grew in size.
Atop the clouds of flames, amidst the explosions, Gabriel approached the giant's mouth with golden determination flaming in his eyes. He could see the beast's beating heart deep inside the sea of acid, fueling chaos through its veins.
Gabriel jumped into the behemoth's mouth, deep into the corrosive acid, and aimed his weapon straight at its corrupted hearth. His blade stabbed deep and released a fountain of dark purple blood.
"This is not the end!" Gabriel roared as he pulled out his weapon and sent out a barrage of strikes!
His speed was unmatched. His power was incredible. And still, he managed to stay elegantly skilled all the way through!
Not a single strike was wasted. Not a single soft spot was spared.
This was a true display of unmatched expertise!
The flames spread into the monster's mouth. Sparks of fire fell into its corrosive sea, releasing tens, if not hundreds of explosions!
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The beast, quite literally, burnt up from inside!
And atop all the flames, amidst the chaotic explosions, a person appeared from the monster's mouth. Gabriel rode the fiery flames as if they were a crazed bull, landing just next to Naomi.
He stumbled forth and collapsed beside his companion. Quickly, he turned around to see the results of his work.
"Did you kill it?" Naomi crawled next to him.
As he asked that, a violent explosion blew apart the beast!
Not a corpse, not even a pile of ash remained in that gigantic firepit that appeared in its place!
"Yeah, I think I killed it." Gabriel nodded while still fighting for air.
However, something felt off.
Something was not right.
Naomi, and the girl on his back, were both looking at him with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?" Gabriel panicked. "What are you looking at? Did a monster get caught in my clothes?"
He looked down to see the magnificent butler suit has mostly burnt up. The corrosive acid tore it apart, much like his shoes, from which his toes peeked out.
Suddenly, both Naomi and Chucky burst into laughter.
"W-What's wrong?" Gabriel asked. "Hey! Answer me, god damnit!"
The two could not speak from laughing so hard. Naomi raised his hand and pointed at Gabriel's head.
He raised his hand onto his head and he felt something unbelievable.
Something, that was even worse than death.
The acid burnt up his hair. He was bald.
Gabriel's hand dropped to the ground. His mouth hung open in disbelief.
"Ah, don't worry!" Naomi patted his shoulder. "I'm sure they got something to regrow your hair!"
A single tear formed in Gabriel's eyes.
"You think so?"
"Yeah-Yeah." Naomi nodded. "But we should leave before this place blows up."
An exit portal appeared behind Gabriel. It looked like a window, peeking out to where they entered. The beauty of trees and a forest lay before them, which they quickly approached and left through the portal.
As no living beings were left, the dungeon collapsed. Quite literally, as the realm it resided in ceased to exist, and shrank into a molecular size, crushing and tearing apart all within.
While Gabriel left, he was too busy to notice the messages that popped up in the bottom of his eye.
[ You have leveled up! ]
[ You have leveled up! ]
[ You have defeated "Eleanor, the Stone Mother" and completed the dungeon! ]
[ Two new skills are available! ]
[ You have earned the following rewards: Weak Soul Stone (1x); "Staff of Acid"; "Ring of Corrosion"; Acid Fragments (12x) ]
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