Latludious concentrated on the element of fire. He released a flaming whip from his hands, which bound the monster, and then burst into flames. The tunnel filled with smoke and soot. The mage did not stop there and used the “All-Consuming Flame” as a follow-up. A beam sixty centimeters in diameter launched forward and scorched it under extreme heat for five seconds.

“Is it dead?” asked Yleen.

“No,” Latludious clenched his teeth. “Watch the experience bar.”

The creature squeaked and the sound travelled again through the tunnel, this time accompanied by some kind of consonant sounds. It came out and stopped two meters away from the defender. Vvy used "Annoyance" and diverted the monster's attention to himself, but it wasn't about to attack.

Latludious gathered his thoughts and decided to think about the classification of the elements. He asked the AI to scan the forum for any information.

Please be aware. The data is unconfirmed, but it's the only thing available on the forum so far: The opposite of fire is water, the opposite of earth is air.

That's it? Anyone could have written that. Then what defeats air and water?

Most likely fire is weaker than water, which is weaker than the earth, which is weaker than air.

Not logical and stupid. Shit, I'll have to test everything myself.

Latludious glanced at the healer behind him, he’s not even tense, spat and concentrated the mana in his lungs, and released the “Wind Blade” spell from his mouth. A disc-shaped gust of wind slammed into the creature's armor. It did not move. The stone on its body glowed with purple fire for a split second and then went out.

“Did you see it?” asked Latludious.

“Yes. You didn't do any damage.”

“No. The armor. It changed color as soon as the spell reached it.”

“Why isn't it attacking us?” asked Faolandan.

“Good question, maybe he doesn't want to,” asked Vvy.

“Then let's go past him,” said Yleen.

“I wouldn't risk it. Who knows what's going on in his stone head.”

Latludious cursed, and suddenly a memory flashed through his mind of his father taking him to the blacksmith shop and showing him how the workers there treated Inconel, Hastelloy, titanium, aluminum, and stainless steel with high-pressure water. The magician took a jar out of his pocket and opened it and tossed it up and used the “Piercing Water Beam”. The chthonic creature squeaked and opened its mouth and swallowed the spell.

“Fucking hell!” shouted and backtracked Faolandan. “This is not our level.”

Ronnie drew his rifle and fired, silently and without warning. The bullet flew half a meter from the heads of his comrades and knocked the stone peak on the creature's hump. It shrieked and lunged at them in fury. Latludious pointed the “The Power Of The Rock” at the Vvy and ordered everyone to run while the protector restrained the creature.

“It's a breach of contract!” Ronnie shouted.

“We'll be sure to return after him,” the mage replied.

The group rushed forward, and Ronnie, reluctant as he was, followed. Two hundred yards ahead they came upon another fork in the road. They agreed to keep to the main road-or should it be said, the wider one-the tunnel from which the monster had emerged was marked on the map. Vvy pinned the creature against the wall with his shield and held it back. When he stopped hearing the sound of running, he swung his sword and tried to thrust the point into the enemy's head, but the armor was too strong.

“What should I do next?”

When the “The Power Of The Rock” effect ended, Vvy tried to run after the others, but the chthonic monster jerked forward and with a stone shoulder threw the tank in heavy armor back ten meters and jumped on him and landed, jamming his knee right into his prey’s chest. VVY was horrified, his armor bent. He gathered the last of his strength and slammed the creature with the sharp angle of his shield into the side and up. The enemy jumped back and said something and teleported in less than a second behind his back and knocked his opponent off-balance with a blow to the spine, triggering a “shock” effect. Vvy’s body no longer obeyed him. He could only lie on the ground and watch as a small stream of blood flowed from his mouth to the floor. The gauntlets clung to the ground. He wanted to crawl, but he could not.

“That's one fucked-up plan.”

He watched through the visor as the creature approached him, taking its sweet time as if stretching the pleasure of capturing an alien trophy. Stopping one step away from Vvy, it poked a finger at his body, said something, squeaked and fidgeted, and swung its arm to finish the job. The tank shut his eyes. He had never died before and hoped for only one thing: a quick and painless death. At that moment a 12.7mm bullet whizzed by and hit the monster in the chest, knocking it backward by half a meter, leaving a dent.

Vvy turned around and saw the yellow light of the flashlight. Ronnie ran up to him and grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the others. The predator recovered, removed the bullet from its body, and leaped forward six meters. The sniper dodged a blow to the head and let go of Vvy and jumped aside, raising the muzzle of his rifle at the same time and taking aim. A shot, another shot. Smoking casings hit the ground, the smell of gunpowder. The monster roared and shook its whole body. He touched the wall with his hand, and the tunnel seemed to come to life. Stone spikes flew at Ronnie, and he used “Furious Rhythm” and dodged multiple attacks. It seemed impossible to shoot back now, but he did not give up. Magic walls, of course! The sniper estimated by eye the trajectory of the ricochet and fired another shot. The bullet bounced off the ceiling, hit a couple of spikes, a wall, and flew off into the darkness. The second one missed, too. A new attack. Sharp, stone needles whistled at Ronnie from the ceiling. He did a roll and ran back a few more meters and crashed into a wall and cursed.

“Furious Rhythm” lasted another thirty seconds. Ronnie fired a few more shots and the last one caught the enemy and hit it in the head. The ten-round magazine ran out. The sniper reloaded the rifle. The chthonic monster bent down from a slight stun and roared. It teleported and sent Ronnie into the wall with a kick, but the man remained on his feet. The creature did not retreat. A one-handed sword appeared in its hand. Several slashing attacks had to be blocked by the body of the weapon, thankfully it withstood. This time the sniper, bypassing the spikes, stepped towards Vvy, shouting to him, “Are you going to fight?” The tank could not even respond. He could only lie back and watch the battle.

Ronnie caught the chthonic monster by making a false weapon raise. When the creature was in his face, he dodged a slashing blow to the head, hit it back in the face with the buttstock, pushed it back with his foot, and shot it in the knee. The bullet ricocheted off and almost killed him. The creature jerked forward, pushed the sniper's puny body away, as he flew back, it teleported behind his back, and aimed the blade at his back. Ronnie slammed the butt against the ground and stopped a centimeter away from the point. It did him little good, however. The monster kicked him in the side and the sniper flew into a wall. The Barrett fell to the ground. Suddenly he saw a red-purple fog thickening around him. The Top Secret leader noticed it too and raised his eyebrows and slightly opened his mouth in surprise.

Is this what Latludious was talking about? He thought.

Ronnie turned around and saw a trap-curse on the wall, just like the one in the woods. Vvy and the chthonic monster looked at him curiously. When the mist cleared, nothing happened. The creature said something and walked back into the darkness. The spikes and the barrier wall evaporated as if they had never existed.