Chapter 31: Fire

Ren sat on top of a tree, watching the actions of the salamander. The flying mutant has stopped struggling, its wing was completely charred in the salamanders mouth. *Crunch* As the salamander bit through the wing, it finally let go of the beast. *Fwump* Turning around as the mutant bird hit the ground, it completely ignoring it's previous enemy's corpse, opting to search for Ren.

*Grrrrrrrrrr...* A low growling could be heard in the surrounding areas. But what was even more alarming, was the rapidly rising temperatures. Heat and smoke radiated off of the salamander, making it harder for Ren to control his breathing.

"Huff... Huff..."

Ren couldn't hold on anymore, his breathing became heavier and heavier. He tried to make his breathing quieter, but it was too late. Almost like a programmed machine, the salamanders head snapped towards Ren's location.

"Oh fuck..."

*ROOOOOAAARRRRR* Opening its mouth as wide as possible, the salamander dripped lava onto the ground. *Fwsshhhhhh* As large amounts of lava made flowed onto the ground, the salamander closed it's mouth, causing steam to escape through his lips. As Ren and the salamander held eye contact, Ren waited for the salamanders next move. Moments pass by, and the salamander finally ran out of patience.

*GRRRRRRRR...* The salamander suddenly growled, then dug its claws into the lava, reaching the earth beneath. Ren watched in horror as the salamander quickly flicked its arms up, hurtling scorching earth and lava towards him.

"What the actual..."

*Fwip* *BOOM* *Bwoomf* Stepping out of a shadow, Ren looked at his previous spot, the tree was covered in flames and lava. Swallowing in nervousness, Ren locked his eyes on the salamander, staying high on alert for the next attack.

'Any ideas King?'

Ren felt a little helpless, he was ready to leave for another area to continue his hunt. But before he could follow that plan, King responded.

'It has to run out of energy eventually. I doubt that any ability allows you to keep that level of heat up forever, so this is what I propose. Use the repair stone again, attract more monsters here. Attract as many as possible, and have them fight that monster.'

Ren's eyes lit up, this was a perfect idea. He could utilize the large number of mutants to wear down the salamander, while collecting the killed mutants for points! Two birds with one simple repair stone.

"Ok, here goes."

As Ren poured mana into the stone, the salamander locked onto Ren, its eyes fixated on the stone. Plunging it's claws into the lava once more, it readied itself to fire another attack. But before the salamander could follow through, a giant bear crashed through the forest, gunning for Ren. Seeing the mutant bear, the salamander opted to attack it, protecting its future treasure.

*ROOOOOOAAAAARR!!!!* The two giant mutants faced off, lava was dripping off of the mutant bear. Sensing that the bear was hurt from its attack, the salamander charged forward, his teeth glowed a bright white. *Chomp* *ROOOOOOOAAARRR* *Sizzzle* As the salamander bit down with its fiery fangs, the bear swiped at the salamander, injuring its left eye.

"Here comes contestant three."

*SSSSSSSS!!!!!* A loud hissing sound rang out, and a giant green snake shot out from the forest, heading straight for Ren. *fwip* Teleporting away, Ren barely dodged the attack from the giant snake.

"Close one, lets see if it wants to join the party."

Focusing his attention back onto the salamander and the bear, Ren was surprised to see the bear already burnt, its smoking corpse was still on fire. But it doesn't matter, it did its job, the salamander was missing an eye. As Ren made eye contact with the salamander, he waved and smiled.

"Behind you!"

*SSSSS!!* Hearing that noise, the salamander turned to face the mutant snake. While the salamander looked at the snake with hate, the mutant snake was only fixated on Ren. Noticing this behaviour, the salamander became enraged. How dare this lowly creature covet his treasure? It must die!

*ROOOOAARR* With a loud battle cry, the salamander charged towards the snake. *SSSSS!!!!* The snake looked at the agitated salamander in surprise, but it quickly. realized what was going on. As the two monsters clashed, Ren watched.

"You were right King, it's not as boiling hot anymore. Let's see if we can get a 4th contestant shall we?"