Arc 1 | Chapter 14 | Cataclysmic Inferno Breath!

Chapter 14: | Cataclysmic Inferno Breath!

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My gaze swept over the shimmering holograms of skills, each icon pulsing with latent power.

An almost electrical hum vibrated in the currents around them, hinting at the raw energy contained within.

It seemed many of these skills could be fused into stronger variants.

I could now fuse 'Inferno Breath' with 'Molten Geyser Breath' to create an 'Ascension I' skill, a potent trump card under my sleeves.

A predatory smile stretched across my maw as my mental command dragged 'Inferno Breath' and 'Molten Geyser Breath' together.

I felt a faint, resonating thrum as their forms aligned.

I then paused, my thoughts racing, experimenting with other potential pairings.

With a soft, almost musical chime, a glorious fusion table materialized before me, its light casting shifting shadows across my monstrous face.

It pulsed with an eager, ready energy, needing only my approval to weave these disparate skills into something far greater.

To form stronger, a more powerful variations, I couldn't help but anticipate it.

A low growl of eagerness rumbled in my chest as I mentally clicked 'yes,' watching the familiar interface shimmer and then resolve into new, potent holograms.

The skills and their descriptions materialized, and a wicked smile appeared on my lips.

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[Would you fuse these skills?]

• Inferno Breath + Molten Geyser Breath

• Hunter Absolute Senses + Predator's Gaze

• Toxic Spittle Barrage + Thorn Spittle

• Immovable Fortress + Unyielding Stance

[Yes] / [No]

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[You have gained.]

• Cataclysmic Inferno Breath [Ascension I]

• Neuro-Corrosive Barrage [Ascension I]

• Omniscient Predator's Senses [Ascension I]

• Terra-Anchored Colossus [Ascension I]

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Cataclysmic Inferno Breath [Active | 75 - Mana | Ascension I | ▪︎]

From its abyssal maw, the Whark unleashes a truly cataclysmic torrent of superheated, corrosive liquid magma and highly toxic volcanic gases. This devastating, concentrated stream incinerates everything in its path, instantly melting even the most resilient metals, charring stone to ash, and vaporizing flesh. It leaves behind an expansive wake of searing, bubbling slag and noxious fumes that continues to inflict extreme damage and severely hinder all movement for an extended duration.

Neuro-Corrosive Barrage [Active | 50 - Stamina | Ascension I | ▪︎]

From its maw, the Whark expels a highly concentrated volley of viscous, neuro-corrosive saliva. This projectile barrage delivers rapid tissue necrosis, intense burning, and potent paralytic effects upon contact. It swiftly corrodes armor and causes agonizing, debilitating damage to exposed flesh, leaving targets reeling and vulnerable.

Omniscient Predator's Senses [Passive | Ascension I | ▪︎]

The Whark's sensory organs transcend normal limits, granting it unparalleled, all-encompassing perception. It can detect the faintest vibrations through the earth, minute shifts in air currents, and the subtle heat signatures of living beings with absolute precision. This allows it to effortlessly track prey even through solid obstacles, in complete darkness, or across vast distances, making evasion virtually impossible.

Terra-Anchored Colossus [Passive | Ascension I | ▪︎]

The Whark gains the ability to deep-root itself instantly into the very bedrock, becoming an immovable, unyielding colossus. Once anchored, it is utterly immune to any form of displacement, including powerful magical pushes, cataclysmic seismic shifts, or the full force of a charging titan. Its connection to the earth becomes absolute, making it an unbreachable bastion against any external force.

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The raw, destructive potential of 'Cataclysmic Inferno Breath' resonated deeply within my very essence, a burning thrill coursing through my form.

I could almost taste the searing heat, smell the acrid, vaporized currents it would leave in its wake.

Before, I could only spit a few scattered, glowing embers of molten magma, their heat quickly dissipating.

Now, the potential to unleash a searing torrent of hellish liquid magma, thick and viscous, made my throat ache with imagined power.

This torrent, a literal river of liquid flame, would incinerate armor with horrifying ease, the metal hissing and sloughing away like wax.

And if contact prolonged, a creeping, acrid poison would seep into their very cells, leaving them writhing.

Combined with 'Neuro-Corrosive Barrage,' it would easily kill my opponent, as this very skill could inflict rot on contact.

These two terrifying skills, combined with my 'Omniscient Predator's Senses,' wouldn't miss my opponent.

I could feel the faint tremor of their movements through the earth, the subtle displacement of the currents as they shifted, even the minute variations in their body heat, pinpointing their position and movements up to ten meters away, whether hidden in the shadows behind me, perched above, or burrowing beneath the ground.

Even though not explicitly stated in its description, this skill granted me a sphere of awareness, making me omniscient within that sphere.

I could pinpoint my enemies' movements, predict where they would pounce, and track dozens of them.

Before, I would have been utterly overwhelmed, making my senses a chaotic jumble.

But now, as countless Wharks of different variations surrounded me, their rustling movements and low growls filling the currents, instead of feeling fear, I felt only a cool, calculating focus.

The shadowy being I'd glimpsed days earlier, that i thought was an impossible opponent, now appeared before me.

But instead of fear, what I felt instead was confidence, that I could crush it.

Its voice a low, guttural command that resonated in the currents, as it flickered.

Its form elongated, stretched, then vanished into a streak of violet light, leaving its monstrous horde in its wake.

Tens of Wharks entered my range of perception as a devilish smile curved onto my lips.

Their attacks were futile, I could obliterate them with ease in a single attack.

My throat muscles contracted, bulging visibly, and a faint, pulsating orange light began to seep from the very gaps in my chitinous exoskeleton.

I could feel it, a terrifying pressure building deep within my core, a primal heat gathering.

An intense, searing heat, like a forge stoked to furious levels, built within my core, then surged through my veins like molten rivers, finally pooling and churning, a burning inferno, at the back of my throat.

'Cataclysmic Inferno Breath' was ready for release.

All of the surrounding Wharks froze, their chaotic movements ceasing.

A collective, primal terror seemed to ripple through their ranks, a tangible wave of fear as they instinctively recoiled from the sheer, overwhelming heat radiating from my form, the searing premonition of their flesh being consumed by magma.

Then.

HOWWLLL!

Like the howl of Ifrit, the fire elemental spirit, or Surtur, the one who devoured an entire realm, it echoed.

Chills ran through the spines of all beings present.

Then hell was unleashed.

A deafening roar tore from my maw, and a river of incandescent, roiling liquid magma, thick with toxic fumes, erupted forward, lashing out at the surrounding Wharks.

The very currents crackled and hissed around it.

Their collective screams, sharp and high, were abruptly cut short, replaced by the sickening sizzle of flesh and chitin rapidly disintegrating.

A pungent, metallic smell of burning filled the air as their forms liquefied, becoming one with the molten flood, cleared in a mere, horrifying second.

I chuckled, a low, rasping sound from my maw, at the sheer, brutal effectiveness of the revelation before me.

But a sharp, internal throb, a warning from my very core, reminded me that I could only unleash this skill twice more before risking my core into a catastrophic explosion.

A chuckle escaped from my maw as the sleek, shadowy Whark, the boss of this grand canyon filled with mountains of spikes, staggered in pain.

Nearly half of its body was devoured by molten magma.

It shook its body wildly, a desperate, shuddering attempt to dislodge the clinging, corrosive magma.

But before it could even regain its footing, my form dissolved into a blinding blur of motion.

Squelch!

My form closed in no more than a mere split second with the help of 'Dimensional Flicker' and 'Quaking Pounce.'

Then, a geyser of thick, dark blood erupted, splashing violently and instantly infusing into the surrounding water, turning it a murky crimson.

Rip!

My 'Sunder Maw' and 'Shatter-Rip Maw' ripped its head apart from its body in a swift motion.

It was dead before the battle even started.

My destructive power was simply beyond those of my stage.

But this wasn't enough to contend with those Lords who possess an 'Ascension skill,' as the quality of 'Ascension skills' varies.

It varies depending on the stars of the variant and the class of that being.

Thus, it would be utterly impossible for me to handle those Lords with an 'Ascension skill'.

For I was too weak...