Chapter 19: That Year, I Had My Hands in My Pockets

At this moment, Victor was at the lowest level of the volcano, within the sealed extradimensional space.

He had his hands in his pockets, and his trench coat billowed under the scorching waves.

A phrase automatically flashed through his mind.

That year, I had my hands in my pockets and knew no equal.

A towering pillar of fire surged toward him. Victor gazed at it calmly as a magic formation beneath his feet instantly activated, raising a protective barrier that effortlessly blocked the attack.

With the support of countless magic formations, he teleported and maneuvered with ease, unleashing a relentless tide of counterattacks.

In his eyes, the enormous boss was nothing more than a slightly oversized and particularly resilient toy.

Gul’don slowly lifted his body, revealing a small mountain on his back.

Lava spewed from his form, sending sand and rock sweeping toward Victor.

The debris passed through Victor’s body, but it was as if it had struck a water curtain.

A cascade of water fell, and Victor’s original form vanished.

[Tier 2 Magic: Water Mirage]

The next second, the real Victor appeared behind the beast, a long lance formed of flowing tides condensing in his hand as he thrust it toward Gul’don’s rear.

Due to elemental weaknesses, the damage inflicted by the water spear was intensified tenfold for Gul’don.

Wracked with pain, the beast roared in fury, spewing lava at Victor once again.

Seeing Gul’don’s attacks grow fiercer, Victor dodged them with effortless precision.

The moment Gul’don raised his hand, Victor already knew what kind of attack was coming.

Gul’don slammed both palms onto the ground, causing a pillar of fire to erupt beneath Victor’s feet.

Without thinking, Victor raised a hand.

[Tier 2 Magic: Water Veil]

A thin, translucent blue film materialized instantly, blocking the fiery assault.

Gul’don squinted at Victor, who countered his moves with ease. He felt a deep frustration building within him. Throwing back his head, he let out a thunderous roar to vent his indignation.

After a prolonged battle, Victor remained as composed as when he had begun.

Yet, Gul’don’s health had only dropped by a mere tenth.

Vega, watching Victor handle the fight so effortlessly, fell into deep thought.

This guy could hold his own against a calamity-level entity… Was he even human?

Unable to comprehend, Vega simply gave up trying and shouted toward Victor:

“Hey! It’s been hours! Are you really planning to keep fighting?!”

Victor paused upon hearing Vega’s words, contemplating for a moment.

Back in the game, when he first encountered Gul’don, he had fought alongside a coalition of players for three days and three nights.

In that case…

“Let’s go for another three days.”

Victor cracked his knuckles, eagerly anticipating this exhilarating battle.

…

[Tier 2 Magic: Galevis’ Ice Storm]

[Tier 2 Magic: Death Ritual]

[Tier 2 Magic: Still Water]

…

One spell after another flowed from Victor’s fingertips, magic formations lighting up the air in succession like stars in a stormy night.

Vega, watching the torrent of spells pouring from Victor, was utterly stunned.

“Damn it, this guy is a freak.”

“This isn’t the power of a mere Tier 3 Mage.”

Wave after wave of multicolored magical explosions continued to chip away at the towering beast.

The surrounding mountain rocks crumbled under the sheer pressure of the battle.

Gul’don, under the relentless bombardment of spells, felt as if he were being stabbed repeatedly—not enough to be fatal, but excruciatingly painful.

With a fierce whip of his tail, he sheared away half of the already narrow volcanic crater.

The collapsing rocks plunged into the lava, sending molten waves soaring skyward.

Victor stepped onto a black magic formation and vanished into a wisp of dark mist.

When he reappeared, he stood upon an intact section of the crater, exploiting the opening to launch another barrage of attacks.

Gul’don bared his fangs, a massive fireball forming in his throat like a miniature sun.

Boom!

The fireball exploded forward, slamming into the mountainside.

Rocks shattered, and dust billowed into the sky.

Victor activated a magic formation, switching places with a hidden ice clone he had planted earlier.

The clone took the brunt of the attack, instantly vaporized into mist.

[Tier 2 Magic: Ice Substitute]

With his long-distance teleportation spells still on cooldown, Victor had precisely calculated the escape range of his Ice Substitute.

Sand and gravel brushed against his coat, but he remained unscathed as the boss’s attack narrowly missed him.

Victor clasped his hands together, summoning a radiant white gate behind him.

[Tier 3 Summon: White Spirit’s Malevolence]

At Victor’s command, the massive white marble gate slowly creaked open.

Billowing mist engulfed the entire volcano.

Vega’s vision was instantly shrouded in fog. He shouted hoarsely, “Victor! Victor! I’m still here! Don’t let your summon attack me!”

With Vega’s knowledge, he immediately recognized what Victor had just summoned.

The White Spirit’s Malevolence—indiscriminate of friend or foe.

Gul’don thrashed within the mist, wildly swinging his claws to disperse it.

But the mist clung to him like a spider’s web, impossible to tear apart.

A pair of withered, skeletal white arms reached out from the mist, seizing Gul’don’s head, attempting to drag him into the gate.

Yet, due to the sheer weight of the Lava Demon, the White Spirit struggled to pull him in.

The white gate trembled violently.

Emerging first was its head—or at least, something resembling a head.

Seven eyes encircled its skull, each emitting a dizzying, disorienting glow that overwhelmed Gul’don’s senses.

As more of its form slithered out, its lower half appeared as three massive, intertwined serpents, coiling over the molten ground.

A third arm, grotesquely protruding from the nape of its neck, tore open its own spine, extracting it to form a gleaming blade that sliced through Gul’don’s rocky armor.

Seeing the summon destabilize the gate, Victor sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“This guy is as reckless as ever.”

Though his summon was not as strong as he was, its one advantage was durability.

With the White Spirit pinning down Gul’don, Victor had the opportunity to cast dozens of weakening spells, preparing for his next big attack.

From his backpack, he retrieved materials, crafting magic tools on the spot and hurling them at the boss.

Their effects were negligible.

“Well, better than nothing.”

Vega observed Victor’s self-consolation.

Soon, Gul’don’s health dropped by roughly ten percent.

The flames in his eyes burned brighter, his molten body surging with renewed energy.

His hands became enveloped in violent fire, while sharp, jagged rock spikes formed along his tail.

Victor’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

He had found it—the thrill of battle.

The fire turned to lava, covering the ground, leaving Victor with no place to land.

The White Spirit shrieked as the environment itself turned hostile against it.

“If there’s no foothold—I’ll make my own.”

Victor traced a perfect square in the air.

With a snap of his fingers, an ultra-dense block of ice materialized, floating midair.

The battle raged on, Victor standing upon his frozen platform, spellcasting undeterred.