Chapter 776 - Blissful Oasis (1/2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Even with Oscar’s level of power, he couldn’t grasp the vampire Dharma Idol’s actions in that instant. It was as if he merely waved his hand that wasn’t holding any weapons.
The Lava Monster’s entire head was sliced off. The red lava connecting its whole body dissolved instantly as if the force that held its body together had vanished. Its gigantic body crumbled into numerous black rocks and piled up on the ground.
They got off to a good start since the entire fight lasted a mere 10 minutes. Mario and Grai seemed to be a little excited as they summoned their Dharma Idols a little too early. Nonetheless, to newcomers, it was better to be safe than sorry since their lives were at stake.
“Where’s the Fire Quartz?” Napier was very anxious.
“It’s here!” Mario jogged over to the spot where he found a Fire Quartz and pulled hard on the hook.
“Catch it!” With a clang, a pure red crystal the size of a fist was hauled out from the lava river. It was sent flying toward w.a.n.g Zhong, with some blood-red lava attached to it.
w.a.n.g Zhong’s storage s.p.a.ce was ready to receive the Fire Quartz. This dimensional pocket s.p.a.ce was heat-proof, and the Fire Quartz entered the storage s.p.a.ce smoothly. w.a.n.g Zhong didn’t even need to touch it.
It felt as if the temperature of their surroundings was lowered after the Fire Quartz was extracted. The lava river that was originally bubbly and glittery became rather dull.
“This is a significant characteristic.” w.a.n.g Zhong was completely focused on their task now, observing the changes in their surroundings. “You can target the places which have more concentrated fire elements and higher temperatures. There’s probably a higher possibility of discovering Fire Quartz there.”
“But there’s also a chance we might meet a large-scale Lava Monster tribe.” Grai nodded.
“Try to a.n.a.lyze the risks and retreat if the situation gets too dangerous. We’ll just take all the Fire Quartz within our ability.”
Oscar remained silent from the beginning to the end, following them quietly. He was pondering over other stuff. Frankly speaking, it wasn’t possible to deduce the strength of their Dharma Idols now unless it brought along an obvious power of the natural laws with it. Otherwise, their combat power could only be measured after they reached the peak of the Heroic Soul Stage. Nonetheless, these few people had solid foundations which were a distinguis.h.i.+ng feature of CHF warriors.
They were rather calm in handling matters too. For newcomers, their level of power wasn’t the biggest problem. Oscar had seen too many newcomers that entered a secret realm who rambled about their achievements excitedly the whole day: be it accomplis.h.i.+ng a small part of their mission or defeating a low-rank enemy. There were too many newcomers who forgot what they came for and grew dizzy with success, dying because of their arrogance.
Grai was especially outstanding. Notwithstanding his strange vampire Dharma Idol, he could break through defenses with an ordinary sword earlier on, piercing the head of a Lava Monster at the Heroic Soul Stage. This close-quarters combat power he wielded was not inferior to that of many senior Holy Disciples. Grai and w.a.n.g Zhong were definitely considered a.s.sets to the team in this batch of newcomers.
It appeared that he had to wait a while more to observe w.a.n.g Zhong’s ability. There were still 49 pieces of Fire Quartz to go; w.a.n.g Zhong would likely have to make a move at some point in time.
Oscar adjusted into a reclining position comfortably. For this trip, he specially put a sun lounger in his storage s.p.a.ce, which was very useful for situations like this. Oscar even changed into a short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt and flower print shorts. Beside the lava river, he looked like he was enjoying a sauna and having a good time.
“Our team captain is doing this deliberately, right?” Sharmie was sweating buckets. Looking at Oscar who was wearing sungla.s.ses and relaxing on the beach chair, Sharmie felt a little depressed. Oscar looked like he was enjoying himself while sipping on a c.o.c.ktail; he was definitely doing this to annoy them.
“You guys are cultivating while I’m recuperating from my injuries. These are two different things.” Oscar laughed. “When you are on a mission, you need to resist distractions and focus on your job!”
The process of locating Fire Quartz was neither very easy nor very hard. There were numerous Fire Quartz in this Magma secret realm, and you could find one every two or three miles. There were different numbers of Lava Monsters guarding the Fire Quartz, and the most they met was three Lava Monsters together. This let Oscar admire how the two groups worked together in tacit agreement under w.a.n.g Zhong’s orders.
Sharmie’s group discovered a Fire Quartz, and with their experience from before, they didn’t head to grab it immediately but stood at a safe distance away. A heavy artillery weapon Dharma Idol was summoned by Sharmie around 10 meters away from the group, preparing to attract the enemy and finish it off.
Frankly speaking, weapon-type Dharma Idols were quite rare in the Holy City, as they pursued the power of the natural laws, which was more important to them than pure power. Weapon-type Dharma Idols were considered low-tier even on Earth. Having a firearm for a Dharma Idol was out of the ordinary. Oscar didn’t think much of it at first as he thought that that type of Dharma Idol would only have a singular attack. Although it could fire a powerful attack, it could only be positioned at a fixed point. He thought that no matter how powerful the attack was, its effectiveness in battle was limited. However, he had clearly underestimated it.
Sharmie’s artillery Dharma Idol was not programmed for a direct attack. Its fixed position wasn’t an inconvenience; instead, it served to lock on to its target.
Oscar was surprised to find that her artillery weapon was somewhat similar to Small Eyes’ special skill. No, it was stronger than Small Eyes’ special skill. Both locked on to their target, but enemies that were locked on as Sharmie’s targets seemed to have a GPS attached to them. No matter which angle or position Sharmie fired her weapon at, her attack was able to precisely strike the target no matter how the enemy tried to dodge or how many obstacles were in the way. The Lava Monster that she locked on to as her target was hidden behind two other Lava Monsters, but all her attacks were spot on, and none were null attacks! With Oscar’s expertise, he could tell that Sharmie wasn’t deliberately controlling the direction of the attack and that it was her odd Dharma Idol that had a target locking and tracking function.
Although this Dharma Idol seemed to have this mere one function for now, it was a rather scary one. Oscar could already imagine the power that such a Dharma Idol combined with a high-tier soul tool could harness: for example, Murphy’s Hand Mortar. That powerful firepower could destroy anything in its path. He could tell that Sharmie belonged to the type that had a big Soul Sea capacity. In the Holy City, there was a saying that ‘a woman’s Soul Sea capacity was proportionate to her b.o.o.bs.’ Although it was a joke, it was not entirely false. He inferred this from how Sharmie didn’t care about wasting her Soul Power when firing her attacks.
A big Soul Sea capacity was like an inexhaustible source of energy, and her Dharma Idol which carried a precise GPS function was a terrifyingly accurate blow. This was the best long-ranged gift one could get.
What was the most important in a team? Other than excellent instructions, it would be powerful firepower. It wasn’t that other roles were inferior to firepower marksmen, but if a strong firepower marksman integrated into a team, he would be able to wield way more destructive power than if he worked alone.
Previously, the Wanderl.u.s.t Team only had one firepower marksman, Small Eyes. They had always been lacking in this area, which was something many exploration teams in the Holy City lacked too. Too many people were focused on their individual cultivation, and very few people focused on powerful, long-range firepower. Every time true long-range weapon experts came along, they were definitely sought after. Their team obtained such an a.s.set just like that?
Oscar felt that this was a pleasant surprise. If he were to judge Sharmie by the standards of a true long-range weapon expert, Sharmie would appear to be pretty inexperienced, but she definitely wasn’t lacking talent in this area. This discovery was perhaps the most unexpected gain from this trip. It was a pity that the Wanderl.u.s.t Team was so poor now; previously, the whole team saved up for half a year before they could afford a Murphy’s Hand Mortar for Small Eyes. Buying another one for Sharmie? Dream on! At least for now, they couldn’t afford it.