Queen Luna pursed her lips at Liu Ye's hesitation and assured him with a pat on his back, "Don't worry, the volcanoes are not a problem. Did you forget that I can sense what's underground? All we need to watch out for are the Fire Spirits that can sometimes catch you off guard."
"Alright then, I will trust you can lead us out of it," Liu Ye replied as he gestured ahead. "I will be right behind you."
Liu Ye wasn't scared of dangerous places but he also understood he wasn't an immortal god. Pushing your limits was fine but he didn't plan on dying and losing all of his items.
"The Fire Spirits dislike visitors so they will attack us regardless of what we do. They are the ones that cause the volcano eruptions so watch out for the lava," Queen Luna explained as she ran ahead through the ashy desert. "Use your Water Element to defend and attack since they are fire-resistant."
Queen Luna didn't need to ask him twice as Liu Ye was already withdrawing water to shield himself from the burning air. He drank a Mana Potion and wrapped his arms with two Water Whips as he followed Queen Luna's footsteps. The ground seemed too soft to feel safe but that quickly became the least of his worries.
Bang!
The ground by their side suddenly exploded just seconds after they entered the zone. The molten lava rained throughout their surroundings and flames burst out in the sky as if the devil decided to come out from hell.
Liu Ye remained calm while dodging and slapping the lava but that caused water vapor to block their vision. When he could finally see the place of the explosion, he was welcomed by a towering flame that formed into a black-eyed monster.
[Young Fire Spirit - Lvl. 60]
[HP: 30,000/30,000]
[MP: 7,500/7,500]
Liu Ye could only frown at its high level and HP before they had to face immediate danger.
"Watch out!" Queen Luna warned sternly and swiftly hopped to his side. A wind curtain blew from her palm just before the Fire Spirit shot a wave of flames.
Liu Ye could only watch from behind how two elements tried to dominate the other. It was that moment when he realized that he was completely useless against the real powerhouses of Avatar Online. He could be a God against other players but his small Water Whips would only graze the monsters of such caliber.
What depressed him further was the Fire Spirit's name. It only meant that aside from the Young Fire Spirits, there was a much more powerful version he couldn't think of defeating right now.
"Stand behind me! I will defeat it!" Queen Luna shouted when the Fire Spirit paused its assault and began bombarding its body with long beams of air. Many would just accept being carried by an NPC but Liu Ye couldn't help but feel shit.
So what if he was weak? He would still put in an equal effort and do his best to improve.
"I'm on your right!" Liu Ye informed her to avoid bumping into each other and assisted her with his own artillery.
The Fire Spirit had no physical body which eliminated any close combat or Ice abilities. His only choice was wrapping himself with a Water Cloak and gushing out Water Jets that passed through the Fire Spirit like bullets.
-120
-460
-120
The damage he dealt was almost four times lower than Queen Luna but as long as he avoided the fire, the damage would add up quickly, and eventually he would get enormous amounts of Experience. Judging by the 200% scaling increase for Fire Element Abilities, Liu Ye would be dead if only a single flame touched his body.
"Keep it up!" Queen Luna cheered before stomping on the ground which created a gigantic ashy wall in front of them. "Attack only when the Fire Spirit is recharging! Don't stay at the same spot or you will get hit!"
A Breath of Fire struck the wall just as she finished speaking and she jerked him out of his water cloak to drag him near their ashy cover. Burn immediately scorched Liu Ye's face but he couldn't be more thankful at her presence.
Bang!
Two pillars of lava suddenly exploded right at their previous spots which added another thing to worry about. He had no idea what abilities the Fire Spirit had and he had no way to sense them.
"Thank you," Liu Ye acknowledged the help and refilled his Mana that was running low. He was always learning and at least now he knew that it was better to be always moving unless he knew the opponent well.
"Don't worry, I have your back," Queen Luna replied confidently while patting her wall. "We just need to keep moving and block all its flames. The Fire Spirit burns a lot of energy while moving so it won't even chase—"
Liu Ye happened to gaze up to check how safe they were and his eyes widened at the black eyes staring at them from above. The Fire Spirit was made out of flames so its body perfectly blended with its Breath of Fire.
"Watch out!" Liu Ye cut Queen Luna off before she could finish and lifted a boulder from the ground to hide underneath it. Queen Luna was too slow to react so he pulled her into his embrace.
She gazed into his eyes in surprise just before the Fire Spirit showered them with flames. Liu Ye actually thought his boulder would provide them even a bit of protection but the flames just wrapped around it and struck them directly.
-500
[Ding! Fire Stream applied burn. You will lose 100 HP every second for the next 3 seconds.]
-100
[HP: 230/830]
Before Queen Luna kicked the ground and connected four thin walls to the boulder, Liu Ye's HP dropped drastically. He wrapped himself with water to stop the burn but that failed miserably. His health kept decreasing until he had only 30 HP left, leading him into a critical condition.
"Are you okay?!" Queen Luna questioned hurriedly but her worry was currently useless to him. That hit only proved his theory and returned his mindset back on track.
Liu Ye could only trust his own abilities and relying too much on others would eventually fail him.
