Damon didn't get a real look at the place while the six-headed snake was shredding the cliff. Now that the fight was over and the dust had settled, he could finally take it in.

They hadn't been standing on a cliff at all. The ground under Damon's boots was cracked. Rivers of orange lava flowed below, spitting steam and ash. Flame licked at the edges of the plateau.

Broken, charred bones and scorched rocks lay everywhere. The serpent's beams had burned deep grooves into the stone.

And behind where the serpent had stood, there was now a glowing chest visible. A golden color treasure chest. Damon's heart raced. Golden color treasure chests had a high chance of containing something precious.

He immediately tried to run towards it, only to realize he couldn't move from the spot. "Motherfucker!" He cursed under his breath. The chest was right in front of him, and yet he couldn't reach it.

But thankfully, he was not alone. "Green eyes, get up. I have a job for you. Go and open that treasure chest."

The elven girl flinched like he had slapped her. Her hands trembled, but she stood up slowly. She took a step, then another, and then another.

Damon sighed impatiently. Normally, he wouldn't care, but given everything bizarre that was happening, he had a feeling that the next shuffling might come even sooner than expected. He did not want to lose a treasure chest just because this girl was too slow.

A few seconds later, she finally squatted in front of the treasure chest and gritted her teeth, trying very hard to open it. It looked like she was having some difficulties.

"Can you turn the treasure chest around? Let me take a look. Does it need a key?"

The elven girl nodded.

"Of course, it needs a key. Damn it. Where will I go now to find a key?" Damon once again used some wind energy to pull the treasure chest closer to himself, but it was of no use.

He then summoned his shadow clone and sent it on a search hunt. If there were a treasure chest here, then the snake should have dropped a key. It was only logical. Some tricky places were an exception, and the key could even be hidden in the surroundings, so it was worth looking around.

The clone vanished among the blackened ribs and lava-splashed boulders. The elven girl watched, pale and barely breathing.

While the clone was looking around, Damon also did not remain idle. He activated Blood Lens to see if he could spot some anomaly. At first, he couldn't spot anything, but then, over a pocket of red-hot magma, where continuous bursts of hot gas erupted every now and then, there was something hidden. He could see a faint energy signature.

Damon immediately instructed the clone to go over there. The clone tried its best to touch the rock when the burst of gas was not there, but in the end, it did take a hit. 50% of its health was drained in a single hit. This was only thanks to the fire essence resistance the clone shared with Damon. Otherwise, it would have been obliterated in a single hit.

Luckily, there were no more tricks, and the key was simply under the rock. The clone grabbed it and dropped the key near the elf.

"Pick it up," Damon ordered.

The elven girl flinched. The key was piping hot, and her skin would be fried if she touched it. Yet, because of Damon's order, she leaned down to pick it up without hesitation. She closed her eyes, braced for the worst, and touched the key. Immediately, her eyes widened. The key did not burn her at all.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a layer of blood energy covering her hand. The elven girl turned to look at Damon in shock. It was clear that he had created the barrier so that she wouldn't get hurt.

"Go on, green eyes. We don't have all day. Can you open the chest now?"

The elven girl slid the key into the lock with shaking hands. The metal gave a soft click, and the lid creaked open.

A warm gold light spilled out. She pulled back, blinking against it. Inside the chest were three things. A red colored flower, a red colored stone, and a mask of sorts.

"Bring it to me, quick."

The elven girl hurriedly handed the items over. Her fingers still shook, but she did not drop anything.

Damon flipped the red flower, the red stone, and the strange mask between his hands. He wanted to inspect them, but nothing was working. All three items only displayed question marks.

Damon frowned. He was a bit disappointed as he had hoped to find something he could use right now, but it was fine. Clearly, these were valuable items, and if not today, he would find out their details sooner or later.

He tossed them into his spatial ring and saw back down. He took another look around to see if any more six-headed snakes popped out, but this seemed to be the only monster in this region. It was probably guarding the treasure chest.

"Right, what skill did I get from the snake?" He was completely distracted by the treasure chest that he forgot about this part. He quickly opened his status screen to take a look.

[Hell Flame Aura]

Huh? Damon's eyes widened as he clicked the skill description.

[Hell Flame Aura, Passive, C Rank]: Surrounds the user with a faint halo of hellfire that scorches enemies inside a 10 meter radius. Increases all fire damage when aura is active.

Damon stared at the lines twice. A passive hellfire aura. That explained many things. The damned snake was so strong only because of this aura boost. It must have upgraded the skill to B rank or maybe even higher to become that powerful.

He tried activating the skill to observe its effects.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.