Gardener of Eden

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Lava Giant

After two hours of resting inside the cool, moss-insulated sanctuary, Squad 07 and Princess Lyra emerged back into the sweltering heat of The Infernal Caldera. Refreshed, fully healed, and with their mana pools completely restored, the six-person unit set off toward the blazing core of the volcano.

As they pressed deeper into the obsidian cavern system, the density of volcanic beasts surged. Massive slag drakes, magma elementals, and obsidian crawlers swarmed the team from every angle. Moving in flawless sync, the squad carved a path of destruction through the fiery chamber. Barney held the frontline with immovable shield defenses, Rowan manipulated root snares to restrict movement, Seraphina directed tactical flow, and Mirei sniped targets from afar while Caelen and Princess Lyra unleashed devastating melee combos.

With every wave of creatures sloughed into ash, massive streams of raw combat experience flooded into the team.

Brilliant columns of golden light suddenly erupted around Princess Lyra, Mirei, and Caelen, cascading over their armors as the system validated their breakthrough to Level 9. The surge in physical strength, agility, and mana capacity was immediate, their refined combat classes feeding directly on the high-tier elemental beasts they had slain.

However, no level-up light bathed Rowan, Barney, or Seraphina.

Under the fundamental laws of the system, combat-oriented classes grew through battle and vanquishing foes, but non-combat professions functioned under entirely different rules. Barney, Seraphina, and Rowan could only gain experience and level up by actively practicing their craft. Killing beasts yielded zero level progression for Barney’s crafting and forging path, Seraphina’s analytical scholar discipline, or Rowan’s Gardener of Eden profession.

Despite missing out on the raw battle experience, Rowan wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, he looked out over the smoldering battlefield with a quiet, satisfied smile. While the combatants took their level-ups, Rowan was busy gathering rare volcanic ash, heat-infused beast cores, and exotic subterranean spores—the perfect raw materials to advance his craft, level up his domain, and cultivate high-tier spirit crops.

”Congratulations on Level 9,” Rowan said smoothly, adjusting his gear as the golden light faded around their vanguard and royal partner. ”Let me collect these elemental cores, and then we push straight into the caldera’s main chamber.”

***

At the deepest end of the caldera, the basalt pathway terminated before a colossal obstacle: a pair of 20-meter red double doors towering into the cavernous ceiling. Carved from dense, heat-forged crimson stone and bound with glowing runic iron, the doors pulsed violently with subterranean mana. Waves of intense pressure bled through the seams, leaving no doubt that the Floor 3 boss awaited directly on the other side.

Before anyone stepped forward to push open the massive gates, Seraphina unbuckled her alchemy pouch and retrieved six polished glass vials glowing with a soothing, azure light.

”Drink them,” Seraphina said, passing a vial to Rowan, Princess Lyra, Caelen, Barney, Mirei, and taking the last for herself. ”They are elixirs made with Frostbloom. It provides a 1-hour high-tier heat resistance buff.”

The squad uncorked the vials in unison and downed the liquid. A crisp, refreshing wave of liquid frost rushed down their throats, instantly neutralizing the residual heat in their bodies. A subtle, shimmering aura of pale blue mist wrapped around each of them, adding a crucial layer of internal thermal protection that stacked directly over their anti-heat gear.

”Amazing work, Seraphina,” Princess Lyra noted, her silver hair fluttering softly as the elixir’s cooling energy settled into her mana network. ”At this level of insulation, the caldera’s atmospheric burn won’t hinder our movement for a full hour.”

Rowan tipped the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, feeling the Frostbloom’s botanical properties react harmoniously with his Gardener of Eden vitality. His sharp eyes scanned the team—everyone was back at peak stamina, fully mana-restored, and fortified by the elixir.

”This is it,” Rowan commanded smoothly, his voice grounded and composed. ”Boss mechanics inside will likely focus on large-scale area-of-effect magma strikes. Barney, hold the primary aggro. Caelen and Princess Lyra, prepare for burst damage during downphases. Mirei, keep high-angle suppressive fire. Seraphina and I will manage battlefield terrain and status support.”

Barney nodded, stepping up to the gargantuan red doors alongside Caelen. The two vanguard fighters pressed their hands against the scorching crimson stone, channeling their physical might.

With a heavy, echoing groan that shook the obsidian floor beneath their boots, the 20-meter red double doors slowly ground open, revealing the blinding, fiery arena beyond.

***

As the massive red double doors ground shut with a heavy thud, the air inside the boss arena vibrated with stifling heat. Standing at the center of the vast cavern was a Lava Giant, a behemoth composed of a churning molten core encased in plates of cooling black obsidian slag. Every breath from the beast released plumes of volcanic gas, and sparks cascaded off its towering shoulders.

The arena floor was a tactical nightmare. The basalt terrain was fractured into an erratic grid of narrow, slick pathways separated by bubbling, wide pits of deep lava pools. The environment heavily restricted the range of movement Squad 07 could use, leaving virtually no space for evasive maneuvers or wide flank rotations.

”Movement space is reduced by over seventy percent,” Seraphina warned, her slate quickly mapping the hazards. ”One misstep off these narrow ledges means falling straight into molten liquid!”

The Lava Giant let out a deafening roar that shook the cavern, slamming a titanic fist directly into a lava pool. The impact sent a sweeping wave of liquid fire arching straight toward the squad’s narrow foothold.

”Barney, take front! Lock down the spray!” Rowan ordered calmly.

Barney slammed his heavy vanguard shield into the basalt ledge, projecting a towering energy wall that intercepted the molten wave, though the immense heat rattled his barrier. Beside him, Caelen adjusted his stance with difficulty—the narrow pathway prevented him from swinging his heavy greatsword with his usual wide, sweeping footwork.

Recognizing that restricted movement would leave them as sitting ducks for the titan’s large-scale attacks, Rowan tipped the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, his eyes flashing with intense green light. He unleashed his Gardener of Eden authority, thrusting his hands into the cracked volcanic stone.

”I’ll build us room to fight!” Rowan shouted.

Dense, petrified tendrils of heat-resistant Ironwood Vine erupted from the basalt edges. Infused with primordial vitality, the miraculous roots surged across the bubbling lava pools, weaving together to construct broad, sturdy bridges and wide elevated platforms over the molten hazard. The living vines actively cooled under Rowan’s mana, forming solid, heat-proof footing that expanded the squad’s operational space across the entire room.

With their mobility instantly restored, Mirei leaped onto an elevated root platform, drawing her longbow to notch a frost-infused arrow. Beside her, Princess Lyra flashed a confident smile, stepping onto a newly formed vine bridge as her golden aura flared to life, ready to strike the Lava Giant’s exposed flank.

Seizing the newly created footwork space on Rowan’s vine bridges, Caelen and Princess Lyra launched a lethal synchronized assault. Caelen darted forward like a streak of lightning, his heavy greatsword blazing with compressed aura as he struck the giant’s left shoulder, shattering its thick obsidian slag plating. A microsecond later, Princess Lyra glided past his flank, her runic sword gleaming with radiant golden mana as she delivered a blinding horizontal arc.

The combined force sheared cleanly through the core of the limb. With a deafening roar of grinding stone, the Lava Giant’s massive left arm detached, plunging into the fiery abyss below and disintegrating into useless slag.

”Direct hit!” Caelen shouted, leaping back onto the safety of the root network.

Before the squad could celebrate the strike, the wounded titan let out a low, guttural vibration that rumbled through the cavern floor. Turning its towering body away from the vanguard, the giant stomped directly over to one of the wide, bubbling lava pools flanking the central arena.

It plunged its glowing stump directly into the molten liquid.

A violent whirlpool formed inside the molten pit as the giant violently siphoned the liquid flame upward into its body. Like a river running in reverse, hundreds of gallons of boiling magma rushed up the monster’s torso. Within seconds, the entire lava pool was drained completely dry, leaving behind nothing but an empty, cracked basin of cooling stone—and a brand-new, fully formed molten arm, larger and more volatile than the first.

”It’s absorbing the terrain!” Seraphina called out urgently, her mapping slate updating with red hazard warnings. ”The lava pools aren’t just environmental hazards—they’re localized healing stations! As long as there are active lava pools in this room, it can endlessly regenerate lost limbs and health!”

Rowan tipped the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, his sharp gaze sweeping across the remaining lava pools scattered throughout the arena floor. The boss’s infinite recovery mechanic meant standard attrition tactics would completely fail.

”We don’t just need to kill the giant,” Rowan said smoothly, his Gardener of Eden vitality flaring brightly around his hands as he readied his next move. ”We need to deny it its fuel source.”

Rowan didn’t waste a single heartbeat. Channeling his Gardener of Eden traits deep into the cavern’s foundation, he slammed his palms against the scorched stone, driving a massive surge of elemental earth energy through the subterranean bedrock. The basalt ground violently churned and upheaved. Massive slabs of dense, reinforced obsidian rock plowed over every remaining lava pool in the chamber, capping each glowing basin beneath layers of hard, impenetrable stone and completely sealing off the boss’s infinite source of healing.

”Hurry up, let’s finish this before the boss breaks through the terrain and heals!” Rowan shouted, his voice echoing across the chamber over the titan’s furious roars.

Seraphina reacted instantly, pulling a cluster of glass vials from her alchemical belt. With practiced precision, she hurled several localized frost elixirs directly at the behemoth’s massive feet. The vials shattered on impact, releasing a torrent of flash-freezing liquid frost that instantly neutralized the intense ambient heat. Thick, dense ice encased the titan’s ankles, anchoring its lower body firmly to the basalt floor.

Before the creature could shatter the frost barrier with brute force, Rowan stepped in to deliver the decisive opening. Harnessing his combat abilities, he triggered a localized seismic rupture directly beneath the giant’s locked legs, uprooting its center of gravity. With a deafening, cavern-shaking crash, the colossal Lava Giant lost its balance and fell hard onto its back, exposing its glowing, heavily pressurized magma core to the cavern ceiling.

”Now!” Caelen roared.

The squad’s offense executed a flawless joint assault. High on an elevated vine platform, Mirei released a charged elemental arrow that pierced straight through the outer slag armor protecting the titan’s chest. Following the arrow’s trajectory, Caelen leaped from above with his heavy greatsword enveloped in a roaring shockwave of pure aura, driving his blade deep into the newly opened fracture.

Delivering the final strike, Princess Lyra glided through the air like a streak of pure starlight. Her runic sword blazed with blinding golden mana as she plunged the full length of her weapon directly into the heart of the core.

The Lava Giant let out one final, muffled reverberation before its core shattered in a brilliant explosion of pale golden light. The molten body collapsed into useless ash, leaving behind a massive blue system notification hovering above Squad 07: [Floor 3 Boss Defeated — Volcanic Ash Fields & Lava Tubes Conquered].