Chapter 260 Seeking Surtur
Again Defeating Surtur brought him a significant step closer to his ninth draw, translating to 45 experience points, equivalent to a month and a half of training.
However, in Fini's view, the victory was largely due to the element of surprise. Had Surtur known his abilities, it wouldn't have been so easy.
After all, his strongest attack, 'Explosion Magic,' was countered, leaving him only able to rely on 'Golden Grand Evolution' for damage.
But judging from the previous battle, Surtur seemed to possess a mind-control-like ability, which also greatly countered the effects of 'Golden Grand Evolution'.
Upon closer reflection, Fini realized that besides being Asgard's Ragnarok, Surtur seemed to have a strong strategy specifically targeting him.
However, he still had his Blue-Eyes White Dragon unused. Summoning it, with one attacking and one defending in tandem, would still allow him to easily defeat Surtur.
Sitting in his chair, Fini considered his next move. Although he had only been in Muspelheim for three days, he had already achieved his goal.
After all, there shouldn't be anyone stronger than Surtur in the entire Muspelheim. As for those fire demons, the experience gained from them was minimal, and due to elemental advantage, they were extremely troublesome to deal with.
Logically, he should go back now and prepare to head to the next world, but after checking the system's experience bar, which was already more than half full, Finney suddenly had an idea.
"Should I try again!?"
Surtur was the enemy with the highest experience gain Finney had encountered in recent times, and one that he was confident he could escape even if he couldn't defeat.
Most importantly, this enemy wasn't afraid of death; even if he accidentally killed him, he could regenerate by placing the crown in a place with flames.
Even if all else fails, he still has 'Zflücke: Fourth Bullet'. Being reduced to Crown form isn't death, and time reversal can restore him to normal.
"But isn't this a bit unfair to him?!"
This thought had barely formed when Finney quickly dismissed it with self-consolation.
Who was Surtur? A being of Odin's generation, even earlier, an almost eternal being, merely experiencing a few defeats—it should only add a few spice to his rich and varied life.
Having made his decision, Finney began to regret it. He should have brought Surtur out earlier; he didn't know if he was still buried.
However, because he hadn't fully recovered, he didn't go back to check.
After resting in the cave for a whole day, restoring his mental and physical condition to its peak, Finney teleported back to the underground palace, only to find that most of it had collapsed.
"He's not still buried, is he?"
Finney's first reaction was concern for Surtur's safety, but he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing clear signs of cleanup around the area.
But then he almost laughed. He had the strange feeling that Surtur couldn't emerge from underground. Even in his weakened state, he was still a character with 45 experience points.
Although he knew Surtur wasn't here, Finney didn't know where he was. After thinking for a moment, he found the fire demon gathering place he had first come from.
Compared to when he first came, there were far fewer fire demons around. Many were probably still searching for him outside, but those that remained all remembered his appearance.
"It's him!"
"He's back!" "
The person the king is looking for!"
"So hungry!
"
"Food!"
Upon seeing Finney, the fire demons reacted in different ways. Some were frightened by his brutal beating, some remembered Surtur's orders, but most actually wanted to eat 'Violet's Fried Chicken Rolls'.
Fortunately, the fire demons here had received 'care' from Finney just two days ago, so they didn't attack immediately upon seeing him again.
Because the fire demons looked so alike, Finney couldn't tell which one had led the way yesterday. So he summoned a bunch of 'Jin Ji Fried Chicken Nuggets' on the ground and asked,
"Who led the way yesterday?"
Seeing the 'Jin Ji Fried Chicken Roll' on the ground, the simple-minded fire demons paid no heed and immediately swarmed forward, trying to snatch it.
Finney felt a little helpless; didn't these guys ever learn their lesson? They had just learned their lesson.
He activated his breathing technique, switching to water mode. A pale blue water shield instantly enveloped the fried chicken roll, forcing the fire demons to stop in their tracks.
"Who led the way yesterday?"
Finney asked again.
The fire demons stared longingly at the fried chicken roll, attacking the water shield, but none stepped forward to admit it.
Finney frowned, glancing at the few remaining fire demons before him. He guessed that the fire demon who had led the way yesterday might not be here. After a moment's thought, he asked again,
"Does anyone know your king's current location?"
The fire demons ignored him, continuing to attack the water shield. Some wanted to attack him, but perhaps remembering the beating they had received, they ultimately chose to attack the water shield as well.
Finney was somewhat exasperated by the fire demons' intelligence, and also felt that Surtur must have had a hard time raising such a group of creatures.
"Whoever takes me to see the king, these are his!"
Hearing this, the fire demons finally reacted. After exchanging glances, a few suddenly said,
"The king seems to want us to find him too."
"Take him there."
"I will!"
"I..."
Then, to Finney's astonishment and slight bewilderment, they suddenly erupted into chaos, then fought each other, finally choosing the strongest.
Looking at the fire demons who, for the sake of the chicken nugget rolls, had endured countless hardships and overcome numerous obstacles, finally staggering to the water shield, Finney felt a strange sense of admiration.
However, Finney felt that they hadn't really considered whether Surtur's order was to take him there or capture him!?
"Yours!"
Finney kept his promise and removed the water shield.
Seeing the water shield disappear, the surrounding fire demons stirred. Finney thought some of them might renege on their promise and try to steal it, but to his surprise, everyone just watched helplessly, making no move.
"Stupid, but also quite simple-minded,"
Finney thought to himself.
Although the competition for the qualification had left the fire demon battered and bruised, the Violet Chicken Wrap had healing properties, so it had almost fully recovered after eating it.
After eating its fill, the fire demon obediently began leading the way, still through the intricate network of underground caves within the volcano, but in a different cave.
Finney had originally wanted to chat with the fire demon along the way, but the more winding and difficult path made it hard to keep up, let alone have a conversation.
Finney hadn't expected that after defeating Surtur, he would be completely defeated by a fire demon on the road.
Perhaps because the fire demon was moving so fast, the journey didn't take as long this time, reaching their destination in just an hour.
Upon arrival, Finney was somewhat surprised by the scene before him.
The afternoon session might be a bit later...
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(End of Chapter)