Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

A death trap

Their new objective made the side quest nothing short of a death trap. Going down into a volcano was a terrible idea and even Zach knew that. However, the reward for completing this quest was exactly what he needed to bring Aaron back.

“I understand if you 2 don’t want to risk your lives,” Zach said. “But I’m gonna complete this quest.”

“I will help too,” Isabella joined in. She looked at Madeline with pleading eyes and sought to win her approval.

As the current leader of the team, it was up to Madeline to make the final call. But she knew Zach was so desperate to bring his friend back, that he would go inside the volcano all by himself if she refused to help. And if that happened, she felt certain he’d end up dead in no time.

“I’m gonna ask you to think about this, Zach. Are you sure you wanna do this? There might be another way to bring him back.”

“I don’t see any other way. His body is still inside a life pod in Gilbert’s lab, but his consciousness is trapped in a virtual server. If we take too long to revive him, it may cause permanent damage to his brain or send him into a comma forever.”

Madeline found herself torn in half, there was a part of her pulling her back, for the sake of her sister, and there was another part which was pushing her forward. Aaron had sacrificed himself to save them. And as his teammate, it was her job to do the same for him. In the end, she couldn’t force herself to betray him.

“If we’re gonna do this, we will do this together. Aaron is a good person and a better leader than I can ever be. We need him to lead our team if we ever hope to get out of this game.” Madeline stepped forward and held out her right fist. “Let’s bring back our leader.”

“Hell yeah!”

“Go, team Draconis!”

Before beginning their trek to the top of the volcano, the players applied cooling salves over their exposed skin and gulped down heat resistance potions to protect themselves from the extreme heat.

Temperatures around the volcano were still bearable, but deep inside it was boiling hot. A narrow rocky path covered in dust and gravel led to the top. They slowly descended into the crater, making their way further inside.

The main vent of the volcano was still blowing out toxic sulphurous fumes, but fortunately it wasn’t spewing out any molten material.

“It’s dormant, but we should still be cautious,” Madeline warned. “Watch your step and stay close to me.”

Sliding through a collapsed section of the crater, she descended into the belly of the volcano, and was soon joined by Isabella and Zach. The solid ground under their feet was crumbly and soft. And under it lay the magma chamber, filled with scalding red liquid and molten rocks.

The volcano’s inner hollow was separated in two by a narrow stream of magma running through its middle. Chunks of flat rocks floated on its surface like lily pads. On the other side was a scorching red terrain filled with little pockets of magma, which periodically vented out steam and debris.

“I have a feeling that gem is gonna be on the other side,” Zach said.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Madeline confirmed. If years of gaming experience had taught her anything, it was that the most precious treasures were always found in hard-to-reach places.

“The higher the risk, the higher the reward,” Zach remarked.

“We have to be very careful here. The magma stream is not narrow enough to jump across.”

“I guess these rocks are there for a reason. It’ll just be like skipping stones...Life-threatening skipping stones.”

Madeline advised Isabella to stay behind and wait for them on the other side. Her heavy shield and armour would make it impossible for her to leap across the stones. Only agile Predator builds could overcome this challenge.

“I’m gonna come with you,” Zach insisted.

“You are a wizard. We don’t even know what else is waiting out there.”

“That is exactly why you need me.” Seeing that Madeline was still not very convinced, he added, “If I run into a life-threatening situation I can use my ability to teleport myself to safety. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Zach conjured an Inferior Vision Ward to explore the area, before trying to cross over to the other side. It worked even inside the volcano as it wasn’t obscured by any magic spells or incantations. The ability revealed every detail of the nearby area.

“There’s a hidden object on the other side. It’s marked as a Legendary Item. That must be the gem.”

“Any enemies in the area?” Madeline asked.

Zach gave her a blank look. “My ward is pretty basic. It can’t display enemies in such closed areas.”

“Alright, we gotta be extra careful here.”

As Madeline and Zach approached the stream of magma, their hearts started pounding rapidly. Even though this was a game, they could feel all the sensations there. Coming into contact with this scalding liquid would cause excruciating pain. And one slip would mean the end.

Madeline was first in line. Calculating the quickest way across, she used an agility potion to boost her movement speed. With swift and sure steps, she skipped from stone to stone, avoiding the bubbles which splashed the boiling liquid around the edges. The last jump looked dangerous as she had to make a stretch for it, but in the end, she managed to land on solid ground.

Things became a lot more complicated when it was time for Zach to make the crossing. Some of the stones which Madeline had stepped on had sunk due to her weight, making each jump even more dangerous. Zach wasn’t playing a high-agility Predator, but he hoped to make up for it with his magic.

Levelling up to 25 had granted Zach two new magical abilities, one of which was perfect for this situation. It was the ‘Levitate’ ability. This particular ability was among the most underused abilities in this game due to its limited potential, but it was just what was needed right now.

Zach didn’t feel safe jumping across the stones, so he used his Levitate ability to simply float over the stream of magma and reach Madeline on the other side. It was a neat trick, but the real danger lay up ahead.

The Revival Gem was inside a special chest far away. To get to that, they still had to get through the scorching hot terrain, which was blowing out steam at regular intervals. There were easily over a hundred of these steam pockets spread over the place. Even with their salves and potions in effect, a full blast of this super heated air was sure to reduce their HP to zero.