Reborn: Earth Online

The serpent hissed, its body coiling menacingly, molten rock dripping from its scales as it prepared its next attack.

Kaden gritted his teeth, sweat dripping from his forehead. His usual toolkit was completely useless here. His plant-based abilities simply couldn’t survive the volcanic heat. Rock and fire were both bad for him, at least at the moment. If his skills had been upgraded, this maybe wouldn’t be so difficult and one-sided.

He clenched his fists. Fine. No tricks, then. Just brute force.

His strength was still his greatest weapon—but getting close to the serpent was the real problem. The heat radiating from its body was so intense that even standing several feet away felt like standing next to a furnace. If he didn’t figure something out fast, he’d be roasted alive before he even got a punch in.

The serpent lunged, and Kaden moved. The lava serpent roared, rearing back before slamming its massive tail toward him, sending a tidal wave of molten rock cascading in his direction.

Kaden’s mind raced. I need a way to close the distance without getting cooked alive.

His eyes flickered toward the environment around him—the crumbling rock formations, the geysers spewing bursts of steam, and the scattered obsidian platforms floating atop the lava.

Then it hit him.

"I can’t fight the heat—but I can outmaneuver it."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Kaden’s lips as a plan began to form. He cracked his knuckles, feeling the adrenaline surge through his veins.

"Alright, big guy," he muttered, shifting into a stance. "Let’s dance."

With that, Kaden launched himself forward, zigzagging across the unstable terrain, dodging between steam vents and using the crumbling rock formations as makeshift footholds. He had to time this perfectly—one wrong move and he’d be plunging straight into the boiling lava.

The serpent hissed again, sensing his movement. It lunged, but Kaden was already moving, pushing his body to the limit, every muscle straining as he darted across the battlefield.

He wasn’t going to let some overgrown rock-snake stop him now.

He moved with precision, his body a blur as he dashed between eruptions of molten rock and scorching geysers. The heat clawed at his skin, the air itself burning his lungs, but he pushed forward.

The lava serpent lashed out, snapping its colossal jaws just inches from his heels. He barely managed to roll aside, landing on a hot chunk of obsidian that sizzled beneath his weight.

As long as he was stuck in the inner zone, he would be fighting the lava serpent when it was at its strongest, but if he could just kite the thing even to the outer region, everything would be a lot simpler.

His brute strength could end this, but only if he could land a clean hit. As long as he was stuck on this ground, the serpent had the advantage. Its heat, its reach—everything about it made direct combat impossible.

The serpent reared back, its body twisting as lava dripped from its scales. Kaden watched as its molten fangs pulsed with heat, fire pooling in its throat.

It was about to breathe fire.

Reacting on instinct, Kaden bolted toward one of the taller rock formations jutting out of the volcanic ground. He barely made it as the serpent unleashed a devastating stream of white-hot flames, incinerating everything in its path. The heat was unbearable, even from above, but Kaden ignored it.

The moment the flames ceased, Kaden leaped. His legs coiled like springs, and he launched himself off the peak of the rock formation with all the force he could muster. He was almost there. Just a little bit more.

He sprinted the last few feet and spun around just in time to meet the lava serpent face to face.

Kaden didn’t hesitate. With a battle-hardened roar, he swung his fist forward, channeling every ounce of his strength into a single devastating blow.

His knuckles connected with the serpent’s molten jaw, and the impact sent a shockwave rippling through the beast’s body. Lava and fractured stone sprayed outward in an explosive burst. The serpent shrieked in pain, recoiling violently as molten fragments of its outer shell crumbled away.

But Kaden wasn’t done. He was right to lure it out here, back to the outer region. The heat emanating from its body was a lot less here, and there was no more lava bubbling underneath the ground.

He used Nature’s Grasp again, and this time, it was strong enough to hold for a moment, and a moment was all he needed. He started pummeling the snake with everything he had. It took a bit longer than the lava golem, but eventually, his fists got the job done.

He slammed his fist down with all his might as the final blow landed.

A deafening boom echoed through the battlefield as Kaden’s punch detonated against the serpent’s skull. A massive shockwave erupted outward, sending cracks splintering through the beast’s molten flesh. Lava burst from the fractures like geysers, turning the sky into a storm of fire.

The serpent let out a final, earth-shaking roar before its entire body collapsed.

The molten core at the heart of the creature erupted, sending plumes of magma high into the air. The beast convulsed once, twice—then fell still, most of its body shattered into bits and pieces.

Silence.

Kaden, breathing hard, stood atop the monster’s ruined corpse, watching as the lava cooled beneath him. His body was battered, his skin singed, his fists destroyed, but he had won.

[Ding! You have killed E-Rank Lava Serpent]

[Ding! You have leveled up]

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Kaden exhaled, a victorious grin spreading across his face as he stared at the glowing core that now pulsed where the beast had fallen.

"Yeah," he muttered, flexing his aching fingers. "That was definitely worth it."

It was a small glowing core, but it was still a semi-formed quasi core. His assumption had been on point. This snake was a beast that was at the peak of E-Rank, perhaps even on the verge of a breakthrough.