Chapter 197

As much as Zoey would have liked to pin Maddy down after the arousing display, the potions had limited timers on them, and they really did have a boss to attend to. All four of them quaffed their heat-resistance and lava-sight potions, then stepped up hesitantly to the shore.

Even Delta, the risk-taker and reckless of the group, eyed the superheated material with a doubtful look. Seeing Rosalie dip a foot in, though, then step more firmly into the pool, the foxgirl quickly followed, not wanting to be outdone.

Zoey, for her part, came to terms with her task. It was fairly difficult to force her body to obey. Kind of like hurling herself from a cliff. The lizard part of her brain was demanding that she in absolutely, under no circumstances, walk into a pool of lava.

But she overrode those survival instincts. They didn’t know how long the trek through the lava pool was, and Zoey didn’t want to get caught halfway through when the potions expired.

Her foot sank into the thick, viscous material, and Zoey thought lava should probably be more solid, nearly impossible to move around in, but that wasn’t the case. It was far from being as loose as water, instead only somewhat thick—maybe like honey. Though, Zoey supposed, for all she knew, this was some magical material that only seemed like lava.

Slowly, she submerged herself.

The combined defenses of her bodysuit and potions meant the lava didn’t scald to the touch. That said, it was an intense heat, like stepping inside a sauna turned up way too high. Bit by bit, the mild burning sensation crawled up her legs, then her stomach, and finally her neck. With one last steeling of her nerves—since she was already falling behind her teammates—Zoey took a deep breath and plunged under the surface.

As expected, the heat was even more unpleasant on her face, the part of her body the suit’s protection didn’t fully extend to. But it was tolerable. Painful, but only mildly. Prying her eyes open took another great over-ruling of her instincts. When she did, though, the underground space revealed itself to her—her eyes burning as she looked around. The lava-sight potion did exactly as it described. She could see up to thirty feet in every direction, the environment covered in something similar to thick orange fog. The pain on those sensitive organs were too much to bear constantly, though: she identified the direction her teammates were moving, then closed her eyes and started swimming.

‘Swimming.’ Maybe not the most accurate word; it felt more like struggling through thick mud. She also wasn’t sinking properly; she had to angle her body down and propel herself to get deeper, under the lip of the cavern wall holding the boss mural.

Oxygen was as much a limiting factor as potion durations. Progressing through advancements came with a whole host of physiological advantages, and the ability to hold her breath was one of many things that had been greatly amplified as Zoey moved through the ranks. But that didn’t mean she had an infinite supply, nor even a massively improved one, and it was slow progress, swimming through such thick material.

Cracking her eyes open every dozen seconds or so to re-orient herself, Zoey and her team swam through the lava, progressing as quickly as they could. Rosalie and Delta, whose physical stats were far higher than her and Maddy’s, moved much faster—which meant they led the way, exploring the underground tunnel system and identifying the proper direction to head in. They disappeared into the thick orange fog once, which incited a brief panic in Zoey, but Rosalie quickly returned, pointing upward, indicating it was time to emerge.

Soon enough, Zoey burst from the lava lake and gasped in air. She wiped her eyes of magma and blinked as she looked around.