Psychic Parasite

Beyond the dome, Jyorta and the group rapidly backed away as intense heat emanated from within the dome. Thanks to the Tier 3 Skill used by the Tier 3 Lava Turtle, the substance it had spewed out first had absorbed all the heat from the surroundings, turning it into a world of ice.

Then, it unleashed all the heat, combusting all the ice, turning it into a plasma world. The heat emitted was intense, moreover, the fire seemed to have no intentions to stop. It was burning continuously and was increasing in heat by consuming all the materials within.

The Tier 3 Floating Spider had erected a sea of silk. And now, all of it was being consumed to fuel the fire. The ability to turn any substance into fuel, that was the might of the Tier 3 Skill, Thermal Bloom.

The Tier 3 Skills of every race varied a lot. But each race had a set of Tier 3 Skills that conformed to a certain effect or substance. As for the Lava Turtles, thanks to the Trait they were born with, their bodies were intensely hot. Moreover, at higher Tiers, just their Trait was enough to unleash a sea of flames using the air they breathed out.

Therefore, their Tier 3 Skills revolved around that, making use of their Trait. This did inhibit the versatility of their Tier 3 Skills, but in return, it increased their might. Moreover, it evolved the effects of the Trait into mysterious effects, giving them greater strength.

That was why the four Frenzy Beast races—Lava Turtles, Floating Spiders, Spindle Bees, and River Whales—were a cut above the rest of the Frenzy Beast races surrounding Marble City.

The Floating Spiders were able to fly. So, their Tier 3 Skills revolved around making use of their agility to create numerous effects.

The dome was in flames, so Jyorta and the group were unable to make sense of the situation inside. They weren't careless, but instead were trying to sense for anything through their Tier 1 Skills.

"Did you find anything?" Jyorta looked at one of the Amplifiers who had the Tier 1 Skill, Aura Sense.

The Amplifier shook his head, "This is beyond what my Skill can sense. At present, the presence of the Tier 3 Lava Turtle has enveloped the entire dome. As for the Tier 3 Floating Spider's presence, it has vanished."

Jyorta then looked at the others, finding that they too were the same. The level of the fight itself blocked their abilities to a certain extent. All they could find out was bits and pieces of information.

Just the swirling energies in the dome acted as a disturbance. Tier 1 Warriors were called Observers. It was because all their Tier 1 Skills did was observe what was shown to them. It was similar to the perception of sight by the eyes.

All the Tier 1 Skills functioned similarly. They didn't have any means to penetrate the swirling energies and sense the truth hidden within. So, all they could do was collate the bits and pieces of information they obtained and see if it led to any conclusion.

Having understood about the Tier 1 Skills, Jyorta didn't say anything else. He heard their talks, finally able to conclude that the fighting entities within were still alive.

He then looked at Dalna Doppler, wondering if she could sense something else. The Tier 3 Skill, Energy Force was a versatile Skill. It was even capable of investigation. And, this investigation was a probing result applied by transmitting energy and sensing the changes in it.

Everything in the world had a force, including a hallucination. If there was a cause, there was an effect. And, if energy was used, albeit its form, thermal, mechanical, potential, psychic, etc. then, it would be registered.

And when probed with energy, some sort of force would be registered in it as data. And, that was how users of the Tier 3 Skill, Energy Force sensed around. They were accurately able to pick up on and differentiate the type of energy used.

It was a reason they were highly valuable in every team. After all, with a single user of the Tier 3 Skill, a lot of their bases would be covered.

Dalna Doppler had her eyes closed the whole time. And when Jyorta asked her, she subtly shook her sideways, motioning that both the Tier 3 Frenzy Beasts within were alive.

After five minutes passed in such a fashion, the flames in the dome started to die down, allowing them to perceive the action within. And, when they saw it, their eyes widened in shock.

The Tier 3 Floating Spider, one that had been a metre in size at the start was now barely 10 centimetres in size, the same as a Tier 1 Floating Spider. And currently, it was perched on the back of the Tier 3 Lava Turtle's neck, tearing into it.

There were numerous substances, akin to shed skin stuck all over the dome. They were slowly burning up. They seemed to be a product of the Tier 3 Floating Spider's Tier 3 Skill, a reason it managed to survive the fiery hell.

But, it seemed to have expended most of its energy in the process, looking weak. At the side lay the Tier 2 Lava Turtle, foaming in its mouth, bleeding. On its shell lay a massive hole, with the sides covered by silk while in the inside was another bundle of shed skin.

Even when it attacked in rage, the Tier 3 Lava Turtle had ensured to keep the firepower away from its Tier 2 brethren. So, it created a small cage to trap the Tier 2 Lava Turtle within, preventing it from entering the sea of flames and dying in the process.

The heat behind the flames was enough to kill it, despite it being a Lava Turtle.

And, the Tier 3 Floating Spider was well aware of this fact, having determined the mental state of the Tier 3 Lava Turtle. So, using its Tier 3 Skill, it kept shedding its skin while darting to and fro in the dome, throwing the Tier 3 Lava Turtle's senses off as it burrowed into the Tier 2 Lava Turtle's shell.

Using its abilities, it easily made a big enough hole in the Tier 2 Lava Turtle's shell and took refuge inside, weathering out the flames. Even then, it had to face the heat emitted by the Tier 2 Lava Turtle.

Upon getting injured, in its maddened state, the Tier 2 Lava Turtle activated its Tier 2 Skill and amplified the effect of its Trait to the limit, turning up the heat in its body, making it an oven for the Tier 3 Floating Spider that resided within.

If it killed the Tier 2 Lava Turtle, the Tier 3 Lava Turtle would notice it immediately and attack it. So, it had no other choice but to passively endure the burning flames within. From time to time, it used its Tier 3 Skill to moult and heal all its injuries.

Though, this action was significantly energy draining. And, it seemed the Tier 3 Lava Turtle was hell-bent on destroying the Tier 3 Floating Spider. So, it continued to emit flames constantly. It even used its tail to absorb all the water in the tub placed nearby, using it to create combustible substances, storing it in its body, planning to use it at opportune moments.

Five minutes later, the Lava Turtle had expended most of its energy, stopping when all the presences it had sensed were destroyed. The moulted skin too contained the Tier 3 Floating Spider's presence, imitating the original in liveliness, causing the Tier 3 Lava Turtle to assume them all as the originals.

That was why it continued to burn the place for so long. Despite everything, the dome walls weren't even singed. They were still in their pristine state.

The moment the flames died down, the Floating Spider burst with all its speed, flashing onto the Tier 3 Lava Turtle's neck immediately, latching on the back as it dug its mandibles within. It had been generating a certain toxin in its body, condensed using its Essence of Frenzy. So, its potency was unquestionable.

The Tier 3 Lava Turtle shouted in pain as its body was injected with toxins that instantly ruptured its nerves. At this time, the Tier 3 Lava Turtle looked at its Tier 2 brethren, noticing that it was in a state of near-death.

As it didn't possess any healing methods, the Tier 3 Lava Turtle had no other choice but to watch its brethren die. Water vapour gushed out of its eyes as the Tier 3 Lava Turtle let out a moan in sadness. The Tier 3 Floating Spider was quickly cutting through its neck, about to sever it.

The toxin severed its nerves, preventing the transmission of information from its brain to the rest of its body. Moreover, the toxin also made its muscle fibres decompose, becoming a substance that wasn't able to tolerate its internal body heat.

It was getting destroyed. The Tier 3 Lava Turtle's neck moved, intending to clamp onto the Tier 3 Floating Spider. But, it wasn't as fast as its opponent. Rather, even though it was running low on energy, the Tier 3 Floating Spider's body was even smaller now, and hence was able to burst with enough speed that it looked like the interchange of two static pictures to the eyes of the students.

In one instance, it was on the back of the Lava Turtle's neck. In the next, it was atop its head. In such a manner, it flashed everywhere, tearing apart the Tier 3 Lava Turtle's body, inching closer and closer to victory.

The Tier 3 Lava Turtle was unable to even come close to it, grandly failing in the contest of speed. Finally, the Tier 3 Floating Spider flashed in the air, severing the neck of the Tier 3 Lava Turtle, killing it. It had just done so, intending to reap its spoils of war by devouring the opponent's Frenzy Parasite when it noticed a frightening presence emanate from within the Tier 3 Lava Turtle's corpse.

It exploded. And as if everything was planned, the Tier 3 Lava Turtle's shell collapsed into thousands of minute fragments. And, the explosion sent the shell fragments flying everywhere like shrapnel. It covered everything; there wasn't any safe zone within the dome, for everything was burned down.

Drunk on its pyrrhic victory, the Tier 3 Floating Spider had let down its guard for an instant when the explosion occurred. More than a dozen shell shards pierced its body, boring holes as they flew out from the other side.

The Tier 3 Floating Spider's expression froze as the injury was critical, severely damaging it. But, that wasn't all. From the centre of the explosion came another fire, acidic in nature. It latched onto the injured Tier 3 Floating Spider, eating through its body.

There wasn't even any screeching scream. Followed by a plop, the melted body of the Tier 3 Floating Spider fell on the floor, submerged by the flames.