Several charred fiends launched fireballs all at once. Jake darted to the left into an open area free of holes and other obstacles. The fireballs crashed behind him, exploding upon impact and unleashing flames that danced wildly around him.
One projectile detonated alarmingly close, the shockwave knocking him off balance and sending him sprawling onto the hard ground. He hit the earth face-first but was back on his feet in an instant. A brief glance over his shoulder showed that several dragonspawn were closing in fast.
Three massive lizards lunged toward Jake all at once. Jake jumped to the side a fraction of a second before the jaws of one of them snapped shut in the empty space where he had just been. Another lizard opened its mouth wide, and an instant later, a torrent of fire erupted from within. He dashed aside, barely avoiding the blaze.
The third lizard rammed into Jake from the side, trying to knock him off his feet. He managed to keep his balance, though. Sprouting three bladed tentacles from his back, he lashed out at the nearest lizard, stabbing and slashing at its body, but the tough scales covering most of its frame deflected the majority of his attacks.
The most effective way to kill a dragonspawn was to deliver a powerful blow with his smashfist to its head. Before he could attack, though, one of the three lizards spewed a stream of fire at him. Jake dashed aside but wasn’t able to completely avoid the fiery attack. He felt the flames brush against his side, but his resistance to this type of damage, as well as the Fire Protective amulet he still wore, bore the brunt of the elemental attack.
Jake dodged another lizard’s snapping bite and immediately prepared to deliver a crushing blow to its skull. However, just as he swung his smashfist downward, Feral Instincts alerted him to a danger. In his peripheral vision, he saw a fireball zipping through the air toward him. Trapped in the motion of his attack, he was unable to evade the projectile, which struck his chest and sent him hurtling backward.
He flew several feet through the air before crashing onto the unyielding ground. This battle definitely wasn’t unfolding as he had envisioned. He had known it wouldn’t be easy, but the beating he was taking was worse than he had imagined. Rising to his feet, he looked down at his chest, where the fireball had impacted. When it exploded, the magical projectile had created a large gash in his armor.
Mana was freely pouring out of the wound, and while he knew Enhanced Regeneration would patch him up soon enough, he would lose a significant portion of his magical energy before the wound sealed shut. The Fire Protective amulet around his neck had been obliterated by the blast, reduced to nothing. Without it, he’d have no extra defense against the fire attacks from the monsters.
The dragonspawn were scuttling toward him with surprising speed and agility, having already closed half the distance. Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath his feet, which could mean only one thing. Jake glanced over his shoulder and discovered a sizable hole just a couple of feet behind him. He hadn’t even realized it was there until now. Had the fireball struck him with a little more force, he would have ended up at the bottom of that lava pit!
The ground continued to shake beneath his feet with ever-increasing intensity. While Jake knew what it meant, he held his ground, watching intently as the dragonspawn raced toward him. The two lizards in the lead were nearly upon him, showing no signs of slowing down as if they intended to crash into him. Jake waited a moment longer, letting them get a little closer, and then suddenly dashed to the side.
Due to the momentum they had gained, the two lizards couldn’t immediately arrest their movement. Realizing there was a large hole in the ground a short distance ahead, they desperately tried to dig their front claws into the earth in an attempt to stop.
One of the leading lizards wasn’t lucky enough to stop in time and tumbled into the hole, vanishing from sight to meet its grim fate in the bubbling lava below. The second lizard, however, skidded to a halt at the very edge. Ignoring the violent tremors beneath it, it leaned forward to peer into the chasm. In the next moment, a powerful geyser of magma burst forth from the hole.
The stream of lava struck the lizard’s head with enough force to snap the creature’s neck with a resounding crack. Molten rock and waves of lava sprayed everywhere. At that moment, the deafening roar of the geyser drowned out everything else as Jake raced away. Finally, the tumult subsided, and the magma crashed back into the hole.
The rest of the dragonspawn rushed toward him from several directions, completely ignorant of the deaths of the two of them. Jake quickly surveyed his surroundings and darted for an open area free of any holes. After reaching the safe spot, he took a moment to look around, committing the locations of the nearest lava pits to memory.
He then turned toward a group of lizards that were almost on top of him. The one in the lead halted a short distance away, opening its mouth wide, ready to unleash a torrent of fire. But Jake wasn’t about to let that happen. In a single, powerful leap, he closed the distance and brought his smashfist down onto its head with such tremendous force it burst apart like an overripe melon.
Another creature lunged at him, jaws wide open for a bite. Dodging its teeth, Jake delivered a smashfist punch to either side of its head, reducing it to a squishy mass. Meanwhile, a charred fiend lingering at a distance launched a fireball his way, but he managed to evade it. Those skeletal creatures were rather annoying, but before turning his attention to them, Jake decided to eliminate the remaining dragonspawn first.
A swarm of ash imps hovered over the chaotic battle scene. Jake could see some of them summoning globes of darkness that gradually took shape in their hands. He activated Gravity Leap, soaring upward. As soon as he reached one of the ash imps flapping its wings fiercely to hover in place, he punched it with his smashfist, ending the diminutive creature’s life with a single blow.
The broken body dropped to the ground. With a mental command, Jake directed himself to dive sharply toward the ground, landing squarely on top of another lizard. He hit it with such force multiple bones shattered inside its body. Another monster was dead, but there were still plenty of them around him.
Jake continued to battle the cluster of various creatures, killing them one after another while doing his best to avoid their attacks. For a brief moment, it seemed that luck was on his side, making him think the battle wouldn’t be as difficult as he had anticipated. Then, in an instant, everything spiraled out of control.
He leaped up to kill another ash imp and then dropped onto another lizard. At that moment, one of the charred fiends launched a fireball at him. Jake felt it hit him on the side, spinning him around and knocking him to the ground.
One of the remaining ash imps finally conjured a sphere of darkness, clutching it in one hand before hurling it down just as Jake leaped to his feet. The magical projectile hit the ground and erupted, enveloping a vast area of the island in thick darkness. Jake was suddenly surrounded by an impenetrable blackness, through which even his enhanced sight struggled to see.
Anything beyond a few inches was swallowed by the deep shadows. Jake remained rooted to the spot, attempting to regain his bearings. He had memorized the positions of the holes in the ground, but the supernatural darkness made him feel utterly disoriented.
He trod carefully through the darkness, yearning to break free from the thick cloud enveloping him. Jake could hear the growls and roars of the creatures surrounding him, but he couldn’t make out their positions yet. He pressed on, moving carefully and watching where he stepped.
Suddenly, a lizard lunged through the darkness, colliding with him and sending him sprawling to the ground. He hit the ground on his back, with the creature landing squarely on top of him. He brought his left arm up just as the dragonspawn leaned in for a bite, its sharp teeth clamping down on his lower arm. Jake hammered the lizard in the head with his right smashfist—one, two, three times—until he finally killed the creature. He pushed the lifeless body off him and rose to his feet.
He looked around but couldn’t remember which way he had been going before the lizard attacked. Choosing a direction at random, he pressed on. Suddenly, he heard the sound of flapping wings overhead, and before he knew it, an ash imp pounced down on him. Jake grabbed the brazen creature and hurled it to the ground, immediately stomping on its head, causing it to burst apart.
Feral instincts warned him of another lizard approaching. Without knowing where the lava pits were, Jake couldn’t risk jumping out of the way blindly, unsure of where he might land. So, he decided to wait for the creature to reveal itself.
He barely had to wait. The lizard came into view, appearing from the darkness and rushing toward him before suddenly halting and opening its mouth wide. In the next moment, a torrent of fire erupted toward him. Although he knew jumping into the unknown wasn’t a wise choice, standing directly in the path of the flames wasn’t a good idea either.
He leaped to the side, barely evading the blaze. Just then, Feral Instincts warned him of another projectile hurtling toward him. This time, he couldn’t avoid the shot, and the magical orb slammed into his chest, exploding upon impact. The resulting shockwave sent him hurtling backward through the air. Suddenly, he was no longer surrounded by darkness, having flown out of the cloud.
Only he didn’t hit the ground. Instead, he continued to fall as walls surrounded him. Jake realized he had just plunged into one of the deep holes, rapidly plummeting toward the pool of bubbling lava far below.