NOVEL NEXT Chapter 211: Immunity
Another spear burst from the ground, this one spinning like a drill. Damien ducked fluidly and twisted past it, his body moving with absurd precision.
A final wave of vines surged upward in a desperate flurry. Damien's hand snapped out.
And caught the largest one mid-lash.
The moment he touched it, it stopped moving.
The entire basin froze. The hum vanished. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then Damien stepped forward and knelt beside the glowing plant.
He didn't hesitate.
He reached down and pulled it gently from the earth.
Its roots came free with no resistance, still shimmering. The soil around it shimmered with faint motes of heat.
Damien examined it for a moment.
Then he popped the entire thing into his mouth.
Blackie let out a shocked gasp. "You… wait! That's a Supreme Starstone Lily! You can't just consume it raw!"
Hei Tian looked like someone had slapped his soul. His voice cracked.
"Do you have any idea what that plant is worth?! Even unrefined, it can be crushed into a powder that strengthens bone marrow and nourishes elemental affinity for months!"
Blackie nodded sharply. "It stabilizes mana circulation and enhances mineral-body compatibility. It's one of the finest medicinal plants in the stone-flower category. Ancient sects would sacrifice entire regions to obtain one."
Damien said nothing.
He simply closed his eyes as the energy surged through him.
His system pulsed quietly.
[Supreme Starstone Lily Consumed]
[One of Five Legendary Mineral Plants]
[Effect: Permanently grants elemental immunity – Fire]
[Body Purification in Progress...]
A deep, searing warmth burst through Damien's limbs. Not pain. But intensity. His skin flushed. His bones creaked. Beads of blackened impurity boiled out from his pores and hissed into smoke.
For several seconds, Damien glowed like a forge that had been lit from within.
His eyes snapped open.
Sharper now. Cleaner.
Every movement felt like it had been shackled before and now the chains were gone.
He lifted a hand, flexed it slowly, then brought up his system window.
[Status]
Strength: 900
Agility: 900
Stamina: 900
Intelligence: 900
Sense: 90
Minor Immunities: Fire
Hei Tian stared at Damien with a look of extreme dismay.
It was unthinkable that such a world shaking treasure could be found and consumed so rapidly and with such nonchalance.
I mean, at least make a big deal out of it!
"You seem different." Blackie said softly. "There is something… fiery… yet not fiery… about you."
Damien stepped up from the now-silent basin with a hint of a smile on his lips. "I know."
General Hei Tian narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
Rage Monkey was also looking at him with round eyes.
Everybody was curious as to what the incredibly rare Supreme Starstone Lily did to him.
Damien didn't explain.
He didn't have to because as it were, he could show it to them.
A sudden roar shattered the forest's unnatural silence.
It came from the ridge above, a deep, guttural sound that felt too heavy for any single throat to produce. Trees groaned as something massive moved through them. The wind shifted.
Rage Monkey flinched. Blackie's ears twitched once, then stood rigid.
"Trouble," she said coldly. "And not the stupid kind."
A dozen armored figures burst through the treeline moments later, landing in coordinated clusters of three. Towering orcs, their skin darkened with tribal burn marks and ceremonial charcoal, wielding obsidian cleavers and black iron axes wreathed in flame.
Each one of them wore battle-scarred armor scavenged from dragons, titans, and fallen adventurers. Their eyes blazed with intelligence and pure, seething rage.
The leader stepped forward. He was larger than the others, his shoulders nearly twice as broad as Damien's, and his tusks adorned with runes etched in glowing red. His armor bore the cracked insignia of the Bonefire Tribe.
He pointed a thick, gnarled finger at Damien.
"You ate it," the orc said, voice low and thunderous. "You filthy human. You ATE the Starstone Lily."
One of the orcs behind him spat onto the ground, flame crackling down his forearm. "That was our find. We scouted it. We bled for it. You thief!"
Another growled. "You're dead."
Blackie stepped slightly in front of Damien, voice calm but urgent. "Be careful. They belong to the Bonefire Tribe. They're one of the fire-born orc legions. They've hunted dragons. Real ones. The kind that fight armies."
Rage Monkey blinked. "Wait… they hunt dragons? Seriously? Not the other way around?"
"Yes." Blackie replied. "We avoid them like the plague unless we have more than fifty dragons in our group."
"I once lost an entire squad of thirty elite warriors to their ambush." General Hei Tian nodded as well.
Damien didn't react.
He stepped forward slowly.
The flames on the orcs' weapons brightened in response.
The lead orc gritted his teeth, letting the fire flow from his chest through his arms. "If we can't eat the flower, then we'll eat you instead. That way we will still enjoy its effects wrapped in human flesh."
"Just don't overcook him." another grinned savagely as his axe ignited, its scorching heat warping the air around him.
The twelve orcs stepped forward and raised their weapons.
Flame burst from them like volcanic lances, spiraling toward Damien in a coordinated blast that split the forest floor and charred trees black in an instant.
Damien didn't move.
The fire engulfed him.
It lasted three seconds.
Then it was gone.
No smoke. No ash. Not even a burn on his shirt.
Just Damien, standing untouched, brushing soot off his sleeve.
He looked at them, head tilted.
"That's your strongest flame?"
"What trick is this?! All of you, Flame Charge!" The lead orc howled in furious disbelief.
All eleven Bonefire Orcs howled their furious response and burst through the trees, charging towards Damien in an inferno of flames and ash.
At that moment, Damien vanished from their sights.
No spell. No chant. Just speed.
In a blink of an eye, he reappeared behind the lead orc.
Shua!
His blade was already buried in the orc's shoulder, halfway through his chestplate.