Riezel's current level and the massive amount of MAG proficiency he had accumulated over time made the power of his fire-attribute magic absolutely astonishing.
With 'Pioneer of the Sun' doubling the effectiveness of fire-attribute magic, along with the enhancement from development abilities like 'Mage' and 'Magic Chant', plus the effect of Maximize Magic, even the 3rd-Tier Magic, 'Fireball', could easily bring down a ten-story building, let alone a five-meter-tall giant.
As a result, when three massive fireballs slammed into the fallen giant one after another, the deafening explosions instantly drowned out its furious roars as flames surged like waves, engulfing everything within a radius of dozens of meters.
As the raging fire turned into a sea of flames, it spread uncontrollably with terrifying destructive power.
"You bastard?!"
Raven, leaping out from the fire with his body still trailing flames, yelled at Riezel with an angry expression.
Despite his irritation, however, Raven was deeply shocked by the power of Riezel's magic.
Back when Riezel had used 'Cry of the Banshee' to wipe out a swarm of Demon Beast Insects in an instant, Raven had already acknowledged his amazing magical prowess. But now, seeing Riezel unleash a different magic that caused so much destruction so casually, he truly understood just how strong his magical prowess really was, and realized that he was still underestimating it.
'If he had used magic when he fought me...'
Such a thought weighed heavily on Raven's mind, making him feel an unusual sense of pressure.
Riezel, on the other hand, ignored Raven, his gaze fixed on the blazing fire ahead as he perceived the giant's current condition using the Transparent World.
"Still not dead?"
As if responding to Riezel's muttered words, the giant suddenly charged out from the flames.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
Even though the giant's entire body was scorched black, it still charged at Riezel with unyielding rage, its furious roar sending a shockwave that blew away the surrounding flames.
"Body of Effulgent Beryl."
Instead of dodging right away, Riezel first activated the defensive magic that nullified one blunt attribute attack, and only then did he push off the ground, casting 'Fly' before soaring backward.
"Triplet Maximize Magic – Fireball."
While retreating through the air, Riezel continued casting Fireball, his outstretched fingertips gathering three massive fireballs one after another before launching them toward the incoming giant.
*BOOOM!* *BOOOM!* *BOOOM!*
A relentless barrage of fireballs exploded against the charging giant, forcing agonized howls from its throat. However, instead of slowing down, it only grew more enraged, recklessly pushing through the flames in a furious pursuit of Riezel.
Nevertheless, even as the giant rampaged, Riezel remained perfectly calm and continued to fly backward, maintaining distance while bombarding the giant with Fireball after Fireball.
Any gamers watching this scene would instantly recognize a well-known tactic—kiting.
As the roaring giant relentlessly chased after Riezel, it couldn't close the distance no matter how hard it tried. Riezel simply kept flying, steadily retreating while attacking it with more fire-attribute magic from afar.
With each explosion, the charred areas on the giant's body spread, making it even angrier as its roars grew increasingly savage, echoing through the area.
"Fall down!"
Suddenly, Raven rushed forward.
As the dark energy around him solidified into a tangible force, he raised Rebellion high, coating its blade with the dark energy, which caused its hazy glow to flare up.
Empowered by the Dark Abyss Sword Style, which enhanced its attack power, Rebellion erupted with power as Raven swung it down hard onto the giant's foot.
*Pu-chi!*
As the sound of flesh being torn apart resounded, Rebellion smoothly severed one of the giant's legs, sending it flying high to the side.
Rebellion was indeed incredibly powerful.
Thanks to its defense breaker effect, combined with the reinforcement from the Dark Abyss Sword Style, even the giant, which could endure Riezel's repeated bombardments, couldn't withstand it.
Just like that, one of the giant's legs was chopped off.
*ROOOAAARRR—!!!*
In that instant, the giant's agonized wail echoed through the cavern, followed by a loud crash as it collapsed.
*Swish!*
Riezel instantly cast chantless teleportation magic, shifting to a position above the giant's head. Looking down at the fallen giant, he extended a hand, a spinning red magic circle forming in his palm.
"Maximize Magic - Vermilion Nova."
What he cast was a fire-attribute magic ranked among the highest tiers of Tier Magic—a 9th-Tier Magic.
Even though there were also 10th-Tier Magic capable of dealing fire damage, those either required special job classes to cast or had specific conditions to unleash their full potential, so even though 'Vermilion Nova' was only a 9th-Tier Magic, it was still regarded as one of the most powerful fire-attribute magic.
Moreover, Vermilion Nova was the strongest fire-attribute magic Riezel could wield within Tier Magic. Aside from Super-Tier Magic, no other magic in his hands could surpass its destructive power.
In the next second, crimson flames burst forth around the giant's body, completely engulfing it. Forming a towering fire pillar, the crimson flames shot skyward, making the cavern's temperature soar, the ground crack, and even the ceiling burn away, causing the entire cavern to tremble slightly.
*ROOOAAAAAARRRRRR—!!!*
As the giant's massive body writhed and struggled in the crimson inferno, it let out its loudest scream of agony since appearing. It even rolled and crawled across the ground, but the flames clung to it, relentlessly burning away, causing its body to gradually disintegrate.
"This magic..."
Raven landed nearby, watching the scene with a heavy heart.
As a battle-hardened veteran, he instinctively sensed that this magic, while not as widespread in its destructive range as the earlier Fireball, was far more terrifying in sheer power than most Tactical-Class Magic he had ever seen.
In truth, that was exactly the case.
Unlike Fireball, which could instantly ignite a sea of flames across a large area, Vermilion Nova was a single-target offensive magic.
As 9th-Tier Magic, Vermilion Nova's power alone naturally outclassed a mere 3rd-Tier Magic like Fireball by miles, since even steel would melt in an instant, turning into a pool of molten iron.
When Vermilion Nova was further enhanced by Pioneer of the Sun, Mage, and Magic Chant, in terms of raw damage alone and disregarding attack range, it was undeniably stronger than most Tactical-Class Magic—perhaps even on par with Strategic-Class Magic.
Under such circumstances, even if the giant could withstand dozens of direct hits from Fireball, there was no way it could survive a single blast of Vermilion Nova. Now, the giant had lost its complete form within the crimson flames as its limbs, torso, and even its head were all reduced to ashes in the raging flames.
A moment later, Riezel, descending from midair and gazing at the burning remains of the giant, used the Transparent World to observe.
Now, the giant had finally given out.
As the fire consumed it, the deafening roars that could shake the very air itself were silenced at last. Its massive body was completely incinerated, and even the stone spear it had wielded was not spared, turning to ashes along with it.
In the end, only one thing remained intact amidst the crimson flames—the crystal that had originally been housed within the giant's body.
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, the radiant crystal shot out from the flames, streaking through the air like a flash of light, attempting to escape into the distance.
"What's that?" Raven, who noticed it, asked, freezing in place.
However, Riezel, who had been observing the giant through the Transparent World, reacted immediately.
"Greater Teleportation."
Riezel used teleportation magic without hesitation, instantly appearing ahead of the crystal as it streaked through the air and reached out as he intercepted its trajectory.
*Pa!*
A crisp sound rang out as Riezel firmly caught the crystal in his hand, revealing its true form as the glow settled in his palm.
*Buzz—*
Caught by Riezel, the crystal began to tremble violently as if struggling to break free—its intense vibrations nearly made him lose his grip.
'Seriously, this crystal got that much power?'
Riezel raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before a crimson wave flared up from the hand gripping the crystal.
"..."
In an instant, the crystal, seeming to sense danger and realizing that further resistance wouldn't end well for it, stopped shaking and became completely still.
Riezel, watching the crystal's behavior, had his right eyebrow twitch.
At this moment, the crystal reminded him of the magic item he had encountered in the world of Overlord, the sentient item he had destroyed—the Orb of Death.
'Could this crystal be... just like the Orb of Death, a sentient magic item with self-awareness?'
Riezel fell into deep thought before casting magic to appraise the item.
"All Appraisal Magic Item."
In the next second, a stream of information flooded into Riezel's mind.
"What's wrong?"
Raven stepped in front of Riezel, looking at the crystal in his hand.
"What's this?"
If Raven had asked this earlier, Riezel wouldn't have been able to answer, but now, thanks to the appraisal magic, he knew exactly what this thing was.
"Autonomous Guardian Core..." Riezel murmured.
"What?" Raven asked, his face looking confused.
Riezel didn't explain and, after thinking for a moment, suddenly let go of the crystal.
"Wait—"
*Whoosh!*
Raven instinctively tried to stop Riezel, but he was too late as the crystal instantly came to life and shot off at high speed.
At the same time, Riezel had already followed after the crystal, leaving Raven behind.
"Tch..."
Raven clicked his tongue and, having no other choice, could only follow along.
And just like that, the two of them quickly left, chasing the crystal as it disappeared into the cave.