After having escaped the pitfall, he was met with many other traps along the way.
There was a trap where daggers were coming out of the walls from each sides,
A trap where the wall started pressing against each other giving him just seconds to run past it before he gets sandwiched between the walls.
There was another trap with characteristics similar to a puzzle, he steps on the wrong tile and falls into a pit, step on the right tile and nothing happens.
All sorts of traps he encountered with on his way, but none have proved too difficult for him to overcome, except for the one he is currently faced with.
Just like when he first entered the gate leading to the successor world, a world where volcanic mountains constantly erupting, and the ocean of lava bubbling up was the norms,
He was now in an enclosed place filled only with lava spread all the way to where his sight could not see.
The only way out is to go across it, but even that is without its own risk.
Because the ceiling is not that high, there is a chance that the lava might bubble up gas reaching the ceiling.
For now the gases being released are only getting to half the ceiling, knowing his luck however, he did not put it past the gas to reach the ceiling if he starts climbing.
Whatever the case may be, he still has no other choice but to go through the ceiling if he wants to get past it.
"skill, thorn erection".
He sprouted the thorn from atop the ceiling.
To prevent the thorn from burning away upon activation, he reinforced it with enough mana, enough for it to withstand the heat.
Seeing that the thorn is strong enough to withstand the heat, he activates his Meta Strength skill, jumps up and grab unto the thorn.
He sprouts out another thorn in his front, swings himself on the thorn he is hanging unto and jumps over to the thorn in front of him.
He repeated his actions of sprouting out thorn, grabbing onto it, swinging himself to the next thorn and sprouting out another Thorn in the front.
It is a slow but sure to get him to the other side safe process.
"growrrrrr...."
He heard a growling sound coming from inside the lava below him and bent his head down but saw that there was nothing.
"growrrrrr..."
"this is?"
He noticed that the sound was indeed coming from inside the lava.
His perception skill had not picked up on any sort of anomaly in the surrounding, yet there is something below making such sound.
He was more alert and vigilant than ever.
Something that his perception close to a well detailed map could not pick up on, clearly it must be something dangerous and powerful enough to have avoided being seen by the perception skill.
The safest way to handle this is to continue on his journey quietly.
He has no specific description of what lies below, it qualities and properties.
Initiating a battle against it will be him going to blind combat, taking such a risk is not worth it.
But then again, he has no knowledge of the destination he is currently heading to either.
All he knows is that he desires power, and he had a feeling that what lies ahead of this can grant him his wish.
Even though he isn't comfortable with taking power from others, he knows he has no choice but to do so if he wants to live, that is all.
What kind of monsters are there?, what other quests awaits him there?, how powerful will he be once he gets there?.
He knows nothing about it.
He is embarking on a blind journey, yet he tries to make excuses on not wanting to fight a blind battle?.
Has he not changed?, did he not promise himself he was going to change?, did he not tell himself he was going to do whatever it takes to survive?.
In a fight for survival, there is no next time or later, there is only now or never.
With his right hand occupied with hanging on the thorn in the ceiling, he stretched out his left thorn and aimed it below.
He activated his thorn Manipulation Skill and started shooting out thorn from his palm and into the lava.
The lava started rumbling, followed by waves upon waves falling on each other.
Amidst the wave, he noticed a figure shaped almost like an humanoid hand with long nails pop out from the lava.
Although the hand was humanoid, the size wasn't.
He sprouted out thorns from all sides in the ceiling so he can make his escape to whichever is favorable whenever it is needed.
The hand that was raise up, slapped the lava causing it to splash away.
The Goblin quickly changed position as he jumped on another thorn to avoid getting splashed on.
"!!!"
He observed something strange was happening inside of the lava.
The lava below him was moving by itself and molding in a constructive manner.
Wrapping itself layers upon layers and stitching itself inside and out.
The Goblin who had already retreated backwards watched from afar as the lava continued to forge itself into an appearance he could not make out.
It kept on stitching itself, and it's image becoming clearer and clearer with every inside and out process.
"mon..., monster...."
The Goblin was shocked beyond belief.
What he is looking at is unlike anything he had ever seen or come across ever before.
This was a being embodying the very definition of dangerous.
His whole instincts screamed out to him to make a run for it but he couldn't do that.
His legs frozen with fear, and his face captivated with despair.
He knew there was no escaping for him even if he wanted to.
He had lost all choices of running away the moment he made up his mind to aim the thorn into the lava.
This is a situation brought about by his actions and its only right that he bear responsibility for it.