Continuing on north, I finally reached the volcano. There's still two hours before noon, so I hoped to finish collecting 3 fire crystals before lunch. The volcano is a hot spot for fire-related monsters and resources. Pulling on my Ghost Mask, I floated up to the mouth of the volcano. At the mouth of the volcano, I surveyed the area and saw a glint of red deep in the volcano. As I slowly floated down inside the volcano, I could see the heat waves. The people who explored this volcano must have suffered a lot from the heat. Soon, I arrived next to the red glint. As expected, the sources of the glint are a cluster of fire crystals. I removed my mask and the heat suddenly bombarded me.

"Whew! The heat is killing me!" I exclaimed. I need to hurry or I will get heat stroke soon. Taking my skinning knife, I slashed at the cluster and cut off 3 fire crystals. Picking up the crystals, I muttered. "Couldn't have been this easy right? This is after all a D-rank quest."

As I turned to leave, the ground suddenly shook. Losing my balance, I fell onto the floor. "Ouch, what happened? Earthquake? Don't tell me the volcano is about to explode?"

I looked around and realized what sounds like heavy breathing coming from behind me. I slowly turned my head and sees a giant Rock Lizard! The fire crystals were growing on its back! No one told me about this! I scrambled to my feet and jumped backwards, increasing the distance between us. This only served to anger the Rock Lizard. It roared and charged towards me. Immediately, I place mask on me and transformed into a...goblin. Damn, should have looked carefully. The Rock Lizard rammed his head into me and sent me flying into a wall. Having sustained a significant amount of damage, the effects of the goblin mask wore off and I reverted back to human form. Luckily, my masks can act like a second life, all the damage I took as a goblin doesn't carry over to my original body. Scrambling up, I ran. I don't have the means to fight this monstrosity. My Werewolf Mask is still with PK. I grimaced and cursed at myself for not getting my mask back before I went questing.

"It seems I have to make a mask right here right now with the limited materials I have in my bag." I sighed. Activating Maker's Domain, a huge domain expands from within me and covered me as well as a huge area. Within this domain, time is irrelevant...meaning even if 10 years occurred in this domain, not even a second has occurred outside. I looked through my items and finally decided what to make. I took out the jar of Shiyo's blood and a poor quality metal shield. Taking, the metal shield, I expertly knead it and shaped it until it looked like a normal metal mask. Pouring the blood onto the mask, I started chanting incantations of summoning and binding...allowing me to form a connection between Shiyo and the mask. This will allow me to summon him as a supporter anytime anywhere. The mask, stained with blood, turned a crimson color. Next, I add a drop of my blood filled with Maker's Essence. The drop landed on the mask and spread throughout the mask, fusing into it. After chanting, I appraised the new mask:

Mask of the Sleepy Knight: C-rank

No cooldown

Indestructible

Stamina drain 10% per hour

No-limit

Enchanted Normal Mask

Can only use once per day

Special Skills:

Summon Napknight - summons Shiyo for one minute

Absolute Sleep - affects all enemies that rank equal to user rank and below; sleep for 30 minutes

Satisfied, I deactivated my domain. The Rock Lizard, as if nothing had happened was still charging towards me. I put on my mask and summoned Shiyo. "Napknight! I chose you!"

Shiyo arrives...he is half-asleep as usual. "W-what? W-where am I?"

"You are in a dream Napknight." I said. "Look! That giant lizard wants to take away your pillow! Quick, use Absolute sleep!"

"No one can take away my pillow!" Shiyo yelled angrily as he pointed his finger at the Rock Lizard, "Absolute Sleep!"

After the spell was cast, Shiyo automatically de-summoned. The Rock Lizard had also fallen asleep. Wiping my sweat, I sighed in relief at such a close call. Looking at the Rock Lizard, I decided to take a few more fire crystals to keep for later use. Then, I put on the Ghost Mask and floated up and out of the volcano.

"Finally done and its almost lunch time." I exclaimed, "Hmm, where to next?"

..........

As I walked towards the east, I wondered about how I should deal with the Rampaging Rhinos. Not to mention, what would they taste like? Along the way, I met with some fellow adventurers who also did the rhinos quest. From their experiences, the rhinos have a hard time turning when they are in full charge mode. Hearing this advice, I thanked them and continue towards the plains. As soon as I arrived at the plains, I immediately spot a herd of rhinos grazing and drinking from the oasis. There were more than 20 rhinos. I can't take them all head on. It seems like its time to use some stealth tactics. I pulled out my Basilisk Mask and transformed into a basilisk. Although a basilisk lacks in defense, it makes up for its weakness with speed and quick maneuvering. I approached the closest rhino and flaunted my feathers. I cawed in some bestial language and spewed as many insults as I know. Finally, it seems like one of the insults touched a nerve of the rhino. The rhino turned towards me and charged. Luckily the other rhinos only gave a glance and continued grazing. The charging rhino approached me fast and just as it almost rammed into me, I jumped to the side. The rhino's eyes followed me and it tried to turn. However, it could not stop the momentum of the charge and stumbled over. Quickly, I lunged forward and activated my Death Stare. Our eyes met and the rhino died.

Success! But, the difficulty increases now. The other rhinos, upon seeing the death of their family member, roared with anger and all 19 rhinos charged towards. Trembling in front of this stampede, I calmed my nerves and ran. Using my speed, I circled around the rhinos. Some of the rhinos turned their heads to follow my movements but their bodies couldn't keep up. The rhinos in the front of the stampede tripped and fell, the rhinos in the back crashes and falls as well. Taking this chance, I cast out many Death Stares at the collapsed rhinos. At least 10 rhinos died from this skill of mine. Realizing that they could not win against me, the remaining rhinos hastily retreated. Satisfied but tired, I removed my mask. Whew, using masks all morning has drained most of my stamina. Looking at the 11 dead rhinos, I took my skinning knife and slit the throat of one of the rhinos. As the blood poured out, I cupped my hands and deeply drank the rhino blood. Then, I sat in a cross-legged position and began to refine the blood that I drank. After a few minutes, I was able to replenish some stamina from the blood.

Looking at the rhinos, I collected the bodies and brought them over into my Maker's Domain. While in the domain, I drained the bodies of their blood and stored the blood in jars. Then, I caught off the horns and deboned the corpses. I kept the horns as is while I ground all the bones into fine powder and stored them in a barrel. Additionally, I dried the organs and ground them into fine powder as well. The skin, I stored in my storage ring. I intend to sell the skin...the guild could make some really good leather armor with these skin. Finally, it's time to taste the rhino meat. Storing most of the meat in my ring, I took the belly meat of one of the rhinos and roasted it. Soon, the scent of roasted rhino permeated the air. The rich flavor made my mouth water. Taking a slice of the finished meat, I took a bite. Delicious! Bite after bite...soon the meat was gone. I patted my stomach in satisfaction. Not only was the meat flavorful, it was also very nourishing and stamina-replenishing. Getting up and putting out the fire, I proceeded onwards to my next destination - the mountains in the far east....