The Rise of the Winter Wolf - Book 7 - Chapter 21 - Balloon do Lalo

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Arcadian Live

Loki’s laughter fills the entire viewing room as everyone else silently watches the massive balloon open the mouth it shouldn’t have. Meanwhile Mikaela continues to question his current life as Loki sits on his head in the form of a wolf cub. Despite laughing like a regular humanoid.

“Do you see that face! It’s priceless! Absolutely priceless!!!” Loki exclaims while pointing a paw at the screen.

Although, despite Mikaela’s continued fear of the Progenitor on his head, he does feel some minor amusement at the bewildered look on Wolf’s face. Since it is not an expression commonly seen on said face.

After his initial expression though, Wolf returns to a neutral one and rushes straight at the balloon with his claws raised. Only for the balloon to turn its fangs towards him at lightning speed. Faster than Mikaela can see.

Making his fangs clash against Wolf’s claws.

And to Mikaela’s utter shock, a powerful shockwave shoots outwards from the clash. With neither of them gaining any ground on the other.

“That’s one powerful balloon…” Mikaela finds himself unconsciously muttering.

Loki laughs even harder after hearing that before jumping off of Mikaela, startling him only for Loki to turn into a giant as clothes form around him. Then Loki places Mikaela on his own shoulder, reversing the positions.

“This is the greatest balloon that ever ballooned!” Loki exclaims with a wide grin on his face, his voice booming throughout the viewing room.

Mikaela feels himself internally questioning that joke and Loki’s sense of humor.

Oh. Right. He’s been messing with me this entire time, so his sense of humor is…

He shakes his head at that thought before focusing on the screen as Wolf and the balloon continue attacking each other. With the balloon somehow always countering every attack without ever moving from its spot. Other than rotating its body.

“Is it unable to move from its current spot?” Mikaela asks, finally beginning to grow a bit more used to this. Enough to at least speak.

“You noticed!” Loki exclaims with a wide grin before the massive giant form changes again, still staying in a giant form but becoming a female cyclops with one eye instead of a male giant with two eyes. “Balloon do Lalo can only rotate in place! But it’s the fastest natural creature in existence at its level! And it’s quite strong too!”

Mikaela blinks at that name before looking at the monster and reading its identify result. And finding that its name is, in fact, Balloon do Lalo.

Please tell me Loki didn’t make that name himself…

“You like his name, right?” Loki asks with a wide smile. “I named him myself!”

Mikaela strategically decides to remain silent without saying a word. Pretending like he’s focusing on the screen and didn’t hear him.

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Wolf

Well this is a thing. I guess.

None of this battle makes any sense.

A fighting balloon with a massive mouth. One named Balloon do Lalo. And with that description in its Beta Dictionary entry.

Eldritch Balloon

Balloon do Lalo

A giant balloon. With a mouth.

A very beautiful mouth.

One made by Loki himself.

It cannot move beyond rotating its body, but it is the fastest creature in existence at its own level.

However, as it is a balloon, it is also the weakest creature in existence beyond its mouth.

Balloon da Lalo is the greatest balloon to have ever ballooned in its ballony life as a balloon.

Remember that.

And worship it as the greatest balloon.

You better, because Loki won’t be happy if you don’t.

Probably.

Maybe.

He won’t really care actually.

He’d just laugh.

Level – 16000

I stare blankly at the dictionary description. Just wondering what the hell I’m looking at.

Yeah, this at least puts into perspective what kind of person Loki is.

I’ve seen the clips of him in Arcadian Live spread across the System Forums, so this is what I’ve begun to expect of him.

For the most part.

But whatever. I continue trying to pop the damned thing. Because that’s the one useful detail I got out of the beta dictionary entry.

No matter how hard I try though, the balloon counters every single one of the physical attacks I throw at it.

And when I try to cover it in my Domain? Nothing really comes from it.

It’s like the balloon is immune to the cold.

I continue trying various different attacks to catch it off guard, but the balloon counters every physical attack I try on it. No matter what physical attacks I try or how I try to freeze it.

Then, ironically enough, the balloon pops the moment a small shard of ice breaks off of some random thing floating in the air to poke at the balloon. Making me freeze in place as I realize the beta dictionary entry literally means what it said about it being the weakest thing ever.

Huh…

It popped from a small shard of ice falling onto it.

I was… not expecting that.

Not at all.

I stare at the remains of the massive balloon as I get EXP for killing it. Meanwhile an exit appears where the balloon was just at.

Well, whatever. Time for the next floor.

With that thought in mind, I go ahead and shrug my shoulders before walking up to the mini boss chest. Only to find a balloon appearing as the reward from the chest.

One with a mouth.

I stare blankly at the item for several seconds. Then I look at its description.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tier 9 da Lalo Balloon:

This balloon is the greatest nonsentient balloon to ever balloon.

But since you have already read the beta dictionary result, the balloon’s description will be cut short. Because it’s too balloony to be stated twice.

That’s just how ballooney the balloon is.

Remember this, for this balloon can be popped at any time.

And the one popping it will have twenty-five percent of their energy restored in an instant. Regardless of how many potions they’ve used.

Close

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The usefulness of this item aside, I’m losing any of the respect I ever had for Loki the more I see here.

Not that I had much of any respect for him in the first place.

Whatever.

I put the balloon into my storage ring before going through the exit.