On the 2nd floor.
*Splash**Swish*
"GOD DAMN IT! HOW MANY ARE THERE!" The elder shouted as he shot a wind blade through one of the giant catfish that sprung out of the lava.
According to a message they had deciphered inscribed at the starting platform of this floor, you had to skip across the stones poking out of the magma, making contact with each one in order to open the entrance to the next floor. Though they could not seem to spot zed entrance mentioned in the message from their vantage point, they assumed by following the instructions, a hidden path may reveal itself. Of course, the task proved a bit more challenging than they would have liked as the whole place were teeming with giant catfish with a taste for human flesh.
*Splash**BOOM*
"THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM!"
*Splash**Gulp*
"RYU!" One shouted as he witnessed one of his comrades being swallowed whole.
"FORGET THIS! I'M FLYING! Huh?" One man said as he flew into the air.
However, upon getting a bird's eye view of the lake, the cultivator noticed something odd at its center.
"UH GUYS! YOU MIGHT WANT TO COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!"
"AND RISK HAVING TO REDO THIS ORDEAL?! CAN YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD THIS TRIAL RESET!"
"I'M NOT SURE, BUT I THINK THE ENTRANCE IS ALREADY OPEN!"
Hearing the man's words, everyone flew into the air to see for themselves.
"Is that?"
In the center of the lake of molten rock, there was a waterfall of magma falling down into a massive hole leading all the way down into the 3rd floor.
...
Within a certain chaos garden, a fire cultivator was exchanging fists with a living mountain.
*BOOM**Swoosh**BANG*
*Cough**Cough*
"Damn it! Uh-oh!" Kenji said as he saw a colossal stone fist coming crashing down towards him.
*BANG*
As the giant Rockman lifted its boulder of a fist from the nascent soul's broken body, a certain masked magician walked over to take a look.
"And that makes 12! You're losing streak seems to be coming along nicely!" Nox said to her flattened disciple.
"*Cough**Cough* Well, what do you expect? I'm fighting a living mountain here! How am I supposed to beat something that can literally crush me like an ant?"
"Spoken like a true Meathead!"
"Hm?"
"*Sigh* The problem isn't your opponent! It's you that is the cause of your own defeat!"
"What?"
"*Sigh* Meathead! How many times have you been sent flying trying to blow up our resident rock dude's fist?"
"Hmph! It worked a few times!"
"And after those times, he used his other hand to swat you like a fly! You're trying to overpower your foe using brute force, but not all fights can be won that way! It's like you said, the dude can crush you like an ant, so why are you taking his attacks head on?"
"Well, I've tried to dodge, but the guy is surprisingly fast for a giant pile of rocks! It becomes kind of difficult when something so big moves that fast!"
"When you're faced with a challenge where you're the underdog, you got to exploit your opponent's weaknesses while playing to your own strengths!"
"Easier said than done! Its attacks are too big and fast to dodge, and its body is sturdy as hell too! As far as I can see, that giant thing don't got any weaknesses to exploit!"
"*Sigh* You're too focused on rock boy's strengths to see the advantages that come with being this much smaller than your opponent! Look, I'll show you!" Nox said before grabbing Kenji as she turned to the massive Rockman.
Soon thereafter, the massive pile of living stone threw down another punch towards the pair. In response Nox just raised her hand, using spirit magic to gather any lingering fire element from Kenji's fights to power a spell circle.
*BANG**Sizzle*
When the fist lifted from the ground post-punch, standing in a circle of molten rock in the middle of the colossal fist-print in the sand were Nox and Kenji. What had happened was that moments before the attack hit, Nox had used a fire spell to melt a hole in the giant fist right above where she stood. Once that was done, she just used her flames of control to divert the magma flow to move around them, creating her very own safe spot to stand in.
"You know, it's at times like this where I am reminded of two famous sayings!" Nox said as the Rockman raised its fist.
However, before it could throw another punch, Nox used spirit magic to form a spear from the molten rock and threw it right into a crack in the giant's joint, damaging a structural weak spot that caused its arm to crumble.
"To quote every small willy ever, "size isn't everything", and-!" Nox said as the giant lifted its foot to trample them instead.
*Swoosh*
However, the moment its foot lifted off the ground, Nox bolted towards its other foot at an inhuman speed, kicking it with so much force it threw the living mountain off balance, causing it to topple over.
*BANG*
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall! You understand Meathead?" Nox asked the disciple she got slouched over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Ugh! I understand that I just broke another rib! Could you be a little gentler while carrying your injured disciple around?"
"What doesn't kill you isn't worth complaining about!"
"The saying is "-makes you stronger"!"
"Hey, you said it! Not me!" Nox said before sprinting at full speed towards a certain lava pool in the distance, the turbulent ride worsening many more of her disciple's injuries.
...
In a dark hallway located two floors down from the lava lake.
"*Cough**Cough* Ugh! What happened!" Kenji muttered as he woke up from his dream, drenched in blood and covered in wounds.
*Bleurgh*
"I feel like shit!" He said after vomiting a mouthful of blood.