“We would like to buy the Seasoned difficulty floor of the dungeon.”, said Borna.
The jaw of the guy standing at the front desk, dropped down.
“U-um, are you sure ma'am?”
Borna nodded. “Yes. How much will the payment be?”
“Two hundred thousand coins.”
Borna casually opened her coins tab and began the transaction.
“Wah..” The guy couldn't believe his eyes as the money was successfully received.
It was natural because buying a seasoned floor wasn't something your ordinary dungeon diver could do. Buying a beginner floor in itself was uncommon.
On top of that, this random lady has bought a Seasoned-difficulty floor.
“The payment has been received.”
Along with that, Borna received the entry card.
But before leaving, they had to do something else first. They had to sell off the Intermediate Dungeon floor.
It wasn't difficult to find a suitable buyer however, because it got sold after only just a few minutes.
Elias exclaimed, “Wow. That's a lot of profit. Initially, I only bought this for 17,800 coins, but it got sold for 70,000 coins now!”
[Coins: 113,200]
Still, this amount of coins is pocket change after you increase your stats after a certain point.
“You bought the intermediate floor for only 17,800 coins? That’s a steal for sure.”
“Haha, yeah.”
Ding! Fwoosh!
Along with those sounds, the sliding mechanical door opened. Elias and Borna finally entered the Seasoned floor of the dungeon.
Borna began warning Elias. “The monsters in here aren’t comparable to the Godly-Dragons, but still, they are nothing to scoff at. They are still formidable enemies, on the level of giant mutant goblins, even.”
After a few minutes of walking into the place, they sensed murderous gazes all over them. Borna unsheathed her sword and activated [Sword of Blare].
Elias, too, activated his skill.
“I want to try out this new skill.”
[The skill, Fire Storm Lv.1, is activating.]
Then numerous monsters emerged from the darkness of the dungeon. Some had single horns and had blue skin, while others had the head of a buffalo while carrying an ax.
In a matter of seconds, roaring blaze swarmed over the place while a ‘snip-snap-whoosh’ sound resounded throughout the dungeon floor. Elias repeatedly cast it and moved through the place while keeping the skill active.
Borna had a proud expression on her face as she saw her grandson becoming more and more combat-capable.
Various monsters numbering in the hundreds, got roasted by the [Fire Storm].
But then the fire seemed to repel. He tried casting it once more, but, once again, repelled. And, once the smoke and fire settled down, it all became clear. A new type of monster emerged now. It was almost three times the size of a normal human adult. It donned a hard, durable armor, seemingly fire-resistant. It carried a single double-edged sword and raised it to the level of its forehead.
Smack! Crack!
It struck the sword onto the ground causing the floor to crack. Powerful waves of magic attacked Borna and Elias, but they activated their aura to defend themselves. They strengthened their own aura which made the air around them dense and the pressure around them to increase. It would normally be difficult to breathe in such a case, but not for the people who trained and strove for improvement.
Before it could once again strike its double-edged sword on the ground, Elias activated [Blaze], coating his arms with it, and ran towards the monster.
Punch! Punch! Punch!
He repeatedly smacked the monster’s hard armor until cracks appeared on it. The monster was slow in reacting thanks to its huge size and Elias’s improved stats helped him greatly. It was only a matter of time until the monster died. After the monster died, numerous others emerged. They were of the same kin, and Elias didn’t hesitate and rushed toward them, incorporating the same technique to subdue them.
One, two, three…. He went on a rampage, killing all that moved or emitted noise. Anything that qualified as ‘living’, was thwacked down by Elias’s mighty fists.
“Sigh, sigh…”
After clearing which seemed to half the dungeon floor, Elias exhaustedly breathed in and out.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
Borna clapped her hands with a satisfied smirk on her face.
“Just a few more and we can move on to the second room.”
“Huh? There is a second room?”
“Yes. Seasoned Dungeon-floors are divided into two rooms, or two halves to be exact.”
Borna guided Elias to one side of the dungeon floor where a pocket for placing a key card appeared. Just like in a hotel room, Borna placed the key card on the cardholder pocket and the mechanical sliding door opened up.
This time, they didn’t have to go and find the monsters because…
Grrrr!!
Numerous monsters were already waiting for them at the doorstep. Now, this is what you’d call a doorstep delivery.
The monsters’ saliva dripped down to the floor. The majority were wolf-type, and numerous others could also be seen. There were no normal goblins however because they were originally a weak species.
“Gran. I’ll take care of it.”
Elias stepped forward and activated his aura which had been strengthened by its excess use.
“Blaze.”
The moment he uttered those words, flames enveloped his hands. He opened up his hands and faced his palms toward the incoming monsters while taking a battle posture.
“Come.”, Elias said while activating [Dark Eruption].
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In the next second, the surroundings blurred. The space seemed to distort due to the leveled up black flames. The entire place seethed with the fury of darkness itself.
Kuehok!
Arghwh!
Erghh!
Monsters rapidly melted away.
“Ah, it’s a bit boring. Guess I’ll just use my fists.”
Elias who had now faced two of the Four Godly-Dragons, didn’t falter in front of these species, inferior to the great dragons.
Smack!
Thud!
Smash!
Elias grabbed the legs of a humanoid monster and slammed its face on the ground. He then tackled another monster with skinny legs with his own legs, making it fall face forward.
“Burn! Haha! This is getting more and more exciting!”
Then as if all this wasn’t enough, he activated another one of his skills.
[The skill, Fire Storm Lv.5, is activating!]
The skill which was spammed by Elias in the first room had reached level 5. The fiery red fire flowed from Elias’ entire body. His aura had reached its peak by now. Monsters belonging to inferior species died down just by standing in the vicinity of Elias’ aura. It was truly a remarkable sight and Elias thoroughly enjoyed it.
Fwoooshh!!
It dissipated.
Fwoooshh!!!!
He cast it with even more magic power behind it, but still, it dissipated. It was like something sucked it in as if it was food.
A menacing aura could be felt in the distance. An ominous presence was now glaring at Elias. It was indescribable. It felt like his head would explode due to the pressure of its presence.
“Uwahh!! What is this?!”
His headache got better only after he unleashed his entire aura.
“Elias. Step back. It is the ‘Keeper of the Dungeon’.”
The Keeper of the Dungeon. There was only one being assigned with the role of a keeper. And that was… The Emberfiend. It was a creature which survived on magic. A parasitic creature which would attach itself to the host’s system network running along the body. Its size could change at will, but chooses to remain as a large creature to exert dominance.
Borna unsheathed her sword, while being careful to not power it with magic. Only pure physical force would help against the Keeper of the Dungeon.
She rushed towards the Emberfiend and struck it. It blocked her sword using its claws.
Shing!
Shing!
Shing!
Borna repeatedly struck its hard, metal-like exterior. But while she was trying to cut it down, the Emberfiend too made its move. It coated its claws with fire magic, freshly absorbed from Elias and struck Borna’s shoulder.
“Arghh!”
“No! Gran!” Elias shouted from his side.
Borna staggered a bit before regaining her control and blocked the claws once again. She cut down the Emberfiend's right arm, then its left, but they regrew rather quickly. She continuously cut it, but it regrew every single time.
She leapt back and thought carefully of the situation at hand. What was its weakness? How could she kill it with a single, decisive blow?
In the next second Elias screamed toward her. “Gran! I think destroying that crystal should do it!”
Hmm? What crystal? She couldn’t notice anything as such. She looked over in Elias’ direction with a questioning face which seemed to demand an explanation.
“When you cut down both of its arms, a crystal in its chest glows brightly. I think destroying that should kill it.”
Borna nodded. So, all that she needed to do now was cut its arms and destroy the appearing crystal. Easy enough.
Borna dashed towards the Emberfiend once more. But, before she could get near it, a blinding light filled her view.
It was Emberfiend's ultimate attack. The Solar Pulsar.
“Kuheok! Urgh..”
It was unavoidable.
Borna got hit with the ultimate technique and fell to the ground. It was a skill of the Keeper of the Dungeon which sucks the mana of the victim while at the same time attacks them with the fire magic of the Emberfiend.
Elias was watching the scene unfold with stupefaction. Then in the next moment, something snapped. A loud roar was heard. It wasn’t a monster’s roar. It was more of a roar of a wounded animal.
An immense aura poured out from Elias, enough to make any human near him asphyxiate. The Emberfiend, now after the usage of its ultimate technique, could be seen weakened. It, nevertheless, still continued to glare at him.
However, Elias did not feel fear. Only mind-numbing rage filled his head.
“Fire, encroach.”
In the next second, the entire dungeon floor was covered in the [Fire Storm]. Not a single space escaped Elias’ wrath. The fire burned away the already dead monsters’ carcasses. The Emberfiend cried out in pain after its attempt at absorbing the fire failed. The density of magic power was too great for even the Keeper of the Dungeon to absorb.
While the entire Seasoned floor of the dungeon burned to ashes, the space around Borna remained untouched. Rather, the fire was forming a sort of a barrier around Borna to keep her safe.
Then within a few minutes….
[You have slain The Keeper of the Dungeon, the Emberfiend!]
The Emberfiends remains could not be spotted as it got incinerated at the molecular level.
[You have acquired a new skill for killing the Keeper!]
[You have obtained 300,000 coins!]
[You have acquired a new perk as an achievement reward!]
[Your attribute has evolved!]
[Your new attribute is the Master of Fire!]
Messages poured down in Elias’s system notifications.
Elias looked down at the messages and muttered, “There is no time for this.”
He quickly carried Borna’s unconscious body and stormed out of the Seasoned Dungeon floor.
“Excuse me!” He called out to the medic team of the Dungeon Agency.
They promptly treated Borna. And within a few pumps of mana and stopping the bleeding, Borna was wide awake.
“..Elias?”
“Yes, gran.”
“The Keeper of the Dungeon?”
“It's dead.”
“...I see.”
Everything was sorted out within some time, and Borna returned to her normal state.
----------------------------------------
I opened my [Individual Information] to check the new skill and perk.
----------------------------------------
Individual Information
Name: Elias Raymon
Unit: Combat
Attribute: Master of Fire
Level: 80
Exp: 3627/67406
Stats:
Strength: 100 (+10)
Stamina: 100 (+10)
Defense: 100 (+10)
Agility: 100 (+10)
Endurance: 100 (+10)
Magic Power: 100 (+10)
Skills:
Blaze Lv.19
Dark Eruption Lv.12
Fire Storm Lv.10
Solar Pulsar Lv.1
Perks:
Goblin’s Shield
Ember Ignition
Blessing of the Water-God
Wrath Plus
----------------------------------------
How are my stat components getting an additional ten points? Maybe because of the ‘Wrath Plus’ perk? Yeah, it could be.
‘Solar Pulsar’… That was the ultimate skill of the Keeper of the Dungeon, The Emberfiend. It was, in all honesty, a beautiful skill. The power to destroy everything and anything that stood in its way. A powerful beam of light borrowed from the power of the sun.
Finally, I have become the ‘Master of Fire’. I got a high-level skill thanks to my profile level increasing and my attribute evolution.
[Coins: 413,200]
Now, all that was left was to train myself for the big day…