[Part 1.5 - The First Room]

“Woah… this place looks so cool!”

Violet twirls around as we walk through the rocky hallway. Surprisingly, there’s a soft, velvety carpet beneath our feet; unsurprisingly, it resembles fire and heat. The walls, while jagged and uneven, seem to possess inscriptions on them. Lava flows like a waterfall down the sides of the walls into… wherever it goes, while I’m here hoping it doesn’t turn into Sentient Lava and attack us. The lava seems to be the only light source if we take away the stalactites of solid magma plaguing the arched roof.

“I feel uneasy.”

“We’ve heard that too many times, Sora…”

It’s not like you even gave me a chance to choose if I wanted to go or not.

“Hey Sora, how would you feel if a monster just appeared right now~”

“Violet, please don’t. I’ve already been attacked by a molten mimic.”

“Well, we’re in a dungeon; you’re going to have to expect some creatures to appear.”

“Violet is right Sora, you’re going to have to get used to it.”

Elysia takes further steps into the dungeon, prompting everyone to do the same as we follow closely behind her.

“Oh, and if you’re thinking of turning back and running…” Elysia begins as a sudden creaking sound echoes behind me. I turn around to see the horrific sight of the gate we entered slamming shut.

“…Yeah, you can’t do that anymore.” She adds.

“Wha—”

“Come on! We’ve already gotten this far…”

Unexpectedly, Elysia approaches me and whispers in my ear.

“And it’s not like you have to worry about death…”

What? Does she know? Maybe she analysed me… But why?

My thoughts are interrupted as Elysia grabs my hand and pulls me forward, leading the group deeper into the dungeon with a determined look on her face.

So far, she seems to know more than she's letting on, but I have no choice but to trust her instincts and follow along. I know barely anything about this world, but Elysia seems confident and capable, so I'll just have to rely on her guidance for now.

After all, she did save my life back there, despite my ability to resurrect.

"Hold it."

"What is it?"

Everyone seems to freeze as Elysia abruptly stops in her tracks, her eyes fixed on something up ahead.

"I can sense a lava pit nearby."

Ember can sense lava?

"That's not really why I stopped, but thanks, Ember."

"So, why did you stop?"

"There are pressure plates hidden underneath the carpet." Alden adds.

I take a look down at the carpet and see… absolutely nothing. Maybe Alden was mistaken—

Sharp obsidian spikes suddenly emerge from the ground, reaching up to the roof. Where did those come from?

"Looks like he was right…"

Violet says as she steps back cautiously.

"What just happened?"

"I threw a rock—

—and triggered the pressure plates." Alden finishes.

"Looks like we'll have to find another way around this trap. Thanks a lot, Violet."

"Hmm… Maybe we could wait for them to retract?"

Violet suggests, eyeing the spikes warily.

Looking at the spikes, they seem to be stationary and unmoving, making it clear that they won't retract anytime soon.

"We could just destroy them, you know? It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

Alden says before placing his bare hand on a spike, which I can only assume is blazing hot, and muttering the words "freeze."

The spike freezes instantly, allowing Alden to break it off easily.

"Now we can pass."

Alden begins walking through the icy corridor confidently, with us following closely behind, stepping over the frozen spikes without hesitation.

"Now about the lava pools. Ember, where exactly are they?"

Ember points to three positions in the hallway, prompting us to avoid them at all costs.

As we continue walking, my mind heads back to when Alden froze the spike with just a touch of his hand. It makes me wonder how I can actually get more skills, like his, to help us navigate through this dangerous dungeon more efficiently. Perhaps from rewards? Or gifts?

Well, if I wanna become strong in this world, it's definitely something I should look into.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Oh, hey, it's another gate!"

I'm interrupted by my thoughts, and I look up to see a large gate, similar to the entrance to this dungeon, blocking our path.

"There're too many damn gates in this dungeon."

"Draven, this is only the second one. And you should be used to this by now."

"Well, I don't remember asking, Elysia. And it's still too many for my liking."

Elysia sighs, shaking her head at Draven's impatience.

"At any rate, this might be our first room."

She pushes the door open with ease, revealing a large, molten room. It's covered in magma, igneous rock, and lava. Further ahead are two paths; both seem to be blocked off by some sort of barrier, though.

Oh, wait, yeah, there's also floating bodies of fire that seem to be readying an attack on us. Not to mention the gate behind us also slammed shut when the last person entered.

"Fire spirits…"

Elysia mutters under her breath, eyeing the floating bodies of fire warily.

Before I have a chance to respond, one of the fire spirits launches a fiery projectile towards us, narrowly missing my armoured head. Seriously, why is it always me?

Another projectile flies towards me at high speeds as another fire spirit tries sneaking up behind me, its fiery hands reaching out to grab me. I barely manage to dodge both of them as I ask.

"What level are they?"

"Eighteen." Alden responds.

Well, I'm screwed.

Elysia, who had been silently preparing an attack, suddenly unleashes a powerful burst of light, engulfing the fire spirits in a blinding glow. They still live, however, and one of them ignites my arm as I try battering it with [Swift Strike]. I wince in pain but manage to land a critical hit of 45 DMG, yet it has no effect at all.

I'm really screwed. Why do they keep attacking me specifically?

Sage, who has been observing the battle from a distance, steps forward and casts a protective barrier around me, extinguishing the fire on my arm.

"They must sense your potential as a threat. Not that I know what potential you have"

Did he read my mind?

"Indeed, I did. It's clear that they see something in you that they fear."

"Like what?"

"Dunno, but behaviour like this is abnormal."

"The boy probably did something stupid."

"Violet, use your illusion to distract them for a counterattack." Alden calls out, ignoring Draven's remark.

"You know, shouting our plan out loud isn't the best of ideas."

"They don't speak Ardenian, so it doesn't matter."

"Fair point." Violet nods, focusing on creating a dazzling illusion to divert the enemy's attention.

To my surprise, it kinda worked. The spirits manipulated the lava, slowing and melting the clones, as Draven used his colossal battleaxe to cleave through the distracted enemies like butter.

How does an axe cleave through spirits… especially ones made of fire…? I guess I shouldn't question it, as long as it's working in our favour.

Most of the enemies are taken care of, but there's still the fire-ray vomiting rocks that no one has decided to take care of.

"Why hasn't anyone dealt with those fire-ray-vomiting rocks yet?"

"Because they're not worth our time?"

"But what about Sora? Surely he's having a hard time dealing with them."

"Sora can handle himself, let's focus on finishing off the remaining enemies first." Draven says, his eyes scanning the battlefield for any other threats. "We'll deal with the rocks after we secure the area."

He declares, determination in his voice. With a nod of agreement, the group turns their attention back to the enemies at hand, ready to finish the fight.

Meanwhile, I'm here trying to figure out how to avoid getting hit by those fire-ray-vomiting rocks.

I glance around, searching for any possible cover or escape route. The heat from the flames radiates towards me, making me sweat despite the cool night air. As the rocks continue to hurl their fiery projectiles, I realise that I need to come up with a plan quickly if I want to survive this onslaught. With a deep breath, I steel myself and prepare to make my move, determined to outsmart these dangerous foes.

I activate [Swift Strike] once more, hoping to do at least some damage to the rocks before they can hit me. As I dodge and weave through the chaos, I keep my eyes peeled for any weaknesses or vulnerabilities in their defences.

"Take this!"

I shout as I launch a counterattack with all my might, aiming for the weakest point in one of the rocks. With each strike, I feel a surge of adrenaline as I inch closer to victory against this formidable enemy.

Or maybe I'm just delusional. Using [Analyse], I see that I'm doing barely anything to these creatures.

« Magma Spire »

─Level: 17

─Skills: Fire Burst, Lava Ray, Self Destruct, Magma Barrage

─Attributes: HP: 7,472 / 7,634 | MP: 800 / 950 | DEF: 75 | M DEF: 120 | STR: 60 | M STR: 60 | SPD: 0

It has way too much HP and DEF for me to make a significant impact with my current attacks.

"Guys, I think I need help!"

"Violet comes to the rescue!"

Before I can realise it, Violet swoops in with an intaginable-looking, black and purple scythe. With a swift motion, she unleashes a powerful slash attack downward that deals massive damage to the Magma Spire, significantly weakening it.

It's HP went from 7,472 to 68 with that one attack.

"Thanks for the HP fire-ray-vomiting rocks! Sora, you finish the job; you'll get EXP if you do~"

I nod slightly before unleashing a barrage of punches at the weakened Magma Spire, causing it to crumble into pieces with a satisfying crash.

Turning around, I notice that the rest of the enemies have already been defeated. The battlefield is now quiet, with only the sound of crackling flames and bubbling lava in the distance.

"Soo… What do we do now?"

How did I not die?

"Look around. The barriers have vanished, so we can now proceed further into the dungeon."

Please no.

"Just tell us which way to go already, I don't have all day."

"Alright, Draven, if you don't have all day, why don't you choose?"

"Fine, I'll take the lead. Let's head towards the left." Draven says confidently, as we follow him deeper into the dungeon.

Ahead were more traps, like terrifying lava geysers and more obsidian spikes. I somehow made it through two rooms, unsure of how. Now, we're having a debate about which way to go, our voices bouncing off the old stone walls.

One choice is a treasure-looking room, another is a room full of even more magma monsters, and the third: there's a corridor going up to who knows where.

"Uh, which way do we go now?"

"To the stairs, obviously." Alden states, pointing to the corridor leading upwards. "It'll take us to the second floor… Where things will start getting interesting…"

That doesn't sound fun—

"There's no need to be scared, Sora, we'll protect you." He adds, looking at me with a confident yet slightly indifferent expression.

Elysia rolls her eyes, clearly not impressed with Alden's attempt at reassurance.

"I'll take the lead; just follow me and stay close." She says, stepping forward confidently towards the corridor. As we follow her, I can't help but wonder what challenges await us on the second floor.

I just hope it doesn't get harder from here.