Game Master 038: Impalen Mountains Dungeon (5)
Calix's party had finally reached the deepest part of the dungeon where the guardian lurked—the lair.
The Impalen Mountains Dungeon's lair was an underground lake that seemed to stretch some 500 meters across.
The lake's waters emitted a faint blue glow, evoking an air of mystery.
It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale.
"So, what exactly is the guardian?"
"Essential Water Elemental."
"My god!"
Trias let out a groan.
An Essential Water Elemental was one of the most powerful beings among water spirits.
The entire lake was practically the spirit's body itself.
"Even just grazing its fist would shatter every bone in our bodies."
"Yeah. It's like getting slammed from the heights of heaven into the water's surface."
"I can see now how class 7s are beyond common sense—being able to hunt monsters like this in a party."
"Even they couldn't take this one."
"Ugh, have you ever met one?"
"Never met one, but I know. You'd absolutely need a magic weapon enchanted with opposing attributes. Krout!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Bring it."
"Right here."
Krout handed over a few small seeds.
They were seeds from the shackletoid, a vine-type plant monster.
"You know water attributes are countered by wood, right?"
"Sure, but doesn't that require some balance of power? How are we supposed to take down a guardian-level water elemental with low-tier monster seeds?"
"What? Take it down? Take down what?"
"Pardon?"
"Tsk tsk. No wonder you're stumped if all you think about is smashing and killing."
"Then...?"
"What we're gonna do from here is troll the dungeon. Wood beats water? Fine, then make it move. Something like that."
"Even a three-year-old wouldn't fall for it."
"Dungeons will. Heh heh."
Calix scattered the shackletoid seeds roughly and stomped them into the ground.
Not long after the seeds burrowed into the soil, green sprouts burst forth.
The shackletoids grew at an unnatural speed. Vines shot out in all directions in an instant, finally reaching the lake.
The moment they did, the blue glow enveloping the lake began spreading into the shackletoids.
The light spreading through the vines slowly shifted to a clear green.
"Know what plants need to grow well?"
"Water and sunlight...!"
"Close your eyes."
"Gah!"
In that instant, Calix tore a Sunlight magic scroll from his pouch.
Whoosh—
The light was so intense it pierced even through closed eyelids, filling the lake.
But the guardian remained still.
It hadn't been attacked, after all.
Calix and Krout kept ripping scrolls.
Each tear made the shackletoids grow noticeably.
Yet strangely, they never encroached on where Calix's party stood.
"Black oil, huh."
"Shackletoids hate it the most. If we hadn't spread this, we'd have been drained dry and turned to mummies by now."
"I knew shackletoids hated black oil, but I never imagined using it like this."
After detonating about a hundred Sunlight magic scrolls, the lake's water level plummeted dramatically.
Only then did ripples start forming on the lake's surface, as if it sensed the crisis.
Thud-thud—
Roooaaar—
The water from the edges was sucked toward the center, revealing the Essential Water Elemental.
"Essential... feels kinda generous now."
Krout, who adored cute little things, grinned wide.
The water spirit, now shrunk to the size of a child, did look rather adorable.
"Its combat power hasn't dropped a bit, I bet. Less bulk means less HP, but it'll be way more agile. Shield up."
"Whoa!"
The water spirit flicked its hand, launching a baseball-sized water droplet at bullet speed.
Clang-clang!
Hard to believe that was just water hitting a metal shield.
The thick tower shield was even dented inward.
"Nngh, that hurts."
"Down this lowest-grade potion and hold. You're class 5 and mana-reinforced it—that's why you only got this. Focus."
The water spirit stuck to ranged attacks.
To melee, it'd have to climb over the densely packed shackletoid vines—and it clearly hated that.
But the vines kept growing, filling every gap.
Finally losing patience, it switched targets.
Krunch! Splat!
Rumble! Boom!
The ground erupted, shredding shackletoid vines and roots in seconds.
White sap rained down like a storm.
The water elemental had three attack patterns.
Up close, it slashed with water blades to sever vines; mid-range, it whipped water streams to tear them apart.
Long-range, it fired water projectiles like it had at Calix's party.
The shackletoids silently endured the onslaught.
No more was needed.
Their regeneration was insanely fast.
New vines sprouted far faster than the destruction.
"Heh heh, spirit-infused water makes plants grow quick. Plus, shackletoids wrap prey in vines to suffocate them when hunting. Means they grow fast."
"It's absorbing not just its own sap but even the scattered water droplets from the elemental's attacks. Terrifying."
Krout shuddered behind his massive shield.
The other mercenaries watched in horrified fascination, unable to look away.
The clash of the two behemoths was that spectacular.
Meanwhile, Calix was prodding Trias.
"Trias. Assembly done?"
"Yes, young master."
"Good. Let's zero it in first."
Trias had assembled a massive crossbow.
It needed a separate mount and pulleys to draw the string—a real beast.
Thwuck!
"How's that?"
"Down 3, left 3."
Thwuck!
"Now?"
"Dead on. Incredible marksmanship. Where did you even...!"
"No big deal. Just a slight lead adjustment. I was..."
Calix nearly mentioned being a top marksman in the military but caught himself.
He was still pre-conscription here.
"Gem on the bolt tip?"
"Yes, sir. Embedded a small emerald as instructed. But it's a waste—blunt tip'll reduce power, no?"
"Iron tips couldn't even scratch it. Only something with wood attributes like emerald might."
As Calix zeroed in, the monsters' battle raced toward climax.
But the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
The elemental's attacks were devastating, but they couldn't outpace the shackletoids' regen.
Finally, from the palm-sized elemental's chest popped a jet-black orb.
Calix, waiting for that moment, carefully squeezed the trigger.
Twang—
A bolt—top-grade steel bodied, emerald-tipped—streaked like lightning.
It barely grazed the orb.
That instant.
Keeeen—
"Guh!"
"Kuhak!"
A piercing sonic wave like a head-splitting scream crashed over the party.
As if the dungeon itself was shrieking.
"Did it hit?"
"Yes. Grazed the orb—saw the trajectory bend."
"Good. Time to bail!"
The lake had dried completely, overgrown with vines into a jungle.
Calix's party advanced slowly, spraying black oil—crude petroleum.
Touching it, the vines shriveled and withered instantly.
"This must be what environmental pollution looks like."
Ignoring Krout's puzzled stare, Calix crossed the former lake turned jungle.
At the exit, he pulled an explosion magic scroll.
Nothing beat magic to ignite unrefined petroleum.
Except for the part where each tear vaporized two years of Krout's salary.
Kaboom!
Flames erupted along their path with the blast, heating the vast chamber.
"Toxic gas incoming—move! It won't last long anyway."
Nature was magnificent.
The fire would burn out the oil soon enough, and the shackletoids would sprout anew like nothing happened.
"All roads lead to Rome, as they say."
"Where's Rome?"
"Exists. Somewhere."
Calix hadn't destroyed the dungeon core.
Just scratched it a bit.
The guardian had merely swapped from water elemental to shackletoid—still alive and well.
But the reward room was accessible, so it didn't matter.
The dungeon's reward room held all artifacts from adventurers who'd died inside.
The longer they resonated with the dungeon's mana, the stronger they grew.
The room brimmed with junk: trinkets, gems, gold coins, weapons, armor.
Most weapons and armor were shattered.
Their owners' fates were obvious.
"Moment of silence."
"Yes, young master."
After, Calix picked up a dusty book from the corner.
The prime reward that made this dungeon worth it.
Perum Infinitus
He flipped open the skillbook without hesitation and read the preface aloud.
"Strike and strike again. Let the enemy's screams reach the heavens. To those who dared set my limits: I shatter my shell and ascend. Clouds may dull my blade, but my heart remains eternally sharp—nothing shall escape my cut. Perum Infinitus!"
You have acquired Perum Infinitus.
No one else can learn this skill now.
Perum Infinitus
Type: Curse
Grade: S-Grade Hidden Unique
Effect: Each time you strike an enemy or are struck with a bladed weapon, your talent limit grows.
The curse crafted in his final years by the great mercenary king Daemon to surpass the gods' limits. Perum Infinitus means "infinite blade." It expands talent limits by offering one's own blood or the enemy's as sacrifice. Legend says he became a god through this curse.
The previously learned Pena Telum—a divine-tier skill—was powerful, but came with massive drawbacks.
Max level consumption.
The game's ultimate goal was leveling to godhood; using it only pushed clear farther away.
Hence the need for Perum Infinitus, which raised max level.
Among ways to overcome low talent limits, this was the least efficient.
Yet S-grade because, as described, it was the ultimate skill to transcend human limits.
A fitting reward for a dungeon requiring class 7-8 superhumans in a party.
Of course, Calix got it via exploit.
Jackpot!
As Calix savored the thrill, the rest sorted the reward room's clutter.
Krout spread a large cloth from his bag first; knights and mercenaries carefully categorized artifacts atop it.
Done, Calix surveyed the neat piles. Weapons and armor were mostly wrecked—few intact; jewelry was plentiful.
And skillbooks: just one left, besides the one he'd absorbed.