#38 Lava Volcano
#38 Lava Volcano
The instant I entered the dungeon, heat slammed into me—a vicious, searing blast that felt like it would reduce me to ash on the spot. I looked around.
"A volcano?"
A volcanic zone. Unmistakably active, lava streaming down the slopes and the crater belching ash and smoke.
"Hmm... When I came last time, the volcano hadn't erupted."
"It hadn't erupted? When was that?"
"About ten years ago?"
He was a phantom beast, so I supposed his sense of time worked a little differently. Or maybe time moved differently in the phantom realm—I shook off the idle speculation and spread my Detection wide. The number of monster presences was oddly low. The volcano had probably swept them all away.
'A pity.'
The closest monster was a red-skinned lizard with spines jutting from its body at odd angles. When it yawned, it didn't exhale breath—it spat fire.
[Salamander]
[Length 1.56m] [Height 61.5cm] [Weight 97kg]
[STR 196] [AGI 168] [VIT 238] [MP 195]
'Borderline... No. My standards have just gotten higher—that's the right way to put it.'
It was a cut above the Running Raptors and Gaptorang I'd faced before. Factor in its magic power, and it was at least on par with an Orc, maybe a little stronger.
"Baekrok. The boss?"
"Hmm... I've never seen it either."
That answer gave me a small flicker of hope. When I moved in to predate the Salamander, it spewed fire from its mouth. The flames scattered on a gust of wind, and my tentacles coiled around its neck as a shadow slipped through the gaps—falling like a guillotine and severing its head.
[Salamander consumed. Experience Points and Satiety increase.]
More experience than I'd expected. Right around then I spotted Perry in a corner, roasting chunks of flesh in the lava and eating them, and my mood darkened a little.
"What is that?"
I debated how to answer Baekrok's question, then just told him what I knew. An unfinished product. The result of alchemy, mixed with the blood of every species that exists and doesn't exist.
"I see."
Baekrok nodded, studying the flesh chunks with clear fascination after the explanation.
"If that is the case, Malice would certainly have seeped into it. It is impure, without a doubt. It seems you have found the optimal feed."
"...You're sure it's okay to eat?"
"It is. That is precisely the kind of thing she is meant to consume."
His confidence wiped away the last trace of worry I'd been carrying. Besides, even after Perry had eaten her fill, there was still an enormous amount left over. More than enough for her to grow without any trouble for a while.
"First."
I wrapped a tentacle around Perry and leaped high to clear the flowing lava. At the apex of the jump, the ground revealed more monsters.
[Lesser Drake]
[Length 4.51m] [Height 1.87m] [Weight 1.11T]
[STR 355] [AGI 311] [VIT 406] [MP 296]
[Skill List]
[Dragon Scale (C)]
'Impressive.'
These things were built like rhinoceroses—the kind you'd only see in a zoo—but even bigger, and they'd gathered into a pack. The sight was deeply satisfying. Every one of them was on par with an Aranea, or just a little weaker.
'Look at me, grinning over a pack of monsters like that.'
A strange new feeling. What's more, they were dragon-species monsters, the kind I'd never even laid eyes on in the Dragon's Wasteland. A Drake—another name for a wingless dragon, also called a Sub-Dragon.
'The inferior subspecies.'
And this was only the Lesser variant. A true Drake could well be a monster that outclassed the Earth Serpent. There were only seven gathered here, not a huge pack, but...
'The boss here might actually be worth looking forward to.'
That last dungeon with the One-Eyed had been a disappointment, honestly. But if the regular mobs were already at this level...
'I might even hit Level 20.'
I dropped straight down and blocked their path, and their faces twisted with displeasure. As if the idea of a single Wolf standing in their way were deeply insulting, they roared. I had quietly expanded my spiritual field, and now I let out a humorless laugh. My shadows hadn't pierced their scales.
'They didn't go through?'
Dragon Scale. Dragon scales sheathing the entire body. My shadows had been stopped cold by that C-rank skill. I could probably scratch them up, but that was it.
'If shadows don't work on them...'
A gust of wind would obviously be useless too. And there was no way to block a full-power Charge head-on, the kind that shattered the earth as it came.
'Damn it.'
Dodging wasn't the problem. The compatibility was just terrible. A Lesser Drake stretched out its long neck and unhinged its jaws to bite—I ducked to evade, then unleashed Ghost Flame (C).
"―――!"
Engulfed in black fire, the Lesser Drake let out an agonized shriek, but endured stubbornly. The tenacious vitality unique to dragon species, combined with a resistance to heat forged in this volcanic zone. No matter how I looked at it, the matchup was bad.
'If shadows, gusts, and Ghost Flame (C) are all going to be a struggle...!'
I dodged the monster, struck with my tentacles, and coiled them around it. The long neck and powerful jaws bit through my hardened tentacles in an instant.
'Insane bite force.'
I sank into the shadows and burst out from below the monster, igniting Ghost Flame (C) as I yanked its neck with my tentacles. Trying to pull a creature that weighed over one ton was futile. The recoil dragged me toward it instead.
'That's enough.'
While the leader thrashed, my spiritual field rippled and bored into its neck.
'This time will be different.'
Ordinarily, I wouldn't have been able to penetrate, but Snatch Devour's sub-effect included Evil Devouring. The ability to consume anything without discrimination—even Dragon Scale was no exception. My shadow burrowed deep through the gap where I'd eaten away the scales.
"―――!"
The monster convulsed in agony. The ground caved in and lava gushed upward. With the other Lesser Drakes pushing in, I judged it too risky to hold on any longer and disengaged.
'So this isn't going to be easy, huh?'
The pack moved to shield the injured Lesser Drake. But Ghost Flame (C) was already covering its entire body, so the gesture was pointless. Heat resistance or not, there's a limit to what a living creature can withstand. The Lesser Drake writhed as if the blood in its veins were boiling away, and before long, it breathed its last.
'Six more to go.'
The moment I killed one, the glint in the others' eyes changed. Until now, I'd been a "bothersome nuisance." Now, they recognized me as an "enemy that must be killed." They began sheathing their entire bodies in magical power.
'Like armor.'
Another layer of armor on top of their Dragon Scale. It wouldn't just boost their defense—I'd see a massive difference in their strength and speed, too. The real fight started now.
"Kyuuu!"
Baekrok grabbed the Young Dragon as it flapped its wings. When Perry looked back at him with reproachful eyes, Baekrok shook his head.
"Watch quietly."
The sheathed magical power wasn't just acting as armor. The Lesser Drakes' strength and speed were on a completely different level now. When I leaped high into the air to dodge them, they kicked off the ground just as hard.
"Kyuuuut...!"
Unlike the worried fairy dragon, Baekrok could watch with a calm mind.
'As I thought.'
Changing direction mid-air wasn't easy—but I had tentacles and Elasticity. I reeled myself in with a coiled tentacle and used Elasticity to land squarely on a Lesser Drake's neck. What followed was the same as before. The Lesser Drake had brought its magical power to bear, but I had my own.
'And besides.'
The quantity and quality of Wolf's magic power had grown significantly. Even in this situation, his movements had no wasted motion at all. That meant he could read the movements of all six and still think two steps ahead. He had only returned to the reality realm for a short time, but what on earth had happened there?
'I never thought the phrase "to see in a new light" could fit so perfectly.'
Wolf moved like flowing water. The moment he evaded one attack, he was simultaneously striking at a Lesser Drake. The outcome was already glaringly obvious—no need to watch any further.
'...Though it will take some time.'
Unless something unexpected happened—Wolf would devour every last one of them before long.
***
'My mana...'
I still had plenty left. Thanks to the Great Magic Power skill, my mana reserves were vastly greater than what my Status suggested. On top of that, Snatch Devour's effect replenished any shortage.
'They aren't stopping.'
They pressed in relentlessly, giving me no time to even ignite Ghost Flame (C). Their charges were beyond anything a living creature should be capable of. One direct hit from that would be fatal.
'One hit would be catastrophic.'
I had to dodge everything. If I let even a single attack land, dodging the rest would only get harder.
'Still.'
The remaining count was already down to four. Taking them down meant I had that much more breathing room. And most of all, their attacks were monotonous.
'Bite, charge, or—!'
At the chilling crack of a whip, I flattened my body. A tail whip moving at near-impossible speed grazed the air just above my head. As I dodged the Drake, I spotted two Lesser Drakes in the distance, their mouths already gaping open.
'...No way?!'
Hard to believe—but I couldn't think of anything else. A sense of danger clawed at me, my eyes flew wide open, and I dove into the shadows—just as a flicker of flame ignited deep in their throats and surged forward, melting the ground in an instant.
'Damn it.'
My shadows rippled. If I hadn't dodged on pure panicked instinct, that would have finished me.
'Breath.'
A Sub-Dragon. An inferior subspecies at that, yet I hadn't considered it could spit the very symbol of dragonkind: a breath attack.
'The floor's melted away.'
The igneous rock was gone, revealing the flowing lava beneath. It radiated a scorching steam, but the lava itself wasn't the real threat.
'Below.'
I clenched my teeth and sprinted. A beat later, a massive gush of lava swallowed the spot where I'd just been standing. And then it happened again—the Lesser Drakes were dragged down into the lava. I saw it clearly. A monster cloaked in lava, surging upward.
'Prominence Crocodile...!'
The name Insight supplied.
Prominence. The solar prominence. A pillar of fire.
'...A pillar of fire.'
That was exactly what it looked like as it burst from the lava—a crocodile that swam in molten rock, not water. The eruption it caused as it launched upward split the Lesser Drakes and me apart.
'So the main part of this dungeon...'
Wasn't the volcanic zone at all—it was the lava zone underneath. And I could sense countless presences swimming inside it.
When I'd spread my Detection earlier, I'd thought the number of monsters was strangely low. The truth was, they'd been hiding in the lava zone. The boss was probably down there too.
'So that's why Baekrok said he'd never seen it.'
This was it. There was no way to fight monsters cloaked in lava. For now, I had to get out—but when I turned my head, it was already too late.
"......!"
Behind Baekrok and Perry, a colossal pillar of lava was erupting like a tower of fire.