Chapter 17 - Flame Valley (2)
Flame Valley (2)
17.Flame Valley (2)
A whirlwind arose.
Uncle Cheolgi, using Flying Dragon Pierce, broke through the front. As the boars were pushed back, a Subspace opened.
Whoosh-.
Sending Uncle first and opening the Subspace wasn't just for hiding.
It was for defense.
Thump-. The Subspace blocked the guardian's massive hand. The guardian's hand, colliding with the Subspace, exploded.
It seemed to be because it was all lava. The impact sent lava flying everywhere.
Sizzle-
It touched my body too. My clothes burned in several places. I felt an intense heat. But considering it was lava, it wasn't too bad.
Like being in a very hot bath?
If I didn't have A-grade fire resistance, I would have screamed on the spot, but I could endure it.
"Keep running!"
I sent Uncle off first.
I have the Escape Secretary, and I can easily move 20m using the Portalization of Subspace.
-Kkweeehk!
Kicking off the ground, I swung the Elegant Sword behind me. I was planning to deal with the boars rushing from behind first.
I bought some time with Wind Split and racked my brain.
'I'm overwhelmed, but... I think I can catch it.'
The Gate's recommended level has been changed to 25-30.
The recommended level isn't just determined by the Monsters that appear. It also includes the environment inside the Gate.
It doesn't mean it only went up because of the guardian. We also have to consider the lava zone and the boars coming from the front and back.
It may be huge, but the difficulty may not be that high.
Excluding the surrounding environment and the boars, we might be able to handle the guardian.
Hoo-!
Before I knew it, the Lava Guardian's regenerated arm flew towards me again like a whip.
As expected, it's not fast.
It's slow enough to avoid. I was thinking about opening a Subspace, but I put strength in my knees and kicked off the ground.
A short leap.
Rotating my body in the air, I avoided the Lava Guardian's arm. It was the Fighting Cock's evasive maneuver, jumping high like a chicken.
Whoosh-.
I reopened the Subspace in the air. Connecting the floor where I'm falling with 20M ahead.
I step on the ground at the same time as I fall. In an instant, I reached 20M ahead, next to Uncle Cheolgi.
"Are you okay?"
Uncle Cheolgi was worried about me.
"Yes."
The guardian didn't stay still. He put one hand on the road and approached us, sliding.
Kugugung-. A huge lava hand was crashing down like a wave along the road behind us.
"O, oh dear."
"Run!"
The speed of sliding on the lava itself was faster than we could run, but there was no problem.
The answer is still Subspace.
The Subspace created behind us blocked his arm. Lava splattered everywhere, and his fist disappeared.
Of course, it was being restored quickly.
"Wow, looking at it like this, it's a scam?"
Uncle was impressed when he saw it while running.
"Isn't it invincible?"
"Halfway?"
The Lava Guardian is approaching.
The boars have been dealt with for now, and we retreated, swinging the Elegant Sword.
Usually, you have to destroy the hidden 'core' of such spirit-type Monsters to defeat them.
I fired one shot at the head, where the core was likely located, and one shot at the arm he was about to raise to attack.
-Groaaaaar!
There was definitely an impact. A wind path was created near the hit area, and the connection was cut off.
But it didn't penetrate the entire lava giant. The recovery speed was also faster than I thought.
'I think I can break through with Flying Dragon Pierce.'
I hesitated for a moment and asked Uncle.
"What do you think, it seems like we can do it with Flying Dragon Pierce, should we try?"
"That guy? If I use it once, I'll fall into the lava."
He meant that if he used Flying Dragon Pierce once, he would fall into the lava.
Fire resistance is not absolute. Continued exposure will eventually break through.
Uncle's fire resistance was lower than mine.
Dragon Unison. Yong-yong is a baby, so he didn't get as much fire resistance as I did.
"You can use it continuously, right? Can't you use the first one as an attack and the next one as a movement skill?"
Originally, in the game, dash-type attack skills are also used as movement skills. Can't you just use them in a row?
Of course, it depends on Uncle's ability.
"Oh?"
Uncle's eyes lit up at my thought.
"I think it's possible?"
"If it's just 'I think,' it'll be a little difficult. Safety is the priority. Wind Split can't do proper damage to that big guy. If it doesn't work, let's just go to the exit."
"It's possible!"
Uncle said with confidence.
"But, I can't use it many times. I don't have much Mana."
"I'll look for the weak point."
As we were talking, a fist came crashing down again. I opened a Subspace to block it. My Mana is plentiful.
Thump-! The impact sent lava flying everywhere. Uncle stepped back with an "Eek."
"What kind of power... If it wasn't for the Subspace, I would have had to run away?"
That's right.
Even with high Stats compared to my level and fire resistance, if I got hit by that huge arm, I would have taken the express train to heaven.
"That's why I said let's try it since I have it!"
The speed of opening the Subspace isn't fast yet, but... Fortunately, the lava giant wasn't fast either.
The sliding speed on the lava itself was fast, but because his body was made of lava, his upper body was slow.
"Let's retreat while we figure out the weak point!"
Anyway, the exit of the Gate is visible in front.
The location where the Fire Jade was is also near the exit.
The orthodox strategy would be to return the Fire Jade or run away.
If we try and don't see an answer, we can just escape.
* * *
Because we were fighting while retreating, the Gate exit was getting closer. I kept swinging the Elegant Sword.
Towards the head, the chest and solar plexus of the upper body, and the arms. However, his core was still not found.
Lava was flowing inside, and my sense of space didn't show me the inside of his body, so there was nothing I could do.
"Could it be under the lava?"
"Maybe."
It was the moment I swung the Elegant Sword while saying that. Perhaps because of Uncle's words, the Elegant Sword headed towards the navel, below the solar plexus.
When Wind Split split the navel, a lava sphere was visible. It didn't seem to be flowing down, but rather clumped together.
And immediately, the Lava Guardian raised one arm and blocked that area.
"Huh?"
We both noticed something strange.
"One more time!"
I fired Wind Split again just before Uncle finished speaking. This time, it was the same.
I was only aiming at the top, but it seemed that his weak point was the bottom connected to the lava.
"Can you do it?"
"Of course!"
"I'll break through the arm!"
I fired Wind Split at his arm in succession. The lava arm that blocked the abdomen split and flowed down.
And Uncle kicked off the ground.
Kugugung-!
The lower part of the Lava Guardian, who had come close to us with the first Flying Dragon Pierce, was pierced.
The lava sphere was seen breaking in the pierced abdomen.
Beyond the lava that was breaking and splashing, Uncle was seen turning his body in the air.
The lance upwards.
With the second Flying Dragon Pierce, he tore apart the upper body of the lava giant and returned to where I was.
Because he aimed the lance upwards, he was floating about 3m above the ground. It's high, but there's no problem. Isn't he an Awakened Hunter?
Uncle slid on the ground and landed as if he were doing a hero landing.
"Wow."
I saw it with my own eyes, but it was a very cool scene. If I filmed it and uploaded it, the views would be a hit.
Of course, Uncle couldn't maintain that coolness.
"Kkeueaaak! It's hot!"
He writhed in pain from the lava that splashed on his body. Flying Dragon Pierce pushed back the lava with a whirlwind, but...
He had a lava shower after piercing the lava giant's body twice.
He dropped Yong-yong because he was writhing in pain, and Dragon Unison and Elemental Adaptation were broken, so his groan became a scream.
"Kkeueaek!"
"Quickly grab Yong-yong first and use the Skill!"
"Uaaa!"
Uncle, who barely grabbed Yong-yong, gasped for breath.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm going to die."
"No matter how much it hurts, how can you drop Yong-yong?"
Uncle scratched the back of his head as if he was embarrassed by his scream.
-Groaaaaar!
In any case, the lava giant, whose core had been destroyed, was collapsing with a roar.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
Along with the messages, a sense of elation filled me. 2 level up, it was a considerable amount of experience for catching one Monster.
It was taken into account that it was a Monster higher than the level in the Mutated Gate.
"You've worked hard."
I said, pouring the recovery potion in the Subspace over Uncle's body. Uncle gasped for breath.
"It would have been impossible without your help with Subspace."
"We couldn't have caught it without Flying Dragon Pierce either."
Wind Split is definitely an excellent Skill, but it wasn't compatible with the Lava Guardian.
It was a good Skill for small targets rather than large ones.
Of course, Uncle couldn't have caught it alone either.
In the first place, if I couldn't block the Lava Guardian's attack with Subspace, I wouldn't have even thought about finding the core.
It's the story that we could do it because we were together.
Our party, the Spatialist and Dragon Knight, I knew it was good, but it was better than I thought.
"Hoo, it's tough. It reminds me of the old days."
"Really?"
"Actually, the old days were tougher. I almost died fighting an Orc Awakened being without Skills. Or, is that guy similar?"
Uncle laughed. Danger is not new. That's what Gates are like in the first place.
A space that is always close to death and where unexpected events occur.
We were people who voluntarily entered such a space.
"But you leveled up twice."
"What? I only leveled up once?"
"I'm a little lower level. Anyway, you leveled up, right? Let's have a drink."
"Okay. I have to go have a drink."
And we gained experience as a reward for subjugating the Gate, and we both leveled up one more time.
The Gate was Mutated, so a difficult situation came, but it's another 3 level up.
'It's a pity that a useless rare metal came out as a reward, but 3 level up is good enough.'
I'm level 14, and Uncle is level 16.
It was a situation where I couldn't help but laugh. If I gave the Fire Jade to Minseok, he would definitely like it.
Moreover, didn't I succeed in verifying the hypothesis I thought of when the Subspace level increased?
A sense of space that can feel the surrounding 20m.
If there is a 'hidden' in the Gate, there is a high probability that I will find it no matter where it is.
* * *
['Spatialist, Dragon Knight Party' Future Predictions (Brain Fart)]
-Spatialist Labyrinth's Dead End (5~10) Solo Subjugation.
-Spatialist, Dragon Knight. Flame Valley (11~15) Subjugation with a 2-person party.
-Breaking through Gates that even decent full parties avoid with a small number of people in a row.
Everyone knows that these two are the most attention-grabbing Hunters right now, right?
The Spatialist was a hot topic from the start, and Cheolgi, who became a real 'Dragon Knight,' is also a senior.
They are breaking through difficult Gates, and the next goal is predicted to be a 'Level-Restricted Survival Gate' (it's a brain fart, if you disagree, you're right).
Those of you who are doing well at levels 16-20 will have experience receiving calls.
With two months left until the Gate Break, the association is also on fire...
-Even so, would the association send such people to a Level-Restricted Survival Gate?
┗Wouldn't it be worth a try with those two?
┗It's not a matter of whether it's worth a try. Just looking at their jobs and Skills, they are talents who should be nurtured as the next advance team.
┗Yeah, the Spatialist was famous at the workshop, and Cheolgi was good at fighting even when he couldn't use Skills, so they are people who are more promising in the future. An accident shouldn't happen.
┗Are other Hunters okay to die?
┗Sigh, when did I say it's okay to die?
The Hunter Net was noisy because of my and Uncle Cheolgi's performance. We broke through Gates that Hunters avoid with a small number of people in a row.
I scratched the back of my head while looking at the post that predicted our future actions. There's no need to fight like that.
Whether there's a fight in the comments or not, I was going to enter the 'Level-Restricted Survival Gate.' The reason is simple.
A Gate with difficulty multiplied by difficulty, the rewards are bound to be good. There are several precedents.
'Even if it's a low-level Gate, it's a place where good rare items come out.'
Even if it's not an item, getting a Skill level-up secretary or the Elixir itself would be a huge benefit for me.
It was also a place where there was no problem for me, who has Subspace.
'I won't volunteer to go in, though.'
What I wanted was to enter in response to the association's request.
This is because 'additional rewards' are always given when the association requests Gate subjugation.
'I gave information about Subspace, and just looking at the attitude they've shown me so far...'
I should wait. I thought they would propose a subjugation request with a reward before I contacted them first.