Staying alert, the ordinary Dragon Newts were no problem for the party as they were barely better than the Black Walkers. It was mostly a higher defense. This dungeon had other dragon-themed beasts like Drakes who posed a slightly bigger hurdle.
The pools of lava here were filled with the equivalent of aquatic life but in molten stone. Giant toads and crocodiles that would charge out of the opaque glowing liquid or start spitting molten rock at them without warning.
The dungeon may have been a lot harder without Bulko giving everyone an increase in Fire Resistance. And these were just the first ten floors. Seeing this place, Seth quickly realized why the Dragon Newts didn't just overrun weaker territories.
These lizards were much more specialized in defending by growing an advantageous environment and using it skillfully. However, these kinds of dungeons needed a lot of energy and\or time to grow and be created.
Taking over one dungeon at a time and turning it into this kind of fortress made a lot of sense. The only reason they suddenly attacked their neighbors and expanded their territory was probably because the Oathguard had already weakened them. This sudden push may also have something to do with the weaker dungeons creating a coalition to take over the wasteland the hive left behind.
As they proceeded through the dungeon, Seth kept the role of Tank and didn't directly kill any of the newts himself. He still got the same amount of experience as the others but his Dragon Slayer Title had less chance to grow, which was what he wanted.
The boss of the 10th floor was a Dragon Newt Warrior at lv.90. Although his level was not much higher, as a boss his stats were inflated to the max. Its stats were quite high with almost 500 in attributes like strength, endurance, and agility. In its hands, it held a crude, sturdy spear and shield.
"Leave this one to me. I want to try fighting it one on one," Mike suddenly asked to have a duel with the boss.
Looking at Mike using the <Theia's Discerning Eyes>, Seth had to admit that the cat man was not far behind the lizard boy. His ordinary attributes were between 200 and 300 with his main attributes being above 400. He had gained a lot of additional stats thanks to the Blessing of Violence. Mike was still using the items the blacksmith had made with the help of Puffles.
Since he was able to reinforce and strengthen items like the Frozen Sky Brigandine and Flaming Fury with his master mark, they were not too far behind in basic stats which was why Seth didn't insist on making something new for him, other than the helmet. Since they were relics, they always had a chance to become legendary in the future.
The beastman charged forward. He aligned his head with his spine suddenly becoming three times as fast. It didn't end there as a thin layer of ice formed under his boots and further increased his speed.
The Ice Glider Boots were the only items Seth had given a makeover. The blacksmith added legendary <Olympian Silver> to the epic leather boots and refined and strengthened the Ice Troll souls previously used with the Soul Refinery. The last point, he did for all the items.
With the boost on the ice, Mike shot toward the Dragon Newt Warrior like a bullet. The boss was not stupid and quickly reacted by lifting his shield to block the beastman half his size.
"Well, that was stupid. You should have dodged..." Seth thought to himself as the scene played out before him.
The ram-horned Mike charging forward with terrible speed collided with the shield, which proceeded to disintegrate upon touch. The metal it was forged of was pulverized upon contact and the charging ram passed right through, turning the Dragon Newts' scaly chest into a mangled mess.
The Boss was catapulted back, his corpse barely staying in one piece after facing the full force of the swordsman's charge. Yeah, right, "swordsman". Awkwardly Mike came to a halt after the boss was smashed into the opposite wall of the boss room, sacking to the ground in a bloody pulp.
"Mike, you should hold back. You are supposed to be a swordsman, you know?" Mina cruelly voiced what Seth only thought.
"How am I going to get any materials out of that minced meat? Really now, Mike." Seth joked.
"I-I just wanted to try out a new opener. It's not my fault he tried to block the <Ram Charge>!" Mike defended himself with a chuckle. It was just good-natured banter.
After the first boss was ..."defeated" with an anticlimactic headbutt, they continued going deeper into the cave system. The lava pools grew to lakes in the floors further down and there were only narrow bridges of solid rock to walk on.
Even with Seth's <Life Detection>, these environments were not easy to face. Although everyone had gotten a buff in fire resistance, it didn't mean they could shrug off being sprayed with liquid rock and even falling into the lava lakes. The only ones able to survive would have been Seth and Bulko.
This was arguably harder than simply facing a bunch of strong monsters, but the added challenge was also what spiced things up and helped them improve. Although Seth was able to protect everyone thanks to <Apollo's Shield>, with only that they were just sitting ducks.
Mike, for example, could not rely on his sword's elemental properties, since most creatures on these floors were immune to fire. Similarly, Fin could not just punch them and Mina had a hard time using her shadow magic since the brightness of the lava didn't allow for many shadows.
"Fin, can't you turn into one of those things and hunt them in their element?" Bulko asked the fairy.
"I-err, yes! Of course! Fin definitely COULD do that, but Fin errm, Fin doesn't want to," the fairy stuttered flustered.
"It's okay if you can't do it, Fin. <Shapeshifting> can't be easy," Seth supported her.
"R-right, it isn't. Fin is sorry, Fin can't turn into things she didn't practice. Bulko, I lied. I'm sorry," she apologized depressed.
"Ah, err, It's okay. I just thought it might be possible," it was Bulko's turn to be flustered.
After some trial and error, it was Lyxiss' time to shine, since she was an Elven Elementalist she was able to use the magic of all elements. Although attacks of other elements were weakened in this environment dominated by fire and earth, she was able to grow their foothold thanks to her mastery of earth and fire elements.
With more room to work with, Mina found a new use for a skill, that had been severely underused by her before, <Telekinesis>. Together they came up with a new discipline, called Fairy Fishing.
Using the skill bound to the Ring of Nyx and Seth's directions using <Life Detection> they started a session of telekinetic fishing. Fin, as the only one of them that could fly, was the bait, flying above the surface of the magma like a fly. Seth's role was to tell her where to fly around.
When one of the monsters surfaced to attack Fin, the fair would lure it closer for Mina to catch it with <Telekinesis>. Once the cat girl hauled the beasts on land, out of the lava, the rest of the party could proceed to curb-stomp the mobs.
With this strategy they worked their way through the dungeon, only interrupted by a boss room every ten floors. They took turns to solo the bosses, taking care not to damage the materials like Mike did the first time.
----
<Ice Glider Boots(New)
Legendary
Phys.Def.: 700
Mag.Def.:650
Durability: 4500
1. Blessing of Wind
2. +200% Power on Skills and Spells
3. +20% Health Regeneration
4. 45% less damage from Frost related attacks
5. +20% Overall Powerup under the open sky
6. +15% Speed in the Cold and on ice
7. Active Skill: Ice Glider
A pair of smooth leather boots reinforced with legendary materials. And original work by Master Smith in cooperation with a divine being, that was overhauled by Master Smith the first Master Blacksmith and Master Enchanter of Urth.
Superior materials and mysterious practices were used in the making of this item. Thanks to the high craftsmanship they grant 15% additional movement speed>
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