The Scorching dungeon ①「It’s so hot…」
After I heard this declaration from everyone, I decided that tomorrow I would dive into the dungeon alone.
I had called Maria a while ago, and she had brought me the production tools and dungeon locations that I would need.
I also asked about the dungeon’s core, but it looks like this is the first time she’s heard about a dungeon without a core. Well, I was only a little curious. If she doesn’t know, then there’s no real need to think about it that hard.
According to the map I had received from Maria, there was a rank 10 dungeon nearby, so I was planning on capturing it with everyone, but the girls didn’t want to drag me down, so they decided to wait outside.
When I think about it now, they made the right decision.
This dungeon is full of lava, and it’s incredibly hot. The moment a drop of sweat appears, it instantly evaporates.
I can endure this heat, but the others would surely have dried up after several minutes.
Rank 10 dungeons are special. The rank of other dungeons is decided by the rank of the adventurers that can barely survive there, but in a rank 10 dungeon there is no guarantee that you will return alive. The rank is decided like that.
So, there has yet to be anyone that has successfully captured a rank 10 dungeon. Maa, that can also be said about rank 9 dungeons as well though.
Basically, it’s impossible for people of this world to capture a dungeon of these two ranks.
「It came again」
From the magma, an enemy that I’m already familiar with appeared. The only enemy that I’ve seen on this level so far is this Flaming snake. It has resistance to physical attacks, and because I only have physical attacks, the only thing I can do is run away.
Fortunately, its movement speed is low, so running away is not difficult, but they appear often.
Because I encounter this guy every 10 steps I take, I came to hate seeing it.
「At last, I found it」
The reason I haven’t immediately made my descent to a lower level is because I’m in this dungeon to collect all the treasure chests.
This dungeon is pointlessly wide, so exploring takes time.
Besides, ever since I’ve entered this dungeon, the radius of the [Detection] and [Search] skills have significantly dropped, so I don’t know what lurks near the treasures.
It seems all rank 9 and 10 dungeons are like this.
「What’s this, a book?」
When I open the treasure chest, an old book lies inside. When I appraise the book it says: Magic – Skill book of fire. When I take a look at the skills, it seems I’ve learned fire magic.
Of course I read it. Because I can only use physical attacks right now, I really wanted to have a few attacks of a different nature.
This skill book must definitely be a gift from heavens. However, I wonder if fire elemental magic can even hurt the monsters in this dungeon.
After I finished reading the book, it disappeared.
I verify that I’ve learned all the skills I could, and use one as a test.
「Flame」
A column of fire appeared from the magic square on the ground.
Are? That’s strange. What appeared wasn’t a column of fire, but rather, it looked more like a laser.
When Sara uses this magic, at most a 2 meter high column of fire appears. Perhaps the power of the spell depends on the INT value?
Is this safe to use in such a narrow cave? I don’t want this cave to collapse and bury me alive.
For now, let’s head towards the unexplored areas.
After walking for a while, I’ve arrived at the next location.
I’m getting a reaction from below the magma… What am I supposed to do here?
I try to throw in the body of the lizardman we had hunted yesterday.
Un, even the bones melted in an instant.
For starters, let’s try throwing the item with the most durability in. The troll’s club.
It seems durable enough to withstand the heat if I fully repair it.
I put it in the item box and select the repair command. I repeat the process until its durability is maxed out. This body is definitely a cheat, but the real cheat is this system screen.
I take out the club and set myself up for a golf swing －－
「Fuu」
－－ the magma is gouged out and quickly put in the item box.
I quickly jump into the void left over in order to open the treasure chest.
It’s good that I was able to jump in but…
「No matter how I look at it, it’s way too hot to touch」
It was surrounded by magma until just a few moments ago, so it may be better not to touch it with my bare hands.
I’m prepared to open it even if my hands melt in the process, but even though my hands will recover, I will still feel the pain. I’m not a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t, so I’m not interested in receiving pain outside of combat.
Again, I take out the corpse of a lizardman, and I quickly use the lizard’s hand to unlock the treasure chest before the hand melts.
After I opened the treasure chest, I tossed the lizard back into my item box. There are two crystal b.a.l.l.s inside the chest.
– Transfer Crystal rank 9
2 in 1. A magic tool to transfer the person touching the crystal to another crystal.
I wonder if these crystals are compatible with Maria’s crystal.
Maria’s crystal allows her to travel freely.
I’ll keep one of these, and give the other one to someone from the group.
Next up is…
「It came again」
The Flame Snake approaches me again, but this time a group of them appeared in the entrance.
There’s no other way but to run through them.
The Flaming Snakes envelop my body, but heat of only this degree can’t do anything to me.
However, my clothes aren’t safe, so I don’t want to stay inside the snakes’ bodies for too long.
I began searching this dungeon an hour ago, but I wasn’t able to cover even half of it.
I’m thirsty. Is magma drinkable?
While thinking about such reckless things, I had a reaction from the [Detection] skill.
The reaction is coming from the wall to my right. Because the reaction wasn’t from [Search], but from [Detection], I can a.s.sume the item is a production material.
I dig into the wall with a pickaxe.
After I had swung several times, I hit something solid.
I take it out bare handed. Its hot, but I endure it.
– Combustion stone rank 7
It’s a stone that emits a high heat. When I touched it directly, I suffered severe burns.
Oo, I picked up something good.
I can use this for blacksmithing or cooking.
Because there are still reactions coming from this wall, I gather everything.
As a result, I’ve got 12 Combustion Stones altogether.
After I leave this dungeon, let’s immediately make a weapon.
Nearly 2 hours have pa.s.sed since I found the Combustion Stones.
After that, besides getting attacked by Flaming Snakes several times, nothing else has happened. I’ve made it to the place that shows where the next level is on the map.
I got a response from [Detection] and [Search] earlier.
There’s an enemy and a treasure chest up ahead.
My mood is gradually uplifted.
After all, for the first time, an enemy that is not a Flaming Snake stands before me. Moreover, it’s an enemy that carries the name, Red Dragon.
My mood is improving after finding such a powerful enemy.
Before me stands about a 5 meter long giant red lizard.
It isn’t dragon, it’s a lizard.
I was hoping for a dragon from fantasy, so I’m kinda disappointed.
Maa, it’ll be fine if it’s strong.
I rush towards the Red Dragon. In return, the lizard opens its mouth and unleashes a flash of scorching heat.
I dodge the flash and close the distance between us.
However, this lizard is unexpectedly quick and manages to dodge my attack.
I swing at the ground where the lizard was standing just moments before. I quickly recover, jump into the air, and hammer kick its back.
The lizard screams in pain while it falls to the ground.
As expected, it didn’t instantly die from this, but the lizard is dying due to the intense pain while still trying to stand.
Apparently, this lizard doesn’t seem to be that strong.
This is rank 10 dungeon, so I had expected opponents on the same level as that troll. I’m disappointed.
If an enemy as strong as the troll appeared, I wonder, just how much fun would I have?
I finish off the dying lizard.
I throw the lizard just as it is into the item box, and open the treasure chest it guarded.
「Here we go」
Seeing the contents, I immediately make a victory pose.
It was packed with curry roux. The real question is why it was full of curry roux, but I finally got a seasoning, so it’s a trifling matter.
I close the chest and try to see if I can put it in my item box.
– Treasure chest filled with Curry Roux x1
It seems to be OK.
With this, let’s declare today’s exploration done.
I explored only the first floor, but after this much heat my throat is dry.
I’ll explore the second floor tomorrow.
After walking back outside, I inhale the fresh air. Fresh air courses through my body once again.
「Ah, welcome back. How did it go?」
After being welcomed, I told Mira how it went.
On the way back, I hand her the Transfer Crystal.
With this, we can reach each other no matter where we are.
「Did something happen here?」
「No, we only exterminated some nearby monsters. Nothing else happened」
That’s good.
I tell Mira that I’ll cook today’s dinner.
Having curry after such a long time. It’s somewhat lonely without the rice, but I’m still happy.
What would happen to the adventurers of this world if they entered this dungeon?
Rank １～６: Will dry up within a minute and die.
Rank ７、８: Will survive for 5 minutes if not attacked by a Flaming Snake.
Rank ９、１０: Will survive for 10 minutes if not attacked by a Flaming Snake.