The Runesmith

Chapter 355: Time To Explore.

Due to personal reasons, I"ll be taking a short break, next chapter will be delayed by a few days.

“AWOOO?”

“For the last time, don’t change until we reach the deeper dungeon! How many times do I have to repeat myself!”

“Worf!?”

Roland frowned while looking at Agni jumping around all over the place. Even though his size had increased he was more agile than ever. It wasn’t that long since he achieved his Sunlight Wolf evolution and it was clear that he wanted to have some fun with it. Having two forms that differed from each other was not something Roland could relate to but it seemed that Agni wasn’t taking it that well.

‘Has he gotten more rebellious after the recent evolution?’

He looked at Agni who was jumping around and exterminating every salamander monster the moment it came into view. While he was a bit too excited for his own good, the wolf was still following all orders. There was no growling or animosity that he could detect from his mannerisms.

‘I guess he isn’t acting that strangely, he is just probably excited to be in the dungeon without anyone else dragging us down.’

Armand and Lobelia had managed to reach level hundred fifty with relative ease. Now they were up top trying to prepare to retake their ascension rituals. Even Roland wasn’t able to get through his trial the first time so it wouldn’t be strange if the two took a few weeks. He a.s.sumed that their cla.s.ses wouldn’t be as prestigious as his was which would allow them to retake the test more frequently.

‘Mary is the same, I wonder what the three will change into.’

There were a couple of paths that all of them could take. Mary would probably choose something to aid her in gathering data and protecting her lord from the shadows. Armand would take something that enhanced his strength even further and perhaps also made him stupider. Lobelia had a few choices of ranged and rogue cla.s.ses, a good combination would make her a lot deadlier than she was now.

‘The biggest downside of this shortcut is the skills. It would have probably been better if all of them maxed everything out with the last skill included…’

He was a bit worried about the push in leveling being somewhat detrimental to the choice of the next cla.s.s. However, his own Overlord cla.s.s variation didn’t require him to have everything maxed. It seemed that maxing out on all the skills of the first tier 2 cla.s.s was enough to get him through and perhaps it would be enough for his friends.

“Woof!”

“Watch out, it’s some type of evolved creature?”

“Could it be a rare sp.a.w.n? Should we retreat, it looks strong, I think it’s a Dire Ruby Wolf, but it looks bigger… could it be … “

“Wait… calm down, isn’t it walking next to that … armored man?”

“Is that a man? Could it be some type of metal golem? That thing looks heavy…”

“Awooo!”

“Oh s.h.i.t, it spotted us… let"s run!”

“...”

Roland stood in shock as he appeared at the lava lake. A lot of new adventurers arrived and were itching to get down to the new secret area. Some of them did their research on the area and what monsters to expect. Volcanic wolves could be discovered in limited areas and Agni’s enlarged form could be mistaken for a rare variant of those types.

“Stop scaring the adventurer’s Agni, you’re using that skill too much.”

“Woof!”

Agni’s tongue flopped out after he performed his howl. He had gained a pa.s.sive skill that would cause enemies to panic if they didn’t have high enough willpower. Every chance he got now he would use this howling attack as it didn’t really use up any mana or stamina points. While it did allow them to move through the dungeon faster, Roland was starting to feel bad about the newbies just trying to make a living here.

‘They won’t go to the guild and tell them that a rare ruby wolf variant is terrorizing the dungeon, right?’

While looking at Agni’s stupid expression he realized that he might have to go and report the increase in tiers of his tamed monster. Even though Agni was wearing armor that he made to look tamed, his size was still comparable to a horse. His presence among the lesser monsters was eye-catching. If they b.u.mped into an unreasonable platinum party that was informed of a rare variant running loose, then it could get b.l.o.o.d.y.

He tried ignoring this issue for the time being but heading to the guild was now a must. Thankfully he was the Head Knight so even bringing a horse-sized wolf into the city could be excused. Perhaps placing a saddle on Agni and riding him into the city would give more validity to the whole situation.

“Worf?”

For a moment, Agni backed away from Roland, who was taking measurements of his back. He had never created a saddle before but making one from some fire-resistant leather would probably not be that hard. Perhaps his companion wasn’t too keen on getting ridden by a man that was wearing armor above a hundred kilos.

“What? You’re a big wolf, you’ll be able to handle it. Anyway, the lake is clearing up, let"s go.”

The two traversed this stretch in a record amount of speed with Roland losing the race in a substantial manner. At least when it came to running speed he could not go against his derpy-looking wolf. The two soon disappeared through the secret door and squeezed through the corridors that in some places were a tight fit for Agni’s increased size.

‘Oh, they are already here?’

“Ah, Sir Wayland, Good day.”

When he arrived at the mining area he was greeted by an acquaintance. Myrtle was there along with the whole party of adventurers that had been hired by Arthur. After a quick glance, it was clear that they were here to act as bodyguards for the Dwarven Union. Arthur had already signed a contract for the mining rights. Luckily he was able to shove the responsibility of taking care of the miners into the hands of this platinum party. 

With a situation like this, the other adventurers had to give up on getting any of the rare materials without in some way getting themselves in hot water. Even if they were able to get through the hired muscle, they would be going up against the Valerian household. As he nodded at the woman he took a glance at his mapping device and could see some movement at the end of the corridor through which he discovered this location years ago.

‘They seem to be working on that lift too, I see they took my advice to heart.’

Thanks to spatial magic moving the heavy ores wouldn’t be a problem. The real issue was the long walk back up and constant waits for the lava lake to clear up. To alleviate this problem he proposed to create a pulley system going up that didn’t necessarily have to carry the dwarves up. If it was able to house a cart with a spatial bag inside, it would be enough. It was more important for the materials to leave the mine early than the workers that could even sleep in tents here.

“Oh my, that magnificent creature… Is that an Alpha Dire Ruby Wolf? But the man is even larger and that horn radiates strange mana…”

His thoughts were interrupted after Myrtle spotted Agni. Compared to the weaker adventurers in the dungeon these five didn’t seem to care that much about Agni. Perhaps their extensive experience allowed them to distinguish feral beasts from tamed ones. All the other people including the miners began inching back but soon went on with their work after they realized that Agni was a tamed monster.

“Yes, something like that, now if you’ll excuse me.”

“Oh, are you going into the dungeon, Sir Wayland?”

“Yes, I’ll leave things in your care here, if something happens you can contact me through the usual channel.”

“Of course, I’ll use this as you’ve instructed.”

Myrtle smiled while moving her hand to the side. There she had a runic device that had the shape of a larger smartphone. Instead of a screen, it was covered in various runes with a crystal orb closer to the top side.

“h.e.l.lo, is it working?”

“Yes, I can hear you just fine.”

“Splendid.”

It was a two-way connection that transmitted sound. Roland just implemented some of the crystal ball magical technology into this runic device. It could not send through any images which conserved a lot of mana. Thanks to all the runic mapping devices that could transfer signals, it was possible to connect sound too. It was similar to a wireless phone network but was still quite limited.

One of the biggest limitations was the route that was required. It would be impossible for more than two people to converse while going through the same mapping devices that were shoved into the dungeon walls. It would also affect the map on his armor and produce errors if he used all of them at once. The new audio enhancers that didn’t interfere with the map still needed to be placed and his current trip here involved this issue as well.

“Please be careful and good luck.”

“I will. Come Agni, let’s go.”

Besides Myrtle, the party leader, the other four didn’t really react to his arrival. He wasn’t sure if he was disliked by the four others but at least Aubron looked displeased for a moment when he appeared. Perhaps in their minds, he had put them in a disadvantaged position by pretending to be weak.

‘Okay, which route is empty.’

Without anyone holding him back anymore he ventured forth. The need for traveling with a lumbering mule golem was also a big perk. With the runic dimensional pocket that was on his back, his traveling speed had increased. Agni’s armor had been enhanced with the same storage feature which made the old golem obsolete.

“Okay, this should be far enough…”

“Awoo?”

“Yes, go ahead Agni.”

With the help of his mapping system and the lack of tier 3 cla.s.s holders venturing into this dungeon, he was able to safeguard Agni’s secret. The shape of the Ruby Wolf started to shift as the ruby mane turned to one covered by red and orange flames. The main reason to come here was to level up but also to see how Agni fared against the undead creatures here. The first enemy wasn’t far and also one of the favorite types, a Berserker undead.

“Go for it Agni.”

“Grrrr.”

His floating cubes moved upwards to offer some ranged support if necessary. With the power of mapping, he was able to pick out the perfect location for Agni’s first duel. His opponent had a slightly higher level but was still at a large disadvantage. The moment it charged the effect took shape and the speed drastically decreased.

‘So even without using a proper spell a debuffing effect is in place, could it be the flaming mane made from divine mana?’

This Skeletal Berserker suffered a stat lowering debuff without getting even hit once. Once he got in range of the heat that was generated by Agni, his stats started to decrease. The monster was an undead so it didn’t feel any fear or pain so it continued forth. Both of its hands were raised up for a combined attack against the flaming opponent.

Roland didn’t say anything but he was still nervous. Agni was just standing there as if everything was perfectly fine. Even with the decreased stats the claws still regained their hardness and piercing power. If they connected the wound would be deep and if it hit an artery it could be devastating.

Before he could initiate his hovering cubes, Agni reacted. The first swipe came at him but he just jumped to the side. The attack was quickly followed by another which didn’t even graze the flaming mane. It became apparent that the difference in agility was tremendous and further enhanced by the monster’s constantly lowered stats.

‘The debuff effect isn’t as strong but the longer the fight lasts, the stronger it becomes.’

To get an immediate effect a divine spell needed to be utilized but a slow buildup over time was also possible. It was somewhat similar to the hallowed ground spell that he was able to create. From his calculations, the area affected was about ten meters around his wolf companion.

‘This is the perfect grinding spot for him…’

“Hey Agni, stop messing around, just kill it, more monsters are coming.”

It wasn’t much of a fight as the Skeletal monster couldn’t even land one single hit. Agni for some reason was playing around with his first kill as if he wanted to show off to his master. While everything looked fine, even a weaker monster could become a problem if not handled well.

After hearing the order, Agni finally got his b.u.t.t moving. The ruby mana and tail had been replaced by sunlight flames but they still could be used for attacking. His bulky form moved up into the air as he jumped. He performed a midair spin and used the momentum to enhance his tail attack. Instead of it flying forward like the previous ruby version it created a sharp arc of flames. This half-moon connected with the monster"s body and took out its legs causing it to fall down to the ground.

It was quite the sight to behold. Instead of falling down after the summersault Agni created a platform to catch himself. While jumping up even higher he raised his muzzle to the side of which some flames were already gathering. The monster down on the ground could only watch as the inferno descended from above.

‘He decided on the flames instead of the beam, I see that he managed to see the bigger picture.’

His breath attack was somewhat weaker than the beam that he could produce but there was one advantage, it used up a lot less mana and stamina. The solar beam was better suited as a last hard-hitting attack to end the whole fight and not when more monsters were on their way. Just as the skeletal fiend croaked, another one arrived through one of the corridors. This time around, Roland was there to intercept it with the help of his floating turrets.

The monsters were composed of the usual Skeletal Berserkers, Guardians, and Champions. With Agni’s help, they went down rather quickly. Roland took the job of the tank that forced the attention on his shiny armor. This left Agni open to strolling around the large chamber and using his divine flame spells to inflict ma.s.sive damage. The weakness of the undead was far too advanced for them to last more than a few minutes against their combined attacks.

“Oh, you leveled up already?”

“Woof!”

Agni jumped down next to one of the defeated skeletons and gave it a sniff. With a lack of mana stones to eat he decided to grab one of the large femur bones to munch on instead. After gathering up the dropped undead cores they moved on. The bones that they dropped could be sold for some change so he decided to insert them into Agni’s spatial rune. In the future, he hoped to increase the size of it, as he wanted to be able to fit in various weapons and even golems. He had to work with the four floating cubes to act as support golems.

The two soon left and continued with their journey toward the dungeon staircase. Previously he had explored this level and discovered all of its secrets so now it was time to head somewhere else. After finally arriving there and taking care of a few skeletons along the way, a choice needed to be made.

‘Should I go up or down?’

There were only a couple more levels when going up and then the dungeon ended. Monsters became weaker and even tier 2 ones started appearing if he decided to go up. By his calculations, the upper levels became smaller by around five percent until the last one that seemed unfinished.

‘Well, I’m not purely here to level a greater item is a greater item.’

When looking at his weapons he was still using the sword that he had obtained from his duel. It had been enhanced with several runes and so was the skull shield that he retained from this dungeon level. The room that it appeared in had not replenished itself so his search for more loot would continue upwards.

“Awooo?”

“Yeah, I made up my mind, let"s go up first. I’d like to look through the highest level… or in this case, it would be the lower levels.”

The theory that this was still an expanding dungeon looked the most plausible. He wanted to check for himself how a dungeon in this stage looked as not much information about this phenomenon was accessible to him. Perhaps when he arrived there he would be able to discover some other secrets like where this dungeon was heading. If for some reason it popped out outside the Albrook region it could become a problematic event.

“Wait, before we go… I should probably give her a call.”

Roland stood straight in place while activating several runes. His armor released a torrent of blue light that started shining in front of him. It created a region of blue light that soon started to pulsate. The pulsing continued for a minute before it changed into the form of an orb and within this...o...b..a human face could be seen.

“Wayland? Is something wrong?”

“No, just wanted to give you an update on the situation. I’m about to go up into the dungeon and don’t worry, the monsters here are rather weak so it won’t be a problem.”

“Please just be careful in there, when will you be back?”

“I don’t want to spend more than a few days here.”

On the other end, Elodia’s brows furrowed. He had promised to keep her informed about his whereabouts within the dungeon and this was not the first time he had contacted her. Both had ways of signaling if something went wrong and he had a direct line to some allies like Arthur if something did happen to her, his home, or the orphanage. After a little back and forth he ended the magical call and turned to Agni.

“Let’s go, you can take point this time around.”

“Worf!”

Agni was ecstatic at the order of moving forward. Both soon ascended the stairs to a level with weaker monsters. With both of them now being in possession of rare tier 3 evolutions and cla.s.ses, there was nothing to fear. The dungeon would soon open up all its secrets.