7 All or Nothing
Shizuka sat on the edge of the trap, dangling her legs into the hole, swinging them back and forth as she pondered her current predicament. It had been six weeks since they entered the dungeon, she had leveled up quite a bit since then by killing Lava Hounds and the occasional Lava Golem with the rest of the party.
However there was one issue. It was getting hard to find anything left to kill. If they wanted to level up any more, they would have to kill this floors Mini-Boss and progress to the second floor.
Opening her status, she took a look at her current stats.
[ Name: Shizuka
Race: Snow Girl
Titles: Beginner Monster (3/10 Humans killed, +10% all Stats), Path Finder: +50% Points per level
Level: 36
Class: Snow Specter, Enslaved
HP: 2750/2750
MP: 7150/7150
VIT: 100 (110)
STR: 150 (165)
INT: 260 (286)
DEX: 100 (110)
AGI: 150 (165)
MDEF: 200
PDEF: 100
Unassigned Points: 0
(): Finalized stats after factoring in equipment, titles and buffs (Rounded down).
Skills:
Tier 2 Ice Magic, Tier 2 Shadow Magic, Shadow Dispersion, Shadow Travel, Frosty Aura (Passive)]
After hitting level 20 her point gain per level had went from 10 points to 20. She had also gained a new title for choosing a hidden class called Path Finder, which gave her an additional 50% points per level, which made her current total points per level, 30.
From what Lusha had told her, the next evolution came at level 50. It would also require materials specific to her class elements. Hers being Ice and Shadow.
"Haaahh... Shizu, are you playing with another one?" Nori sighed, walking up behind her.
Shizuka had picked up a new hobby over these past few weeks. Namely, torturing and humiliating her prey. After the first Lava Hound she found it quite addicting to watch their reactions. Would they get angry? Would they try to run away? How long would it take before they gave up? For some reason she found their struggling quite funny.
Looking down into the trap Nori saw a bloody and mangled Lava Hound, barely clinging to life.
"It's times like this that make me remember you're not actually a cute little girl..." Nori chuckled.
Shrugging, Shizuka flicked her finger, summoned an ice spear and sending it through the Lava Hound's head, finally finishing it off, before collecting the body.
"Come on, we're about to discuss the plan for the first mini-boss. I went out and scouted it this morning."
Nodding, Shizuka followed Nori back to the cave. Lusha and Klyn were cooking Lava Hound meat for lunch, again. But she couldn't really complain, at least they weren't starving.
[Klyn - Wolf Fang Knight - Level 37]
[Lusha - Apprentice Elven Sage - Level 37]
[Nori - Viper Assassin - Level 36]
Sitting down, Shizuka grabbed some food and started eating.
"The first mini-boss is Level 41. It looks like it's a larger version of a Lava Golem. However that's not the biggest issue we have. The biggest issue is that the rest of the floors are located inside the volcano, which means we won't be able to continue leveling up on each floor as we go..." Nori explained.
All dungeons were progression based, which means that if it is a level 20 dungeon, the end boss would be level 30. With each dungeon having 5 floors, each floor increased in difficulty with higher level monsters appearing.
However there were two different layouts to dungeons, the first was dimension based. Each floor had a lot of space and a lot of monsters to hunt, you would kill the mini-boss and then teleport to the next floor. Rinse and repeat until you were at the final boss. These dungeons were called leveling dungeons, as you could get a lot of EXP as you progressed.
The second type of dungeon was tower based. The first floor was a wide area, just like the dimension based dungeons, but the first mini-boss would be guarding a door leading into a tower that contained the other floors. The boss being at the top. These dungeons were used mostly for loot runs as the loot quality was higher, and you could finish it faster.
"With this being a tower type dungeon, the next floors are going to be much more difficult.." Lusha said looking down. "Especially with the boss being level 50.. we'll all be under leveled by at least 10 levels."
"Do you think the captain made it this way on purpose..?" Nori asked, furrowing her brow.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Lusha replied.
Shizuka and the others finished the rest of the meal in silence as they thought about their next move.
"Let's scour the first floor to see if we can find anything else to kill before we attempt the tower." Nori offered.
Agreeing, the party packed up everything in the cave, saying their final goodbyes to Govad's grave. They wouldn't be coming back, they would either clear the dungeon in the next few days or die trying.
***********************
After scouring the first floor, killing anything they came across, they each were able to gain one more level.
[Klyn - Wolf Fang Knight - Level 38]
[Lusha - Apprentice Elven Sage - Level 38]
[Nori - Viper Assassin - Level 37]
Shizuka put her 30 points into INT bringing the total up to 319, making her total MP 7975.
Dismissing her status window, Shizuka looked over at the Mini-Boss if front of them.
[Lava Gate Guardian - Level 41]
It looked just like the other Lava Golems they had spent the past six weeks killing except it was three times bigger.
"Shizu, just like the other Golems, slow him down when he's about to attack and freeze him solid when he enrages. As long as we take it slow this should be an easy fight." Nori said, pulling out her blade.
After Lusha activated her buffs, Nori and Klyn jumped out and rushed towards the boss.
Reaching her hands out Shizuka summoned two giant ice hands that grabbed the guardian, keeping him in place so Nori and Klyn could use their strongest skills right at the start.
Jumping up, Klyn and Nori swung their blades. Klyn's sword went most of the way through the guardians right arm, while Nori left a huge gash in it's chest, poison spewed out of it, seeping into the guardian and weakening it's armor.
Waving her left hand Shizuka created another ice hand that reached up and grabbed what remained of the guardian's right arm. Pulling her hand back she made a fist as the ice hand ripped the arm off the guardian.
The guardian's eyes glowed red as it roared in pain, collapsing onto one knee.
Not letting the chance slip by, Shizuka morphed the ice hands into a large hammer. Slamming her hands down, the hammer smashed into the guardian's back, making him fall onto the ground face first.
Dismissing the hammer, Shizuka raised her hands up as large ice chains erupted out of the ground, chaining the guardian down. The chains flickered with shadow magic, reinforcing them.
"Nice Shizu!" Nori shouted as she and Klyn attacked the helpless guardian.
The guardian struggled to get free, but everywhere the ice chains touched, ice started to spread out, slowly covering it.
With the damage piling up, it didn't take long before the golem started to glow red, signaling that it was low on HP and enraging.
"Here it is!" Nori shouted, jumping back with Klyn.
Shizuka was waiting for this, waving her hand, she dismissed the ice chains and started to create a large ice lance above the golem. Incorporating her shadow magic, she reinforced the lance so it wouldn't melt as fast. She also condensed a large portion of shadow magic at the tip of the lance, making it crackle with a menacing energy.
As the guardian started to push itself back to it's feet, fire and Lava erupted from it, melting the ground around the guardian. Seeing this, Shizuka slammed her hands down once again, sending the ice lance flying down at the guardian.
Piercing through it, the lance made a large hole in the guardian's chest as ice rapidly spread out from the hole. The guardian tried to melt the ice, but it was to late, it was soon frozen solid.
Nori and Klyn smiled and once again used their strongest attacks to attack the guardian, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.
"Dang Shizu! You did amazing! Where the heck did that come from?!" Nori praised, patting Shizuka on the head.
"That was very impressive. "Lusha said smiling.
"Grrr..." Klyn nodded.
Blushing Shizuka lowered her head. Truthfully, after their first encounter with a Lava Golem and losing Govad, she had snuck out while the party was sleeping to practice on other Lava Golems. She didn't want to repeat what had happened with their first encounter.
With the shadow travel skill she got after her class up it was pretty easy to run away if things went bad. Through trial and error, Shizuka had found out that all of a Golem's strength was in their attacks, if she pushed them over, and took away their ability to move. It was a matter of time before their defenses crumbled.
After collecting the guardian's body, Shizuka took a look at the loot they got.
[Lava Rock x100]
[Obsidian x 30]
[Lava Crystal x10]
[Crystal Core x1]
[Lava Gate Key x1]
[Molten Greaves (Blue)]
[Molten Bracers (Blue)]
[Fire Resistance Ring (Blue)]
This boss had dropped three pieces of gear! The only other piece of gear she had seen dropped was from the first Lava Golem they killed. Shizuka smiled and opened her inventory to took a look at the stats.
[Molten Greaves (Blue) - Level 40
Fire and Heat Resistance +15%
STR + 30
VIT + 30
PDEF + 300
MDEF + 100
Skill: Increase your defense by 50% for 3 Minutes. Movement speed decreased by 50% for duration.
Cooldown: 5 Minutes after effect ends.
Set Bonus 3/6: 15% passive damage mitigation.]
[Molten Bracers (Blue) - Level 40
Fire and Heat Resistance +5%
STR + 15
VIT + 15
PDEF + 150
MDEF + 50
Set Bonus 3/6: 15% passive damage mitigation.]
[Fire Resistance Ring (Blue)
Fire and Heat Resistance +10%
All stats +20]
Curiously, the ring didn't show a level requirement. Pulling the gear out of her inventory, Shizuka showed the group what they got.
"You should equip that ring Shizu, it doesn't have a level requirement like the armor does." Nori said.
"Yeah, the heat resistance should help a bit. I know you've been having a hard time with the heat." Lusha continued.
"Grr.." Klyn growled, nodding.
"Oh and I think I got one of the other pieces of gear from that set. Klyn didn't you get a couple too?" Nori asked, pulling out a pair of boots from her inventory.
Klyn nodded as he pulled out two pieces of gear as well.
[Molten Boots (Blue) - Level 40
Fire and Heat Resistance +5%
STR + 15
VIT + 15
PDEF + 150
MDEF + 50
Set Bonus 6/6: 30% passive damage mitigation.]
[Molten Gauntlets (Blue) - Level 40
Fire and Heat Resistance +5%
STR + 15
VIT + 15
PDEF + 150
MDEF + 50
Set Bonus 6/6: 30% passive damage mitigation.]
[Molten Helmet (Blue) - Level 40
Fire and Heat Resistance +5%
STR + 15
VIT + 15
PDEF + 150
MDEF + 50
Set Bonus 6/6: 30% passive damage mitigation.]
Klyn growled as he pushed the armor towards Shizuka. Shizuka tilted her head in confusion, shouldn't Klyn take them? The stats on the armor were perfect for him.
Growling again Klyn pointed at the armor then pointed at the volcano.
"I think he wants you to take it because of the heat resistance." Nori said. "You've been having a hard time out here, I can't imagine what it will be like once we enter the volcano."
Growling once again Klyn nodded, patting Shizuka on the head.
Shizuka looked at him hesitantly. Seeing him nod once again, Shizuka put the armor in her inventory.
"Klyn isn't even level 40, yet so he can't use the armor anyways. Once we get inside the volcano, we'll see how each fight goes. If needed Klyn can use the armor once he hits level 40." Lusha reassured.
Nodding, Shizuka took the ring out of her inventory and slipped it onto her index finger. A wave a relief hit her as the heat resistance kicked in. If 10% was helping her this much, she could imagine what it would be like if she equipped the armor! But it would be best if Klyn used the armor, the set was tailored for tank classes. If Govad was still alive it would be perfect for him, but with him gone Klyn had been acting as the parties pseudo-tank.
[ Name: Shizuka
Race: Snow Girl
Titles: Beginner Monster (3/10 Humans killed, +10% all Stats), Path Finder: +10 Points per level
Level: 37
Class: Snow Specter, Enslaved
HP: 3,300/3,300
MP: 8,525/8,525
VIT: 100 + 20 (132)
STR: 150 + 20 (187)
INT: 290 + 20 (341)
DEX: 100 + 20 (132)
AGI: 150 +20 (187)
MDEF: 200
PDEF: 100
Unassigned Points: 0
(): Finalized stats after factoring in equipment, titles and buffs (Rounded down).
Effects: Fire and Heat Resistance +10%
Skills:
Tier 2 Ice Magic, Tier 2 Shadow Magic, Shadow Dispersion, Shadow Travel, Frosty Aura (Passive)
Equipment: Fire Resistance Ring (Blue)]
Shizuka looked at her stats with the ring on and smiled happily. With her titles and the ring, she was comparable to a level 40.
Looking ahead, Shizuka could see a large stone gateway embedded into the side of the volcano. Looking up, the it towered high into the sky, she could see rivers of lava cascading down the side.
Pulling the Lava Gate Key from her inventory, she noticed it was a brown cube the size of her fist with red, glowing glyphs etched into it. Taking a deep breath she walked up to the gateway and presented the key. The cube lifted into the air for a second before dissolving into flakes of light and disappearing.
Suddenly there was a loud grating sound as the giant gateway slowly started to open outwards.
Shizuka could feel a sudden rush of hot air hit her as she started to sweat. She wasn't even in the volcano yet and she felt like she was going to die.
Releasing a bit of her anger, the area around her body cooled down as she attempted to counter the heat with her passive.
'I really hope we find some more heat resistance gear...' Shizuka sighed.
The party made their way inside as the gates closed behind them.
It was all or nothing now.
