“Concentrate on defending!”
“Shield! Shield up front!”
While Weed was caught up in his concerns after talking to Geomchi, the battle between the dwarves and the Kalamus was still waging .
The Kalamus movements were flashy, but their swings were quickly fended off by dwarves with their shields .
‘To be free . ’
More attacks were poured onto Weed who was a step further .
‘Do I need further enlightenment in the way of the sword?’
The advanced training arena .
When he penetrated through the path of struggle, he felt he was walking down the way of the sword .
He found the perfect path that allowed him to fight numerous enemies based on a wide range of vision .
With clean, efficient movement that crushed the enemy .
With each battle honing his skill to perfection, but at this point in time he felt that he had nothing to add or shave from his swordplay .
‘Maybe I’m just concentrating on combat more than is needed . ’
In Royal Road there were many players that reduced instances of using swords directly and were therefore more dependent on skills to fight .
Depending on the situation, they used appropriate attack and defense skills which were decent enough .
That kind of style used up a lot of stamina and mana, but the player could carry out stable combat .
Players like Weed who utilize sword techniques perfectly against monsters were monstrous themselves .
People who calculate their decisions several times within a second were extremely rare .
‘I am already using 100% of my combat abilities . But for me to feel the thirst for the sword now…’
He thought no change would arise .
He learned a fine sword technique that allowed him to react appropriately to any situation as he saw through the movements of any monster .
Quick reaction and moving a step ahead was thought to be enough for hunting .
He also possessed secret sword techniques, various skills and equipment .
‘Dying to an opponent that is ridiculously powerful such as the dragon is unavoidable . Even so, I feel this thirst that is driving me crazy . ’
Weed’s frustration grew further as he battled the Kalamus .
The three-legged creatures raced around and harassed the dwarven defense line . It was very difficult to catch just one of them .
They were 100 levels higher than the dwarves, so it was best to hold for 30 minutes to an hour to defeat them a step at a time .
‘The dwarves lack in attack power . This composition inevitably consumes time . ’
He thought so in his head, but his heart was different .
It told him to swing his sword .
To take a step further .
He thought of Geomchi’s words of freeing himself from bounds .
Weed decided to follow it .
Three steps .
Just three steps taken caused the Kalamus to focus their attack on him .
The attacks from the front and sides doubled .
Weed processed the enemy attacks like usual .
‘Deflect the spear from the left first . The sword on the right is next . From the current position, up to five monsters can attack me simultaneously . I can’t retaliate this instant, but if I exchange a few times and knock them away, an opportunity will rise . ’
His split second decision was made, taking the nature and combat level of the Kalamus into consideration .
It was all thanks to his wide vision in combat that other players could only admire .
‘Kalamus are strong and have high stamina and intelligence; they are difficult monsters to defeat . Their bond with their own kin is also strong . They are formidable opponents for the dwarves . ’
This dungeon was located underground .
Unfortunately, he could not spam large AoE skills such as the Lava River and there was not much he could do about that .
‘I don’t need all that . Don’t process things anymore . ’
Weed emptied his mind .
He did not think of anything while watching the enemy’s movements .
He just raised his sword to retaliate!
Cling! Clang! Ching!
He fended off several attacks consecutively .
His movements were instinctual, as they had always been .
Swoosh!
That moment, Weed’s sword lunged forward .
It was as if his sword bent time itself .
“Wak?”
“Kye-kye-kyeet!”
“Where is he aiming?”
The Kalamus mocked Weed who was stabbing the empty space between them .
F-F-Fwoosh!
He swung his sword several times more .
They seemed like odd attacks, but soon the Kalamus were severely threatened .
His sword seemed to bend space itself .
The sword technique that even sees through movements of irregularity .
It seemed as if the Kalamus themselves were diving into the swing of his sword .
< Critical Strike!
You slayed a defenseless enemy… >
Weed defended, parried and attacked .
‘I swing where my heart directs . ’
The Loa sword swung without rest .
The adventurers that gathered at the Great Volcano were blown out of their minds .
“He ascended this mountain alone?”
“He’s crazy . So crazy that he pulled it off . ”
Half of the mountain was covered with dark red lava .
The lava was flowing down slowly and surging into the air like fountains in certain spots .
The ground was burning hot like a heated frying pan .
Chase’s face turned serious .
“I expect that a lot of us are going to die here… Turn back now if you wish . ”
None of the adventurers were hindered by what Chase said .
The situation was different from when nothing was discovered .
Adventurers were like moths flying into fire when they had a clear goal to pursue .
Chase too did not speak because he wanted someone to leave . He wanted them to strengthen their resolution before they proceeded .
“Let us go then . Blitz tactics . ”
The adventurers were well aware of the danger that came with the Great Volcano .
According to their observations, the massive lava surge occurred every two to three days .
After the surge, the dreadful heat prevented access for an entire day, so there were no safepoints .
“This is the start . ”
The adventurers began their climb .
The sky was covered with ashes and one could not tell if it was day or night .
Despite the darkness, the lava emitted a red glow and lit their path .
Crumble!
The ground under the adventurers shook violently .
“Could this be?”
“A volcano nearby has erupted . Let’s keep moving . ”
The adventurers witnessed the glaring lumps of lava from the volcano beside them .
It was truly an astonishing expedition .
“This is as far I go . Everyone please keep it up . ”
“Yes, of course . ”
The players with low fire resistance gave up after a third of the climb .
Their health points were falling and their bodies set on fire . Hence they decided to descend .
“It took 6 hours to get to this point . We must move faster . We have to take the risk . ”
Chase, who was directing the path, made his decision .
“So be it . ”
“If the Great Volcano erupts we are all dead anyway… Then we must hurry . ”
The other adventurers agreed as well .
Each time they found a stream of lava they circled around, slowing down their progress .
“Throw the hooks!”
They tossed their hooks to the other side of the lava stream and crossed over .
Some adventurers split away from the group and found their own paths .
“Kuaaaagh!”
“S Save me!”
The adventurers that came in contact with the lava burned to a crisp instantly .
The water elementals were summoned in an attempt to save them, but they too dissipated not long after due to the heat .
Just advancing 50, 100 meters led to several deaths .
When they came across a massive lava stream, they tossed their hooks, put together coils of rope to cross .
“We are finally here . ”
“The lair is really here . ”
256 adventurers made it to the lava cave discovered by Bison .
The interior of the Great Volcano visible through the cave contained the Red Dragon’s lair .
“Look, over there . Gold is flowing like water . ”
“Yeah . There are mountains of rubies too . ”
A river created from smelting gold was inside the lair . There was magical equipment and gems stacked in piles .
“The treasures here are about half as much as the treasures in Kaybern’s lair . ”
“That dragon had loads of treasure because it exploited the dwarves . ”
“Still, this is the most I have ever seen . ”
The adventurers boiled with greed . But, passing through the lava cave was their problem at hand .
The width of the cave was about 3 meters . The ceiling was high, but lava was dripping like water drops .
“We have to avoid the lava… About half way we will have to cross a complete lava floor . ”
“It appears to span across about 50 meters . More like flying over it . ”
“Luckily there are no forces guarding the lair . ”
“Who would dare to pass through? It is fortunate for us that there are no monsters . ”
The adventurers ended their brief discussion .
From this point on, they had no choice but to leave each to their own abilities .
Ten adventurers leapt into the cave and died from the heat and dripping lava from the ceiling .
Two of them managed to get further but still lost their lives near the 50 meter lava floor .
“Next group . ”
“Yup . Hurry . ”
The adventurers did not have time to assess each try .
In an interval of one or two minutes the players were deployed .
This method of sacrificing lives was pure recklessness but seemingly effective .
They didn’t discuss their trial and errors . They just experienced what method works and what doesn’t with their bodies . About a hundred of them died, but they secured an acceptably safe path to the lava floor .
Even on this path, 2 out of 10 would be the unlucky ones to die .
“Lava floor . I will try it first . ”
Chase posed to challenge the biggest obstacle . He had various types of powerful magic resistances and decent equipment .
After safely advancing up to the lava floor, he activated the flight spell sealed within his ring .
He flew so low across the lava he almost seemed to skate across its surface . However, about half way through, the lava began squirming .
Shhwak!
An arm covered with scales like a lizard spawned and grabbed Chase .
“Wind Acceleration!”
Chase hurriedly increased his speed and returned to the other adventurers .
“Monsters . What do we do?”
“They don’t seem to be monsters protecting the lair, but rather creatures that inhabit the lava . Combat type job classes would be able to handle them . ”
“We can’t defeat them, so it will be best to go around . ”
“Are you saying we should find another path?”
“That’s too much . We have 12 hours at minimum – 24 hours if we are lucky until the eruption . ”
“What if we recoup and return after the eruption?”
“We don’t have many chances . It will take another day for the heat to simmer down . ”
The adventurers continued to try to find a way through while being devoured by the lava monster .
(To be continued…)
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