The fight against the 2nd floor's boss was… anticlimactic, to say the least. Verdra had become so strong that it didn't even worth to call it a fight anymore—it was a completely one-sided massacre.
The red Minotaur sent its subordinates to face us first. We dealt with them effortlessly. Verdra decapitated 2 of them in quick succession using Hellfire Slash, while I blinded 1 with my ice shards, severed its thigh, and finished it off with my halberd after he collapsed to the ground.
Unlike Verdra, I couldn't decapitate them outright. My current strength just didn't allow it. I couldn't jump as high as she could, and their necks were around 2 and a half meters above the ground—well out of my reach.
After we dealt with the minions, Verdra gained a Lv up, and her mana was fully restored. She immediately cast a Lv5 fire magic, Firewal, surrounding the boss and limiting its breathing room. I followed up by striking it with Electrokinesis to stun it, then engulfed its body in flames using Pyrokinesis.
It was still alive after our combo attack, but its entire body was so badly burned that it struggled to even move. Verdra made quick work of it with her Hellfire Slash, cutting off all of its limbs before finally decapitating it.
< Your party member have slain a Minotyrant. exp+xxxx >
< Lv up x3 >
< Hp and stamina is fully recovered >
< You received 970 Currencies >
"Is there really a need to cut off all of his limbs before killing him?" I asked, letting out a chuckle.
"Of course there is!" Verdra replied sternly. "He's the one who cut off your leg. I wouldn't be satisfied killing him without letting him suffer first."
"You're the type who holds grudges, huh?" I said wryly. "But sorry to say, that wasn't the one who cut my leg yesterday. We already killed that guy, remember?"
"It's for my own satisfaction," she said, crossing her arms. "Don't fret it."
"…Then what would you do if I told you the elven kingdom cut off both of my hands, stripped me of my magic, and rained barrage of insults down on me?"
"I could burn the entire elven kingdom to a crisp if you want," she said, her voice carrying a faint chill.
"Uwah. That's scary," I said, slightly taken aback. "Don't burn the whole kingdom please. Just the bad guys are fine. Besides, I'll be the one to punish them. You don't need to sully your hands with their filthy blood."
"If you say so."
"Haha. Don't forget, we're still too weak to face them head-on," I warned teasingly.
"How strong are they, exactly?"
"Hmm, let's see…" I put a hand under my chin. "Rudl was around Lv2100. Krost and Lesnard were around Lv1600, and Vinarg was around Lv1700. They're really strong—even for me, back when I was a Hero."
"Then we just need to Lv up before we crush them," she said with a determined expression.
"You're really agreeing with my revenge plan, huh? I thought you'd stop me with, 'revenge only brings emptiness to your heart.' or something like that."
"They mocked my master, called him disgusting… and some other cruel stuffs, but only dared to do so after rendering him unable to fight. They're cowards, through and through." She uncrossed her arms, her expression deadly serious. "My pride as a True Dragon would never forgive letting them roam free after what they'd done to you."
"Well… sorry for being such a weak master," I said, feigning dejection.
"That's not what I mean," she snapped irritably. "You're weaker now, yes, but they're elves. They live longer than humans and grew arrogant because of it. Mocking humans because of their short lifespans, while only being slightly stronger due to time alone—how shameless could they be?"
She continued sharply, "I know how strong humans could become. If they remain ignorant of that fact, then only doom awaits them."
"I-I'm surprised you can get this fired up," I admitted. "But… are you sure a human with such a short lifespan like me can really surpass them?"
"Of course you can. Humans were once the most feared race in the world, you also had me now."
She glanced at me. "And if you're worried about your lifespan, don't be. You'll share the lifespan of the True Dragon you're in contract with."
"…And how long is that?"
"I've never seen or heard of a True Dragon dying from natural causes. So unless something killed me, I'll probably live for many millennia to come."
"Wow. That's… kinda scary."
However, what she told me completely contradicted what I had been taught. The elves claimed humans were the weakest race because of their frail bodies, and their inability to use magic.
Maybe humans in her era were far stronger.
I collected the boss Minotaur's magic stone and left the rest of the drops behind. I couldn't sell them down here anyway, and I didn't want the extra weight. I only needed a few magic stones for my halberd.
We opened the metal door guarded by the Minotyrant, and as expected, it led to a staircase descending to the third floor.
After going down the stairs for about 10 minutes, we arrived in a square-shaped concrete room, roughly 20 meters tall and wide.
< The Hellhole Dungeon. 2nd floor (safe zone) >
At the center, sat a small, round fountain. In one corner was a square protrusion about 3 meters tall with a door attached. When I opened it, it turned out to be a… toilet?
A squat toilet. No toilet paper.
…Still better than digging a hole, I guess.
"This dungeon really is something," I muttered. "I never thought I'd find a toilet down here. It's quite comfy for a Hellhole—Where does the pipe even lead, though?"
I glanced around. "And there's no teleportation circle, either."
Some safe zones had teleportation circles that led back to upper floors or the dungeon entrance, but they only worked one way, so you need to give some thoughts before using one.
"So, what do you say, Yuu?" Verdra asked while playing with the fountain water, splashing it around. "Call it a day, or keep going? I'll follow your decision."
"I can still going," I said. "What about you? If you're tired, we can rest for now and continue tomorrow."
"I'm still full of energy," she declared, putting her hands on her waist, wetting the seam of her skirt slightly. "I can go for several days without sleep, and every time I Lv up, my stamina fully recovers."
"Is that so? Then let's continue. We can come back here later. Unlike you, I still need some sleep every day."
At least once every 2 days. I often pull a day of all-nigther when my parents were still alive…
It was only past 2 pm. The day was still long—though you can't really tell it's day or night inside this dungeon.
"Alright then. Let's gooo!" Verdra said, pointing excitedly toward the exit.
I followed her from behind, and just like that, we descended toward the 3rd floor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Achoo!" Verdra sneezed, shuddering as she hugged her sleeves. "Why's it so cold in here…?"
"Well… it's ice everywhere," I replied. "Of course it's cold."
The third floor was an ice cave—wide and tall, around 15 meters high and 10 meters across. The walls and ceiling were sealed in glossy, translucent ice that reflected pale blue light, while the ground beneath our feet was rough, frozen soil and stone.
"Uwaaah… I don't feel confident about surviving this," she muttered.
The school uniform I'd given her—a white short-sleeved shirt, dark-blue blazer, and a cream colored skirt barely reaching her knees—was clearly not meant for this kind of climate.
"Are dragons bad with cold?" I asked.
"Fire Dragon?" she replied flatly. "Yeah. Cold is my worst enemy."
"Then why not use Warmth? It's just a Lv2 fire magic."
"I could, but it would keep draining my mana," she said. "If I run out right before a strong monster shows up, we're dead."
"…That's a problem," I admitted. "Then how about this—transform back into your chibi form. I'll carry you and keep us warm with Pyrokinesis. If we run into trouble, you can revert back and cast Warmth."
Controlling heat around my body with Pyrokinesis wouldn't cost much brain load. Preserving Verdra's mana was far more important for now. Cryokinesis' cold resistance only works for me anyway—it'll only works around my body part where I activated the skill.
"…That could work," she said.
Black fog wrapped around her body, and a moment later—
"Gwii."
I grabbed her and held her against my stomach. It made wielding my halberd awkward, but it's manageable.
"Hehe." I chuckled. "I missed that sound."
"Don't make fun of me!" her voice echoed in my head.
"Alright, I'm Sorry" I said half-heartedly,
"By the way… where'd your clothes go?"
"Hmm… They're… somewhere? Inside me, I don't know how to put it into words, but it's definitely there."
Activating Pyrokinesis around my stomach area, I asked her. "How's that, still cold?"
"This is fine," she replied. "I can handle it."
"Bear with me."
We moved deeper into the cave. About 200 meters in, the path split.
"So… which way?" I asked.
"You're asking me?" she said, then pointed forward. "...We're going straight."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Like I said—this dungeon has some serious balancing issues!" I snapped.
Standing before us was a massive creature—around 3 meters tall, its entire body covered in white fur. Its face was damn ugly, fangs jutting upward almost reaching its eyes. Its belly bulged unnaturally, its legs short like a primate's, and in its unproportionatally long hands was a club as thick as a log.
—————————————————
Yeti
Lv:182
—————————
"Gyeeeee!"
The Yeti shrieked and burst forward, charging at us at terrifying speed despite its stubby legs.
It raised its massive log club overhead.
"Crap—!"
I jumped sideways, instinctively curling my body around Verdra as I rolled across the icy ground. The club crashed down where we'd been standing a heartbeat earlier, shattering ice and sending fragments flying. My halberd slipped from my grip and skidded away.
"Verdra, get ready!" I shouted.
She transformed mid-motion, black fog peeling away as she leapt behind the Yeti.
"Haaah!"
Her Hellfire Slash swept toward its neck—
*Woosh!*
The blade connected.
"…What!?"
Unexpectedly, It only carved about one-sixth into the Yeti's thick neck.
"Gyeeeee!" The monster roared in pain.
"Verdra! Get out of there!" I yelled.
Before she can shove her sword from its neck—
Too late.
Its massive hand already snapped shut around her body.
"Wha—" she struggled, trying to break free from the grip.
"Verdra! No!"
I sprinted toward them, but before I could even do anything, the Yeti had already hurled her away like a professional pitcher.
*Crack!*
"Gghah!" she let out a pained grunt.
She slammed into the glassy ice wall, her body carving a shallow crater there before dropping onto the ground.
"Verdra!"
I glanced at her briefly before refocusing on the Yeti now standing in front of me. Her Hp had dropped to under 30% from that single attack, but she was still alive.
The Yeti turned around and swung its log club downward, aiming straight for my head.
Shit! I can't dodge this!
I raised my arm over my head, desperately trying to guard my life from the incoming attack. But before the club could even reach me, the Yeti's body shuddered violently—it had been struck by a massive bolt of black lightning.
I could see her arm stretched forward while she propped herself up with the other. It was Verdra's Black thunder strike—Lv8 Thunder strike + Lv10 Black lightning.
"Don't… mock me—urgh…" Verdra jeered at the Yeti in a hoarse voice as she struggled to stand. "You ugly, distended, muscle-headed freak!"
She downed a Mana recovery potion (mid) we got from the 2nd floor and tossed the empty vial aside. Her mana must have been running dangerously low after unleashing that high-Lv Lightning magic on such a large scale.
"Yuu. We burn this piece of crap to cinder!" she said, a cold edge creeping into her tone. It was kinda scary.
"Got it!" I replied, grabbing a lighter from my pocket.
While the Yeti was still stunned by Verdra's magic, I lit the lighter and immediately manipulated the flame, spreading it to engulf the Yeti's entire body with the hottest fire I could manage.
—————————————————
Brain load: 53%
—————————
"Haaaaaaah!" I roared, pouring fire into the monster without pause.
Keep it together! Just burn him. Don't think.
"Gyeeee!!" The Yeti screamed, thrashing frantically as flames wrapped around its whole body.
—————————————————
Brain load: 84%
—————————
Urgh… my head's freaking hurt—No! not yet. I can still push, I'll kill this guy!
< Pyrokinesis Lv3 ~> Lv4 >
The heat surged violently, feels like it's tearing control away from me.
"Dieeeeeeeee!!" I keep roaring.
—————————————————
Brain load: 96%
—————————
—That's it. I'm at my limit.
I couldn't control my flames anymore. My body felt heavy, and my head felt like it was about to explode. I stumbled down to my knees, barely managing to support myself with my hands, just to keep my face from kissing the ground.
The fire was gone now. The Yeti's skin was scorched all over, but it wasn't dead yet—it even started moving again, groggily, after my flames extinguished.
"You—got to be… kidding me!" My voice came out as an incoherent groan.
"That's enough, Yuu." Verdra declared from behind the Yeti, unnoticed by it. She stretched her right hand forward. "Hellfire Eruption!"
"Gyeeeee!!"
The monster screamed in agony once more as its entire body was engulfed in a pillar of blue flames, erupting straight from beneath where it stood. Its wailing gradually weakened with each seconds passes.
Just a few seconds later, the flames disappeared. Yeti's body collapsed forward onto the ground, while at the same time Verdra fell backward—most likely from running out of mana.
Ugh… my head hurts, and it feels like I'm about to puke any moment.
Why is it always Verdra who gets the cool scene at the end? Ah… I'm so jealous.
"Then kill him already! I can't even stand up anymore. My head hurts like hell, and this cold is killing me!" Verdra nagged telepathically. My thoughts must've slipped to her.
Oops… Yes ma'am!
—————————————————
Brain load: 88%
—————————
I forced myself to stand despite the splitting headache and grabbed my halberd from behind me. Then, I slowly walked toward the now-limp but still-living Yeti.
"Man… how tough is this guy?"
I swung my halberd down onto the Yeti's neck with what little strength I could muster. I brought it down several times, activating its special effect, until finally, the Yeti was dead.
< You have slain a Yeti. EXP + xxxx >
< Lv up x31 >
< Maximum Lv increased to 181 >
< Hp and stamina is fully recovered >
< You received 1820 Currencies >