Chapter 23

Molten Cave (V)

Everyone rapidly moved to the front, Emma and Rick leading the charge with raised shields, screen-like projections ripping out of them. Jamal and Justin turned to the sides and began running at the monster’s flanks, while Jim ran in front of Cain to act as a temporary relief for Emma or Rick.

The remaining five were behind Cain, Decker, Gerald, and Sam forming a triangle around Diya and Lamia, the former already showering every member of the party in a golden light while the latter sang out notes rapidly, both trying to outpace the damage done by the falling fire. Two minutes? Cain estimated, observing his rising-and-falling health. Should be enough...

The creature roared and slammed its mace onto the ground, causing ripples to shoot out. Rick and Emma rooted themselves in place, Jim walking up toward them and placing his hands on their backs while the rest hid behind. The wind roared past their ears, knocking down everyone except Rick, Emma, and Cain. They quickly recovered, though, making up the distance and starting to attack.

Emma and Rick split to the sides of the creature’s ‘limbs’, ramming their shields repeatedly into it while their skin continued to redden due to heat. Jamal sprinted into the air and continued ripping his sword into the creature while Justin repeatedly morphed into and out of his shadow form, stabbing its back.

Cain rapidly charged Water and Frost, sending out a torrent of electric-like bolts toward the creature’s head while Jim covered for him temporarily, taking on several attacks in a row.

A sea of fire rippled out from beneath the creature, turning into a ring-shaped tsunami that swelled toward them. Emma and Rick withdrew rapidly as everyone formed a circle with two of them at the front raising the shields. Meanwhile, Justin and Jamal backed off from the creature and began running away.

The fire washed over the group, causing everyone to yelp out in pain as the sensation of skin-shedding heat overcame them. The shields held up, however cracked they became toward the end, as Emma and Rick ran forward again.

The former raised her arm taut and flexed her arm muscles, causing a golden spear to appear above her right shoulder. Roaring, she threw her arm forward, causing the golden spear to rive through the air and lodge itself into one of the creature’s ‘eyes’. It yelled out an agonizing scream, thrashing its mace toward Emma who quickly raised her shield and blocked the strike.

It still, however, blew her back nearly fifty feet, breaking the ranks. Realizing that the creature was growing more and more berserk and was about to charge past the frontline, Cain took a deep breath and charged his feet with Frost, consuming half his remaining Mana in a single go.

"MOVE AWAY!!" he screamed at Jim and Rick who both tossed themselves sideways immediately, just as Cain slammed his foot into the ground. The earth quaked for a moment as it was gashed open, a burst of thirty-feet-tall slanted icicles hacking out toward the creature, acting as sort of a fence for a moment while also dealing damage.

While the creature was tangled up inside a temporary prison, Jamal heaved after sprinting back, using all the momentum he’d gathered to render his entire blade wholly white, slamming it into the creature’s back. The latter stumbled forward with a roar, fire slitting out as though tossed from a volcano. Just then, Rick recovered and rammed his shield directly into the creature’s lowered head, dizzying it for a moment and causing it to stumble back.

Justin joined the fray, sprinting to the front and, with Emma’s help who tossed him into the air, jumping just over the creature’s head, aiming further into its eyes and tossing dark-coated, dagger-shaped arrays of shadows, snuffing out the roaring flames for a second.

"EVERYONE, ATTACK TOGETHER!!" that second was enough, though, Cain realized and shouted at everyone. Using the last reserves of his Mana -- something both Lamia and Diya had already run through completely -- and daring not look at his falling health, he charged Arcane and Frost into his fists and spread his arms open for a moment before bringing them together in front of his chest.

Cold, frigid winds roared all of a sudden from the creature's side, purple-coated blocks of ice each at least a hundred feet across slamming from the clear sky into the creature's sides. Just then, Jamal's last-ditch-effort attack also arrived, a rippling array of starlight well over a hundred feet tall, slicing through the creature directly. Emma tossed yet another golden spear, this one, however, almost ten times larger than the last, opening a massive hole through the creature's abdomen.

Fires roared like mad, showering the entire arena in an inferno as the creature began thrashing about, yet still clearly at the last breath. Justin suddenly appeared in front of it, its head having already fallen to the floor with the rest of its body, slashing out with his arm.

His shadow suddenly trembled as it ‘rose’ from the ground and shaped itself into a claw, one twice as large as the creature’s head, ripping down at the monster and devouring it, flames and all.

The roars stopped, and the fire quickly subsided, though the remnant heat remained. Everyone remained standing firm, gasping for breath, their eyes still reflecting a trace of terror, waiting. It was a long moment, one so long it felt like a lifetime, with the seeming weight of the whole world barreling down at their shoulders.

Seeing that there were no further movements for a good few seconds, Cain sighed in relief and tossed himself onto the ground, completely spent. Fucking hell... if the first boss is this tough, we’re all gonna croak in this bitch... no, wait, if the rewards are proportional... aaah... what ‘Molten Cave’? Fucking bastards... I wanna go back into the future and choke every single one of them...

Slowly, one by one, every also realized that the creature had died, and the notification that flashed in front of their eyes confirmed it, causing everyone to gasp out in relief and fall onto the ground, soaked in sweat to their bones.

//Congratulations on defeating General Ryle!

Due to your outstanding Feat, you have all been rewarded a Unique Title: Devourer of Flames (decreases Fire damage taken by 20%; increases Fire damage dealt by 10%)

Your Stamina, Health, and Mana have been completely restored!

Rewards for defeating General Ryle will be deposited directly into your Inventories!

You will have one hour to rest -- which will not be counted toward the 14-day limit!

Good luck on your further climb!//

The flashing notifications, one after another, kept surprising Cain. Unique Title? What the hell? Even titles had ranks? He’d come to realize, rather quickly at that, that he really, really, did not know nearly as much as he thought he knew about the events in regards to the Towers. In fact, he knew so little he felt slightly ashamed over even claiming he had ‘future knowledge’.

While the automatic restoration of Stamina, Health, and Mana recovered him completely and made him feel as though he could fight yet another similar battle right away, that wasn’t the case of others. Mental exhaustion after something like this, after all, can’t exactly be ‘replenished’, especially considering how many close shaves they had.

Cain also got to Level 23 right off the bat, increasing his stats ever so slightly. At the same time, he dipped into his inventory and looked at the rewards that he had been given. There were three in total -- a sphere of fire, a strange-looking tome, and a halo-like circlet.

//General’s Soul(C) -- Consumable

Activation: Summons a weakened version of General Ryle to fight for you. The summon lasts for 1 hour, whereupon both it and the item will be destroyed.//

//Infernal Blast(Weakened) (C+)

Requirements: Elementalist, Arcanist, Demonfiend

Activation: Learns General Ryle’s unique skill, Infernal Blast(Weakened). The item is destroyed upon use.//

//Crown of Flames(A)

Level 15

+20 to Intelligence

+15 to Vitality

+5 to Stamina

+50% to all Fire-related Skills

Activation(1) -- Summons a membrane-type shield around the caster, blocking up to 3*health damage. The item can be activated (if no damage was taken) again to deal 3*health Fire damage to everyone within twenty feet.

Activation(2) -- Summons a clone of a Phoenix for 10 minutes that will battle for you. The summon's stats are based on Caster's (1/3rd of the Main Stats and 1/5th of others) -- can only be activated again 30 minutes after the summon’s dismissal/death//

Looking around, Cain realized that everyone else was also too busy checking what they’d gotten. He took out a bottle of water and quickly doused his parched throat in it, feeling enlivened once again. While the items he got were decent, they were nothing to write home about -- even the Crown of Flames. While the increase to the stats was fantastic, two actives were the sub-optimal types -- shielding and summons.

In his previous life, it was universally known that the best ‘actives’ on items were the ‘burnout skills’ -- types that massively increased damage or defense for a short period of time. Or, in the few rare cases, when the actives were life-saving -- such as literal resurrections, perfect invisibility, teleportation, etc.

Summons that came from the items were usually too weak to be of much use. For instance, the General’s Soul would likely summon a creature whose overall damage would surpass Cain’s by good five-six fold, while at the same time being as sturdy as a tank. And while it was a one-time use item, it was also a life savior, especially where they found themselves right now.

On the other hand, while he could summon the ‘Phoenix’ from the Crown more than once, it would likely die from some stray attack that didn’t even touch it directly. Eh, it could be a good distraction... and Lana might find it funny or something...

Shrugging, he stood up and started walking around, asking what items others had gotten. He'd quickly come to realize that everyone else got two items, a weapon and some type of armor, be it a helmet, a breastplate, a leg guard, etc. Ah, lucky... lucky they didn’t get the useless shit like me...

What the party needed now the most was exactly the items -- and, as luck would have it, all armors had some anti-Fire effect, something that will be absolutely necessary as they moved forward. Rick’s, especially, was a bit nutty, Cain mused.

//General’s Breastplate(A+)

Level 15

Requirements: Bulwark/Holy Knight/Ignus, Leadership(S- minimum)

+30 to Vitality

+15 to Stamina and Strength

+50% to Shield-related Skills

+25% to Fire Resilience

Negates 30% of Fire-type Damage

Activation(1) -- activate to summon a party-wide shield that will block 2*health of damage for 10 seconds. After that, each party member receives a temporary movement speed burst (3 seconds) and 20% damage reduction (10 seconds)

Activation(2) -- activate to summon a General’s Avatar; Avatar will mimic Caster’s movement, both dealing and taking 50% less damage. Activate again to destroy the Avatar and make all party members invulnerable to Damage for 2 seconds. If the Avatar is destroyed, it requires 2 full days to recharge. //

Cain’s lips stretched out in a grin, his eyes shining. Yes, yes, this is it... these are the items... wait--is this why they kept it a secret? It’s only a first boss and we’re already getting shit like this? Damn...

Rick quickly equipped it, replacing his army jacket with a rather flamboyant-looking breastplate of dark gold and coral. Edges shone in a flame-like glow, lines threading toward the center of the armor where a round, transparent sphere held a single thread of flickering flame.

Emma, on the other hand, got a belt and a massive warhammer, one she was already hugging as though they were best friends for decades. It was nearly seven feet long with a two-sided head that appeared perennially on fire.

//Infernal Hammer (A+)

Level 15

Requirements: 50 Strength, 20 Stamina

Damage: 185

+20 to Strength and Stamina

+10 to Vitality and Agility

+20% damage to Offensive Skills

Activation(1) -- activate to unleash a burst of flames from the hammer’s tip, setting everything within fifty feet on fire, dealing persistent damage for 2 minutes

Activation(2) -- activate to double the hammer’s size for a single strike, increasing weight and damage proportionally, and ignoring 100% of the target’s armor //

Similarly, others also got the items that looked to be the most suited for them. Jamal got a three-feet-long sword and a pair of boots that increased his speed, Diya got a staff that decreased her Mana usage, Justin got a cloak that increased his stealth capabilities as well as a dagger, etc. If they had to fight Reyl again, with this equipment, they would probably be able to off him within a few minutes, with little to no effort spared.

While the items revitalized them slightly, as the initial rush began wearing off, the tiredness seeped back in. Diya quickly took out some food and water, handing it to everyone.

“... great fight, everyone,” Cain said as they sat in a circle, wolfing away at the food as though they hadn’t eaten in days. “Don’t let it get to your head, though.”

“How can we?” Justin shrugged with a frown, still ripping away at the beef, though. “We were at most a minute away from dying. And this is just the first boss guy. We should be worried instead of getting carried away...”

“... he’s right,” Diya assented, sighing. “It was my mistake, everyone. I--I didn’t properly give roles--”

“Oi, pipe down,” Cain hollered at them. “What’s with this pessimism? Just yesterday you were pissin’ your pants dealing with some crocodile-looking dicks, and now you’re fighting fucking giants of fire and holding your ground. Was it close? Yes. Is that a cause to be Debbie-downers? No.”

“... you’re both right,” Rick added. “We should take pride in it, but also reflect.”

“Yes,” Jamal immediately spoke out. “I made huge mistake, everyone! I’m sorry! Boss, thank you for saving my ass back then! I really owe you!” he turned to Cain and beamed him a smile, one not quite as blinding due to the pieces of food stuck in his teeth.

“It’s fine, just don’t make it again,” Cain shrugged it off.

“I, also, could have done better,” Diya said. “I spent my Mana too quickly...”

“...” God, why is everyone here a fucking perfectionist?! Cain maintained a smile but was feeling rather frustrated inside. After all, for all intents and purposes, this was their first 'proper battle'. And, rather than enjoying the fruits of success, everyone was picking apart their performances. My first boss battle... you fucks, I passed out hiding behind a rock...

What Cain didn’t realize, however, that there was a good reason why everyone was just like that -- him. Whether they wanted it or not, everyone inadvertently compared themselves to him as he became their standard.

Emma glanced at him and smiled, virtually reading his mind at the moment. She got up and walked over, sitting next to him and handing him a sandwich she quickly fashioned, surprising him.

“... what?”

“You still have to eat, right?” she said, smiling. “You’re really amazing, C’, you know that?”

“Of course I do.” Cain nodded, taking the sandwich. “I’m the best.”

“... but, oh boy, can you be thick-headed...” she grinned, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about the rest of us.”

“... that’s impossible,” he shook his head. “I dragged you all into here.”

“You didn’t know either.”

"... my first proper 'raid'," Cain spoke out softly after a short silence. "Happened quite a few years down the line. Anyway, there were twenty of us -- it was a boss on a third floor, a very normal fella, quite easy considering our average level was like 40. By the end of it... sixteen were dead, two were crippled, and only two -- Sarah and I -- left that place 'whole'. Whether you realize it or not... all of you, all... are still looking at this as though it’s a game, Em’.”

“...” Emma listened carefully, her eyes widening in horror.

"However... this is a death's race for many. If anyone else had stumbled in here, they would have all died. Rather, right now, across all seven Towers, hundreds... no, thousands of people are dying per hour, Em'. I don't want you guys to open your eyes to the reality of all of this... not just yet, at least."

“...” Emma fell silent, as did Cain, former staring at the latter with a harrowing look in her eyes. She wondered constantly just what he survived through... yet never quite dared ask -- precisely because of this. Because, at some level, she knew it was hardly all fun and games.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly and smiling at him, causing him to smile back. Words weren’t necessary, she knew. They’d known each other for nearly twenty-five years by now, and a simple look was often enough to tell a whole story.

The circle slowly fell into a conversation as everyone began reflecting aloud, advising each other on what they could have done differently. Cain, on the other hand, glanced at the front where he saw that the fog had cleared up, revealing another set of stairs -- these, however, being completely normal -- if not for the fact that they were made of some sort of black stone. What’s next? He mused, looking up and seeing a massive wall around two miles above them, blocking his view. Aah, I hope our luck is good...