It was getting hotter. Even though Spook couldn’t sweat, he could feel the cavern was heating up. Glancing in front of him, he saw Yimyo’s back covered in sweat. Every time the giant orc moved forward, fat droplets fell and stained the ground.

They were getting closer to the Flame Golems.

The problem wasn’t the environment in which the Flame Golems lived, but rather the monsters themselves. The golems enjoyed a particular mineral called pyrestones found inside the Crawling Cavern, a material commonly used in life skilling. By consuming the pyrestones, the golems developed fire attributes, giving rise to the name Flame Golems. And just as their name suggested, they were capable of casting fire magic.

The stench of rotten eggs blasted Spook, causing him to dry heave. His eyes watered as he gagged on the foul smell. “Holy shit, that smells awful! What is that?!” Spook exclaimed.

“You’re smelling the sulfuric waste the Flame Golems expel,” came the nasal reply. Yimyo was pinching his nose. “Try to breathe through your mouth. It helps.”

They walked on, both breathing through their mouths to avoid the stink of the Flame Golems. Since their last rest point, they hadn’t encountered any more Mane Lizard. It seemed that the reptiles wanted nothing to do with the putrid fumes. Spook couldn’t blame them. He felt the same way.

The path started sloping downwards, bringing them into another open cave system similar to the first one they had encountered with the Mane Lizards. An abundance of pyrestones encased in rocks decorated the walls and ceilings. There was no shortage of food for the Flame Golems down here.

“Why don’t we harvest some for ourselves,” asked Spook as he greedily eyed the nearest cluster of the beautiful minerals. “These would fetch a pretty penny, wouldn’t they?”

Yimyo shook his head. “You would break them. You don’t have a high enough mining level for them. You need to be at least Rank 3 in Mining before you can successfully extract pyrestones.”

Disappointed, Spook withdrew his gaze. It seemed like he would have to find another way to make money.

“There is another way. Sometimes, you can get pyrestones as a rare drop from Flame Golems,” added the orc. “You might need to kill several before you get one, though.”

That more down my alley. I’m all for grinding for rare drops. Especially if it means I’ll make money. Spook couldn’t help but get excited at all the juicy drops he was going to get. He was going to farm the hell out of these Flame Golems.

The first Flame Golem they came upon was munching away at an exposed node of pyrestones. It looked like a solid round ball of magma rock packed together, but it had a mouth and a pair of glowing red eyes. When it opened its mouth, it revealed two rows of flat teeth that were perfect for grinding up the orange-red minerals.

[Flame Golem Lvl 2

A monster composed of molten slag and sediment. Its diet consists mainly of pyrestones and other minerals. Typically a peaceful monster, these creatures will not become aggressive unless attacked.]

But how does it extract the stones in the first place? Spook thought. Nothing on the Flame Golem’s body indicated it had a way to reveal the pyrestones lodged inside the rocks.

As if to answer his question, the golem sauntered over to the next batch of stones. Spook watched as the monster’s eyes glowed hot-red before it cast a fireball that blew apart the stone prison. Then it proceeded to emit a low hum as it crunched away at the stones.

Before he knew it, Spook found himself launching himself at the golem. The thought of the monster eating his precious stones had triggered something inside of him. He couldn’t bear to see free money disappear before his eyes.

“Those are mine!” bellowed Spook, pummeling the Flame Golem with his fists.

The Flame Golem let out a groan as a flurry of punches assaulted it. Then it launched a fireball at Spook, forcing the skeleton to dodge away.

Spook let out a curse as he checked the monster’s health bar. The surprise barrage had barely damaged the golem. Its body acted as natural armor. Just as with the Mane Lizards, physical attacks were not as effective.

He looked at his companion. An unspoken understanding passed between them. They would need to work together if they wanted to take down this fiery golem.

Yimyo rushed past him with a ferocious roar, battleaxe held high as he released a mighty overhead swing at the golem. The brutal attack impacted the molten shell, generating a sizeable crack down the middle of its body.

“It’s all yours, Spook!” yelled Yimyo. The green orc jumped to the side before a fireball could singe his beard.

Regaining his footing, Spook jumped towards the golem, activating midair. His axe kick came crashing down on top of the Flame Golem, splitting it cleanly in half as it shattered into a burst of EXP fragments.

“Nice work. That was a good combo.” praised Yimyo, slapping Spook on the back. “These guys are hard to break open. You need to balance enough power and precision to take down these things effectively. Otherwise, you’d spend years whacking away at their shells.”

Spook nodded. Had it not been for Yimyo’s help, he would have spent ages trying to take down the Flame Golem by himself. He bent down to collect his loot bag, half hoping that a pyrestone was inside.

[1x Golem Core---The heart of a Flame Golem. Without a core, a golem cannot exist.

Scaling Ingredient: No

3x Stones--- These are rocks and are nothing more.]

“Nothing,” Spook said disappointedly. “Nothing but a core and stones. Why are stones even a drop?” He put the items into his inventory.

“Tough luck. At least we can grab these.” Yimyo gestured at the pyrestones the Flame Golem had been eating.

Among the four pyrestones still left inside the rock, only two were undamaged. Spook extracted the raw minerals by carefully pulling them loose. He gave one to Yimyo and kept the other for himself.

[1x Pyrestone---This mineral is generally used in crafting or cooking. It works great as a catalyst for magic melding and can be used as a source of heat as well. Due to its hard to obtain nature, the price of this stone is worth more than the average gem.]

“This will fetch at least five silvers on the market. Not bad at all,” said the orc.

Spook’s jaw dropped open. Five silvers?! He knew that the pyrestone was expensive from what Yimyo had told him, but he didn’t expect it to be that expensive.

An idea struck him. Wouldn’t it be smarter to wait for a golem to expose the pyrestones and then kill it? That way, we get its loot and the pyrestones. It’s a no brainer!

He shared his idea with Yimyo, who enthusiastically agreed. They were in no rush to complete their quests, and they would go for as long as their stamina let them.

Spook grinned. This was the beginning of his rags to riches journey.