I don't rember activating any traps to release the lava though? The age of this dungeon keeps hindering at every step.
I hesitantly take another look into the room.
AAAAH!! WHAT IS IT DOING?!?! ITS EATING ALL THE TREASURES AND LTING THEM IN ITS STOMACH!!!
Even if you're a cute axolotl. I won't forgive you for this!
"Arthur? What are you doing?"
Rachel's voice echoes, from afar.
Oh no– did the monster hear her?
I take a quick glance at Rachel with an uneasy look, before quickly turning back to the lava monster.
Thank goodness, it looks like it didn't hear her, it's still just eating away at the treasures. Or maybe it just can't hear? It's a lava monster so it doesn't have ears? Let's not test that out though...
I turn back to Rachel and use Heightened Senses along with Body Enhancent, concentrated on the eyes.
Great, looks like Tin's awake as well.
Then, I see Rachel's lips suddenly open.
No– what is she doing?!?!
I put my finger on my lips but she doesn't seem to notice.
Can she not see ? I have to try sothing else before she kills us all!
Wait, her lips stopped moving, and there hasn't been a sound yet. Maybe she saw and understood!
Then, Rachel's voice echoes once again, much louder this ti.
"Arthur, what happened?!"
AAAAHHHH WHAT IS SHE DOING?!?!
I imdiately look back into the room and see the lava monster who has stopped eating and is standing tall in the ceiling once more, moving what I imagine, his head around looking for sothing.
OH NO– IT HEARD HER– WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!! My flas are hot, and the sun is hotter than lava, but there are limits of a 3rd circle that I just can't overco, to even compare my flas to the sun would be impossible!
My teeth clatter and my body trembles as I look at the horrifying scene of a lava monster searching for .
Wait– it stopped looking for us? What was it looking for, where is it going now?
I turn my eyes, analyzing the direction the monster is going, and eventually coming to a stop.
No– stop– is it going to eat that divine looking sword, literally glowing in light, splitting the darkness? I don't know what sword that is, but it looks like sothing a hero would use. And that unintelligent monster is just going to eat it? Looking around the room, more than half is just molten tals or covered in black ash!! Who knows how many other weapons it destroyed? I will never forgive it!
My face full of rage turns to despair as I recall another mory.
Wait, didn't the stone say that the treasures in the fourth room were just replicas? That would an that the river of gold would really just be a river of iron. Hahaha, I wasn't able to tell since both molten gold and iron are orange but what if– the monster already went into the fifth room and already lted all the treasures there? That would explain the sll of gold!
I scour the room looking for another door, but I am unable to see any walls past the molten iron river as the light from the river does not flow there.
Damn, I can't find it, this is the only room so far without mafic lamps! That stupid monster probably destroyed those as well! This is so annoying but I have Dawn. I wonder how bright I can make it now that I'm a 3rd circle. It looks like the monster doesn't have ears, so it can't hear us.
I look at Rachel again, who begins to open her mouth again, cupping her hands around it.
But I'm not yet certain, so I'm not taking any chances.
I point my left hand at her, and a ray of orange light blasts from my fingertip, shooting straight past Rachel, just barely missing her, who stops moving her lips imdiately, without the chance to even react to it.
I blow the smoke coming out of my fingertips.
That was epic. I shouldn't do that anymore though– I think I just burned my fingerprints off. Just smile and wave, act like nothing happened so you don't ruin this mont.
After the pain starts to lessen, I use Swift Wind and accelerate through the air, running to them, but landing as if I had teleported, or made my way here in a single step, without effort.
That landing was perfect.
I keep my eyes closed, picturing the magnificent landing in my head and admiring at it.
But my peace is quickly ended as a sudden force falls down on my head, straight on the recently healed crack.
I hold my head tightly with my left hand, almost screaming, but managing to hold it in.
"Oooo– grmmm–"
Shit that hurt, what the hell was that? Did a piece of the ceiling fall on ?
My eyes open and I see an angry Rachel standing in front of , slightly covered in blood.
She begins to open her mouth, ready to scream, but imdiately reacting, I take my hand off of my head and shush her.
"Shhh, don't be loud."
She pushes my hand away and though still looking at angrily, whispers in a low voice.
"How could you throw and Tin like that? Do you know how much that hurt? I'm not a magic swordsman like you, I'm a priest! And Tin isn't in his pri anymore, we normally can't survive sothing like that, my life flashed before my eyes and I think I t Pyro for a second! (Thank you for that but I have yet to finish my work in the mortal world) And here you are, with a new set of expensive clothes!"
I look at Tin, who says nothing, and look back at Rachel.
"I had to throw you back because the homunculus this ti was so quick, I was barely able to react. I was uncertain whether I'd be able to kill it. In the end, I barely even won and almost died from its poison."
"Poison? Where? I don't know if I'll be able to cure it, but I can probably stop it from spreading."
"Oh, the poison was in my right arm."
"Quickly show it to then!"
She pulls closer and rolls the sleeves of my arm up, with a delayed reaction, gasping as she rolls it up to the top.
"Arthur, your arm– I'm sorry for what I said, thank you for saving us. I will definitely pay you back, tenfold, once we get out of here for what you did for us."
I don't need a reward, she feels guilt and regret, her smile has faded. I do feel pity towards her, and I probably should just tell her the truth right now but, I should get my revenge back on her, for chopping straight on where my cracked skull just healed.
"Don't worry about it. I just did what I thought was right. It was my fault for being weak that I've been made into this state. Let's just focus on getting out of here."
I turn my back to her, beginning to walk away when she suddenly speaks again in a depressed voice.
"And you can't heal your arm with that regeneration skill you have?"
I stop in my tracks.
Damn, she got ... what do I say? I can't just lie to her now! She'll kill if she finds out!
Rachel waits expectantly for a response, but that never cos as I resu my march away.
"Ooh, I'm so sorry..."
She says as she begins to make crying sounds.
Looks like she got herself a misunderstanding, thank god.
"Let's go."
I hear their footsteps behind as I march to the door.
Good.
Once we arrive at the door, we all peek into the room cautiously, looking at the lava monster's eating cycle. It moves to the tal, eats it, lts it in its stomach, and it cos out as a molten version of itself.
"AaaaAAh, all that gold and treasures being lted, how dare it? We must kill it imdiately, Arthur!"
Tin says, with great enthusiasm.
"Shh, keep your voice down! I may be strong, but that's only to the weak. Even to the strong, that monster would be considered strong! It's a slow, unintelligent monster but the air surrounding it is hotter than my flas. We cannot fight it, we must avoid confrontation at all costs!"
"Well, if we can't fight it, what can we do then? I assu you have a plan this ti as well right?"
Tin says while his eyes glow a kind of fiery red, with great fury.
"Who do you think I am? Of course I do. But maybe you should calm down first..."
He deeply exhales, before he softens his grip on the Black Iron Axe and lays it on the wall.
"Alright, I'm good now. I can listen. Are you sure you are fine though? You've lost your arm. Do you need to be carried?"
I raise my left arm and almost effortlessly, summon a massive sphere of orange flas.
"Trust , the loss of my arm is not a great one. I will be fine."
The giant ball of orange flas begin to quickly seep back into my palm as I close it.
If I don't release the spell, I can absorb the mana inside the spell back into myself. I guess I obtained this during my state of deprivation, so maybe it wasn't that terrible after all. ... I take it back, it wasn't worth it in the slightest. But at least I gained sothing from that terrible experience, I don't think I'll be able to ever sleep again though. Every ti I think about that emptiness, Heightened Senses instantly activate.
"But aren't you low on mana now, after using that spell? I rember the last ti you used it, I felt no more mana in your body."
"I said I'm fine. Now let explain the plan. On my mark, we enter the door, charging at full speed. I will send my uh– fireballs, all over the room's walls and try to attract the monster to while you guys get inside the fifth room. Once you get inside, there should be so sort of button. Destroy that button, smashing it as hard as you can, don't just press it, otherwise the golems in the room will just kill you. Alright, understood?"
Tin stares blankly at while Rachel averts my gaze.
Is she still feeling guilty about earlier? This is getting annoying, if she can't perform her duties well, then we will all die. Should I just tell her the truth?
"Just run while you do all the work right? I understand."
Okay, so he heard.
"Rachel, do you understand as well?"
She doesn't answer and ignores .
"Rachel?"
Her eyes are filled with sorrow as she frowns. Hearing repeat the second ti, she looks at with shock.
"Sorry? Yes! I understand the plan!"
She seems to be out of it. But I guess she managed to hear the plan.
"Alright, before anything else, can you kindly say a quick prayer and heal us Rachel?"
She turns her head down again, but then moves her arm towards her chest as she picks up her necklace of the Orange Sun, now broken and covered in scratches.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that anymore, my necklace, my link to Pyro has been broken. I can no longer speak with her."
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