[The Ancient Ruins of Flame] is a huge dungeon leading to Griffith’s fifth city.
Although it’s called the Ancient Ruins, the dungeon is mostly located below the ground. In other words, it’s an underground labyrinth just like the Stardust Labyrinth.
“It’s definitely not swordsman-friendly.”
As I crushed the skull of the attacking [proto golem] with an upper kick, I realized the reason why this dungeon was not very popular.
The bodies of the monsters in the Ancient Ruins of Flame are mostly made of rocks and metals.
Well, that in itself is not so different from the [Scorching Rock Cave] in the permanent scorched earth not far from the ancient ruins. It might be better to say that it is a characteristic of this region as a whole.
And why would rock and metal monsters trouble swordsmen? First, they are difficult to cut with bladed weapons like swords, but most importantly, they have [Slash Resistance].
Just as I once had a hard time with frogs with [blunt resistance] in the swamp area near Dualis, monsters with resistance are a nuisance to the user of the incompatible weapon.
Of course, it’s not impossible to defeat them, but as time goes, your weapon will lose more and more durability. This kind of bad cost-efficiency enemy will make your effort feels wasted, that’s why most bladed weapon user will probably choose the World tree Cave.
“It’s easy to see why no one chooses the Ancient Ruins of Flame.”
As I walked out into the large hall, I muttered these thoughts as I quickly crushed the three or so proto-golems that were hanging around.
These proto-golems are stronger than the petite golems I killed so many times in the Stardust Labyrinth.
Their size is about the same as a normal human being, and their attacks are surprisingly strong. But its movement was so slow, and if I put all my power on attacking the core on their head, they would easily break.
But it’s probably also thanks to my overly high STR stat, I could crush anything in this dungeon using my bare hand, and Yoiyami I carried on my back is literally become my luggage.
< Don’t beat them too roughly.>
< You’re too strong.>
< There’s the only golem here, and it feels like an archeological site.>
<What about the flame element?>
“It’s hot temperature…. maybe? I also thought that there would be some living flame in it.”
Is it called “flaming” because it’s near permanent scorched earth, or is it called that for a different reason?
I don’t know which came first, so I can’t say for sure, but so far, the flame theme is too thin to be called one. Though If you don’t have heat-resistant items, you’ll take fire damage, so it’s not entirely irrelevant.
It’s been about 30 minutes since I started the game, and even though I followed the map I bought at Fias, I’m still only about 10% of my way through.
At this pace, it’s going to take me about five hours. I don’t mind doing this slowly, but I have to stop streaming at around six o’clock because I’m expecting a visitor, so it’s better if I could get through this sooner.
“I’ve had a rough image of what kind of monsters will appear, so let’s clear this quickly. There’s not much reason to take it slow.”
<True, Oni clan village is still far away.>
<I can’t wait to see the fifth town.>
<Agree, let’s go.>
<↑ Himi-chan, It’s already 8:00 in the morning, you know?.>
<↑ I got killed by hobgoblin just now, and the death penalty is in effect, so I’m back to being bored again.>
< That’s why I told you to wait until someone else wakes up…>
“It’s just been rough.”
☆
After that, I continued to descend the ancient ruins for about an hour at a fast pace and finally reached the middle of the map.
Until now, the path was a barely maintained, dimly lit tunnel-like passageway, but when I finally reached the deepest part, the scenery changed into a dazzlingly illuminated cavern.
“it’s Magma.”
<A magma indeed.>
<The glass is so beautiful.>
<It looks hot.>
<Will I die if I fall?>
<↑ If you fall, you’ll die instantly.>
<↑ it’s the terrain effect.>
“Th-that’s pretty deadly magma.”
And to make it worse, it seems that the distance of this cavity is about a kilometer long.
Many holes can be seen on the walls and ground, and the magma flowed out of them. Thanks to that, the path was almost completely covered by magma.
The center of the cavity had completely collapsed, and magma was flowing through the cracks that had formed. It looks like a valley with a river of magma flowing through it.
Looking at it this scenery, I started to think that the foothold I’m standing on is probably not very stable.
There is also a simple bridge to cross the valley, which was probably added after.
It looks rather shabby, but at least the players who reached Griffith before I arrived must have passed over it, or they need to jump over the ravine, so I don’t think it will break.
“Hmm, someone is there?”
I did not realize it because my attention was taken by magma flow, but then I noticed a figure on the other side of the bridge.
“It could be a player from the oni faction.”
<I can’t see them at all.>
<I can see a dot of shadow, but…>
“Let’s go there anyway.”
Perhaps it was because this cave itself was quite large, but even getting to the bridge took more time than I expected. It took me about a minute to get there.
“This bridge is pretty solid.”
< It’s a stone bridge. Try to hit it.>
< Let’s break it.>
<…It won’t be able to withstand her STR.>
<I giggled.>
“If I do that, I’ll get beat up by players who’re on their way to Griffith.”
I just tap the bridge to test how strong it is. But I think this kind of object is supposed to be unbreakable.
So I crossed the bridge and moved towards the player I saw earlier.
Since he’s not moving an inch probably means that he’s been waiting for me to reach out to him; well… let’s greet him for now.
“Excuse me.”
“Fufufu, finally, you’re here. I’ve been waiting for you, Sukuna.”
The player who said this in a slightly theatrical tone was a male…-like a player from the oni race.
My avatar is completely female. But this man’s avatar is much more feminine than I am. On the contrary, the voice is that of a genuine male.
I wonder if she’s what’s called a “nekama” or if she’s just a woman with a really hoarse voice. Well, I don’t really care about the gender of the player inside.
“I’m Mememe Mememe Mememeru. It’s the first time we’ve met.” {1}
“Eee…, are you perhaps Meguru from the forum?”
Mememe Mememe Mememeru. Was a famous player not only in oni Forum, but also a name who was famous for publishing many strategy on bulletin board.
The name “Meguru” is a combination of “nine me” and “ru”. This roundabout way of writing his name is because the name Meguru was not available to use in-game for this moment.
He… she?
Anyway, Meguru is a senior player of the same race who has already arrived at the oni village, a player who learned the Kikoku no Mai{demon dance} earlier than me, and most importantly, a player whose occupation is the same as mine, a fellow [Douji].
I don’t know how many people there are after me who learn this skill, but according to Kohaku, there were less than ten people before, so Meguru is one of the few players.
“So, why did you come all the way here? I’m sure you’re taking some quest in from the village, right?”
“Yeah, I heard from Himiko that Sukuna is finally coming to oni village, then there’s no reason for me not to welcome you here!”
“I see.”
By that reasoning, did you come to meet me by coming all the way to Griffith in a hurry? His overwhelming enthusiasm reminds me of how Konekomaru was when I first met him.
“It’s my personal wish to see you and guide you from here, but aside from that, I also need your help with a certain Boss monster.”
“Boss…?”
“That’s right. It’s a hidden boss different from the dungeon boss of the Ancient Ruins of the Flame. However, the existence of this boss itself has been known since a rather early stage, and it is not a rare monster.”
Meguru frowned as he continued his words.
“I need to defeat it to finish my personal quest… the thing is, It’s very powerful. I’ve asked players who have reached the demon village to help me, but that didn’t work either. So I’ll have to ask even higher-level players to help me.”
“Oh, if it’s about level, I believe mine is pretty high.”
Considering that the recommended level to exit this dungeon is around 55, my current level is way too high. That was evident since I haven’t used any weapon in the entire time I’ve been here. I was in a state of what could be called abusing the status.
“Well, it’s not all about the level, I think…? Anyway, this dungeon is boring at Sukuna’s level, isn’t it? How about it? Don’t you want to face some challenges before arriving in oni village?”
Just like that Meguru saw through me, we both a fellow Douji after all, as the owner of the eccentric profession, perhaps we had something in common.
And as Meguru said, I was getting bored facing a monster with too much level difference.
I will honestly admit it.
I want to fight so badly.
“fufufu, I don’t know about our chance of winning. But this invitation came at a great timing. I’m sure my viewer is getting bored too right now.”
< Let’s go!>
< I’m sure you can get through even with the worst of the death penalty.>
<Sukuna is probably the most bored of us all.>
<Thinking from the perspective of the stream owner, you’re probably right.>
< It’s boss fight time!>
“Haha, thanks. I’m all good then, Meguru. Let’s go kill that hidden boss.”
“I knew you would be on board. The room with the hidden boss is not far from here, so I’ll explain about the boss as we walk. Also, so you don’t need to use polite language mimicking me. It’s just a bad habit of mine. “
I guess he’s similar to Touka-chan.
If you use only honorific and polite words regularly, not using them will make you feel uncomfortable.
As for me, I’m more comfortable speaking normally, so I’ve decided to take advantage of his generosity.
“So, Meguru-san, what kind of monsters are we dealing with?”
I forgot to ask the most important element.
What kind of boss that are we going to fight? Meguru, who had suffered many defeats, for sure has that information.
In response to my question, Meguru gave me the name of the monster I was to fight with a mysterious look on his face.
“The monster’s name is [Volcano Golem], it’s a huge golem with a level of nearly 80 and a power to match its level, its attribute is… Hellfire.”
====.
A. Note:
Please welcome the oni faction player who’s also a regular lurker on the forum.
Tl note
{1} THE GUY WITH VERY TROUBLESOME SOME NAME TO TYPE!!!
Nekama : a person posing as opposite gender on the internet.
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