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Chapter 19: Lava Golem
🕑 Added 2025-01-10 15:29:39 +0000 UTC“Powershot!” Golden motes of light gathered on the crossbow bolt. Like a lightning strike, the arrow struck true to the golem’s head. James thought it wouldn’t pierce the golem’s head. However, once again, he was shown how powerful weapon skills were. The arrow embedded itself more than two inches deep into its forehead, snapping its head backward.
“What the…” Even when an arrow had already cracked its forehead, the golem was merely pushed back a step. Its head slowly returned as it continued to waddle through the lava.
Golems do not feel pain, so unlike other monsters, golems will continue to march and fight until it is destroyed. James finally feels the dread of the fourth floor.
“Mind flay!” James tried to use his spells. Mind flay was supposed to make the user feel pain and immobilize him, however, golems do not feel pain. So, his spells were practically useless on this floor.
“Damn it, System! The spell I bought for 700 coins was totally useless!” James said
[Mind magic only works on living entities. The enemy before you is considered a golem, and thus, such spells will not work against it.] The System kindly explained. However, to James, he felt scammed hard.
“Damnit!” James cursed as he tried to make some distance. The golem walked sluggishly, and then the three-meter-tall monster raised its hand overhead and slammed it to the ground.
Fortunately, it was slow. With James’s enhanced stats, he leaped back as the rock monster slapped its arm to the ground. James thought he had dodged it. However, a splash of lava splashed into his unprotected legs, and fire quickly spread from it.
“Fuck! Where is my water pouch?” James hopped around like a squirrel and hastily poured his water pouch onto his legs. James was not the sharpest tool in the shed. He had forgotten that he had water magic, deprived of the sahuagin princess.
Only after he doused himself with his water pouch did he realize that he should fight fire with water.
“Fuck it. I am so stupid.” Realizing water might be its weakness, James searched within. Inside him, he found another source of power. This time, it was not purple, but blue. He soon dipped his hands into it. Ice shards gathered around him, forming multiple spears. He then launched it toward the hateful golem.
White cloud surged, enveloping the golem like a blanket. James prepared another ice missile. As the dust cleared, he found the golems still. Its heavy body was petrified as the lava hardened.
James breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had won. His hope was soon dashed as cracks began to form on the petrified body. n the golem. Like a chick that broke free from its egg, the golem shattered the hardened shell on its body. Lava slithered around the joints of its body.
“It wasn’t dead! How do I beat this thing?” James prepared another batch of ice spears. When he shot it toward the fearless monster, it was soon enveloped in white steam once again. Again, cracks formed around the joints as the golem broke free and chased James with renewed vigor.
[Information classified.]
“Damn it. You pick this time to be an asshole!” James cursed as he shot out another ice spear. This time, he also reloaded his crossbow. The golem shook the hardened lava once again. James loaded his crossbow and prepared his skill.
“Powershot!” a golden bolt flew out from his bow and aimed at golems chest. James thought it would only embed itself like the previous ones. He had prepared himself for a war of attrition, running away and casting his magic. However, this time, The arrow pierced through its body and hit a blue ball inside. The golem shattered like a glass when an arrow pierced it.
James didn’t know it, but what he had done to the golem was a phenomenon known as thermal shock. When materials like stone or glass are exposed to rapid cycles of heating and cooling, the internal stress weakens their structure, making them brittle and prone to cracking. That’s why James’s arrow managed to pierce through its hard body.
“Whew, finally over.”
[Congratulations. You have beaten a lava golem for the first time. You have leveled up to level 23. You have earned 20 coins.]
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: male
Levels: 23
Coins: 240
Stats:
STR: 90 (up 2)
Dex: 85 (up 2)
Magic: 32 (up 2)
Mana: 520 (up 20)
Skills:
Novice Axe mastery level 1 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
Beginner Sword mastery level 6 (hurricane)
Beginner Bow Mastery level 6 (Quickshot) (up 1)
Magic:
Mind flay
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Mana core (Water Spell: ice spear, water manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000)(Extra slot)
Orc’s left arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)
Eyes of Mana (mana sense) (Right eye slot)
Sahuagin’s webbed hands(+10% dexterity in water) (right arm slot)
Sahuagin’s webbed feet(+10% dexterity in water) (leg slot)
Sahuagin’s lungs (Underwater breathing) (lung slot)
Orc’s torso (torso slot)
Orc’s head (Head slot)
Jumping Spider’s fang (Weak Paralysis)(mouth slot)(new)
Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)
Equipment:
Leather armor
Leather helmet
Vambrace
Gauntlets
War axe
Longsword
Crossbow
Leather pouch
Waterspout dagger
Health Potion
Hematonic potion
Leather bag]
James saw that his magic and mana steadily increased. Nevertheless, he grumbled.
“Ugh… that magic I bought for 700 coins was totally useless.” James sighed. “I haven’t even tested my new skill yet. Were all the monsters here like that?”
[Information classified]
“Don’t reply if you are not going to answer anything!” James hissed at the unhelpful System.
[Noted. We will not reply unless asked.]
“Alright. What can I plunder from this golem?”
[You could plunder a golem’s core. However, since you destroyed its core during combat, there was nothing you could plunder.]
James didn’t think he could plunder anything from the golem. Since it was not alive. But the System said he could.
“Hm… but how can I destroy it without damaging the core?”
[Information Classified]
James decided to ignore the unhelpful system notification as he continued with his explorations. The winding path opened up to a huge lava lake. James looked at it and felt a sense of Deja Vu. The scene reminded him of the water floor, except the water was replaced by a bubbling pool of magma.
“AARGH!!” James screamed as he lunged to the side, clutching his back. A sudden searing hit caressed his unprotected nape as the smell of burning fur touched his nostrils. Something hot had attacked him. Blue magic soon swirled from his mana core as Water gushed out from above him and doused him right on the face. Despite his usual idiotic moments, James knew what had to be done in desperate moments.
The water sizzled, and a steaming vapor burst out from James’ body as it cooled down the searing pain in his back. James turned sharply, his weapon at the ready, as his eyes locked onto the source of the attack. A lizard came from the magma pool. Its black scales glowed faintly with an ember-like hue as it crawled into the ground.
The giant lizard, the size of a Komodo dragon, soon opened its maw. Molten lava spew out from its mouth, hurling toward James, ready to make a barbecue out of him. A block of ice emerged before James as he defended himself using his new water magic.
He thanked the gods for his decision to switch the fire core from the goblins with the water core from sahuagin. It proved to be the correct decision. Water magic was vital in this area.
“Fuck you! That’s 150 coins worth of potions!!” James cursed as he saw the bag that had burned and ripped. Pink and red liquid oozed out of it, signaling that the potions were destroyed.
“System! That thing is a living being, right? Can my mind magic handle it?”
[Affirmative. Your mind magic will work against it. However, please note that this kind of information will not be available except in trial dungeons.]
“Mind Flay!” Purple mana swirled on James’ hand and flew toward the beast. Mana should be invisible. However, thanks to James’ new eyes, he could see purple mana swirling around him. No magic will escape this eye. Thanks to the eye of mana, James had essentially become a mage killer. Unfortunately, this floor had no mages to fight.
The lizard was about to spew another molten magma before it choked itself and rolled to the ground in pain; it quickly vomited lava on the ground as it rolled around in pain. James had cast his new magic. [mind flay] will cause extreme pain or discomfort to the user, making them immobilized for a few minutes or seconds.
James took the chance as the lizard shook its head, trying to dispel the discomfort that suddenly assaulted it.
“Take this! [V-slash].” golden glow, brighter than it usually was, shone from James’ axe. It drew a straight line, aiming at the lizard’s head. The lizard reeled its head to the left. James widened his eyes, surprised at its agility. However, a smirk grew on his face. The axe didn’t stop. It made a 270 turn as it aimed for the lizard’s neck.
The axe went past its head in a beautiful golden comet. Another arc was drawn by the lizard’s head as it separated from its body.
[Congratulations. You have beaten a lava Komodo for the first time. You have leveled up to level 24. You have earned 20 coins.]
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: male
Levels: 24
Coins: 260
Stats:
STR: 92 (up 2)
Dex: 88 (up 3)
Magic: 35 (up 3)
Mana: 540 (up 20)
Skills:
Novice Axe mastery level 1 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
Beginner Sword mastery level 6 (hurricane)
Beginner Bow Mastery level 6 (Quickshot)
Magic:
Mind flay
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Mana core (Water Spell: ice spear, water manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000)(Extra slot)
Orc’s left arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)
Eyes of Mana (mana sense) (Right eye slot)
Sahuagin’s webbed hands(+10% dexterity in water) (right arm slot)
Sahuagin’s webbed feet(+10% dexterity in water) (leg slot)
Sahuagin’s lungs (Underwater breathing) (lung slot)
Orc’s torso (torso slot)
Orc’s head (Head slot)
Jumping Spider’s fang (Weak Paralysis)(mouth slot)(new)
Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)
Equipment:
Leather armor
Leather helmet
Vambrace
Gauntlets
War axe
Longsword
Crossbow
Leather pouch(damaged)
Waterspout dagger
Leather bag(damaged)]
[Available body part:
Komodo’s nails (nail slot)
Komodo’s Lava sac (Extra slot)
]
James was leveling rapidly. Monsters from higher floors gave out more and more exp. However, James was not exactly pleased with the level-up. This komodo might be weak. However, it swam in lava. The entire dungeon has lava everywhere. He literally fought on their home turf.
Like Sahuagin on the water floor, James assumed monsters on this floor would use their territorial advantage.
“No Komodo’s skin or something to resist the fire?”
[If you find a larger Komodo, chimera might be able to plunder its skin. However, we suggest you do not swim in the lava. Komodo scales will not protect your eyes, mouth, and ears. Moreover, its scale will not protect your leather armor, helmet, and your bows.]
“So, there is no dome or arena inside that lava?”
[No. While the boss location remains classified, We can inform survivors that there is nothing inside the lava. It is out of the testing zone.]
James then dragged the corpse into the middle of the path. There is no corner inside this dungeon. Unlike before, the narrow paths were always in the middle of the cave. James then realized that unless he had eyes on his back, he would always have a blindspot on this floor. The burns from his back reminded him once again that these lizards were sneaky.
Thanks to his armor and backpack, he didn’t turn into a barbecue when that lizard first attacked. However, it cost him over a hundred coins. There will not be a second chance.
James is a quick learner. Instead of buying these potions beforehand and risking them getting destroyed, he should save 150 coins and buy them only when he needs them. The item arrived almost instantly anyway.
That lizard made a foolish move by crawling to the ground instead of sniping from the lava. However, will there be a next time?
James pondered hard how to cover his blind spot as he traveled the dungeon.
