Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 342 – Seven Jewels and One Sword (4)

[Bwahahaha!]

The Arch Lich, Balrog, and Asus proved to be an excellent combination against the slimes. Balrog commanded extremely hot flames, while the Arch Lich and Asus sapped the heat from anything around them. This combination precisely exploited the weakness of the slimes, which were susceptible to extreme temperatures.

Although Balrog's fighting style leaned toward defense, he wasn't as threatening. However, the Arch Lich's spells, which reduced the temperature of anything around him to below two hundred degrees, and Asus' sword, capable of freezing anything it cut, compensated for this.

[Fire Breath!]

Fwaaaa!

However, that didn't mean Balrog was weak. He recently acquired a new skill called 'Fire Breath' after leveling up significantly, and the flames he exhaled rivaled the breath attack of a flame dragon. With this ability, he could inflict fire damage across a wide area in front of him, proving fatal against the slimes that relied on their numbers.

Each of Han-Yeol’s demons was exceptionally effective against the slimes, enabling the party to smoothly progress through the dungeon. Although the slimes yielded minuscule experience points, Han-Yeol managed to gain two levels after five hours of relentless hunting.

After distributing his stats, Han-Yeol resumed hunting, but the problem with this place was evident...

"Argh! This place is too freaking big!" Han-Yeol screamed, pulling his hair in anger and trembling.

Using Demon Eyes, he observed an unending wave of slimes advancing toward them, despite five hours of relentless hunting without rest.

[Bwahahaha! Why the long face? I'm loving it! I feel reinvigorated just by fighting!]

Kwachik!

A nerve protruded on Han-Yeol’s forehead upon hearing Balrog's words.

'Haa… They say staying calm can prevent you from committing or being a victim of murder… Let's just let it go...' Despite the frustration and anger welling up inside him, he sighed, attempting to calm himself down.

Deciding to maintain his composure and assess the situation, he contemplated, 'The slimes offer significant experience points due to their numbers, but this isn't a dungeon where I want to linger. The only option now is...'

Ziiing!

Infusing more mana into Demon Eyes, he meticulously scoured every nook and cranny in the dungeon.

'Boss… I need to locate the boss…'

Finding the boss and completing the dungeon became imperative. He couldn't simply walk away after investing so much time. Moreover, the boss might yield something valuable unlike the slimes.

“Kyu! Kyu!”

“Oh? You seem happy, Mavros.”

“Kyuu!”

On the contrary, Mavros and Tia appeared quite content, oblivious to their master's current stress over the situation.

'Damn it…'

Han-Yeol had already emptied fifteen barrels of expensive wine to fill them with Slime Jam. Later, he emptied another thirty barrels to accommodate more of the jam, forced to discard the costly wine after Tia gave him an earful.

Understandably, Tia admonished him. He had been comparing the unique Slime Jam, exclusive to this dungeon they might not revisit, with wine he could easily purchase back on Earth at any time.

It stung Han-Yeol to see such fine wine wasted, yet the presence of beer and soju in his dimensional storage eased the sting.

“Hoho~ It would’ve been better if we had more barrels, right, Mavros?” Tia mused.

“Kyu!” Mavros exclaimed joyfully, executing a mid-air backflip to express his happiness.

'Tsk… I guess it’s alright as long as Mavros is happy…' Han-Yeol shrugged off the loss, knowing he could simply place another order with the supplier in France.

“Arch Lich-nim.”

[What is it?]

‘Wow… I wonder what he does in the demon world? He seems cooler with every appearance he makes…’

It was precisely as Han-Yeol had anticipated. The Arch Lich appeared entirely different from his original self, resembling one of those 'Rich Liches' often seen in animations.

Despite this change in appearance, Han-Yeol decided to set aside the Arch Lich’s new fashion and delve into discussing plans to hunt the boss instead. The Arch Lich was the only other member in his party with whom he could discuss such weighty matters, primarily because the Arch Lich had once been human too.

After hearing Han-Yeol’s plans, the Arch Lich nodded in agreement.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Despite his previous humanity, he was now a demon—a skeletal figure devoid of flesh or muscle. The sound of his clacking jaw seemed pronounced whenever he pondered matters deeply.

[That’s not a bad idea,] the Arch Lich began, [I used my detection magic and discovered that this place is constantly birthing new slimes. There seems to be no end to them, and at this rate, exhaustion might render us their food.]

Pausing for a moment, the Arch Lich added, [There is a similar creature in the demon world. It was the dungeon itself.]

“Do you mean the dungeon was the creature?” Han-Yeol inquired, appearing surprised.

[Yes, and it was a remarkably cunning creature. It disguised itself as a dungeon, enticing greedy demons with numerous treasures. As anticipated, those greedy demons dared to challenge the 'dungeon,' but none returned alive, except for me. I alone profited from that creature. Hahaha!]

The Arch Lich’s tale began with education and concluded with self-praise.

However, Han-Yeol acquired intriguing information from him. “Is this dungeon similar to that one then?” he asked.

The Arch Lich shook his head and replied, [Not to that extent, but judging by the continual appearance of these slimes, I'd surmise that we need to find the source and eliminate it to halt this influx.]

"As anticipated, your wisdom surpasses others'," Han-Yeol remarked.

[Kwahaha!]

The Arch Lich adored flattery, whether true or not. Balrog had once mentioned that the Arch Lich was a magician of humble origins when he was alive as a human.

The empire where the Arch Lich had grown up boasted a prestigious magic academy that annually awarded a full scholarship to a single talented individual, regardless of social status. Although other scholarship programs existed, this was the most esteemed, as the Emperor himself, known as the Sun of the Empire, personally granted this scholarship to the chosen candidate.

Regrettably, this coveted scholarship predominantly favored the children of noble families. It wasn't due to corruption within the system; rather, nobles could afford private magic tutors and offer invaluable resources like rare foods or artifacts, aiding in early mana nurturing.

Thus, it wasn't surprising that this prestigious scholarship, bestowed by the Emperor, fell into the hands of the most influential noble families. However...

One fateful day, the Arch Lich, born to a farmer, had been asked by a local noble's son to take the mana aptitude test on his behalf, as the noble had been too indolent to journey to the testing center. On that day, the mana aptitude test device had erupted in a pillar of golden light—an event occurring only for the third time in the empire's two-thousand-year history. This golden light had only been emitted previously by the first and second emperors, with even the lower tier, the silver light, never seen again.

Yet, a mere farmer's son had achieved what hadn’t happened in two millennia? The news of this newfound talent had upended the entire empire, altering the Arch Lich's destiny overnight. He had then entered the magic academy as the top scorer in its entrance exam.

His school life had been marred by disdain from the noble students, despite his once-in-two-millennia talent. Nevertheless, the Arch Lich had refused to succumb to the mistreatment. Instead, it had fueled his determination to grow stronger.

This was the reason the Arch Lich adored flattery, whether genuine or not.

'But why did Balrog purchase information about the Arch Lich’s past from an information peddler…?' Han-Yeol pondered, capitalizing on the information by showering the Arch Lich with praise and flattery.

'Oh well, as long as it works. I'd happily do whatever it takes to motivate him to assist me.’

[Mwahaha! I knew it! You humans are a hundred times better than those demons with nothing to show aside from their overly-inflated ego!]

It appeared that Han-Yeol’s flattery had a profound effect on the Arch Lich.

“I think we'll have to force our way to the boss room. What do you think, Arch Lich-nim?”

[Ah, I agree with you. We'll only be wasting our time if we try to eliminate every single slime in our path. We'll have to push through them.]

“Hmm… but that will be tricky. Only Balrog-nim or the Lava Golem is capable of plowing through the slimes, but just the two of them won't be enough to…”

[Hohoho! I suppose I'll have to reveal one of my creations.]

‘Alright!’ Han-Yeol rejoiced after hearing those words.

It was quite rare for the Arch Lich to fully cooperate with Han-Yeol. By nature, the Arch Lich was a demon, yet he also possessed the cunningness of a human, which was why he didn't put in one hundred percent effort into anything Han-Yeol asked. Maybe around seventy percent?

However, unveiling one of his creations meant that the Arch Lich was now putting in around eighty percent effort.

Wooosh!

[Arise, Ice Skeleton Golem.]

The Arch Lich summoned a creature, and upon hearing its name, Han-Yeol couldn't help but wonder, 'Is it similar to my Lava Golem?'

C-Crack… Crack!

A chilling breeze blew, freezing the air around them until it coalesced into a seven-meter-tall golem. This golem stood at the same height as the Lava Golem, but unlike the statue of the goddess that was the Lava Golem, the Ice Skeleton Golem resembled a skeleton.

However, the Ice Skeleton Golem had one notable difference: it possessed three pairs of arms, a departure from the norm for skeletons.

“Gwuuu Oooh!”

The Ice Skeleton Golem's roar, oddly enough, sounded nothing like that of a skeleton. Nevertheless, this discrepancy didn't matter much as the Ice Skeleton Golem didn't appear weak at all. In fact, it looked quite formidable.

“Wow, that is a cool golem, Arch Lich-nim.”

[Hehehe… I’m not a fan of tinkering with golems, but my excessive research budget allowed me to toy around with different things. Besides, summoning golems is a skill we all need at some point, right?]

“Ah, then with this…”

[Yes, we will be able to force our way to the boss room if Balrog, your golem, and my golem stand at the vanguard.]

“Indeed, Arch Lich-nim!”

Han-Yeol’s party assembled a sturdy front composed of Balrog, the Lava Golem, and the Ice Skeleton Golem.

[Bwahaha! Standing at the vanguard brings back memories!]

As expected, Balrog willingly took the forefront of the trio with his giant flame shield. It was a natural position for him, having held a similar role in the demon army. He showcased his experience by skillfully commanding both the Lava Golem and the Ice Skeleton Golem.

[Follow me!]

“…”

“…”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Balrog let out a battle cry as he charged forward, but the golems followed in silence behind him.

Some might feel embarrassed after such a mishap, but Balrog wasn't the type of demon to care about such things.

[Bwahahaha! Bring it on, you slimes!]

In fact, he appeared more excited than ever, reminiscing about his days at the forefront in the demon army.

“I guess we should go too.”

[Yes.]

“Okay, master~”

“Kyu!”

“Huff!”

[Bwahaha! Sounds good!]

Han-Yeol and the rest of the party members followed the trio.

As Han-Yeol’s party continued their advance, the slimes in the dungeon reacted instantly. It seemed the dungeon summoned more slimes, which poured in endless waves from all sides—front, walls, and even the ceiling above the party. The only way to survive this slime tsunami was to keep pressing forward without stopping.