Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"What should we do now?" Mike asked into the round.

It had been two hours since the boss just keeled over and died. In the meantime, Mina had managed to keep everyone alive. Once Bulko had recovered enough health and mana, he healed Fin who in turn helped the others recover once she was awake. Lyxiss also woke up somewhere in between. She was hurt, but her unconsciousness stemmed from the mana deficiency after casting a meteor.

They sat in a circle and ate special meals prepared by Link, to recover their fatigue and other resources. Now that everyone was awake and recovering, Mike saw it fit to talk about the party's next step.

"I want to leave," Lyxiss stated openly. "We lack preparations for this kind of dungeon and we barely beat this times boss. But most importantly, I really dislike this place. It's dirty, it's dangerous and the mobs are disconcerting to the max," it finally broke out of Lyxiss.

Her expression was one of shame and sadness. She had hidden it so far because she was embarrassed, but now she showed how distressed she was by the dungeon. The party listened to her with serious expressions.

They all knew how strong Lyxiss was usually, but everyone had their weakness. To them, it explained her sudden and extreme reaction, to cast meteor. Unsure, the half-elf looked at the others, who stayed silent for a moment, after she finished speaking.

"I'm in favor of leaving. Even if it means we return all the way back to Delta."

To everyone's surprise, it was the rabid dog of the party, Fin, that would not forgo a tough challenge, that voiced her agreement to return first. Especially since she said it in a serious manner, instead of her cutesy act. She offered Lyxiss, who staring at her in disbelief, a warm smile. The others followed suit.

"Yes, I also think we have gotten far enough for now. Level 94 isn't bad at all and we can return at any time now." Bulko said with a chuckle.

"I also want to go home. Cleaning magic is good and all, but I want a bath," Mina spoke languidly, stretching her limbs.

"Alright then. Since we don't know whether it will work here, we should all use the skill at the same time," Mike concluded the discussion.

At his words, the other four were stumped for a moment. They had totally forgotten, that Home Call may not even work. Lyxiss stared at the party leader with big tearful eyes, that clearly blamed him for reminding her of the possibility that they might be stuck here until they cleared the dungeon ...or died.

"On three. Three, two, one <Home Call>"

Fortunately for Lyxiss, the whole party vanished from her nightmare dungeon.

...

---Theater Dimension---

"That makes one party that pulled out without dying," The System God teased his competitor

"But they also only gained four levels," the dungeon god barked back grumpily.

"Huge gains if you ask me," the other said with a shrug.

"But not enough to enter the last stretch. "

"Just a matter of time. Let's just keep watching." the System god ended their banter and they returned their attention to the screens.

---Elemental Dungeon---

The gates of the boss room opened with the death of Maltus and the masses of water shot into the tunnels outside. The ripping torrents almost ripped them off their field, when several shields opened and helped them stand their ground.

"Good Thinking, Alison. Both times," Monique patted the wizard on her back.

It had been Alison's idea to tunnel out of the barrier, using <Earth Magic> and using the empty barrier as bait, while they stayed hidden in the water using the Water Breathing Potion. The hardest part was enduring the pressure and the uncertainty since they could really see anything in the murky water.

Hearing the boss had died was the warning they needed, just before the torrents almost swept them off their feet. Everyone had gained a little less than 10% experience from the boss fight.

"Let's get loot and look for the next boss." the chosen of Athena said and went to the place where Maltus perished.

The boss who had turned into a burning figure had turned into a heap of ashes underwater. The ashes were gone, but by the courtesy of the system, the loot was still in the same place. There was an orange crystal and a metal piece that looked like a small flame, which would probably fit into one of the recesses of the door they found.

"Only three more to go. It can only get easier from here- and Shay, don't use that ring in a closed room ever again."

"Okay.." the water mage said meagerly.

"Do you really think we can do it? Maltus was already quite hard, despite us having the elemental advantage," Ray asked a little worried.

"The next one would be the water-based boss, right? Do we have enough water-breathing potions?" Jonah asked Alison, their resident alchemist.

"Well, I have enough to keep everyone breathing for one hour underwater, if we face the same situation as just now," Alison said after checking her inventory.

"Shay, do you think <Aquakinesis> would work on the attacks of the boss?" Tekar interjected with a sudden idea. If the water mage could bend the attacks of the boss, they could get another advantage. However, Shay shook his head.

"I can barely manipulate my own magic with my current stats. I don't know whether lv.5 would even be high enough to manipulate the magic of someone else," he explained uncertainly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we will be able to manage. Let's find it first," Monique changed the subject.

Climbing back up, their wandering around the system of tunnel restarted. Once again, they had to search for a gate that had to have appeared somewhere.

…

"Ugh, we have been looking for a full hour. Can't we just-"

"Found it!" Ray was interrupted by Shay's call. Everyone followed his voice and found the water mage standing in front of a gate made of opaque ice.

"My educated guess would be, this boss will be frost-themed," Alison commented the obvious, as they stood in front of the door. She continued to bring out a few potion bottles.

"Here, everyone drink it. It will raise your frost resistance by 15% for the next hour," she explained to the light blue potion that looked like an energy drink.

"Okay, let's have a look at what's inside," Monique said and entered, once everyone downed the potions.

The freezing cold door swung open under a light push of her hands. Past it was a glacial cave with a white, polished floor made of ice. In the middle of this boss room, opposite them, stood a small stocky figure. It was like an ugly gnome with bright blue skin and a white beard. The whole party hesitated for a moment.

<Uncle of Frost, Olaf lv.--->

Their appraisal skills told them, that it was a boss with a level in the three digits, but as a boss, it looked very underwhelming, compared to Maltus, a hulk made of lava and fire. The small, bend-over gnome didn't seem to be fazed by their sudden entry.

"Guests? And it seems like you managed to beat Maltus. Interesting," Olaf spoke with a high voice.

"Should I test him out?" Jonah asked carefully.

They had followed Shay's strategy before since drowning Maltus was the easiest way to win, at least it was what they suspected. The gnome didn't look like much of a melee fighter, so it was probably a caster. In that case, Jonah saw a good chance to be able to beat it, relying on the effects of the Sword of Chains.

"Hoh? You alone want to challenge me? How fun, then come," the eavesdropping boss told him.

At Monique's nod, the swordsman charged forward. Suddenly, the icy dwarf faced the cold beauty of the Face of Deception. Jonah used the fearful evil eye when he was close enough, really stunning the gnome for a moment.

<Divine Chains!>

Breaking from the ground were chains of dull gray metal that tied the gnome like snakes. With the boss caught, Jonah got ready to swing his sword, when he heard something shatter.