One of the main things about [Flames of Fire Dragon Mountain] is that there's no safety zone.
Of course I don't need to mention the fact that the dungeon monsters are attacking day and night, and it's also annoying that the terrain features change from time to time.
If you get careless for a moment at a smooth spot with no lava around, it will suddenly gush out from under your feet. There are also the natural, fatal volcano gasses that come in out of nowhere.
Actually, the moment you let your guard down and take a rest, you're dead.
In other words, it's hard for challengers to rest. In our case, I transform the Skeleton Centipede into a temporary base. Compared to anyone else, this makes taking a rest possible, which makes our lives considerably easier.
I easily make the base and let Kanami-chan and the others take some rest in the skeleton centipede because she seemed to have become considerably fatigued from yesterday. I took up guard duty for the entire night because I have [Tireless].
I slaughtered a lot of dungeon monsters by myself. It would be more beneficial if everyone was there as well, but it can't be helped.
At any rate, with Seiji-kun and Kugime-chan's stamina fully refreshed there after taking a rest, we were able to start today's capture in an almost perfect state.
Since we spent all day yesterday memorizing the map, making it quite favorable.
Though my clones couldn't go very far ahead because the dungeon monsters were a lot stronger than them, I created as many as I could, and let them carry [Parasites]. Combined with the wide area search from Kugime-chan. We were already able to map out 40% through this.
In addition, we were able to discover quite a few field bosses because of it. I'd say our conquering attempt is going well so far.
However, [Flames of Fire Dragon Mountain] is even larger than I expected. We were able avoid continuously battling the dungeon heroes as well as the terrain effects. We finished our rotation of the outer edge that we started yesterday by noon today, a little ahead of schedule.
That aside, because it ended up well, we took a break to go for lunch. Judging from our previous fights, I feel that we can continue challenging the dungeon, so I decided to hunt a field boss this time around.
The real conquering starts here.
With [Job ・ Sentinel] on top of [Phased Radar Array], the rough direction of the field boss that is further off is shown to me. Kugime-chan is able to pinpoint its position with her abilities.
Like this we are able to make a beeline for it without wasting any time.
We're still facing a large amount of dungeon monsters when going through the area with the field boss, though less because we're going in a straight line instead of roaming around.
"Cursed Flame Skull Legion", skulls freely floating in midair, covered in a black curse flame.
"Flying Killer Butterflies", carnivorous butterflies that are as big as a man. They hide themselves in the shadow and hunt for prey with sharp tentacles. Their scales hold a high glamor effect that spread around flame illusions.
"Bursting Bomb Bats" fly at high speed by using their fire wings. They attack challengers from their blind spot and blow themselves up one after another.
"Great Lava Licking Slimes" have the habit of mimicking lava, waiting to ambush targets passing by. They are capable of high speed movement, can generate volcanic gasses and shoots out acid body fluids.
"Vulcan Crimson Lizard Lords" live in the lava and magma. They have a big frame and burning dorsal fins. They wield a pair of red hot swords.
And so on.
We're intercepting them while covering each other, and are progressing smoothly.
While the dungeon monsters we're encountering here are surely stronger than outside the dungeon, as long as we can sense their existence beforehand, we can prepare to take them on. No critical situations occurred.
Like that, we trudged on and reached our destination. *thud thud (sfx)*
Countless lava pillars are standing close together, each one as thick as the bottom of a big tree trunk.
Because of these lava pillars, there are a lot of blind spots and it's hard for everyone to cooperate with each other because of how close the pillars are to each other.
In between the lava pillars, there's a place where the ground is subtly indented. Looks like it's filled with poisonous fumes because they're heavier than air. I can spot it leaking from delicate cracks at the bottom of the lava pillars.
The lava pillars seem to retain a high temperature though, they're hot. If you took measures, you won't take damage, but it's still too hot.
At first, I judged that it wasn't a good battlefield. I spotted the field boss at a distance, albeit a bit late.
The moment the field boss noticed our existence, he came at us at high speed.
Though we could temporarily withdraw for now, but we assumed that it'd be easier to fight in the pit than in the forest of lava pillars. His subordinates appeared from in between the lava pillars.
Its entire muscular body is covered by red, hard, magic metal spikes. Its four thick, tough, strong arms are tightly gripping a club made out of lava. Six golden eyes are looking out while skittering around restlessly.
Six very long tails are growing from its behind and are skillfully moving back and forth. *zig zag (sfx)* Its big, thick legs are straddling a lava pillar of about 5 meter high with its strong toes creating a foothold with its strong grip.
The name of this first field boss is "Volcanic Ape General", it's a large monkey that has made the forest of lava pillars his territory.
The four-armed Volcanic Ape General leads a lot of two-armed Volcanic Apes that are about half its size. Its strong presence is able to overwhelm and stop anyone in the neighborhood in its track.
Its golden eyes are observing us in detail. If we show any openings in our defense, it'll probably attack immediately.
The surrounding Volcanic Apes are already standing ready and can spring into action at any time. They're waiting on the orders of its leader.
It's indeed a [God] rank boss. It looks to be very tough, not only individually, but as leader of the pack as well.
The battle didn't start immediately, as we just stared at each other for a while. A strange silence spreads around the area. You could hear the earth shaking, the lava gushing out and the cries and screams of the dungeon monsters far away.
Aside from our breathing, there's only a small sound of metal rustling. We're glaring at each other for several dozen seconds. It's the Volcanic Ape General that becomes impatient and acts first.
The Volcanic Ape General's first attack is an overwhelming roar that breaks a lot of lava pillars in the area.
Even a wyvern would be frozen for a moment if it was standing in short range, it surely had an effect on us. Though it's not like we couldn't move completely, but our bodies are moving slower than we want.
Not missing a beat, the Volcanic Ape General jumps up high. Raising the lava club that he holds with all 4 hands, he aims to attack while falling with full power.
Using [Law of Gravity] I held him back slightly by holding him in the air for an instant. Right before that, as planned, Minokichi-kun and the others took advantage of that opening to shoot [8 Demons Annihilation Formation ・ Destructive Shot].
Combination attack [8 Demons Annihilation Formation ・ Destructive Shot] is the attack of all 8 demons bundled up by a mysterious power and transformed into something like a black flash. The Volcano Ape General tried to defend against the attack with his club because he couldn't avoid in midair. However it was to no avail, as everything except for its head fully disintegrated. Right after that it falls down from the sky like a brick. *spinning (sfx)*
The destructive power of the combo attack doesn't just stop with killing the Volcanic Ape General; a countless amount of lava pillars and unlucky Volcanic Apes were caught up and vanished without a trace. It also opened up a gap in the dark clouds.
Sunlight breaks through the hole that just opened up and illuminated the wake of destruction. The spectacle petrified the surviving Volcanic Apes that stood in the back.
Of course, we didn't give the rest of the Volcanic Apes any chance to escape. Shot down from a distance with [Pressurized Lightning Cannon], limbs cut off with [Paralyzing Fiery Adamantine Claws]; they were cleaned up with several abilities.
No time was wasted chasing the dungeon monster as they basically didn't run away. There was no point as the hunt was finished up in a matter of minutes.
After the battle was over, I threw the corpses of the Volcanic Apes into my [Item Box].
[Field Boss [Volcanic Ape General] successfully eliminated ]
[Achiever Yatendouji has been Awarded the [Flame Ape General's Coffin] as a first time subjugation bonus]
Like that, the battle against the first field boss ended, though I was a bit disappointed. A flawless victory. However, as a result of using all energy in that opening combo attack, all 8 demons were exhausted.
Even Minokichi-kun's breath was disordered. He lay down on the ground to rest.
Seiji-kun was lying down like a frail child who fainted half a minute ago. Looks like he is not able to move because his body was burnt by the geothermal heat.
Improved from the previous time I tried it, I put everyone in a simple, temporary resting station made from the skeleton centipede. After that, I took the large treasure chest that had appeared. I decided to hang on to it for now and took a slightly long rest.
A little bit later, I decided to eat the head of the Volcanic Ape General that had rolled in front of my feet. It was pleasantly burnt by the geothermal heat and gave off a fragrant smell.
A gulp resounded from my throat. I gave in to my appetite and swallowed it in one bite.
Ability learned: [Earthquake Club Smash]
Ability learned: [Herculean Strength]
Ability learned: [Blazing Body]
The strength and satisfying feeling that filled my body the moment I ate it, was the best ever.
It probably caused a glow to come out of my mouth and eyes.