The floor guardian wafted in the molten river, eager to see what we might do. After I had requested passage, the floor guardian seemed to let out a sigh of relief!? Something tells me this one is most definitely a shut-in or something. Anyway relieved to hear our request, the floor guardian replied,
"Very well challenger, I might grant you passage; however, there's no goodwill rendered unto your kind without bequeathing goodwill. What goodwill does the challenger wish to offer in exchange for safe passage?"
"I offer 100 scales of an adolescent Midgardsormr. To be exact, the very one that haunts the floor above. I pray thee, is this a satisfactory price for safe passage?" While stating my offer, I called up the scales from my storage ring. When all 100 scales appeared, they towered over us like a 20-storey building.
"Mmm, that vile creature was forced to shed its scales? The only one I can think would be the cause is my fellow floor guardian. Not to mention these scales are fresh and full of the serpent's aura. Pray, do tell. What became of the vile creature?"
"I know not. The serpent originally bound me until it received many serious wounds at the hands of the floor guardian. I speculate, the serpent may have retreated back into its aquatic burrow since the floor guardians are directly connected to the dungeon thus being nigh immortal." I answered honestly since there's no point in lying.
"Hmm, that sounds like a plausible result for the loathsome creature. Very well, I express my gratitude for truthfully answering my inquiry. I shall accept your offer and provide safe passage. Climb upon my back and I will carry you across the river."
Finished speaking, the floor guardian brought her head close to the edge of the river. Once close enough, she evoked magoi to wrap around the Midgardsormr scales which floated into the air and were bathed in the baleful rain. Once the serpent's aura was completely removed, the scales flew towards the floor guardian. Next, the scales neatly arrayed themselves as they seamlessly melded with the floor guardian.
As a result, the overall appearance of the serpent to dramatically change. Now what stood before us was a fiery Midgardsormr which retained all of the previous features of the floor guardian, while having all of an adolescent Midgardsormr's features including the flipper like arms and paws. Pleased with her new transformation, the floor guardian exclaimed,
"Ahh, I have dreamed of this moment ever since that vile serpent first dared to enter my floor. I tried killing it then, but it was smart enough to flee back to the above floor. I must thank you for this indeed!"
Excited about her new development, the floor guardian extended her new paws towards us, and caused magoi to wrap around us as we were placed on top of her head. Afterwards, the floor guardian began to lithely swim towards the other shore. After 2 hours, we arrived at the other shore. We were gently placed on the shore before the floor guardian left us by diving back into the river of lava.
Now on the other side, we wasted no time and proceeded to the volcano. After about 5 hours of running, we reached the cave leading to the stairs heading to the next floor. Like last time, I took the lead and headed down the stairs. Unlike traveling down from the 1st floor's stairs, the current stairway was a simple staircase leading to a glowing exit.
"Remember, this floor guardian will try to kill us as we are but food to it. Our goal is to get Ivy close enough to communicate with it. Be prepared for the whole forest to be our enemy upon entering the floor." I said, and everyone nodded.
We all knew what to expect on the 3rd floor. Based on Lucas' information, every team that entered the 3rd floor was attacked by the trees, monsters, and roots of the floor guardian. This onslaught began the moment they exited the stairway.
Once in the forest floor, we will have to fight day and night for 12 to 17 days before reaching a close enough distance for Ivy to attempt communing with the Abyssal Treant. If that fails, then we will have no choice but to continue carving a blood path towards the treant until we reach the 3rd floor's core area. Just as I took the first step into the 3rd floor,
SWISH!!!
A giant blade like leaf came flying at me. I was prepared for the attack, and without moving from my spot, I fired a plasma spear towards the area where the leaf came from. Additionally, Katya and Cavilhaugh fired their explosive abilities right after they stepped in; their spells merged with mine right before they met their designated target…
BOOOOMMMM!!!
An explosive shockwave rolled over the forest, burning all plant life, and monsters within a 100-meter blast radius. Our joint attack was enough to clear a safe enough spot for our party to enter the forest floor. However, the vitality of the floor was an arduous foe not easily tamed.
After 5 minutes, the forest regrew at an alarming rate. It all grew back until everything seemed as though we had not even attacked in the first place. With the forest regrowth, a rain of leaf blades came pouring down on us. This time Ivy conjured an enormous quantity of vines which swiftly took the form of a giant serpent.
HHHiiissss!!
The conjured serpentine vines charged towards the barrage of leaves, and with a swing of its tail it swatted them all down. Next, smaller vines on the conjured creature dug deep into the ground. The beast began to rip the forest out of the ground from the roots, only to feed the serpentine vine.
It then continued to grow and grow as a more monstrous creature was formed. Eventually, a smaller plant-type version of the 2nd floor's floor guardian had formed from the mass of vines. The creature then proceeded to bulldoze through the forest, and everywhere it went not plants not even grass regrew.
"Wow Ivy! This place is most definitely a playground for you!" Anansi said, praising Ivy who had a nature affinity higher than everyone else save myself.
"Giggle… Don't marvel at my work for too long. Although my spell will continue to create a path for us to travel for as long as there is plant life near it, it is only a matter of time before the floor guardian sends its elite monsters to deal with it." Ivy said, which caused my sense of urgency to grow.
"Then let us not waste any more time. I am going to cast a crowd control spell to ensure no enemy gets too close. Anansi should you notice any stealth-type enemy, you and Raptor will be their opponents. Katya, have Gwenn take to the sky to keep a lookout for any flying type monsters. Lastly Ivy, if possible, please conjure another 2 bulldozer vine beasts. If we can keep the elite minions of the floor guardian occupied, it will allow us to get as close as possible."
Everyone nodded and began to take their positions. As for Cavilhaugh, given he is a support-type summoner, I wanted to have him save as much magoi as possible. The last thing I want is for our mages to run out of steam before we are even close to our goal; we still have a minimum of 12 days' worth of nonstop fighting before we are near a close enough distance for Ivy to do her thing. Not wasting anymore time, I evoked fire, wind, light, earth, and neutral elements to create a dome around us with Cavilhaugh in the eye of the dome.
As my voice sounded out in the celestial language, the dungeon shook as oceans of magoi heeded my call. This would be the first time I will use this arcane art in combat. So I am evoking it as swiftly as possible while ignoring the mental drain the evocation causes.
After 30 seconds I spoke the final word of the evocation and the summoned magoi erupted into a small sun sitting above us. This arcane art is called Ra's Domain. I created this art with the purpose of burning my enemies and their attacks before they reach myself and allies. I used a concept of the Egyptian god to form the spell.
Amun-Ra was the self-created Ruler/Creator god of Egyptian mythos. Originally Amun and Ra were separate gods. Much later however, Egyptians united the 2 separate entities into 1 godhead.
Further, the sun remained tied to him as it was a symbol connected to life and creation. The sun shines both life and death upon the Earth just as Ra created all and at one point used Sekhmet as a means to bring death to mankind. Similarly, I had witnessed the Earth being saved by solar wind, and then destroyed by solar wind.
With this concept as a foundation, earth, and fire magoi make up the artificial stellar core which feeds off of ambient magoi and does not require the mage's magoi once completely formed. Wind and neutral magoi rotate the stellar core to form the spherical shape needed which in turn creates the dome around our party and generate its own gravitational pull forcing avian enemies into the spell's area of effect.
Lastly, light magoi creates the radiant glow which illuminates all enemies and their attacks. Once the light shines on the detected objects, the stellar core shoots irradiated waves of fire at the objects. These bolts have one purpose, to incinerate all in its path.
Additionally, the excess magoi absorbed by the artificial sun. This excess is then sent back into the caster and those who are designated as allies in the form of light rays. The effects of the rays include healing wounds, restoring lesser amounts of stamina, and enchanting all spells and weapons with both fire and light elemental damage.
The draw back with this spell is the stellar core can be destroyed if the enemy uses a highly dense amount of darkness magoi. Further, even though the stellar core does not feed off of my magoi, it still uses my magoi to keep it positioned with our hastily moving party. Anyway, with Ra's Domain completely activated, our relentless march began!
-End of Chapter