Leveling Up Alone - Chapter 342

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...'The inception of this content can be traced to n0ve1bin★

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?]

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.