EC Vol 1 Chapter 18

*doro doro* "Are... you... serious?" Rick stammers as he reaches the top of the hill. The group had fended off all the monsters on their way to the top of the hill, where a large lake of lava resides; filled with floating pieces of rock that have melted. Due to the change in formation as well as Niji adapting tactics suggested by both Bell and Kun for when monsters attack from the side, there hasn't been a single casualty save for that 1 warrior. "Yeah, this is why we haven't been able to conquer this even with all the resources in our guilds. There were simply no ways for a large of amount of people to reach the Boss. Karla, show them." Niji walks up from behind Rick and waves his hand at one of the [Mage]s situated in the back. *s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n* The one known as Karla nods, walks toward the front and brings her magician's rod forward. "«Icicle Squall»!" Finger-sized icicles form in the distance over the lake of lava, fall and evaporate before even getting into the lava. *s.h.i.+n* She follows that by forming a long, ice projectile hovering over her rod. "«Frozen Javelin»!" *fyu* The javelin flies through the air with a beautiful arc as it dives toward the lava in the distance. *s.h.i.+ KAN* The projectile explodes as it lands in the lava. «Frozen Javelin» is a weak ice spell that relies on freezing a fixed area around where it lands. But the javelin and the rock that formed when it first made contact caused a violent explosion. "There are also random areas where we would suffer a [Poison] debuff when we try to cross on those floating rocks. New ones appear in a different spot when they sink." Niji points at the bobbing platforms of various size that line the lava lake. "And the stones will also start sinking if there's too much weight on them. It's already hard enough hopping across on those floats and getting away from the poison pockets, but the Boss is located in the middle of this lake and there are monsters that appear from the within the lava." "Hmm..." "d.a.m.n..." "..." "~~~" Bell, Kun, Till and Rick all share complicated expressions. The rest of the raid are looking at them with interest, same with Niji. "Is... something the matter?" "Would a bridge work~?" "Yes, no, well, no it would take too long to build it." "How about anch.o.r.ed lines?" *kon* "Be serious, Rick. Everything would start melting or get set on fire before we can use it." "d.a.m.n, the ceiling is too high too, how come there's a cavern this big, argh." "How about a boat~?" "A boat?" x3 "A boat~, lava is denser than water, we just need to make sure it doesn't melt~" "We don't have a way to move though." "Oops~" "How about anch.o.r.ed li-" Rick ducks a punch by Bell. "Listen first you d.a.m.n fata.s.s. How about anch.o.r.ed lines with it way above the lava?" "Huh?" x3 "Can't we just get to each platform and make a pole on each of them and string a rope at the top?" "... what good would that do?" "I don't know...? *kon* *kon* "What was the second one for?" "Wait~! How about if we increase the size of the floating rocks? Let's make partial bridges~" "Right! These rocks aren't floating, they just got cooled somehow and didn't melt!" "What?" x2 "Look, lava usually cools down when it meets air, it forms a crust that most people can walk on in minutes. When we have cooled down basalt crust, it will take a lot of energy to melt them back down again. So rock we make will remaining floating on top for a while as long as it's big enough." "Ohhh!" x2 "Okay, so what we need is Kun to..." The group of 4 discuss their plan as the raid looks at them with dumbfounded expression. None of them reacted until Till, with the help of Kun, make a large circular disc of lava on top of one of the floating pieces of rock by using a mix of «Dust Devil» and «Spell Modifier». The airborne lava slowly solidifies in a circular crust after a few minutes, creating a newer, larger platform. "Okay, we will make an artificial platform every once in a while, they will serve as the main staging area where we fight. How does that sound?" Niji and the rest can only nod in agreement as they stare wide-eyed at the casual way these people come up with solutions. It may be impossible for the lava to be ice cooled due to the difference in temperature, but air cooled is possible since the difference in temperature isn't as extreme, as evidenced by the appearance of the original bits of "floating platforms". "We will make a more secured platform the nearer we are to the boss, there's two raids in here, no doubt they are aware their allies were defeated by now. Just let us know when we are close to the Boss."

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*pyo-n* *doro* *ta ta ta* *doro* *ta ta ta byo-n* *doro* The raid moves onto the 5th artificial platform made by Till and Kun. Bell jumps into the dead center of the artificial circle platform, moves toward the furthest edge as Rick jumps onto it before running toward the center as Kun and other follow through. Till is on standby to send anyone flying in case they slip or if the platform starts to tilt in the wrong way. There was a near scare on the first artificial platform, but the raid had since mastered on how to maintain balance for the most part. It helps that lava is thick and dense, making it difficult to flip the platforms in the first place. "Maintain a circle formation and s.h.i.+ft accordingly! I'll go and pull any mobs that're ahead." The catwoman leaps off from the artificial platform and jumps continuously forward until she can barely be seen. [Firehound]s and [Magmahound]s would occasionally appear as the group advances, but they appear individually or in pairs, making them easy to deal with when the raid can maintain a formation on a large platform as opposed to being spread out on smaller bits of floating rocks. [Note: There's an intention pun here as [Firehound] is written as [熱火狗] where 熱狗 means hotdog. 岩漿狗 phonetically sounds like a sauce covered hotdog.] "Nya nya nya! Incoming!" The familiar voice with a feline tremble fills the air as a shadow quickly appears from the distance. Behind it are [Firehound] and [Magmahound] that's lunging at her from within the lava and softly splas.h.i.+ng down as they miss her. The [Firehound] is an apparition with no physical body as it's made completely out of flame standing at 3 meters tall and at least twice as long. The [Magmahound] appears to be a dog with form, with pulsating, glowing lines where light and heat radiate from its surface which crisscross its comparatively dark, rocky flesh, it stands slightly taller than 2 meter with a lean, streamlined body resembling certain sharks. *fyu* *s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n* "«Rising Tempest»~!" "«Icicle Squall»!" x5 The [Firehound] gets sent flying into the air and as a storm of ice ravages its body, without the heat of the lava to s.h.i.+eld it from the cold, the fire is quickly put out, leaving no trace of its existence. *GAO buo* A deep growl fills the air as the [Magmahound] launches a fireball at Bell who has just reached the platform, she quickly runs behind the [Guardian]s who close their ranks and prepare the s.h.i.+elds as the beast keeps running behind the fireball. "«Ice»! «Rapidfire»!" Rick fires off a series of ice enchanted arrows from his bow directly into the fireball to reduce its power. *kan* The fireball explodes at the rank of [Guardian]s before the canine rams into their s.h.i.+elds, causing a s.h.i.+ft in balance on the platform. "Hold your ground! Range unit! Move back a little!" Niji busies himself commanding the raid. As something flies above their head's. *chi chi* *SHA* "«Spell Amplifier»... «Water Beads»!" "«Rising Tempest»~!" A stream of water rips through the air from the flying figure, a shrill sound fills the air as a waterjet releases an explosive sound of steam bursting forth from the hole in the [Magamahound]'s back. The beast turns backward to try to bite the offending attacker, but the flying figure drifts upward toward the dark, endless ceiling, completely out of its reach. The rest of the raid stares at the unusual scene "Stop looking and attack! Melees up, [Guardian]s back! Range, protect the melees!" Taking the opportunity with the beast's back exposed to them, Niji skillfully keeps his troops in check. *Gaaaaaaoooooooo* The [Magmahound] growls as various swords, axes and lances pierce and slash its hindquarters. Turning around, it tries to bring its front claws down on the melees. *GA* "«Earth Lance»!" x4 4 large pieces of stone in the shape of a cone the size of a full grown man points toward the beast's claws before slamming it away. The melees take the chance to rush the canine's other front leg and proceed to rip it to pieces. *GAAAAOOOO* *chi SHAAAAAAAAAA* A fireball starts to gather in the [Magmahound]'s mouth with its head facing the ceiling before a shrill sound fills the air again. The sound of steam rus.h.i.+ng out fills the air again before the beast collapses into the lava, twitching a few times before it stops moving completely. *fuo-n* *fuo-n* *tatata* "«Gust»!" "«Gust»~!" Kun drops from the air with gusts of wind suddenly slowing him down before he lands. This happens while everyone scrambles in an organized fas.h.i.+on to try and balance out the platform that suddenly lost the weight of the [Magmahound]. "Bell, closer to the chest the next time, I thought you were going to crush my guys." "Sorry! Hard to get a stable footing on this d.a.m.n thing." "Umm... what cla.s.ses are you people? Did you send him flying without magic? And he... cut that thing with... was that water?" There's a mix of awe and fear in the gruff looking middle aged man's voice. "Look, I'll be honest with you, Niji. I'm based on a [Warrior], that girl there is a [Wind Mage], he is technically a [Novice]. You folks... just don't know how to use your abilities to its potential." The man just looked at the felinoid with a blank expression as though someone robbed him of his soul. A commotion starts from the rest of the raid. "But... everyone agreed [Wind Mage]s are weak and useless." "Can you say that after the first part of the dungeon? Now?" "Wait, he's a [Novice], a [Novice]. He isn't a [Hex Mage]... how the h.e.l.l was he amplifying all those spells?" "Don't forget that [Archer], he was shooting a string of Ice arrows without using actual Ice arrows..." The platform starts to s.h.i.+ft as the discussion gets more animated by the minute. *koho* "Platform is going to tip over at this rate~" *tatata* Everyone scrambles to restore the platform's balance. "Regardless of what we are, just remember that there's more than meets the eye, don't limit yourselves." The catwoman tells it to no one in particular before leaping onto one of the numerous small platforms. The rest of her party follows, leaving the raid behind before some of them chase after the group.

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"Oh geez." A wide grin spreads across Rick's face as he enjoys the sight before him. "AAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Another figure flies into the gently undulating lava in the distance, this is the 5th such case since they readied the exceptionally large and thick platform in preparation for dealing with a raid. Except the group have nothing to do but enjoy the show before them since the Boss and his minions have already wiped out one raid and is in the process of wiping out another. "Hey, isn't that Tabeus?" Bell's iris contracts as her almond-shaped eyes focus on a figure into the distance. "«Hawkeye»!" "Oh d.a.m.n! Good eye, good eye. Now for a limited time offer, a complimentary backside ma.s.sage will accompany the purchase of any amplifier!" Kun simply chuckles at the horrible infomercial that the youth has been trying to reenact before casting. "«Spell Modifier»." *pyu* "«Aim Shot»!" ... "OW! Oh s.h.i.+-" A figure in the distance jumps high in the air covering his r.e.c.t.u.m with one hand before a cone of flame from a three-headed dog covers him completely. The 3 of them laugh until tears are in their eyes. Till just maintains a smile while the rest of the raid shudders. "Hey, Bell, Bell, I will throw in a one time offer of a steam cooked sausage if you can find me Keely." "Oh h.e.l.l yeah! Let me see..." Niji and the raid shrink in fear as they watch the group of demon-possesed avengers enjoy their revenge, making a mental note to never mess with these people. Niji is sweating bullets as he recalls the time when he confronted them and is glad they were willing to listen to him.