Reg felt they were very close to the BOSS room.
Since entering the dungeon, the three of them had already defeated twelve level fifteen monsters, so they guessed the BOSS’s difficulty was probably below second-tier, at most around level nineteen.
Even so, Reg and the others chose to advance steadily, checking every corner carefully, afraid that the small monsters here might, like those in the Mist, like to hide in the shadows and ambush them.
Reg took point, Suna provided support from the rear, and Anderson carried a large sack, continuously collecting valuable materials from the monsters.
After discovering a hidden room containing a treasure chest by chance, he made it a habit to touch every wall they passed, checking for secret passages.
“The Hall Scout’s Treasure Cavern, huh…”
Watching Anderson’s abundant haul behind them, Suna realized the demon who named the dungeon had surprisingly accurate taste.
There really were many reasonably valuable treasures hidden here, and the monsters were mostly common species from the plateau.
If Suna were naming it, she would probably do like others and name it after the dungeon’s general location, something like “Watchfort Underground Dungeon.”
So the upcoming BOSS fight should have something to do with the “Scout” then—maybe a speed-type?
“Hiss—”
Ahead, a gigantic black python without eyes suddenly slithered out from the wall. Its sound-sensing organs were intently focused on the footsteps of the three.
“See? I told you the monsters here won’t ambush us. They just block the path waiting for us to fight,” Anderson said loudly as he strode forward, signaling Reg to use that crazy skill to take down the python so he could loot its corpse.
“I’ll throw you into the Mist for two days and see if you behave then.”
Reg scoffed but still charged forward with his longsword. His relentless attacks left the black python no chance to counterattack, stuck in a constant loop of “taking hits—staggering—taking hits again.”
“Seriously, that skill is brutal…”
Though Reg had been using that move the entire way, Suna always stared in slight awe when she saw it. The absolute suppression was absurd. Who on earth had he learned that from?
Suna was supposedly covering Reg, but she had only cast two weak Meteor Bullets the whole time. For the rest of the time, Reg didn’t even need a shield.
It was almost like he could clear the dungeon alone…
“You, though. I see that staff you have—it looks pretty powerful. Why haven’t you seriously used it? And where did you get it from?” Anderson asked from the side.
He felt the staff wasn’t something you’d find naturally here on the Deya Plateau.
“Um… that’s forbidden!”
“Tch. You two both have secrets. That guy not saying anything is one thing, but you’re hiding things from me? Am I really that untrustworthy?”
“It’s for your own good, really…”
Suna didn’t want to drag Anderson into the demons and calamities affair. She also hadn’t dared to use the full power of the Fire Pattern Staff because its destructive force was hard to control.
Besides the simplest fire swing, the only skill she could use was “Flame Wave,” taught by Ariel. The name was too long and hard to remember, so she just called it “Flame Wave.”
After Reg took down a few more black pythons, Anderson realized his backpack was full and had to discard some low-value materials and treasures.
They moved forward, discarding as they went, until the three finally arrived at the BOSS room’s entrance. Reg turned to the two behind him and asked:
“This dungeon is small. What do you think? Should we just go in or keep exploring those branches we found earlier? Usually, dungeons hide some rare items.”
“Even if there are, they probably aren’t worth much. This dungeon probably isn’t even second-tier,” Suna replied, eager to kill the BOSS quickly. The small monsters so far were too weak to give much experience.
She should reach level 25 after clearing this, then could head straight to Snowveil City. Staying in Deya City any longer might take years to reach third-tier.
Fourth-tier was out of the question; the monsters here simply couldn’t nurture a fourth-tier adventurer.
Like Eadwin, the Adventurers’ Association head in Deya City—he’d been here over twenty years and was only level 36.
The Newbie Village no longer satisfied Suna.
“Miss really is Miss, huh? Spouting ‘not worth much’ and ‘not even second-tier’ like it’s nothing. Ever think about how us common folk feel?”
Anderson, tidying his pack, said quietly. He was the only one among the three who hadn’t reached second-tier—and likely the poorest.
Reg wanted to retort that he had made plenty from selling Dragon Eggs, but then recalled how the Mist disruptions meant neither he nor Anderson had finished laundering their money yet, and not a single gold coin had been spent.
“A mosquito is still meat. After the BOSS, I’ll go explore the branches with you. Suna can wait at the entrance; we’ll be quick.”
Reg said this, and Suna agreed since she didn’t care about minor loot. After a brief rest, the three cautiously entered the BOSS room.
As the sealing formation activated, a towering, two-meter-tall half-werewolf appeared before them, its entire body gray.
“Awooo!”
The half-werewolf spread its terrifying claws and howled skyward, revealing sharp fangs. The next moment, its powerful legs propelled it forward like an arrow shot from a bow, lunging at Reg!
Clang!
Reg’s sword clashed against the half-werewolf’s fangs. Its speed was so fast that Reg almost failed to block in time.
Their blades and claws sparked continuously, locked in a fierce struggle.
“Though its strength isn’t high, this werewolf’s speed is really fast!” From afar, Suna held the Fire Pattern Staff, aiming carefully at Reg and the werewolf but hesitated to strike.
She knew her Meteor Bullets barely caused any real damage.
Anderson, crossbow in hand, fired all out, but it seemed ineffective. With no good gear or powerful skills, there was no way he could charge the BOSS like Reg.
One slap from the BOSS and Anderson would be unconscious.
Reg also realized this half-werewolf had incredible toughness; he couldn’t suppress it fully. Even after staggering it once, the werewolf only glowed red on its head briefly before quickly recovering.
Unlike small monsters that stagger for a long time after being hit, most BOSSes had a toughness regeneration mechanic.
When toughness was depleted, a “Execution Mark” would appear on the BOSS, but these marks were rare — most low-tier adventurers saw only a few in their lifetime.
Reg knew about Execution Marks from family elders, but he was far from reaching that level himself.
After several intense close-quarters rounds, the two-meter half-werewolf left several claw marks on Reg and then retreated swiftly.
With a low growl, its body gradually became transparent.
“Invisible! Reg, watch out!”
Suna quickly guessed the half-werewolf’s skill based on its “Plateau Scout” nickname. Scouts were swift and stealthy.
“Ah? What do we do? I don’t know how to counter invisibility… hiss—”
Before Reg could finish, something violently slammed into his shoulder, and a gust of wind blew his hair back. Sharp pain spread throughout his body.
Since they couldn’t see health bars, the three hadn’t noticed the BOSS had already entered phase two—and the aggro was still on Reg, whose shoulder was just clawed.
“Ah?” Anderson, crossbow ready, was stunned. This was his first time facing an invisible BOSS and he had no idea how to handle it.
He could only watch helplessly as Reg took hits.
Three people was too few to fight a BOSS; usually, parties of four or more tackled BOSSes, making it easier to break the werewolf’s invisibility.
Luckily, Reg’s health was thick enough for Suna and Anderson to find a solution quickly.
“Miss, hurry up and use your ‘invincible’ staff to think of something!” Anderson urged Suna, who hesitated.
Flame Wave was an indiscriminate area-of-effect skill. When Ariel taught her in the Mist, she had already reduced her magic output to the lowest level, but with the Fire Pattern Staff’s power, Flame Wave still burned trees within about ten meters to ash.
The skill’s damage was too high. Suna wondered how to avoid hurting Reg.
But then the opportunity came. When the half-werewolf successfully ambushed Reg again and raised a dust cloud in the center of the arena, Suna didn’t hesitate.
She carefully stabbed the Fire Pattern Staff into the ground and shouted:
“You two, get behind me!”
“The big one’s coming?” Anderson took his position, while Reg, clutching his injured shoulder, gritted his teeth and limped over.
Ahead, the werewolf’s low growl echoed through the arena as it charged toward Suna.
Suna’s fingertips traced mystical patterns on the staff as she quickly chanted an ancient incantation.
If Truth were here, she would notice the patterns and words were both Chinese and English:
【/CastSpell Flame Wave: fire35629/EnergyCore[Plague Gem] TargetAreaCoordinates[X: -123.45, Y: 67.89, Z: 23.45]: Radius[R: 15.0]: Duration[T: 10.0]: FlameIntensity[! : MAX]: AdditionalEffects[E: Burn: 50 fire damage per second for 5 seconds; Slow: reduces target movement speed by 70% for 8 seconds]: CastTime[P: 0.5 seconds]: CastAnimation[A: Staff continuously generates distorted air heat waves and flames; wind pressure rises from the ground, forming a fiery vortex]: SoundEffectIV: low roaring fire, gradually increasing to deafening levels]: SkillEffectIS: flames are bright red, mixed with orange-yellow arcs, sweeping forward like surging waves, leaving scorched marks]】
Faster, faster! Suna chanted with her mouth and hands in unison, now reaching the “cast animation” step.
Ariel had told her this last step consumed the most magic and was the most important—if skipped, the power would be drastically reduced.
“Roar!”
The half-werewolf sensed the dangerous spell and accelerated, reaching Suna’s side in the blink of an eye! But it was too late.
Thanks to countless hours of practice, Suna’s chanting speed was lightning fast.
When her last bit of magic was drained, the air around the Plague Gem was already distorted by heatwaves, the scorching flames swirling around.
Her fire-red hair fluttered, eyes sharp, and her right hand rose:
“Flame Wave!”
A deafening roar exploded as the Plague Gem atop the staff emitted a sun-like dazzling red light. The tremendous force blasted the half-werewolf back nearly three meters.
“Ugh!”
The half-werewolf barely had time to rise and look toward Suna before a wave after wave of massive crimson flames, streaked with orange-yellow arcs, swept over it!
The ground scorched instantly wherever the flames passed. The werewolf was fast, but Flame Wave covered a huge fan-shaped area.
Positioned in the center, the werewolf had no chance to dodge.
As it touched the flames, it let out a piercing howl. The fire engulfed not only its skin and fur but seemed to burn its innards and even soul.
With the various runes on the Fire Pattern Staff, the Plague Gem, and her own half-elf talent, Suna’s skill wildly stacked damage and area coverage, even adding some “Plague” properties.
The Plague’s trait was to burn everything!
“Is this really a second-tier mage’s skill?!”
Watching the hellish scene and panting Suna, Reg and Anderson widened their eyes. No wonder she hadn’t used her skills until now—she was holding back for this!
Around the BOSS, the flames from Flame Wave didn’t dissipate quickly but consumed the dust and stones on the ground, spreading outward. It wouldn’t extinguish anytime soon.
The half-werewolf’s screams gradually faded. Slowed by the debuff, it couldn’t escape the flames and finally collapsed, burned to ashes.
Suna had one-shot the BOSS.
“Ah, BOSS materials…” Anderson looked sadly at the ashes in the fire. Reg noticed the air was thinning rapidly, and if they didn’t leave soon, they’d suffocate.
“The seal is open. We need to get out quickly, Suna!”
Suna swallowed nervously, hardly believing the fiery scene she’d unleashed. Is this… something I really can do? Had Ariel not lied? Could I really defeat the Primal Demon with my own power?
“Heh, once you’ve truly felt the power of Calamity, the power of Heavenly Fire! You’ll realize only Heavenly Fire truly suits you. When that time comes, don’t just the Primal Demon— even the Hero will think twice before facing you!”
That was what Ariel had said to Suna back then.
It was real. It was really real. I really can rely on my own power to defeat demons. As long as… I meet Heavenly Fire…
Suna’s frown relaxed slightly as she glimpsed a bright future:
“There’s a chance!”
“In my dreams.”
……
Inside the Church of the Goddess of Life in Deya City, Truth had been annoyed by Aisia for a long time.
The latter kept pestering her to teach how to channel faith power without following the Saintess’s rites.
“Just teach me once. Maybe I’ll learn quickly.”
Truth told her to go to sleep, suggesting that maybe in her dreams she’d encounter a divine authority and merge with it, finally mastering the proper use of faith power.
Tia, standing nearby, was somewhat dumbfounded. The Sixth Saintess had been so hostile just a moment ago, but Truth easily handled her with a small display of skill…
“Don’t be so stingy. I’m not trying to withhold benefits from you!”
Aisia grabbed Truth’s arm, rubbing her face against Truth’s shoulder like a clingy girl next door, completely lacking the dignity of a Saintess.
“Is that so? But the benefits I want are ones ordinary people can’t give,” Truth said calmly.