Heirs of Flames couldn’t speak or communicate at all beyond letting out a sort of squeak. At least that made it easier to identify them as monsters rather than children. If it could come up and talk to us, I might have felt bad about defeating it.
“Taunt!” Kent’s Skill drew an attack from the Heir of Flames. Squealing, the monster leaped at Kent, trying to slash at him with its long claws. Even though Kent blocked the attack with his sword, he slid back half a step from the impact. “It’s strong!” Kent announced.
“It’s the strongest monster we’ll face on the second level! Stay focused!” I shouted.
“Got it!” Everyone in the party held their weapons tight.
The Heir of Flames screeched again, launching into a relentless barrage of attacks with its claws. Kent was just barely fending them off with his sword, repeatedly using Taunt to keep the monster’s attention on himself. “Dammit, it’s fast!”
Cocoa attempted a few attacks, but the Heir of Flames dodged her single-target spells all too easily. I could see on Kent’s face that he was considering how to break this equilibrium... If the battle drags on too long, the heat is going to get us before we can take down the monster. Our best chance would be to pin down the Heir of Flames and dogpile it. And I knew just the Skill Kent could use.
I applied Smiting Light to Cocoa, L’lyeh, and then Tarte, tripling the damage of their next attacks.
“I see what you’re going for!” Kent said. “Got Your Nose!” Kent used his Skill that stunned the Heir of Flames for just a moment.
“Now!” I shouted.
L’lyeh was the first one to move. “No more heat! Dark Whispers!”
“Smiling colder than frost, the ice queen unveils her frozen domain!”
“Purrtion Throw!”
The Heir of Flames was damaged, frozen, and shattered by the series of powerful attacks...turning it into an explosion of light. It was a tougher foe than most, but not too bad of an obstacle if we could pull off this Got Your Nose combo.
“We did it!” Tarte purred as she ran and grabbed the dropped item—an Unstoked Ember. It wasn’t a particularly rare item, but if we collected a thousand of them, we could exchange them for a certain item on the third level. It was tempting to collect them for that purpose, but grinding for items in this heat would be pretty grueling.
“I’m drinking water,” Kent announced, reaching for his waterskin. After taking several loud gulps, he turned to us. “We managed to take that one out, but we’re gonna be in trouble if they ever show up in a group.”
“Yeah,” Cocoa agreed. “Our best move might be to freeze them on sight with an ice AoE attack.”
“Right. Even if another one shows up, I can use Got Your Nose on it,” Kent said.
Pride bloomed within me over Kent and Cocoa as they immediately strategized against the possibility of a horde. It was never too early to plan for potentially dangerous situations. Moments like this one were what made me believe our party could still evolve!
Taking out more monsters and earning some levels, endlessly sweating and rehydrating all the while, we finally reached the gate that led down to the third level.
“It looks like we finally made it,” Tarte panted.
“The second level was pretty brutal... I’m not sure I ever want to come back,” Cocoa said, sounding like she was melting from the heat. I didn’t have the heart to say that I wanted to come back and collect a thousand Unstoked Embers...even though I agreed that this heat was oppressive. I’ll bring it up once we settle down, I decided. “Let’s go down to the third floor and take a break,” I suggested.
“Right.” Kent led the way and descended the stairs to the third level.
At the foot of the stairs, I felt a cool breeze brush my face as we found ourselves confronted with an expanse of green stretching out before us. Luscious vegetation grew from shimmering golden sand. A little ways ahead, we could see the oasis proper—a burbling spring fifty meters wide. Refreshing sounds of water and splashing fish helped cool us down. After surviving the sweltering second level, I appreciated this oasis like never before.
“It’s so refreshing...” Tarte purred.
“Compared to the second level, this place is heaven. I almost want to go for a swim.” Kent stretched his arms while he looked to and fro, making sure there were no dangers around. “No sign of any monsters. Ifrit is supposed to be around here...right, Sharon?”
I nodded. “Ifrit is on the other side of the oasis. The battle won’t start as long as we’re on this side of the spring.”
“Okay. Then we can take a proper break,” Kent said.
“Yep. We can relax,” I confirmed.
Kent shook off his shoes and sat at the edge of the spring, dipping his feet into the water. He looked so relaxed there by the cool oasis spring. The rest of us saw this and immediately copied his idea.
When I took off my boots and dipped my feet into the water, I could feel the heat and exhaustion seep right out of me. That feels so good... Taking deep breaths, I let my muscles relax. When I took a look around, I spotted small animals and butterflies in the woods, along with bountiful fruit hanging from the oasis trees. It was so peaceful that I could hardly believe we were still in a dungeon. How blissful would it be to take a nap right here? A part of me even hoped that I could spend the rest of my life here. Just then, I heard snoring—Kent had fallen asleep, looking wonderfully relaxed.
“The second level really took a toll on us,” I murmured. “Why don’t we rest for the remainder of today and hold off on challenging Ifrit until tomorrow?”
“I agree! I’m exhausted,” Cocoa said.
We might have had enough mana, but the heat had drained our strength. Without realizing it, all of us might have been approaching our physical limits.
After deciding to face Ifrit the following day, we all napped, ate dinner, and built a campfire.
“Meowster,” Tarte said, staring right at me. “What kind of equipment will I get?” Her tail swished back and forth with curiosity.
“Well... I’m hoping you’ll get a new weapon and new armor. Your armor will be in Underground Volcano, and the weapon I have in mind for you...is actually right here,” I said.
“Here?”
“Yep. You know how you’re using my old mace? I’m hoping we can get you Ifrit’s Mace, which will boost the effect of Molotovs, making your Potion Throw more powerful,” I explained.
“That would be ameowzing!” Tarte smiled brightly.
I know. Getting a new weapon can be so exciting...! “But the drop rate is pretty low, so we’ll probably have to keep coming here for a few days straight.”
“I understand. If it’s for a good weapon, it’ll be worth it. I’ll work hard for it! If you can purrlease help me!” Tarte said to the rest of the party.
Kent ruffled Tarte’s hair. “Of course we’ll help. We’re a party, Tarte. Your new weapon is only going to make the whole party stronger!”
“Exactly. Let’s get that Ifrit’s Mace together!” Cocoa encouraged us.
“I’ll help too,” L’lyeh added.
Tarte positively beamed. “Thank you so much. I won’t stop until I get that Ifrit’s Mace so I can contribute more!” she exclaimed, full of determination.
All that was left to do was pray for a quick drop while we hit up this dungeon over and over...!