Chapter 270

Defense Specialization and h.e.l.lfire

As they neared the top of the volcano, they poked their head out over Ignis and looked down into the mouth of the volcano .

“In there, huh? That’s where the entrance to the dungeon should be . ”

“Yeah, leave it to me . I know this place quite well . Ignis!”

Mi gave the order, and Ignis started to descend into the mouth . On the way, there were footholds on the side, and then a very narrow entrance .

“Here it is . Ignis is too big to fit inside . So we’ll have to walk . ”

Mi put them down on a platform and then returned Ignis to its original size .

“Uh, what is it that you need?”

“Various ores and plants that we should find on the way . And also materials from a lava dragon . ”

“Huh . I didn’t know they had plants here…”

“It’s quite unusual . It should be a red plant that would be hard to spot . So be careful when you search for it . ”

The three of them walked through the cave in a single line . As Maple had activated Dedicated Affection, they were safe while they explored .

The inside was like an ants nest, and there were many rooms and narrow pa.s.sages . And then, in the far back, there was a room full of magma . That was where the lava dragon waited .

“Mi . Aren’t you a bad match for a monster with the fire attribute?”

“Yeah, terrible . However, I’ve grown too . And that’s what I’m going to show you . ”

Izu continued to quickly gather the ore and plants . As Maple and Mi had very low skill levels when it came to the gathering or had no skills at all, they were not really able to help Izu acquire the rare materials that she needed .

Because of this, they decided to focus on protecting her .

As Izu continued to gather materials, there was the sound of roaring flames, and several giant fireb.a.l.l.s appeared . They had wills of their own, and they opened their mouths wide, giving birth to smaller fireb.a.l.l.s .

“Let’s take care of them before they multiply even more . ‘Flame Empress’! Ignis, ‘Linked Flame’!”

“Yes! ‘Deploy all weapons’! ‘Hydra’!”

Maple started her usual sweeping fire and poison attacks . Next to her, Mi ran forward and launched her fireb.a.l.l.s . Maple had fought with Mi several times before, but unlike those times, she got a good view of what Mi was doing . The flames that shot out from Ignis at an equal distance from each other would touch the fireb.a.l.l.s that Mi created . Every time this happened an orange aura that looked just like fire would rise from Mi’s body, and her attacks would grow more powerful .

They did much more damage than Maple’s bullets, and even though she was fighting a monster that should have been a bad fit for her, her flames burned them to death .

“My firepower is superior! ‘Heavy Fire’! ‘Blue Fire’!”

The red and blue flames that reached the ceiling was more than enough to burn up the fireball monsters so that nothing of them remained .

That being said, it did use up all of her MP . But the monsters had been killed while Maple had barely attacked at all .

By now, Izu had finished gathering the materials and stared at the scene wide-eyed . Then she rushed towards them .

“OOHHH! That was amazing!”

“Of course it was . Besides, Maple is supposed to focus on defense, right? Maybe that’s why my firepower is so much higher in comparison . ”

“Uhh…probably . After all, I’ve been using Hydra ever since I started . ”

“It really was amazing… Oh, that’s right . Here, use this . It’s my special potion . As a show of grat.i.tude, okay?”

“Hmm . Thanks . I’ll take it . ”

Mi drank the whole thing and it healed her MP entirely . Not only that, but it increased the speed of her MP’s auto-recovery and also had a temporary magic attack boost .

Mi checked to see how long the effects would last, and then she looked at Izu with an apologetic expression .

“Hmm . Were you really alright with that? This must have been really expensive . I’ve never seen anything like it . ”

“Didn’t I tell you? I made it myself . Hehe . I can make plenty more . ”

“I see… Right . You are a member of Maple Tree, after all . ”

Mi then recalled the 4th event, where it was said that it was thanks to Izu that Maple Tree never had to worry about supplies .

“I’m usually just in a supporting role… It feels kind of refres.h.i.+ng to have someone say that to me . ”

Usually, there were seven players who were running around while showing how abnormal they were . However, their items, such as the ridiculously powerful bombs that Maple detonated, they were all made by Izu .

It seemed like Izu was incapable of fighting, but all she really needed to do was raise the effect of the items and scatter the bombs in the area . That was enough to kill a lot of players and monsters .

“Regardless, the rest should be easy . After all, I don’t have to worry about MP or HP depletion now . ”

Maple’s area protection meant their HP wouldn’t go down, and Izu’s potion kept her MP up .

In that case, Mi had no weaknesses at all .

“We’ll leave the attacking to you, Mi!”

“Yeah . The path to the boss should be very easy . ”

As Mi seemed to know the interior of the dungeon quite well, she walked in the lead, and the necessary items were gathered as they made their way to their destination . As Mi had told them in advance, all of the monsters they met on the way used fire attacks . And yet she destroyed them so quickly that no one would ever think that she was a bad match for them .

And like that, the three of them reached the deepest part of the dungeon . This place was full of magma that s.h.i.+ned like a lake . Even the parts that you could walk over had magma bubbling out from underneath .

“There it is . It’s coming!”

“Yes!”

Mi created fireb.a.l.l.s, Maple developed her weapons, and Izu prepared her bombs .

Just as they all finished with their preparation, the magma rose and burst, and then a black dragon with b.u.mpy scales that was dripping with lava appeared .

This time, Maple and Izu also rushed forward at the same time that Mi charged on ahead .

Since they were going against a boss, they needed all the firepower they could spare .

“I have a new skill too… ‘Invitation to the Ocean Floor’!”

As she was moving in a straight line, Maple detonated her weapons and flew on ahead of Mi .

The dragon’s head slowly came out of the surface of the magma, and Maple flew as if she meant to crash right into it . Then Mi saw that Maple’s left army had turned into giant tentacles that unleashed a black mist, and her eyes widened .

“AAARRRGGHH!!”

Maple opened the tangle of tentacles so that the five arms looked like a giant open mouth . And then they closed in around the dragon’s head .

At the same time, countless damage effects appeared within the tentacles, and the dragon’s HP dropped dramatically .

Maple’s attack power had not changed . However, while it had always been difficult to hit a target multiple times with ‘Bizarre Eater,’ when she used the tentacles, she was able to activate it 5 times at once, which meant the damage went way up .

That was much more important than binding or paralysis effects .

“Maple! Do it again! ‘Explosive Flames’!”

Just as Maple finished her attack and started to fall, Mi used an explosive wind to launch her into the air again .

Maple regained her posture and then stretched out her tentacles towards the dragon .

“Grraaaaaaghh!”

“That won’t work!”

The dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of heat, but the tentacles with Bizarre Eater just swallowed it all up and then hugged the dragon’s face once again . At the same time red damage effects appear all over its face .

“These are better than bombs!”

Izu quickly took the items out of her pouch and threw the bottles close to where Mi was standing .

When they shattered, several magic circles appeared around Mi . These increased the damage of Mi’s magic attacks .

“In that case… ‘Magic Boost,’ ‘Chain Fire’!”

Once Mi’s magic was raised even further, she used Flame Empress to create fireb.a.l.l.s that she launched one after another at the dragon’s body . Linked Flames already gave the fire a boost, but Chain Fire caused it to do even more damage . The firepower she acquired in exchange for fuel consumption was tremendous, and she dealt damage that was every bit as powerful as Maple’s quintuple Bizarre Eater .

Even as it took heavy damage, the dragon tried to fight back . But Maple’s Dedicated Affection stopped all of its attacks, and Izu continued to throw MP replenis.h.i.+ng potions, which meant Mi could continue her nonstop attacks .

“This is it!”

Mi was in the center of flames that burned hotter than magma . And she then burned the lord of the volcano as if it was the easiest thing in the world .