Chapter 188: A Nap (1/2)
Two days later.
Rakna sat on the dismantled body of a High Treant as he ate the heart of one of the carnivorous plants that littered the ground. He was currently inside one of the three Dungeons given to him by Fniera. In fact, it was the third he visited and he was in the process of finishing the fiendish stage.
He swallowed the last piece of the vegetable-like heart, feeling his mana and stamina regenerate, and watched as Pronos and a pack of wooden wolves tore apart the remaining eating plants.
These wolves were of course a product of his Call of Hounds and the fact that this Dungeon was essentially an underground jungle, they had taken the form of Wood Elemental Wolves. Physically speaking, they were as strong as the Shadow Wolves.
But they were capable of sprouting spikes from any part of their bodies and when they were cut apart, they could split up at the cost of decreased attributes.
Rakna dusted his hands and jumped off from the dead treant. When he landed on the ground, the wolves and Pronos finished off the last monster plant.
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You have completed The Swallowing Jungle's 17th Floor! Boss Floor Opened!
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Do you wish to leave?
Yes/No
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”No,” Rakna said out loud and dispelled the wolves with a snap. The earth split apart and revealed the tunnel to the Boss Room. Pronos leaped on his shoulder again as he walked down the stairs of the passage.
”Fuck, I'm tired…” He grumbled and yawned. ”Aren't those 48 hours over yet?”
[Affirmative. Your items should be coming very soon.]
”Good. I'll finally be able to rest once I get the Poraxidium,” he said and stepped down the last stair of the tunnel. He looked around with his hands in his pockets and hummed. The room was circular with walls made of stone while the ground was covered in a spotless patch of green grass.
Rakna smelled something and looked up. Immediately, something dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of him with a loud quake. A roar echoed and hundreds of green tentacles invaded the room from the center where a giant rose with veins and a mouth in its stem was present.
The therian quickly appraised it and its level was 50. It was thirteen levels under his own. Levels of the Wilden were apparently not necessarily a lot higher from one Plateau to another. Especially with Dungeons where the strength of its monsters was defined by the Dungeon itself.
Rakna eyed it with a disinterested look even as it slowly crept toward him with a long row of sharp teeth ready to chomp him down.
”Listen here, you damn flower, I'm sleep deprived. For some goddam reason, the Dungeon before this one had 46 floors and it took me 15 hours to finish. I don't have any patience left,” he uttered and right as the Boss was about to impale him with its tentacles, it froze mid-action.
The appendages were the first to regain movement. They started shaking and it spread to the main body. The plant's mouth closed and made weak high-pitched sounds.
Meanwhile, a black aura was growing around Rakna. It took the shape of a large werewolf with a red skull mask. The temperature increased and he smirked. He took his hands out of his pockets and approached the Boss that was fearfully crawling backward to escape him.
”{So this is what you meant by a hundred times better…}” Higure muttered. She was quite frankly frightened. This killing intent was truly worthy of being considered an avatar of death itself.
”{This sensation… it has some similarities to the book,}” Fray added. ”{The Kind Demon has taught the boy more than just fighting. Both of them are… ruthless to the core.}”
Rakna forced the Boss back against the wall and raised his hand. ”A gift for you; this is a new spell that I haven't tried out yet,” he said and a spiraling sphere of magma materialized in his palm. The droplets of lava produced by it fell on the ground and charred through the grass.
”Hey, ugly flower, do you know what coronal loops are?” Rakna asked as he charged the spell with more mana, making the sphere bigger. The Boss barely had the mental capacity to recognize other living beings; it had no idea what he was saying. And that only further increased its terror.
”Well, it was rhetorical. You stink of fear by the way. Anyway, they're essentially massive magnetic field loops that form an arc on the surface of stars. They carry plasma, are exceptionally hot, and are generally short-lived,” he explained and raised his hand above his head. The volcanic sphere expanded again and a sort of halo formed around it.
”Let's see how you like it,” he grinned. ”[Natcattira Kirīṭam,]” he chanted and the sphere exploded and released the halo in a full 360° angle. It surged with a strident sound accompanied by a noise akin to gas combustion.
The halo expanded at a speed invisible to the naked eye and the next thing Rakna knew, the entire room had a massive circular melting trench dug into the walls. As for the Boss… it had been cut in two along with a number of its tentacles. The bisected parts fell powerlessly and ignited.
Rakna lowered his hand and his aura vanished as if it was never there. Pronos had an absolute look of shock as he observed the aftermath of the spell.
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You have learned a new spell!
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Name: Natcattira Kirīṭam
Tier: 5
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Conjure a condensed sphere of star energy and redirect its energy around it to form a crown of plasma and magnetic force. Proceed to release the condensed energy at once and transfer it to the corona.
It will expand in all directions and everything it touches will melt and be cut by the unrelenting heat. Caution is advised when using this spell near allied forces.
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Max Crown Radius: 630 meters (10 times the Host's Level).
Cost: 60% of the Host's Mana Pool (Max Correction: 40%).
Attack: User's MA multiplied by 6.
Cooldown: 1 Hour.
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