Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Held down by Tekar and shot by the others, Olaf really suffered a death by a thousand beatings. The effects of the potion were yet to run out when the boss finally breathed his last breath and rewarded them with roughly 10% experience each.

When the gnome shattered into a heap of ice shards, it also left the water key for the door on the lowest floor and a deep blue crystal, fitting the one Maltus had dropped previously. They took a break to discuss.

During its death, they found out that Olaf was lv.105, lower than Maltus. If that stayed true, the Earth boss may not even be above level 100. With that in mind, they went to search for the Earth boss after a break.

As expected, the Earth boss had nothing going for it besides its overwhelming defense. That didn't help it much against the two melees chosen Jonah and Monique. It dropped a dark crystal and the third key for the door. It was actually the last and supposedly weakest boss that had them hesitating.

The airheads had been the biggest headache for the party because of the invisible attacks that could even circumvent the protection of their armor. Without Tekar's cover, they might not have gotten past the meadow

However, when they returned to the surface, the meadow was gone. It was a burned-down wasteland like a firestorm had devastated the whole place. The few trees they had seen before were uprooted and charred. The grass was gone, only leaving a hilly plain of ashes and brown, dry dirt.

"Hello, little birdies. I finally found some of you. It's a shame I don't see that annoying armored guy among you, but you will do just fine~" a cold, cruel voice said playfully.

<Dragos Cernat lv.--->

…

--Theater Dimension--

"Looks like at least one team is in trouble," the Dungeon God gloated.

"It doesn't count if they don't die by a dungeon resident," the System God argued back.

"Our bet is only whether they die in the dungeons. We never specified by whom or how." they said strictly.

"So that's how you want to play this?" the System God asked poisonously.

"Hey now! It's not like I interfered to make this happen. Its all the consequences of their own actions. You know that as much as I do."

"Hmph. Just you wait. Don't underestimate the little blacksmith."

…

---Giant Fortress---

While Lydia's Bonkening returned the undead to the afterlife, the rest of the party roped down. As great of a spectacle as the autonomous bats were, their eyes were glued to the giant skeleton that kept exuding the dark miasma that brought the dirt to life and was trying to squeeze into their little niche beside the stairs. In its struggle, it kept waving the broken sword around, but it simply didn't have the reach to get close to them.

<Colossal Crypt Walker lv.---(Elite)>

Just what kind of place had they fallen to, that even the elite mobs were already in the triple digits? As the clobbering of the masses slowly came to an end, Ferdinand was busy healing Jess and James. They survived but they were in a sorry state, needing the priest to cast several spells to quickly recover their peak shape.

"How do you feel?" he asked the couple who had fallen silent for a while, while he was healing them.

"A lot better, thank you, Ferdinand," James said, still a little distracted.

"Is really everything alright?" Lydia asked when she finally put away the bat. There were no undead respawning, it seemed like the trash heap was finally desolate of remnants.

"It just..." Jess hesitated and looked James in the eyes. The couple nodded.

"We were finally chosen," they said in sync with insecure smiles.

On top of gaining the classes of Klinker's Paladin and Spirit of Lohe, they had also become the saints of the god couple's religion. They were still overwhelmed by the rows of skills they had gained, but also the sudden responsibility. Being a chosen was just a sponsorship without responsibilities, but being a Saint was different, and it was hard for them to grasp what to do from now on.

"Don't worry about that stuff. We will definitely help you with that stuff when we get out of here. Try to concentrate on the now, we will need you when we want to get out of here," Lydia calmed them down. She was sure Minas Mar would help the two in this endeavor. The rest of the party also agreed warmly, calming the two down by a lot.

The most interesting aspect of their new classes was probably the effects Jess had on James. He gained several improvements based on the distance between them. James got the Trait of Klinker's Love.

This was based on Klinker's relationship with Lohe. Klinger was the god of stone and metal. If he was away from his love, he would harden and when he got closer to her he would melt from heated love. Mirroring this, the further the Paladin was away from her, the greater his defense would become. If he was closer to her, the defense buff would fall, but his attack and speed would increase.

Jess on the other hand gained the Trait: Lohe's Care. All her fire skills were able to heal James. She had gained more skills she could use to help and buff her comrades, and all of them would have double the effect on Klinker's Paladin.

While Jess gained skills that allowed her to double as a supporter, James was pushed further into the direction of a dedicated tank, from his former disposition as a warrior doubling as a tank.

"Thank you, Lydia, everyone..." Jess finally said relieved. "Yes, thanks guys," James added.

"Okay, Do you think you are ready to try some of those new skills? We should start trying to get out of here, first," Lydia said with an encouraging smile, pointing with her thumb at the giant skellington behind them.

"Alright! Let's start with this," Jess exclaimed, jumping up and started chanting.

"<Blessing of Lohe>" she ended her chant and a warm aura enveloped everyone in the party. It was golden, with an orange hue. It was an overall recovery buff that relieved fatigue and improved health regeneration. But it also gave them a slight divine protection, that relieved the pressure of the miasma surrounding them. It said there were more effects, once her proficiency increased.

Following her example, Ferdinand also started to cast his blessing on the long-ranged party members. They didn't talk long about the strategy to clear the way. It was a silent consensus that they wouldn't do something stupid like getting close to the skeleton. They had two chosen archers, a chosen fire mage, and a powerful lightning mage. They simply bombarded the undead with all kinds of skills.

Undead were not very intelligent, which was the reason it had been trying to squeeze in for so long, but they were not stupid enough to stay still while being killed. After several painful hits by divine attacks and lightning strikes, the massive Crypt Walker pulled away from the niche.

"Should we go after it?" Faenys asked.

"No, we can't see its health, but it didn't seem like we did a lot of damage. These colossi really have a tremendous health and I doubt this thing is any weaker than what we might face when we go to the very top," Lydia answered ponderingly.

Although she was interested to see if they could take down the giant with a level above 100, it was stupid to charge into such a dangerous place without any knowledge of the floor's overall power level. Maybe that thing was the weakest creature they would encounter. If they pursued it and faced something even stronger...just two of those could be troublesome in open combat.

"Let's climb back up the rope and try our luck on one of the easier floors first. We should give Jess and James some time to get used to their new status before we risk our lives."

Lydia finally decided. Although Faenys was a little bummed, they all understood that it was the smarter course of action for now. Even Jess and James who had every right to hold a grudge, were rather glad that Lydia believed in them, and gave them a chance to test their new skills first.

One by one the party clambered back up the rope, seeking an easier challenge to train. This was not a cowardly escape, not even a strategic retreat, it was a dagger pinning a note to the door, that they would be back at a later date.

At least they felt a lot better about it, thinking of it this way.