Chương 237: B4—Chapter 16: Party Member No. 5

We were still sitting three meters from the portal, buck naked, recuperating mentally, if not physically, when one of the toothy balls flew out of it. Al cast Wind Blade, and we all sprang to our feet, backing away.

"Shit!" Mahya said.

"We need to prevent those murder balls from spreading through the city."

"Let's just bury the damn thing as it was before," I said.

"No way," she shot back.

"I'm not letting that dungeon get away with hurting us so badly. It'll pay by feeding one of my cores."

"I'm not sure I want to go back in there," Al said.

"Neither do I, but we have to," she insisted.

"Every dungeon has its own challenge. Without John, the twister dungeon would have been impossible. Without Rue, the cat dungeon would've been a lot harder. We just need to find the right approach for this one. If we can't handle a dungeon on a mana 38 world, we have no business going to higher mana worlds. And besides, I'm not letting it get away with hurting us."

"How did you manage to function after the acid splash?" I asked Mahya.

"I was paralyzed from the pain." She glanced at me, her expression calm despite the memory.

"I drank two healing potions."

"You can drink two at the same time?" I tilted my head, surprised.

"Yes, if they're different," she explained, shrugging slightly.

"I drank one from Lis and one from Al." Turning to Al, I asked, "Did you drink a potion?" He nodded, his fingers tapping lightly on his leg.

"Yes, but only after Mahya got me out. Initially, I was also paralyzed from the pain." Note to self: Drink potions even if you have healing magic. Mahya said something, but I didn't catch it.

"What?" I asked, glancing at her.

"We should get dressed," she repeated, giving me a pointed look.

"Good idea."

"And open your house here," she added.

"We'll set a rotation for murder ball elimination until we figure out how to deal with them. But we should do it quickly."

"I'm not going back in there today or tomorrow, even if we have a solution," I said, shaking my head.

"I need to get my head straight first."

"That's an impossible task," she said with a wink.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I waved her off. I opened the house in its small configuration and activated the mana absorption and lightning protections. Rue announced,"Rue do ball guard." I scratched his ears and said, "Thanks, buddy," before heading to cook dinner. Dinner was a no-go—my hands still shook too badly, so we ate food from our Storage. Mahya pulled out single-use scrolls and went through them individually, occasionally shaking her head with a huff. Al disappeared into his lab.

Rue and I sat on the porch while I took out my guitar. I wrote nothing new, just strummed the strings and played the songs I knew. After a while, the shaking in my hands eased, and I felt more grounded. During this time, a few murder balls exited the dungeon, and Rue cast Wind Blade on them. It was a fantastic spell that enhanced our offensive potential, especially from a distance.

"Want to rest?" I asked Rue.

"I can replace you. I don't feel like sleeping." He licked my cheek, went inside, and dragged his beanbag onto the porch. The bag was even bigger than before.

"Did you enlarge it?" I asked him. He wagged his tail a hundred times a minute.

"Yes! Rue now big. Rue need big bed." Mahya joined me on the porch.

"I went through the scrolls, and the only options that might work are Flame Wave or Frostbite."

"Not Flame Wave," I said.

"The smoke from the burning acid might be as toxic as the acid."

"Yeah, I think so too. I'm also unsure about Frostbite. It might only slow them down. And then what?" Mahya frowned, rubbing her chin.

"Maybe just bury the dungeon as before and forget about it?" I suggested again, leaning back in my chair.

"After all, you gave up on the water dungeon without too much fanfare." She narrowed her eyes, a sly smile forming.

"I have one last idea that might work."

"What?"

"We can use your house."

"My house?" I asked, sitting up straighter.

"Yes." She gestured toward it.

"Think about it. It ate a lot of metal, rubber, wood, and stone. You can order it to create a thick protective layer. We go in, make some noise, or you could even shoot some lightning bolts up." She mimed tossing something into the air.

"The balls descend on us, and we jump into the house. The mana absorption neutralizes the magical aspect of the acid, and even if the physical component eats away some of the protective layers, the house can regenerate them." Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"The lightning protection kills the buggers. We keep doing it until the cave is cleared."

"What about the fumes?"

"The mana absorption would neutralize them."

"Acid fumes aren't only magical. The regular ones are also deadly." She paused, furrowing her brow.

"Hmm, yeah. You have a point. Maybe your vicious cleaning spell will work on it?"

"It's not vicious cleaning," I corrected, rolling my eyes.

"It's Aggressive Clean." She waved dismissively.

"Same thing."

"How do you want to test it?" I asked.

"Let's fry the next murder ball, and you cast your spell." The next acid ball flew out of the dungeon. I shot it with lightning, and it immediately exuded noxious acidic smoke. I cast Aggressive Clean on it, and the smoke vanished like it had never existed. Mahya jumped, pumping her fist in the air.

"Yes! I'm a genius!" Oh, well. It looked like we were going back into the acid pit. I wasn't thrilled about it, but Mahya was right. We needed to conquer it—not just for revenge, but to learn how to handle more challenging monsters and dungeons.

"I'll tell Al," she said and darted into the house. She came back five minutes later.

"He wants a day. He's working on something important."

"On what?" I asked, curious.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"He said that if it works, we'll see." I stayed on the porch with the guitar for half the night. Occasionally, I cast Wind Blade on an acid ball that flew out of the dungeon, and once on an insect monster that approached the house. The blade didn't kill the monster, but lightning sure did. Mahya replaced me at some point. I woke Rue so he could come into the house, and we went to sleep. The next day, I spent meditating.

Or rather, I ordered the house to create a terrace on the roof and spent the whole day there, feeling the different types of mana in the environment. In Zindor, the mana felt denser, richer. I must have learned to detect mana density—I could definitely feel the difference. I didn't think I could tell precisely what the mana level was in a certain area, but I did sense differences in the saturation level. As always, after hours of meditating on mana, I felt refreshed, energized, and calm.

I needed it to shake off the lingering fear and stress from our last experience. Yes, it was painful, scary, and almost fatal. But we survived and learned. Or at least, I learned to approach monsters and dungeons more carefully and not be so confident in our abilities. Yes, we are a strong team. But we are not invincible and must take minimal precautions. While on the roof, I took out my armor and examined it. The mithril parts were fine, but the leather sections on the back, shoulders, and arms had sizeable holes.

I asked the house to create a faucet on the roof, and it worked. A faucet rose from the roof, and I washed the acid off the armor. It was unfortunate to see it damaged, especially since I had nothing else as good—until I saw something that amazed me. Right in front of my eyes, one hole shrank a little. It didn't close completely, but it got smaller. I rechecked the armor description. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Properties: Dark Magic Resistance: Grants a 60% resistance to dark magic, forming a powerful shield that absorbs and repels dangerous spells and curses. Enhanced Fighting Prowess: Enhances combat abilities by 25%, boosting the wearer's strength, agility, and endurance. Radiant Shield: Projects a shield of light that grants temporary invulnerability to dark magic and reduces physical damage for 10 seconds.

Valor's Aura: Provides a morale-boosting aura to allies within 15 meters, enhancing their combat effectiveness and fear resistance. There was no mention of self-repair, but I was sure the holes had gotten smaller—not by much, but still smaller. I chalked it up to the "each has added their blessings and enchantments" section and left it at that. It was always lovely to discover good qualities in my stuff. Self-adjusting and self-repairing— cool! Al resurfaced in the evening with his hair intact.

It didn't have the nice haircut he had before, but it was back—and at the same length as before the acid burned it.

"Al! Your hair! How did you do that?" I asked, staring in surprise.

"Potion. I made one for you and Mahya as well. Unfortunately, not for Rue yet. I need a different potion for fur, and I'm still looking for a recipe in Lis's books." Rue huffed and said,"Go look."

"I will, I promise," Al assured him, giving his ear a scratch. Mahya told him about the dungeon plan, and he agreed. He didn't look thrilled—probably the same way I did—but he nodded and said, "I will join you."

"If you can find a potion to fix Rue's fur, I'd prefer to do it before the dungeon. His fur is his armor. I don't want to go in with his skin exposed," I told Al.

"I will continue looking after dinner," he promised. When I drank the potion, I got back the short stubble I had—not the long hair I had before the fire dungeon. Good. I didn't want to look for a hairdresser, or whatever they had here. When Mahya drank her potion, it was a whole different story. Her hair exploded into a wild, frizzy cloud, sticking out in every direction like she'd been struck by lightning.

It puffed up so much it looked like a beachball made entirely of hair, wobbling and bouncing with every tiny movement she made. Every time she twitched, it rippled like waves in a storm. The three of us burst out laughing uncontrollably. Rue even rolled over, kicking his legs in the air. I took out my camera, but she pointed a threatening finger at me.

"Don't you even think about it if you don't want all your cameras in pieces." I stuck my tongue out at her. She was no fun. She turned dramatically on her heels, her wild hair bobbing and swaying like an unruly cloud, and stomped up the stairs. It took Al another two days to find a fur recipe and another day to make it. During this time, more and more murder balls exited the dungeon, and Mahya became increasingly anxious to clear it.

Her hair was back in its usual braids, and every time I looked at it and smiled, she gave me a murderous glare and said, "Not a word if you value your life." We stood in front of the portal again. It hung over us like a dark cloud, the memory of our last run-in still fresh in my mind. I wasn't thrilled about diving back into the acid pit, but Mahya was determined, and Al seemed resigned. Rue was just glad to have his fur back.

"Ready?" Mahya asked, her voice tense.

"No," I admitted.

"Alright," Al said, clutching his shield with white knuckles. His face remained stoic, but the faint twitch in his jaw gave away his nerves.

"Let's get this over with." We became invisible and stepped through the portal into the massive cavern. Darkness pressed down from above, and the faint metallic scent clung to the air. But I couldn't dwell on the atmosphere—this time, we came prepared. I removed the house in its small configuration, with the extra protective layers, as planned. The mana absorption and the lightning protection were up, ready to neutralize whatever horrors awaited us. The familiar sound of leathery wings filled the air.

Sure enough, a horde of acid balls descended from the ceiling, their toothy maws wide and ready to tear us apart.

"Positions!" Mahya yelled. I fired red lightning at the ceiling, the bolts arcing repeatedly through the swarm. Acidic smoke filled the air, but I cast Aggressive Clean repeatedly, and the smoke disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The balls descended, and we leaped into the house right as they reached us. Lightning crackled through the air, hitting the murder balls with a satisfying buzz. I could feel the lightning protection going off all over the house. There were hundreds of them.

The mana absorption field did its job, neutralizing the magical part of the fumes. Physical acid hissed against the house's protective layer, but the house regenerated as quickly as the acid ate away at the layers. I stood by the living room window, casting Aggressive Clean repeatedly until that side was clean. I moved to the next window, told the house again not to absorb the mana from my spells, and continued casting. After some time, no more lightning went off from the house, and the cave was clear of fumes.

We creeped out of the house, ready to jump in immediately, but all was clear. No murder balls and no fumes.

"That worked better than I expected," Al said, his voice filled with relief.

"We need to verify it was all of them," Mahya said. She became visible, jumped, and shouted, and more murder balls descended. I shot them with red lightning and cleaned the air. We jumped in, and the house took care of the rest. The sequence repeated three times, but on the third attempt, nothing happened. Mahya tore a Solar Flare scroll to ensure the cave was clear. The cave lit up, revealing its enormous size. The ceiling stretched over three hundred meters high, and no more murder balls appeared.

I told my house, "Absorb everything." It took a while, but we finally stood in an empty space with hazy borders and a tunnel opposite the dungeon entrance. We moved as a unit toward the second cave, repeating the process. The balls were bigger, came faster, and there were more of them. In the first cave, they were the size of a ping-pong ball, here a tennis ball. But even with those differences, the strategy held. Lightning fried them, and the house absorbed and protected us as needed.

The third cave had even more balls, and they were even bigger—about a volleyball. I worried the house wouldn't have enough materials to regenerate the protective layers, but it held up like nothing was amiss. Cave No. 4—murder basketballs. My house is a trooper and a murder machine. Cave No. 5 was different. Al walked in first and immediately jumped back out.

"It's the core room," he said telepathically. Mahya and I crept forward and looked inside. There was one humongous blob, wingless and the size of a car, surrounded by five murder balls the size of Pilates balls, all with wings, flying around it and the core.

"I don't think my house can survive so much acid," I said. Mahya paced back and forth for a few minutes, tapping her chin with her finger. Then she stopped and walked back to us.

"I have an idea," she said.

"I searched the books and found that C4 and Claymore mines won't explode from fire, but there's a high chance the IEDs will. Al, Rue, and your house should wait one cave back. We throw in the IEDs, tear a few Flame Waves each, and retreat as fast as possible. After some time, we progress with you casting your murderous clean."

"It's not murderous clean. You know what, forget about it. The rest sounds doable," I said.

"Why can't I join you?" Al asked.

"John can fly, and I can jump twenty meters—not only up. You can't. I don't want you to be caught in the blast." He didn't look happy about it but nodded.

"Rue can fly!" Rue said.

"Rue can tear scrolls!"

"I know," Mahya said.

"But it's slower with Telekinesis. You don't want to get hurt, right?" Now Rue nodded while sending me powerful, dissatisfied vibes. When I took out the house a cave away from the core room, I asked Mahya, "Won't the explosion harm the core?"

"No. Especially not in its dungeon. Don't worry." Mahya and I crept to the core room, the tension thick. The massive blob sat in the center, unmoving, while the five winged murder balls floated lazily around it, unaware of what was about to come. I clutched the IEDs in my hands, the weight of them a reminder of the risk we were about to take.

"Ready?" Mahya asked. I took a deep breath.

"Let's do it." We crouched low, creeping toward the edge of the cave's entrance. Al and Rue waited in the cave behind us, well out of range of what would happen. I could feel Rue's dissatisfaction prickling at the back of my mind, but there wasn't time to deal with that right now. We had a job to do. Mahya counted down.

"Three, two, one." On one, I tossed the IEDs into the cave. They sailed through the air, landing with a dull thud near the blob. The murder balls stirred, but didn't react fast enough.

"Now!" Mahya said, and I tore three Flame Wave scrolls filled with mana to their limit. In an instant, the room lit up as fire burst to life and rapidly spread through the space. The murder balls shrieked, their bodies igniting in a blaze of flames. The heat was intense, and the air filled with a thick, acrid smoke. I didn't wait to see the damage.

"Go, go, go!" I shouted, launching into the air as Mahya leaped twenty meters in a single bound. The explosion hit behind us—a deep, rumbling boom that shook the cave walls. I flew toward the house, the force of the blast buffeting me mid-flight. Mahya landed just ahead of me, springing again, and we both shot toward the safety of the house's protective layers in perfect sync. For a few moments, all we could hear was the roar of the flames and the echo of the blast reverberating through the cavern.

The house's protections held firm, absorbing the shocks.

"Think it worked?" I asked, panting as I cast Aggressive Clean to wipe away the fumes creeping closer to the house.

"Let's give it a minute," Mahya said, her face flush from the heat and the exertion. We waited, watching the smoke. I cast Aggressive Clean on it every time it got close to the house. After some time, no more smoke blew into "our" cave.

"Ready?" Mahya asked. I nodded. We stepped cautiously out of the house and moved toward the cave entrance again. I cast another Aggressive Clean, the remaining acidic fumes vanishing. Inside, the murder balls were gone, reduced to charred husks littering the floor. The blob, however, remained. It was scorched and partially melted, but still very much alive, and the core still pulsed faintly behind it.

"Well," I said, eyeing the blob warily, "that went about as well as it could have."

"Agreed," Mahya muttered, stepping forward.

"Now it's your turn." I split my mind in two, firing red lightning at the blob repeatedly with one hand while casting Aggressive Clean with the other. Two minutes later, there was no more blob—and no more acid. We touched the core.

"Son of a bitch!" I muttered, glaring at the pathetic reward: 30 measly gold coins. It didn't feel fair after everything—the acid burns, the close calls. Not even close. Mahya added some colorful words of her own. Rue didn't care either way, but Al was happy. He got a scroll.

"Hey!" I protested.

"How come you got a spell, and we got gold?"

"It's not a spell. It's a potion recipe." He handed over the scroll, and I identified it. Potion of Dissolving Wrath A potent acid that can dissolve almost any material, including metals and stone. When applied, it eats through surfaces with alarming speed, leaving nothing but ash and vapor in its wake. Handle with extreme caution, as even magical protections struggle to withstand its corrosive power.

"Sounds nasty," I said.

"Yes," Al replied, nodding thoughtfully.

"But it can be useful in certain circumstances."

"I wish it were for gunpowder or some other kind of explosive," Mahya said, frowning as she stared at the blob remains.

"For that, I think we'd need to clear explosive balls, not acid balls," I said as I cast the harvesting spell on the blob and the torn acid balls. I ended up with one mana crystal the size of my fist and five smaller crystals about 2 cm in diameter. Mahya shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Please don't say that. You might make it happen."

"I thought you loved explosives?" Al asked.

"Yes, when I'm the one exploding them, not when they explode on me." I shrugged. That's logic for you, I guess.