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This journey had several objectives.
First, hunt powerful Spirit Beasts and collect their Cores. These were essential materials for constructing Domain Expansion Towers, which would extend my Territory's Domain across the land and unlock more special buildings through the Territory Building System.
Second, slaughter as many monsters as possible. I needed enormous quantities of Soul Points for everything I planned to build. We had to go full genocidal murder-hobo mode, or winter would wipe us out when it truly hit.
Third, gather various other necessary materials. We had to mine Magic Stones, Spirit Crystals, and any magical metals, stones, or crystals we encountered along the way. All of these were vital for new buildings and our personal benefit.
Beyond that, I had personal goals to fulfill: defeat the bosses of the two dungeons we would visit—the Swamp's Old Tree Dungeon and the Spirit Root Forest Dungeon.
Why? I had grown much stronger, and I wanted to test just how powerful I truly was. Their EXP would fuel my growth, and their materials would prove invaluable to us.
With that settled, our journey finally began as we entered the Spirit Root Forest. The entrance was narrow; the "caves" were built almost entirely from hardened roots that intertwined to form thick walls, floors, and ceilings.
The high density of these roots—all originating from Spirit Trees—created an incredibly concentrated Spiritual Energy atmosphere, turning the place into a perfect nest for Spirits and Spirit Beasts.
And above all…
"I found some, Brunhild! These are the Spirit Crystals, right?!"
Ylva's voice echoed from ahead. We all rushed toward her. Ivar and Veldr kept their eyes sharp, scanning every shadow for danger. Though Ivar was quiet and Veldr an asshole most of the time, both worried for the group and stayed constantly alert, proof they were far more experienced than my younger friends, who still had much to learn.
"Yeah, exactly these!" I nodded.
In a dead-end pocket of the labyrinth formed by hardened, entwined spirit tree roots stood a large mass of crystallized spiritual energy. It glowed with mixed colors: red, yellow, orange, blue, and green.
"This one contains Fire, Light, Water, and Nature Elemental Spiritual Energy—all jumbled together," I said. "High-purity Spirit Crystals are rare in this dungeon anyway, so this will do for now. Alright, boys, let's mine it! Ylva, can you watch for threats?"
"Of course," she nodded. "Thanks to that Holy Barrier I learned from you, I can protect everyone even if something huge charges at us."
"Nice. Be careful with the moles," I said, opening my inventory and handing the boys large pickaxes. "These are the best the village blacksmith could make—enhanced with runes too. Infuse Mana to activate their strengthened forms."
"Incredible," Ivar said, gripping the pickaxe. "Higher quality than my own weapon… Brunhild, can I keep it for fighting?"
"Eh, sure—as long as you don't break it," I nodded. "Consider it payment for helping."
"Thank you," Ivar said. His Aura of Stone and Earth surged, reinforcing his muscles. "OOOAAAH!"
With a ferocious roar, he smashed the crystals. Shards exploded outward as I caught them in my inventory.
"Oi, be more careful, dude!" Veldr complained. "Careful strikes—be thoughtful, think! Like me."
Veldr smiled confidently, swinging his pickaxe with calculated precision. He targeted key points until half the massive car-sized crystal collapsed to the ground. "Like this."
"Ooh…" Ivar nodded, then roared again and smashed the rest into pieces. "Like this?"
Veldr and I facepalmed. The guy was a brute who couldn't rein in his strength. There was no point trying to teach him subtlety—he simply couldn't.
"Alright, we're done," I said, collecting all the crystals in my inventory. "We should—"
"Something's coming!" Ylva shouted. She rushed over and formed a Holy Barrier Bubble, shielding us from attacks erupting from above and below.
RUMBLE!
Two gigantic mole monsters burst forth, roaring furiously and gnawing at the roots with razor fangs while hammering the barrier with enormous digging claws.
"What are these?!" Veldr asked. "First time I've seen them!"
"Spirit Root-Eating Moles," I said with a grin. "Nice! Tier 3 Spirit Beasts—just what we need!"
"Good. Let's take them down!" Ivar nodded.
"SHYAARRR!"
"GYEEEEH!"
The two Spirit Root-eating Moles hissed in rage, slamming the barrier. Both were giants, nearly three meters long, towering even over barbarians.
"Open the barrier, Ylva!" Ivar said.
"Wait—I've got a better idea!" Ylva poured more Mana into the barrier and reshaped it with her remarkable talent.
FLUOSH!
The barrier morphed into two giant glowing hands that seized the moles and forced them downward into the ground.
The barrier was already straining—it could only hold for seconds at most.
But that was enough.
"Attack while they're pinned!"
I summoned my axe and brought it down with full force, beheading one mole on the spot. Veldr and Ivar hammered the second until only a half-dead, twisted wreck remained.
"Thanks for leaving it alive, but… poor thing. I'm sorry."
I apologized to the creature, then transformed my Divine Weapon into a hammer and ended its suffering with a final strike to the head.
Ding!
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 58/130. Stat Points allocated; +3 Free Stat Points.]
"Alright, thanks for letting me finish that one too, Veldr," I said.
"What?! Ivar shoved me back right when I was about to end it!" Veldr complained, punching Ivar's arm. "Agh! Dude, you're hard as stone!"
"Heh," Ivar gave a small smirk and said nothing.
He was a man of few words, but he knew how to look cool.
"Alright! We're done here. Let's move on. Fenrir, can you smell any more monsters or crystals?" I tossed him a piece of monster meat and pelt. He devoured the meat, sniffed the pelt, then barked affirmatively and dashed through the labyrinthine underground dungeon like he understood every word.
With Ylva's senses and my Beast Senses Skill, we quickly located three more Spirit Crystal deposits. The first two were unguarded; we mined them swiftly and moved on.
The third, however, changed the moment the boys shattered a large Spiritual Crystal. Liquid metal poured out like blood, splashing onto the wooden floor.
"What is this thing?" Veldr asked. "Wait—it's moving?"
"Veldr, Ivar—get away from it!" I shouted.
Both men's eyes widened as the liquid metal surged on its own, appearing behind them and sprouting hundreds of razor-sharp spikes.
"Veldr!"
Ivar grabbed Veldr and shoved him aside. The metallic spikes pierced Ivar's back and arms; his hardened skin barely saved his life.
"Aaaagggh!" Ivar screamed.
"What the…?! You idiot!" Veldr groaned.
"What is that?!" Ylva cried.
"A Mercury Slime!" I shouted. "Incredibly dangerous Spirit Beast—be careful!"
I charged forward, swinging my Divine Weapon and smashing the creature with everything I had.
"You have to hit it with fire to harden it and make it easier to handle!"
"Red Fang Axe Style!"
"Third Form – Burning Crush!"
Channeling the technique Grandfather taught me during our recent training sessions, I struck with full power. The slime hardened instantly and went flying through the sea of roots, shattering several in its path.
CRASH!
It landed in confusion and pain, now a hardened metal sphere, but the hardening was already beginning to melt away.
"How do we even kill something made of metal?!" Veldr asked.
"Destroy the core—it's buried inside all that metal!" I said, charging again. "Ylva, take care of Ivar!"
"Yeah!" Ylva nodded, starting to heal his wounds.
Together with Veldr, we caught the Mercury Slime just as it began to move again. We struck in unison, axes crashing down at the same moment.
"Red Fang Axe Style!"
"First Form – Searing Cleave!"
Two searing cleaves cut through the slime, hardening sections before shattering it into three fragments. The core—same color as the rest—fell free and immediately began pulling the metal back like a living magnet.
Mercury Slimes were truly fascinating creatures, but we had no time to study them.
"Veldr, now!"
"Yeah, I know! Stop screaming, brat!"
One more Searing Cleave shattered the core completely. The creature's life ended; the metal fell inert, no longer alive.
"Whew…" Veldr wiped sweat from his forehead. "What a strange thing. It could've killed us all easily if we hadn't known the weakness."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Let's collect it."
I gathered its soul, core, and hardened mercury into my inventory before checking on Ivar.
"How is he?"
"He's fine. The injuries were minor—no pierced bones or arteries, thankfully," Ylva said. "He's just really damn tough! Haha."
"Hm, thanks for healing anyway. The bleeding was nasty," Ivar said, scratching his head in embarrassment as he stood close to her.
"You're welcome!" Ylva smiled warmly, making him blush and lower his head.
"Ehhh, this guy…" Veldr sighed, shaking his head.
"Hahah, I didn't know," I laughed.
"W-What?" Ivar asked, suddenly nervous, very unlike him.
"Nothing~" I chuckled. "Let's keep going."
"Sure!" Ylva nodded. "Let's be more careful next time—especially when mining. Those things might be hiding inside the crystals."
"Yeah," Veldr agreed. "Nasty damn thing."
As we pressed deeper into the dungeon, we finally ran into more monsters: a huge swarm of Spirit Root-Eating Moles—over ten of the bastards.
"GRYYAAARR!"
They roared and attacked from every direction, bursting from the ground, walls, and ceiling. Facing creatures that could strike from anywhere was incredibly frustrating.
Holy Barrier became my best friend. I kept it up constantly to block sneak attacks while smashing moles that popped up like a twisted game of whack-a-mole.
"These shits never stop coming, huh?!" Veldr groaned, cleaving one in half with a powerful swing. He carried multiple weapons—swords were his favorite—but he didn't always use them. "Time to get a little serious."
He grinned, infusing spiritual energy into his sword until it blazed. Then winds swirled around it, followed by crackling thunder.
This was the power of a true Magic Blade user—a Spell Blade!
"Come here, damn things!"
With a single step, he slashed forward. Fire, thunder, and wind tore through the incoming moles in a devastating arc.
Ivar caught others with his tough body and slammed them into the floor, giving me openings to behead them swiftly with my axe. But Veldr fought alone, carving his own path.
"There he goes—thinks he's a damn hero," I muttered.
"Well, I do like his attitude," I said, kicking a mole away and bombarding it with Fireballs until it died.
Fire wasn't a risk here; the entire dungeon was fire-proof. The roots were saturated with spiritual energy—only a flame stronger than that accumulated power could burn them for long.
"We're almost there!" I shouted as we raced through the corridors, slashing, cleaving, and kicking moles while pushing deeper.
Until we finally saw it, a wooden gate adorned with several colorful jewels.
"The First Boss Room! It's right there…!" I said. "But first, let's finish these things."
We halted in front of the massive gate leading to one of the three Dungeon Bosses. Three enormous moles erupted from below, roaring at us.
"Ah—Mithril Moles?!"
Unlike the others, these were Tier 3.5 Spirit Beasts, covered head to toe in hard mithril!
This fight would not be easy.
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Author's Note:
Hello and thank you for reading so far! I am the author PancakesWitch and wanted to say that this is a novel I'm writing with a lot of love. I will publish 5 chapters a week, or sometimes 4.
There will always be an additional chapter on Patreon though, and you can also join it right now to get +21 Advanced Chapters for only $10! The number will keep increasing every week as well!
https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch