After fighting a few monsters along the way, Alex and Dim Dim finally returned to the center of the fourth floor, where the crimson fire salamander was resting.
"Are you ready, Dim Dim?" Alex asked as he prepared himself mentally to face the Mini Boss Monster.
"Okay, let’s do this!"
Alex took a deep breath and walked out of his hiding place.
Holding Svalinn in his left hand and a stone in his right, he cautiously approached the crimson fire salamander and its bodyguards with determination.
Given his deliberate lack of concealment, the three monsters immediately noticed his arrival.
And just like all fire salamanders inside the Etherion Domain, they greeted him with a bombardment of Fire Bullets.
The young man paid close attention to the crimson fire salamander’s attacks, knowing it mattered the most.
Unlike regular Fire Bullets that were the size of tennis balls, the Fire Bullets unleashed by the crimson salamander were about the size of volleyballs.
Seeing how big the attacks were, Alex immediately raised his shield and braced for impact.
It was at that moment that he saw a surprising notification that made his heart sink a little.
< Svalinn’s Fire immunity has been changed to Improved Fire Resistance. >
[Improved Fire Resistance]
— Increase resistance to fire-based attacks, but it doesn’t completely negate the effects.
’Oh sh*t...’ Alex cussed internally when he realized that his Fire Immunity had disappeared.
The next moment, he felt the impact of the lizard’s attack, causing him to skid a few meters from where he had stood earlier.
It was like getting body slammed by a bodybuilder while holding a shield.
Although he didn’t receive a serious injury, he could feel the impact the attack had on his body.
The attack of the two lesser fire salamanders, on the other hand, wasn’t as powerful as the Mini Boss’ attack, but it was still as painful as getting flicked on the arm and leg with fingers.
Although it didn’t hurt a lot, it still made the affected skin area redden slightly.
After regaining his composure, Alex lowered his body and raised his shield once more to tank the incoming attacks from the three monsters.
The sound of "Peng! Peng! Peng!" echoed through the surroundings as he tanked one hit after another. And every time a fire bullet from the crimson fire salamander landed on his shield, Alex would be pushed back.
Not only was his left arm starting to feel numb, but every hit he took also made him feel as if all the air inside his lungs was being knocked out of him.
Perhaps Svalinn didn’t want Alex to take the easy way out, so it decided to remove its Fire Immunity, forcing the young man to experience what it was like to truly tank the hit of a Mini Boss.
There was a popular saying on Earth: "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times."
Since this was a trial to become an Oathkeeper, Alex needed to withstand the attacks of the Mini Boss to unlock this Hidden Job Class.
If he got it so easily, then he might not receive the recognition of the temple, which judged everyone fairly.
Only when he truly deserved to be an Oathkeeper could he become an Oathkeeper!
After taking ten hits from the Mini Boss, Alex made a hasty retreat. He could no longer feel his left arm, and blood was also seeping from the corners of his lips.
The young man understood that if he didn’t escape now, he might not be able to escape later.
Fortunately, the three salamanders didn’t follow him.
When he was certain that the Mini Boss didn’t pursue him, the young man finally groaned in pain before kneeling on the ground. Beads of sweat covered his forehead as he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
Alex nodded after hearing the Dim Sum God’s reminder to use the healing potions Cairo had given him before entering the Etherion Domain.
To be honest, he had forgotten about them. Far too many explosive events had transpired after he entered this dungeon-like environment, leaving him little time to think about other stuff.
After drinking every drop of the bittersweet potion, the young man immediately felt its effects washing over his body. The numbing pain on his left shoulder was now gone, and his mind was also starting to clear up.
"Thank you, Dim Dim," Alex said after regaining his composure.
"Dim." Dim Dim nodded.
The young man glanced at the round black shield on his left arm and sighed helplessly.
While he still didn’t know if Svalinn was sentient, he had a strong hunch that it was paying close attention to him.
"Dim Dim, do you know how many hits I tanked from the Mini Boss?"
"Ten? It felt like I tanked at least eighty of them."
The Dim Sum God giggled, understanding that Alex was simply exaggerating.
Dim Dim’s amusement was contagious and the young man cracked a smile, but it quickly disappeared as soon as he realized that he needed to return a few more times to complete the Oathkeeper’s requirement.
He now understood that if he hadn’t had Svalinn, tanking those hits would’ve been impossible.
Even with Improved Fire Resistance, he had felt his entire body aching from the recoil of every hit he had taken from the Mini Boss. If he hadn’t had any form of fire resistance from the start, he would not have even dared to take this challenge.
He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t feeling afraid or anxious about facing the Mini Boss again. But he also understood that if he couldn’t survive the crimson fire salamander, then he would have even less of a chance against the mutant spider that he had to face sooner or later.
Given his resistance to fire, his odds of winning against the crimson fire salamander were drastically higher compared to winning against the jumping spider.
With this thought in mind, the young man gritted his teeth and headed back to pick a fight with the Mini Boss, who was just chilling with its bodyguards.
Last time, he took a one-sided bombardment.
This time, he planned to at least hit it with a stone or two so he could vent out the frustrations rising in his heart.