Using Void Steps, Derek crossed over the city wall. The Golem Dungeon was in the complete opposite direction of where the ambush occurred. Some guards hollered at him as he crossed, but he ignored them. That’s probably gonna cost me another toll to get back into the city. Still, he didn’t want to answer any questions.
According to the map, the dungeon was in between Savannah and another big city. Minutes after leaving the city, Derek came upon a city. Confused, he hovered in the air and pulled the map back out.
This… is a village? The village in front of him was about half the size of Torith. It looked more like one of the sub cities than a village. When he first looked at the map and saw all the villages in the area, he thought they were going to be like the one he picked Thomas and the others up from. Instead, they were more like big towns or small cities.
Compared to Torith and the surrounding area, this was vastly different. Derek shook his head and went around the town. Instead of heading straight to the dungeon, he made a detour to the next closest village marked on the map. Sure enough, it was another giant town with walls and everything. I wonder if this is just because Savannah is such a popular city.
He heard about the millions of people who lived in and around the capital. Now, seeing all the towns around Savannah, he understood how that could be.
He put the new information out of his head and moved back on course, to the Golem Dungeon.
Derek actually moved faster on land than in air, but this trip was about leveling his skill. He wanted to use this time to level his Void Steps and Void Sense, so he continued using them. When he would run out of mana from Void Steps, he would stop and use Greater Meditation to refill it.
Soon, half a day had passed, and he closed in on the dungeon’s location. He slowed in the air and scouted his surroundings, looking for both the dungeon and other people. He was a fair distance away from any towns or villages.
Actually, the further he moved from the city, the smaller the towns became. He even passed one village that was only a bit bigger than Rayna’s former village. He doubted more than a thousand or two people lived inside. This layout of towns and villages reminded him of back home. Every couple dozen miles, there would be another city or town with tens of thousands of residents.
Derek hovered over a lush, flat grassland with multiple small rivers and streams flowing through. The surroundings were clear of obstructions for miles. Well, there were a bunch of random beasts wandering around, but they didn’t count. According to Identify, they ranged from level 80 to level 155. The dungeon was supposed to be level 170, so it made sense that the beasts in the surrounding area would be close to that level.
Derek pulled out his map one more time. After studying it for a moment, he nodded and moved to the east. Sure enough, in minutes, he saw the dungeon orb. The area around the orb was clear, and there were actually walls around it.
A sentry tower was erected on the corner of each wall, but as Derek inspected each one, he found that they were empty. I guess they’re here in case of overflow or something. That, or for adventurers to easily make a camp around the dungeon…
After verifying that nobody was around, Derek approached the dungeon orb and placed his hand on it. Because of his Solo Diver Award, he didn’t have to wait for the countdown timer or a max number of participants..
Derek Hunt: Level 102
Please Choose an Option Below
Derek checked the status of the dungeon.
Derek dismissed the Dungeon Status window and entered the dungeon. A bright light fell over him and he disappeared.
In the next instant, Derek appeared in the safe zone, which happened to be a small wooden room. Derek approached the door and opened it. Instantly, the biggest wave of humidity he’d ever felt hit him. The air was thick; it felt like he was pushing through water while walking.
After leaving the room, he turned and saw that it was a small shack. Seems about right. He thought. Then he turned around and looked ahead.
In front of him was wet land with puddles, rivers, and ponds. Multiple boulders were scattered around the area, boulders that Derek figured were the golems, because he couldn’t find any other enemies.
Derek walked up to the first boulder. When he was 15 feet away, it started shaking. Soon, it rose and formed into a 20 foot tall humanoid figure. It was like every stone golem he’d ever seen and read about. Round, gray stones connected together with what Derek assumed was magic formed the monster ahead of him. A blue glow radiated from the monster.
The thing was much bigger than he expected. Shae had said as much, but Derek didn’t believe they would be three times his size. In the center of the golem’s chest was another round stone, but it had cracks with a blue light shining through. That must be the core. Derek used Identify on the golem.
A golem formed of stone and held together by the water element. This monster has high defense and strong physical and elemental attacks.
Sounds about right. Derek thought. He viewed the other boulders and noticed that they were all Water Golems. I guess the other golems come after I clear the area of these. Derek cracked his neck and kicked off the ground, aiming his fist at the core of the Water Golem.
When his fist connected… nothing happened. The already cracked stayed completely intact. Derek was able to pull back his fist and raise his forearms just in time for the backhand to connect. He flew backwards through the air at an incredible speed before finally landing… and rolling on the wet ground dozens of feet away before coming to a halt.
Well… that’s to be expected with my mediocre Strength stat. He brushed some of the dirt off and frowned at the mud stuck on his clothing. Looks like channeling the void is going to be the only way for me to beat them.
The attack by the golem didn’t do any real damage to Derek. It knocked off a few hundred health points, but that regenerated before he even stood back up. Derek walked forward, towards the golem.
Instead of waiting around for Derek, the golem made its move. The eight rocks that formed its arms all broke off from its body and moved. Soon, four stones were on each side of Derek, floating in the air around him.
The blue aura of the stones intensified before forming into a point and shooting. A jet of steaming water was released from each stone and aimed directly at Derek.
Derek wasn’t sure of the damage each beam would cause, so he dodged the jets, letting one catch his hand in the process. After noticing the damage done to his hand, he sighed in relief. The damage was there, but it wasn’t great.
He quickly removed his shirt, then let the jets of water fall onto his bare skin. The skill was like the Geyser skill he was hit with back in Torith, only much hotter and deadlier. Each jet of water removed over 50 health points per second. They also cut into and seared his skin, stopping at the muscle and bone.
His natural regeneration wasn’t able to keep up with the damage, so he slipped into Greater Meditation. The skill lessened the damage a great amount. For every 400 damage, which was one second, the golem did to him, Greater Meditation helped him heal a bit over 300 HP. He also cast Rejuvenation every time it came off of cooldown.
This was a trip to increase his skills, and already the first enemy he found was a prime target to increase his Greater Meditation, Void Sense, Rejuvenation, and Magic Resistance.
Derek allowed the magic to continue until he fell to 50% health. Because of his fight with Shae before, he decided to play it safer than he used to. He knew that there were still many things out there that could one shot him if he wasn’t careful.
Derek canceled his skills and hopped out of the water jets. The beams of water followed him as he channeled the void and made his way back to the Water Golem. The Water Golem tried to pull its arms back in for a physical attack, but Derek was already at it.
He jumped up and shot a fist covered in void at the core in its torso. The attack hit, and Derek flipped backwards, away from the golem. Soon, the golem stopped moving. Then, the shining blue light from the cracks in its torso began pulsing slowly, then rapidly.
After a moment, the core exploded and shrapnel flew everywhere throughout the area.
Derek watched as all the remaining golems formed into humanoid monsters. Nine Water Golems stood. The blue aura surrounding them was almost suffocating. Derek frowned. He wanted to fight them one on one to get as many benefits as possible.
Oh well. He thought. I should at least go through the entire dungeon before figuring out the best way to do it. He cracked his void covered knuckles and leaped forward.