Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 121 - 117: It Turns Out to Be a Minor Soldier

Chapter 121: Chapter 117: It Turns Out to Be a Minor Soldier

The secret to success in life lies in whether you dare to fight hard when surrounded by strong enemies.

Struggle a bit, a bicycle becomes a motorcycle, fight hard...

The Forged Demon firmly stood at the passageway between the Fire Transmission Ceremony and the Forest Area, never intending to leave, at least not for Roger and the others at the moment.

It’s like changing from a motorcycle to a dump truck, only they are the ones being hit by the dump truck.

Luckily, the place they were heading to was Fran Fort, the Forged Demon couldn’t chase that far, and surely the Forest Area wouldn’t connect directly to Fran Fort, right?

Would it?

Being intently watched by the Forged Demon, Dal and the others felt uneasy even during rest, always fearing that Monsters would burst in to give everyone a loving hug.

But, in the end, it didn’t happen, which also confirmed the rumors that under normal circumstances, Monsters do not invade the Fire Transmission Ceremony.

[Hunting Manual: Scene Type]

[Name: Fire Transmission Ceremony]

[Heroes tread the path of Fire Transmission from this point; once bustling with people, numerous Legendary stories began here]

[However, it may also be the final resting place for the disheartened.]

Soon after, the group, whose spirits had revived, finally decided to head towards Fran Fort.

"Goodbye," Roger waved to the Forged Demon with lingering fear.

He could feel that this Monster wasn’t particularly strong, certainly not as strong as the Molten Furnace Knight, but why was it so tough to beat?

Unable to make a dent, he decided to stop trying.

Dal’s sword broke, and Roger temporarily created a Magic Longsword with magic for him to use. It was troublesome as the longsword needed recharging every ten or so minutes, or else it would disintegrate like Dio under the sun.

Antili’s Battle Pets had broken teeth, severely reducing their fighting ability; the only ones she could use now were a fire-breathing bird and two last-resort creatures.

But now, she pulled out a whip, ready to join the battle herself.

Good heavens, the Trainer is joining the fight personally!

Entering Fran Fort again and sensing the stench in the air, Dal felt as homely as if he were back at home.

"Did you all bring enough Detoxification Potions?" he asked the Monster duo.

Roger opened his waist pouch to show him, with a bottle of Detoxification Potion loosely placed inside.

"Just one bottle?" Dal looked at Roger’s face; they were all mature adults, how could they be unprepared?

"One bottle is enough, because I brought these,"

Roger pulled out several Magic Scrolls, which he had specially obtained from the Starfire Church Flame Cultivator after hearing that Dal wanted them to explore Fran Fort together. The magic—or prayers—inscribed were:

[Healing Flame]

[Prayer of the Flame Martial Cultivators, kindles a flame within oneself, burning pathogens, reducing the accumulation of poisoning and Crimson Corruption.]

[It slightly burns the user itself, as if to remind people of the Horror of the Flame.]

Although it was a prayer from the Elden Ring, under the profound understanding of the Flame Cultivator, who interprets the Flame Martial Cultivator as a follower serving Ge Wen, "remembering the Horror of the Flame" was considered Ge Wen’s warning for people to respect the Initial Fire.

Flame Cultivator and Flame Martial Cultivator differ by just two words; he believed it was a fateful coincidence!

Fire God Ge Wen should be glorified by me!

So when Roger came to request the inscription of scrolls, he was overjoyed, feeling that the influence of the Fire God had expanded.

Looking at the scrolls in Roger’s hands, Dal suddenly felt his Detoxification Potion was extremely weak.

Is this the power of connections? Incomparable.

With the addition of two powerful allies, Dal, instead of parkour, chose a steady and thorough method of fighting.

Quickly, the first Beacon Tower was extinguished.

Then the second.

Standing under the hill where the second Beacon Tower was set, Dal and Roger reminded each other of the details to be aware of when fighting against the Soul-sucking Ghost.

"The Soul-sucking Ghost uses a red Spell, once caught, it will drain your Life Force and cause extreme fatigue, being caught is akin to death."

"It also fights ferociously, a slight mistake could lead to being slain; be very careful in close combat."

"With the strength of the Soul-sucking Ghost, it should be one of the elites within the Abyss Force, perhaps on par with the Molten Furnace Knight. I guess there is only one in Fran Fort, the Undead Team is likely guarding against it."

Dal’s first two estimations seemed reasonable, but the latter was pure subjective conjecture.

Roger was dumbfounded by his claim, could it really compare to the Molten Furnace Knight? The final boss of Sain Dungeon, a flagship Monster, is now so devalued?

But Dal was very serious, and Roger somewhat believed him.

Antili flipped through the Hunting Manual and proposed a new hypothesis:

"Since the manual states Gollum is an ally of the Undead Team, and the Soul-sucking Ghost belongs to the Abyss, would they fight against each other if we don’t kill these Gollums after extinguishing the fire?"

"Great idea!" Roger applauded.

Dal’s eyes brightened; maybe this method was indeed worth a try.

This generation of adventurers also learned to analyze the background story; their quality is really impressive.

They stealthily climbed the hill from the side, and after a round of ambush, successfully used Binding Magic to control several Gollums.

"Get ready, I’m about to put out the fire,"

Dal snapped his fingers, extinguishing the flame. When the projection ended, the binding magic on the Gollums also timed out, and the magical ropes binding their bodies naturally dissipated.

They first hissed at the adventurers a few times, and just as they were about to launch an attack, they suddenly stopped and turned their heads in unison.

A Soul-sucking Ghost happened to walk up, looking right into the eyes of the Gollums.

"..."

The Soul-sucking Ghost stiffened for a moment, whether from too much surprise or from thinking about something else, it was unclear. However, the Gollums rushed toward him.

"Good job!" Dal was spirited by the sight, not expecting the Gollums and the Soul-sucking Ghost to actually fight each other.

The Sain Dungeon truly hid too many surprises!

"Hmph," Antili, the proposer of the idea, straightened her back proudly.

"Alright, let’s make it quick,"

In the chaotic melee, it was the perfect situation for cunning monsters like Roger to strike. They needed to sneak attacks amidst the chaos.

After all... these Gollums seemed about to die soon.

Though initially caught off-guard, the Soul-sucking Ghost fought bravely against the Gollums, and his Koukou Sword drew blood with each swing.

When it came to the actual fight, the Soul-sucking Ghost was much stronger than the Gollums.

Dal immediately joined the fray. Although he had been fearful of the Soul-sucking Ghost before, with support from his companions, his fear vanished.

Without brothers, there is no Dark Souls.

Antili pulled out her treasured possession; just as the Soul-sucking Ghost clashed sparks with Dal’s sword, numerous sturdy tentacles suddenly burst from the ground, firmly trapping his arms and legs.

This was a hybrid of a tentacle monster and an octopus, uniquely bred by Antili.

The octopus had horns on its head that could harden on command, perfect for burrowing underground and waiting for the opportunity to ambush enemies!

An intense battle unfolded atop the hill.

Once the Soul-sucking Ghost appeared, the Gollums ignored the adventurers and focused solely on battling the Abyss, leaving the spectators somewhat touched.

Although the Gollums were really annoying when they attacked them, they strangely felt a sense of security when the Gollums were their teammates.

"Pfft!"

When a Gollum tried to attack the Soul-sucking Ghost but missed and slapped Dal instead, he instantly did not feel secure anymore.

Friendly fire is always an irritating thing!

After several stealth attacks, Roger retreated to the back, adopting a supporting role like Drew, using spells to disrupt the Soul-sucking Ghost’s fight.

Amidst the chaotic brawl, the Soul-sucking Ghost could hardly leverage his martial skills.

After an unknown duration, he fell unwillingly into a pool of blood.

"Whew, whew..."

Dal, catching his breath and cradling his arm, which was chopped to the bone, had eyes shining with excitement.

He had defeated the Soul-sucking Ghost! He finally succeeded!

Unlike the Gollums, the body of the Soul-sucking Ghost turned into dust after death, leaving nothing behind, including his weapon.

Roger watched the direction where the Soul-sucking Ghost vanished, pensive about something—was that it?

No, no, he wasn’t despising the Soul-sucking Ghost. After all, as an enemy, it was quite strong, causing the trio to sweat through the fight, but...

Previously, Dal said the Soul-sucking Ghost could rival the Molten Furnace Knight, raising Roger’s expectations. But the actual combat experience felt similar to the Forged Demon?

It was even worse than the Forged Demon, considering the Soul-sucking Ghost’s low defense but impressive offensive style.

Watching the Soul-sucking Ghost literally suck a Gollum to death, he now really wanted to research what exactly the spell of the Soul-sucking Ghost could do and its mechanics.

Dal couldn’t wait to flip through the Hunting Manual, eager to read about the Soul-sucking Ghost.

[Hunting Manual: Monster Category]

[Name: Soul-sucking Ghost]

[Once well-trained knights of Little Londo, they turned into monsters craving Humanity under the erosion of the Abyss. When the flood that submerged the Ancient Country receded, Soul-sucking Ghosts reemerged into the world]

"..."

Dal paused for a moment, catching the keyword "they."

So... were the Soul-sucking Ghosts being mass-produced?

In that instant, he felt foolish for drawing so many conclusions based on mere speculation.

Roger, as if guessing what he was thinking, patted his shoulder comfortingly and asked, "Do you want to go deeper? We still have some time left."

Dal looked up and firmly said:

"Yes!"

Later, when they extinguished the third Beacon Tower and then encountered a whole squad of Soul-sucking Ghosts.

"Maybe let’s not..."