The tension was palpable in the air as the pair walked through the vast halls. Leo had lost his cool, and Cain had reciprocated with dismissal and threat.

Leo took a deep, calming breath. Then another.

It didn’t help much. He needed to hit something.

A clinking sound tickled his improved ears, approaching steadily.

Sounds like at least three separate footsteps. Leo surmised, surprised that he could pick out such details.

“Three coming, sounds like…metal or something,” Leo said.

Cain drew his hatchets, tilting his head as he tried to pick out the noise. It wasn’t necessary to focus on, as the sound grew loud enough to hear with ease.

Three knight-like constructs clad in obsidian black armour appeared before them. Their armour was held together with what looked like smoke, but on further inspection it was ash. He’d have realised that if he’d identified them quicker.

Ashbound Sentry - Level 49

Ashbound Sentry - Level 50

Ashbound Sentry - Level 49

Leo pounced into action the moment they drew weapons—all wielding swords. Ellie manifested on his arms as Draconic Equip activated. Lightning warped around him as he was suddenly in front of the level fifty enemy.

Two punches. That was all it took.

One clad in Lightning, the other driven through its chest with a twist. The notification came quickly after. But he dismissed it before he looked.

Cain had jumped in almost simultaneously, slicing through the legs of one before teleporting above it and cleaving down. Two down.

Leo’s hand snapped up and he fired a Frost Lance at the last, it was still staggered from the after effects of his Volt Crash, electricity coursing through it. The lance hit between the gaps of its armour, but didn’t push deep.

Wyrmstep activated, combining it with Echoing Talon. He struck the bottom of his own lance, pushing it deeper. He followed up with another two kicks before jumping backwards.

Leo was about to snap his fingers, blowing up the lance, when Cain interjected. Bestial red claws swiped across the corridor, cleaving the sentry apart. He got a notification, and a level up—for Ellie that was.

He didn’t let it show that he was mad to have his kill stolen, it was petty and did him no good. Ellie leveled up to 44, and Leo felt like he could be on the precipice of one, but not quite there.

“Thanks, Ells, this skill of ours is amazing. You’re amazing,” Leo praised his little companion as he dismissed the gauntlets, feeling calmer.

She popped out and plonked down across his shoulders, nuzzling into his face. She had gotten even bigger since she’d last done this. Soon she’d have to be actively carried if she wanted to lie there.

All negative feelings were swiftly washed away. He focused on his little lifeline. Ellie was such a young creature, the pair hadn’t even spent a full month together, but he already cherished her like family.

If Iskarion was right about Ellie being one of the last of her kind, he’d need to be strong enough to protect her from all the factions out there that wanted to cause her harm.

He glanced at Cain, jaw tightening, then relaxing. This feud would only end in bloodshed if it kept going. Which was exactly what Cain wanted. If it worsened… Leo would have to oblige.

He just needed to make sure he was on the winning side.

The walls began slowly changing as they progressed further inside. Molten magma replaced marble. Forges they passed grew brighter and hotter. They travelled down a few side paths that led to dead end rooms, forced to double back while suffering from the intense heat.

Their stamina began dropping faster than it should have, forcing them to conserve themselves in fights, to which there were many.

Wisps of flame gathered around the furnaces, attacking in packs that Leo and Cain both struggled to take down. Swarm like enemies were a tough thing to defeat. Like trying to punch a bunch of wasps—lucky to hit one or two at a time.

Leo’s Tailwind helped, using it to push them together or away from them as they attacked. It didn’t stop them from taking hits, no matter how fast the pair were. Burn marks pocked their skin. One wasn’t a lot, but by thirty they felt it.

Fight after fight, all three combatants battled their way through the halls. They took breaks when they could but it was like resistance just wouldn’t stop increasing. Leo hit level 48, popping the free points into Agility once more. The stat was almost at 400, by level 50 he’d hit that for sure.

Their fighting hit a crescendo when they discovered the next ‘event.’ A tall, golem-like enemy.

It seemed to be guarding a massive set of obsidian black doors, not entirely unlike the doors they’d passed to enter this bastion in the first place.

Furnace Warden - Level 55

It had thick obsidian armour plates covering the main sections of its body. It wasn’t like it was wearing armour, more like it was just built to look like it. The cracks between them were glowing with fiery hot magma, bubbling gently.

In the centre of its chest was what Leo would call a core. It pulsed with power, which Leo could see was connected to the magma-like veins. Each pulse lined up, likely its power source, but he was a little skeptical of such an obvious weak point.

The heat was intense already. But when the warden noticed the intruders it cranked it up higher. Waves of billowing heat turned the air into a haze as the pair watched.

Ice

Leo’s body started cooling, a loud hissing coming from his skin as it was constantly cooled and reheated. It was actually a little obscuring, something he could maybe use to his advantage.

He pushed the ice mana flowing through him a step further, forming it into a lance. It flew out from the cloud of steam while the warden charged forward. It wielded a giant metal forgehammer that swung back and forth in its oddly shaped hand.

The lance impacted the core of the warden, but it barely left a scratch. Ellie emerged a moment later, charging up a breath attack. Leo felt like frost would be needed here to just cool the room down as much as possible, informing Ellie of his plan.

Her breath hit as the warden burst through the steam cloud, hammer swinging wildly. It wasn’t fast, but the power behind the swing was something to behold. Leo leapt backwards, making the hammer hit nothing but the wall.

The wall cracked as the molten lava running down it splashed out, further coating the room in heat.

“It’s on me! Flank it!” Leo instructed Ellie, and hopefully Cain.

Hammer swings kept crashing out, swiping away the steam as fast as it could form. Loud metallic clangs kept ringing as it tore apart the very corridor it was guarding.

Patches of frost had appeared on its body for a brief moment—barely a second. Most of it had instantly evaporated, but some had stuck, trying to spread.

So it can be frozen. Leo realised quickly.

Some spots must have been hotter than others, remembering to avoid those when hitting. Mostly in the area around its core.

Leo fired a quick wall up in front of him, activating Cloak and Lightning Drive as he sped around it in a blur.

The warden broke through it with ease, but Leo was already gone. He was suddenly in front of its face, which was barely a face at all. Just an amalgamation of metal.

Sparks flew as the blow landed. Volt Crash caused the head of the warden to reel backwards, shoulder hitting the wall. Cain’s axes slashed into one of its legs the moment it stumbled. Both hatchets were glowing blood red, carving into the metal in rapid slashes.

The edges of bone easily took chunks from it, but where the chunks fell, the lava flowed.

It spurted, but Cain was already gone, teleported above and slicing downwards into its shoulder.

The trio bombarded it with attacks as it tried to right itself, as much as they could in the small window.

The warden bellowed. A groaning hum that made the orb on its chest glow brightly. The metal plates coating its body began hissing. It was like its engine was roaring into action. What had come before was just a warm up.

The heat was so intense that his Ice Stance was barely holding off the damage. He could see Cain’s health bar start to tick down in the corner of his vision. It appeared this fight was on a timer.

Gotta take it out before the heat ramps up too much.

Leo Wyrmstepped towards the warden, piercing the roaring heat as his skill carried him and Ellie forward. The pair met mid jump and Leo activated Draconic Equip. By the time his skill impacted the construct, Leo’s fist was spinning towards its core.

A large crack echoed out, briefly overtaking the sound of the hum. He unleashed a barrage of strikes, each one coating it in frost before it all melted. Leo roared as his fists became a blur of motion while drifting down slowly.

Nerveflash warned him of an incoming strike, Spark Dash took him out of the way. Unfortunately, the hammer swung out with such force that it sent him flying toward the wall just with the shockwave.

And not one just coated in marble.

He barely managed to form a layer of Reinforced Stoneskin on his back as he crashed into it. Instantly his back began sizzling, ripping apart the stone and searing into him. He forced himself off it with a grunt and a gust of air.

He quickly glanced at its core. It was damaged, but nowhere near shattered.

Cain didn’t let up, ripping more chunks from it as he dashed around quickly. The Warden took interest and started to swing at him. When that missed, it tried to grab him but he was too fast.

What all this movement did however was cause flaming hot lava to be spread everywhere, further heating the room and burning anything it touched.

Both fighters were reeling from the heat, Cain more so. Leo saw him panting in exhaustion but didn’t even blink before attacking again. Cain fought like he used to, either it broke or he did.

That was no longer Leo’s style, despite wanting to match him in effort. Leo quickly assessed the situation, looking for weaknesses that weren’t the core. It was too obvious and hitting it seemed to just make it more angry and give off more heat.

It was barrelling down the corridor, destruction lying in its wake as Leo watched on from behind. He focused, his improved vision pierced the hazy heat and looked carefully at the back of the warden.

He started from the bottom, its feet, back of its knees, the spine, then at the very top he spotted what looked like glass.

Just above the tip of its spine was a small glassy fragment of some kind. It was barely visible, but thanks to his skill he made it out.

“That’s as good a target as any,” Leo muttered.

He had plenty of Resonance left thanks to all the points in Bond he’d gained from Ellie over the many levels, so Draconic Equip was still active.

Leo had lost focus and dismissed Lightning Drive, but he needed the speed right now. He activated Second Wind and Lightning Drive, instantly feeling the strain as the electricity coated his muscles.

Like a starting pistol he was off, grimacing slightly from the pain in his back but not slowing down. A sense of danger overtook him as he was about to pounce, something was going to happen.

Leo let his aura fly, causing all the heat and pressure in the room to morph for a brief moment into what felt like the start of a storm. The warden’s head spun first, the body following like a robot.

“Back of its neck!” Leo called out, voice carried on his aura.

The warden rushed him with some kind of skill, faster than he had anticipated. The hammer swung down and Leo waited for the last second before Spark Dashing.

The Dash carried him through the top of the hammer, landing on its haft. He gasped for breath as he hadn’t expected that to work but it was the best way to avoid the shockwave.

Which hit next.

The floor groaned as lava was sent flying in a circular wave outwards from the impact point.

The warden just had its glare focused on him.

*Crack*

The sound of shattered glass echoed out as Cain’s hatchets embedded themselves in the back of its neck.

The metal giant roared in defiance, dropping its hammer as it tried to crush the bug on its neck. Leo ran up the handle as it fell, like a tightrope runner.

His fist cocked back and launched like a missile, Spiral Break causing the metal on its face to deform as whatever brain it had was rattled.

Its hand hit the wall as it tried to keep its balance. Leo held on with one hand, swinging his body round its head to the back of its neck.

Cain’s hatchet was still stuck in the back of its neck so Leo gave it a friend. A Frost Lance appeared in his hand, slamming into the glassy surface a second later.

Leo snapped his fingers as he kicked off the hatchet, driving it further in.

Ice exploded outwards as the Lance shattered, sending glassy shards everywhere.

The warden stumbled, falling forward onto its knees, then flat onto its face, causing the room to shake as the weight of it crashed down.

You have slain: Furnace Warden - Level 55

Experience increased for defeating a higher-level enemy

+2340 Store Credits

Your Elemental Adept class has reached Level 49

Stat points distributed

+3 Free Points

Anchored Progression:+1 All stats, +2 Free Points

Ellie has reached level 45

Stat points distributed

+3 Free Points

Ellie’s gains from Race:

+5 Free Points

Ellie’s level 45 Skill selection available

The heat began fading, but neither of them waited around in the corridor of lava. Leo asked Ellie to pop out and start breathing ice everywhere as often as she could. She obliged with a grin and an eager nod.

Steam was rising as both fighters rested. Sweat was pouring off both of them as they tried to cool down. Leo circulated ice mana as best he could to try and at least take the edge off.

Seriously, for a tutorial, the dungeons and trials in this place are no joke. I wonder if the system knows what a tutorial actually is.

He tried to imagine his group in here and what it would have been like against the warden. Picturing his five man squad, he could pretty easily see Bjorn holding that thing down while everyone else went to town on it. Ash’s shields would completely offset the hammer swings and block its advances.

He missed fighting with them as he pictured it. Missed them in general. He gave Cain a side-eye’d glance.

They better be okay out there.