Chapter 208 - molten golems.

We continued moving deeper into the dungeon as Luna looked at me curiously.

"Hey, Gray..."

I looked at her curious expression and asked, "Hmm? What is it?"

She took another big sip from her massive bottle of orange juice before asking, "So, what new spells have you made?"

I blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

She simply rolled her eyes.

"I know you, so I know you wouldn’t stick with the same set of skills without trying to expand your abilities. So, tell me, what new spells have you made?"

I could only sigh.

"I haven’t made anything entirely new, but I have modified some of my existing spells."

She nodded before speaking proudly.

"But I’ve made some new spells of my own!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Show me! Ah, no, no. Let’s test them against the monsters in this dungeon instead."

She smiled and nodded.

"Hmm, okay! I’m looking forward to seeing your improved spells, too."

I nodded.

We continued walking through the dungeon until we reached an area where the entire ceiling glowed with bright orange and red light.

It was a vast lava cavern, and the glowing molten rock illuminated the surroundings beautifully.

Both of us looked up in amazement.

"Wow! It’s so beautiful!"

Luna exclaimed, and I nodded in agreement.

We continued exploring until Luna suddenly spoke up.

"We’ve already traveled quite a distance, but we haven’t encountered any monsters except those little Fire Salamanders you killed earlier."

I nodded as well.

Just then, Luna spotted an Ember Bat flying nearby.

Her eyes lit up as she immediately launched an ice spear at it.

The attack hit directly, piercing one of the Ember Bat’s wings. However, the spear didn’t stop there. It continued flying until it struck the ceiling.

The impact echoed through the cavern. Since the dungeon was located inside a massive lava cave, the sound was considerably louder than expected.

Then we noticed something strange.

The lava-like patterns covering the ceiling began to move.

A moment later, tiny black cracks appeared across the surface, and swarms of Ember Bats emerged from their hiding places.

Luna’s bright blue eyes widened, but there wasn’t a hint of fear or dread in them.

Instead, she became even more excited.

"There’s the monsters we’ve been looking for! Let’s kill them!"

I looked at her speechlessly.

"Hey! At least give me a moment to be surprised!"

She grinned.

"What’s the point of being surprised? Let me show you my new spell!"

As she spoke, she raised her hand toward the ceiling and began chanting something that sounded like Moon Call.

My eyes twitched.

"Hey, are you stupid or something? Why are you announcing your attack?"

She ignored me and concentrated on her spell.

A bright, moon-like sphere appeared in the middle of the cavern.

Then it separated into countless particles of light.

As I observed the spell with my perception, I realized that it combined her Moon and Light Affinities.

The particles spread throughout the cavern, attacking everything in their path.

The only place they didn’t attack was the area where we were standing.

I watched her new spell with growing interest.

It was a crowd-control spell capable of attacking and potentially killing massive numbers of monsters simultaneously.

Its individual attacks weren’t particularly powerful yet, but once Luna’s strength increased, this spell could become one of the most terrifying abilities for wiping out large groups of monsters or even enemies on a battlefield.

The Ember Bats that had intended to ambush us began falling from the ceiling like flies. Most of them had their wings pierced by the light particles, sending them crashing to the ground.

However, some managed to survive her attack.

I smirked.

I can’t fall behind her!

"Okay, then. I’ll take care of the rest!"

I shaped my Darkness into several small spheres that surrounded me. My grin widened as I infused them with Abyssal Energy, causing them to glow with a sinister purple light.

Then I used Space Magic to control them.

My Darkness was fully accessible through the space I controlled. Since those spheres were formed from my own power, I had complete authority over their movements.

I manipulated them using gravity and my control over space, aiming at the remaining Ember Bats with my perception.

The moment those Abyssal Spheres struck their targets, the monsters began falling to the ground.

From that point onward, it became a slaughter.

Luna observed my movements and the skill with which I controlled the spheres.

She seemed impressed.

I explained, "This is one of my better skills, but it consumes a lot of mana. Still, I like it."

Luna nodded.

"Hmm, that’s cool. I can sense that your attacks are only getting stronger."

I nodded.

"Yeah. The Abyss consumes the lifespans of monsters and grows stronger."

She nodded, remembering that I had mentioned it to her before.

However, the process was relatively slow, so Luna also attacked the remaining Ember Bats.

They were slippery little creatures, making them excellent targets for practicing her aim.

Even after killing all the bats, however, we still hadn’t encountered anything particularly challenging.

So we continued exploring the lava cavern.

The surrounding lava didn’t pose even the slightest threat to us.

Then I sensed something and immediately summoned Eclipse to block an incoming attack.

"Be careful, Luna! There are golems made of lava and stone hiding in the walls!"

She nodded as she saw me blocking an attack from one of them.

Then she spoke up.

"They’re Molten Golems. They possess tremendous physical strength, and their attacks carry molten lava."

I nodded as I tried to push back the golem’s attack.

However, it barely budged.

I had no choice but to compromise and retreat.

Then Luna added, "Use Ice Aura or Ice Magic. That’s their weakness."

"If you can reduce the heat inside them, they’ll crumble like clay."

I smiled at her and nodded.

"Thanks, Monster Guide!"

She puffed out her cheeks.

"Hey! What did you just call me?"

I laughed before augmenting Eclipse with Ice Aura and launching another attack.

However, the Molten Golem extended its hand toward the wall, pulled out a sword made of lava, and clashed with my blade.

My eyes widened as I noticed more of those monsters emerging from the walls.

Luna noticed them as well and rushed forward with her sword, attacking the golems.

She had a clear advantage thanks to her unique Ice Power, which was far more potent than ordinary ice.

Her attack dealt serious damage, severing an arm from one of the golems.

Another golem rushed toward her, but she used Moon Energy to enhance her body and retreated.

Meanwhile, I used Ice Aura to freeze one golem’s leg before shattering it.

However, one of the golems managed to land an attack on me, and pain spread through my body.

I ignored it and crushed its leg completely.

Then I teleported backward.

My Abyssal Body was already doing a great deal to heal me, allowing me to continue fighting.

Eclipse had also absorbed some of the blood essence of previous enemies I’d killed, and its Lifesteal ability helped heal me as well.

The golem whose leg I’d destroyed fell to the ground, crashing into another one.

That gave me a little breathing room, and I felt strangely relieved.

I looked back and saw Luna trying to heal me, but my body simply absorbed her Light Magic and converted it into Abyssal Energy.

The energy then helped heal my injuries.

So I immediately stopped her.

"Hey, stop, Luna! My body absorbs your magic, so your mana will drain. I can heal myself, so don’t waste it."

She blinked in surprise but nodded when she saw that my injuries were already almost gone.

"Then I’ll continue fighting. Good luck on your side!"

I smiled.

"Good luck to you, too, Luna. Stay safe."

Then I vanished and reappeared beside another golem, slashing diagonally with Eclipse.

Ice Aura shimmered along the blade as it combined with Space Aura, cutting through the golem and separating its body into two pieces.

I immediately moved toward the next target and attacked it with Eclipse.

I enhanced my body with Abyssal Energy and used gravity to increase the speed and force of my attacks.

One by one, I cut through the golems.

However, after destroying two more, I felt my mana running low.

I retreated and waited for them to approach.

I’d already destroyed three of them, so I only needed to finish off the remaining two.

I looked at them and realized that all five golems were still standing there, advancing toward me.

I blinked.

"What the hell? Are these golems joking with me? How am I supposed to have already destroyed three of them?!"

Then I heard a slightly embarrassed voice from Luna’s side.

"Oh, Gray! I forgot to mention that these golems have cores. If you don’t destroy their cores, they’re basically immortal!"

I blinked in disbelief.

I tilted my head as I looked between the golems and Luna, utterly speechless.

Several dark lines appeared across my forehead.

"Oh, don’t worry, Luna. Next time, just remember to mention the important part as well!"

She looked slightly embarrassed and coughed.

"If you say so..."

My eyes twitched as Luna giggled before returning to the fight.

I used my perception to search for the cores inside the golems.

Now that I knew what to look for, destroying them should be much easier.

However, my mana was running low, so I had to be careful with how I used it.