Continuing west along the first floor, scalding lava flowed through cracks in the earth, spewing glowing heat upward into the air.
The second-rank mage Leoward held the Sinful Snake Bone Plate in his hand, sensing the direction it pointed as they drew closer.
“Are we almost there? It’s getting hotter and hotter. This western side is nothing but lava; there isn’t a single scrap of shade. Even the fireproof suits are starting to struggle.”
While fireproof suits could withstand high temperatures and flames, these standard-issue suits were not magical artifacts, after all. They had their limits.
If one remained in a high-temperature area for too long, the suit would eventually reach its limit and break down, severely weakening its heat resistance.
“Almost there, almost there.”
Underneath his fireproof suit, Leoward’s sweat soaked his clothes, dried, and then soaked them again in a continuous cycle.
Fortunately, he was a master of water magic. Otherwise, he truly would have perished here.
“It should be in the area ahead. This item can’t provide a precise location,” Leoward said, moving left and right as he focused on the sensations from the Sinful Snake Bone Plate, his voice laced with uncertainty.
After all, no such special item had ever appeared in the dungeon before.
To think it could actually sense mana and guide them in a specific direction.
“Then let’s search this area. Leoward, keep sensing. Don’t make any mistakes,” Serafina said after a moment of thought.
“Yes, Captain.”
The Red Rose team naturally deferred to Serafina’s leadership. Without hesitation, they maintained their formation and began exploring the area directly ahead.
It didn’t take them long to encounter a peculiar sight.
It seemed this item from the Well of Eternal Imprisonment wasn’t perfectly precise, but it hadn’t led them too far astray either.
Directly in front of the Red Rose team, a pool of hot springs appeared.
The hot spring area was vast. The water seemed to have seeped from underground fissures to the surface, and a thick layer of white mist radiated from the water’s surface.
“A hot spring? There’s actually a hot spring in this lava region?” Serafina remarked in disbelief.
Then, she immediately shifted to high alert.
The Well of Eternal Imprisonment wouldn’t be so kind; there was likely some terrifying monster hidden within these waters.
Was it poison, acid, or some kind of monster that could blend into the water?
Having experienced ten floors of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, the Red Rose team was no longer so easily deceived.
To put it another way, the dungeon had severely overdrawn the credit established by the rest of the magical world.
However, this time, the Red Rose team had misjudged Dalun Li’s intentions.
This area was indeed just a normal hot spring, which also served as a hatching ground for lava frog eggs.
“Caspar.”
Serafina held her breath, not daring to inhale even a puff of the mist rising from the spring, and looked toward Caspar.
Caspar, the priest of the Harvest Church, stepped forward quickly and waved his oak staff.
“First-rank magic, Mana Analysis.”
As the holy art was cast, Caspar summoned a green, invisible orb of wind.
The wind orb swirled, drawing in the surrounding mist and a trickle of water from the spring. It then shredded them, grinding them down into mana for analysis.
Caspar sensed the results carefully and then spoke with surprise.
“It’s just normal hot spring water and steam. It contains some minerals.”
“No toxins or acidity.”
Caspar’s words did not put the Red Rose team at ease; instead, they became even more tense.
“Captain, it looks like it’s not environmental damage,” the heavy warrior Isolde said.
“Is there a monster lying in ambush?”
“It could be the territory of a leader-class monster.”
“Maybe it’s a hidden boss...”
The Red Rose team engaged in a heated discussion about the potential dangers hidden within the hot spring.
If the spring were poisonous, they could at least relax, knowing the threat. If it wasn’t poisonous...
Then it meant something big was coming.
“Regardless, explore with caution.”
Serafina, clad in her fireproof suit, began to lead the way into the hot spring area.
Because of the constantly heating water, the entire area was shrouded in steam, making visibility extremely low.
‘With visibility this low and the place being so hidden, it would be a great place for a bath if one were alone,’ Serafina couldn’t help but think.
Though she was a third-rank swordsman and an adventurer, she was still a girl, and she didn’t want to be covered in grime all day.
Unfortunately, she was the only woman in the team. Looking at the hot spring before her, she had no way to enjoy it.
As they explored deeper, the group caught glimpses of several upright shadows through the thick white steam.
“They look like pillars. Why are there so many pillars in this hot spring?” Serafina wondered aloud.
Despite her confusion, they hadn’t seen any other area in the lava region with pillars like these.
She couldn’t tell if these standing pillars were natural formations or some kind of ruins.
But no matter what, a special place like this was bound to be hiding something.
It also happened to be the direction they were being guided toward.
The group carefully approached the standing pillars, staying alert for any attacks that might emerge from the mist at any moment.
Yet, it was as if the dungeon had suddenly changed its nature; not a single monster lunged out of the mist.
They reached the position of the standing pillars without incident.
“Captain, the Sinful Snake Bone Plate is reacting!”
Leoward, who was holding the Sinful Snake Bone Plate, suddenly shouted.
“It seems we’ve found the right place.”
Serafina stopped and looked at the nearest pillar.
The base of the pillar was submerged in the hot spring, and it extended upward, curving slightly into a point.
These pillars appeared to be made of rock. They were of various sizes and were scattered irregularly throughout the hot spring, swallowed by the white mist.
Looking closely now, they resembled bones thrust into the earth.
Among them were also several broken pillars.
When they had viewed them from a distance through the mist, they couldn't help but wonder what the stone pillars were.
Now that they were close, the meaning of these massive pillars remained elusive.
To call them standing pillars was one thing, yet they possessed curves and variations in thickness.
To call them natural was another, yet each one existed independently, following a certain pattern.
“These... look like bones?”
Remel couldn't help but speak up.
It was as if the mist in their minds had been cleared. With the thought of bones in their heads, the group looked at the stone pillars once more.
Sure enough, the shape of these stone pillars looked exactly like ribs thrust into the earth.
But what kind of being could possibly have ribs this large?
“It’s reacting!”
The bone plate in Leoward’s hand began to glow, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
A clump of white mana shot out from the bone plate. The moment it left the plate, it flew like a dart toward one of the stone pillars.
To everyone’s amazement, the massive stone pillar began to hum and vibrate, even causing the connected ground to tremble.
Then, cracks appeared. The surface rock began to peel away, revealing pure white bone underneath as the pillar rapidly shrank.
In the end, the massive stone pillar transformed into a monster card about the size of a finger.
“A monster card!”
Rate on N.U.
