"Power! It surges through me!"
Lixuman felt the exhilaration of leveling up as the flames within his chest cavity flared joyfully. At the same moment, his right arm began to glow once more.
A torrent of energy surged from that arm into the rest of his skeletal frame, the junction between shoulder and limb searing with heat.
"What's happening?"
Still reeling from his earlier burst of excitement, Lixuman dropped to one knee, clutching his shoulder.
A faint, spectral blue radiance gleamed beneath the bone, as though it might pierce through his garments.
"Has this arm's power still not settled?" he muttered, gripping the limb, half tempted to tear it off entirely.
Who knew what level its former owner had reached? The sheer energy sealed within this single arm was overwhelming.
Yet the limb remained firmly affixed, glowing with a ghostly white light, immovable no matter how he strained.
Helpless, he endured the agony as the molten current rampaged through him, threatening to melt his other bones.
Fortunately, this time the pain was gentler than before—it did not rip him apart outright.
Thanks to his greatly enhanced constitution, Lixuman managed to survive the onslaught.
[Ding—Strength +1]
Swallowing the curses that rose to his tongue, he glared bitterly into the void.
Damn it—what kind of twisted system was this? One stick, one date? Some sort of masochistic training regimen?
He rose from the ground and flexed his right hand, testing its responsiveness.
Luckily, the arm remained under his full control.
During the surge, he could sense that only a fraction of the arm's energy had been released—the remainder would take many more such agonizing bursts to exhaust.
His pain, he realized, came from his body's weakness.
Had this been his old, unenhanced physique, he would likely have exploded on the spot.
Still, if each upgrade brought another round of this torment, at least his weakest attribute—Strength—would no longer lag so far behind his Spirit.
As for the pain… he supposed he could regard it as a form of ascetic tempering.
Drawing his small knife, he carved the magic cores from several lizardman corpses, tucked them into his pouch, and left their bodies to sink into the earth. Then he continued his descent toward the lower levels of the labyrinth.
He had wanted to hunt down the unique Lizardman King, but prudence took precedence over glory. Better to gather the octagonal fire crystals first, then see on the return journey whether an opportunity presented itself—assuming he was strong enough by then.
Upon entering the sixteenth floor, monsters had grown sparse, forcing him to hunt lesser creatures. He no longer expected to level up quickly and focused solely on pushing deeper.
The seventeenth floor. The eighteenth. The nineteenth.
Each descent took longer. Even with a map, a first-time explorer like Lixuman needed patience. The monsters, too, grew steadily more formidable.
A week passed since he had entered the labyrinth. Pushing forward relentlessly, he finally reached the twentieth floor.
From here, he would enter the twenty-first floor, gather the marked crystals, then retreat and return to the surface.
Staring at the tunnel ahead, he steadied his mind.
"It's been a long time since I've seen another adventurer," he murmured.
At this depth, human faces were rare. And when they appeared, mutual suspicion ruled.
He also had to stay wary of that Hyena adventurer squad—eight strong, and possibly waiting for him somewhere below.
Not an ambush, perhaps; they probably wouldn't bother. Their disdain for him ran deep enough that they'd rather confront him openly.
Lixuman had long since learned to measure his enemies by the boundaries of their morality.
Gripping his staff, he stepped into the passage leading to the twenty-first floor.
The deeper he went, the hotter the air became—thick, dry, and shimmering with faint embers. The light shifted from dull red to molten orange.
At last, he emerged from the suffocating tunnel.
A blinding crimson radiance spilled forth from the cavern's exit.
Before him stretched what could only be described as hell. Rivers of molten lava flowed endlessly across the scorched land.
The ground was blackened stone, charred beyond recognition, while thick plumes of yellow-black smoke rose from the boiling magma.
From the twenty-first to the thirtieth floor, the labyrinth became a realm of fire and lava.
Though he had read about this section and seen its depiction on the map, the sight of it with his own eyes left him awestruck.
He surveyed his surroundings, the thrill of adventure surging through him—the intoxicating joy of reaching a place beyond human limits, of witnessing and exploring the incredible.
"Let's begin exploring," he whispered.
"In a place like this, though, the Quagmire spell is useless… even water magic will be difficult to cast."
He tapped the blackened ground with his staff in mild regret.
Then, unfolding his map, he plotted a route to the nearest fire crystal site.
Once decided, he tightened his grip on his staff. Eager anticipation flickered within his soul-flame—he was ready to explore this infernal world.
Being a skeleton without flesh or blood, he could traverse this molten landscape with calm, almost cheerful ease.
Whoosh!
A glob of molten rock suddenly burst from a river of lava, hurtling toward him.
With a swift push of his heel, Lixuman dodged nimbly aside and turned his gaze toward the source.
"Just as described—an ambush from beneath the magma."
He waited, staff at the ready.
Sure enough, moments later, a monstrous shape rose from the molten river.
It resembled a gigantic crocodile, but with six clawed limbs webbed in crimson membrane. Molten fire flowed between the scales, making it a vision of pure ferocity.
[Species] Lava Six-Limbed Crocodile[Level] 19[Class] Monster Warrior[Description] A crocodilian creature dwelling in molten rivers. Highly resistant to fire and capable of manipulating lava and flame, it is a deadly predator lurking beneath the magma.
Without hesitation, the beast lunged, jaws gaping wide as lava dripped from its fangs like saliva from a rabid hound.
Lixuman leapt back, creating distance, and thrust his staff forward.
"First-tier spell—Earth Spikes!"
Jagged pillars of rock erupted from the ground, piercing toward the fiery beast.
The crocodile, swift on all six legs, wove between the spikes like a red phantom, then sprang forward to bite.
"Perfect timing!"
Lixuman twisted his torso, driving power from legs to waist to shoulder, and lashed out with his staff.
[Mighty Strength Lv.2 — Activated]
With an explosive crack, the blow smashed into the creature's skull, hurling it backward. It crashed into the stone wall, bounced to the ground, and landed in a heap of shattered flesh and splintered bone.
"Hard-headed brute," Lixuman muttered.
Realizing it had met its match, the creature writhed desperately, dragging itself toward the lava in retreat.
But Lixuman gave it no chance. Wind magic swirled around his staff as he hurled it like a spear, the gale propelling it with devastating force.
With a sharp crack, the staff pinned the monster to the edge of the magma flow.
"Rrraaaagh!"
The beast thrashed wildly, scalding blood spilling from the wound. Lixuman calmly raised his hand, palm aimed at its skull.
"First-tier spell—Wind Spiral Spear!"
Twin circles of yellow and blue magic bloomed in his palm, condensing into a rotating cone of stone and air.
As the spiral reached its peak velocity, the projectile shot forth—piercing the creature's upper jaw and skull in an instant.
[Ding—Lava Six-Limbed Crocodile slain, EXP +550]
Lixuman stepped forward with satisfaction, pulled his staff free from the corpse, and pried out its magic core.