There is only a one in a million chance for this type of weapon crafting to succeed.
Many hunters who were experts in crafting or had received crafting skills attempted to create one, but they failed every time.
Kael had never heard of anyone possessing such a weapon.
Until now.
He could not help but feel fascinated by the living weapon, especially as it kept wriggling out of Ezekiel's grip, trying to escape from its master's tight hold.
"How are we going to—"
"I can help," Kael interrupted.
"What?!" Ezekiel shouted.
The wind has gotten even stronger. It was a sickening feeling to be falling like this. But the nausea is ten times worse, now that they are about to land and there's nothing except boiling lava on site!
"In return, let me touch your living weapon."
They were now fifteen feet above the surface. The intense heat from the lava scorched their skin.
Even Ezekiel could feel the burning sensation spreading.
When they were only ten feet away, a golden light suddenly burst from Kael. It expanded rapidly, blinding Ezekiel.
Forced to shut his eyes, Ezekiel braced himself.
In the next second, the suffocating heat vanished.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a vast grassy field stretching endlessly in every direction.
Just moments ago, it had been a sea of molten lava.
Ezekiel could not hide his shock.
Both of them landed safely on soft grass. Before Ezekiel could speak, the dagger in his hand slipped free and floated toward Kael, settling happily in his palm.
Its purple tentacles wrapped playfully around Kael's wrists as it hovered and wriggled in excitement.
Ezekiel could tell the dagger was proud of itself. It was clearly asking for praise.
If it had grabbed Jason instead, Jason would have used a floating prop that allowed them to remain suspended in midair for fifteen minutes.
That would have bought them time, but it would not have solved the real problem. There would still be no ground to land on.
Ezekiel might be powerful enough to clear dungeons alone, but he had to admit that terrainless dungeons like this posed serious challenges.
After admiring the dagger, Kael gently returned it to Ezekiel. The weapon still radiated a proud energy, as if asking, "I did well, didn't I?"
Its sharp silver blade gleamed as the purple tentacles flapped enthusiastically.
"You did well," Ezekiel finally said.
Embarrassed that a stranger had witnessed his unusual weapon behaving this way, Ezekiel ordered the dagger to shrink back to its normal size before fastening it at his waist.
He cleared his throat and asked, "You are a restoration hunter?"
Kael nodded.
"What is your name?"
"A hunter who was just passing by."
Ezekiel could tell from Kael's expression that he had no intention of revealing his name. He almost protested, but then realized he was unwilling to share his own name as well.
Better to keep things even.
Ezekiel shrugged. "That works for me."
He continued, "From here on, I will use my abilities. Normally, I would travel around and eliminate monsters one by one, but that would take hours. I do not have that kind of time. And I prefer not to reveal my abilities to anyone. I believe you understand that. So can you wear this for now?"
He pulled an item from his inventory and handed it to Kael.
It was a black mask that covered the entire head, leaving only small openings for the nose and mouth.
"Once you wear this, you will not see or hear anything. I will remove it from you when I am done. Is that acceptable?"
Kael nearly laughed.
Why does this kid go so far as to blindfold his companions just to hide his abilities?
Despite his curiosity, Kael agreed. He placed the mask over his head.
Everything went dark and silent.
Ezekiel had not exaggerated. The mask completely blocked his sight and hearing.
Kael waited.
With two of his senses cut off, he relied only on smell and touch.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
Then the smell of burning and something extremely hot seemed to scald his skin, making him flinched.
The other person must have noticed, because a cool sensation suddenly wrapped around his shoulders, shielding him from the heat.
Moments later, the ground began to tremble.
At first, the shaking was manageable.
Then something struck from beneath them.
It felt as if a creature as massive as a mountain was enraged that the molten lava had been transformed into solid ground.
Meanwhile, Ezekiel clenched his teeth.
He had killed the boss. He was certain of it.
But another monster had emerged from underground and was now attacking the terrain where he and the other hunter stood.
His earlier assessment had been accurate. There were fifty C grade flying monsters, ten B grade lizard type monsters, and three A grade monsters as massive as mountains.
The original boss had hidden beneath the underground volcano. Ezekiel had forced it out and killed it.
At that moment, he had been certain no other monsters remained alive.
So how?
Why had another boss appeared?
Even more troubling, it bore the same monster information as the one he defeated earlier.
The newly emerged boss was immune to his abilities. It kept its distance from the range of his skills, preventing him from controlling it.
Worse still, it relentlessly slammed the ground, shattering the terrain that the restoration hunter had painstakingly rebuilt.
Ezekiel gripped Kael's shoulder as he stepped back. He made sure Kael was out of harm's way.
The ground in front of Ezekiel had cracked and most of it contained holes that sunk. Molten lava started to surface on the hard ground.
Kael seemed to have noticed his predicament as he did not hesitate to sit down and restore the hard ground.
The molten lava immediately receded before it eventually disappear.
What was even more amazing is Kael have caught the boss's half body as he restored the ground.