[Obtained Smithing Stone]Lynn picked up the stone, feeling the magic coursing through it, and nodded in satisfaction.
He stowed the Smithing Stone away along with the "Rusty Miner's Key" and turned his gaze toward the depths of the mining tunnel. In the spot where the Sorcerer Miner had just appeared, a new entrance leading to a lower staircase had manifested on the rock wall.
"A classic layered map design, as expected," Lynn muttered, stepping down without a second thought.
The stairs spiraled downward, and the environment began to shift subtly. The shimmering clusters of crystals vanished, replaced by cold, orderly stone bricks. Rusted chains and extinguished torches hung from the walls, and the air grew thick with the pungent scent of machine oil and metal.
He slowed his pace. With a staff in his left hand and the Bloodhound's Fang in his right, he entered a state of high alert.
At the bottom of the stairs lay a long, narrow stone corridor, barely wide enough for one person. Every few meters, dark, recessed alcoves lined the walls, their interiors obscured by shadows. However, his sharp eyes immediately caught sight of a humanoid figure—a mess of iron cages and wires—hanging within one of them.
Lynn recognized it instantly.
"Tch, the Academy's psychotic Marionette Soldiers," he clicked his tongue, a flash of disdain in his eyes.
The Academy of Raya Lucaria in the Lands Between produced nothing but freaks, and these magic-driven marionettes were a prime example. Usually, they sat slumped in corners like piles of scrap metal. But the moment a living being approached, they would snap to life, using the blades on their four arms to perform a frantic, maddened dance.
In his past life, countless Tarnished had fallen to these seemingly insignificant mobs. They were relentlessly aggressive, their combos were dense and lightning-fast, and a single flurry of their blades could shred even a heavy-armored tank. They were the ultimate "newbie nightmare."
But Lynn was no rookie.
He knew exactly how to handle them: either use a heavy weapon to poise-break them and interrupt their frantic "neurotic" flurries, or predict the gaps in their attacks. He weighed the Bloodhound's Fang in his hand and glanced at the narrow corridor. Using a Dexterity-based weapon like the Fang to play a game of footsies in such a cramped space was a bad idea.
Decision made, he sheathed the Bloodhound's Fang across his back. He swapped his left hand to the Carian Knight's Shield and gripped his Glintstone Staff in his right.
"The old-fashioned way is the safest."
Taking a deep breath, he raised his shield and cautiously stepped forward.
Almost the instant he entered the attack range of the first alcove, the "corpse" inside lunged out!
Clack-clack-clack—Whir!
The Marionette's joints shrieked with friction as four arm-blades snapped out. Its body spun like an out-of-control gyroscope, descending upon Lynn in a blur of steel.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
A rapid-fire series of metallic strikes exploded in the narrow hallway, the sounds blurring into a single, continuous screech. Lynn held the Carian Knight's Shield steady, absorbing the brunt of the storm. Sparks flew from the shield's surface, and a massive impact shuddered through the metal into his arm, leaving his palm tingling.
"Damn, they hit harder than I remember!" Lynn cursed inwardly. He could feel that this Marionette's attack frequency and power were several notches higher than the ones in the game.
However, every "neurotic dance" was followed by a brief pause.
Now!
Lynn seized the split-second opening, thrusting his body forward and slamming the edge of his shield into the Marionette's chest.
Thud!
The Marionette stumbled, its rhythm shattered. Without hesitation, Lynn's Glintstone Staff flared with blue light.
"Glintstone Pebble!"
A magic bolt fired at point-blank range, smashing squarely into the Marionette's fragile head.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the Marionette's head shattered into fragments. Its body twitched twice before collapsing into a heap of useless junk.
Having dealt with the first one, Lynn didn't relax. He knew there would be more. He continued forward with his shield raised, and sure enough, Marionettes began to activate one by one from the alcoves. Sometimes they even lunged from both sides simultaneously in a pincer move.
But Lynn remained as steady as a rock. He used minimal movement to bait the attacks of both puppets into a single window, blocked them perfectly with his shield, and then used the stagger window to blast one head off with a Pebble before calmly dealing with the other. His pace wasn't fast, but every step was solid.
After clearing the corridor—which would have been a meat grinder for any newcomer—a plain wooden door appeared ahead. The door was unadorned, just two heavy planks joined together with a vertical seam in the middle. The scent of sulfur and charcoal wafted through the gap.
"Magma?"
Lynn stood before the door, not rushing to open it. He checked his status, confirmed his supplies were ready, and then pressed his palm against the cold wood.
"Let me guess... what's the reward this time? A Dragon Heart or the Dragonscale Blade?"
He chuckled to himself with a hint of anticipation and pushed the heavy door open.
Creeeeeak—
The massive door groaned open, and a blast of scorching air hit him in the face. The sight behind the door made Lynn's eyes twitch.
It was a circular, extremely cramped stone chamber, no more than thirty meters in diameter. The ground was pitted and scarred, filled with pools of dark red lava emitting lethal heat. And in the center of this tiny arena sat a behemoth.
It was a draconic subspecies that looked like a colossal lizard. Its body appeared to be made of volcanic rock, with molten magma flowing through the cracks in its skin. Its head was massive and grotesque; it lacked teeth, but instead clenched a curved greatsword—proportional to its immense size—between its jaws.
A Magma Wyrm!
The Wyrm occupied nearly two-thirds of the room. In such a confined environment, its presence was suffocating.
"Seriously... fighting a Wyrm in a bathhouse? Miyazaki, you've got a twisted sense of humor," Lynn couldn't help but complain.
He knew the Magma Wyrm's attack patterns by heart: the dragon-charge, the tail swipe, the sword swing, and spitting lava everywhere. In a large arena, these moves were easy to dodge; you just kept your distance and punished the recovery windows.
But here...
Lynn glanced at the floor. There were almost no safe spots to stand. There was barely enough room to roll, let alone pull back. That "Steamroller" charge move of theirs would be nearly impossible to avoid here.
"ROAR!"
Sensing the intruder, the Magma Wyrm slowly turned its massive head. Its clouded, burning eyes locked onto Lynn at the doorway. It opened its maw and let out a low, guttural roar. Scalding magma dripped from the corners of its mouth, sizzling as it hit the floor.
A second later, it slammed its greatsword into the ground, dug its claws in, and transformed into a runaway locomotive. Trailing lava in its wake, it charged frantically toward Lynn!
"Starting with the dragon-charge? You really don't hold back!"
Lynn's pupils shrank. The Magma Wyrm, shrouded in heat and the scent of death, instantly filled his entire field of vision. In this "bathhouse" of a room, there was no space to utilize his proud rolling techniques to gain distance.
Go toe-to-toe? Don't be ridiculous. Getting grazed by that thing meant losing a layer of skin at best, and death at worst.
In a flash of instinct, Lynn made the only move that made sense for a Tarnished: he retreated.
Without hesitation, he dived back through the wooden door he had just entered, reaching back to pull it shut.
BOOM!
A deafening crash shook the entire stone chamber. Lynn felt a terrifying force transfer through the door. Even through the heavy wood, the impact rattled his bones and numbed his arms. He was sent flying backward uncontrollably, slamming hard into the corridor wall.
The poor wooden door, under the full force of the Magma Wyrm's charge, was shredded like paper, turning into a cloud of charred splinters.
"Cough... hack!" Lynn pushed himself up, spitting out a mouthful of ashy grit. He looked at the doorway with lingering fear, where the massive, magma-reddened head of the dragon was now wedged.
"Playing dirty, huh? Tearing the house down on the first move!" He grumbled, but his mind was racing.
This narrow passage had actually become his only buffer zone. The Magma Wyrm, hampered by its immense size, was stuck at the entrance. It roared in fury, shaking its head violently as it tried to squeeze into the hallway, while molten lava dripped from its mouth, melting the stone floor.
Seizing the opportunity, Lynn didn't retreat. Instead, he lunged forward.
With his staff in his left hand and the Bloodhound's Fang in his right, he stayed low like a hunting leopard.
"Let's see what you're made of!"
He slid to the edge of the dragon's reach and swung his blade upward at its massive snout.
Shing!
The blade collided with the Wyrm's hardened rock skin, sending off a shower of sparks but leaving nothing more than a faint white scratch.
Lynn's heart sank. This physical resistance was even more absurd than he remembered!
His attack served only to further enrage the beast. The Magma Wyrm unhinged its jaws, and a devastating torrent of magma erupted like a high-pressure fire hose, instantly flooding the hallway.
"Holy—!"
Lynn's reflexes were peak. Almost the moment the creature opened its mouth, he triggered Bloodhound's Step. His body blurred into a ghostly shadow, narrowly weaving through the edge of the magma waterfall to slip back into the circular stone chamber.
The scorching air baked his skin, but it was better than being doused in lava.
The Magma Wyrm, having missed its mark, finally squeezed through the doorway. Its massive body coiled in the center of the room, leaving almost no open ground. It swung its tail, sending debris and sparks flying as it whipped toward him.
The range was too wide!
Lynn rolled again, but this time, he didn't move away. He rolled directly toward the Wyrm's underbelly!
Whoosh!
The searing dragon tail whistled over his back, smashing into the stone wall with a heavy thud.
Was he safe? Not even close.
The Wyrm's massive foreclaw rose and slammed down in a heavy stomp! Lynn's pupils contracted as he scrambled to roll sideways, narrowly avoiding being flattened into a pancake.
"This isn't working. I'm too defensive."
He quickly put some distance between them, staring at the nearly flawless giant, and immediately pivoted his strategy.
"High physical defense? Fine. Try this!"
He sheathed the Bloodhound's Fang and gripped his staff. Deep blue mana began to coalesce at the tip.
"Glintstone Pebble!"
Three magic bolts shrieked through the air, hitting the Wyrm's torso.
Thud-thud-thud!
The bolts exploded against the scales, but the effect was... negligible. They did even less damage than the scratch from the Bloodhound's Fang.
"Are you kidding me? A magic tank too?" Lynn frowned.
But he didn't give up. He aimed for the head. Another Glintstone Pebble fired, this time straight for the Wyrm's eye.
The Magma Wyrm seemed to sense the danger and tilted its head. The magic bolt grazed its cheek and exploded against the wall behind it. Even though it missed the vitals, the reaction gave Lynn a crucial piece of information.
It dodged. That meant the head was indeed a weak point.
The problem was that this version of the Wyrm was much faster and more agile than the one in his memories. Landing a magic headshot would be incredibly difficult.
"Then I'll have to use the old reliable," Lynn's gaze hardened as he switched back to the Bloodhound's Fang.
Against an enemy with a slow turn speed and a massive frame, the best tactic was always—toe-clipping!
Taking a deep breath, he stopped trying to maintain distance and charged in. The Magma Wyrm swung the greatsword in its mouth, the blade dragging a trail of lava in a lethal arc. Lynn didn't flinch. With a precise Bloodhound's Step, he blinked to the Wyrm's flank, perfectly evading the swing and entering its blind spot.
"Right here!"
He slashed the Bloodhound's Fang mercilessly at the Wyrm's front leg joint!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The attacks landed. Although there was still a sense of deflection, the damage was significantly higher than on other parts of its body.
The Magma Wyrm roared in pain, trying to spin around to hit him with its tail or claws. But its turning speed was clumsy compared to Lynn's fluid movement. Lynn stuck to its side like a shadow, constantly whittling down its health with his curved sword.
Man and dragon engaged in a perilous, high-stakes dance within that tiny room.
"ROAR!!!"
Finally, after sustaining enough damage, the Magma Wyrm let out a world-shaking howl. The magma veins on its body glowed brilliantly, and a violent aura exploded outward.
The Wyrm's massive body suddenly sank, diving straight into the lava pools on the floor and vanishing, leaving only ripples in the molten rock.
Lynn immediately went on guard, moving to the edge of the room and keeping his eyes glued to the floor.
"Submerging?"
A moment later, chaos erupted. The lava pools around the room began to bubble furiously. Large spheres of concentrated magma, over half a meter in diameter, began to roll out from the pools, converging on Lynn from all directions.
Lynn's nerves were taut. He began to leap and weave between the small patches of safe ground, dodging the slow but lethal magma spheres. He had to dodge the balls while anticipating where the Wyrm would breach the surface.
Just as he dodged a pincer move from two spheres, the central lava pool exploded!
BOOM!
The Magma Wyrm's massive silhouette soared into the air, raining lava everywhere. It opened its mouth mid-air, preparing an all-encompassing lava breath that would cover the entire floor.
"Now!"
Instead of fear, Lynn felt a surge of excitement. Facing the unavoidable attack, he didn't dodge. He raised the Carian Knight's Shield in his left hand.
A shimmering blue magical barrier flickered in front of the shield. One of the rolling magma spheres collided directly with it.
"Carian Retaliation!"
Vroooom!
With a strange hum, the magma sphere wasn't deflected. Instead, it was instantly absorbed and decomposed by the magical shield, transformed into three pure Glintblades hovering around Lynn!
Simultaneously, a massive recoil from the shield sent Lynn flying backward.
But this was exactly what he wanted.
"Greatblade Phalanx!"
As he was propelled back, Lynn's staff flared again, and four more massive Glintblades formed above his head.
Using the momentum from the Carian Retaliation, Lynn's body traced an incredible arc through the air. He didn't just avoid the Wyrm's lava breath—he flew straight toward its massive, descending head!
"Seven blades in one. Get down!"
Lynn let out a low growl, focusing his will. The seven Glintblades hovering around him acted like a swarm of hornets. With a piercing whistle, they turned into seven streaks of blue light, slamming into the Magma Wyrm's head from every angle!
The sound of blades piercing flesh was so dense it sounded like a single strike.
"AWOOOOO!"
The Magma Wyrm let out a piteous shriek. Several bloody gashes erupted across its skull. Its body stiffened mid-air before crashing to the ground like a kite with its strings cut, splashing lava everywhere. Its eyes rolled back, and its massive frame twitched—it was in a state of a long-term posture break!
Lynn landed steadily. Looking at the massive, helpless target, a ruthless smile touched his lips. He swapped to the Bloodhound's Fang, lunged forward, and leaped high into the air. He gripped the hilt with both hands, pouring every ounce of his strength into the tip of the blade.
His target: the Wyrm's eye.
Squelsch!
The razor-sharp edge of the Bloodhound's Fang sank deep into the eye socket without resistance. A geyser of scorching, magma-like blood erupted, accompanied by a crisp sound—like a bubble popping.
Hemorrhage!
The Magma Wyrm's body buckled. Its life force drained away at a visible rate. it struggled to lift its head one last time before slumped back down, the fire in its eyes finally fading into darkness.
The battle was over.
The Wyrm's massive corpse began to dissolve into countless golden motes of light, drifting into the air. In the spot where it vanished, a single, shimmering object remained.
It was a silver-white katana, elegant and minimalist in design, radiating a restrained yet lethal sharpness.
Lynn stepped forward and picked up the blade. The moment his fingers touched the hilt, a familiar prompt appeared in his vision.
[Obtained Moonveil]
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Danmachi: My Primary God is Hidetaka Miyazaki? (Simulpub – Ongoing)
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