Chapter 350 – Going Deeper
Damion stood there for a moment, looking at the signals for all the Demonic Beasts in the core chamber. Could he kill that many Demonic Beasts? If they were all F Rank, probably, but what if they were C Rank or B Rank? Should he even head into the caves and try?
Since he was going to be going underground, Phil would not be of much help to him. The Blizzard King could fit in the tunnels, but trying to fly or fight would be difficult for his companion.
"Stay out here and hunt. Maybe you will find something good,” Damion told his familiar.
‘Plenty of prey,’ Phil sent back before heading back into the sky.
Damion headed into the cave. Despite the complete darkness of the cave after just going in for a few dozen meters, True Sight let him see perfectly. Damion walked with his tablet in one hand, the map open so he could navigate to the core chamber easily, while in his other hand he wielded his Ice Sword. He could easily store the tablet in the event of a fight and cast Ice Shield if needed.
The first chamber that Damion came to in the caves had a familiar smell to it that he could not quite place and on the ceiling of the chamber hung eight Demonic Beasts, all bats. With True Sight he was able to see that they were all C Rank Demonic Beasts. The last bat type Demonic Beasts Damion had encountered were only D Rank and not nearly as large as these. When Damion thought of that encounter he realized something dreadful.
The familiar scent. Kneeling down, Damion felt a small puddle of liquid on the uneven floor of the cave, it was the same as the liquid in that last cave. That meant this cave system was a Fire Cave.
Damion glanced up at the bats, True Sight told him they had Shadow affinities like the Shadow Cats outside. This told him they were probably Shadow Rend Bats. Demonic Beasts that when they attacked something with the talons on their feet and hands, could imbue Shadow mana into the attack, greatly increasing their attack power. Of course, the C Rank attack of these creatures would not be enough to do much more than simply scratch Damion, but he still had a difficult decision to make.
Proceed or retreat?
Fire Caves were dangerous. The slightest spark, or flame could ignite or even detonate the entire cave network. But if he did not use any Fire magic, would he be at risk of igniting the flammable liquid that seeped from the cave ceiling and walls? And the bigger question; if he retreated and ignited the liquid, causing the cave system to destroy itself, likely taking the core with it, would that clear the labyrinth floor? Or would it collapse the labyrinth?
‘First things first,’ Damion told himself. ‘Deal with these Shadow Rend bats and then maybe I can think of a way to not get killed and still stabilize this labyrinth.’
Damion released his Ice Sword and put his tablet away. Stretching out both hands, he dual cast Ice Shard. The dozen deadly ice crystals jumped from his palms and cut through the bats on the ceiling. Catching the Demonic Beasts completely off guard.
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After the dead beasts fell to the floor, Damion collected the carcasses and took out his tablet again to look at the map. The chamber he was in connected to another tunnel that, aside from numerous branches heading to many different tunnels, led deeper into the mountains before opening up into a large chamber. That chamber did not have any Demonic Beasts lurking inside, but another, chamber connected to it did. This was the chamber with the core and the large number of Demonic Beasts.
‘System, what happens if I ignite this Fire Cave? Will it destroy the core and let me out? Or will it destroy the entire labyrinth?’
{Igniting the liquid will not destroy the Realm Breach as the true core for this Growth Breach does not appear to be present on this floor.}
‘True core?’ Damion asked before he realized the answer.
The true core of a dungeon was what kept it anchored to Nerotath. If the true core was destroyed the dungeon would collapse. Every floor of a labyrinth had a core, but it was similar to the fake core of a dungeon that when destroyed would clear the dungeon and send everyone out. Only the fake core of a labyrinth when destroyed would reveal the entrance to the next floor which would remain open for everyone coming after the first floor clear.
{The true core of the Growth Breach should be located on its deepest floor. However, host is advised not to ignite the liquid to destroy the core in this manner.}
‘Explain.’
{Growth Breaches do not expel occupants back to their home realm once a floor is cleared. Host will have to travel through the portal revealed once the core is destroyed to exit the Breach.}
‘What about the entrance I came from? Wouldn’t that let me back out of the Breach as well?’
{Unknown. Original entrance may allow for the host to exit, but once the Growth Breach is anchored to your world by destroying the fake core that entrance may vanish or lead to a prior floor.}
‘Then couldn’t the entrance that shows up when I destroy the core also lead to another floor and not be an exit?’
{Affirmative.}
‘That still doesn’t explain why I shouldn’t just set the place on fire and get an easy clear.’
{If host ignites the cave system, it may become impossible for host to reach the new portal. In the event that is the only exit from the labyrinth, host would become trapped until the Growth Breach repairs itself.}
Damion had to admit that the Magic System’s logic was sound. There was no way to know which way he needed to go once the core was destroyed, but if he blocked access to one entrance, and that was deemed to be the only path, he would be in a tricky situation. Over time, labyrinths, like dungeons, would have their floors reset, respawning monsters, rebuilding landscapes destroyed by mages or Demonic Beasts. But that took time. Usually at least days, sometimes even weeks.
Being trapped inside the labyrinth while he waited for the Growth Breach to reset itself would be tedious at best, and very worrisome for his family at worst. They had gotten used to him showing up every day for dinner. What would they think if tonight he suddenly did not show up? What would Elicia think?
It appeared that Damion had no choice but to move forward. If he was cautious in his approach and only used his Ice magic, he was sure he could avoid igniting the liquid and blowing himself up. He was not worried about the Demonic Beasts accidently igniting the liquid, any beast that lived in those caves was surely aware of the liquid’s properties. On top of that, so far, every Demonic Beast Damion had encountered had the Shadow magic affinity. He doubted there would be something in there that had a Fire affinity.
If he was careful, Damion felt he had a strong chance to become the first person ever to clear a Fire Cave.