Chapter 46: Into The Dungeon, Surrounded By Deadly Monsters!
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The moment Kara fell into the dungeon, I rushed forward and pulled her away from the monsters. Dozens of them swarmed us in seconds.
“Damn it! They’re everywhere!” I shouted, holding Kara close as I activated the Winged Wind Spirit Boots. A powerful gust lifted us both back onto stable ice while the rest of the group caught up and drew their weapons.
The frozen cavern teemed with movement. Dozens of giant ice-armored eels slithered across the walls and ceiling, their crystalline scales glinting beneath faint glowing ice-crystal mushrooms. Massive catfish the size of wolves waddled forward on stubby fin-like legs, their mouths bristling with icicle teeth. Schools of smaller, piranha-like fish darted through shallow frozen puddles that cracked and melted from our presence—then leaped out and floated through the air, shocking everyone... except me.
I already knew these monsters. I had hunted them several times before. Abusing the Dungeon Season system was one of the best ways to farm good loot and easy levels in Barbarian Conquest, after all. Still, knowledge didn’t make the fight easy. I might have managed alone, but I had come with my family. We needed to work together if we wanted to survive.
“Formation!” my father roared as he reached us, rushing to the front with his axe already blazing from its recent evolution. “Kids in the back! Brunhild, to my side! Shoulder to shoulder! Barbarian style!”
“On it!” I landed and set Kara down safely behind me. “Everyone, use bows first if you can! Don’t waste mana! Kara, be careful and stay focused!”
“S-Sorry!” Kara said. “Ulf, let’s blast them!”
“You got it!” Ulf nodded.
“Brunhild, please be careful!” Sigrid called from behind us.
Ulf and Kara quickly nocked arrows on their new spirit bows, eyes wide with a mix of excitement and fear. Sigrid gripped her upgraded bow tightly, already channeling mana into it. The rest of my family spread out at the same time: Mom and Astrid took the flanks with their broadswords, Magnus covered the rear with his bow, and Dad charged straight ahead like the madman he was.
Then his footing slipped. He slid straight toward the jaws of a giant eel. I panicked and hurled Tomahawk Boomerang, crushing the creature’s skull before it could reach him.
“T-Thanks! Damn it! I’m not used to fighting on thin ice like this. It’s too slippery!” Dad regained his balance, using his aura to stabilize himself.
He was right. This place was far more dangerous than fighting on the surface. In the game there had been no such problem, so I had never considered it. What now?
I couldn’t use fire or the ice would melt and we would drown. So what... Wait.
I have a crazy idea. Will it work?
Let’s find out.
“Evolve!” I touched the ground beneath us and poured energy into the thick ice layer. It shimmered and transformed, the surface roughening into natural grip ridges. Our footing should be far more stable now.
Ding!
[You have used your Trait [Evolution (??? Rank)] to evolve [Frozen Swamp Ice] into [Gripping Spirit Ice (Temporary)]!]
It worked. The name surprised me—Gripping Spirit Ice—but it had barely cost any mana to modify the surrounding terrain. The range was limited, yet large enough to cover our area and the monsters.
“Woah?!” my father gasped. “Brunhild, you’re a genius! It’s not slippery anymore!”
“Yeah, now focus on the monsters!” I replied.
The first wave charged. An ice eel dropped from the ceiling, jaws gaping. Dad met it with Ragnar’s Fury. His axe exploded with flames and force, cleaving straight through the armored head in one brutal swing and showering us with glittering ice shards and monster blood. The creature’s bones shattered instantly.
“These things are tougher than they look!” he laughed. “But this axe—hah! I feel twenty years younger! Haha!”
There was no time to leave any half-alive. This was a life-or-death fight. We needed to eliminate them all and regroup later. Besides, we had come here to level up.
“Tsk! Ragnar, stop playing around and get serious!” Mom spun gracefully, her Magisteel Broadsword flashing with Magic Slash. A crescent of blue energy sliced two catfish cleanly in half.
“Mom! I’ve got this side!” Astrid stayed right beside her. Bone spirits swirled around her blade as she unleashed Bone Blade Spirit Rampage, turning a group of smaller fish into paste.
My friends opened fire. Sigrid’s arrow glowed with spirit energy and struck true, piercing an eel’s eye and exploding into spirit vines that bound the monster in place. “It works! The new skills are amazing! Finish it off, Brunhild!” She thoughtfully weakened and bound foes so I could deliver the killing blows—considerate even in the heat of battle.
“Blazing Volley!” Ulf shouted. A fan of flaming arrows burst forward, melting ice armor and roasting three fish monsters at once.
“Okay, my turn!” Kara followed with Giant Flame Shot, launching a massive arrow that detonated like a fireball and cleared an entire cluster.
BOOOM!
“Woow! This is way too fun!”
I grinned but kept my focus. I swung my giant axe, Atlas, as a wave of eels charged me, using their tails to propel themselves at near-lightning speed.
With a mighty roar, I cleaved through them, blood and guts splattering everywhere. At the same time, I felt a new connection to the floor itself. Icicle spears surged upward, finishing off the monsters I hadn’t killed outright.
“So I can manipulate the floor I evolve...!” I gasped.
I reshaped the ice once more, raising barriers to block incoming attacks and shielding my father’s back. He flashed me a grateful smile, then crushed another monster with his axe and cleaved two more that dropped from above into perfect halves.
But then...
RUMBLE!
“?!”
Something enormous was approaching. The commotion had drawn a greater monster—a wandering boss, most likely. This dungeon had five of them, one on each floor.
I strengthened my body with aura and called out, “Careful! More are coming from below! Fall back close to the staircase! It’s here!!!”
Crack... crack...!
CRASH!
The ice beneath us shattered outward as a colossal figure burst upward, flooding the cavern with a potent aura of icy mana. We resisted with our own auras, but I quickly raised ice walls to protect those still building their strength.
“There you are.”
It was the Ice-Armored Catfish Boss—the Frozen Catfish Tyrant. Twice Fenrir’s size, the beast roared with a watery gurgle. Its whiskers were frozen spears, and its body pulsed with freezing mana.
I knew I needed more than brute force for this one. I first called my familiars, who had been fighting monsters on both sides to keep us from being overwhelmed.
“Fenrir! Huginn! Flank it!” I ordered.
“AWOOOO!”
“KAW!”
The two evolved beasts roared and charged. Fenrir slammed into the catfish’s side while Huginn dove from above with wind blades. The tyrant hissed and unleashed dozens of icicles, constantly snapping at them. My familiars dodged and retaliated with waves of fire, steadily melting its armor.
In a rage, the boss shook the ground and slapped Fenrir with its massive fin, sending him crashing down. He was fine, though half his body was frozen—his blazing aura slowly melted it away. Huginn kept his distance, peppering the beast with blazing feathers to distract it.
Kara and Ulf coordinated their shots, firing dozens of burning arrows until their mana ran low. Their barrage exposed the tender flesh beneath the armor.
The tyrant’s greatest defense was its ice plating, which negated roughly seventy percent of incoming damage. Fire was the key to weakening it; the lower the armor’s integrity, the weaker its overall defenses became.
“Now, attack the exposed areas!”
I partially activated my bloodline. Red and golden scales spread across my arms and part of my face, boosting my strength as I leaped forward, overflowing with blazing power. The catfish met me with its icy breath, pushing me back and trying to freeze me solid.
My burning aura melted the ice. Fighting against the constant freezing, I closed the distance and swung Atlas with everything I had, carving out large chunks of flesh. The monster barely flinched. It slapped me away with its giant fin. I rolled across the ground, sprang back to my feet, and charged again.
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