Published at 25th of February 2023 10:41 pm

Chapter 698 The Hidden Dungeon

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The dungeon was something I didn't expect. Normally, caverns like these are not that deep so they don't develop into dungeons and instead become home to big boss monsters that are present on the field. There are some cases but it's extremely rare.

So seeing a dungeon like this randomly is not common and the fact that it wasn't discovered just yet and it's a very high-level dungeon makes it a bit weirder that after all these years, this dungeon has yet to be discovered by players. Though I must admit that the dungeon was pretty much blending into the background, that doesn't mean it's not gonna be discovered. After all, players who like to explore are all over the game, there is no way they have missed this by chance at all. This is an MMORPG game that has thousands if not millions of players playing at the moment.

But since I was the one who discovered it, then it doesn't matter. Time to explore the place. I still have not seen what this dungeon is all about so I choose the Normal Difficulty first to check the layout. It would be a very bad idea for me to jump straight to Abyss Mode without knowing what awaits me in this dungeon especially since it's the hardest dungeon.

The portal appeared and I entered the dungeon's entrance wondering what is going to be this dungeon would look like.

Passing through the dungeon portal, what welcomed me is the very big cavern, covered in green moss. It's not the most common dungeon look but it's not that rare either. The only difference I saw here is that there are lots of bones littered across the floor and there are some web sacs present as well. There are two candidates of enemies that are present here and it's either silkworm-type monsters or spider-type monsters.

I approached one of the web sacs resting on the side and opened it up, revealing a skeleton of a monster curling inside. Based on the bones themselves, it is clear its been a long while since it died as the bones have already gathered quite some moss and some of the bones are too brittle that a slight movement would make the whole skeleton crumble even though it is still intact, it won't take long before its form disappear and crumble to dust.

There are more of those web sacs present and since there is a possibility that there are spider enemies present, I checked every single one of them, in case the web sacs are egg sacs of the spiders. If left behind, there is a big chance it will hatch, ambush the victim from behind and kill them. It's always the necessary move when in a dungeon with spider monsters so even though it's a little tedious, it's necessary to ensure no ambushes happen. So far, all of the web sacs I opened up are all monster remains so there is no danger of ambush from behind at the moment.

Proceeding further, the bones are getting more and more than the minute. But enemies are nowhere to be found. Are the enemies that are supposed to be in here the monsters encased on the web sacs? I don't think so but perhaps that is a possibility.

As I went deeper, the more the webs strewn across the place that blocks my way. Some of them are tough while some of them are just too soft that I can just remove them with my hand. For the hard ones though, I have to cut them using my Versatile Weapon. Based on the webs I have found, there is only one type of insect that has this distinct feature and that is the silkworm type enemies.

Compared to spiders, they are capable of solidifying their webs depending on their usage. This is why some of their webs are good materials for rope as they are hard to break and they are much tougher compared to the spider web. If processed. they can be made into silk as well which is a prime material for clothes and armor. The only thing I am a bit confused about is why it wraps other monsters inside the web. Like their real-world counterparts, silkworm monsters are herbivores and they only attack enemies using their web or by other means like acid spit and other stuff. So seeing this behavior is a bit different.

As I turn into the corner, I immediately hid before I reveal myself.

Monsters. It was a sudden appearance of them but finally found some enemies. I peeked and checked the enemies since I only have gotten a glimpse of them. The enemies were...ants?

I rubbed my eyes for a bit and squinted them to make sure I am not seeing things and indeed, they were ants. I am confused as the ant-type monsters are mostly seen in Sandurk. Although there are cases around Resurgian where ants are also there, they are mostly present in Sandurk which is why there are also enemies there known as the Antlions that prey on ant monsters. Never heard of ants in the Aquagius though but since this is a new dungeon, perhaps there is a reason why there are ants here.

Ants have tough shells but they are not relatively hard. But knowing this is a level 300 dungeon, perhaps these ants are different. I pulled out a bottle of Fire Bomb, an upgrade of the Molotov Cocktail. It deals higher damage and lasts longer. Knowing the ants are weak against fire, I throw the bottle at the ants, igniting the area in flames.

"SKREEE! SKREEE!"

However, contrary to my expectation, the result I predicted didn't occur.

"F*ck, they are not burning... does that mean, they are immune to flames?!"

"SKREEEEEE!"

Their heads turned in my direction and locked me in their sight.

"Damn, way too messy, this is trouble with my plans."

As they lunge in my direction, I pulled out my Versatile Weapon and swing its blade at the lunging ant.

PENG!

My Versatile Weapon collided with the ant but the ant didn't get damaged. It instead blocks my strike with its head.

"It looks like this is not meant to be easy in the first place!"

The ants appeared to be agitated and I am now able to see their status.

[Fire-Dwelling Ant]

Level 300

HP: 5,000,000/5,000,000

Traits: Insect, Fire, Metal

I didn't expect to see a monster with traits that contradicts itself. Insect trait is weak to fire, and metal is weak to fire as well. Metal and Insect is a bit complicated matter but it's not necessarily bad they don't contradict but it rarely happens. It also has a beefy HP but is not necessarily large. After all, this amount of HP is now normal in level 300 and above monsters.

"Okay, you bastards, let's dance!"

"SKREEEEEE!"

The two ants are angry and they started to throw flames like they are flamethrowers at me. I immediately deployed my Versatile Weapon's shield form and block the flames.

"Damn, I never dreamed to see an insect spit out a literal fire!"

Thankfully, they don't have infinite flames to spit out as they stopped spitting after a few seconds, I took that chance to charge through the insects using [Shield Bash].

-51,986 damage dealt

-45,102 damage dealt

The damages done by a single shield bash should have reached around 200k damage or more if it was a normal kind of ant but with its metal trait, it reduces a lot of damage taken by attacks and has a tough defense. And since it is immune to fire, fire element attacks are useless as well.

The two ants that got damaged by the [Shield Bash] didn't like the attack and continued to fight back. I changed my weapon into a magic sword and activated the [Water Sword], encasing my Versatile Weapon in water. I didn't waste my time and hacked and slashed the two ants until they both died. Thankfully, they aren't that hard to kill since they still move like normal ants so killing them was a piece of cake as their attacks get predictable.

Since they were level 300 enemies, I took this chance to harvest their cores. After harvesting their cores, I am now good to go with these for Cotton's needs. However, I am still a bit curious about the dungeon especially if my assumption is correct whether the one making the webs is a silkworm or not. After all, the presence of the ants might make my assumption wrong. Also, if I gather lots of level 300 cores, I don't need to gather more if Cotton needed more, right?

And so, I press on. The cave also became less mossy now as I proceed further into the dungeon. Not only that but the ants are also present as well, not just the first two I defeated before. But since they are not that strong, I easily defeated them and gathered their cores.

It didn't take long for me to reach the Mini Boss Room. Seeing how many ants were present near here before reaching this place, perhaps this boss might be something they are protecting. Armed with my Versatile Weapon, I press onwards.

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