Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

This was as far as other parties like Squad 1 from the hunter's association or elites from the bigger guilds had come before. This was the last boss room they had to share with those that came before them.

Inside the boss room stood a massive humanoid eagle. Like the bird version of a minotaur. He had a fierce eagle head, a muscular man's upper body with feathers on his arm, and human legs that ended in eagle claws with some kind of double joint.

In his hand, he held a 2m long broadsword that did not look too big compared to his almost 4m tall body. It looked rough, but it was a completely new metal to Seth.

<Feymetal, Crafting Material, Uncommon,

A metal lighter than steel but just as strong, with a greater affinity to magic than Mithril. Can be refined into Feysteel>

A greater magic affinity than <Mithril>? Seth's eyes twinkled. He had no idea what to do with it yet, but he wanted it. The two vanguards got to work to get it for him.

The levitating sword attacked the eagle and was blocked by the broadsword. In this moment a spear attack like a vicious snake from its blind spot and aimed for the heart. Against all odds, the creature blocked the spear with the row of shiny metallic feathers on its arm.

The moment it had shifted its posture to block the spear it suffered a hit in the kidneys. Jonah's vampire claws had dug into the eagle's human abdomen. It was the most human boss, yet. Which made it the easiest so far.

Even with the level difference, it could not fly nor was it super-fast. Its weapon was not exactly the best suited for it. The material was lighter than steel, giving it an unexpected speed, but in exchange, the attacks lacked the weight to trouble a tank like Tekar.

The eagle tried to fight with technique and skills but was worse in doing so than the party. In a similar fashion to the first strike, the wounds kept piling up. Burn wounds, cuts, laser shots, arrows, and blunt force kept shaving away its health until it finally kneeled down and died.

"This was easier than expected." Link let out a sigh as h started to harvest the boss. Seth gladly put away the uncommon broadsword. He was very satisfied. Another surprise were the feathers the hunter carved from the boss.

<Eagle Chief's Wing feather, Crafting Material, Rare

A biometallic feather that is flexible and soft in general but can be hardened and strengthened by being supplied with mana.>

He didn't know how much mana it cost, but these feathers had blocked Monique's epic spear with increased piercing power. They would definitely come in handy. They had a dark almost black color with a bronze sheen to them.

"From here on out its almost untrod territory!" Evee said excitedly. She was right.

Apparently, the next floors would become a lot harder with greater groups of enemies showing a great amount of coordination. That was what the information other parties had given the guild.

And it was true. The parties of mobs they encountered were high-level humanoids with great coordination. During these fights, Seth kept transitioning between the front and back row corresponding to the enemy's formations.

The fights were hard and took a long time, but the experience gain was worth it, even for Monique. Just two floors later Seth leveled up again, becoming lv. 36. But soon things started to change.

A smell of decay wafted towards them when the doors to the 34th floor opened. The Staircase before them was only dimly lit and everything seemed darkened.

They climbed the stairs in a tight formation. The drastic change in environment made them hypersensitive to their surroundings. Fast footsteps echoed in the hallway as something approached from the front.

A feathered human came stumbling from the darkness in front. He was covered in wounds and drenched in blood. Panic was written all over it face and they could see a glimmer of hope when it saw the group of adventurers.

Just what had happened for a dungeon monster to feel hope when seeing its enemy? The answer appeared faster than they would have liked. A giant figure appeared behind the mob and its face fell when it saw the party's expression.

The next moment a giant stinger penetrated the humanoid body from behind and exited its chest. The top was glinting with a viscous dark venom and its victim's body went through a process of necrosis.

It was the stinger of a scorpion that led back to a massive being that had the upper body of a man and the lower body of a scorpion.

<Girtabilu lv. 56>

They had not long to look at the sudden new enemy. Before they could react, a giant body clad in porcelain-like white armor and carried by hundreds of sharp legs rushed along the wall past them. Puffles charged at the scorpion man while its stinger was still stuck in its victim.

The scorpion warrior could only lift his spear to fend off the ferocious Puffles. It was no help, the two pairs of scythes hacked away the spear and limbs holding it. The Ivicer's sharp legs easily penetrated the scorpion body's exoskeleton securing it in place.

Without its arms, the monster was helpless as the divine beast opened its mandibles dripping with golden saliva and bit of the human head with a loud crunching sound. The party looked in horror as Puffles gnawed away at the scorpion mob. The golden liquid it excreted easily dissolved the monster's body into puddles of meat on the ground.

Nobody moved; afraid of disturbing the pet during its meal and getting its attention. The ivicer greedily shoved the food into its maw until there was nothing left but a shallow puddle of liquified meat. A satisfied burp signaled the end of its meal.

"Errm, Puffles? You, okay?"

~ Of course, I am great! Better than great. It's the greater me, we are talking about. I just had a superb supplement. ~

The Ivicer played it off and returned to his position at the rear of the party.

"Say, Puffles. Would you like to take the lead on this one?"

~Hmm, hmm, Alright, I shall. But only because you insist. ~

With a happy, and undeniably happy aura slightly more terrifying than before caterpillar took the lead as they traveled deeper into the dungeon.

As they followed their guide of destruction they discussed what could have facilitated this change. After some brainstorming, Al'Zalsa confirmed Seth's guess.

Normally when a dungeon like this is not cleared for a longer time, the monsters from the upper floors will slowly start appearing on the lower floors since their numbers are not being reduced. It was like an internal dungeon break as a mob normally could not leave their designated floor.

These scorpion men must be originating from an upper floor and are conquering the lower floors, as their numbers have outgrown their given space. They had stumbled into the fight for supremacy between the native mobs and those from the upper floors.

The more interesting topic though was the sudden change in behavior of Seth's pet. Even the all-knowing lich had no explanation for this, and they could only look at Seth for an answer. After all, he was the only one who knew the concrete origins of their insectoid friend.

Seth tried sifting through everything he remembered about the Ivicers. Divine beast of the sun god originating from a highly developed ancient kingdom. Source for silk of divine garments and protectors of the land.

Ivice was now a desert ruin, the desert had scorpions... trying to come up with some theory he felt like the protagonist of Dependence Day. In the end, he shrugged and gave his best guess.

"Maybe they are divine enemies? You know, like "The centipede of light versus the scorpion man of darkness"?"

His guess was a good as any, but the others only rolled their eyes at him. His second-best guess was that Puffles was getting into puberty. His ferocious appetite lately might have been the sign of an impending metamorphosis.

Also, when did Puffles grow that second pair of scythes?

They could only look at the sturdy porcelain-white carapace from behind, as Puffles led the way.