Chapter 64

– Chapter 10: Breakthrough #2
[Dragon Scale Greaves]
[A Rank]
[Fire Resistance Lv3 Fire Absorption Lv3]
[Strength +5/ Agility increased by 10/ Feet damage increased by 5%]
[Greaves made of the leather and scales of a red dragon. Made from the leather of a red dragon that deals with fire, it not only boasts a strong fire resistance but can also absorb fire. The more fire you absorb, the more damage your feet will do.]
[Special Skill: Fire Strengthening]
[Every time the level of Fire Strengthening increases by one, your feet damage will rise by 5%. (Maximum level five – in the absence of no additional fire absorption, this level can be maintained for five minutes. After five minutes, the level is reduced back to level 0.)]
In-gong checked the greaves as he sat in the carriage headed to Thunderdoom Fortress.
After slowly reading the long sentences that popped up in the air, In-gong gave a delighted smile and attached the greaves to his shins.

This is good.

It was really good. The strength stat was a little weak for an A rank, but the increase in agility was beautiful. 10% was excellent. It meant that the ratio would keep increasing the more levels In-gong gained.
This alone was enough to make In-gong satisfied, but the greaves also had a special skill built into it.
‘Red dragon leather.’
Fortunately, the greaves weren’t red. Was it closer to a blackish red colour? The red dragons in Knight Saga were strange because most of them had a leather colour that was close to the primary colour, so In-gong was quite fortunate.
‘The fire can be recharged with Fire Arrow.’
It would be considerably hard work, but training would increase the level of Fire Arrow.
In-gong rubbed the greaves and imagined himself dealing a burning kick. Green Wind whispered to In-gong.
‘Master, I am much better than the greaves.’
As it could cause problems, In-gong had already explained earlier to Felicia about the greaves as a green light emerged from White Eagle.
In-gong continued staring at the greaves and said,

You aren’t White Eagle.

‘It can be said that I am already one with White Eagle. White Eagle is excellent, so I am excellent.’
In-gong thought it was a strange logic. The translucent Green Wind sat on White Eagle and looked at him with discontent.
In-gong sighed without realising it.

At first, I thought it was pretty cool, like something sacred.

‘Master?’

No, you are the best.

In-gong touched White Eagle with the same hand he used to touch the greaves.
‘Uhh, I feel bad again. Continue.’
Green Wind closed her eyes as he kept stroking her head.
Felicia, who was watching In-gong converse, gawked at White Eagle.

Are you talking to Green Wind?


Yes, she is a little jealous.

‘It isn’t jealousy. I just told the truth.’
In-gong gently stroked her head a little bit more and Green Wind fell silent. As her mood subsided, the green light coming from White Eagle became more subdued.
Felicia asked,

Can we see her like you do?


It might be possible.

Green Wind’s power was recovering quite fast after staying in White Eagle. Maybe it would soon be safe to materialize.

How about Karma?

Karma, who was sitting in a corner of the wagon, replied to In-gong in a distracted voice.

I feel like I don’t want to see her.

She wanted to see Green Wind, who was the guardian of Enger Plains, but felt like all her worshipful feelings would fly away.

I understand.

Carack clicked his tongue and lay a hand on Karma’s shoulder.
Felicia laughed and asked In-gong another question,

Is that the new armour?


I like it. Moving in it doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

It wasn’t the Dragon Scale Greaves, but it was a pretty good piece of leather armour he had bought from the Demon King’s Palace.
It was Rank B. The leather armour itself wasn’t light, but the weight reduction magic made him feel like he was wearing clothes. He also liked the magic that increased his stamina by 10%.
‘There is a variety of resistance properties.’
By default, there was resistance to fire, ice and lightning. It wasn’t as much as the Dragon Scale Greaves but it would reduce the damage of magic by quite a bit.
Felicia suddenly looked In-gong up and down.

Aren’t you really well armed?

The enchanted leather armour that he took from the armoury of the Demon King’s Palace.
The greaves made from the leather and scales of a red dragon.
The magic shield White Eagle that contained Green Wind.
Earth Quaker that had already proven its power several times.
The Tears of a Dark Elf that boasted absolute defense against mind magic…

Yes. Don’t I just need a helmet now?

In-gong responded playfully but his thoughts were completely different.
‘Not yet.’
In-gong and Green Wind were the only ones aware that Earth Quaker and White Eagle both belonged to elder dragons.
In-gong was thinking of collecting all four remaining equipment of the elder dragons in the future and he wasn’t satisfied with only one accessory.
‘I’ll have to wear everything I can, including bracelets and earrings.’
He didn’t have any slot limits like in a game.
‘That would suck.’
A king should be properly fitted with items.
He also planned to increase Carack and Karma’s combat power with items.
In-gong’s eyes burned with ambition.
On the other hand, Felicia knew of the materials that formed the Dragon Scale Greaves and she was looking at them.
She might be congratulating him or feeling jealous, but Felicia had a strong will as a ‘dark elf’. In-gong didn’t receive any support from his mother’s side, so she was glad that he was being helped by the sura’s side.
Moreover, it was a secret from Daphne and Delia as he had only told Felicia.
Felicia tapped her fan against her cheeks before bringing up a new topic.

I will go over something before we arrive.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze moved toward Felicia. She stared at In-gong and explained,

Shutra, you should know that there are two main ways of attacking dungeons. It is to push in with high numbers or breakthrough with a few elites.

The first method was truly ignorant and cruel. As arrows were fired on the battlefield, they would literally push their troops into the body of the trap.
It was impossible for Felicia, who cared about her people, to use this method.

It is obvious but we will breakthrough with a small number. The members will be limited to the people in this carriage.

Felicia pointed to Delia who was sitting next to her.

Delia will take the role of the guide. She had treasure hunter occupation, so she is good at discovering and disassembling traps.

In a RPG, it would be the role of a thief.
After using Delia as an example, Felicia pointed to everyone in the carriage.

Daphne will take the role of recovery and raise the abilities of the group, while I will take the role of support in the back. Shutra and Carack will protect us.


Understood.


Leave it to me.


And…

Felicia glanced over at Karma. Karma was waiting for Felicia’s words with a look of anticipation.
Felicia thought about Karma’s role for a bit before declaring.

I’ll ask you to protect Daphne. Stay by her side.


I understand. I’ll work hard.

Felicia finished distributing the roles and looked at In-gong again.

The Thunderdoom Fortress hasn’t been properly revealed yet. General Kushbak died in the tunnel connecting the mine to the fortress, so any excavation work has been suspended.

In other words, it meant there was almost no progress in the excavation.

There isn’t a time limit, so we don’t have to hurry. This is essential for the strategy.

Felicia glanced at Delia who pulled out a long bag from under her seat. She opened the lid and revealed several small oxygen masks made of black leather.

What is this? Is it for that reason?

Carack blinked with surprise and Felicia laughed as she took out a mask. It completely covered her nose and mouth like an emergency oxygen mask.

It is a tool to block the toxic gases inside the mine. It has a detoxifying effect, so gases won’t be a problem if you wear it.

Felicia pointed to the box and Carack carefully raised a mask to his face. Despite Carack’s face being completely larger than Felicia’s, it was possible to cover his nose and mouth with the mask.
Delia smiled at Carack before looking at In-gong.

The official cause of death for Kashubal is being trapped and poisoned with toxic gases, but there are likely to be other things inside the fortress. I’ve made a list of things that we are likely to encounter near the fortress.

Delia’s report had pictures and explanations for each creature.
In-gong already knew the names and weakness of the creatures that appeared in Thunderdoom, but the report was a type of confirmation.
‘It is similar.’
In-gong further explained the general weakness and strategies to be used against the monsters appearing in Thunderdoom Fortress. He could use the excuse of reading it in a book but no one questioned him.
Some time passed…
And the carriage stopped moving.
&
The mine that was connected to Thunderdoom was virtually abandoned due to the toxic gases coming from underground.
General Kashubal had died here, so it was difficult for anyone to approach.
‘Why did that happen?’
Were the toxic gases more serious than he had thought?
In-gong was the representative of this mission but he didn’t have to deal with everything. Felicia handled the remaining forces of the 27th expedition still stationed her, while Delia invested General Kashubal once again.
In-gong left it to the experts and retired to his accommodation to rest.
And the next morning.
Felicia finished explaining to the local caretakers and the 27th expedition about the general excavation plan and explained that dark elves were scheduled to visit later. Then she headed to In-gong who was waiting to enter the mine.

Let’s go.

Unlike her normal exposed clothes, Felicia wore leather clothes similar to Shutra and the mask. There were many pockets in her clothes so they seemed to be dungeon exploration clothes.
The party entered the mine, with Delia in the lead holding a light. It was a straight path so there was no need for a local guide.
The fact that the toxic gases were thick and reached their waists made him think that it was a result of many experiments.
Thanks to the masks prepared by Felicia, they could breathe easily.
But Felicia was still alert. Instead of going deeper, she made Delia move forward and experimented with the stability of the masks near the entrance.
After walking down a gentle slope for approximately 50 metres, a huge hole was revealed. It was the entrance connected to Thunderdoom Fortress.
Delia looked at In-gong and Felicia once before entering the hole. At first, it seemed to be a cramped cave but then a large space appeared.

I think it is over there.

In the midst of the dense fog made of poisonous gases, Felicia pointed to a hole that was far away.
In-gong checked the mini-map and nodded. Thunderdoom Fortress were definitely beyond that hole.
The destination was right in front of them so the footsteps of the party quickened. And just as they were half-way across the space.
Carack abruptly stopped moving. Delia, who was leading, grabbed her chest like it was painful while Karma and Daphne leaned forward and gasped for breath.
Felicia was the fastest to respond to this simultaneous collapse. She opened her arms and cast a spell.

The wind!

The wind around Felicia pushed away the heavy toxic gases. However, it was useless. The gas returned before Felicia could cast another spell and she sat down with a moan.
Then the toxic gases suddenly changed. No, a new toxic gas was added to the existing ones.
Delia couldn’t endure it any longer and fell down. Karma grabbed Daphne and sat down while Carack fell to his knees.
The toxic gas filling the area changed from grey to dark yellow. And while the toxic gases were changing, bodies emerged.
Their arms were long and their hands were in a bent posture. Yellow eyes shone in the darkness as their bodies were all black.
There were six of them. One of them watched the party collapsed on the ground and raised his hand. The other five started to move at the same time. Their hands were all holding bone daggers.
And the moment that the first man reached Delia.
Kwang!
A white aura exploded among the yellow poisonous gas. The white aura had a green trail as it moved.
Kakakang!
Two of them fell to the ground with a sharp noise. White Eagle struck their heads in succession while In-gong moved.
By the time White Eagle had a new goal, In-gong had already reached the fourth person. Rather than letting the man open his mouth to scream, In-gong delivered a sharp uppercut.
The man crashed into the ground. There were two remaining. White Eagle took care of one of them. In-gong moved towards the man who raised his hand in the beginning. It was an explosive movement caused by Divine Beast Authority.

H-how?

The one person left was astonished. Five of his men had collapsed in a matter of seconds.
Even the intermediate general of the Demon King’s Palace lost his combat strength and died from this. Yet there was someone who moved freely through the poison!

It is because I am the protagonist.

[Protagonist Body Lv2]
[Additional effects: Hundred Poisons Resistance Lv1.]
[Poison resistance is greatly increased.]
In-gong’s fist struck his face.