Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

<Ding! You have killed -Shadow of Dusk lv.115 (Boss)- You have earned Experience.>

A figure enveloped in flowing shadows disintegrated to ashes in his hand. Seth let out a deep sigh. This had been the most annoying fight so far. It was not necessarily dangerous, but the enemy had almost perfect stealth that made it even hard for <Theia's Vision> to detect. He even had to hide Tatzel, since the Imugi was in danger to be hit by its surprise attacks.

The blacksmith had crossed another ten bridges before he found this second boss. At least it was a good fight for Seth to get closer acquainted with the peculiarities of the Draconic Titan Flame and the Salamander Flame. Seth was about to curse that the boss had not dropped anything when he saw a glint in it's burned remains. It was actually an item similar to the Storm Sphere Seth had found once.

<Orb of Dusk, Crafting Material

Relic

1. +200% Power in Twilight

2. Trait: Acolyte of Dusk

3. +150% Power to Shadow Magic

4. +100% Power to Light Magic

5. +75% Power to Surprise Attacks

6. Active Skill: Prism Escape

7. Active Skill: Shadow Form

An orb with the powers of Dusk, used by someone who had stepped on the Path of Legends.

Once this orb becomes widely known or plays a role in the user's ascend to a legend, the item has a high chance to become legendary.>

The flavor text was a little short, but Seth didn't mind. It was the first relic-rated material he found in this dungeon and it was also possible to directly use it as an item. The only problem was to find someone who would have the greatest use of it.

There were a few parts that fit a shadow mage like Mina was, but all options were tailored to someone using both, magic of light and shadow. Not to mention that Mina specialized in the role of an assassin, not a mage, even when the latter was her secondary class. For now, he had nobody in mind who could make full use of the item's options.

<Shadows Form> offered not just stealth, but also immunity to attacks as long as the user stayed hidden. <Prism Escape> turned the user in bright rays of light that enabled them to escape an attack. The Trait: Acolyte of Dusk was the reason the boss looked like he was made of flowing shadows.

This form allowed it to absorb the power of light, strengthen the power of shadow, and decreased physical damage by 50% because it turned the person into a semi-solid creature. The only way to deal full damage was when it had to solidify to attack. It would have been a powerful trait if it wasn't for the fact that it didn't lower magic or elemental damage.

Ever since the Mirror of Dawn, the bottomless gorge had kept becoming brighter and brighter with every bridge he crossed. The lower he came, the closer he got to the mysterious light source. He found it a little weird that he met the Shadow of Dusk after the Mirror of Dawn without coming across any night.

Maybe it was because of the power of the orb, since it the trait absorbed light, the Shadows of Dusk was stronger, closer to the light. Seth's thoughts also derailed and for a moment he suspected it could be a stupid play on the proverb "The night is the darkest right before dawn" or something like that.

Aside from the orb, the boss also dropped a big soul with affinities for shadow and light magic, but nothing special about it. It would fit well with the orb, but Seth was sure he could find something better at Tano'Mol's place. It was objectively worse than the Soul of Dawn he got earlier.

Checking his experience, Seth saw in delight, that the boss had given him a whopping 20% on his way to level 95. Bringing him to lv.94 with about 60% of the experience bar filled. The mobs on the past ten floors had been less numerous but had given a much better experience. It was just a shame, Seth had been unable to share the experience with Tatzel this time.

The Imugi had reached lv.75 and had grown by a lot. His maximum size was now comparable to the juvenile Titanoboa that had been Seth's first great battle. However, unlike Puffles, the Great, Tatzel was able to instinctively control his size.

Tatzel's stats were nothing to scoff at, especially its Intelligence and Willpower were closing in on 700. Its physical skills were roughly the same as Seth's base attributes, clearly identifying the Imugi as a caster and not a vanguard. This was also the reason why the boss had constantly evaded Seth and tried to kill the snakelet.

~Don't worry, Mom. When I'm older, I will be able to fend for myself!~ Tatzel huffed when he noticed his thoughts.

~I don't doubt that. Not at all.~ Seth answered it with a smile.

Even though Tatzel grew quicker thanks to the rise in level, he was still a snakelet. It would grow stronger once it actually matured. Aside from its natural growth, the Imugi had also gained a lot of passive skills as his level rose, which would turn him tough as a nail in the future once their levels rose. Tatzel's row of resistance skills was just as long as Tekar's, albeit their levels and effects were still lower.

~Let's keep going then.~

Seth recalled the Imugi from the pet space and they continued their way even further down. The creatures that now appeared were a mix of copies of the Mirror of Dawn and the Shadow of Dusk. They were "just" elite versions, but Seth started to feel the pressure.

One was equipped with the basic resistances to counter all of his skills, which meant he had to hit it very often. The other was really good it dodging, which also meant he had to hit at it very often. They also kept flying around, which made it hard to get any drops or souls from them. Altogether this made the fights long, tedious, and unrewarding, except for the experience.

Seth kept his mood during the continuous grinding through one simple taught. He may have had a hard time beating them, but just how frustrating would it be for them to fight him? Seeing their attacks do nothing, even if they managed to hit him?

The blacksmith could simply rely on his legendary armor to tank all the damage. Even if some went through due to some ultimate attack, it would heal naturally, or his Golden Fleece could simply heal him.

All these tenacious, high-level warriors with cheat-like traits and decades of training, backed by the power of the dungeon, but he was the one they had to fear. Seth was tempted to let Oz and Gleobem play his very own boss music as they descended further and further into madne-- the dungeon.

However, he didn't. He resisted the temptation, in case there was another boss with a power like Angelique's. Seth didn't want to meet a Mirror of Dawn that had almost complete resistance to everything he could throw at her. That was a battle of attrition he could go without.

From this point, the place became significantly brighter with every bridge they came across. The bridges also went through a change. But they did not become even more glorious, but they started showing signs of bleaching and crumbling. New opponents appeared soon.

<Ray of the Day lv.98(Elite)>

They looked a lot like Angelique, winged pale people using powerful light skills and magic to try and destroy the bleached and crumbling bridges. They were numerous, fast, and had powerful attacks. To their dismay, Seth was even more invulnerable to light, thanks to Puffles' materials.

~ Amateurs.~ Was Puffles on comment on the situation, as Seth and Tatzel wiped the floor with the rays and continued on. With fewer shadows and mirrors, they even became quicker, since the Rays of Day were glass cannons.

The heat also started rising as they got lower. In addition, the metal railing and other parts of bridges started showing signs of deformation.

"Can't be long before we meet the next boss now..."

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