Great power, an overbearing physique.
Exquisite swordsmanship, with wide and powerful strikes.
The defense had to be strong enough, so Dalun Li added flesh, using hard scales as armor.
Flesh provided flexibility and explosive power, while the plant components provided growth and the ability to shape-shift.
Flesh and plant matter combined.
Having created so many monsters with flesh in the lower floors, Dalun Li was now well-versed in the process.
At the same time, the plant parts needed to be fire-resistant, which could be achieved by integrating them with fire-resistant iron.
The materials on the ground writhed together, growing into a rough prototype.
And throughout it all, that dragon flame crystal continued to glow brightly.
Even as its power merged with the monster, the crystal's physical form seemed impossible to decompose.
Was this a characteristic of dragon flame crystals?
It didn't matter, though; the power had been integrated nonetheless.
Dalun Li manipulated that potent fiery energy, fusing it with the monster's entire body.
Fire, explosion.
He reinforced specific joints using his most precious and high-strength magic iron ingots.
However, the fire resistance of the magic iron ingots was not exceptional.
Dalun Li fused the magic iron ingots with fire-resistant iron ingots, creating a fire-resistant magic iron alloy to deploy at the critical joints.
This allowed the creature to withstand bursts of fire power, granting the floor boss unparalleled explosive force.
After adjusting the joints, the lower body had transformed into savage, rugged, and overbearing beast legs brimming with power.
To allow it to grip a sword and perform swordsmanship, Dalun Li gave the upper body a somewhat humanoid form.
Yet it remained hunched near the ground, like a fusion of man and beast, or a demon waiting to devour someone in the dark.
He changed the sword's design into a massive, long, and curved scimitar.
The head was covered in an exoskeleton, resembling a fleshless skull.
Its jaws could open to ninety degrees and spit flames capable of melting steel.
The dragon flame crystal, of course, did more than just grant the floor boss the ability to breathe fire.
It could combine fire with Sword Qi, releasing fiery blades of energy.
Simultaneously, its entire body was covered in savage black scales, with a row of bone blades like wood spikes growing along its spine.
Its slender right hand gripped the massive scimitar, resting it on its shoulder.
The left hand was covered in menacing branches and wood spikes, entwined with various vines.
Its head was long and ferocious, with a muzzle like a wild beast.
A single red horn protruded from its crown, glowing with the internal light of fire.
The massive monster before him, even while crouching on the ground, had a shoulder height of nearly four meters. When its hunched, beast-like body stood fully upright, it reached nearly ten meters, resembling a giant.
"I offer my loyalty to you, my master. I shall guard the Well of Eternal Imprisonment for all eternity."
The majestic and massive floor boss spoke while prostrate on the ground.
"Cinderguard, that is your name and your duty."
Dalun Li bestowed the name.
[Name] Cinderguard of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment
[Level] lv10
[Skills] Swordsmanship lv5, Instantaneous Burst lv5, Physical Strengthening lv5, Fire Breath lv5, Sword Qi lv5, Hard Scales lv5, Hard Shell lv4, Flame Manipulation lv4, Haste lv4, Great Strength lv4, Fire Burst lv4, Growth lv3, Dynamic Vision lv3, All-Attribute Resistance lv3, Poison lv3, Plant Manipulation lv3, Wood Spike lv3, Ram lv2, Explosion lv2, Fire Magic lv1
[Description] A monster servant created by the unknown existence, Dalun Li. It guards the entrance to the Forbidden Fire, intercepting all intruders who seek to steal it from the Well of Eternal Imprisonment. A master of both blade and flame, it can combine fire with Sword Qi, making it a formidable and terrifying foe.
The Forbidden Fire was, of course, a setting established by Dalun Li.
The floor beneath the desert consisted of endless lava and the sealed Forbidden Fire, which symbolized immense power.
To obtain the Forbidden Fire was to obtain the power of destruction itself.
And the Cinderguard was the sentry watching over the Forbidden Fire floor of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
As for whether the Forbidden Fire actually existed, he would simply treat it as if it did.
This was exactly the kind of lore adventurers craved.
In reality, how could something that instantly makes a person the strongest ever exist?
"Yes, my master."
As the Cinderguard was teleported by Dalun Li to the boss room of the tenth floor, the entire tenth floor was finally complete.
To prove that the Forbidden Fire truly existed, Dalun Li stuffed information related to it into several treasure chests.
The Forbidden Fire exists and is sealed within the lava of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
The Forbidden Fire possesses incomparable destructive power; obtaining it allows one to master that very destruction.
Once this legend spread among the adventurers, it would be set.
Adventurers entering the lava floor would waste time searching for the non-existent Forbidden Fire, delaying their exploration.
This, in turn, gave him more time to develop.
...
Meanwhile, back in the dungeon, the incident with Zeno had ignited a frenzy among all the adventurers.
Fete continued his alchemy as usual.
After all, he had gone bankrupt before; fortunately, the earning potential of alchemy was strong enough that orders from various merchants were backed up for a month.
In addition, Fete would use materials from the dungeon to alchemize magical artifacts and magic potions.
He also purchased materials himself to alchemize into Pinky Knives and Kiss of Greenery to sell to adventurers.
Skeletal materials from the desert floor had also been transported to the upper floors, and Fete was researching alchemy methods for these bone materials.
Even so, he was still short-handed.
He was already considering taking on an alchemy apprentice as an assistant to help him brew certain potions.
Now that he was an alchemist, as long as he was willing to take an apprentice, those with magic talent for alchemy would scramble to his door to call him teacher.
Today, he was alchemizing as usual when his door was suddenly flung open.
"Mr. Fete, big news! Something terrible has happened!"
The one who burst in was a merchant named Corwin, who had a long-standing partnership with Fete.
Corwin hadn't knocked as he usually did; he looked frantic, clutching a rolled-up piece of paper in his hand.
Usually, Corwin was very careful about his image in front of him, caring deeply about how he appeared to an alchemist.
This was the first time Fete had seen Corwin in such a panic.
"Calm down, Corwin. What happened?"
Fete stopped what he was doing and stood up to pour tea for Corwin, his curiosity piqued.
Corwin sat in a chair and unrolled the scroll.
"Something massive happened outside the dungeon!"
"The Northern Territory hasn't seen anything like this in centuries. It is a complete upheaval, a total upheaval!"
"This is a wanted poster. Mr. Fete, you have to see this."
A wanted poster? Had someone committed a crime?
Fete took the wanted poster, listening as Corwin spoke frantically.
"Someone attacked the church and stole a masterpiece grade magical artifact from the Grey family!"
"They snatched the magical artifact right out from under two bishops and an entire knight order!"
"That was a masterpiece grade magical artifact! A masterpiece grade! And against two bishops and an entire knight order!"
"The battleground was left in shambles; an entire street was turned to ruins!"
"They say it was done by a female elf named..."
"Zeno!"
Clang!
Fete's body jerked violently, his chair letting out a loud bang. The wanted poster he had just managed to read fell to the floor. On the poster were the likeness and name of Zeno.
Fete's hands wouldn't stop trembling, and his heart hammered against his ribs.
"By the Goddess of Light!"
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