Leaving the underground mine where the purple-skinned blacksmiths lived, Purple Hammer stepped out into the world beyond.
Feeling the scorching heat around him and watching the lava flow over the pitch-black rocks,
Purple Hammer tightened his armor.
His armor was forged from fire-resistant iron ingots combined with monster materials and bone fragments.
It contained a trace of magic and was shaped according to the unique physical structure of the purple-skinned blacksmith tribe.
Its defensive power was quite good, and its resistance to fire and high temperatures was extremely high.
At the same time, the armor could also weaken magical attacks to a certain extent.
Besides this, he possessed a weapon.
A hammer-type lesser magic grade magical artifact he had found in a treasure chest within the mines.
Named the Purple Treasure Mallet, it could amplify strength and split into three identical hammers.
For a purple-skinned blacksmith with four arms and immense brute force, it was incredibly useful.
However, Purple Hammer had only ever used it for forging and had never tried fighting with the Purple Treasure Mallet before.
The monsters in the dungeon did not attack Purple Hammer, so the first part of his journey away from his kin went smoothly.
He wanted to reach the floors above.
Although monsters could pass directly through the passages without fighting the floor boss,
Ordinary monsters generally did not travel to other floors, and if they stayed on the upper floors for too long, their levels would drop.
Except for intelligent monsters.
The journey was not entirely smooth, and soon, Purple Hammer was blocked by a river of lava.
Purple Hammer possessed fire resistance, which allowed him to live in the high-temperature Lava Stratum.
But that did not mean Purple Hammer could ignore the molten lava or swim in it.
He could only walk along the lava river, hoping to find a path to bypass it.
However, as he continued forward, all he saw was the endless stretch of boiling lava.
Until Purple Hammer, carrying his Purple Treasure Mallet, encountered a figure by the riverbank.
"Red Stone!"
Purple Hammer called out quickly.
Looking like a middle-aged man with a pair of horns, Red Stone turned around and looked at Purple Hammer.
He then showed a look of surprise.
"Lord Purple Hammer, why are you here? This is not supposed to be the area where the purple-skinned blacksmiths operate."
Red Stone greeted Purple Hammer with a smile.
After all, the name Purple Hammer was personally bestowed by the Lord, making Purple Hammer special among the monsters.
"I wish to find the Forbidden Fire so that the purple-skinned blacksmith tribe can obtain the power of smelting required to forge magical artifacts."
Purple Hammer did not hide his intentions.
"Is that so? How unexpected."
Red Stone spoke in surprise. Having wandered through various floors to sell goods, this was the first time he had seen such a unique monster.
Ordinary monsters, even if they possessed intelligence, would not have such thoughts.
"According to the information I have, the Forbidden Fire should be on the lower floors, Lord Purple Hammer."
"Your direction seems to be toward the upper floors."
"Then it seems I have not gone the wrong way."
"I must find that lord and seek his permission before I am qualified to pursue the Forbidden Fire."
Hearing the mention of "that lord," Red Stone's posture became respectful.
The only two guardians in the entire Well of Eternal Imprisonment were objects of respect for all monsters.
"That lord should indeed be on the upper floors."
"But each of the upper floors is quite vast. It will not be easy to find that lord, and adventurers are already about to break into the ninth floor."
"Adventurers are a very dangerous bunch."
Although Red Stone had never been attacked by adventurers and had even conducted several transactions with them,
He had seen adventurers fight on several occasions.
Those adventurers never showed mercy when dealing with other monsters.
"This is my mission."
Purple Hammer had already made up his mind.
"In that case, I respect your mission, Lord Purple Hammer."
"I have some goods here; perhaps you will find them useful on the upper floors."
"Since it is you, I am willing to give a thirty percent discount as a sign of my respect."
Red Stone spoke with a smile, skillfully starting his business.
Monster merchants collected all the world's wealth for the Lord; money was the faith they pursued.
They wouldn't even let their own kind off the hook.
Purple Hammer did not refuse; he did indeed need some things now.
For example, maps of each floor, alchemical potions, and magic items.
The monster merchant sold maps of each floor to both monsters and adventurers, though naturally at two different prices.
After paying, Purple Hammer looked toward the other side of the lava river.
"Where can I cross this river?"
Red Stone glanced at the churning lava river behind him and pointed in a direction.
"You can see three black rocks over there. Near them is an underground passage that leads directly to the other side of the river."
"There is no charge for this information. Consider it my contribution to you, Lord Purple Hammer."
Red Stone watched Purple Hammer leave, then continued along his established path to sell supplies to the monsters.
...
Everything in the dungeon was moving forward.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Purple Hammer had left the Lava Stratum and arrived at the ninth floor, the Desert Stratum.
Because the desert of the ninth floor was in eternal night, the dark and cold desert made Purple Hammer somewhat uncomfortable.
And after wandering until now, Purple Hammer finally encountered his first crisis.
"Adventurers?"
"A monster?"
The ones he met were Manfred and his group.
Manfred's group, having struggled through the crisis of the eighth floor, had successfully found the passage and reached the ninth floor.
Despite the previous crisis, Manfred's team, having experienced danger after danger, had managed to keep every member of the team safe.
Manfred had also successfully surpassed his limits under the threat of death, breaking through to become a second-rank swordsman.
The two sides stood facing each other in the cold desert, the atmosphere tense and hostile.
Manfred looked at the strange monster before him.
It had purple skin, four arms, no hair, and four eyes on its head.
It was completely out of place in the Desert Stratum, which was filled with skeletal monsters.
Furthermore, it seemed to possess intelligence!
Behind the Desert Stratum, there had always been skeletal-type intelligent monsters pulling the strings.
Why did a flesh-and-blood intelligent monster suddenly appear this time?
Was it a monster similar to the monster merchant?
Could it be reasoned with?
Purple Hammer looked at the human adventurers before him; the aura of the leader was very dangerous.
He was no match for them.
Purple Hammer, or rather, the combat capabilities of the purple-skinned blacksmith tribe were not strong. Even against an ordinary extraordinary being, they would likely be no match.
After all, the low-level monsters mass-produced within the dungeon had very weak combat strength.
Purple Hammer was already the strongest among the purple-skinned blacksmith tribe, but he was not a rare leader-class monster and could not compare to a human extraordinary being.
During the standoff, a skeletal lizard burrowed out from the ground.
The sudden movement broke the tense atmosphere, and both sides struck at the same time.
Purple Hammer quickly gripped the Purple Treasure Mallet on his back. Under a flurry of phantoms, the mallet split into three, which he held in his hands.
One Purple Treasure Mallet flew out with great force, smashing toward the human adventurer in front of him.
Weiss quickly stepped forward and raised his shield.
Clang!
With a loud crash, the Purple Treasure Mallet, carrying immense force, slammed heavily into the shield's surface.
Reprisal!
Weiss's shield glowed with a faint light, and the Purple Treasure Mallet that struck the shield was immediately reflected back, flying toward Purple Hammer.
Purple Hammer's pupils constricted, and he quickly activated the ability of the Purple Treasure Mallet. The mallet flying toward him instantly dissipated.
"It is a magical artifact, one that can create clones!"
Weiss quickly shouted out the information.
Meanwhile, Manfred had already moved, turning into a phantom as he swept up yellow sand from the side and slashed toward Purple Hammer.
Rate on N.U.
