The Runesmith

Chapter 587: Mushroom Lizard.

“No wonder people avoid this area with monsters like these.”

Roland muttered, hiding behind a tree as he watched the strange creature. It was a Lindwurm variant, which was a type of lesser dragon. Lindwurms resembled large, snake-like creatures with scaly reptilian bodies. They had two powerful forelimbs, often clawed, but no hind legs, which made them appear to slither or crawl. Their heads were dragon-like, lined with sharp teeth and sometimes marked by glowing eyes.

But this one was different. Its body was slick with patches of bioluminescent fungus that pulsed in slow, eerie rhythms. Mushrooms the size of dinner plates sprawled across the monster’s back. Along the side of its long neck were strange, spore-filled growths. With each breath, these growths released a peculiar mist into the surrounding environment. It was clear this creature posed a serious health hazard, and without proper gear to prevent inhalation, hunting it would be extremely difficult.

‘I wonder what those spores do, could it just be a paralysis effect or something more?’

For a moment, he considered whether it might be possible to weaponize the monster's natural defenses. This creature was relatively high-level, and even tier three class holders were hesitant to wander into the area. The spores clearly affected them as well and might be transformed into a usable weapon. Still, he hesitated. Developing a biological weapon in this world might not be a good idea.

The people here lacked deep knowledge of monster biology, and most alchemical research focused on creating new potions and elixirs. At best, someone could collect these spores and store them in a container similar to a bomb to spread them in battle. However, such a tactic would also affect allied troops and could be blown away with magical winds, which made it hard to use.

Roland didn’t move right away. The Fungalfang Lindwurm lingered at the edge of his vision, slowly slithering through the glade. With help from his visor and internal runic sensors, he could tell the air was saturated with dangerous spores. If they entered his airways, they would likely infect him with some kind of ailment. In some cases, these tiny particles could zombify humans like him, turning them into Fungal Zombies.

To the unprepared or those without proper equipment, this was a deadly environment. However, Roland knew the monster’s major weakness: fire. The spores floating in the air were highly flammable, and he had already confirmed this through testing. This Lindwurm variant was composed of fungal and plant matter. Although its scales resembled those of green dragons, they were not made of true flesh. Its breath attack did not produce heat but instead released poison or other forms of disease.

The time to hunt had come, and Roland had donned his Rune Salamander armor for exactly this purpose. Of all the monsters in the dungeon, this mushroom-covered creature was probably the easiest for him to face. In many ways, it was the ideal opponent. Other adventurers avoided this part of the dungeon, which made it the perfect place for him to gain a few more levels without interference. The only concern was containing the flames to avoid drawing attention to his presence.

A squadron of floating golems had already taken to the air, spreading out to cover the entire area. Some positioned themselves on the ground, others perched in the trees, each stationed precisely to enclose the section of the glade where the hunt would take place. Gradually, a containment dome began to form around him, sealing off the area and ensuring he remained hidden from any prying eyes.

‘Good, with this, I can run wild a bit… even if someone appears afterwards, they shouldn’t be able to find my hideout.’

With a final check of the containment dome, Roland advanced. He stepped out from behind the tree, and the runes across his armor flared to life, cloaking him in a thick layer of flame. The spores in the air around him ignited instantly. The reaction was immediate, revealing just how dense the flammable particles had become. The air shimmered with heat as fire surged outward, triggering a volatile chain reaction that raced toward the lesser dragon.

The Fungalfang Lindwurm reared back and unleashed a thunderous roar that shook the surrounding trees. The flames clearly agitated it, but its body remained mostly unharmed. Instead of retreating, it grew enraged. Its eyes narrowed as it scanned the glade, searching for the source of the fire, and soon locked onto Roland.

What the monster saw was a man in blazing armor, standing still as the center of his chestplate opened to reveal a rune-powered beam emitter. A radiant crimson orb pulsed at its core, flames swirling around it as it charged. The Lindwurm roared again and lunged, aiming to crush him with its massive form. Before it could reach him, the beam fired, releasing a focused torrent of flame that met the charge head-on.

The monster froze as it saw the strange energy surge toward it. In a desperate attempt to defend itself, it opened its massive jaws and released a brownish cloud of noxious gas, a breath ability known for inflicting a wide range of status effects. This attack was commonly referred to as disease breath. However, the beam struck with the force of a miniature sun. It tore through the toxic cloud, igniting it in an instant. With no more opposition, the beam then crashed directly into the Lindwurm’s open mouth.

Roland had expected the monster to be thrown back, but his attack proved far more powerful than he had anticipated. A strange chain reaction unfolded as not only the disease breath ignited, but the monster's insides did as well. The beam pierced its body completely, and in a sudden burst of energy, the Lindwurm erupted into flames.

The explosion rocked the glade. Roland flinched, not from fear but from sheer surprise. Bits of charred mushroom flesh and burning scale rained from the sky, some pieces striking the containment dome before fizzling out. The thick, spore-filled air had ignited like paper soaked in oil. Where the Lindwurm once slithered, only a blackened crater remained.

"...I didn’t expect that to happen."

He couldn’t tell whether it was a stroke of luck or if his equipment was simply far more powerful than he had realized. In the Albrook dungeon, he had used divine energy to deal with skeletons and assumed the monsters were just unusually weak. This lesser dragon, however, had been several levels above him and quite large. Yet now, it was reduced to ash before his eyes. All that remained was its mana stone and a few scorched internal organs. Which he wasn’t sure he even wanted to take with him.

"I suppose this is the drawback of burning plant monsters. Not much is left to collect."

At least when he had defeated the Wurms, he was able to retrieve their claws, eyes, and even hearts. This fungal creature had been incinerated so thoroughly that anything valuable was either destroyed or still burning. ȐάΝÒВĚʂ

Though he hadn’t gained much beyond the mana stone, Roland felt no frustration. His main goal was still to train and increase his level. If he could take down monstrosities like this with a single well-placed beam, then this was a rare opportunity. Even better, more monsters were already approaching his position, and he had enough time to set himself up for another strike.

‘Hah… maybe this will be a lot easier than I expected!”

Roland didn’t have long to enjoy his unexpected success. The burning remains of the Lindwurm acted like a signal flare in the night. While the smoke and flames couldn’t escape the barrier his golems maintained, the creatures inside it could still see them. Soon, movement appeared on his display, accompanied by a chorus of similar roars from the distance.

“I guess I won’t have to go find them myself after all.”

With a quiet chuckle, he got ready. Most people would have been terrified by the unknown nature of the dungeon, but Roland wasn’t like most people. Surrounded by sensors and supported by flying golems feeding him live footage, he felt in control. He immediately turned to the east, preparing for the next encounter. Moments later, the trees began to shift as another lesser dragon appeared.

The pattern repeated itself. The monster charged at him just like the last one. Roland waited for the right moment, and when the creature unleashed its breath attack, he countered with a focused beam of flame energy. The result was immediate and explosive. A second blast tore through the glade, leaving another scorched Lindwurm corpse behind.

Despite having defeated two monsters at higher levels than his own, he still didn’t gain a full level. This was the harsh reality of high-level advancement and the reason so few ever reached tier four. Real progress only came from regularly defeating foes far stronger than oneself, something most people who valued their lives refused to do. For Roland, however, who always acted with a plan and sought power to protect himself and those he cared about, this was more than acceptable.

The next few hours passed in a blur of roaring fire, toxic spores, and shattered fungi-scaled bodies. They kept coming, and he continued to blast them to pieces. The slaughter went on through the entire night, and only when his rune beam emitter began to falter did Roland finally bring his nightly conquest to an end.

“Probably best not to leave it like this…”

When he was finished, he switched to his water-based runic armor. With it equipped, he summoned water to extinguish the lingering flames, then absorbed the resulting steam. Only after confirming that nothing could escape outside did he command his golems to retreat and return to hiding. With the hunt complete, Roland made his way back to his concealed shelter to perform some repairs and take a moment to rest.

“The mini spiders are doing well.”

While inside his hiding place, he looked at his console. There, he saw the ever-expanding range of his scanners. The floating golems were not the only ones he had deployed this time. As his rune condensing skills improved each day, creating smaller golems had become increasingly feasible. The spider golems he had sent out featured egg-shaped bodies with six nimble legs. Their purpose was to move through the area and hide themselves in various locations, and to act as signal magnifiers and sensors.

He was now beginning to slowly encroach on the human settlement located some distance away. One of his small spider units had just burrowed into the soil near the outskirts of the town. The blacksmith he had rescued had also provided him with the settlement’s name: Dragon Valley Settlement. It wasn’t a proper name for a true town, but this wasn’t a proper town either. There were no farms nearby, and most of the inhabitants were adventurers or people who supported them.

“I should take it slow, I can’t risk being found out now.”

The current leader of the settlement was a powerful adventurer and a member of a Mithril-ranked team. Roland had gathered some of their names already, but the blacksmith had not been a reliable source when it came to their actual strengths. Instead, Roland had tasked his agents with collecting records and information on them.

"Now then, back to work."

After completing some repairs, he was ready to head out again. The flame beam had proven highly effective against the monsters, but it consumed his mana reserves at an alarming rate. It had been designed as a finishing move to end battles quickly, not as a weapon to be fired continuously. Even so, it remained his most effective tool against the spore-filled lesser dragons.

Once he was certain that no adventurers were approaching, he resumed the grind. As the next day began beneath the dungeon’s artificial sky, Roland stood once more in the scorched glade. The monster corpses had vanished, but the vegetation had yet to fully recover. The dungeon’s healing process appeared much slower when it came to the environment, but he assumed that within two or three days, all traces of the battle would be gone.

Another roar echoed in the distance, and he returned to his task. The flaming inferno of his armor blazed against the monsters that remained, and with each victory, his level steadily increased. Every defeated foe brought him closer to the milestone he had been working toward, and now he was just one level away from reaching the midpoint he so eagerly anticipated.

"Is this something like an area boss?"

One last creature stood in his way. This dragon was a head taller than any of the Lindwurms he had encountered so far. A strange purplish miasma drifted from its body, and the air around it was thick with spores. To make matters worse, the mist appeared to have a resistance to flame. Even when surrounded by his burning aura, the spores in the area did not fully burn.

"Lesser effectiveness, but it should still be enough..."

It was clear that this rarer variant would not be defeated as easily. Even though his level had now reached two hundred twenty-four, the monster still outleveled him by more than ten. Its stat multiplier was likely higher than that of the drachinids he had fought earlier. Even so, tougher opponents brought greater rewards, and Roland was certain that this creature would grant him the final experience points he needed to reach his goal.

Thus, just like with the previous monsters, he aimed to strike once the creature used its breath attack. The Lindwurm opened its maw and released a stream of purplish miasma. When the moment was right, Roland fired his beam of condensed flame. This time, however, the result was different. Although the attack connected just as it had with the other lesser dragons, there was no explosion afterward.

"It's not generating the same reaction..."

He had somewhat expected this outcome the moment he noticed that some of the spores were not burning completely. The monster’s internal structure wasn’t as flammable as he had hoped. It was now clear that he would have to defeat it in a more traditional way.

Roland quickly shifted to the side as the monster charged, narrowly avoiding a swipe from one of its massive clawed hands. Moments later, he launched his counterattack. His flame armor had been designed to support close-quarters combat through the use of his fists. As soon as the monster's flank was exposed, he stepped in and delivered a swift right hook, his fist engulfed in searing flame energy.

A booming sound echoed as his fist struck the monster’s scaly hide. The tough scales cracked under the force, and fire surged through the gaps, causing the Lindwurm to howl in fury. Some of the purplish spores and mushrooms covering its body were engulfed in flames and burned away, but the battle was far from over.

The monster lunged again, using its front limbs as its primary weapons. Roland moved like a seasoned boxer, bobbing and weaving around each massive swipe. He countered every time an opening revealed itself. Charred holes began to spread across the creature’s body as his attacks landed with increasing precision.

Finally, one last flame-covered fist struck the Lindwurm’s jaw with crushing force, ending its life and sending it into the afterlife. The beast collapsed with a resonating thud, smoke trailing from its cracked scales and scorched fungus flesh. Roland stood over it, panting lightly, the flames cloaking his armor beginning to flicker. The high-tier Lindwurm twitched once, then fell still. The purplish miasma that had stubbornly resisted his flames began to dissipate at last, no longer sustained by the monster’s life force.

What he had been waiting for had finally arrived. He had reached level two hundred twenty-five. Most people would have been able to reach level fifty with their first tier-three class by the time they hit level two hundred. This was one of the downsides of the path he had chosen, and it had become apparent. Even so, with the dungeon offering such high-level monsters, he was confident he had made the right decision.

"Now then... this better be good."

"Oh? Two skills?"

To Roland’s surprise and delight, he had not gained just one skill but two. He quickly scanned their descriptions and couldn’t help grinning beneath his helmet. If the information was accurate, then one of his major concerns for the upcoming mission had just been resolved.