"Is that a salamander?" Max asked, his eyes gazing at the big reptile-like monster bathing in the lava pool.
"Seems like it," Alice nodded.
"Hmmm." Max pondered as he examined the boss chamber. It was a circular hall supported by five pillars. In the middle lay a lava pool, where a salamander with dark skin was swimming, unaware of the hunters who had come to hunt it.
"So, what should it be?" Max asked, looking at Alice. "Should I kill it with one powerful hit, or will it be you two who will handle the salamander?"
"Kill it in one hit?" Alice scoffed. "A salamander possesses very thick skin. It should be impossible to even injure it without continuous attacks from a party of level 10 Novice Ranks. And you think you can kill it in one hit?"
Max liked the challenge in her eyes. "What if I kill it in one move? Then what are you going to do?" he asked teasingly.
"You simply can't do that." Alice didn't believe it and said with a flustered expression, "If you can indeed kill the salamander in one hit, then after you enter and settle in our guild, I will be your guide to various features of our guild." She said this, though she didn't believe for a second that Max could kill the salamander in one hit.
"Haha. Good, I like your condition." Max chuckled. "Then watch closely."
He aimed at the salamander with his index finger, and almost instantly, a small blue ball of light formed at the tip of his finger.
'That bullet, or whatever the skill is, definitely couldn't penetrate the salamander's skin,' Alice thought secretly.
However, just at that moment, the small blue ball of light began to glow more brightly, and its size began to increase little by little.
As the size increased, the aura from the blue ball of light became deadlier with each passing second. Even Alice could feel the aura emanating from the blue ball, which was very threatening.
'This! What did he do? How did he do this? What skill is this?' Alice was completely stunned as she saw the football-sized blue ball float at the tip of Max's finger. The aura it released was enough to even threaten her. She felt as if she were facing an attack so powerful that unless she used her forbidden move, she wouldn't survive.
Just at that moment, the size of the blue ball shrunk to the size of an actual bullet, shining brightly amidst the dim dungeon.
"GRRRR!"
The salamander also sensed the aura from Max's finger, but it was too late.
"VWOOSH!"
Like a blue laser light, the bullet zoomed in on the salamander, tearing a gaping hole through it and colliding with the other side of the boss room wall.
BANG!
A big explosion occurred as the bullet collided with the boss room wall, sending a shockwave throughout the boss room.
But only a moment later, calmness returned to the boss chamber as if nothing had happened, as the explosion died down.
"What was that?" Alice asked, but then she shook her head. "Wait, you don't have to tell me. I've been asking you this question so many times since we met... though it's all your fault for that."
Max chuckled. "Just don't forget the bet."
Alice sneered. "We'll see that after you enter the guild."
Max nodded, smiling, before turning to the salamander corpse, whose body began to glow with red light before disappearing, leaving behind a bunch of items.
"If there's a skill that dropped, then I want it," Max said before dashing toward the lava pool.
"Yeah, you can take whatever you want," Alice said casually. After she had gotten what she was here for, she didn't have any interest in this dungeon.
"Good." Max saw a bunch of items fallen on the floor beside the lava pool. It was then that his eyes spotted the one thing he had been looking for—a skill scroll.
He took the skill in hand and inspected it.
[Infernal Coating, Uncommon Rank]
"Uncommon rank..." Max smiled and immediately learned the skill.
After that, he went ahead and took all the items on the floor. 'I will make some big money after I get out of the dungeon,' Max daydreamed about being rich as he collected all the items.
"All done. Now we can leave this dungeon," Max arrived before the two ladies, ready to depart.
"What's with that disgusting expression when you were collecting the items?" Alice asked with an ugly face.
"I was just happy thinking I would be getting rich now," Max said, smiling at her as they walked toward the door.
"I see." Alice nodded while thinking about how poor Max must be, that just with these things, he thought he would become rich.
Soon, they touched the door and appeared at the canyon outside the boss chamber.
A blue portal waited for them there.
"Let's leave then," Max said, turning to Alice.
Alice nodded, but her expression turned solemn. "I don't know who sent the Bouncer Squad to kill me, but since I live and they are dead, whoever sent them will try to assassinate me again. So, outside, it would be better if you act like you don't know me; otherwise, it might get you into some big trouble."
Max pondered over her words and nodded. He definitely didn't want to become a target of some powerful guilds when he was this weak.
"Alright, I'll do as you say," he said to her.
"Good, I will wait for you at the guild," Alice said, giving him a very warm smile before she went into the portal with Amy, disappearing before Max's eyes.
Max stood there for a moment blankly. "No, what is it with me? I am just fifteen. I shouldn't get entangled in this type of thing." He hammered his head lightly and sighed.
Shaking his head, he went into the portal and disappeared from the dungeon.
---
Appearing outside of the dungeon, Max breathed in the fresh air as the cool wind brushed against his face, making him feel relaxed. The hot air and the temperature in the Burning Wilds dungeon had been too much for a weak soul like him.
However, he noticed something different when he paid attention to the crowd before him. He saw many drones with microphones flying over the large crowd, questioning every individual who came from the portal.
Max saw the situation and immediately understood it might be because of their late clearance of the dungeon.
'It will be even more chaos when the Bouncer Squad doesn't come outside,' he mused as he slipped through the crowd, ignoring the constant questioning from the drones.
"Can you please report what happened inside the dungeon?"
"Please tell us what happened?"
"If you don't mind..."
After fighting through the crowd, Max finally came outside, where he saw Alice and Amy with the old man they had come with. He heard them talking about something.
Max turned away from them and looked towards the portal, noticing more and more people were coming out.
'I should leave before the chaos breaks out,' Max decided, heading out from the Burning Wilds dungeon area.
However, he hadn't gone far when a loud voice reached everyone's ears who had gathered before the Burning Wilds dungeon.
"Those who have just come out of the Burning Wilds dungeon, you are all ordered to wait by the Lionheart Guild. If anyone is seen disobeying the order, there shall be various consequences."