Chapter 552: Violet Rose
[You have entered the Dynamic Field Dungeon <Violet Rose Brush>]
Sylas didn't turn back to the closing path, mostly because he didn't have the luxury. The moment he entered, a slicing wind almost cut into his cheek.
He reacted fast, his hand snatching out at the air and snagging the thorned vine.
He could feel its thorns try to extend into his palms, but it couldn't make it through the Scorned Wraps.
'It's more aggressive than I thought it would be...'
A Dynamic Field Dungeon wouldn't necessarily have a BOSS like the Woodland Spider Queen. Instead, the main challenge here was the environment itself.
But therein lay an obvious question. If the enemy was the landscape, then how could you defeat it?
The answer was ironically just as obvious...
You didn't.
A Dynamic Field Dungeon would be a danger zone where you would be highly likely to lose your life, but it was also a place of opportunity.
Those that could find those opportunities would benefit, while others would end up dying.
This Dynamic Field Dungeon's current opportunity was the Dungeon hidden deep within it. This made it much more troublesome because the Dynamic Field Dungeon itself fed off of the constant pool of Aether being pumped into the region.
The good news was that beasts didn't dare to come nearby thanks to the poison fog. Even the poisonous ones with good immunity couldn't last very long.
But the bad news was that this had allowed the Dynamic Field Dungeon free reign to do as it pleased.
Sylas twisted his wrist and snapped the vine off, causing toxic juices to splash everywhere. 'These vines aren't very powerful. I could break them with my current sub-300 Strength. The toxicity is definitely the greatest issue, but the Poison Runes here are just shy of 40 Foundations, just like the Woodland Spider Queen. It isn't a problem.'
The poison fog couldn't even approach Sylas. His Poison Affinity had taken another tick up after his Class upgrade, and he had touched the edges of Rune Spark.
They couldn't harm him.
He walked forward, pushing his way through.
As he did so, the vines became more aggressive. But every time he snapped a vine, it seemed to become more docile and fearful.
Sylas couldn't help but wonder if this was an example of vegetation gaining consciousness. It seemed impossible, but he had seen a lot of impossible things in this world already.
'The Dungeon is quite deep.'
It took Sylas half an hour before he got to the likely location of the Dungeon, but he found that it was completely wrapped in a cocoon.
Near the outside, only the wooden flowers were violet. But here, the entire vine was, and it was dripping with a toxic smell that made his nose tingle. It almost smelled like septic wash, a dense mix of chemicals.
Sylas could tell with a glance that these vines were definitely tougher than the others, and they also had a much tougher poison.
'52 Foundations...'
Sylas was surprised. This was about the best he could do before he gained Mancer's Blossom. Had he come here before, he would have truly been helpless.
Suddenly, one of the violet vines shot for him.
Sylas thought about rolling to the side, but he dismissed the thought and tried to catch the vine out of the air again.
SHIIII!
The vine ripped into his hand and burst right through. His grip was too weak to keep it in place.
He ducked his head to the side, but a cut was still sliced across his cheek.
A stinging, bubbling pain poured through him, and he could feel that his wound wanted to fester already.
The ground wiggled around him as the violet color began to spread. The Dynamic Field Dungeon was pouring more effort into killing him.
It diverted Aether away from its long-term growth to its immediate strength, feeling threatened.
'It really is acting like a living organism. It probably doesn't want me to enter the Dungeon because if I clear it, its source of Aether will disappear. It might even be hoping that there's a Dungeon Break...'
Sylas forced the poison out of his cheek with one thought and stamped down with a foot with another, stopping a vine from piercing through his lower body.
He activated <Phoenix's Embrace>, his short burst movement accelerating as he ducked and dodged, ripping vines out and squashing them when he could.
At a moment like this, he really lamented not being able to use a weapon. Having to fight an enemy like this one without a blade was a nightmare.
However, his movements became sharper and sharper.
The attacks were only coming from one direction, and even when they came from the back, the vines had to slither underground first.
It was clear the main body of the Dynamic Field Dungeon was ahead of him and nearer to the
Dungeon.
However, he wasn't interested in finding it... at least not just yet.
He needed the Dynamic Field Dungeon to stick around for longer, and taking it out
completely wasn't necessarily going to be all that easy either.
Finally, he reached the body of the cocoon. All the while, the Dynamic Field Dungeon had been reluctant to pull vines away from this main body.
It was only when he got close that it couldn't hold back anymore, lashing out.
Sylas was ready. The illusory red-gold wings on his back flapped once, and he flashed to the
side.
Taking advantage of the opening in the poison cocoon, he grabbed the vine that had just jetted out and pulled himself forward, slamming down a foot on the bottom of the narrow entrance and ripping the hole open larger.
His jaw set as the pain of the sole of his feet being ripped through set in, but he didn't stop his actions for even a moment.
There was only a small window to take advantage of, and that was exactly what he did.
Leaping through the hole and into the Dungeon.