Before the group could advance, they decided to see how well each of them could fare against the fire drakes. After Billy defeated the first, Icarus went ahead and dealt with the second, then Meryl, and Lucyna. Billy already knew that they had obtained one of the tier ten skills after defeating the manipulator, but only now did he saw which were them. Added to his speed, Icarus could now use Emotional Control. With each punch of his attacks, he could make the monsters lose the will to fight, even at level one, the skill was powerful in his hands.
Meryl and Lucyna obtained Speed Mode to increase their potential of causing damage as fast as possible. While that had been the smartest decision, Billy thought that they were too focused on that… instead of doing something that would help them or add extra power to their original skills, it felt like they were playing safe. In any case, all of them could defeat the monsters fast enough now. So, they began to move.
The interior of the dungeon was getting larger as they moved and it also felt that the temperature was increasing and the air thinning out. It wasn't a place normal people could say for long… they would probably pass out due to dehydration pretty soon. While Billy could do something about all that, he assumed that it was better to get used to it because things will only get harder as deep they go.
"Man…" Icarus said and then sighed. "This will be really tough…"
"You look fine, Billy…" Lucyna said. "Meryl as well…"
"There are many parts in this continent that are insanely hot," Meryl said. "I also hunted some monsters around an active volcano."
"I have trained in a fire dungeon before and I have equipment that caused me elemental damage for years to increase my elemental resistance," Billy said.
"I guess that is what they say: lose a bit now to gain in the future…" Lucyna said while feeling down. "This heat is really getting me."
Putting that aside, Billy sent his drones ahead to check the terrain, but since the level of mana was too high inside the dungeon, it made the lenses not work properly. So, Billy hade to make the drones really go deep into a path and almost hit the wall to confirm that it was a dead end.
As they advanced, they fought the monsters one on one to save their energy and Billy used that time to make some magic items and absorb their effects as fast as possible. Little by little, he could feel himself improving, but he wasn't satisfied with his progress. Moreover, there was some waste when Billy was working on that. If he made an item that granted Fire Resistance level ten, he was only gaining enough experience for five levels.
"Maybe it is because I am multitasking here…" Billy thought.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much Billy could do about that. Putting that aside, the group has to walk for five hours to find the entrance to the next level and they could tell that things would get even harder since Billy guided them to the direct path… using the direct path, they still wasted that much time.
"Let's keep moving without rest," Meryl said. "The heat is affecting our performance but we need to get used to it as soon as possible and get stronger while we are at it."
"Billy… can you make some items to counter this heat just a bit, please?" Icarus asked.
"Man… you sound so pathetic that I feel like punching you…" Billy said and then sighed. "Only one of my skills is helping me here against this heat and it is impossible for you guys to learn it. Still, I can use your mana to level up your Fire and Heat Resistance."
"You should have done that sooner…" Lucyna said.
"My bad, I didn't think that you guys could be so spineless," Billy said. "It seems that I overestimated your willpower."
"Don't cause more mental damage when this heat is already causing critical damage…" Icarus said.
Billy sighed and began to work on leveling up their skills. Since they were recovering more mana than they were using, it would be a waste not to use that mana. At first, Billy thought of checking if they could notice him stealing their experience from some skills, but that would be way too underhanded, so he gave up on it.
"Ah… this feels a lot better," Icarus said while showing an expression of pleasure, which forced Billy to kick him in the balls.
"Don't say such weird things while I am using my skill…" Billy said.
"Ah… my bad… ugh," Icarus said.
Billy proceeded to help Meryl and Lucyna and while they didn't say anything weird, they showed a look of relief when they felt the temperature decreasing. On the first levels, the skill could level up a lot, so its effects were really noticeable, but they soon will get used to it and complain again.
Regardless, once they reached the next floor, the group saw two fire drakes emerging from the ground. Everyone sighed, but they sighed while raising their guard… Billy used Fierce Aura and then Light Spear for a moment, and then his attack pierced the head of one of the monsters and killed it, while Icarus suddenly approached and then punched the monster's head until the skull had been turned into almost dust.
"Are you trying to show off or something?" Billy asked. "Why don't you target the softer areas?"
"If I do that, then I will dirty myself with the blood and guts," Icarus said. "That will damage my equipment and weapons.
Aren't you fast enough to avoid that? That was what Billy wanted to ask, but he decided to stay quiet. Such a place wasn't the best to start an argument. In any case, they had to split in teams to deal with the enemies now… even though all of them were fine at fighting those two monsters at the same time, it would be best to save as much energy as possible.
