Liam took out the other items he received from the dungeon. Apart from the pair of boots, there was also another ring and belt that had dropped and both had some fire resistance attributes.
He added these to his current gear but the required fire resistance was still far away. He neither had extra potions nor herbs to make more.
Liam looked at his inventory for anything that he could use and saw that he still had plenty of health potions left. "I guess I could always drink these and keep going?"
He thought about it for a moment and did not go along with it because health potions were always required for emergencies and it was not wise to use them during grinding.
Even if he planned to do that, then he needed to prepare more beforehand and only then use it. Otherwise, in case there was any unexpected emergency, he would be caught off guard and the result would be disastrous.
Either way, it looked like he needed to spend some time making potions. "Hmm… too bad the PVP tower is out of commission." Liam bitterly smiled and started to take out things to make more health potions.
He had more sets of herbs stored for making these so there wasn't any issue. The next couple of hours quietly passed with Liam silently busying himself with the potion-making.
Lyana observed this and became even more shocked. This mysterious person who had rescued them seemed to be holding many talents and secrets.
After making a few sets of potions, Liam then once again started the dungeon diving process. His goal was to get a few more fire resistance items and if possible the dungeon set because that would enable him to wander around this place easily without needing any other potion.
However, the grind was brutal. He ran the same dungeon ten more times and still there wasn't any other item drop. He had ten health potions still left which would last about twelve runs so Liam kept going.
With every run, the little fox also seemed to be doing better and better. One could now see her chest rise and fall as she seemed to be sleeping much more peacefully.
A couple more hours passed by when Liam once again ran out of potions. It looked like it was time to move on to another dungeon as this was becoming less efficient.
At the same time, Luna's condition was improving here so he was torn between the two options. If he could only use the stone tablet anywhere, his life would be a lot easier.
However, he neither had the mana cores for it nor there was any particular location nearby. There were only barren lands and beyond that dense forests for acres and acres.
Liam silently stared into the distance when suddenly something very obvious crossed his mind. What about the dungeon itself?
Dungeons were special places inside the game where mana was found in abundance and since the stone tablet required this sort of rich mana for its special functions, why not give this a try?
The more Liam thought about this, it made sense and he did not know why he didn't try this before. The solution to this problem could be something so simple and all the while right in front of his eyes?
He stood up and quickly dashed forward to the dungeon once again holding the little fox in his hand. "Come on. This needs to work."
Liam first completed the dungeon run, killing the final boss as he had every time before. He then settled on to the small rock at the center, taking out the stone tablet from his inventory space. He laid the inconspicuous stone tablet to rest on the ground.
One second passed. Two seconds passed. Nothing seemed to happen. Not even the usual garden popped out.
"Hmmm… Maybe this is a bad idea?"
Liam began doubting his theory when suddenly the lava surrounding the rocky platform at the center started bubbling slowly.
Soon the bubbles became intense as if the lava itself had started to boil. "Fuck! This whole thing is going to explode on my face?"
Liam hurriedly picked up Luna and prepared to leave but before he could a visible ripple emanated from the stone tablet. The next instant everything around them calmed down and surprisingly, the scenery also started changing.
In a second, Liam was no longer in the volcanic mountain. Instead, he was on barren cracked land that was somewhat similar to the outside and yet different.
"What is this?" Liam was utterly shocked. It was almost as if he was in another place. Till the eyes could see, this same barren cracked land extended indefinitely.
Only the stone tablet lay innocently some distance away. There was absolutely nothing else here. Maybe this was a version of the garden?
But Liam knew that it couldn't be so simple because the air around him pulsed with a strange energy. It prickled his skin like the summer heat.
"Luna?" Liam immediately panicked and checked the fox to see if she was okay when the sight that met him was once again shocking.
The small fox had an intoxicated expression on her face as if she had just eaten her fill and drank a few jugs of wine.
"You…" Liam helplessly smiled. It seemed that he was worried for no reason. The fox was doing just fine. Only he looked stranded and confused. "Just what is this place? Can I still make potions here?"
He looked around strolling for a while, keeping the stone tablet as his direction center but there was really nothing in this place. No pond. No trees. Only acres and acres of scorching hot barren empty land.
It was the complete opposite of the garden. He closed his eyes and thought of a few herbs and unfortunately, even those did not pop up as they did with the garden.
"I guess this is a bust after all?" Liam turned around to walk back to the stone tablet.
There was no point in staying here any longer and he knew that the space would disappear if he tossed the stone tablet back into his inventory space.
However, when he returned to the place, this time something was different. Near the stone tablet, a small puddle was formed if one could even call that. It was just a handful of water.
Liam curiously walked over closer to this puddle and peered into it. Almost immediately his eyes widened in shock, his lips slowly curling up into a grin.
Inside the puddle, visible clearly, were small wisps of fire essence. Golden reddish wisps were dancing in the water.
If he was right, then this puddle had to be some sort of special pond just like the one in the garden but with a concentrated amount of fire elemental essence.
He bent down and scooped some amount of water, dipping his hand inside the puddle. Just like he thought, something warm and nourishing swept across his body.
He waited for some notification like the one he received earlier but nothing like that came out. Nevertheless, he was sure that this was fire essence he was absorbing. He remembered the feeling and it was exactly the same.
"Just what is this place…"
Now that he had confirmed the presence of fire essence, slowly other things were also starting to fall into place and everything was becoming clearer.
The stone tablet in front of him was probably absorbing all the essence from the dungeon and slowly pooling it in this place. With time, perhaps there would be another big pond in this spot.
Did this mean if he took the tablet to a frozen dungeon or an earth dungeon then those essences could also be collected? There were so many possibilities he could think of.
Liam looked at the stone tablet in puzzlement. He was sure he still hadn't scratched even the surface of this treasure.
"Hmmm… Now that I think about this, if that old guy Crawford went crazy over this stone tablet, then it's definitely not something ordinary."
He wondered what surprise it would give him if he fully unlocked its potential, but all of those could wait. For now, there was something more important that he needed to do.
Liam gently placed the fox in his hand down into the puddle formed near the stone tablet.
He was ready to quickly lift her back up in case things looked worse but the fox cooed comfortably nuzzling her head in the waters like it was her mother's womb.
"Seems to be working?" Liam continued to observe the little thing and only then decided to let her be.
"So this place collects the essence and the dungeon also seems to be fueling the tablet. Why can't I make it grow herbs then?"
He suddenly had a thought and closed his eyes. He imagined a herb again but this time he imagined one herb that was rich in fire essence and grew only in an extreme atmosphere, specifically inside a volcano.
