Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 242: Book 4: Chapter 7: It's Raining Fire

Read chapter 242 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 4: Chapter 7: It's Raining Fire Chapter 7 [You have entered: The Heart Forge Dungeon Floor 1 - Subdomain: Ore Mines Objective: Make it to the Inner Sanctum. ] The world snapped back together in a rush of heat and color. Alex stumbled forward and his boots pattered against glassed stone below him. The air hit like a forge blast with heat that was damn near high enough to sting the throat. He took a breath anyway as he looked about to gain his bearings. They stood in a small cave with various tunnels leading off seemingly in random directions. Veins of crimson crystal jutted from the walls deeper in the tunnels. In his [Aether-Sight] Alex could see their cores glowing with something that almost looked like liquid fire. Deeper behind the sheer rocks, there was the unmistakable concentration of fire aether that told him the existence of magma, which trickled in narrow channels through the rock, and out into the cave proper. The tiny magma stream fed into small pools that steamed and hissed where droplets splashed onto the stone. The scent of scorched iron and acrid sulfur filled the air. “Okay,” Garret said. “So this isn’t ominous at all.” Kate crouched and ran a hand just above one of the glowing magma pools in the floor. “Fire-aspected, obviously. The ambient aether density is high. I’d say even enough to cause spontaneous ignition if you draw too much at once.” Holly’s straight blade gleamed faintly as she drew it free from the sheath at her hip, the blade reflecting the magma light. “Meaning?” “Meaning,” Kate said, “if you overcharge a spell, the fire-aether concentration will try to compete against your own energy. If you fail to maintain control, it might blow up in your face.” “Noted.” Garret flicked his wrist, his weapon igniting in a ribbon of controlled flame. “Guess I’ll keep it simple.” Alex raised a brow at Garret’s display. Up until now, he hadn’t really shown much of the fire half of his aether attunement, mostly relying on his Earth spells. It appeared that all the time in the city had given him some inspiration. “Let’s move then, standard formation,” Alex said. They pushed through the dungeon preparation chamber and into one of the natural tunnels leading deeper in. The walls bore faint marks of construction and sentient work. Tool marks were spotted here and there rather easily, as well as collapsed scaffolding, melted metal supports, and even a few burned-out rune pylons. He eyed one of the crystals that poked from the wall. Obby kindly gave him a description of what he was looking at. “ Fire-attuned aether crystal. Like the basic stuff from the Kobold tunnels, but this is highly leaning towards the fire element, obviously. Good quality too, probably all of this is Adept tier material. ” Can we take any of it? Is it worth it? “ Yes on both accounts. It can be used for many things, weapon enchantments, explosives, and many other things. But I wouldn’t try to gather it if I were you. It’s volatile and takes careful hands and lots of training to mine it out safely. And you don’t have time for that anyway.” Damn. “ Indeed, you know I love a good explosion.” Alex let the idea of gathering up some crystals die and instead continued to lead them through the tunnel. The further they went, the hotter the air seemed to grow. The heat didn’t bother him, not like it should. If anything, it felt comfortable. Something he figured was due to his old, latent aether attunement. The others didn’t feel the same, though. “Feels like being inside a forge,” Cole whined. “Or the mouth of a damn drake,” Garret added. Alex nodded toward the next archway ahead of them, where the stone opened into a massive cavern beyond. “Just push through for now. And keep your eyes open. Whatever is causing that instability in the Dungeon is probably deeper in.” They stepped into the open space and the scale of the Dungeon they had entered hit Alex all at once. The tunnel there were just end came to a cliffside that dropped down below into a giant