As they proceed further, they encountered icicles jutting out of the ground and ceiling. It was not weird seeing icicles from the ceiling, but how did it form one jutting out of the ground? Jack touched the icicle and felt its cold. The surrounding was hot, but these icicles didn't melt at all. They were also very sturdy. Jack hacked at them but there was no scratch.
They continued to encounter more Snow Minotaurs. Samuel made short work on them. Their level seemed to increase the deeper they went. The minotaurs that came out now were mostly level 36 and 37.
At one point, their path was blocked by icicles that were lined up so tightly that they formed a wall.
"Is there another way?" Jack asked Kirsi.
"Yes," Kirsi took them into another tunnel.
They soon came out into an extremely huge cavern hall. Jack looked up and saw the ceiling was so high that the little light from his illumination spell couldn't reach it.
"Careful to not get lost," Kirsi warned. "This cavern hall is the size of a village. Without any lightings, it will be difficult to determine direction. The fire mana site is at the center."
They continued onwards but were soon stopped by another wall of upward icicles. They had to walk along the icicle wall until they found an opening. They went past this opening and saw more icicle walls stretching out into multiple paths.
"We should be going in that direction," Kirsi said.
They took the path pointing in that direction but were soon blocked again by icicle walls. They had to move sideways until they found an opening before continuing. But after a while, even Kirsy seemed to have lost direction. Everything was dark far away, there was no reference point they could use. They were not sure if they were still facing the right direction.
"Damn, this place is an icicle maze," Jack said after looking at the icicle walls set up. There were just too many turnings.
Snow Minotaurs continued to come at them while they navigate through the maze.
"Minotaur and maze, how very mythological," Jack commented. At this time, he noticed a large dark red dot at the edge of his radar. That should be the level 45 rare elite monster they were targeting.
"This way!" Jack said as he pointed to a path. Since Kirsi had lost direction, she didn't protest Jack's decision to head that way. Jack used the large red dot as a reference point while they continued to navigate through the maze.
Jack also saw several common red dots around. Those should be the Snow Minotaurs. If he was in the vicinity, he would try his best to approach these minotaurs and took them out. He preferred to deal with the boss alone. It would complicate matters if it could call these minotaurs for assist.
As they got closer to the large dark red dot, the number of icicle walls decreased. They soon reached an exit that opened up to a large empty space. No icicle walls there. A mound that looked like a miniature volcano was at the space's center.
Jack and the others didn't immediately rush out. They hid behind the last icicle wall and studied the situation. There was a large creature covered by ice crouching over the top of the mound. Its four limbs were on the ground as its extremely large mouth was opened and a stream of fire was sucked into it. They could see rather clearly at this place because a lot of lightings surrounding a strange metal contraption high above the mound were still functioning.
'It is a fire eater,' Peniel sounded inside Jack's mind.
'That monster's name is Fire Eater?' Jack asked, at the same time he used Inspect.
Ice Demon Spawn (Rare elite monster, Demon), level 47
HP: 490,000
Demon. This was the first time he met a monster categorized as a demon. But level 47? It was higher than what Haestus informed. Jack guessed this monster should be similar to the Ice Troll Sentinel from the past. That monster also grew in level as it absorbed the ice mana site's energy.
'No, that's just its nickname,' Peniel answered. 'It is an Ice Demon Spawn. It was called a fire eater because of its habit to eat flames. It particularly enjoyed hanging around places with thick fire elements, like this place. Once it finished sucking up the fire element of this place, it will become an icy wasteland.'
'No wonder all this icicle, this is its doing?'
'Yes. It was some sort of protection to hinder others from disturbing it during its feeding process.'
'Does it possess any weaknesses? I assume it will be highly resistant to both ice and fire attacks.'
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'Resistant to ice, but not fire. It ate fire but that doesn't mean it is immune to it. Unless you send your fire attack into its mouth. Its other body parts were weak against fire.'
"How should we deal with it," Jack heard Samuel ask. Jack asked him to stay back first, he was still thinking.
'Does it have any special attacks?' Jack went back to discuss with Peniel.
'Oh? Aren't you usually like to just rush in and find out by yourself?' Peniel teased.
'This is the first time I will be deliberately engaging a rare elite with a level way higher level than me. The other times were mostly due to circumstances, I got no time to prepare.'
'I remembered you deliberately engage the Grim Sand Drake.'
'I deliberately lured the Grandmother Spider to engage the Grim Sand Drake. I never planned to fight the drake in the first place. Cut the crap now, do you know if this Ice Demon Spawn possessed any special skills?'
'Can't say for sure. Every monster above elite grade is similar to adventurers, they can possess skills unique to their own. Just like how you as a Warrior possessed skills to which The Man doesn't have, despite both of you being Warriors. This monster was also the same. I can tell you its standard skills, but I can't say for sure that it doesn't have other skills in its arsenal.'
'Tell me what you can.'
'Ice Demon Spawn had great strength and defense, especially its defense. Its icy scale is very hard to crack. Its speed, on the other hand, was not so outstanding, but it can activate a cold aura that reduces its opponents' speed. Unless you have high resistance to ice, your speed will most likely be reduced.'
'What else?'
'If it ever got cornered and is near a source of fire. It can eat the fire, like what it is doing at the moment, and heal itself.'
'Weaknesses?'
'Magical damage and any elemental attack except for ice. As I have said before, Its other body parts other than the mouth are weak to fire. In fact, its ice scale which served as its excellent defense will lose its effectiveness if hit by fire. It will then be more susceptible to physical damage.'
Jack considered what Peniel had told him. He then gestured for Samuel and Kirsi to follow him. He took them back into the maze, away from the Ice Demon Spawn.
"What's wrong? I thought we are supposed to fight that monster? Or are you having cold feet?" Kirsi asked with a disapproving tone.
"I admire your bravery, lady. Don't worry, we are not retreating. I just want to make sure we don't engage that monster without a plan. It is too strong," Jack said.
He then relayed the information that Peniel had given to the two.
"How do you know all this?" Kirsi asked. "I haven't even heard of an Ice Demon Spawn before, are you a high-ranking member of that famous scholar faction, Custodian of Knowledge?"
"You did display high knowledge of wilderness monsters during the expedition as well," Samuel added.
"Never mind all that. There is something I want to know. Haestus mentioned a machine that harness the fire mana site. Is it the one above that monster just now?"
When they were watching the Ice Demon Spawn. There was a metallic contraption hanging high up on the ceiling, directly above the fire mana site. It had the shape of a ring, with rune diagrams all over its surfaces.
"Yes, it is," Kirsi answered. "When activated, it siphoned a large amount of fire element up. There was a vertical tunnel on the ceiling directly above that machine. The fire element is delivered into this tunnel which then is distributed into the forges in the facility above."
"Can you activate it?" Jack asked.
"I can. The machine was under maintenance when that monster attack, but was in the last step already. I should be able to finish calibrating it in a short time. The control panel is beside the mound."
Jack considered his options. After a brief pondering, he took out two bottles of Holy Water and gave them to his two companions. "This water gives you 30% resistance to all status effects for two minutes. Samuel, you should drink it just before we engage the monster. It should protect you from the slow effect of its cold aura. Kirsi, you will engage from afar, you only need to drink it when I give you the signal to activate the fire siphoning machine."
"We are activating the machine? What for?" Kirsi asked.
"Here is what we will do…"