The moment Kael stepped through the doorway to Floor 3, he knew something was fundamentally different about this level. The temperature hit him like a physical force—scorching heat that made the air shimmer and distort. The stone walls glowed with a dull red light, radiating warmth that suggested they were barely containing something much hotter below.
[ENTERING FLOOR 3: The Forge of Elements][Environmental Hazard: Extreme Heat - Health drain of 5 HP per minute without protection][New Enemy Type Detected: Elemental Constructs][Recommended Strategy: Speed over caution - prolonged exposure dangerous]
Kael activated Void Armor immediately, layering it thick enough to insulate him from the worst of the heat. It wouldn't last forever—maintaining the armor constantly would drain his Void Energy—but it would buy him time.
[Void Energy: 285/315 - Armor active]
The floor's layout was different from the previous two. Instead of tunnels or chambers, he found himself on a narrow stone bridge spanning a massive chasm. Below, he could see rivers of molten stone—actual lava, glowing orange-white with heat that he could feel even from fifty feet up.
And the monsters here weren't made of cold stone. They were living fire given form.
The first one rose from the lava below—a humanoid figure composed entirely of flames, its body constantly shifting and flickering. It climbed onto the bridge with hands that left scorch marks on the stone.
[Fire Elemental - Basic][Level: 15][HP: 250/250][Immune to: Fire, Heat][Weakness: Cold, Void energy, Water][Special: Burns anything it touches for 20 damage per second]
The elemental didn't charge like the golems or ambush like the spiders. It moved with eerie grace, fire crackling around its form, and when it attacked, it shot bolts of pure flame from its hands.
Kael dodged the first blast, feeling the heat as it passed inches from his face. He couldn't let those flames touch him—even with Void Armor, sustained fire damage would overwhelm his defenses.
He created a Void spear and hurled it like a javelin. The weapon struck the elemental's chest and detonated, Void energy and fire magic annihilating each other in a spectacular explosion.
[Fire Elemental defeated][+75 EXP]
But more were rising from the lava below. Dozens of them, climbing onto the bridge from both sides, surrounding him.
Kael ran.
There was no glory in standing and fighting when outnumbered this badly. He sprinted across the bridge, dodging fire blasts, his enhanced Agility allowing him to weave between attacks that should have been impossible to avoid.
Three elementals blocked his path ahead. Kael used Void Step to teleport past them, appearing on the other side before they could react. More fire blasts struck the space he'd occupied a second before.
[Void Energy: 265/315]
The bridge extended for what felt like miles, spanning the massive lava-filled chasm. Every fifty meters or so, Kael encountered clusters of fire elementals that forced him to fight or use expensive abilities to bypass.
But running constantly in this heat was exhausting. Even with Void Armor protection, he could feel his stamina draining, his muscles growing heavy.
[Health: 485/510 - Heat exhaustion setting in]
Finally, after what felt like forever, the bridge reached the far side of the chasm. Kael stumbled onto solid ground, breathing hard, his clothes soaked with sweat despite the magical cooling from his armor.
But there was no time to rest. The floor boss was waiting.
It stood in a circular arena carved from black stone that somehow resisted the ambient heat. The boss wasn't a simple fire elemental—it was something much worse.
A hybrid. Half stone golem, half living flame. Its body was made of obsidian-like rock that glowed from within with barely-contained fire. Cracks covered its surface, each one leaking flames. It stood twelve feet tall with arms like tree trunks and a head that was just a mass of roaring fire.
[Magma Titan - Floor Boss][Level: 18][HP: 1500/1500][Combines physical power of golems with elemental fire attacks][Special Ability: Eruption - AOE attack that covers entire arena][Warning: Defeat quickly or environmental damage will overwhelm you]
Level 18. Two levels higher than Kael. This would be the toughest fight yet.
The Magma Titan didn't wait for him to prepare. It slammed one massive fist into the ground, and cracks spread across the arena floor. From those cracks, pillars of fire erupted upward, forcing Kael to dodge constantly just to avoid being incinerated.
Kael tried to close the distance, but the Titan unleashed a wave of liquid fire that swept across the arena like a tsunami. He used Void Step to teleport above it, creating a Void platform in mid-air to land on—a technique he'd developed during the spider fights.
[Void Energy: 245/315]
From his elevated position, Kael rained Void weapons down on the Titan—spears, arrows, blades, all formed from condensed entropy. They struck the boss's glowing body, and where they hit, the fire dimmed slightly, the stone cooled and cracked.
But it wasn't enough. The Titan's health barely budged.
[Magma Titan HP: 1420/1500]
The boss roared, a sound like an avalanche mixed with a forest fire. It punched upward, sending a pillar of flame toward Kael's platform. He teleported away just before the fire consumed where he'd been standing.
Back on the ground, Kael switched tactics. Instead of many small attacks, he needed one devastating strike. Something that could punch through the Titan's defenses and deal serious damage.
He started channeling Void energy, compressing it, shaping it into something new. Not a weapon, but a technique. He combined elements of Void Siphon's energy drain with Void Singularity's gravitational crush, creating something hybrid.
[New Technique Developing: Void Lance][High-penetration, single-target attack]
The Magma Titan charged, the ground shaking with each step. Kael held his position, still channeling, compressing more and more Void energy into a single point.
[Void Energy: 195/315... 145/315... 95/315]
The Titan was ten feet away. Five feet. Kael could feel the heat from its body, smell the sulfur and burning stone.
He released.
A lance of pure Void energy, thin as a needle but dense as a collapsed star, shot forward. It pierced through the Titan's chest, through the layers of stone and fire, directly into its core.
The boss froze. Its flames flickered once, twice, then exploded outward in a massive detonation that consumed the entire arena.
Kael activated Void Armor at maximum strength, layering it multiple times, and braced for impact.
[Void Energy: 15/315 - CRITICAL]
The explosion hit him like a hammer. Heat and force and pain all at once. His armor shattered under the assault, and the blast sent him flying backward to crash against the arena wall.
[Health: 235/510][Critical damage sustained][Burns: Severe]
But when the flames cleared, the Magma Titan was dead. Its body had collapsed into rubble and cooling lava.
[Magma Titan defeated][+600 EXP][Floor 3 Complete!][Loot: Titan's Heart (Legendary crafting material), 500 Gold, Fire Resistance Tome]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 17][LEVEL UP! You are now Level 18]
[All attributes increased by 6][Health restored: 570/570][Void Energy restored: 360/360]
Kael lay on the ground, gasping for air, as the level-ups healed his burns and restored his strength. Two levels at once. The massive experience from the boss fight combined with all the elementals he'd killed reaching it.
Level 18. The same level Vorcen had been when Kael killed him just two days ago.
He was growing stronger at an impossible rate.
But there were still two more floors. Two more bosses. And if the pattern held, the final boss on Floor 5 would be Level 20 or higher.
Kael pulled himself to his feet, used one of his precious healing potions to make sure all the damage was fully repaired, and checked his status.
[Current Status]Level: 18 Health: 570/570 Void Energy: 360/360 Condition: Tired but functional
He found another safe room beyond the arena and rested again, eating more rations and drinking from the fountain. The communication crystal pulsed three times—Lyra's signal asking if he was okay after the longer-than-expected silence.
He activated it briefly in response. Still alive. Still progressing.
Two more floors. The end was in sight.
But Kael had a feeling the worst was yet to come.