SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God-Chapter 96: Temple of the Flame Lords

Damon, Kate and Mark appeared inside the dungeon. The moment the blue dungeon portal swirls vanished behind them, they were met by searing waves of heat and a system message:

[Dungeon Activated – Temple of the Flame Lords (30-Player Raid)]

[Environmental Hazard: Extreme Heat]

[Warning! Number of players insufficient]

Damon casually swiped the notifications away and looked at the two next to him. "How are you guys doing?"

Mark nodded.

"No problem." Kate as well seemed relaxed as she looked around.

Damon smirked. "Alright then. No complaints, no excuses." He stepped forward, his boots crunching against the scorched stone floor. "Let’s get going. Maybe we can set a record."

Without another word, he dashed forward into the temple ruins. The first wave of enemies emerged almost instantly, magma hounds, their bodies pulsing with embers, eyes burning like coals.

There were at least a dozen of them, each dripping liquid fire from their jaws. A normal party would have fanned out, formed ranks, and prepared for a drawn-out clash.

Damon didn’t bother.

In the next instant, he appeared in the center of the pack, cloak fluttering. With a savage spin, he cast [Blood Lance], impaling three hounds in a single explosive arc, each one erupting in a geyser of scalding blood and vaporized magma.

Before they dropped dead, he immediately activated Lesser Blood Magic and quickly absorbed their blood essence. Immediately three notifications popped up.

[Ding! You have gained a new skill: Fire Resistance (D-Rank, Passive)]

[Effect: Reduces fire-based damage by 5%. Duration: Permanent. Can evolve with continued exposure.]

[Ding! You have gained +1 Fire Affinity]

Damon grinned, "Perfect".

Behind him, Mark leapt into the fray like a living siege engine. His fist collided with the ground, and a pulse of concussive force exploded outward, launching magma hounds into the air like ragdolls. The runes on his arms blazed like fire-forged circuits as each of his movements turned into shockwave of destruction.

The beasts that dared get close were flattened instantly, their bodies caving like brittle clay under his strikes.

Damon’s face twitched. "You are still level 1, aren’t you?"

Kate followed at a calm walk, as if she had all the time in the world. The six globes around her spun into position above her head. With a flick of her fingers, she channeled [Blood Nova], and the orbs burst outward into rings of crimson light.

Wherever they touched the magma hounds, flesh hissed and sizzled as the beasts shrieked and turned to ash. Their essence swirled back into her, feeding her passive regeneration and spellpower reservoir.

Within moments, the hallway fell silent again.

Damon could only laugh bitterly at this. He was worried that the 30-player raid dungeon might be a bit much for the two beginners but it looked like he was overthinking for no reason. frёewebηovel.cѳm

"You both are truly monsters!" He laughed and wiped the sweat off his face. The heat was getting to him. "Okay. Looks like we can crank up our speed a lot more. We need to bum rush this bitch. Let’s do the run as fast as possible. I am leaving you guys on your own. All good?"

Kate gave a slow, satisfied smirk as she adjusted her grip on the staff. "All good on my side," she said. "But are you fine? You look like you are sweating a bit too much. Just don’t complain later when you can’t keep up."

Damon’s face twitched but he ignored her teasing.

Mark rolled his shoulders with a sound like boulders grinding together. "Go. We’ll catch up. Or clean up after you."

Damon grinned. "Copy that."

Without another word, he surged ahead, vanishing into the hallway in a blur of [Shadowstep]. There were three paths ahead of them and Damon took the most difficult and most time-consuming central path which also had the most number of mobs.

Behind him, Mark took the right most path and Kate took the left most path. There were some tricks to this path but Damon did not warn the two beforehand. If he wanted to train them properly in combat, then it was important for them to go through these things without a lot of help.

Otherwise, they would just be brainless overpowered noobs. Sometimes helping too much was also harmful.

The moment Damon turned the first corner in his path, three massive Flameborn Berserkers rose from molten runes carved into the stone floor, each of them towering twice his height, wielding axes that dripped fire like venom.

[Ding! Elite Encounter – Flameborn Triad]

[Warning: Aggro range enhanced in heat zones]

"Let’s dance." With a pulse of mana, [Shadow Clone] activated, creating a flickering double that immediately zipped to flank the leftmost berserker. Damon launched himself forward as [Blink] propelled him behind the center enemy mid-swing.

[Blood Cleave] tore across the berserker’s back, and in the same breath, Damon ducked under a cleaving counterattack, plunging both hands into the berserker’s body and activating [Lesser Blood Magic]. Crimson threads erupted from his fingers, sucking the essence directly from its body.

Naturally, it did not have much effect on the flameborns. These guys needed pure strength and perhaps a little of earth and water element type attacks. Damon’s skill repertoire in water element was very poor. He did have a couple of decent earth element attacks but they were also mostly lacking.

In the end it looked like he would have to simply rely on his raw strength to end this fight. With a sharp exhale, Damon activated [Innate Enhancement], his body pulsing with raw power as his muscles surged and his speed spiked.

The berserker on the left swung a molten greataxe toward his head, but Damon ducked low, shadows rippling off his cloak as he surged forward.

[Shadowstep] again.

He appeared above the center berserker mid-air, twisting in a tight spin as he punched forward. The sheer force sent the massive creature staggering backward, its armored boots dragging molten furrows into the scorched stone.

On the other side, Damon’s health dropped a chunk. A layer of blood energy covered his hands to protect them but it was no use. The direct contact with the flaming molten body was punishing to say the least.