After walking for nearly ten minutes, the Spirit Wolf suddenly stopped.
It looked toward a nearby tunnel and let out a low growl.
Ryan immediately became alert.
A moment later, several monsters crawled out.
They were large black lizards with sharp claws and glowing red eyes.
Black Cave Lizard
Level: 42
"There they are."
Ryan didn’t move.
Instead, he looked at the Orc Shaman Chief.
"You take command."
The Orc Shaman Chief nodded.
It raised its staff and pointed toward the monsters.
The Spirit Wolf immediately rushed forward.
Its body became a blur as it slammed into the first Black Cave Lizard, knocking it backward.
At the same time, the Spirit Serpent circled around the monsters, preventing them from escaping.
The Orc Shaman Chief remained behind and began casting support spells.
A faint green light landed on Blizzy, increasing its movement speed.
"Go."
Blizzy nodded and charged forward.
The little polar bear opened its mouth and released a stream of freezing air.
The nearest Black Cave Lizard was immediately covered in frost.
Its movements became noticeably slower.
Blizzy quickly jumped onto its back and slashed with its icy claws.
The attack wasn’t very powerful, but it was enough to leave several scratches.
Ryan watched quietly without interfering.
His goal wasn’t to kill the monsters himself.
He wanted Blizzy and the Orc Shaman Chief to gain experience.
Whenever a monster tried to attack Blizzy, the Spirit Wolf would immediately intercept it.
If another monster attempted to sneak behind the Orc Shaman Chief, the Spirit Serpent appeared almost instantly, driving it back with its poisonous fangs.
Protected by the two stronger spirits, Blizzy and the Orc Shaman Chief were free to attack without worrying about their safety.
The battle lasted only a few minutes.
The final Black Cave Lizard collapsed onto the ground.
Several notifications appeared before Ryan.
[Your Ice Spirit, Blizzy, has leveled up.]
[Level 4 → Level 11]
[Your Orc Shaman Chief has leveled up.]
[Level 23 → Level 26]
The Orc Shaman Chief level was already high enough due to it helping during the orc village hunt while Ryan only summoned Blizzy for a short while thus it’s level was very low.
Ryan smiled.
"Not bad."
"They’re leveling up pretty quickly."
Without stopping, he led his summons farther into the dungeon in search of the next group of monsters.
For the next three hours, Ryan moved through the Blackwater Cave Dungeon, fighting one monster group after another.
Whenever they encountered Black Cave Lizards, Blizzy and the Orc Shaman Chief took the lead.
The Spirit Wolf and Spirit Serpent only stepped in whenever the battle became dangerous.
Ryan also helped whenever necessary, using temporary totems to weaken large groups of monsters while leaving the finishing blows to his summons.
As the battles continued, Blizzy gradually became more experienced.
Its control over ice mana improved with every fight.
The little polar bear slowly grew larger as it leveled up.
By the end of the third hour, it was nearly three times its original size.
Its crystal antlers had also grown longer, and icy mist constantly surrounded its body.
Several notifications appeared one after another.
[Your Ice Spirit, Blizzy, has leveled up.]
[Level 60 → Level 61]
[Your Orc Shaman Chief has leveled up.]
[Level 77 → Level 78]
[Your Spirit Serpent has leveled up.]
[Level 76 → Level 77]
[Your Spirit Wolf has leveled up.]
[Level 78 → Level 79]
Ryan opened their updated status screens one by one.
Blizzy had changed the most.
Not only had it grown much larger, but several of its skills had also evolved.
It had learned Ice Armor, allowing it to cover its body in thick layers of enchanted ice.
It had also awakened Frozen Roar, an area-of-effect skill that released freezing energy capable of slowing every enemy nearby.
Its original Ice Breath had also become much stronger.
The Orc Shaman Chief had gained improved control over its elemental spells, and its mana pool had increased significantly after reaching Level 78.
The Spirit Serpent had become even faster, while its poison had grown more potent.
The Spirit Wolf’s wind attacks had also become sharper, making it even deadlier in close combat.
Ryan nodded in satisfaction after reviewing all of their status windows.
"This lineup should be enough to hunt the boss."
He then checked his own status.
His Perfect Loot talent had finally finished its cooldown.
[Perfect Loot]
Status: Ready
Ryan smiled.
"Perfect timing."
He closed the status screen and looked deeper into the cave.
Somewhere ahead, in the deepest chamber of the Blackwater Cave Dungeon, the Black Water Wyvern was waiting.
Ryan tightened his grip on the Orc Shaman Staff.
"Let’s go meet our next boss."
He recalled the route shown on the dungeon map and led his summons deeper into the cave.
The tunnels gradually became wider.
The air also grew colder and heavier.
Black water flowed through every passage, forming streams and underground lakes.
The number of monsters also began to decrease.
Instead, Ryan started noticing signs of a powerful creature.
Huge claw marks covered the cave walls.
Broken monster bones were scattered across the ground.
Some were even half dissolved by a strange black poison.
Ryan crouched down and examined one of them.
"This poison is much stronger than the Spirit Serpent’s."
He stood up and continued walking.
About twenty minutes later, the narrow tunnel opened into an enormous underground lake.
The water was pitch black.
Massive crystal pillars rose from the lake, reaching all the way to the cave ceiling.
A thick layer of mist floated above the water.
Ryan immediately activated Spirit Sense.
A huge life force appeared beneath the lake.
"It’s here."
He quickly looked at his summons.
"Get ready."
The Spirit Wolf moved to Ryan’s left.
The Spirit Serpent quietly disappeared into the shadows near the edge of the lake.
Blizzy stood in front of Ryan, lowering its body as cold air gathered around its antlers.
The Orc Shaman Chief raised its staff and began preparing several support spells.
Ryan himself started creating temporary totems.
One after another, glowing runes appeared around him.