We escaped the dungeon and ended up in the next village: Pycano Town. It was right next to the tundra we traversed, which seems kind of ironic because it was right next to a volcano.
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X didn't like the smell of napalm, and neither did Tsubaki and I. But it had to be this way. The people here were like kappa (you know, those duck-turtle things Japanese myth) with brown skin. They seemed to tolerate the heat and smell of this place. Did they adapt?
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A local walked to us and said, "Welcome, visitors!" He gave us masks for the three of us. "These enchanted masks will help you resists fire attacks dealt to you. It also makes you breathe our air," he added.
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"Follow me," he said again. "Because this place is hot, we need to cool down sometimes, so we sell stuff like weapons out of ice and obsidian. Some weapons here were even crafted out of Adamantium. Well, if you need anything, tell me."
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We walked away and went to another restaurant. This time it seemed like a hut- straws for the roof, and sturdy wood for the floor, stairs, and walls. We rushed there and ate again, and as usual, talked about our game experiences. We were more interested about the other things we'd see in this game.
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But then I got curious about something. I asked tried to ask a local, "Where is your leader?" Tsubaki slapped me hard. "Dude, you can't ask such a question!" she shouted. "Why not?" I asked. "They'll get emotional and stuff," X replied. "Have you talked to the floating guy in Cybertown?"
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"No," I replied. Tsubaki scoffed.
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"I'll tell you," a mysterious woman said. She had perfectly good skin, wore a black jacket, black skinny jeans, brown sneakers, and had red hair. And her face...so perfect. I wish I was that beautiful. X gagged just looking at her. To clarify: she's a normal human. Probably.
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She cleared her throat. "Once upon a time, by which I mean ten years ago, there was a tyrant driven by power named Maltilda. She wanted to expand her empire so no enemy would dare stop her. For so long, she kidnapped this planet's most powerful leaders and kept them as prisoners in her palace, never to be seen again, so she could rule this world under her tyranny."
"Brutal," Tsubaki commented.
"By the way, my name's Jean Wilde. Contact me if you need help."
"Wait, you can contact others?"
"It's simple. Add someone to your Friends List, and you can contact them anytime."
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We exchanged farewells and went on our way. We walked into our next area: Hephaestus' Road. There was fire and lava beside the road. This seemed a little terrifying.
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I jumped after a sentient fire came in sight. I almost shot it. Tsubaki held it gently and it made a cute little scared face. It then became Tsubaki's pet, whom she named Aokasai. Aokasai and Kevin didn't really get along.
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"This'll be a cakewalk," X confidently said, but he took three steps and a lava geyser spouted out next to him. He was startled. "Spoke too soon," I replied. Kevin's snow already melted, and felt a little scared.
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Kevin's instincts were just perfect for the situation right now: a giant worm covered in blue fire that seems to be called a Fireworm spawned from the lava geyser. I quickly shot it with my hand cannon, which turned it orange. It was a little slower, but still, dangerous. Tsubaki then killed it with her ice dagger. Phew. It's getting hot here.
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"We need to head back for some fire armor," X suggested. We ran back to Pycano, bought some armor, and we were going to get this over with. I breathed in heavily and exhaled, trying to be brave in conquering the dungeon.
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As we went in, it was hot as an oven. We were going to burn to death, I thought. Then bird screeches could be heard from afar. Then they got closer, and closer, and closer...
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A Phoenix! Was it a good Phoenix, though?
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The Phoenix clawed me like it was no one's business. I shot it quickly but then it respawned. I just remembered Phoenixes are the sign of rebirth, so they couldn't actually die, could they?
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Oops! I was wrong. Tsubaki killed it and this time, it really died. We were busy collecting our XP and coins when suddenly Kevin smelled something.
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There was a tremor in the cave. As it stopped, we proceeded carefully. Then there it was again.
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A giant fat orange man fell from above. He just let out a relaxing "ahh". We exchanged looks and stared at his obesity. Suddenly he noticed us. "If you wanna get through this dungeon, you're gonna have to get through me!" And then he stopped moving as if his heart stopped beating. Then he got up, and stalactites fell from the cave ceiling.
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The real battle started when he jumped up high into the air (How the hell does he do that?). X jumped at the same time he did and sliced his belly multiple times. His skin was merely grazed, and the Fat Guy (What kind of enemy...) held on to X. His massive weight pulled both of them to the ground, breaking some of X's bones. "Who's next?" he asked, his fat neck bobbing.
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I fiercely shouted and shot him in the belly with my hand cannon, but he absorbed it. Tsubaki then whispered in my ear, "Since he's a Fire enemy, his calories should burn fast."
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"What are you saying?" I replied, but then she got me.
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We ran in circles, and the Fat Guy did the same. Soon, he lost calories, and his belly gradually turned into abs. "Now!" Tsubaki signaled, and I killed the Fat Guy. His belly spewed out a bunch of coins and experience. I forgot what level I even was in. Level 24? How did I get there so quick?
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We escaped the room. Unfortunately that wasn't it. Skeletons started walking and bumping against each other, as if they were blind. "I got it this time," X assured, instantly back to his energetic state, and sliced all the Skeletons. We grabbed everything we could. Then cackling filled the silence of the room.
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Not again.
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The Silhouette instantly came from a hole in the wall, then punched X. Poor him. Tsubaki threw her Fire Dagger-spear at the Silhouette, which made him shrivel up in agony. Thank God what was over.
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As we advanced to the next room, more sentient fires (like Aokasai, which, by the way were called Wisps), quickly looked at us. Kevin sliced through a dozen of them and grew bigger. That's my boy! Aokasai was left offended and shocked, though. He grew an even bigger dislike towards Kevin, and vice versa.
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The final room. Maybe. As we went in, a pile of armor was laying on. The ground. "Should we-" I was about to say when suddenly Tsubaki answered, "No."
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The armor was shaking. The helmet floated in mid-air, and was accompanied by a flaming sword. I quickly extinguished the sword's fire by shooting my hand cannon at it. For a while.
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Tsubaki then stabbed the helmet repeatedly, which made it release some dark energy. It went inside the chestplate. Then it body-slammed against Tsubaki.
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"Tsubaki!" X exclaimed, and quickly pulled out his sword. It sliced the cheapskate in half, making it release more dark energy. Now the leggings and boots were possessed. I quickly shot the helmet as fast as I could, but this weapon has a long cooldown. The leggings and boots smacked and kicked X, leaving his face black and blue. Then I was next.
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Tsubaki stood up, and quickly sliced open the leggings. Aokasai and Kevin took on the boots, which gradually wore the boots down, destroying them. After that battle, X ran to get his new fire sword.
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The door outside the dungeon opened. We ran outside to see what our next town was.
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