There is no absolutely safe place in the Dungeon.
Even on Safe Floors, monsters from other floors may wander in unexpectedly, or large-scale monster invasions might occur suddenly.
But that is considered a best-case scenario. On non-safe floors, adventurers must be vigilant against sudden dangers at every moment.
"Isagi!"
The boy, clad in Great Wolf Armor, was blasted away, smashing directly into the inner wall of the castle hall. Immediately after, without pausing, the monster wielding a longsword leapt up, closing the distance to launch another attack.
A cold glint flashed.
A massive sword scar, completely disproportionate to the blade itself, thoroughly destroyed the wall, revealing a long corridor that inexplicably extended behind it.
Amidst the dust and smoke, Isagi, holding the Greatsword [Moonlight], had already adjusted his stance. He leapt out from the wall, dodging the monster's raid. Lowering his head swiftly, he evaded all the approaching sword lights.
Nerves and body taut, he couldn't afford a single stray thought.
The battle at this moment was almost like the one against the [Pale King]. Back then, he was Level 4 facing a Level 5 Final Boss, finding it almost hard to endure.
But the guy in front of him, although just a chaotic mob monster, was Level 6—possibly even approaching Level 7!
The gap in Level was simply too vast.
He had barely blocked a hit just now before being blasted away, and his entire body was making creaking sounds of agony. Sticky blood constantly seeped out from beneath the pitch-black armor, dyeing it red. If not for this [Wolf's Feast] forcibly supporting his body, he likely wouldn't be able to move right now and would have lost a life!
"Hoo!"
Breathe.
Then, while focusing entirely on evasion, he swung his greatsword to counterattack!!
Crack!
The incomparably heavy blade slammed into the monster's body, making a crisp sound. Only after the dust settled did it fully reveal its true appearance.
The guy in front of them looked like an ordinary "Humanoid Skeleton." It stood about two meters tall, holding a similarly ordinary-looking longsword. It looked exactly like the lowest-level undead trash mob found in other worlds.
However, this thing was a genuine Deep Level Monster.
They were far stronger and swifter than humanoid monsters on the same floor, and possessed a considerable degree of combat technique. Regarded as "dead adventurers," they were once considered the most dangerous "Warrior Type" monsters on the 37th Floor.
And now, Isagi's feeling was much the same.
The "Skeleton Soldier" before him was practically like a real, ultra-powerful adventurer! The speed at which it swung its longsword was inconceivably fast. Although technically not as strong as Miss Ais, the gap brought about by Level and Stats made it incomparably dangerous at this moment.
Furthermore.
Even when his weapon struck its skeletal body, causing cracking damage, magnificent colors resembling a starry sky would immediately appear and repair it.
Even when Ryuu-senpai found an opportunity to utilize her former comrade's "Slashing Magic," [Five Lights], to sever the monster's arm... colors flowed out again, transforming the severed arm into beautiful tentacles resembling a galaxy.
"!"
Barely dodging the tentacle's counterattack, Ryuu pulled back to increase the distance.
Although her Level was higher than Isagi's, she did not excel in Strength and Endurance attributes. She couldn't truly engage in a melee brawl with the monster before her like the boy could. Relying on the First-Class Armament [Wolf's Feast], Isagi could barely block a few of the opponent's attacks, but if it were her, she estimated she would fall into heavy injury or even—
"Hold!"
Finding an opportunity, she used a spell.
Golden light instantly froze the monster in place. After the previous struggle, they had already discovered the opponent's Magic Stone was floating on one side beneath the white bones of its chest.
Seizing this momentary chance, Isagi and Ryuu coordinated tacitly.
Simultaneously, they launched their strongest attacks toward that spot.
Withdrawing the greatsword into his cloak, Isagi then drew the dual swords, [Sword of Benevolence] and [Sword of Righteousness].
"Seppuku" enchantment. Then, taking out a wand he hadn't used in a long time, he activated the copy skill "[Glimmer Echo]." With a flash of movement, he arrived at the Skeleton Soldier's flank and unleashed the dual sword combat art, "Visceral Attack."
The set of actions flowed like moving clouds and flowing water, without any pause.
Deep crimson light, accompanied by the dual swords covered in "Dragon Blood" and burning fiercely, thrust violently toward the tiny Magic Stone within the monster's body. Behind him, a human figure formed of glimmering light emerged, mimicking the exact same movement a beat slower.
On the other side, the Elf girl's estoc, wrapped in flowing fire and starlight, once again unleashed that deadly "Slashing Magic."
"Flower of the disaster from the other shore!"
Ryuu performed a concurrent chant, the longsword in her hand transforming into five streaks of sword light, supremely beautiful, like scattering cherry blossoms.
"[Five Lights] · [Five Elements]!"
Although the lack of Skill enhancement reduced the magic's power significantly, the weapon's strength made up for some of it. Besides, no matter what, the guy in front of them was just an ordinary monster, so it was enough.
Under their dual attack, the Magic Stone within the Skeleton Soldier shattered with a sound. Subsequently, it turned to ash and vanished.
"Hoo... Ha..."
The short battle had still exhausted their bodies to the limit.
Facing a monster far exceeding their own Level, they could only defeat it by using this method—directly targeting the Magic Stone as a "weakness."
Isagi downed two mouthfuls of Monkey Booze to restore his status. At the same time, as Ryuu-senpai used healing magic, the pain slowly faded, the wounds stopped bleeding, and even his stamina began to recover.
However, in just this short moment, several more monsters were already walking toward them from the distance.
Continuing like this was clearly not a solution, so...
Run!
Before entering a combat state, Isagi directly switched his Skill Card, changing it to "[Golden Age]." Immediately after, he used the skill "[Aspect of the Crucible]," spreading golden wings behind his back.
Ryuu was also swift, jumping onto his back and holding on tight in an instant.
Liftoff!
Running away rapidly, they didn't tangle with the monsters approaching from afar. Subsequently, they flew toward the incredibly towering walls in the distance, arriving at a tower further away from the flesh-and-blood gate at the end of their line of sight.
He couldn't fly forever, or it would severely deplete his Mind, which was fatal in the Dungeon.
Entering the tower, they found an empty room to seize the time to rest, eating some rations and drinking water. In the Dungeon, one could encounter danger anytime, anywhere. Because monsters could spawn anywhere—this was the biggest headache for adventurers.
However, his special Dungeon seemed okay; it would leave some places acting like "Bonfire Points," where it was at least safe inside. The previous [Goblin Kingdom] was like this.
Including the place they arrived at later called the [Path of Pain], there were black Sites of Grace, as well as camps where bug NPCs were located, offering rest.
Perhaps.
This could be considered the Dungeon's mercy.
The tower room where he and Ryuu-senpai were currently located was fairly safe; at least there were no signs of monsters appearing.
"Let's rest for a bit. I'll stand guard."
Isagi said, taking out a small pocket watch. Since arriving in the Deep Levels, several hours had passed. After experiencing several battles, the consumption of stamina and energy was greater than imagined. Although they had to hurry to leave, sufficient rest was mandatory.
The Elf girl did not decline. Instead, she quickly leaned against him and quietly closed her eyes.
Ryuu actually couldn't sleep, but just touching the solid armor the boy wore was enough to relax her mind and body. That was enough.
Recalling the expedition with Alise and the others, such moments seemed to have existed too. But because her companions were all by her side, it made people feel at ease. Now as well.
The girl's breathing began to steady. Her emptied mind thought of nothing, and in a trance, she didn't know how much time had passed. Even though she hadn't fallen asleep, time seemed to have been "skipped" in this moment.
When Ryuu came back to her senses, she realized nearly two hours had passed. Thus, she hurriedly climbed up from the boy, blushing slightly, and told him to rest. She would stand guard; they would switch.
Isagi naturally didn't decline either. Instead, he immediately closed his eyes and entered a dream. Being able to fall asleep anytime, anywhere—at this moment, he was quite a veteran adventurer himself.
Rarely, they spent a few hours of peaceful time like this.
After gearing up, they continued along the corridor, avoiding dangers, walking toward the outer perimeter of this massive complex of towers and castles. Finally, they arrived before a high bridge.
The castle and high-rises behind them were connected to the fortress on the opposite side only by this single bridge.
It looked like, theoretically, the opposite side should be the exit of this floor. But the thing Isagi worried about happened anyway.
That is, when he and Ryuu-senpai arrived before the bridge, a golden Site of Grace materialized to the side. Simultaneously, right in the middle of the bridge, a Fog Gate appeared out of thin air. A Deep Level Gatekeeper BOSS existed.
Although theoretically, the gatekeeper should be the "weakest" guy. For example, the Middle Level Gatekeeper BOSS before was only Level 4, far less powerful than the [Pale King] on the same floor.
But—
Isagi asked Ryuu-senpai to wait at the respawn point first while he went to check the situation.
Not long after, golden specks of light slowly flew out from behind the Fog Gate, reassembling into the boy's appearance at the Site of Grace.
"It's even stronger than that [Dawn Moon] we encountered before."
Isagi couldn't judge if it was Level 7, but in terms of his own feeling, it was at least stronger than the Nameless Hero encountered in the Middle Levels. The two of them probably couldn't beat it. How to handle this?
And aside from the difficulty before them.
Looking back now, they could still see the giant worm poking its head out from the expanse of white light on the ceiling. It was struggling, truly like a great snake, vomiting out a Demon Dragon that was far larger than itself from its belly. Originally it was just the head, but now, it had retched out a small half of the body.
It was just that the Demon Dragon was too big.
Furthermore, the crimson flowing light on its surface at this moment was eye-catching to the extreme.
Isagi and Ryuu had a bad premonition almost simultaneously.
That thing...
Couldn't be some kind of "bomb," right?
The Demon Dragon vomited by the worm had absolutely no reaction, as if it had long since died. It was just that its body was still expanding, and the scales on its surface were already oozing colors as heart-palpitating as lava.
If it really exploded...
"!"
Ryuu seemed to think of something, realizing the terrifying future that absolutely must not happen.
Absolutely... Absolutely...
The despairing past surfaced from the depths of her heart once again.
If a disaster like that happened again, and moreover, under the enhancement of Isagi's Skill... what would "It"... turn into?
Ryuu dared not think about it.
"Isagi, let's hurry and capture the guy in front of us, then leave."
After associating it with the possible terrifying future, the Elf girl even instantly lost her reason.
"What's wrong?"
"That... That... will come out... No... Must run..."
"What thing?"
"I don't know..."
Ryuu indeed did not know the name of that thing. She didn't even know why it appeared. All she knew was that after a massive explosion, the widely destroyed Dungeon would "cry out in pain."
Subsequently, [Calamity] would descend, erasing the guys who caused all of this.
That was the killer dispatched by the Dungeon, a slaughter machine specifically targeting adventurers. It had once slaughtered the entire original Astrea Familia, leaving only the despairing Elf girl lingering on.
That was—
"An existence we must absolutely never make an enemy of. Isagi... Let's... run quickly. I beg you, let's leave here quickly..."
____
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