For a second, the monsters' screams all mashed together into one deafening roar.
"Ruri'iro Kujaku!"
Glowing vines exploded into a frantic bloom, rushing the incoming monsters like a tidal wave and locking them down in a death grip.
"Go all out, Ruri'iro Kujaku!" Rayleigh pushed his Shikai to the limit, forcing the vines to bulk up and spread out even wider.
They swallowed up almost thirty monsters in one shot.
'What...?!'
Riveria stared at the whole mess, totally speechless.
As the best Mage in the city, her read on natural energy and Magic was second to none.
To her, those glowing lapis vines looked like a baby Kraken waking up.
'It's actually sucking the life force out of them... What in the world is that?'
These vines shot right out of the kid's sword. Was it some kind of new Magic Sword?
'An element I haven't seen before?'
After stalling the horde, Rayleigh glanced over at Riveria, only to see her staring off into space like a deer in headlights.
'Hey, hey, is this a joke?'
'You're the strongest Mage in Orario! How is your focus this bad?'
'You might not care since you're Lv5. You could probably punch these things to death, but I'm going to die here!'
"Excuse me, Miss Riveria of the Loki Familia, are you planning to chant anytime soon?"
His salty tone snapped Riveria out of it. She flushed red but hid it pretty well.
She instantly locked in and started prepping her Magic.
Her chant ripped through the Dungeon:
"——Omen of the end, pristine white snow."
"Facing twilight's hour, unleash a tempest... Seal the light, freeze the earth."
"Blizzard from the heavens, triple winter's chill!"
"——My name is Alf!"
A terrifying, bone-chilling cold exploded from the High Elf.
A brutal blizzard blew past them like a flood, instantly freezing every monster it touched solid.
Even though Rayleigh was out of the direct blast zone, the extreme cold still bit into him, forcing him to use Kaido just to keep his body temperature up.
He didn't even take a direct hit, just the leftover chill was enough to make him fight for his life.
This was the massive gap between Level 1 and Level 5!
With one of Ruri'iro Kujaku's petals clamped in his mouth, Rayleigh triggered Shunpo and blasted out of the freeze zone.
Seeing he was still in one piece, Riveria said, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. I need to find Ais. You're not safe down here by yourself, so stick with me for now."
'Huh?'
Rayleigh instantly felt a headache coming on.
That shadow from earlier reeked of bad news—definitely not your average creep.
It might actually be the Evilus!
He hadn't leveled up yet, and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with those psychos.
Dont blame him! its not about being a coward, just a basic survival.
"An ant trying to stop a chariot" isn't brave, it's just foolish.
Still, Riveria made a good point.
The Evilus didn't usually run solo.
If he ditched the Level 5 powerhouse right now, he'd be an easy target for whatever other lunatics were hiding down here.
Without missing a beat, Rayleigh fell in step behind Riveria.
No... actually, he wasn't keeping up at all.
Even burning Shunpo at max output, he wasn't closing the gap!
Riveria was literally slowing herself down so he wouldn't get left in the dust.
'Man.'
'Is this how fast a Mage is?'
'She has to be moving at over 160 kilometers an hour!'
'Are all Level 5s just total monsters?!'
"———!"
As they sprinted through the tunnels, a terrifying wave of energy blasted up from the floors below.
The insane pressure almost knocked Rayleigh on his back.
If he hadn't braced himself with his Zanpakuto, he would've eaten dirt.
Rayleigh's eyes blew wide open.
'What in the world is this?!'
'It's so heavy...'
'It feels like I'm getting crushed by spiritual pressure!'
The phrase "Divine Authority Like a Prison" flashed through his head.
'Did a God just step into the Dungeon?'
'And just let their Divine Power off the chain?!'
Thankfully, the pressure vanished a second later.
Right after, a spine-chilling roar echoed up from ahead.
Rayleigh had never heard anything like it, but his gut told him it came from something insanely powerful.
'A Dragon's Roar.'
Was there a Dragon-type monster up ahead?
A Young Dragon, maybe?
If it was just a Young Dragon, that was manageable.
But he had a bad feeling that blast of Divine Power might have woken up something way worse.
See, the Dungeon hates the Gods.
It's aggressively hostile toward them, to the point where it can nullify or just ignore Divine Power.
If the Dungeon feels a God down in the depths, it completely loses it.
It's like an immune system spotting a virus and trying to burn it out.
Thinking it over, Rayleigh suddenly stopped.
'Wait, what am I even stressing about?'
He was running with Riveria, a Lv5 and the strongest Mage in Orario.
A Young Dragon would be a joke to her. Even a Dragon from the Deep Floors would just be free Excellia for her.
Plus, he was basically just here for the ride. He wouldn't even have to lift a finger, and he certainly didn't want to.
With that out of the way, Rayleigh chilled out, his feet hitting the ground a lot lighter.
A few minutes later, Riveria and Rayleigh finally caught up to Ais, who had blindly chased the shadow.
She was glaring up at the Dungeon ceiling, looking like an absolute feral beast!
Rayleigh followed her eyes up as a pair of pitch-black wings hung in the air.
Hovering right above them was a black dragon!
...
A Black Dragon.
Honestly, Rayleigh was genuinely terrified. For a split second, he actually thought it was the One-Eyed Black Dragon itself.
But taking a closer look...
'This is just a Black Wyvern, right?'
'Phew.'
'That intense pressure from earlier totally fried my nerves.'
The One-Eyed Black Dragon was the last uncleared target of the Three Great Quests.
In this world, three massive monsters used to rule supreme: the Behemoth on land, the Leviathan in the sea, and the Black Dragon in the sky.
A thousand years ago, Ais's dad, the Mercenary King Albert Walenstein, threw down with the Black Dragon and gouged out one of its eyes.
That's why it was now known as the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
Albert was the strongest being in the history of the Lower World, easily pushing past Level 10.
Even the legendary heroes of the Zeus and Hera Familias—Orario's two former powerhouse Familias—couldn't hold a candle to him.
The One-Eyed Black Dragon practically wiped both of those Familias off the map!
Considering Albert almost soloed the Black Dragon, the guy's combat power was probably absurd.
If the dragon didn't run away, who knows how that fight would have ended?
Even now, the dragon scales it shed while fleeing still litter the edges of the continent.
'A baby Black Wyvern versus the daughter of Albert Wallenstein?'
'What is this, a budget remake of an ancient myth?'
Rayleigh's thoughts drifted as he watched the tiny girl facing down the Wyvern.
Ais was already bleeding, but the Wyvern didn't have a scratch on it.
'The gap is just too huge.'
Even normal Wyverns were elite monsters in the Middle Floors, let alone this corrupted black variant.
'Looks like the Dungeon felt that Divine Power and spawned this Irregularity on purpose.'
And Ais was still just Level 1.
'Wait a second.'
'I remember this fight.'
'This is how Ais pulls off the Great Feat to hit Lv. 2! She solos a Black Wyvern!'
'That's happening right now!'
Clang!
Facing the Black Wyvern's claws, Ais swung her longsword to parry.
Rayleigh's eye twitched watching her.
'Kid Ais really has no fear.'
What was even more ridiculous was that her strike actually sliced right through the dragon's claw!
Screeech!
'There's an opening!'
Watching from the sidelines, Rayleigh shot a glance at Riveria.
She looked dead serious, but she wasn't making a move to step in.
After trading a few more blows, Ais was getting pushed to the edge.
The Wyvern's attacks grew way more savage.
It started throwing its tail and wings into the mix, swinging relentlessly.
Flames pooled in its jaws. What it spit out wasn't just fireballs anymore, but scorching beams of heat that blasted scorched trenches into the dirt.
Seeing that, Riveria raised her staff and aimed it right at Ais.
A second later, a burst of light flared up around Ais, and a sharp breeze whipped around her body.
"Ais! Call it out!"
Ais forced herself to stand. Her eyes burned with pure, stubborn grit.
"Awaken! Tempest!"
The Enchantment Magic kicked in.
A violent gale wrapped around Ais's tiny body, swirling up her arm and coating the sword in her grip.
Rayleigh watched, totally blown away.
This was Ais's signature Magic, Ariel! A wind-element Enchantment Magic.
In a flash, Ais launched forward.
She moved so fast Rayleigh's eyes practically bugged out.
Rayleigh already knew how this fight was going to end.
A lot of people thought Bell Cranel soloing a Minotaur trained by Ottar at Level 1 was the craziest feat ever.
But compared to Ais defeating a Black Wyvern? That Minotaur fight looked like a joke.
Orario was never short on overpowered freaks.
Heroes, Sages, Braves, Gods—cheaters were basically the Labyrinth City's main export.
Riveria clenched her fist.
She was obviously stressed.
But Adventurers only get stronger by dancing with death.
She knew exactly how desperate Ais was for power. Whether it was grinding in the Dungeon all day without a single complaint or pushing her body past its breaking point, Riveria couldn't betray that iron resolve.
All she could do was quietly cheer for the girl in her head.
Watching Ais completely flip the momentum against the Black Wyvern, Rayleigh knew the overgrown lizard was finished.
Whoosh!
Ais blurred right past the dragon.
With one last miserable shriek, the Black Wyvern dropped out of the sky and slammed into the dirt!
The heavy, suffocating pressure in the air vanished.
Thud.
Ais won, but she was totally tapped out and she collapsed out cold.
Riveria let out a huge breath, looking relieved and proud.
But then, disaster struck!
A dark shadow burst out from the rocks, diving straight for the unconscious Ais!
Riveria's face warped with panic as she threw her hand up to chant.
But the second her staff started glowing, she froze.
If she fired now, Ais would get caught in the crossfire!
"Who are you?!"
The High Elf sprinted toward Ais with everything she had.
But the shadow was faster.
By the time Riveria was within ten meters, the attacker was already standing over Ais.
It was probably the most desperate, terrifying second of Riveria's life.
Swish!
The shadow snatched Ais.
"What? She vanished?"
All he grabbed was a handful of fabric!
A second later, the missing Ais popped up a few yards away.
More accurately, Rayleigh had practically teleported, and he was currently holding Ais tucked under his arm like a sack of potatoes.
'Nice.'
Pulling this off meant he just put Riveria—and the entire Loki Familia—in his debt.
Rayleigh knew he had to milk this for all it was worth!