[Ariel's Swift Walk]

In the dimly lit maze-like passageways, the rapid footsteps echoed and overlapped, keeping the great escape going on as if it were still in progress.

"Boom!"

Behind the elite Loki Familia members fleeing en masse, countless yellow-green worm-like monsters continued to scramble through the tunnel, emitting broken gong-like cries and creating a thunderous roar.

"Roar!"

"Aww!"

"Gurgle!"

During their escape, monsters appeared along the way, including Black Rhino, Deformed Spider, and large snake-like monsters. However, the moment they appeared, Leo and his companions left them behind and swallowed them whole by the worm-like monsters that surged from behind, turning their roars into screams.

The worm monsters then chased after Leo and his companions, devouring every monster they encountered along the way. Whether it was Black Rhino, Deformed Spider, or a large snake monster, they were all swallowed whole. Their flesh was dissolved by the corrosive liquid at a visible speed inside their bodies, leaving only the Magic Stone inside the worm monsters' bellies, their deaths gruesome.

"Commander! Are you all alright?!"

At this moment, Tione, who was fleeing, finally had time to ask Finn, her voice hurried and anxious.

"We're all fine." Finn, small in stature, ran at the front of the group. Although they were running, his voice remained calm as he said, "But Raul's condition is not good."

Only then did everyone realize that Raul, who was being carried on Bete Loga's back, was not only emitting plumes of black smoke and a foul stench, but his skin and equipment had also been dissolved, turning into a gruesome purplish-black state.

Seeing his former kin, who had always taken good care of him, in such a miserable state, Leo felt a pang of anxiety.

He pulled an Elixir from his pouch, and without thinking, uncorked it and poured it on Raul.

The elixir took effect immediately, gradually repairing Raul's dissolving skin, stopping his groans as he lay dying. His head lolled to the side, and he lost consciousness and passed out.

Was he directly hit by that dissolving liquid?

Tiona spoke up somewhat anxiously.

"Yes." Finn nodded in response, "We defeated the Strong Dragon by the spring in Cadmus, drew water from the spring, and encountered that group of monsters on our way back to camp. After trying to fight them, our weapons were dissolved by that dissolving liquid."

"Raul killed one of those monsters, and it exploded on the spot, its internal liquid soaking Raul."

"Having lost our weapons and unable to kill the monsters, we had no choice but to flee."

Finn's words made everyone realize that his spear, Gareth's battle axe, and even Bete Loga's metal boots had all vanished.

Their weapons were all dissolved, and Raul's backpack, the supporter, was no exception. He was soaked in the dissolving liquid and destroyed on the spot.

That backpack contained not only water from Cadmus Spring, but also spare weapons and elixirs for supplies.

Without these, Finn and the others were not only unable to fight, but also unable to heal Raul, and could only flee with him.

At this moment, Bete Loga, carrying the dying Raul on his back, had a sour face and looked like he wanted to curse Raul, but seeing that Raul had lost consciousness, he could only mutter a few curses and run away with the others with a grim expression.

"Judging from your expressions, you've encountered one of those monsters too, haven't you?"

Gareth asked in a low voice as he ran, which earned him nods from Leo and the others.

But now is not the time for conversation. The swarm of worm monsters behind them is still closing in, and some have even raised their upper bodies, opened their mouths, and spewed out dissolving liquid.

Turn left ahead!

Finn immediately gave the order, and without hesitation, everyone turned around and rushed into a narrow one-way street.

"Sizzle"

A large amount of dissolving liquid was immediately splashed on the spot where everyone had just turned around, dissolving the ground and walls there.

"Turn right! Then turn left! Choose the third lane!"

Finn continued to give instructions, directing everyone to turn into one narrower road after another.

This Prum leader memorized the entire structure of the 51st Floor —a floor larger than the entire Orario region—without even looking at a map, which is truly astonishing.

The path he chose wasn't random; the narrowing path would make the worm monsters attacking from behind increasingly crowded, until only one could rush to the front, and the rest couldn't squeeze through.

Seeing this, Leo's heart stirred.

"[Light of Heaven, Sword of Stars.]"

As he ran, he chanted a simple incantation, causing a dazzling magic circle to appear beneath his feet, while a shooting star emerged from his hand.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

Turning around and reaching out, Leo hurled the meteor in his hand at the worm monster behind him. The meteor suddenly grew larger as it flew, transforming into a thick pillar of star power large enough to fill the entire narrow road, which then slammed into the worm monster.

"Boom!!!"

The thick, pillar-like meteor pierced through the worm monster's body and continued its momentum, clearing the path through the worms huddled together behind it.

"Good!"

Upon seeing this, Gareth immediately cheered loudly.

"I see, that kind of monster is a melee-specialized type."

Finn's eyes lit up as well.

With its dissolving liquid capable of dissolving Level 1 weaponry and its ability to self-destruct upon being knocked down, this is entirely designed for close-quarters combat.

Although the worm monsters can also spray dissolving liquid from a distance, it's not too difficult to dodge. Agile defenders can easily kite the worm monsters to attack and defeat them.

Unfortunately, there were too many of those worm monsters. Just as Leo had wiped out a large number of them, new ones immediately surged in, rumbling into the road and closing in on the group once again.

"Leo!" Finn instructed decisively, "Continue chanting your spell. You decide when to attack, but conserve more than half of your mental energy!"

"Lefiya Viridis, prepare the elixirs. Those who lack stamina should replenish it, and magical elixirs should be given to Leo first!"

"All personnel, listen to my instructions! Begin turning!"

Clearly, Finn already had a strategy for dealing with this situation.

The group naturally had no doubts about the words of the Prum leader and began to act.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

Leo calculated the remaining spiritual energy, began chanting magic, and fired thick meteors, blasting them one after another behind him.

"Boom!!!"

The thick, pillar-like meteor streaked through the tunnel like a beam of light, piercing through the bodies of countless worm-like monsters with a deafening roar, turning them all into fragments that exploded into pieces.

The dissolving liquid was spilled everywhere, causing corrosive sounds and black smoke to rise from all directions.

Leo and the others, under Finn's instructions, rushed into an enormous cavern.

"Stop!"

Finn spoke up, and everyone immediately stopped in their tracks and formed a battle formation.

"We'll confront those monsters right here and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

Finn made his deployment in a cold voice.

"We're buying time! Leo and Lefiya Viridis, unleash your full power, use your maximum area of effect and maximum firepower magic!"

This is also the most common tactic used in group battles in Dungeon.

Only the Mage's wide-area annihilation magic can eliminate large numbers of monsters at once, resolving the most common monster siege situation in Dungeon and completely securing victory in a large-scale battle.

That's why magic is the ultimate weapon, and why Mage are so revered.

"Easier said than done. We don't even have weapons. How are we supposed to buy time?"

Bete Loga put Raul down for the time being, bared his fangs, and uttered extremely unpleasant yet practical words.

"I don't want my beloved weapon to melt down!"

Tiona looked utterly resistant, practically shielding Ullr, the great twin blades, behind her.

This is a Level 1 weapon worth 120 million Valis; she'd be heartbroken if it got melted down.

I have some spares here.

Tione, however, took out several recurve swords and handed them to the group who had lost their weapons.

Because the manufacturing method is simple and the materials are not too rare, although the cost is not cheap, it is still much cheaper than other first-level weapons. Tione prepared a lot of these recurve knives as backup weapons, which is why she was willing to use the recurve knives as throwing weapons.

"What good is this thing?!"

Bete Loga cursed loudly, but still took the recurve knife and used it reluctantly.

"It feels so light and flimsy, I'm not used to it."

Gareth weighed the recurve knife in his hand, his brow furrowed deeply.

"Finn, use this."

Ais then handed her Desperate to Finn.

"Won't the weapon break?"

Finn immediately understood what was going on, took Ais's sword, and then handed Ais the one-handed sword he had just taken from Lefiya Viridis's backpack.

Ais took the sword and glanced behind her.

There, Leo was drinking a magical potion to replenish his spiritual energy, while Lefiya Viridis gripped her wand tightly, her face pale.

"I----I----"

She was very nervous and flustered.

Finn clearly intends to rely on her and Leo's magic to completely turn the tide. What if she fails at this crucial moment?

The thought of the consequences if she messed up made Lefiya Viridis's breathing quicken instinctively.

"Lefiya Viridis ----"

Ais noticed that the elven girl was not in a good state and wanted to say something, but she didn't know how to say it.

She wasn't exactly a good talker; in fact, she was quite tongue-tied. Asking her to say something to ease Lefiya Viridis's tension at this moment was really asking too much of her.

You can do it.

That was the only thing Ais could think of to say.

Before she could even utter those words, Ais sensed something, abruptly raising her head to look at the entrance to the cave.

"Boom!"

There, with a deafening roar, countless worm-like monsters rushed in.

The sound of a broken gong echoed in the cave, harsh and unpleasant, making one want to frown.

The worm monsters rushed into the cave, some even tearing their bodies in their attempts to squeeze in, causing fluids to seep out and making the places that touched the fluids to steam.

The scene, resembling a bursting abscess bursting open and the maggots inside gushing out, was no longer just physically uncomfortable; it was a feeling of utter resistance from the entire body.

"Disgusting thing!"

Bete Loga charged out first, his face contorted in pain, moving as fast as lightning.

"Let's go, Tione!"

"You don't need to tell me!"

The Amazon twins also vanished in a blur, rushing out.

"I'm leaving the defense here to you, Gareth."

"----They'll just pass the troublesome stuff on to others."

Finn uttered a single sentence, then displayed his agile skills, disappearing silently, leaving Gareth grumbling with dissatisfaction.

"Leo, you little brat! Lefiya Viridis! Begin the chant!"

Despite his dissatisfaction, the dwarf warrior still stood in front of Leo and Lefiya Viridis, and also protected Raul at his feet.

He will be the last line of defense, ensuring the safety of injured players and defenders.

As for Ais, although she was somewhat worried about Leo and Lefiya Viridis, she forced herself to shift her attention with an iron will and rushed out like the others.

Then, she sang powerful lines.

"[Wake up (Tempest)]"

Those are the factors used to trigger Supernatural Power.

"[Ariel]."

The power called magic took shape in this moment.

In an instant, the air, visible to the naked eye, began to move, turning into swirling winds that surrounded Ais.

[Ariel] is the only magic Ais can use, and it is also the powerful force that made her famous.

This is a wind-attribute enhancement spell that allows you to use wind to wrap around your body or weapon to assist in attacks, increase speed, or strengthen defense. It can even grant you brief periods of flight, making it a versatile spell that combines offense and defense.

Ordinary enchantments can only enhance limited abilities. Unless they are enchantments with long or very long incantations, they cannot exert a significant effect. However, Ais's [Ariel] is an exception. With just a very short incantation, it can exert a powerful effect that is enough to rival the floor master, which has far exceeded the scope of ordinary enchantments.

It was precisely because of this powerful magic that Ais was able to win a title that even Lv.6 or Lv.7 couldn't achieve at level Lv.5, and was known as the strongest female swordsman in the city.

Once this magic is activated, Ais can be compared to adventurers at level 6. In terms of pure ability, even Finn and others might not be able to defeat her in this state.

At that moment, Ais activated a spell that seemed extremely unfair and no different from any other magic in the eyes of ordinary people, and charged into the horde of worm monsters with a howling wind.

The wind also swirled around the one-handed sword in her hand, and she slashed at the worm monster, easily cleaving it in two.

"Bang!"

The worm monster, cleaved in two, exploded on the spot, its dissolving liquid splattering all over Ais.

However, the dissolving liquid was repelled by the wind wrapped around Ais, and it couldn't even touch the one-handed sword in her hand, thus losing its terrible corrosiveness.

With the wind's protection, Ais no longer needed to fear the dissolving liquid, nor did she need to worry about her weapons being dissolved.

That's why Ais entrusted her beloved sword, which had the attribute of being indestructible, to someone else.