Dragon Pot

The entrance to the 52nd Floor is a wide, long staircase.

The staircase is carved into the wall of a secluded cave chamber, extending downwards and seemingly without end.

After defeating all the monsters that had caught up with them, the expedition team first smashed down the walls of the cave to prevent any further monsters from spawning there. Then they rested on the spot to recover their strength, replenish their water, and try to get back to full health.

Leo was also resting, leaning against the broken wall with his eyes closed, feeling the mental energy in his mind that was constantly recovering automatically due to the development of the "Mind Healing" ability, silently waiting for his mental energy to return to its peak.

He hadn't expended much physical strength on the way there, since his "endurance" parameter had accumulated enough potential to keep him running without being completely exhausted. However, due to the several attacks by worm-like monsters, he had to unleash wide-area annihilation magic several times, which had somewhat depleted his mental energy.

Why is it that Riveria Ljos Alf and Lefiya Viridis need time to cast their wide-area annihilation spells, which can easily provoke an overly aggressive reaction from the worm-like monsters, leading to unexpected disruptions on the battle line?

To prevent the situation from spiraling out of control, Finn had no choice but to entrust the task of clearing out large numbers of enemies to Leo, who could unleash a wide-area annihilation spell with just one incantation, placing a considerable burden on Leo's mental strength.

Each large-scale attack spell requires additional mental energy to add more attacks, and the amount of additional energy is the same. Even for Leo, it's impossible to avoid any consumption.

Therefore, upon arriving here, Finn immediately ordered Leo to rest, while Raul, Alicia, and Lefiya Viridis, the three supporters, stood guard at the entrance of the cave.

Chun was refining everyone's weapons.

"Tsk, the dissolving liquid from those worm monsters is truly terrifying. It actually wore down even weapons with non-damaging properties to this extent. No wonder you were helpless last time and had to turn back."

As Chun examined the Roland series weapons that everyone had just used, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

This was truly the first time she had ever seen a weapon with non-destructible attributes worn down like this. Its sharpness had decreased by more than half. If it wore down any further, it would probably become as dull as a stone tool.

Even Ais's Desperate was like this; the girl had also infused "wind" into the sword, putting a heavy burden on it. Only Leo and Riveria Ljos Alf, who hadn't used any weapons from beginning to end, escaped unscathed.

"Let's restore all our weapons to their full strength as much as possible."

Gareth was right next to Tsubaki when he said something to the city's strongest blacksmith.

"This is the last rest stop. Once we reach the 52nd Floor, there won't be any more opportunities to rest."

Upon hearing this, Chun looked suspicious.

"Why?" she asked, somewhat puzzled. "Can't we just rest at the entrance to the 53rd Floor like this?" Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, and finally, they all wore serious expressions.

"... There won't be such a chance, Tsubaki." Riveria Ljos Alf said with one eye closed, "From the 52nd Floor onwards, all the rules that existed in the Dungeon before will be broken. We can only stop after we rush to the 58th Floor in one go and defeat the enemies there." "Rush to the 58th Floor in one go?" Tsubaki was shocked and asked in astonishment, "Really?"

Floors 52-58, that's a total of seven floors.

Next, we need to get through seven floors in one go, with absolutely no time to stop?

Even a forced march shouldn't be this rushed, right?

The Amazon sisters, who were drinking water at the time, all spoke up in response.

"If we stop, something terrible could happen!"

"You'll understand what's going on once we get to the next floor."

Tiona giggled, while Tione looked on with amusement, both seemingly eager for chaos, unlike the others who appeared tense. At least, Alicia, who was on guard duty, looked grave, Lefiya Viridis was taking deep breaths to calm herself, and Raul was so embarrassed that he turned pale and trembled all over, his pathetic appearance prompting Bete Loga to kick him.

"Don't fall behind later, Tsubaki."

Sitting next to Leo, holding a water bottle and awkwardly feeding him a sip, Ais, unusually, spoke up, offering a reminder: "... It seems I'm really about to encounter something extraordinary."

Chun remained silent for a moment, then revealed a fearless and bold smile, seemingly with a hint of anticipation.

The group rested there for about an hour before their health and equipment were fully restored.

Is everything ready?

Finn, who had been silent until now, finally stood up and spoke calmly.

"If you're ready, let's go."

Under the instructions of the Prum chieftain, the group gripped their weapons and shouldered their packs.

"Advance, maintaining the original formation."

Soon after, Finn gave the order, and everyone rushed up the stairs to the 52nd Floor.

The terrain of the 52nd Floor is exactly the same as that of the 51st Floor; both are maze-like areas entirely in the color of lead black.

However, this place is more spacious, darker, and the atmosphere is more oppressive. Only the frequency of monster appearances and the number of encounters seem to have remained largely unchanged compared to before.

The Black Rhino herd continued its rampage, trampling the earth, while Deformed Spider lurked in the darkness, acting as assassins. In addition, there were giant scorpions, Thunder Snake, and Great Silver Snake, among other monsters that frequently appeared in the deeper levels. Even though their combat power was vastly different from the monsters on the previous floors, the difficulty of the 52nd Floor was still about the same as the previous floor, seemingly without much difference.

Chun was puzzled by this, but she soon realized something was wrong.

First, everyone in the group fell silent, holding their breath and marching forward with rapid footsteps, much faster than before.

The group of first-level adventurers seemed to have stopped looking after their supporters and were pushing forward at full speed, making it extremely difficult for Raul, Alicia, and Lefiya Viridis to keep up. They were panting and sweating profusely.

Yet they didn't utter a single complaint, nor did they dare stop to rest for even a moment. As if being chased by something terrifying, they gritted their teeth and ran desperately, completely disregarding whether they would become exhausted.

Even Tsubaki was seeing this desperate attitude from these Loki Familia adventurers for the first time.

"Try to avoid fighting! If you can't avoid it, then do your best to knock away the monsters blocking your way! Don't get entangled in battle! Don't slow down!"

Finn's voice was also filled with urgency; it was the first time Chun had seen this side of the leader of the Prum.

Then, for some reason, a sense of crisis slowly rose within her.

The sense of crisis was initially faint, but it grew stronger and stronger as time went by, as if something was watching her, making her tense all over and her heart pound.

"..."

Faintly, Chun seemed to hear some cries.

That wasn't the cry of monsters attacking from the surrounding area, but a roar coming from a much farther place.

The roar was different from that of ordinary monsters; it was full of majesty and oppression.

As a blacksmith who had handled countless monster materials, Tsubaki finally recognized whose voice it was.

"Dragon...?"

Yes.

This is a dragon's roar.

Dragon Species monsters are recognized as the kings of monsters in the Dungeon.

Dragon-type monsters are usually known for having the highest potential abilities and the strongest combat power among monsters of the same level. For example, the Young Dragon that Leo encountered on the 11th Floor and 12th Floor was the only Dragon Species monster in the upper realm. Although it was not the floor master, it was more than a floor master. Among the monsters classified as Lv.1 in the upper realm, it enjoyed the reputation of being difficult for even Lv.2 advanced adventurers to deal with.

The Tree Dragon on the 24th Floor is a rare species classified as Lv.4, making it the most formidable monster in the last level of the middle layer, where Lv.2 monsters are prevalent.

The Strong Dragon on the 51st Floor goes without saying; in terms of "strength" alone, it is stronger than Udaeus, the floor master whose classification level is Lv.6. These examples all tell the world just how special and unique monsters that can be called "dragons" are.

Even the last of the three adventurers' quests, the only monster king that has not yet been defeated, the One-Eyed Black Dragon has caused countless tragedies and disasters on the ground, is a Dragon Species monster.

The other two great monster kings have been defeated by the "male god" and "goddess" clans, but this last Black Dragon has never been defeated in thousands of years and still roams the earth, which shows that no matter what level, dragons are undoubtedly the strongest race. Now, Chun heard the dragon's roar.

Because she had already stepped into the dragon's territory.

Leo, who had been running silently behind everyone, also heard the roar.

"Ais!"

Knowing what would happen here, he couldn't help but call out to the blonde girl in front of him.

The girl didn't look back, running and swaying her blonde hair as she said something.

"It's coming."

As these words were spoken, everyone felt it.

The ground began to shake.

No, it's not the ground that's shaking; it's the floors below that are shaking.

It was as if something was constantly breaking through the rock layers and breaching the earth's crust, sending out violent and intense tremors.

"Turn left!"

Finn abruptly gave the order, but without the slightest hesitation, everyone swerved and rushed into the side path. "Boom!!!!"

The ground exploded in the next instant.

Like a volcanic eruption, a violent burst of flames shattered the ground, smashing the floor and unleashing a shockwave like a crimson lotus, exploding from bottom to top with terrifying heat.

The flames illuminated the rocky passage, the darkness, and the figures and backs of the adventurers who rushed into the side passage.

"Varied!?"

Suddenly turning her head, Chun slowly opened her right eye, which was the only part of her eye exposed, as she looked at the raging flames shooting into the sky.

Let alone her, even Leo, who was seeing this for the first time and was positioned at the back, closest to the blazing inferno, had his pupils dilate slightly. The waves of heat burning his back and causing a dull ache told him just how powerful this intense heat was.

It was like a massive landmine exploding; the floor was engulfed in fiery flames, and the surrounding monsters were either swallowed up and vaporized by the inferno or blown away by the shockwave, shaking the entire 52nd Floor.

"Don't stop! The western passage! Charge in!"

Finn's voice grew louder and louder, no longer calm and composed, but filled with excitement, guiding the team to immediately change direction again and rush into another wide passage.

"Boom!!!!!"

The second massive explosion struck immediately, the flames shattering the ground once more, shooting skyward and creating Fire Wave that brought astonishing shock and unimaginable heat, distorting the faces of many in the squad.

The massive bombardment blasted a huge hole in the 52nd Floor, causing the bedrock to collapse downwards. Everyone could clearly see the crimson fireball crashing through the ground and piercing through several domes overhead, igniting their sense of crisis.

Leo was running at the very back, was both skilled and daring. He took advantage of the chaos to look down at the broken ground.

His gaze pierced through the red-hot hole in an instant, and he saw the floor below, the 53rd Floor.

However, on the ground floor of the 53rd Floor, there was also only a large, red-hot hole.

The explosive flames pierced through several floors, forming a long and large Vertical Shaft that led all the way down to the 58th Floor. That was the deepest floor reached by modern adventurers, and it was the place they were determined to conquer on this expedition.

Through the large, red-hot holes, Leo saw several enormous dragons looking up at him, their eyes gleaming with ferocity. They were bipedal, entirely red, and possessed massive bodies, each over ten meters Great Red Dragon.

The Cannon Dragon, also known as the Valgang Dragon, is a Dragon Species monster that only appears on the 58th Floor.

Their gaping maws, filled with fangs, emitted smoke and fire, telling Leo who had just witnessed the explosion of flames. It was none other than them.

They possess the perception and firepower to cross floors, able to detect enemies above even several floors away, and aim at them, unleashing long-range and extremely powerful flames to attack.

This is a long-range artillery barrage capable of ignoring building obstructions; it's the true nature of those explosive bombardments.

That's why Finn said that once you enter the 52nd Floor, there's no stopping.

That's why Riveria Ljos Alf said that starting from the 52nd Floor, all the rules that existed in the Dungeon before will be broken, and you can only stop after rushing to the 58th Floor and defeating the enemies there.

The reason is that unless they reach the 58th Floor and defeat the Cannon Dragon there, they will continue to be sniped from below.

With ferocious roars, the dragon cannons, signaling the Power of Destruction doom, would repeatedly target and fire at them, shattering several thick rock faces as they hurtled towards them.

From the 52nd Floor onwards, all the way to the 58th Floor, is the attack range of the Cannon Dragon.

Therefore, people refer to the layer domain containing layers 52-58 as such...

"Dragon Pot".