The Ever-Present Crisis

"Dragon Pot" literally means the pothole of a dragon or the dragon's lair.

The seven floors, from the 52nd to the 58th, are all referred to in this way, and this is certainly not only because the Great Red Dragon, which is currently on the 58th Floor, is aiming upwards and viciously spewing huge fireballs.

Besides the Cannon Dragon, there is another Dragon Species monster in this layer— the Evil Wyvern.

It was a pterosaur-like monster with a body and tail that were over three meters long, and as its name suggests, it had the ability to fly.

These blue-purple dragons fly down from the lower floors through Vertical Shaft created by the fireballs of the Cannon Dragon, attacking adventurers. In other words, these monsters also have the ability to ignore floor levels, making them far stronger than the monsters on the 52nd Floor.

The existence of the Evil Wyvern and the Valgang Dragon, the blue-purple flying dragon and the crimson Cannon Dragon, these two types of monsters that can attack adventurers regardless of the floor are the reason why floors 52-58 are called "Dragon Pot".

"Roar!!!"

With a clear, ear-piercing roar, blue-purple dragons emerged from the horizontal caves, which were connected like an anthill by burning red-hot Vertical Shaft. Their eyes gleaming with ferocity, they attacked the expedition team rushing through the 52nd Floor. Most of them came from the 56th and 57th Floor, where horizontal caves existed, from which the Evil Wyvern appeared one after another, carrying a menacing aura, flying like locusts Vertical Shaft to reach the 52nd Floor.

"Riveria Ljos Alf!"

Seeing this, Finn called out to the elven royalty who were positioned at the rear.

"[Wood Spirit—grant my wish, Forest Garment—my name is Alf.]"

Riveria Ljos Alf didn't listen to Finn's next words at all, nor did she need to. The tacit understanding built up over the years of fighting side by side made her instantly know what the Prum leader needed her to do, so without saying a word, she chanted the spell while running at top speed.

The practiced Parallel Chanting, the calm tone, seemed to cool the scorching air, its clear sound resonating in everyone's ears. "[Veil Breath]!"

A second later, Riveria Ljos Alf completed the casting of the spell, enveloping everyone present in a warm green light robe.

This is the second stage of Riveria Ljos Alf's Second Magic, a protective spell capable of withstanding all enemy attacks.

Riveria Ljos Alf's Second Magic, [Dimensional Barrier], is a defensive spell. Through its Chant Connection nature, it possesses three effects. The first is [Life-Giving Phantasm], which increases resistance to both physical and magical attacks. Similar to enchantment magic, the effect lasts for a period of time and can also slightly heal bodily injuries, making it a supplementary defensive spell.

The second type is [Veil Breath], which, as mentioned above, can resist any type of attack and protect the target.

The third type is the fully chanted [Dimensional Blockade], which can completely block both physical and magical attacks; it is a barrier magic. Given the urgency of the situation and the fact that everyone was constantly moving, it wasn't suitable to cast a longer blocking barrier spell. Therefore, Riveria Ljos Alf unhesitatingly cast the second-tier [Veil Breath], using her green light robe to protect everyone.

Falna to the city's strongest Mage, the group was finally able to ignore the searing heat and fight off the oncoming Evil Wyvern. "Don't get entangled with them! Don't stop! Fight and run! Maintain formation!"

Finn employed tactics suitable for high-speed movement, causing everyone to change formation.

The supporters all moved to the center, protecting the two rear-guard Mage, Leo and Riveria Ljos Alf. The fastest Ais and Bete Loga, continued to clear the way from the front, eliminating the monsters blocking their path with maximum efficiency. Finn and Tsubaki flanked the enemies, while only Gareth remained in the rear. This great dwarf warrior finally found his place and bore the brunt of the pressure.

There was no other way. In their high-speed movement, the Vertical Shaft that had been pierced by the Cannon Dragon had long been left behind by the team. The Evil Wyvern flew out from there, and in the end, they all attacked from behind, leaving Gareth to hold them off alone.

"Finally, it's my turn to step in. Bring it on!"

Faced with countless dragons flapping their wings and charging at him, Gareth did not show any seriousness. Instead, he smiled with fighting spirit and picked up a great battle axe in each hand, slashing at the Evil Wyvern.

In his left hand he carried Majestic Great Axe, a first-class weapon forged by Chun, the city's strongest blacksmith. It possessed the highest weight, durability, toughness, and destructive power of all weapon types. Due to its excessive weight, even first-class adventurers would find it difficult to wield. Only warriors like Gareth, whose "strength" and "durability" parameters both reached the highest standards, could use it. It was worth forty-five million Valis, clearly a friendly price.

The weapon he held in his right hand was the Roland Battle Axe, an indestructible weapon with power equivalent to a second-tier weapon. It was worth over 100 million Valis. Although its weight, durability, toughness, and destructive power were not as good as the former, it was still among the best.

The dwarven warrior, wielding a great battle axe in each hand, created a powerful Sonic Boom as he cleaved them with brute force. "Boom!!!"

With a deafening roar, several of the leading Evil Wyvern were sent flying as if they had been blown apart. The two great battle axes struck down like a massive explosion, sending these Evil Wyvern flying, covered in blood, crashing into their brethren behind them and sending many of Evil Wyvern flying as well.

This attack, caused by superhuman strength and weight, is an outrageous offensive that only a great warrior like Gareth, who has even invested in enhancing "strength" and "endurance," could accomplish.

The powerful attack caused such a shock that the rest of Gareth's team were thrown into disarray. They felt the ground shaking violently beneath their feet, the air roaring, a strong wind blowing from behind, and rocks and rubble flying everywhere, almost breaking their formation.

Even Leo felt a sharp whooshing sound behind him again, and quickly turned his head to dodge a piece of rock that shot towards him like a bullet. He then gave a wry smile and shouted at Gareth behind him.

"Old man, take it easy. Are you fighting a monster or your teammates?"

Upon hearing this, Gareth burst into laughter.

"Scared about this? Looks like you're still a long way off, you brat!"

Once in battle mode, Gareth was no longer the kind and gentle person she usually was. Her entire aura was surging, her sharpness was fully revealed, and even the tone of her voice was full of the unique sharpness of a warrior, which stirred people's hearts.

I'm worried you might hurt your back!

Influenced by Gareth's sharp and assertive warrior-like demeanor, Leo's tone unconsciously became more impolite.

"You brat! Who do you think you are?"

Gareth laughed in exasperation, but his hands moved swiftly. With another swing of his double axes, a group of attacking Evil Wyvern was cleaved away amidst a deafening roar, their blood gushing out on the spot.

While fighting, Gareth kept up with the group at a brisk pace, and the group never stopped, instead getting faster and faster.

There was no way around it; a faint sense of crisis, as if locked onto by something, clung to everyone's hearts like a shadow, preventing the highly perceptive Level 1 adventurers from daring to stop. The supporters, pale-faced and panting heavily, frantically struggled with their legs, not daring to stop at all. "Left!"

"Right!"

"Further to the right!"

Throughout the process, Finn's commands never ceased, guiding everyone forward.

Even though the 52nd Floor is much larger than the entire Orario region, and it's a maze with many branching paths, and few adventurers have ever reached it, a complete map of this floor still cannot be drawn to this day. Finn, however, has memorized all the known routes and paths, constantly updating his route in his mind, precisely detouring, advancing, and dodging, avoiding obstacles along the way, while steadfastly making his way to the entrance of the 53rd Floor. This memory and intelligence are simply superhuman, leaving onlookers in awe.

"Boom!!!!!"

The terrifying explosions still reach the 52nd Floor every now and then, each time causing a deafening roar and bombardment that shakes the entire floor. Huge bursts of flame shoot into the sky from behind the expedition team, reaching the dome. Sometimes, they even blow away the dome of the 52nd Floor, affecting the floors above and causing countless monsters to howl in agony.

The sniper from the Cannon Dragon could always lock onto the expedition team's location, aiming at them from several floors away and firing. Whenever the members of the expedition team stopped, they would be engulfed by the explosive flames from the giant fireballs, just like the monsters chasing behind them, and would eventually be burned to ashes, leaving no trace of their bodies.

Therefore, they cannot stop, nor dare they stop; they can only persevere.

However, the level-one adventurers were one thing, but their level was still a factor. Even Riveria Ljos Alf, a Mage, managed to persevere without exhausting herself.

However, the situation is different for the supporters who haven't yet reached level 5.

Raul was running so hard his veins were bulging and his clothes were soaked with sweat, while Alicia was gritting her teeth and pushing herself even harder.

But Lefiya Viridis... was almost at her breaking point.

"Ha... ha... ha... cough cough cough...!"

As time went on, Lefiya Viridis's breathing became rapid and labored, her face turned terribly pale, and physiological tears welled up in her eyes, causing her to cough incessantly as she ran.

Even if Raul and Alicia weren't first-level adventurers, they were already Lv.4, barely keeping up with the main force. Lefiya Viridis, however, was only Lv.3, and Mage at that. Her "Strength" parameter was only 1, her "Durability" parameter was only H, and even her "Dexterity" and "Agility" were only G. Only her "Magic Demonic Power" reached A, making her a true "Demonic Power idiot." It was really difficult for her to keep up with the main force in such a tense and dangerous environment.

To make matters worse, due to excessive tension, Lefiya Viridis's physical strength was depleted exceptionally quickly, and the overly tense state caused her energy to drain away at an alarming rate.

As a result, her pace inevitably slowed down.

"Lefiya Viridis! Don't stop! Keep running!"

Seeing this, Alicia, who had been following Lefiya Viridis closely, quickly adjusted her breathing and loudly warned her.

"Quick, quick, get some supplies!"

Raul, also panting, pulled out a stamina-restoring potion from his backpack and carefully handed it to the elven girl.

The elven girl quickly reached out to take it, but due to momentary distraction, both of them inevitably became less vigilant about their surroundings.

Completely unaware, at the top of the tunnel they were rushing through, a Deformed Spider lurked in the darkness, its eyes gleaming menacingly as it stared at them. Thud!

Without any warning, the Deformed Spider spit out thick spider silk towards the two of them.

"Oh no!"

Ais and Finn, whose senses were the most acute, were the first to notice the situation, and their expressions changed drastically.

However, one of them was at the forefront and the other was on the side, and they were running at top speed. Even if they reacted and wanted to stop them, it would be too late.

At the critical moment, a figure suddenly turned and leaped up to meet the incoming spider silk.

"Bass!"

This is a clear, melodious whistling sound, the sound of a sharp weapon rubbing against its scabbard.

A beam of platinum light flashed, and a chilling slash swept past like a flash, striking the thick spider silk.

"Pfft!"

The spider silk was sliced open instantly by its astonishing sharpness; the platinum-gold slash gave it no chance to entangle before severing it completely. Leo's figure then emerged from his state of rapid movement, wielding a dazzling longsword that shimmered with platinum light. With a single slash, the sword light cut through the spider silk, pierced the sky, and landed on the Deformed Spider, cleaving it in two at the waist.

This sword strike was sharp and swift.

This sword strike was dazzling and captivating.

Everyone's attention was drawn to this sword strike, and their faces showed surprise.

Especially Tsubaki, who couldn't hide the gleam and surprise in her eyes as she looked at the Platinum Sword in Leo's hand.

"What a fine sword!"

As a blacksmith, Chun immediately recognized the sword's extraordinary nature.

As she expected, this was a work far beyond her skill level, a true divine weapon.

However, Leo, who resolved the crisis for Raul and Lefiya Viridis with this sword strike, was left behind by the rushing team because he leaped into the air and hovered.

And the dragon that had been keeping its sights on this place did not miss this golden opportunity.

"Boom!!!!!"

The ground trembled and exploded, unleashing boundless karmic flames that swept across the land.

The crimson lotus flames shattered the earth, erupting into the sky like a volcano for the umpteenth time, engulfing Leo's figure before he even hit the ground. Leo's pupils contracted, and he only had time to raise his hands to shield himself before he was plunged into the crimson lotus flames.

Everyone clearly saw Leo's figure fall through the flames, finally landing in the blasted- Vertical Shaft and disappearing from sight. "Leo!"

"Mr. Leo!"

Raul and Lefiya Viridis both let out screams and cries of agony.

Ⅰ"

Without a second thought, Ais, who was in front, turned around and charged forward, surrounded by surging wind. Before anyone could react, she rushed into the still-burning flames and jumped into the Vertical Shaft with Leo.

"Ais!"

Even Riveria Ljos Alf couldn't help but gasp in surprise.