Vitality Hall.
As the light faded, before Vane could even cheer, thick vines shot up from the ground, instantly suspending him upside down in mid-air.
"Third brother, you ambushed me?!" Vane cried out in alarm and struggled.
It's me.
Gregor's deep voice rang out, and without further ado, he threw a punch.
"Hungry--!"
Vane's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Why?! I've been behaving very well lately!"
"Ex-husband, do I need to remind you?" Gregor added another punch.
"That was an accident! It was Steins;Gate's choice... Aww!"
Another punch made him swallow the rest of his strange remark.
"Awooo! Stop hitting me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?!"
Gregor kept throwing punches, making Vera beside him itch with envy.
"Boss, are you tired? How about I take over?"
"Second brother, why are you like this!"
Vane was terrified, and Gorth tried to comfort him:
"Should we just put it down?"
"You're still the best, Third Brother."
Vane looked moved.
"I knew it. You, who look the least human among us, are actually the most..."
"Putting it in mid-air will easily dissipate its power; let's hit it on the ground, it'll be more solid."
"Huh?"
Gorth joined the brawl.
Vane's screams grew louder and louder until Ifrit rubbed her eyes and sat up from the cushions, at which point the group stopped.
Several supple vines stretched out and rolled up Vane, who had been beaten to a pulp, stretching him out like dough.
After a teeth-grinding cracking sound, Vane groaned as he regained his human form, moving his limbs.
"Alright," Gregor clapped his hands, "Get ready to go to the Dungeon."
"Do we need someone to stay behind this time?"
Vane asked the question while checking himself for any misalignments or stretching.
"No need," Vera immediately rejected the idea. "We only need to clear three levels to complete the game. With our current setup, we can handle the bosses up to the third level... except for the hidden levels."
"That makes sense." Vane nodded, then sighed.
"What a pity. If I had blue coins, I would definitely have taken the statue's blessing."
Mentioning this, Gregor turned his gaze to the beverage vending machine in the corner of the hall that had always been rather unnoticed.
"Some facilities can be equipped with 'gold coins,' but can Pure Gold be used as a substitute?"
Gorth shook his head, clearly having already tried it:
"It won't fit. Besides, the facilities in these halls seem to be protected in some way; at least, I can't damage their structure."
Vane crept up to the vending machine and carefully examined the coin slot:
"Such a small hole is indeed impossible to fit... Have you ever tried casting Pure Gold into a coin-sized piece?"
Gregor and Gorth both looked at him.
"... Never thought about it?" Vane blinked.
"Give it a try," Gregor said succinctly.
A moment later, a glass of dark Bloody Mary spilled out.
"It seems like we can only serve one cup?"
Vane patted the vending machine and inserted a few more gold coins.
"You can only drink one drink per game too," Gregor confirmed, picking up his drink and looking at the other three.
"Who's coming?"
"I'll pass, I'm invincible right now~" Vane immediately waved his hand.
"My summons deal mixed elemental damage, so critical hits aren't very effective," Gorth calmly refused.
Finally, Vera's gaze fell upon the dark purple [Hex Staff] in her hand.
The Hex Staff's special attacks require a critical hit, and she definitely needs one.
Without any pretense, Vera tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp, under the watchful eyes of several people.
"What does it feel like?" Vane curiously, leaning closer.
Vera put down her cup and said expressionlessly:
"It tastes good, sweet and sour. Would you like to try some?"
Vane retreated at lightning speed in an instant, expressing his refusal through his actions.
After a brief rest, the group arrived at the teleportation portal.
Vane suddenly remembered something and looked at Vera:
"By the way, did you bloom the Fantastic Flower? What effect did it have?"
(The Fantastic Flower has been set as a permanent plant here, don't worry about it, it's all thanks to the author's divine intervention.)
"Electro-optical attacks enhanced."
"Uh... it doesn't seem very useful?" Vane scratched his head.
"Not necessarily," Gorth offered a different perspective. "Perhaps we'll encounter a powerful optoelectronic weapon this time?"
"But we already have Hex Staff," Vane still felt it was a bit of a waste. "What weapon could be more effective than it?"
Gregor did not participate in the discussion; he took the lead and stepped into the flowing light portal.
"We'll only know once we're inside."
The three followed closely behind and leaped into the portal of light.
The light faded, and they found themselves on solid ground. The four quickly looked around.
The sandy yellow, broken stone walls, the collapsed Idol, and the dry, dusty smell in the air.
"Temple layout," Vane snapped his fingers, "I remember the first floor bosses were... the Ancient Colossus and the Golden Masked King?"
Let's go.
Gregor took the lead, and with a slight thought, Gorth's burly Shadow Wolf obediently lowered its body.
"What's the plan this time? Speedrun or exploration?"
Last time, due to time constraints, the Dungeon was far larger than expected, and we didn't have time to fully explore it.
"Splitting into two groups will be more efficient," Gregor quickly decided.
"I'll team up with the third brother. The second brother, you take the fourth brother's place."
"Understood." Vera nodded.
"Roger that!" Vane immediately moved closer to Vera. "Don't worry, boss! Leave the second one to me, I guarantee..."
"No need," Vera interrupted him, walking straight towards the nearest stone door.
"I'll clean the room with meteorites; you just wait outside."
"Huh? Then what do you need me for?" Vane was stunned.
"To act as a human shield when necessary."
Vane: "???"
Amid Vane's protests, the two groups split up.
Boom--!!!
Not long after, a violent tremor and muffled thud were heard from the ground.
Gregor and Gorth exchanged a glance— Vera's side had begun.
Let's begin.
As soon as Gregor finished speaking, an eerie red light suddenly shone from the top of the stone pillar next to them, and the entire pillar sprang into the air, crashing down on the two of them.
A fist covered in scorching energy slammed upwards, shattering the stone pillar into pieces in mid-air.
Almost simultaneously, countless giant trees surged forth from all around.
In an instant, it crushed the squeaking monkey monster and several stone statues that were trying to move in the room into a pile of wreckage.
As the smoke and dust dissipated, one "survivor" remained in the room—a giant golden crab carrying a human-faced stone statue on its back, slowly crawling sideways.
"Guard Crab..."
Gregor and Gorth almost simultaneously raised their hands to their foreheads. This monster wasn't strong, but its mechanics were incredibly annoying:
When not attacking, any damage received is forcibly reduced to 1 point;
The defense will only be disarmed the moment it initiates an attack.
Gregor tentatively threw an Explosive Flying Shield.
After the deafening roar, the Guard Crab was almost completely unharmed.
When it could no longer restrain itself and suddenly pounced on the two of them, Gregor threw a punch.
Click!
This time it hit squarely, and the crab, along with the stone statue on its back, instantly shattered into pieces.
"Conceptual skills, what a hassle."
Gorth shook his head, and the shadow beneath his feet spread, swallowing the crab shell fragments.
"What's this?" Gregor, looking at him.
"We'll leave them for the second brother to use as summoning materials," Gorth explained, then glanced at the remains of the monkey monsters in the distance, his expression troubled.
"There's food stored in the shadows... Putting these humanoid things inside feels a bit disgusting."
"It's alright, these monsters are weak anyway."
Gregor expressed his understanding, his gaze falling on a strangely shaped gun that the monkey monster had dropped, Gorth had already wrapped up with vines:
"AK-47?"
That's right, the monkey monster's weapon is indeed a firearm, but the bullets it fires are energy light projectiles.
Gorth enthusiastically collected all the weapons, and then included the stones in the room in his shadow.
"What's the purpose this time?" Gregor asked, watching him ransack the place.
"The treehouse over in Ursus is a bit empty,"
Gorth scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed, and added,
I want to decorate it.
"Whatever makes you happy."
Gregor was helpless, but he didn't stop it.
The two continued forward, Gorth's hoarding habit was fully unleashed, leaving a trail of earth in their wake.
On the other side--
Vera's brute force was highly efficient, but...
"It collapsed again."
Vane looked at the passage, which was once again completely blocked by fallen rocks, and resignedly began to clear it.
"Actually, I can clear the monsters too. Blood Blade Sweep is pretty fast." He muttered to himself as he dug at the rocks.
"You'll handle the next room," Vera said helplessly.
The meteorite drop, once realized, was incredibly powerful. Even if the overall structure of the dungeon Dungeon, the shockwave would still send debris from the room flying into the passageway.
Vera directed the plague demons summoned by the meteorite to help clean up, while she herself began to tally up the spoils.
"Biomass, biomass, biomass... How come there's so much biomass?" Vera looked at the uniform materials and felt a headache coming on.
"Otherwise what?" Vane retorted without turning his head.
"Do you expect a bunch of monkeys to drop you refined iron? A mechanical map might yield more iron ingots."
"Perhaps..." Vera sighed.
Besides the large amount of biomass, another major reward is the considerable amount of Pure Gold found in the treasure chests.
"This Pure Gold is almost piled up into a mountain..."
"Just leave it there," Vane said, completely unconcerned.
"Ultimately, what use is this thing to us now? We can't just spend money to try our luck at a lottery."
"Do you know how many supplies a single piece of Pure Gold can be exchanged for on the black market in Kazdel? That much Pure Gold is enough to..."
"Aha! It's working!"
Vera tried to explain its value, Vane didn't listen. He cheered and ran towards the passage that had just been cleared.
Vera's temple throbbed slightly, but she finally sighed and followed.
Rushing into the new room, Vane, who was running ahead, suddenly stopped, his expression blank.
"What's wrong? Didn't you say you were the one to clear the area?"
Vera followed in and paused upon seeing the scene before her.
The room was unusually empty, with no monsters and very few of the usual broken decorations, only a few collapsed and dilapidated stone pillars.
The walls and floor were made of uniform sandy yellow boulders, giving the place an exceptionally desolate feel.
"Could it be a special room? But why are there no facilities?" Vera frowned and quickly scanned her surroundings.
Vane cautiously pulled Vera behind him:
"Be careful, could this be the boss room?"
Vera didn't refute, her sharp gaze sweeping over every corner. There were no living creatures here, and...
"Isn't this room more than half the size of a standard room?"
Upon hearing this, Vane also looked at him carefully and indeed felt somewhat oppressed and uneasy.
"You retreat to the passage, I'll scout ahead."
Vane pushed Vera toward the door and walked forward himself.
"Anyway, I have Immortal Body, so I can withstand anything if something really happens."
Vera didn't insist, retreating to the door frame, ready to activate the stop at any moment.
Vane walked forward step by step, his footsteps echoing in the empty room.
They checked the walls and tapped the floor, but still found nothing.
Vera's gaze moved from the wall to the ceiling, and then to the space above the center of the room...
The pupils suddenly contracted.
"Fourth brother is back!"
She shouted sharply and immediately activated the time stop function.
The time-stopping, pale purple force field unfolded instantly, but its range was limited.
Unable to overwrite!?
Vera couldn't believe it; Vane was hurtling away from her at breakneck speed.
No! The room is expanding!
"What the hell?!"
Vane unfurled his bat wings and retreated rapidly, flying towards Vera at the doorway.
The ground is rising.
Huge, neat cracks spread outwards from the center of the room, causing the entire Dungeon to tremble violently.
"Hey! This thing is way too big!!"
Vane, holding Vera, hovered in mid-air, sweat beading on his forehead.
The ground is rising faster and faster, and the cracks are becoming increasingly deep.
No, this isn't the room floor at all!
With a deafening roar as the boulders rubbed together, a massive silhouette rose from beneath the ground.
It is square and perfectly formed, composed of countless giant stones joined together seamlessly.
The "room" we just saw, along with the surrounding "walls," is now shifting and expanding outwards at an astonishing speed.
No, that wasn't a room... it was the body of a colossus!
Smoke and dust billowed into the sky, and gravel rained down.
When the tremors subsided, the two people suspended in mid-air finally saw what they were facing.
It was a Giant made of rock that almost filled their entire field of vision.
It stands silently, as if it has just awakened from an ancient slumber.
The room they had just explored was merely a tiny platform on its surface.
"This is supposed to be the boss on the first floor?!"
Vane's voice changed, filled with disbelief and shock.
The ultimate guardian of the Temple map – the Ancient Colossus.
The enormous jewel in the center of its forehead lit up, and the colossus raised its arm, slamming down to the ground with tremendous wind pressure.
Boom--!!!
The two people in mid-air only felt a violent vibration in the air, Vane breathed a sigh of relief:
"Luckily, I remember it doesn't fire projectiles; it can't hit us while we're in mid-air..."
"Get out of the way, you idiot!"
Vera grabbed Vane's head and lifted it upwards.
Along with the violent tremors came... countless meteorites.
"Isn't that your skill!?"
Vane wailed and pulled Vera away.
"Something's not right with this boss, I need to check his cards!"