Ancient Dragon Ruins Labyrinth

Brook swallowed hard. After turning back and seeing Cain, Roxy, and Zoldat all nod slightly in agreement, he put his full strength into pushing the exquisite stone door.

With a creak, the door slowly opened.

The group looked at the pitch-black interior, somewhat puzzled.

By all rights, this boss room was terrifyingly quiet. There was neither the glow of magic crystals nor any sign of the boss guarding it. They then advanced into the boss room in a ladder formation, with Zoldat holding a torch in the middle to light the way for the team.

"Hmm, it's so quiet. Is this really the boss—"

"Bruce, move!"

Just as Bruce spoke, a gigantic claw taller than a man swung a sharp greatsword down at him!

Zoldat shouted, but it was already too late for him to knock Bruce aside. That greatsword was simply too fast.

"So fast... I can't dodge it." Bruce's pupils trembled as he watched the greatsword slash toward his neck at the speed of light. It was the Blade of Light, the Sword God Style's Blade of Light—an ultimate technique that he could scarcely have blocked even if he had not let his guard down.

But the next second, with a clang, the giant skeletal arm holding the sword was instantly sent flying, along with the greatsword. It crashed onto the ground with a boom.

Cain had struck first, unleashing a Blade of Light even faster than that Blade of Light and severing the skeletal arm completely.

"Whew... I thought I was going to die."

Brook slumped to the ground to steady himself, then looked at the thing that had nearly taken his life. It was a four-meter-tall giant dragon skeleton that walked upright, its remaining three arms holding a greatshield, a longsword, and a spear respectively.

Red light glowed in the bone dragon's eyes as it stared fixedly at Cain, who was walking toward it with a calm expression.

"An S-rank Flamebone Dragon Guard?!"

Roxy had seen this type of monster in a magic book before. It usually served as the final boss of an A-rank Dungeon, appearing as the labyrinth's guardian. It could breathe dragonfire, use Fire Magic and earth magic, and even wield swordsmanship from various styles. The Ultimate Blade of Light just now had been unleashed by it.

The Flamebone Dragon Guard's massive body was like a city wall, and the weapons in its remaining three hands radiated an immense threat.

Such a powerful monster was far beyond what Zoldat and the others could handle alone. They needed a monster of the same level to fight it.

Fortunately, their party happened to have a monster capable of standing against it.

Cain calmly watched the Flamebone Dragon Guard assume a Water God Style stance. His brow rose slightly as he slowly sheathed his steel sword on his back, placed his hand on Instant Void, the katana at his waist, and lowered his body into the opening stance for the Blade of Light.

By the time everyone came to their senses, Cain had shattered the ground with a boom and shot forward like a cannonball! Two consecutive Blades of Light let out piercing shrieks that set their teeth on edge, instantly cutting the Flamebone Dragon Guard—and the thick giant metal shield in its hand—into three sections. Cain then sheathed his sword.

With a thud, the three sections of the Flamebone Dragon Guard's skeleton collapsed helplessly onto the ground. The red magic power in its chest went out, leaving behind a pile of bones.

Cain cautiously scanned his surroundings, feeling that something was off. Although this A-rank Dungeon boss felt slightly more oppressive than the S-rank Red Dragon, it was only slightly so. Was it really the final guardian of such a dangerous labyrinth?

"It's... over?!"

Zoldat's eyes widened as he stared in shock at Cain, who stood calmly atop the Flamebone Dragon Guard's bones.

Was it really that simple? Zoldat felt as though the world had become even more distant again. In the future, whenever they encountered a monster they could not defeat, they should just send Cain in. This guy was practically a superhero.

Well, an A-rank Dungeon boss-level monster was clearly still not much to someone who bore the title of Second Sword God.

Roxy smiled in relief and slowly let out a breath. As expected, her disciple was very strong.

"Everyone, wait... Something seems wrong."

Cain looked around the still pitch-black surroundings, his brow furrowing.

"What is it, Cain?" Roxy blinked and looked at him.

"Teacher Roxy, I remember that after clearing a dungeon, magic crystals and treasure should appear..."

Cain's gaze swept across the empty hall.

"But there's nothing here..."

Everyone's pupils contracted.

That was right—where were the magic crystals? They had entered this labyrinth specifically to obtain those high-value items.

"Wait! Could it be..."

Zoldat's pupils suddenly shrank. He rushed past Cain toward the other side of the hall, and when he saw the huge stone door quietly standing there, he could not help swallowing hard.

"Hey, hey, seriously?!"

"What is it?"

Roxy and Brook were both veteran adventurers, but when they came over and saw the enormous stone door, they too stopped in their tracks and sucked in a cold breath.

"This is?!"

Zoldat pushed open the door. Sure enough, behind it were the familiar stairs descending to the twenty-first floor.

"An S-rank Dungeon?! This isn't an A-rank Dungeon?! It's an S-rank Dungeon?!"

Everyone except Cain went pale. So the labyrinth they had been clearing all this time was actually an extremely difficult S-rank Dungeon?! Just thinking about it made them shudder with lingering fear. No wonder they had encountered A-rank monsters as early as the tenth floor.

Cain blinked, looking blankly at Roxy beside him, whose expression had turned grave.

"Teacher, S-rank Dungeons seem to be the hardest, right?"

"Not 'seem to be,' you idiot, Cain! They are! They are! Don't say it like a question."

Roxy puffed up her cheeks angrily. The moment she remembered how her disciple had served as the vanguard for twenty floors in an S-rank Dungeon, always leading the party and scouting ahead, a wave of fear rose in her heart. What if this idiot had stepped on a magic transfer trap?

And what would she have done then... Roxy no longer wanted to lose another important companion. Now, all she had was Cain, her idiot disciple.

Cain watched Teacher Roxy puff up her cheeks as she tried to look fierce, scratching his cheek. Her mood seemed rather bad, even though she had been fine just now. Looking at the locating ring he had given her on her finger, Cain inexplicably felt much more at ease.

"G-Got it. Don't be so fierce, Teacher Roxy. I'll remember it."

The group stopped to rest, while Roxy continued teaching Cain about adventurers.

"One type of S-rank Dungeon is an S-rank Transfer Labyrinth. It is filled with transfer magic traps, and once you step on one, you'll be randomly teleported. The consequences are unimaginable, so..."

"Captain Zoldat, please share some of the vanguard duties as well."

"Me?!" Zoldat swallowed hard under Roxy's scrutinizing, doubtful gaze.

She was obviously just playing favorites with her little boyfriend...

"Ahem, I understand. But I truly didn't know this dungeon would change from A-rank to the dangerous S-rank this time. This was a mistake in my command. In any case, I'll take responsibility."

Cain looked at Zoldat, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat, sighed, crossed his arms, and shook his head.

The elite monsters on those twenty floors had nearly killed Bruce, the team's tank, in one blow. Having Zoldat, a swordsman, serve as the vanguard would be little different from feeding experience to monsters.

"No, I'll do it."

"Cain..." Zoldat looked at the serious expression on Cain's face and felt somewhat moved.

"No, idiot! Having you serve as the vanguard alone the entire time is far too reckless!"

Roxy looked at Cain with absolute determination.

Cain gazed gently at Roxy, feeling a little happy inside.

"Teacher Roxy, thank you for worrying about me. I understand that you're concerned about me too..."

"I-I... Fine. As your teacher, it's only natural for me to worry about my disciple, right? I'm your teacher, so I have to take responsibility for your life!"