Upgrading to lv8

"Help! Someone, save me!"

"I don't want to die! Don't abandon me!"

"Ah, damn slimes! I'll fight you to the death!"

On the Dungeon's second floor, a novice adventurer ran forward in blind panic. Screams and cries for help continuously rang out behind him, but he had already been scared out of his wits and did not dare look back. The only thought in his mind was to escape the Dungeon as quickly as possible.

"Ahhh!"

As the novice adventurer rounded a corner, he could not see the ground clearly in the dim surroundings. He stepped straight into a trap, the spikes piercing through the soles of his feet. His body staggered, and he fell to the ground, impaled all over like a porcupine. The intense pain made him let out a miserable scream.

"Gugu ga."

Several Goblins carrying bone clubs emerged from the corner. Stimulated by the scent of blood in the air, they let out piercing, grotesque laughter. The ugly Goblins rushed forward and began tearing at him.

Before long, everything on the novice adventurer had been stripped clean. The ground began to writhe as though alive and swallowed the entire corpse, while the Goblins licked the remaining bloodstains clean.

In a cave not far from where the novice adventurer had died, more than a dozen Steel Slimes were gnawing at iron ore embedded in the walls. In a corner, a suit of armor covered in mycelium crouched quietly, utterly inconspicuous.

At that very moment, similar events were happening constantly throughout the upper floors of the Dungeon. Countless novice adventurers died in this Dungeon like weeds, and Steel Slimes and Death Iron Skeletons became rookie killers that struck fear into people's hearts.

A small number of lucky novice adventurers who escaped the Dungeon had been frightened into mental breakdowns. Yet some fortunate ones found treasure chests containing all kinds of equipment and precious materials, driving the other adventurers even crazier.

They believed they would be the next lucky ones to strike it rich.

"What a perfect day for a carnival!"

On the Dungeon's Seventh Layer, Lucifer looked at the Primordial Power steadily climbing on the panel, his joy beyond words. The price he had paid to clear out the bug nest had not been in vain. Drawn by the lure of treasure and power, all of Adventurer Town had descended into revelry.

Primordial Power: 1321.

More than thirteen hundred points of Primordial Power in just a few short hours was an enormous gain. Unfortunately, an event like this was fine once in a while, but if it happened too often, it would only affect the Dungeon's operation.

After all, too many novice adventurers had died. Those remaining were all seasoned adventurers, and it would not be so easy to harvest adventurers like this then.

"It needs sustainable development, just like harvesting chives."

To be honest, Lucifer would have been lying if he said he was not tempted by such efficient harvesting of Primordial Power. Even capitalists left some roots when exploiting others, so Lucifer naturally would not be stupid enough to crazily harvest adventurers like chives.

If the Dungeon's mortality rate for novices became too high, then no matter how greedy newcomers were in the future, they definitely would not dare enter the Dungeon so easily.

"There's enough Primordial Power. Time to level up."

With a thought, the Primordial Power on the panel began rapidly dropping. In the blink of an eye, eight hundred points vanished.

Level: lv8 (0/900).

The moment the Dungeon successfully leveled up, Lucifer clearly felt his power begin to swell rapidly. A brand-new Dungeon floor was continuously carved out of the Void, and scorching, violent power poured into his body.

In the Void, churning lava emitted scorching heat. Poisonous fumes carrying the stench of sulfur filled the entire space. Rivers of lava raced across the ground into the distance, while grayish-brown mountains stood upon the land. Thick black smoke rose from their peaks, and erupting lava fell from the sky like meteors.

Stairs connecting the different floors stretched across the Void. The moment the Seventh Layer connected with the newly born Eighth Layer, Lucifer had already moved his main body and all his treasures to the deepest part of the Eighth Layer.

"A volcano?"

At the deepest part of the Eighth Layer, Lucifer surveyed his surroundings and discovered that he was inside a volcano. Boiling lava constantly churned around him as his spiritual power spread out, covering the entire Eighth Layer.

Towering volcanoes stood across the dark brown earth, their erupting lava flowing freely over the ground. From high above, they resembled crimson blood vessels connecting the entire land.

The black smoke from the volcanic eruptions blanketed the sky, while countless burning meteors crashed down like a torrential rain. If he had not known this was the Dungeon, Lucifer might have thought he had wandered into the Abyss.

"This environment is even more extreme than the Seventh Layer!"

Lucifer looked at the brand-new Eighth Layer and was immensely satisfied. Especially the poisonous gases on the Eighth Layer—he could sense the presence of elemental power within them. This was no longer the ordinary poison of the Venomous Swamp on the Fourth Layer, but Fire Venom imbued with extraordinary power.

With that thought, Lucifer directly transferred a group of Goblins and Gnomes from the second floor. The instant these cannon-fodder monsters appeared, before they could even clearly see their surroundings, the terrifying heat made their bodies sizzle. Their fur spontaneously ignited, and the moisture in their bodies began evaporating.

"Gah!"

A Great Goblin suddenly clutched his throat tightly. He collapsed where he stood and began struggling violently. The Fire Venom he had inhaled began madly destroying his body, feeding on his life force and magical power.

Under Lucifer's gaze, the blood inside the Great Goblin's body transformed into Fire Venom. His body radiated heat from the inside out, his green skin turned charred black, and in mere seconds, he became a lump of charcoal.

Less than a minute after this group of Goblins and Gnomes appeared, they had all died to the deadly environment of the Eighth Layer.

"Even a lv4 Great Goblin can last less than a minute."

"Then how long would high-level adventurers last?"

As Lucifer spoke, his gaze turned toward the Ironblood Thorns Squad on the Fifth Layer, who had awakened due to the birth of the new Dungeon floor.

"An earthquake? What happened?!"

Inside the tent, Aik instinctively rolled over and sprang up because of the sudden earthquake. He grabbed the two-handed greatsword beside his pillow and stared intently at the potential dangers around him.

"Aik, there was an earthquake."

Ulag, who had been keeping watch, lifted the tent flap and entered. He looked solemnly at Aik. Just moments ago, while standing watch, he had suddenly felt violent tremors beneath his feet, their source coming from deeper within the Dungeon.

"This is the earthquake Viscount Korien Os mentioned."

At that moment, the mage Mary also woke up, her expression filled with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. When she had previously read the Dungeon information Korien Os had given them, she had wondered whether the intelligence was mistaken.

What kind of Dungeon had earthquakes? Yet now, it seemed to be true.

"Interesting, truly interesting. The Dungeon actually has earthquakes. I really want to know why."

A mage's thirst for the unknown stirred excitement in Mary's heart. She subconsciously reached for her magic notebook to record this matter, but when her hand touched her waist, there was nothing there.