Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Chapter 276

The two girls found a secluded corner to bathe, while Kiriya used the scroll to summon pots, pans, utensils, and the ingredients they had prepared beforehand.

He put together a luxurious meal of grilled meat accompanied by a hot soup filled with mushrooms, vegetables, and meat.

By surface standards, it was nothing particularly extravagant, but inside the Dungeon, where most adventurers survived on dry rations and jerky, it genuinely qualified as a lavish feast.

By the time the food was ready, Jeanne and Ryuu had finished washing as well.

After several large pieces of grilled meat and a steaming bowl of soup, the exhaustion accumulated over the past two days seemed to melt away, leaving both women feeling almost weightless with comfort.

"This is delicious."

Jeanne and Ryuu wore equally blissful expressions, as though what they were eating was some unparalleled delicacy.

Given their circumstances, the satisfaction alone made the meal feel several times better than it normally would.

Afterward, Jeanne and Ryuu took care of washing the dishes while Kiriya quickly cleaned himself up and began setting up their tent.

Now that he possessed something as convenient as a summoning scroll, there was no reason to make himself suffer unnecessarily while exploring the Dungeon.

The more completely they could rest and recover, the better the results of their training would be.

Before long, the tent was ready.

Kiriya stepped back, looked over his handiwork, and nodded in satisfaction.

When Jeanne and Ryuu returned after washing everything, the three discussed how they would divide the night watch.

This cavern might be considered relatively safe, but a safe area inside the Dungeon was never truly guaranteed to remain safe.

Proper vigilance was still necessary.

In the end, they decided that Kiriya would take the first half of the night while Ryuu handled the second.

The next time they camped, Jeanne would take the first watch and Kiriya the second, and they would continue rotating from there.

The purpose was simple: at least one of them should always be able to get a full night’s rest.

The rest of the night passed without incident.

...

After proper sleep, all three had recovered most of their stamina and mental energy. Once they packed their belongings, they resumed their descent into the deeper floors.

After another stretch of fighting, they soon reached Floor 40.

From Floor 40 through Floor 43, the region was collectively known as the Giant Graveyard.

The reason was obvious.

Giants were everywhere.

Rumble—!

The moment Kiriya’s group entered the fortieth floor, the ground began trembling violently.

Dust billowed through the air as enormous skeletal giants emerged one after another.

Each stood more than ten meters tall, resembling moving buildings as they towered over the terrain.

Their bones were as hard as iron and stone, and the enormous strength granted by their size pushed their overall threat rating above Level 4, with some individuals even reaching Level 5.

Yet faced with a forest of giants rising around them, the three-person adventuring party showed no fear whatsoever.

If anything, their fighting spirit only rose.

Whoosh!

Ryuu was the first to move.

Using the wind to support her acceleration, the elf rapidly increased her speed until she became a streak of light racing toward the knee of the nearest giant.

Shhk! Shhk!

Two clean slashes severed the monster’s reinforced knee joint.

The giant’s cumbersome body immediately lost balance and crashed sideways to the ground, where Ryuu followed through with a precise strike to its magic stone and destroyed it outright.

Jeanne was no less efficient.

She wielded her battle standard like a heavy spear, smashing it into a giant’s leg bone until the limb buckled.

The instant the creature lost its footing, Jeanne rotated into a sweeping strike and shattered its skull with a single blow.

Her movements were decisive and practiced, making her resemble a Valkyrie who had already crossed countless battlefields.

Compared with the agile and adaptive fighting styles of the two women, Kiriya’s method was considerably simpler.

And considerably more brutal.

"Wood Release: Wood Golem Jutsu."

Kiriya shouted as the ground beneath him split apart.

An enormous wooden head emerged first, followed by shoulders, torso, and limbs as the construct continued rising until it surpassed twenty meters in height.

Standing beside the broad, muscular frame of Kiriya’s Wood Golem, the skeletal giants suddenly looked like underdeveloped Goblins.

"ROOOAR!"

Apparently offended by being surpassed in both height and bulk, the giants became enraged.

One after another, they charged toward Kiriya, swinging fists, claws, and enormous bone clubs.

"Heh."

Kiriya merely smiled.

Then the Wood Golem’s ten arms moved.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With Kiriya’s sage body having developed even further, the wooden arms he created were now exceptionally dense and durable, each one carrying overwhelming weight and force.

The relatively thin skeletal giants barely made contact before their bodies shattered like toy blocks struck by a hammer, bones scattering across the ground in every direction.

Kiriya simply drove the twenty-meter Wood Golem forward.

Everywhere it passed, skeletal giants collapsed into fragments, and its efficiency was noticeably higher than even Ryuu’s and Jeanne’s.

"Honestly..."

Watching Kiriya rampage through the battlefield stirred Ryuu’s competitive spirit.

Her movements immediately became sharper and more ruthless, and the speed at which she killed the skeletal giants increased again.

"Hey, don’t run too far ahead!"

Kiriya noticed the elf becoming increasingly absorbed in the fight and called out when she began moving farther and farther away.

Ryuu paused.

One pointed ear twitched unnaturally before she changed direction and began working her way back toward Kiriya and Jeanne.

"I can’t fall behind either."

Caught up in the atmosphere, Jeanne’s fighting spirit rose as well, and her attacks became even more direct and efficient.

Under the relentless assault of all three, the four floors of the Giant Graveyard were eventually broken through.

What awaited them next was the destination of their expedition—

The Red Lotus Mountains.

"How are you feeling?"

Standing near the end of Floor 43, Kiriya looked toward the two women.

"Need a break?"

"No. I still have around eighty percent of my stamina left."

Ryuu shook her head.

The giants were certainly large and powerful, but they were also slow. Fighting them had not required much effort from someone as fast as she was.

"I’m fine as well."

Jeanne nodded, her breathing still calm and steady.

She clearly had plenty left in reserve.

"Good. Then let’s go."

Kiriya turned toward the entrance to Floor 44.

"Let’s see what this famous ’Red Lotus Hell’ actually looks like."

He led the way forward.

Jeanne and Ryuu exchanged smiles before quickly following.

...

They passed through a long, winding cavern.

The moment all three stepped onto Floor 44, it felt as though their bodies had crossed some invisible boundary.

Then the world in front of them changed completely.

Fire.

Fire.

And more fire.

Everywhere they looked, there was almost nothing else.

Unlike the layered labyrinths of the Middle and Upper Floors, this place consisted of vast mountain ranges stretching endlessly into the distance.

Ridge after ridge coiled across the horizon like enormous fire dragons, radiating suffocating heat.

Even the mountains themselves were not formed from the gray or black stone one would normally expect.

They were composed of black-red magma that had not yet fully solidified.

Countless volcanic vents and fissures scattered throughout the mountains continuously spewed lava, smoke, and flame into the air.

The sky overhead had been completely covered by a choking black-red haze.

Waves of heat rolled across the landscape without pause.

Every breath felt as though fire were scraping against their lungs.

"Quick, put on the Salamander Wool."

Ryuu hurriedly reminded them, only to notice that Kiriya and Jeanne had already moved quickly enough to wrap themselves in the protective cloth.

Hum—

A faint vibration passed through the Salamander Wool.

A subtle, water-like shimmer spread across its surface, and a refreshing coolness immediately flowed over their bodies, comfortable enough that it nearly made them groan in relief.

"Without something like this, I can’t imagine how anyone would make it through this floor."

Ryuu looked out across the burning mountains and sighed.

"We’re just standing on the shoulders of everyone who came before us."

Kiriya smiled.

"Gotta thank the predecessors who figured all this out."

"Careful. Monsters are coming."

Jeanne suddenly warned them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ground ahead fractured in several places.

One after another, creatures composed of black stone rose from beneath the surface.

Flames flickered continuously through the gaps between their rocky bodies, as though fire were burning inside them.

"Flame Rocks."

Kiriya had studied the relevant information beforehand and recognized them immediately.

"Be careful. These things are dangerous because they self-destruct. Don’t stay close for long during the fight. Use ranged attacks whenever possible."

"Gather them together."

Ryuu immediately proposed a plan.

"I’ll finish them with Luminous Wind."

"I’ll help draw them in."

Jeanne nodded.

"Good. Then I’ll handle the impact afterward."

Kiriya handed each woman a kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God formula.

"Keep these on you. It’ll make it easier for me to support you."

"Mm."

Both women nodded before rushing straight toward the monsters.

They struck one creature here, darted away, attacked another somewhere else, and repeatedly provoked the Flame Rocks until the low-intelligence monsters became furious.

Soon, the entire group was chasing Ryuu and Jeanne with murderous intent.

Before long, the Flame Rocks had been gathered together.

Ryuu immediately began chanting.

"—The heavens of the forest now distant. Infinite stars embedded in the endless night sky.

Answer the voice of one as foolish as I, and once more grant me the protection of starlight. Grant merciful light to those who have abandoned you.

—Come, wandering wind, passing traveler.

Cross the heavens, race across the wilderness, and run with speed surpassing all things. Bear the radiance of the stars and strike down my enemies."

The chant was completed at high speed.

Countless emerald spheres of light appeared overhead and came crashing down toward the tightly clustered monsters.