Chapter 288

Chapter 288: Chapter 288

Early the next morning, the five of them stood fully rested at the entrance leading down to Floor 51 while Finn and the others gave them a final round of instructions.

"Ais, don’t charge too far ahead. Follow the group’s commands."

"Riveria, I’m leaving Ais in your care."

"And Kiriya, be careful no matter what happens. If the situation becomes impossible, keeping the party alive takes priority over everything else."

Kiriya understood that Finn was only worried about his companions, so he listened patiently.

Fortunately, Finn was not the type to endlessly fuss over people. After a few final reminders, he waved them onward.

"May fortune favor you in battle."

"Mm."

The five nodded and entered Floor 51.

...

Once again stepping into the twisting, complicated labyrinth, they naturally received an enthusiastic welcome from the monsters.

This time, however, they had a mission to investigate the deeper floors, so nobody lingered unnecessarily in battle.

Kiriya and Ais moved like the two sharpest arrows at the front of the group, ending each encounter as quickly as possible and carving open a path for everyone else.

After roughly several hours, they reached Floor 52.

"Keep moving. We can’t stay here for long. We need to get through this area as quickly as possible."

The moment they stepped onto Floor 52, the relaxed expressions on Riveria and Ais disappeared.

Both immediately became tense, and even Riveria’s voice carried a faint urgency.

They had traveled through this region several times before and knew the route extremely well.

Just as they prepared to lead Kiriya’s group toward the next floor, however, Kiriya stopped them.

"Wait near the entrance for a moment."

He walked alone toward a broad open area just beyond the entrance to Floor 52.

"What are you doing?"

Riveria and Ais looked at him in confusion.

"No need to rush. I’ve got a faster and easier way down."

Kiriya gave them a mysterious smile.

"We still need to move."

Riveria clearly did not understand what he was planning, and a trace of anxiety entered her voice.

"If we stay still, the Valgang Dragons will use us as targets."

Valgang Dragons, also known as Cannon Dragons, were exactly what their nickname implied—dragon-type monsters specialized in long-range bombardment.

Their actual bodies lived on Floor 58, yet their flame bombardments were powerful enough to punch through multiple floors and reach all the way up to Floor 52. Because of that, Floors 52 through 58 were frequently riddled with vertical holes blasted straight through the Dungeon.

This entire region was therefore known as the Dragon’s Urn.

And the few seconds they had already spent standing still were more than enough for the Valgang Dragons below to lock onto their position.

If they did not move soon, the bombardment would arrive.

An attack capable of piercing through several Dungeon floors could severely injure even a Level 5 adventurer if it landed directly.

Worse still, cracks had already begun spreading across the ground ahead.

Crack... crack...

Monsters started emerging from the floor and rapidly closing in on them.

If they delayed any longer, they would have to deal with both a monster swarm and long-range fire from the Valgang Dragons at the same time.

"Trust me."

Kiriya’s tone remained calm.

"I’m not going to gamble with my own life or the lives of my companions."

Then his eyebrow lifted slightly.

An enormous concentration of energy was rapidly approaching.

BOOM!

Flames suddenly erupted from beneath the ground where Kiriya had been standing.

The blast tore open a massive crater more than ten meters across.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

More bombardments followed in quick succession, blasting apart huge sections of the floor.

The monsters that had just reached the area did not even have time to scream before they were burned to ash.

Through the enormous hole, they could now see layer after layer of the Dungeon beneath them.

Hundreds of meters below, on the vast wasteland of Floor 58, several enormous crimson dragons stood with their heads raised.

The Valgang Dragons had bloated bodies and thick limbs, yet strangely long necks.

Their enormous mouths were already gathering another massive concentration of fire-attribute magical energy.

"Perfect. Now the road is open."

Kiriya suddenly appeared beside Ryuu and nodded in satisfaction.

Nobody was surprised to see him unharmed.

With Kiriya’s reaction speed, it would have been far stranger if an attack like that had actually hit him.

But...

"What do you mean, ’the road is open’?"

Riveria stared at him incredulously.

"You aren’t planning to reach Floor 58 through that hole, are you?"

"Exactly."

Kiriya nodded.

"It’s the shortest route."

"That won’t work."

Ais shook her head.

"The Cannon Dragons will keep firing at us, and there are many flying dragon species in the air that will interfere. We have no way to control the air, so it would be extremely dangerous."

Riveria stared intently at Kiriya.

Finn had already explained all of this information during yesterday’s meeting, so she refused to believe that Kiriya would deliberately suggest something suicidal.

Then she glanced at Ryuu and Jeanne.

Both women looked completely calm.

That only deepened her suspicion.

"You said it yourself."

Kiriya smiled confidently.

"It’s dangerous because we don’t have air superiority."

He paused.

"But what if we can fly?"

"What?"

Ais and Riveria both froze.

"Ais, no matter what happens in a moment, follow instructions and don’t attack without permission."

Kiriya gave her a warning first.

Only after Ais nodded did he begin forming hand seals.

"Boar—Dog—Bird—Monkey—Ram."

"Summoning Jutsu."

Poof!

A cloud of white smoke erupted and then quickly dispersed, revealing the enormous body of a Fire Dragon.

Its savage head, thick scales, and razor-sharp claws all radiated the imposing presence of a powerful dragon-type monster.

"That’s... a Fire Dragon from the Red Lotus Mountains?"

Riveria and Ais widened their eyes and instinctively assumed battle stances, wary that the creature might suddenly lunge at them.

Ais in particular looked very much as though she wanted to kill it on the spot.

To their surprise, however, the Fire Dragon was extraordinarily docile.

It even tried to rub its head against Kiriya, only to receive a slap that pushed it away.

"It’s my contracted battle beast now."

Kiriya jumped onto its back.

"Relax. It listens very well."

Ryuu and Jeanne followed immediately.

Riveria and Ais hesitated briefly before jumping onto the dragon as well.

"ROOOAR!"

The Fire Dragon released a powerful bellow and beat its wings.

Its enormous ten-meter-long body rose into the air, dodging another Valgang Dragon bombardment as it plunged directly toward the lower floors.

"ROOOAR!"

Throughout the Dungeon, the presence of adventurers was like a searchlight shining through darkness, attracting wave after wave of monsters that recklessly threw themselves toward them.

The monsters did not seem to care whether they had any realistic chance of catching their targets.

They simply charged.

Fortunately, the vertical passage blasted open by the Valgang Dragons was wide enough to maneuver through.

Otherwise, the party might genuinely have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters.

Even so, the descent was far from easy.

Groups of black flying dragons launched themselves into the air and began surrounding them.

Riveria prepared to use Magic, but Kiriya stopped her.

"Save your Mind. We’ll need your Magic for something more important later."

"Awaken."

Ais murmured softly.

Wind wrapped around her body and sword like armor.

Standing firmly on the Fire Dragon’s back, she swung her blade toward an approaching flying dragon and cut it down in a single strike, blood spraying through the air.

Ryuu and Jeanne counterattacked as well.

Compared with Ais’s relatively conservative approach, however, the two of them were far more aggressive.

Whenever a dragon came close enough, they simply jumped straight onto its back and fought it there, cutting off the monster’s head at close range.

"Careful!"

Riveria nearly jumped in alarm.

These two girls looked so calm and dependable most of the time, so why did they become this reckless the moment a fight started?

Jumping onto another dragon’s back was one thing, but once they killed it, there would be nothing left beneath their feet.

Sure enough, after cutting down her target, Ryuu immediately began falling.

Before she could descend far, Kiriya appeared beside her, caught her in his arms, and brought her back to the Fire Dragon.

A moment later, he did exactly the same thing with Jeanne.

"That was..."

Riveria stared at Kiriya.

"Spatial movement?"