Chapter 150: The Evolution of the S-Rank Dungeon

Liam pulled the trigger once again.

The shot flew toward the gray creature in front of him, but it missed again.

The bullet passed by its head and disappeared into the darkness.

Liam frowned.

’Damn it...’

He could feel the ground moving beneath his feet.

Every time he tried to focus on the creature, his vision seemed to drift slightly to one side. His head was spinning, and he could barely keep himself focused.

And then he heard it again.

"Leave."

The voice echoed directly inside his head.

Liam gritted his teeth.

"You destroyed our home."

Another shot that missed.

"Monsters."

Liam pressed a hand against his temple.

He couldn’t tell whether those voices were actually coming from the creatures or if the dungeon was doing something to his senses.

"You destroyed our home."

"Go away."

"Leave us alone."

The phrases mixed together, causing an increasingly intense headache.

A few meters away, Lydia remained in her slime form.

The small green gelatinous mass suddenly stretched, forming several tentacles that lunged toward one of the creatures.

The creature tried to dodge them, but one of the tentacles wrapped around its arm.

Another wrapped around its waist.

And a third coiled around one of its legs.

Lydia pulled hard.

The gray body became trapped inside her gelatinous mass.

Then the surface of the slime began to change.

[Acid]

A corrosive substance began spreading across the creature’s body.

"AAAAAAAH!"

The scream echoed inside everyone’s heads.

The creature began desperately writhing.

Its body thrashed from side to side, trying to escape the slime, while its gray skin began to burn under the effect of the acid.

Lydia maintained her grip for a few more seconds.

But then...

Everyone froze.

Liam felt something pierce through his head.

"AAAGH!"

He grabbed his head with both hands.

A deafening shriek had suddenly appeared inside his mind.

It wasn’t coming from anywhere he could identify.

It was simply there, inside his head.

Emily fell to her knees.

Carol screamed and ended up bracing both hands against the ground.

Jordan stopped moving.

Chuck collapsed onto one of the platforms, gritting his teeth as he tried to endure the pain.

Lydia was affected the most.

Her gelatinous body began deforming violently.

The tentacle holding the creature lost its shape and contracted.

The gray creature fell to the ground.

Lydia tried to move away, but her body was moving erratically, as if it couldn’t withstand the shriek.

"Lydia!"

Liam tried to approach her, but his legs barely responded.

Then another voice appeared.

"Monsters, leave our home alone."

The pain intensified.

Liam squeezed his eyes shut.

And a message appeared in front of him.

[Pix: Please, Liam, hurry and get out. The dungeon is about to evolve.]

Liam opened his eyes.

The little pixie’s warning appeared just when it was becoming hardest to think.

Liam covered one of his ears with one hand, trying to lessen the pain, while raising his pistol with the other and aiming it at the creatures.

But he could barely see them.

His companions were sprawled across the ground.

Lydia was writhing a few meters away.

Liam breathed heavily.

"I think..."

His voice came out broken.

"I think we can’t win this time."

The lights floating around the dungeon began to shine intensely.

Liam looked up.

"What...?"

The lights exploded in a blinding radiance.

"Take cover!"

He didn’t know if anyone had heard his warning.

He didn’t even know if he had actually managed to say it out loud.

The light engulfed everything.

And then another message appeared before his eyes.

[The dungeon is evolving.]

Liam’s eyes widened.

’It can’t be...’

A tremendous gust of wind swept through the entire dungeon.

The platforms began to tremble.

The air became violent.

Debris and any objects nearby began lifting off the ground and spinning around them.

Liam tried to remain standing.

He couldn’t and fell to his knees.

"AAAAAAAH!"

The screams of his companions mixed with the shrieks that continued echoing inside their heads.

Everything turned white.

Liam could no longer tell where the ground was.

He couldn’t see Lydia.

He couldn’t see Chuck.

He couldn’t see anyone.

All he could hear were screams.

The screams of his companions.

And that deafening shriek that seemed to pierce straight through his brain.

◇◆◇

For several minutes, he had no idea what was happening.

Then, little by little...

The light began to disappear.

Liam opened his eyes.

His vision was blurry.

He blinked several times, but everything continued spinning.

He tried to get up, but his legs trembled, forcing him to brace himself against the ground with one hand.

"Ugh..."

A ringing persisted in his ears.

He needed to stay alert.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

A few minutes, perhaps more.

Liam slowly raised his gaze and froze completely.

All around him was a vast meadow covered in flowers.

The sky was no longer dark.

It was completely blue.

A few white clouds floated above them, and the sun shone so brightly that Liam had to squint.

Liam looked around.

’What...?’

There were no floating platforms, no darkness, and no small lights that looked like stars. There wasn’t even a portal in sight.

It seemed like an entirely different dungeon.

"Lydia..."

His voice came out weak.

He looked to the side.

"Lydia, where are you?"

No one answered.

Liam slowly turned around.

"Chuck!"

Silence.

"Emily!"

Nothing.

"Carol!"

No response.

"Jordan!"

Liam began to worry.

"Lena!"

His breathing quickened.

Then he raised his gaze.

"Pix... what’s happening?"

A message appeared before his eyes.

[Pix: I warned you.]

Liam grimaced.

[Pix: The dungeon evolved.]

[Pix: You are now in an even more dangerous environment.]

Liam stared at the meadow.

’More dangerous than before?’

He didn’t want to imagine how that could possibly be true.

However, something else caught his attention farther ahead.

All of his companions were lying on the ground.

Even the gray creatures.

Except his wife.

Liam looked at one of them.

It no longer looked like the enormous, muscular monster he had been fighting.

Its body was much thinner.

The creature looked malnourished.

Liam looked at another.

Its body had shrunk so much that it barely seemed taller than a child.

’What the hell...?’

Some of those creatures now looked like small children with gray skin and white hair.

Liam understood nothing.

The mission had stopped being a simple exploration a long time ago.

Now, all he wanted was to get everyone out of there.

He needed to wake his companions.

He needed to find an exit.

And, above all, he needed to find Lydia.

Liam took a deep breath and began walking.

Each step was difficult.

His head was still spinning, and the ringing in his ears wouldn’t disappear.

But he kept moving forward.

Then something moved in the distance.

A small green mass.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

"Lydia..."

The small gelatinous ball moved aimlessly through the meadow.

It jumped a few centimeters and stopped.

She looked completely bewildered.

Liam felt relieved.

"Lydia."

She didn’t react.

Liam began walking faster.

"Lydia."

Nothing.

Then he gathered what little strength he had left and started running toward her.

"Lydia..."

His voice grew louder.

"Lydia!"

The little slime finally seemed to stop.

Liam continued running toward her, feeling as though his legs could barely support him.

"Lydia, it’s me."

The little slime slowly turned toward him.