On the battlefield, after a brief moment of surprise, Leon's lips curved into a faint smile. Just now, he was thinking that using the black dragon to increase his stats might gradually lose effectiveness. He didn't expect a level 8 monster to show up at this moment. Lucky him.
Before the thought could fully form, Leon's light veins spotted a massive root rising from the ground, rushing toward him. His eyes twitched sharply.
Such a sneaky attack angle. If he wasn't trying to train, he'd definitely have ignited Dying Will Flame to kill it instantly.
Thinking this, Leon flashed and instantly dodged the potentially fatal root strike. But as soon as he stabilized, the black dragon's attack came next. Hlazing flames overwhelmed the sky, crashing down like waves.
Leon waved his hand, unleashing violent light that exploded and spread straight upward. The collision of flame and light triggered a terrifying magical explosion mid-air.
The black dragon burst out of the chaos of magic, its giant claws glinting coldly as they snatched at Leon, shaking the very air.
At the same moment, another thick root appeared beneath Leon, stretching high toward the sky.
One dragon and one tree sealed off his movement completely. Yet, Leon showed no sign of panic. A sly smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"One isn't enough, two is just right. The excelia to rank up to level 7 will come from you."
The siege of two Ievel 8 monsters was indeed stressful for Leon, who was still in his normal state, especially with the giant tree below that could stun him.
But despite the complaints, he was genuinely satisfied because under the pressure of the black dragon and the giant tree, the heat frequency on his back, which had slowed considerably, sped up again.
What was there to complain about in this situation?
Within the next hour or two, his stats would probably max out. However, due to the increased pressure, Leon focused nearly all of his concentration on the battle, even retracting his detection magic.
Because of this, he failed to notice anything strange happening beneath the ground. Instead, it was Riveria on the ground who sensed something.
"Finn, something's not right."
"The ground is shaking." Riveria said, sharing her concern.
"What do you mean?" Finn narrowed his eyes, asking.
"The tree attacks with its roots, naturally, the ground shakes."
"But the energy I'm spreading doesn't match the tree's attack rhythm."
"The ground trembles almost constantly. The tree must be planning something." Riveria said firmly.
Though she lacked Leon's powerful detection magic, she often spread her magical power to sense the surroundings. That's why she caught the unusual vibrations beneath the surface.
"It really is." Everyone was stunned by her words.
Lefiya stood beside Riveria and extended her senses as well. After careful sensing, she confirmed Riveria's observations, the ground's vibration frequency was indeed abnormal.
If it had only been Riveria who sensed something was wrong, perhaps they might have hesitated. But now that Lefiya confirmed it too, the situation was as good as sealed.
"Lefiya, find a way to probe the situation underground." Finn immediately issued the command, his expression grave.
"I'll do my best, captain." Lefiya responded firmly, her voice serious as she began chanting an incantation and preparing her magic.
She had learned the magic Veins of Light, a technique taught to her by Leon himself.
Lefiya's magical power was strong, and so was her magical output. However, unlike Leon, she couldn't afford to recklessly burn through her reserves. Moreover, she had only recently begun practicing this particular magic and hadn't fully mastered it yet.
So under normal circumstances, she rarely used it in large-scale battles, only in short bursts or within limited areas. But now wasn't the time to conserve power.
Invisible ripples began spreading from her, the light veins extending forward like a pulse, threading through space as they reached toward the towering tree. She concentrated them into a narrow path, a straight, focused line.
The 59th floor was massive, and they were currently located at the very edge of it. To reach the towering tree's location, Lefiya had to extend her magic across an enormous span.
More than two minutes passed before she finally reached it. This was a distance of dozens of kilometers.
Sweat poured down Lefiya's forehead in thick droplets, soaking her temples. It was obvious to anyone looking just how taxing this task was for her.
"It's extended. I'll start scanning now." She declared, her voice strained but resolute.
As she entered a state of focused concentration, everyone around her instinctively fell silent. No one dared disturb her.
With full concentration, Lefiya then extended the light veins downward, toward the ground beneath the towering tree. Dozens of meters deep, and still, nothing out of the ordinary. But she discovered something strange.
The roots of the tree were astonishingly solid, and deeply entrenched into the earth. That fact alone surprised her. Still, she didn't dwell on it. Pushing the curiosity aside, she continued driving her magic further.
However, when the light veins reached more than a hundred meters down, her expression suddenly changed drastically.
"What's wrong?" Finn asked sharply, noticing her shift immediately.
Everyone had been watching her closely, and the sudden change in her face sent a wave of alarm through the group.
"Captain! The roots of that tree have pierced through the entire 59th floor... and have entered the 60th floor." Lefiya responded without delay, her voice rising slightly as she delivered the shocking news.
"!!!"
Gasps erupted as everyone's pupils contracted violently. None of them had expected this.
The towering tree's roots had actually penetrated the solid floor beneath them and had reached into the next floor.
"Riveria, notify Leon. He needs to know. Let him decide what to do next." Finn said after a long silence, brows furrowed in contemplation as he looked over.
"Understood." Riveria nodded and immediately retrieved the communication orb without hesitation, even knowing Leon was in the middle of combat.
She already understood that this was no time to hesitate.
"Hm?"
In the middle of his high-speed battle, Leon suddenly felt a vibration on his waist, Riveria's voice was coming from the communication orb. He was momentarily stunned, then swiftly dodged a root and dragon claw before pulling the orb from his bag.
"What's wrong?" He asked with a puzzled look, eyes flashing as he replied to Riveria's message.
"Leon, the roots of that tree have pierced through the 59th floor and entered the 60th." Riveria reported immediately, skipping all pleasantries.
Leon was stunned. In the very next moment, another synchronized assault came from both the black dragon and the giant tree. He narrowly evaded both, twisting mid-air, before glancing down.
The upper half of the towering tree still lay there, lifeless and without aura. But the lowerhalf, it pulsed with an ominous energy.
"The roots really pierced through the floor?" Leon's eyes locked onto the remains of the tree as he evaded a barrage of attacks, murmuring to himself in disbelief.
Without hesitating, he activated both veins of light and shadow. Unlike Lefiya, Leon's mastery of these spells was profound, far beyond comparison.
Even though he hovered dozens of meters above the ground, and was kilometers away from the towering tree, his detection magic reached the area instantly. From there, it spiraled downward through the terrain, tracing the structure of the severed tree.
Previously, he hadn't thought to check below the ground. After all, who would randomly explore the earth's depths without reason?
It was cumbersome, Veins fo Light and Shadow were both difficult to channel underground. He hadn't thought it necessary. But with Riveria's warning now echoing in his mind, he pushed his detection downward. What he found confirmed her words.
The roots had indeed pierced through the entire 59th floor and reached the frozen 60th. Just like in the reports, the 60th floor was a frozen world, an icy abyss. And now the roots sat there, completely still.
Leon couldn't deduce what the towering tree was planning, but he now had one more thing to keep track of, a nuisance.
"I've confirmed it. I'll keep watch. Don't worry." Leon finally responded to Riveria through the orb, eyes never leaving the enemy in front of him.