Light POV
Dungeon, 23rd Floor
The ground on the 23rd floor, normally covered in green, was now anything but. The trees that gave the Great Tree Labyrinth its name were either snapped in half or completely uprooted.
A dark elf stood before a group of monsters, staff raised high.
"[I call upon the guardians of the sacred tree.]"
"[The time has come for you to rise from your slumber.]"
"[You who grow only to bind, wreak havoc on my behalf.]"
"[The time for your reckoning has come.]"
"[Go, stop all my foes in the very place they stand.]"
"[Garden of Vines.]"
Vines burst forth, snaking across the ground and binding the monsters in place. Watching carefully, I copied the magic using my mimic ability.
The number of monsters had risen sharply the moment we descended to the 23rd floor.
But it was still manageable thanks to our party leader's magic.
Nernatti's Garden of Vines could immobilize enemies, allowing the rest of the adventurers to finish them off easily.
The only downside was the long chant and the slow movement of the vines, which meant adventurers first had to draw the monsters' attention or it had to be pre-cast.
Also, we were making steady progress… but still no sign of the First Team.
It seemed they had already moved on to the next floor.
"Everyone, take a breather. The number of monsters is only increasing."
Seeing the area cleared, Nernatti addressed the adventurers and told me and Raine to extract the magic stones from the corpses scattered everywhere.
"Raine, you take the left side. I'll take the right."
I grabbed the small dagger from the cart I was pulling and walked toward the Mammoth Fool whose head had been blown apart.
…
"Grrr."
Just as I finished retrieving the magic stone, Bete suddenly stood upright, his wolf ears twitching and letting out a low growl.
"Something big is coming, no, two… no, two big and some small monsters. One from one o'clock, one from five o'clock, and a group of monsters from nine. The two big ones are really strong."
Everyone immediately unsheathed their weapons, straining to catch any hint of approaching footsteps.
…
A massive shadow emerged in the distance.
I used my system's appraise skill.
------------
Green Dragon
Level 4–5
Note: Almost near Level 5
------------
And,
"ROOAAARRRR!"
Its roar alone was enough for veteran adventurers to identify it instantly.
"A Green Dragon."
"D-Damn, why is it on the 23rd floor? Shouldn't it be on the 24th?"
A Level 3 adventurer beside me exclaimed, fear and disbelief mixing in his voice.
He wasn't wrong, Green Dragons were Level 4 monsters that guarded treasure trees found only on the 24th floor.
Seeing one here made no sense.
A sense of wrongness crawled down my spine. I immediately turned to another direction just in time to see another massive shadow rise.
--------
Green Dragon
Level 4
--------
"RRROOOAAARRRR!"
Another one.
Turning to the third side, I used appraisal again.
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Mammoth Fools
Level 3
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Gun Libella
Level 3
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Giant Hornet
Level 3
------------
Thankfully, the third direction was just normal monsters like Bete had said.
No, scratch that. Judging by the number emerging, it was a full-blown monster party.
As I tried to count them, Nernatti was already rallying the adventurers.
"Bete, Rosen, take your familia members and stop one Green Dragon."
"I'll handle the other."
"Bam, Sen, deal with the monster party. Just keep them at bay; don't overthink it."
"Everyone else, stay on the defensive. Once I finish the dragon on my side, we'll defeat the other one together. No unnecessary risks."
"Light, Raine, you two hide as much as you can. I'll keep an eye on you."
As expected of a leader, Nernatti's instructions were precise. She was already beginning her chant by the time she finished speaking.
"Okay," Bete replied.
"Alright. Be careful, Nernatti-san. We'll hold the Green Dragon on our side." Rosen added.
They turned toward the Green Dragon on the right, tense but focused.
The two Level 3 adventurers moved to intercept the monster party.
Raine and I ducked behind the carts piled high with magic stones. But… I couldn't shake a strange feeling. Something was off.
…
What Light sensed was true: Green Dragons were Level 4 monsters that normally never left the treasure trees they guarded.
The fact that two had left their trees and were attacking of their own accord meant they were mutated or abnormalities.
As everyone knows, Mutated monsters were always stronger than normal.
And with the dungeon monsters currently already being unusually strong, this was nothing short of a recipe for disaster.
…
3rd Person POV
Two Green Dragons loomed over the adventurers from opposite sides, the adventurers faces tense and pale.
Behind the adventurers, another group of monsters approached, small fry in comparison, but still Level 3 threats.
The elven mage turned to the Green Dragon on the left, casting her prepared spell and binding the dragon with vines to stop its movements.
Even an almost Level 5 monster was easily bound by the vines.
On the right, the silver-haired werewolf Bete charged straight at the dragon, not giving it a moment of respite.
"Bastard, fall for me!"
"Rosen-san, please cover the sides! We'll hit it from the front!" Selenia shouted toward Rosen before dashing forward.
"Bete-san, Selenia-san, wait!!! Stop!!" Rosen shouted in alarm. "That monster is stronger than a normal Green Dragon!"
Rosen, the captain of the Dionysus Familia, had helped defeat two Green Dragons before. But this one made his stomach twist, it stood nearly 15 meters tall, while a normal one barely reached 10.
Meaning it was far stronger.
He turned to warn them, but too late.
Selenia managed to halt and retreat, but Bete was struck by the dragon's tail and sent flying back at a speed faster than his initial charge.
Thankfully, Nernatti quickly formed a sand cage mid-air to cushion his fall. The cage crumbled, having absorbing the impact.
Having learned their lesson, Bete, Rosen and the others began kiting the dragon, avoiding direct clashes.
…
On the other side, Nernatti faced an even larger dragon, nearly 16 or 17 meters tall.
The vines restraining it creaked as the massive monster struggled. They wouldn't hold much longer.
After cushioning Bete's fall, the elf began her next spell, the one that gave her the confidence to face monsters all alone as a mage.
"[Whispering winds through ancient forest,]
[Roots deep in earth, bones of the forest,]
[Draw the sap of life, draw the memory of wood and time.]
[Hear the silent pulse beneath bark and branch,]
[Rise now, guardian of the sacred tree, awaken in form of wood and strength,]
[Let your limbs be branches, your heart the heart of the forest,]
[Come protect us from all harm and misfortune.]
[Wooden Construct - Type: Golem.]"
The moment she finished, a massive golem rose before her.
It stood at least 12 meters tall, roughly Level 4 in strength, bulky and imposing.
"Golem, attack that Green Dragon!"
Obeying her command, the golem charged at the struggling dragon.
A little free now that the dragon was occupied, Nernatti exhaled and turned to check the others.
Bete and Rosen were barely managing to tie down the dragon.
Bam and Sen were also barely holding the monster party at bay.
It was a race against time, whether she could defeat the dragon on her side before the others were overwhelmed.
Then she looked toward the two supporters who were supposed to be hiding.
Instead, she saw Light standing in front of the cart, staring intensely at the ground below him, his expression twisting the next moment.
He grabbed Raine, leaped away from the carts, and yelled: "Everyone, be careful! Something's coming from the ground!"
The very next moment, where the two supporters were standing, the ground exploded. A Lambton erupted upward, swallowing both carts and everything nearby.
Luckily, the two supporters were unharmed.
But the same couldn't be said for Bam and Sen, fighting the monster party.
Already at their limits, they failed to escape as another Lambton burst from below, devouring them whole along with the monsters.
---
23rd Floor
Quite a distance away from Light's party.
"Boss Olivas, you truly are amazing. To get two Green Dragons to attack them without even saying anything." Jura Halmer, a recently promoted executive of Evilus, looked at the white-haired man, Olivas Act, impressed by his achievement.
"Boss, where did you get the Green Dragons from? Can you tell me how you tamed them?" The enthusiastic executive continued firing questions, completely missing the changes on Olivas's face.
'Two Green Dragons attacked the second party? And me, taming them? When did I tame them?'
'Wait, I'm still Level 3 and Green Dragons are Level 4… yeah, not possible.'
Olivas stared blankly for a moment at his subordinate's rapid-fire questions, but quickly shook his head.
"Stop, stop. Tell me the complete details." He cut Jura off before he could ramble further. "And I did not tame any Green Dragons. It's just their bad luck."
"Oh." Looking dejected, the light-brown-haired Jura reported the situation of Light's party to Olivas.
"Hm. There's no chance they're escaping alive. On top of the monster party and the Lambtons I sent their way, they also had the bad luck of encountering two mutated Green Dragons. No matter how I see it, they're cooked."
"Then our work here is done. Let's meet Valletta on the 24th floor."
"You two, make sure you leave no evidence behind. Clean up everything."
Once he confirmed everything was handled, Olivas instructed the two nearby Evilus members to tidy up and left with Jura toward the 24th floor.
"Jura, follow me. Let's take a look and leave."
…
"Wiped out so soon? That only makes our job easier."
Olivas and Jura stood on a nearby cliff, overlooking the place where Light's party had been fighting.
They could see both Green Dragons prowling in the distance, along with a few monsters from the monster party.
There was no sign of any adventurers. A complete party wipe-out.
Olivas Act, Jura Halmer, and their subordinates quickly withdrew, fearful of attracting the Green Dragons' attention.
…
…
Time rewinds by about twenty minutes.
Just as the Lambton devoured Bam, Sen. The remaining monsters from the monster party immediately turned their attention toward me and Raine.
A Giant Hornet shot toward us, and a thought rose in my mind:
'Should I try the Level 40 system card?'
But feeling Nernatti, Rosen, and the others watching, I quickly suppressed the idea and searched for another solution.
'Nernatti and the others are already fully occupied trying to handle the Green Dragon. They won't be able to help.'
Still carrying Raine, I didn't run toward my party members. Instead, I frantically tried to think of something, anything.
Looking toward the hole the Lambton created, a risky idea sparked.
"Raine, hold tight. I'm jumping."
Raine, "Huh? Jumping?"
"Here I go. 1, 2, 3!"
Hup.
I leapt into the massive five-meter-wide hole left behind by the Lambton.
"AAAAAAA!"
"No, whyyyyy woulddd youuu jumppppp intoooo thissss!?"
Ignoring Raine screaming, I glanced back and saw several monsters had followed us into the hole.
I tried to stabilize myself in the air, but holding Raine with one hand made balancing nearly impossible.
All I could do was prepare to land safely using Float on the next floor.
"Raine, don't worry. I have a one-time artifact that'll let us land smoothly, so calm down.."
I tried to reassure the man now reciting his last wishes.
"You should've said that first, no!?" he shot back, calming down.
The monsters tumbling behind us roared in what sounded like a monster-version of a war song.
"Light! Quick, look back! Behind you! Hurry!!"
I looked back, and cursed at myself for taking the Dungeon too lightly.
The same Lambton that attacked us earlier was now diving straight after us. And judging by its speed, it was definitely aiming at us.
'Great. First, two Green Dragons from the 24th floor attack us on the 23rd. And now a Lambton, something seen only in the Lower Floors and known for wiping entire Level 3 or even Level 4 parties, is chasing me. Fantastic luck, Light.'
'Think. Think! What can I do…?'
'Wait. It looked like the Lambton was aiming for the magic stones in the cart earlier, not me. If I scatter the magic stones in my inventory… will that work?'
'Worth a try. If not, I'll use the Level 40 experience card.'
Looking ahead, I spotted a small alcove in the side wall about ten meters away.
A half-crazy plan formed in my mind.
Step one. A quick chop to Raine's neck knocked him out.
'Sorry buddy, I'll treat you to a meal later.'
Step two.
When the alcove was roughly two meters away, I cast Float on myself.
But the sudden shift from free-falling vertically to floating horizontally almost made me lose my balance, making me almost drop Raine.
Still, I tightened my grip on his shirt and lunged into the alcove, cancelling the Float spell.
I landed, breathing heavily, after essentially walking sideways in mid-air.
Not wasting a second, I grabbed a few handful of magic stones from my inventory and hurled them out, hoping the Lambton would lose interest.
I had also already opened my system interface, ready to activate the Level 40 experience card at a moment's notice.
'But really… why do plans never go how we imagine?'
The next moment, the Lambton's grotesque maw turned directly into the alcove.
Just as I was about to activate the Level 40 card, time seemed to slow.
A system screen appeared.
----------------------
Condition met to use the Great Summoning Ticket.
Would you like to use it?
[Yes / No]
-----------------------
I didn't hesitate, reaching out my hand to select....
...
23rd Floor
Nernatti watched the Lambton devour Bam and Sen.
The remaining monsters, now free, immediately lunged at Light and Raine.
"Li-"
Just as she was about to shout for them to run toward her, she saw Light, still carrying Raine, jump straight into the Lambton's hole.
She blinked her eyes to make sure she had seen correct, then closed her mouth in disbelief.
Looking at the Level 3 monsters rushing toward her and Rosen's group struggling with the other Green Dragon,
"[Create: Wooden Construct: Twin Golems.]"
Two more Level 4 wooden golems emerged beside her, these ones also 10m tall, but they were lean rather than bulky.
They moved to intercept the monsters.
What she had used was a spell key.
Spell Keys are words that a user can recite to perform an effect other than their magic's normal one
Her create spell key let her cast instantly, but the mind cost was nearly doubled.
Something she could still manage.
"Bete-san, Rosen-san, let's retreat for now. No need to fight these monsters to the death."
Bete, disgruntled but unable to do anything, grunted in agreement.
Rosen, having seen the two adventurers die and the supporters vanish down the hole, accepted calmly.
…
As they withdrew, Selenia turned to Nernatti with the question weighing on her mind.
"Nernatti-san… by any chance, can those two supporters survive jumping down a floor?"
"Selenia-san, do you know why no one uses Lambton holes to reach the next floor?"
"Because there's no guarantee you'll land on the next floor. You land on the floor the Lambton came from."
"So remember this, never take that route. If your luck is bad, you might end up on the Lower Floors… or even the Deep Floors."
"You may think this sounds cold, but regarding Light-san and Raine-san… they can only rely on their luck. All we can do is try to search on the next floor and hope they haven't become monster food."
Nernatti, herself asked the question, and even gave the herself.
"Oh." Selenia let out a sigh, feeling bad for the supporters who had to jump down that hole just to try to survive.