Roy toyed with the purple magic stone, which was as smooth and oval as a gemstone. It was worth millions, and he tucked it into his space ring.
"Roy!" Marie cheered, rushing toward him.
Roy took a step forward but suddenly froze. "Stop! Don't come over here!"
Marie paused at the cave entrance, confused. The cavern felt wrong. Roy's muscles tensed as he scanned the area.
At first, Roy thought the threat was just the Enhanced Mermaid, but even after killing her, the sense of danger didn't vanish. Instead, it grew sharper. He could feel an itchy, creeping sting across his skin.
Roy cautiously moved toward the cave exit, his eyes scanning the surroundings, not daring to drop his guard. As he neared the tunnel, he could only pray for a safe passage. At that moment, he noticed a colossal shadow appearing beneath the dead, still surface of the lake. Something massive was moving under the water. The lake began to bubble and churn as if it were boiling.
When the shadow split into two distinct, long silhouettes, Roy's scalp went numb. "Don't tell me..."
BOOM!
The calm lake exploded as a twin-headed dragon, over twenty meters long, breached the surface. Its body was bone-white, covered in chalky scales that gave it a sense of grim majesty. Where the neck met the body, it branched into two long, serpentine forms. Each scale was as clear as crystal. The left head had pale blue eyes, while the right head possessed eyes of burning crimson. They radiated zero reason—only a primal, predatory instinct and a terrifying desire for destruction.
The Floor Boss of the Water Capital: Amphisbaena.
Roy's brow furrowed. "That's impossible." Before the expedition, he had checked the Guild's status report. Both Goliath and Amphisbaena were supposed to have been recently subjugated. Amphisbaena's respawn time was roughly a month; it shouldn't be here yet...
Suddenly, the realization hit him. If the adventurers who reported the boss's death were the same ones controlled by the Enhanced Mermaid, then the information sent back to the surface was a lie.
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Starting with an Elf (271 Chapters, Ongoing)
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That crazy bitch... Roy cursed inwardly. Freya's goal wasn't just to help Ryuu regain her "heart of justice"—she intended to eliminate him in the process.
But his thoughts were cut short. The terrifying pressure of the Floor Boss filled the cavern, its cold eyes locking onto Roy. He felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple. There was no point in analyzing the conspiracy now; he just had to survive. Amphisbaena was Level 5, but in its natural water environment, its threat level was closer to Level 6.
"ROOOOOOOOAR!"
The blue-eyed dragon head unhinged its jaw. Pale blue flames gathered in its throat, warping the very air with their heat. With a deafening roar, it unleashed a horrific breath of blue fire.
BOOM!
The torrent of fire streaked over Roy's head, slamming into the cave entrance. Under the extreme heat, the stone walls melted like wax, and the viscous, molten rock slid down, sealing the cavern's only exit.
"Roy!" Marie screamed in terror. She tried to rush toward him but was blocked by the blocked passage. Roy could see the despair on her face. His heart sank. As expected of a Floor Boss—the strongest monster on its level—it had immediately cut off all escape routes.
Blue flames still flickered between the dragon's teeth. Its "Dragon Liver" produced a special fuel that, combined with mana, created flames that were incredibly difficult to extinguish. Wounds from these flames couldn't even be healed by standard recovery magic.
BOOM!
Amphisbaena fired again. A firestorm of blue surged across the water, the heat instantly vaporizing the surface into thick clouds of steam. Roy reached for his ring and pulled out the Elven Holy Sword. Hiding his trump cards now would be suicide.
"Incinerate!"
Mana rushed into the Holy Sword. Roy aimed it at the dragon and unleashed a wave of crimson fire. The two torrents met in the center of the cave, red clashing with blue in a violent explosion of heat. The walls turned glowing red from the intensity. The temperature and humidity inside the cave skyrocketed, turning it into a giant pressure cooker.
BANG!
The shockwave sent Roy flying. He slammed into the wall, his back feeling as though it had hit a red-hot iron plate. He could hear a sizzling sound and smell the scent of burnt flesh. He let out a low, muffled growl of agony. The heat was unbearable, and the sweat soaking his body began to hinder his movements. His stats were dropping.
He struggled to his feet, the skin on his back torn and bloody. In their first direct exchange, he had lost. The Holy Sword was powerful, but as a Level 3, Roy struggled to match the raw output of a Level 5 Floor Boss. Before he could even steady himself, another wave of blue fire arrived.
"Guardian!"
Roy raised his steel gauntlet, activating the invisible shield. The blue fire engulfed him, melting the stone around him, but the shield held for a few seconds, preventing direct damage. Roy activated the shield repeatedly, using the brief windows of safety to chug one potion after another from his ring—Healing, Stamina, Mind, and Elixirs. He didn't care what they were; he just poured them down his throat.
His body flickered with various colors as the potions took effect. His condition stabilized, but the price was heavy: his epic-grade gauntlet lost its glow, its durability dropping below 5%. His final line of defense was gone.