After a full day of travel, Solon and the Astraea Familia reached the 24th floor.
This was one of the primary objectives of their expedition. The 24th floor was currently a resource-rich area and a place they planned to explore in depth. Most importantly, the 24th floor housed a true overlord known as the "Tree Dragon."
This Tree Dragon guarded a "Jewel Tree." These trees were highly valuable, used for crafting high-level potions, sold for immense profits, or utilized as materials for various magical items. Successfully harvesting this tree would not only cover the costs of the expedition but also turn it into a massive windfall. Combined with the loot they had gathered from the previous monster tide and the Enhanced Species, they stood to make a fortune.
From a distance, Solon and Alise scouted the location of the Jewel Tree. It was situated in a relatively secluded corner of the 24th floor. The tree itself wasn't exceptionally large, but it appeared to be made of countless glittering gemstones. Beside the tree was a large clearing where a green-skinned dragon, over ten meters long, stood guard.
It was less of a "True Dragon" and more like an overgrown, mutated dragon whelp. However, compared to the infant dragons seen on the upper floors, this specimen was over twelve meters long and far more formidable. It was a genuine overlord of the 24th floor, possessing power that dwarfed typical Enhanced Species.
"The Tree Dragon... do you have a plan to handle it?" Alise asked, her eyes sharp.
Solon observed the beast from their position. They were currently downwind, and the monster had yet to catch their scent. Once they closed within a few kilometers, however, it would surely notice them.
"According to the Guild manual," Solon mused, "the Tree Dragon is known for two things: its incredible speed and its 'Poison Breath.' The toxin is highly potent. Without sufficient resistance or protection, one can be easily incapacitated. If we don't neutralize the poison immediately, our combat effectiveness will plummet. My first priority is to cast poison resistance on everyone."
"Good," Alise nodded.
The team prepared quickly, readying spells and weapons. Moving like a heavy war machine, they charged directly toward the Tree Dragon.
The dragon sensed the rapidly approaching enemies and snapped its head toward Solon's direction, letting out a piercing roar. Its wings unfurled, and it lunged like a projectile, its claws slashing toward Solon.
Alise didn't hesitate. She met the charge head-on, bracing herself to block the dragon's swipe.
BOOM!
A deafening impact echoed. Compared to the Enhanced Species they had fought earlier, this dragon was a different breed of tough. A look of gravity appeared on Alise's face. This thing's strength is way higher than expected...
But she couldn't back down.
"Burn... Burn... Burn! Flame power, full release!" Alise chanted loudly.
Intense flames erupted from her limbs and her blade. Under her control, the fire flowed like liquid, concentrating on the edge of her sword.
"Enka!" she cried.
The flames on the sword exploded, instantly engulfing the Tree Dragon's claws. The dragon recoiled in pain and opened its maw, ready to unleash its Poison Breath.
In that split second, Kaguya seized the opening.
"The Other Shore Flower of Calamity!"
Kaguya moved like a cold moonbeam. Five peerless slashes struck the Tree Dragon's head. The dragon jerked its head aside, avoiding a killing blow, but the five strikes carved deep into its skull, leaving bone-deep gashes.
Simultaneously, Ryu finished her incantation.
"Fly across the sky, race through the wilderness, and run swifter than all things. Smite the enemy with the radiance of the stars!"
Countless light motes materialized and shot toward the dragon's wings like a rain of arrows. Her goal was to ground the beast and prevent it from using aerial maneuvers to exhaust the team.
The other Familia members contributed their own skills—some hacking at the dragon's horns, others attacking its tail to ruin its balance.
Solon didn't delay either. He cast the cantrip Eldritch Blast, firing a beam of crackling energy straight into the dragon's eye.
Faced with this sudden, coordinated onslaught, the Tree Dragon was clearly caught off guard. It couldn't dodge the Eldritch Blast, and its eye was instantly pierced.
SCREECH—!
The dragon let out a horrific, agonized wail. Under the relentless assault, it was forced back into a narrow corner. The team didn't let up, intending to pin it down before it could recover.
However, just then, a rustling sound echoed from the dark depths of the Great Tree Labyrinth. A moss-covered giant emerged silently from the shadows of the 24th floor.
It was a Moss Giant. It watched the distant battlefield, its mouth peeling back into a hideous, needle-toothed grin. Without hesitation, this Enhanced Species broke into a sprint, heading straight for the fight.
Solon maintained his magical output, but a flicker of alarm crossed his mind. We have to keep up the pressure... Wait, what is that abnormal noise in the distance?
Soon, the Moss Giant joined the fray. This Enhanced Species was fundamentally different from the ones they had seen before—it was exceptionally intelligent. Without a word, it picked up a massive boulder and hurled it at Solon with terrifying speed.
"Everyone, scatter!" Solon roared.
Thanks to his earlier vigilance, the team reacted with perfect synchronization, fanning out like water. The boulder whistled through the air, narrowly missing them and smashing into the ground behind them, carving out a ten-meter-deep crater.
Seeing its strike miss, a strange light flickered in the Moss Giant's eyes. Suddenly, four more identical Moss Giants emerged from the shadows of the labyrinth and joined the battle.
Everyone's face paled. A single Moss Giant had a potential power level around Level 3. Normally, they could kill one easily. But now, in the middle of a boss fight, five Level 3 monsters had ambushed them.
Solon's mind raced. In the original records, Moss Giants were cunning, able to break floor limits and specializing in ambushes. But these giants weren't acting like the ones he remembered—they were mounting a full, frontal encirclement.
This abnormal behavior filled him with a sense of dread.
"What now, Captain? Do we retreat?" Solon asked in a low voice.
Alise gave a bitter smile, but her eyes remained fearless. "Retreat where? Our path back has been completely blocked by these monsters."
The Tree Dragon had recovered. Its eyes gleamed with malice, fixed squarely on Solon—the man whose Eldritch Blast had nearly blinded it. Thanks to its hardy monster physiology, it hadn't collapsed. It opened its massive maw, exhaling a foul, gale-force wind.
And so, five Level 3 Moss Giants and one high-tier Level 4 Tree Dragon surrounded them, slowly closing the distance to compress their space.
Back-to-back, the Familia members engaged in a fierce melee.
Solon swung Pale Justice, unleashing staggering power right from the start. He moved like lightning, charging the nearest two Moss Giants. His blade blurred with god-like speed.
"Divine Smite!" "Booming Blade!" "Green-Flame Blade!"
Golden holy light, thunderous roars, and emerald flames wove a web of destruction. In less than ten seconds, two massive mossy bodies were hacked to pieces and collapsed.
A third Moss Giant saw this and tried to flee. Solon extended his left hand, mana erupting from his palm.
"Eldritch Blast!"
The energy beam caught the giant from behind, piercing through its back.
Meanwhile, Alise, Kaguya, and Ryu were fully occupied with the Tree Dragon. Alise, wreathed in flames, met the dragon's claws and bites head-on with wide, sweeping strikes. Kaguya's movements were ethereal, her blade light flowing like a cold moon as she targeted the dragon's joints and wing membranes. Ryu maneuvered around the perimeter, using precise kicks and wooden sword thrusts to disrupt the dragon while continuously chanting for Luminous Wind to hammer the beast's hide.
"We have to pin it to the ground!" Alise grit her teeth. The shock of the dragon's strikes made her blood boil and her arms ache. If we let it get airborne, we're done!
Her mental energy was draining, but she couldn't stop. Ryu calmly observed the battlefield, her chanting never ceasing. With Solon's quick return to support them, the other Familia members held the line and soon wiped out the remaining Moss Giants.
Finally, only the original, cunning Moss Giant remained. It didn't counterattack fiercely; instead, the treachery in its eyes grew more pronounced. Just as Solon stepped forward to deliver the final blow, disaster struck.
The ground beneath Solon's feet split open silently. A pitch-black pit trap appeared out of nowhere!
Solon reacted instantly. "Levitate!"
His body became weightless as he tried to stall in mid-air. However, the Moss Giant had anticipated this. At that exact moment, it lunged, its massive palm swinging with a gale-force impact. It wasn't an attack meant to kill, but a shove. It slammed into Solon's side, the shockwave and momentum knocking him sideways before his levitation could stabilize.
The moment Solon was knocked away, the entire Great Tree Labyrinth seemed to "wake up." The walls and ceiling let out a low rumble.
The labyrinth began to vomit monsters once more. This time, it wasn't ordinary monsters, but countless venomous "poison insects"—hybrids of centipedes and beetles. A black tide of insects poured from every crack, crevice, and ceiling, converging with a bone-chilling skittering sound, surging toward the group like a sea of death.
The Tree Dragon seized the opportunity to slip into the cover of the insect tide. Its throat bulged as it prepared a new breath attack.
Solon managed to adjust his posture in the air. Seeing the threat, he thrust his right hand forward.
"Shield!"
A translucent magical barrier deployed, narrowly blocking the corrosive poison breath that rained down on him. Then, he splayed his left fingers, aiming at the densest part of the insect swarm, and chanted a concise, powerful incantation.
"Fireball—Upcast Metamagic: Empowered!"
A ball of white-hot fire, far larger and brighter than usual, screamed through the air. Like a falling miniature sun, it plummeted into the heart of the poison insects.
BOOM!!!
The deafening explosion sent a searing shockwave in all directions. Countless insects were incinerated into ash instantly, clearing a temporary void.
However, as the smoke cleared, Solon's heart sank. The cunning Moss Giant had completely vanished.
It was a lure! Using these Enhanced Species to draw our attention while the labyrinth prepared to flood us with monsters...
Solon realized their tactic. They wanted to grind them down or create a situation for a one-hit kill. Just then, Solon's senses caught an even more powerful, more violent aura coming from deep within the monster tide.
He snapped his head around, his pupils shrinking. Another massive, hideous figure emerged from behind the veil of shadows and insects. It was a second Tree Dragon, its green scales shimmering with cruel intent.
"Are you kidding me?!" Solon almost cursed aloud.
The Dungeon's malice was sickening. They had just crippled one Tree Dragon, dealt with five Moss Giants and an endless insect tide, and now a second, perfectly healthy Tree Dragon had appeared.
"No, we have to wipe them out right here!" Solon landed and regrouped with Alise and the others, his voice filled with resolve. "Otherwise, we'll never get out!"
As they knew, the Jewel Tree was in the deepest part of the Great Tree Labyrinth. From the lower floors down, the area of each floor expanded geometrically. By the 24th floor, the area was nearly a third the size of Orario.
The Astraea Familia had failed to realize a terrifying fact: from the 19th floor down to the 24th, every trap and dangerous aura they had sensed or glimpsed had remained dormant—waiting. Now, the patient Dungeon had finally bared its sharpest fangs at the adventurers who had ventured so deep into its gut.
The battle shifted in an instant. The first Tree Dragon, despite being heavily wounded, grew even more feral. Using the insect tide and the second dragon as a distraction, it ignored its injuries and lunged at Solon again.
"Solon, look out!" Alise cried. She pushed her flames to the limit, her body streaking like a fire meteor to intercept.
Solon turned simultaneously, holy light erupting from Pale Justice. A heavy Divine Smite swung toward the dragon's wounded eye socket. Alise's flaming slash accurately targeted the dragon's front leg joint on the same side.
The two attacks combined perfectly. Holy light and raging fire hit at the same time!
Squeltch! Crack!
The Tree Dragon let out a final, ear-piercing scream. Black blood mixed with shattered eye fluid sprayed everywhere. Its front leg was nearly severed. The massive body lost its balance and collapsed sideways, entering a near-death state.
However, at that exact moment—the moment Alise finished her strike—the rock beneath her feet, which had seemed so solid, collapsed without warning.
A smooth-edged, bottomless pit trap—a giant maw that had been waiting for this very moment—appeared!
What?!
Alise's pupils dilated. Her body was leaning forward from the force of her swing; her center of gravity was gone. She couldn't evade. The cold sensation of weightlessness gripped her instantly.
"ALISE!!!"
Solon's roar and the screams of her comrades seemed to come from far away. She plummeted into the darkness.
Without a second thought, Solon dove in after her. Simultaneously, the second Tree Dragon slid into another pit trap nearby, continuing the pursuit.
Back on the surface, the remaining members were frantic. They ran to the edge of the pit, but the hole below had already been swallowed by falling rocks, leaving only a shallow depression.
Ryu's face went white, and she swayed on her feet. Could it be... She didn't dare think further. Alise and Solon were gone. In theory, falling into such a trap was a death sentence.
Ryu began to chant magic frantically.
"Stupid elf! Are you trying to kill them?!" Kaguya shouted, punching Ryu to snap her out of it. Kaguya's face was frozen in a mask of cold resolve. "If you blast the bottom of the pit, you'll bury them alive! Did you even think about that?"
"Then what do we do?!" Ryu snapped back, grabbing Kaguya's collar, her face twisted with fear.
"We search! Pit traps on the 24th floor either lead to the upper layers or the lower ones—usually no further than the 27th floor!" Kaguya shouted, asserting her authority as the Vice-Captain.
They had to still be in the Dungeon. Usually, falling into a pit trap meant you were as good as dead. But Kaguya believed in Solon. That guy had too many survival tricks. It was impossible—absolutely impossible—for him to die here.
Kaguya forced herself not to let her mind wander to the worst-case scenario. After the insect swarm was finally cleared, the remaining Familia members secured the Jewel Tree and began a massive, desperate search for their lost friends.
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Danmachi: My Magic Style is Different from Yours (Simulpub – Ongoing)
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