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“Waaah!”

Conra, who had been screaming as he soared through the sky, suddenly felt something grab the back of his neck. Naturally, unable to overcome the inertia, his body was yanked backward, and for a moment, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Ugh,” Conra let out a rather unimpressive sound as he regained his senses. What he saw below him was the ground, looking like a distant ant colony, and the endless horizon stretching in all directions. The surreal scenery, something he had never seen before, sent shivers down his spine while simultaneously filling him with an indescribable thrill.

Then, the voice of his revered master echoed in his ears.

“Hoh, you seem to be in pretty good shape. Glad to see you don’t have a fear of heights. In that case, no need to hold back.”

“Huh… what?”

Sophia’s voice, seemingly pleased but with a hint of something ominous, made Conra instinctively look up at the person holding the back of his neck. The unrestrained smile on her face filled him with a sense of impending doom.

‘Haha, no way. It can’t be, right?’

And the next moment, Conra was thrown into the air again. The ground rapidly disappeared below him, the wind whipped against his face, the intense inertia, the strange sensation of defying gravity, and the fear that the momentum might run out at any moment—all these feelings and sensations intertwined, creating a complex and mysterious emotion.

“Waaah!” followed by a choked gasp, then another “Waaah!” and finally a pained groan.

Conra was tossed back and forth by Sophia, zigzagging through the sky without wings, until finally, he managed to pass through a crack in the sky.

By the end, he had regained some composure and even started to enjoy the thrill of the involuntary flight. As soon as he passed through the crack, he executed a graceful landing on a soft, cloud-covered ground. Standing up and straightening his disheveled clothes, the boy let out a gasp of amazement.

“Wow…”

What lay before him was an endless expanse of clouds stretching to the horizon. Instead of soil and rocks, the ground was made up of various clouds, creating a unique landscape. Light poured down from the sky, reflecting and scattering, creating strange and beautiful colors.

As Conra marveled at the scenery, Sophia appeared behind him and smirked.

“How was your first flight experience?”

Conra was momentarily speechless. It wasn’t that he had nothing to say—it was that he had too much to say, but only one mouth to say it all.

Should being grabbed and thrown into the air even count as flying? Shouldn’t this be called being launched rather than flying? He thought he was going to die! All sorts of complaints and grievances bubbled up in his throat, but eventually, Conra faced reality.

It was he who wanted to take on a role to protect people. It was he who agreed with Sophia’s plan to stop the giants from invading further.

And it was he who lacked the skill to fly through the sky on his own.

But regardless of the method, he had managed to enter this dungeon in the clouds with Sophia’s help, and in the process, he had even caught a glimpse of the secrets of “flight.”

Objectively speaking, from start to finish, he had no right to complain. In fact, he should be deeply respectful and grateful to his master.

Still, a part of him wanted to grumble about the rough treatment, but that too was cut short. As Conra’s gaze followed Sophia’s pointing finger, all the complaints in his mouth vanished.

“Oh my god…”

What he saw was a formation of giant soldiers, neatly lined up in front of the crack. Each time the soldiers moved in unison, the metallic clanking of their armor echoed solemnly.

With each clank, the beads of cold sweat on Conra’s temples grew. He felt the psychological pressure of the scene before him. If those giants were to descend to the ground without any obstacles, it would undoubtedly be a massive disaster.

“Ugh, there are more of them than all the citizens of Plymouth combined, aren’t there?”

“Haha, surely not that many? Well, it’s close, I suppose.”

“Ugh, either way, it’s a huge problem!”

Sophia chuckled at Conra’s barely suppressed scream.

“If that many giants make it to the ground, it’ll definitely be a disaster.”

Conra instinctively understood that if such a large force of giants were to descend, it would undoubtedly lead to chaos. Sophia continued, looking at him.

“So, do you know what you need to do now?”

Conra’s gaze quickly scanned the surroundings. Eventually, his eyes landed on a massive tower in the distance. At the top of the tower, a glowing orb, resembling the sun, shone brilliantly, its light rippling like waves.

The moment he saw the orb, Conra realized it was the core of the dungeon, a massive concentration of power. His keen senses also detected the flow of energy throughout the dungeon, intersecting at the orb.

Having realized that, he knew exactly what he needed to do next.

“We need to clear the dungeon and use the released power to seal the crack!”

“Correct! Then, from now on, do what you know you must.”

As if waiting for those words, Conra immediately dashed toward the tower where the orb resided. Watching Conra’s figure sprinting in a low, forward-leaning posture, Sophia smirked. Then, her gaze turned to the giant soldiers who seemed ready to cross the crack at any moment.

If left unchecked, they would cross the crack and cause havoc in Plymouth. On the other hand, they might also swarm to stop Conra from taking over the tower and clearing the dungeon. Here, she needed to create a distraction to keep their attention away.

Sophia’s palm turned toward the soldiers, and her longsword disappeared from its sheath. And in the next moment…

“Swish!” A storm of blades erupted from various points among the giant soldiers, mercilessly cutting them down.

+++++

Conra, who had started running, wasn’t planning to charge straight toward the tower without any strategy. After all, he was just Conra, Sophia’s disciple and servant, not Sophia herself, who possessed transcendent martial power.

‘If it were Master, she’d probably just teleport to the target and solve everything with some mysterious technique. But I can’t expect that from myself.’

In that sense, Conra thought of this as another trial Sophia had set for him. If so, he needed to give it his all, using every ounce of strength and wisdom he had. Fortunately, he had Spirit Rugus-Artaeus and Spirit Hermes-Esras, valuable advisors who could offer guidance in various situations.

{Clearing the dungeon and using its power won’t be easy for you right now.}

Spirit Hermes-Esras spoke. It was frustrating, but undeniable. Conra’s spellcasting abilities were undeniably powerful, but they were still unrefined and not yet polished. In a way, his abilities were like a rough gemstone.

{So, you should follow the standard approach to dungeon exploration. That’s probably what your master expects from you.}

This time, Spirit Rugus-Artaeus chimed in.

Listening to their advice, Conra opened his senses wide. He needed to read the flow of energy to determine the correct path to clear the dungeon.

Of course, the path ahead wouldn’t be smooth.

“Who’s there!”

“Little guy! You’ve managed to sneak in here!”

Two giant soldiers blocked Conra’s path as he sprinted forward in a low stance.

‘Judging by their lighter armor compared to the ones we saw earlier, they must be the guards left behind at the base.’

Well, whatever. Conra smirked. He had already faced much stronger giant warriors before. A couple of soldiers like these were nothing more than a warm-up.

With a grin, Conra’s running posture lowered even further, almost as if he were about to headbutt the ground. In an instant, his figure disappeared, leaving only an afterimage.

The next moment, Conra reappeared between the two giants. His hand, now holding Ogmios’s spear, swiftly slashed through the vital points of the soldiers’ bodies.

The unprecedented strength from the Bronze Giant’s belt, combined with Conra’s masterful spear technique and the artifact-level weapon, created an explosive force. By the time the two soldiers realized what was happening, their vital points had been severed, leaving them rolling on the ground, unable to resist.

Without a second glance at his defeated foes, Conra continued his sprint toward the tower.

{Take it step by step, carefully. Your master will handle things for now, so you have some time.}

Listening to Spirit Hermes-Esras’s advice, Conra continued to follow the flow of energy. The spirit said there was time, but that didn’t mean he could afford to rest. Even now, the giant soldiers and humans were fighting on the ground, and Sophia was holding back the remaining giants in the dungeon to prevent them from descending.

Then, suddenly, Rugus-Artaeus, who had been unusually quiet, spoke up.

{I just remembered something. This place… it seems to be a land I’ve heard of before. There were rumors about how a city of giants built on the clouds fell. Suddenly, I think I know the key to clearing this dungeon.}

Indeed, it was sudden.

Conra’s contracted spirit had just dropped a crucial hint for conquering the dungeon.

 

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