Chapter 77
It was the volcano itself.
The volcano erupted, as if refusing to tolerate any intruder on its land, and finally revealed its true form.
[Volcano Ceratops]
[Body Length 108.9m] [Height 37.8m] [Weight 1.7kt]
[Strength 703] [Agility 408] [Health 672] [Magic Power 500]
[Skills Owned]
[Fire God (A)] [Dragon Blood (B)] [High Magic Power (B)] [Rapid Recovery (C)] [Super Strength (C)] [Dragonian Blood (C)] [Excellent Magic Regeneration (C)] [All Damage Reduction (D)] [Weak Regeneration (E)]
Its form resembled a gigantic ceratops, with horns that seemed capable of piercing mountains, covered in volcanic ash yet burning bright red.
‘How exactly am I supposed to fight something like this?’
No other monster I’ve seen, or even combined chimera, could compare to it. The Awakening Evil? I’d bet that even if there were ten of those, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
‘Fire God?’
Just its size alone is monstrous, and it even possesses an A-class skill that I lack. The fact that it has nine skills is just ridiculous.
‘If only it were an Earth Serpent…’
At least I could have burnt it with Transformation. But I know I wouldn’t be able to transform into anything useful unless it had a garden on its head.
‘Not to mention, I can’t even get inside.’
One thing’s for sure: it won’t take long for it to climb down from the volcano’s crater.
“Step back. This is not a dungeon we can handle.”
With a far more serious tone than usual, White Deer cut in, coolly assessing the situation.
“I didn’t think this dungeon was that great. But it turns out I was wrong. The real monsters were inside the volcano and under the lava. I misjudged the level. This is not a dungeon we can tackle with just the two of us.”
That was the truth. Volcano Ceratops. The chances of defeating it right now? Zero. Not to mention an A-class, and even someone like Kang Tae-ho wouldn’t stand a chance against it.
“There’s still magic gathering down there, in the lava. It’ll take more time before that magic can escape to the realm. This was never a dungeon we were supposed to clear.”
“……”
White Deer exhaled deeply as he observed the wolf, who seemed to be deep in thought. An uneasy feeling nagged at him, fearing the wolf might be stubborn. Courage and recklessness are different things. White Deer understood that well.
“Please don’t think of anything strange.”
Strange thoughts? I tilted my head at that.
‘What nonsense are you worried about?’
When I first jumped into the Prominence Crocodile’s jaws, I had my reasons. I believed I wouldn’t get hurt even if things went wrong. But this? I knew I’d be heading straight into a death trap.
“Of course, I’m not planning to fight.”
“Then we should leave quickly.”
“No, that’s not it.”
White Deer was right. No matter what crazy move we made, there was no way to defeat that thing now. To say it was impossible was an understatement.
‘Still.’
Taking a calm approach, I thought.
‘Its appearance itself isn’t a bad thing.’
The area was teeming with rampaging monsters. But hadn’t I already experienced this in the Dragon Wastes?
‘Just like the wyvern hunting the Coatl.’
And just as the Prominence Crocodile dragged the Lesser Drake into the lava. Monsters don’t always integrate, after all. They have their own ecosystems and food chains, just on a different scale.
‘So if Volcano Ceratops runs rampant, it’s actually a good thing.’
At that moment, the ground shook, and my eyes lit up. The weight of the beast. Over two thousand tons of overwhelming mass caused the volcano to trigger a landslide. A colossal boulder rolled down, crashing into the gaping maw of a lava shark waiting below.
“White Deer!”
Needless to say, we were already running. Countless rock fragments fell, creating an impact as if an entire mountain was crumbling. Everything crashed down and ash and dust billowed up. Not to mention the earthquakes that roared with each step of the beast. A surge of lava and magma followed endlessly behind.
‘It’s not just threatening to us; it’s the same for the monsters here.’
Its overwhelming violence was being directed at them too. The lava monsters shrieked in horror and scurried away, but one by one, they fell victim to the falling rocky debris. The monsters below the lava fared a bit better, but the real trouble lay with the monsters in the volcanic area.
“―――!”
The speed was incomparable to a real landslide. Monsters, swallowed by ash and rocks, let out horrific screams.
‘But.’
That doesn’t concern us. We had already reached outside the dungeon’s boundaries.
“Kyu, kyuwoouuut…!”
We returned to the sight of the fantasy realm. The fairy flapped its wings in terror. I could only calm it down after several gentle pats.
‘It probably wouldn’t have been swept away.’
Only witnessing the overwhelming scene of destruction. The kind of natural disaster you’d only see in movies. While relieved that we narrowly escaped, the inevitable worries rushed back.
“White Deer. What’s the chance it’ll come out?”
“Since it completely lost sight of us, I think it might not know.”
Monsters can emerge outside the dungeon if they cross beyond its boundaries. That’s why hunters guard entrances in forests or cobalt mines. If that creature were to step into this realm, it would mean disaster. This beautiful fantasy realm might crumble entirely. White Deer’s expression was stiffer than I’d ever seen.
…
Quite some time had passed, but there was no sign of it emerging. Thankfully, it seemed it wouldn’t come out of the dungeon.
“White Deer.”
“…What is it?”
I pointed with a nod toward the border beyond.
“You can’t be suggesting we go in?”
“It’s been quite a while.”
White Deer’s expression was one of clear reluctance. That thought was obvious. A worry that we might stir up trouble needlessly.
“Just wait here.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
White Deer frowned at my suggestion.
“What if it’s just there when we go in? You realize that would be suicide, right?”
I stared blankly at him. Was he always this compassionate? The White Deer I’d seen was always rational. No, considering how he worried about the fairy, it seemed he did indeed have a soft side.
“I’m not an idiot.”
White Deer was right; there’s always a chance it could be zero. But I have Stealth. Plus, I’ve confirmed that it doesn’t have a skill that could find my Stealth.
“I’ll be fine.”
And most importantly, there was a reason I had to go in.
‘Experience points.’
The countless monsters swept away by it would be impossible to count. While the monsters below the lava might be another story, I had to at least secure the ones above ground. That alone could get me to level 20.
‘I have to go.’
This was just like when the Awakening Evil was rampaging. I couldn’t miss this opportunity. The dead bodies wouldn’t run away, but the monsters below the lava might be eyeing the same corpses, so who knows how long they’d stay.
‘Race against time.’
Receiving White Deer’s somewhat weird gaze, I moved towards the border.
“Kyu~ kyu?!”
With the fairy seemingly wanting to follow, I stopped White Deer from suggesting we go together again. If we all followed and got spotted by the Volcano Ceratops, it would be a disaster.
‘Stealth is something I can use alone.’
White Deer’s anxiety was natural. If the creature detected me and followed, it would obliterate this realm. At the very moment I took a deep breath and was about to step in, White Deer spoke up.
“Are you… really okay?”
I nodded slightly to White Deer and entered the dungeon.
***
“……”
I couldn’t say a word. What White Deer wanted to protect was this fantasy realm. The emerald sea seen from anywhere— a scene filled with summoning beasts at play. For the sake of something he wanted to protect for life, the wolf stepped onto a path that could be deadly.
Of course, White Deer wasn’t a fool. He knew the wolf wasn’t foolish either. It was certain that he had some way of getting in.
‘But still.’
I still remembered the wolf fighting those two bats. Clumsy and inexperienced, just like the few days he’d trained me.
His experience in the Dragon Wastes, having entered the belly of the great serpent to save himself, was ingrained in my memory to an unforgettable degree.
‘That he is risking his life for this realm.’
That would never, ever change.
“…Please come back safely.”
***
‘Suffocating.’
The settled volcano and the land it had filled. I expanded my senses to locate its position— but there was no need. It was curled up in the farthest, closest part of the volcano.
‘The Volcano Ceratops is asleep.’
The beast that had rampaged before showed no signs of moving again. Maintaining my Stealth, I inhaled deeply to catch its scent.
Pushing air deep into my lungs, I soon caught the burning scent amidst the ash-covered ground.
‘Here.’
As I brushed aside the ashes with a gust of wind, I discovered the lifeless form of a lizard.
[You have consumed a Salamander. Experience and fullness have increased.]
And as expected, I wasn’t alone.
‘Just as I thought.’
A massive lava shark had its head buried in the ground. The last creature that attempted to swallow us— I used Stealth to sneak behind it and conjured my magic. Just as it turned its head, I gifted it a magic sphere powered up to the limit.
“―――!”
As the lava exploded, a gust of wind blew away the remnants of the lava, while my magic, mingled in with it, rained destruction upon the creature.
‘…This is different from the crocodile.’
This thing only had lava covering its form, while this one was lava and magma itself.
[You have consumed a Magma Shark. Experience and fullness have increased.]
Because of that, consuming it was quite an ordeal. Even if it died, the lava wouldn’t cool down immediately. I had to stretch my tentacles to consume it before it melted, repeating the process.
‘If it weren’t for Regeneration.’
The naked wolf. I chuckled at the thought that its fur would have burned away completely.
[Experience points have reached maximum limit. Lv.14 → Lv.15]
After devouring it, I reached level 15 and finished off the remains it hadn’t eaten.
[You have consumed a Lesser Drake. Experience and fullness have increased.]
There was no need to extend my senses; I was certain. As long as the sleeping Volcano Ceratops didn’t wake, achieving level 20 would be a walk in the park.
