Chapter 47

Chapter 47: What They Call An Adventure

Racing through the dark and interminable tunnel, before long, to Izay and Ryu’s eyes, the speck of light symbolizing the tunnel’s end grew larger and larger, until in an instant their vision opened up.

“Help—help me—! Help—me—!!!”

After passing through the tunnel, the first thing that entered both of their ears was a chaotic cacophony made up of cries for help, roars of anger, and explosions.

In a massive cavern composed of grayish-white rock, scorching hot flames rushed towards them.

Amidst the smoke produced by the flames, several small silhouettes were being chased around by a massive dark red creature.

One person seemed to want to counterattack the beast with the blade in their hand, but in the next instant, they were immediately deflected; the blade shattered, not even leaving a scratch on the monster’s scales.

The adventurer who tried to attack was then tossed aside like a ragdoll, flying off to land amidst a pile of broken rocks, heavily injured and unconscious.

One of the screams drew closer, breaking through the smoke. A man with a scarred face, looking like a beggar in his tattered state with many burn marks on his body, happened to be running toward Izay’s position.

To increase the chances of escape, Scar-faced Man, as the team leader, had no choice but to separate from his teammates to flee from the monster.

Seeing new adventurers appear right in front of him at this moment, the man couldn’t help but reveal a look of joy on his face.

But when he realized there were only two of them, Izay and Ryu, it was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, replacing his joy with despair.

“Run—quick!”

Just as he raised his arm to tell them to leave the place immediately, flames erupted behind him.

Thrown into the air by the explosive wave, the Scar-faced Man performed a perfect parabola, landing in front of Izay.

“Is this uncle actually a good guy?”

Izay raised an eyebrow.

At first, seeing him run over here, Izay thought he came with the intention of “offering us the monster,” after all, some adventurers in Orario… well, let’s just say they’re hard to explain.

But unexpectedly, the first words out of this uncle’s mouth were telling them to run, which was surprisingly free of malice?

“Mr. Izay, are you sure you want to tackle that Wyvern alone? Let me be blunt, this Wyvern is nothing like the Minotaur we faced before. Even if dozens of Minotaurs attacked together, they wouldn’t stand a chance against it.”

Beside him, Ryu took in the full might of the crimson Wyvern hovering in the cavern sky and softly spoke to Izay.

If on the ground, dozens of Minotaurs might have been able to surround and kill the Wyvern, but in the air…

The result would be the same: dozens of Minotaurs burning up in flames without any other outcome.

Does Izay have any means to control the air now?

“Don’t worry, Ryu. Should I call it a coincidence? I happen to have two very powerful control magics. That Wyvern won’t be able to fly. And if I start to struggle, you can step in then.”

Hearing Izay’s voice, devoid of any hint of joking, Ryu fell silent for a few seconds before finally nodding her agreement:

“Please be careful…”

“Yeah, I will.”

Tilting his head slightly, Izay also noticed the imposing presence of the Wyvern, unable to resist taking a deep breath.

His hands trembled, whether from excitement or fear, while an exhilarating emotion surged within him.

Facing a formidable enemy that makes one tremble with fear, blazing a path with courage, using all preparations, and giving it everything to overcome!

This is what it means—to adventure!

Shedding the cumbersome backpack from his back and handing it to Ryu to hold for a moment,

Izay took out a Panacea from inside the bag, an expensive item priced at five hundred thousand Valis each.

Previously, Izay had pestered Amide for a while to prepare for the upgrade of his “Deeds,” eventually securing three of them for one point two million Valis.

Opening the bottle cap, he sprinkled the Panacea onto the body of the Scar-faced Man lying in front.

“Five hundred thousand Valis, I’ll get reimbursed later…”

For higher-level adventurers, five hundred thousand Valis could be saved up in one or two weeks of frugal living.

The income of the middle layer is drastically different from the upper layer; exploring the middle layer once yields tens of thousands of Valis per person, sometimes even more.

Izay wasn’t worried about him defaulting—not only because of his own strength, but also because the name “Loki Familia” isn’t something to joke about.

Who dares to owe money to a member of the Loki Familia and not pay it back?

The consequences would be extremely severe…

Gripping his spear upside down, Izay stepped toward the center of the cavern.

“—ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!”

A roar so powerful it seemed to shake the entire cavern erupted, sound waves dispersing the smoke generated by the flames and clearing out space in the center of the cavern.

Having driven away and crushed the intruders disturbing it, the crimson Wyvern was now freely venting its emotions, as if showcasing its power.

Even though there wouldn’t necessarily be anyone—or anything—around to notice.

With its wings flapping in an unscientific manner, it hovered mid-air high above the cavern, its crimson eyes scanning below.

It was the gaze of a solitary king looking down upon all beneath him.

In the center of the gray-white ground, a small black dot gradually moving closer caught its attention.

It was a human wielding a weapon?

Instantly feeling insulted, the Wyvern opened its mouth filled with countless sharp teeth.

Deep within its maw, flames roared to life, a conspicuous red glow emerging from its throat, and then—

“——————————!!”

A torrent of fiery breath shot forth.

The concentrated flame rushed directly toward where Izay stood.

From his initial slow walk, Izay gradually accelerated, now sprinting with his silver-gray spear toward the center.

Facing the torrent of flames chasing his movement, there was not a trace of fear on Izay’s face, and it seemed he didn’t even intend to dodge, continuing to accelerate.

The next moment, he softly recited his incantation.

“【Let the Curtain Fall (Orionids)】!!”

In an instant, a starry curtain enveloped Izay’s surroundings.

But it was only a fleeting moment, easy to miss.

As the starry curtain dissipated, a faint azure glow enveloped his entire body, tiny stars swirling around his surface.

In his clear blue eyes, a ring of silver appeared, making his eyes shine brilliantly.

Just before the flames were about to engulf him, Izay vanished completely, disappearing abruptly.

The ferocious crimson fire struck the ground directly below, sending up clouds of sand and gravel, causing the ground to emit a thunderous roar.

The aftermath overturned solid rocks, spreading fiery waves across the ground, burning and destroying everything around.

Seeing that the human who ran toward it left not even ashes behind after his attack, the crimson eyes of the Wyvern seemed to show satisfaction akin to human emotion.

But just as it prepared to roar again to display its might, a streak of azure light shot straight from the pile of boulders behind it.

The peak boulder was instantly crushed underfoot, followed by a sharp and piercing whistling sound.

In the blink of an eye, the azure streak crossed paths with the crimson Wyvern.

The astonishing speed of the charge and clash sent shockwaves through the cavern, the sound of scales being torn echoing throughout. The Wyvern crashed to the ground with great force, raising a cloud of dust.

On the other side, due to the thrust not fully hitting its mark, blocked by the dragon’s scales, Izay lost most of his momentum and fell from the air, rolling along the ground for a distance before regaining his composure.