Chapter 132

Chapter 133: Reinforced Species Once Again! (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)

Engaging with the elite monsters of the Large Species was akin to battling one’s own “endurance.”

The enemy possessed a super-sized body that couldn’t be harmed by minor attacks and had vitality that knew no fatigue.

Unless the adventurers’ Lv. significantly exceeded it, any tactical arrangement was prone to turn into a protracted battle.

Even many adventurers who gathered teams of magicians were at a loss against them.

Monsters like the “Tree Dragon” were ones that ordinary adventurers would avoid upon encountering.

The difficulty of defeating it rivaled, if not surpassed, defeating Goliath, the boss of the seventeenth floor.

Capable of controlling plants within the cavern, using magical breath, having a robust physique, and even flying…

It was practically a six-sided monster.

“So hard…”

After sliding a distance on the ground and stopping, Izay glanced at his trembling right hand, his lips twitching.

Is this what a monster with potential Ability Values of Level 4 feels like?

First-class adventurer equipment, enhanced significantly by Additional Magic, could only manage to tear a wound on its body?

Though a wound over a meter long was impressive, compared to the Tree Dragon’s nearly eighty-nine-meter-long body, it seemed insignificant.

“ROOOAAAARRRRR!!!!”

An unprecedented pain since its birth stirred the Tree Dragon’s spirit, emitting a roar that spread as sound waves.

Its golden vertical pupils caught sight of Izay darting past it. Opening its dragon head filled with countless sharp teeth, a withered yellow magic vortex gathered in its mouth.

Massive magical power quickly piled up, forming a storm-like torrent of violent airflow.

Izay’s “Intuition” went off wildly, his body reacting instinctively.

However…

It was too fast!

The speed of gathering magical power, the time it took for the breath to erupt.

Both were incredibly rapid!!

“————————！！”

A withered yellow magical storm shot out.

It shredded the air, swept across the bark-constituted land, triggered an intense explosion, and flipped up large amounts of soil and rocks.

Izay tried his best to escape, the early warning from his “Intuition” allowing him to narrowly dodge the magical breath by a small margin, but he was still blown away by the explosion’s gale.

He was enveloped in a cloud of dust.

“Izay!”

At the entrance of the cavern, Riviria, who was waiting there, gripped her staff tightly with her delicate hands.

She hadn’t been noticed or attacked by the Tree Dragon while staying here, yet observing the trend of the battle made her worry deeply.

It wasn’t that she lacked confidence in Izay.

Rather, for some unknown reason, Riviria felt something was off.

But this feeling of unease was fleeting, difficult to grasp, much like a flash of inspiration in her mind.

“Izay!?”

Suddenly, a crisp voice that shouldn’t have been there sounded.

“？？？”

Riviria, lost in worry, froze, then abruptly turned around. A moment later, the corners of the elven royal’s eyes twitched awkwardly.

“Ais… Tione, why are you two here!?”

“Because we were curious, so we came to see Izay’s ‘adventure’?”

The response didn’t come from Ais or Tione, but from their younger sister, Tiona, who popped out from behind them.

Not only her, but also Bert, who followed reluctantly but moved honestly toward this place, along with Finn and Gress who arrived here with sheepish smiles.

At the tree wall near the entrance of the cavern, Anqi, Refia, Alisia, and other members of the second echelon peeked cautiously, observing the situation.

Riviria’s mood became inexplicably complicated.

“Finn, I didn’t expect you to…”

“Haha, well… It’s a special case～”

The Halfling Tribe Leader scratched the back of his head and laughed, trying to gloss over Riviria’s question.

“The feat of Level 2 adventurers taking down a Level 4, such a battle, if one doesn’t witness it, wouldn’t it leave a lifetime regret?”

Gress looked completely justified.

For the passionate old dwarf, nothing could ignite his heart more than a battle, so this mindset wasn’t surprising.

“You understand my feelings, but if all of you are gone, what about the expedition team? What about all the supplies?”

“That’s no problem at all. Riviria, we returned after reaching the twentieth floor; Raul will command the team to wait for us on the eighteenth floor～”

Poor Raul… abandoned.

As for worrying about attacks?

Don’t joke around. With such a big clown flag planted in the expedition team, which blind adventurer would dare to attack?

Excluding other adventurers, the mid-layer monsters posed no threat to the expedition team members. If they dared to come, it’d be one slash per monster.

That’s why even Finn appeared here.

Riviria felt utterly helpless about everyone’s behavior, but for some reason, after Ais and others arrived, her worried emotions dissipated somewhat.

Perhaps because she wasn’t alone anymore.

……

With no time to pay attention to the situation at the cavern entrance, Izay’s battle with the Tree Dragon continued!

His spear swept through the smoke, dispersing the dust obstructing his vision. Approaching was a surge of withered yellow tree roots.

“BOOM… BOOM… BOOM… BOOM……”

The winding roots transformed into a yellow python, causing the entire cavern floor to rupture violently, like a subterranean dragon turning over.

Terrifying attacks surged toward Izay.

“Can’t be serious! That’s a Tree Dragon!?!”

Tiona couldn’t help but exclaim.

She wasn’t unfamiliar with Tree Dragons, knowing these monsters could control plants.

But, isn’t this one exaggerated?

Half the cavern was affected…

It didn’t seem like something a Tree Dragon should be capable of!

“No! This Tree Dragon is not an ordinary Level 4, it’s a ‘Reinforced Species’!”

“Scales are withered yellow…”

“『Abnormal Condition』…”

The first to react were Riviria, Finn, and Gress.

At this moment, Riviria finally understood what had been bothering her earlier.

The color of the scales!

The light source within the “Great Tree Maze” mainly came from the blue glow emitted by moss on the ceiling.

Originally, this Tree Dragon’s scales weren’t green but rather a faded yellow like dry leaves!

Under the illumination of the blue moss light and within the dim cavern environment, it appeared to be an abnormal kind of green.

This Tree Dragon was a one-in-a-million ‘Reinforced Species’ among monsters!

Potential Ability Values comparable to Level 5!

Environmental factors of the Dungeon influenced the judgment of these first-class adventurers.

No one would have noticed such a coincidental matter beforehand.

Even Riviria, Finn, and Gress, experienced veterans, were encountering this kind of “disguise” caused by environmental luster and unique skin color for the first time.

Just as their words trailed off… on the battlefield, a high-pitched voice chanted the name of a spell.

“—『Mountain-Sea Transformation』!!!”