ALL NOVEL Chapter 129
129. The Super Heavy Dragon Of The 40th Floor
An hour and a half later, we finally found the stairs leading to the 40th floor.
At this depth, it takes significantly longer to defeat monsters. Their strength is on a whole different level.
However, stronger monsters don’t only bring bad news.
――
Your level has increased to 51.
――
“Oh, my level went up again.”
As I cut down a monster, a voice in my head announced the level-up.
Laura glanced at me in response to my muttering.
“…You just leveled up not too long ago, right? How is this possible?”
“Laura, thanks to this skill, my level rises abnormally fast. Just think of me as something other than human.”
“Is that so? I’m often told I’ve left humanity behind too, so maybe we’re similar.”
Laura sometimes says the most absurd things with a straight face, making it hard to respond.
“Having a high level is never a bad thing. The floor boss on the 40th floor won’t go down easily.”
“‘What!? Laura could probably take it down in one hit!’”
“What do you both think I am? The floor boss on the 40th floor is a Behemoth.”
At that moment, the word “Behemoth” made Raize raise her voice.
“Behemoth!? No way! The Behemoth is a huge monster, about 50 meters long! It can’t possibly fit in this dungeon…”
“Don’t worry. The Behemoth in this dungeon is a juvenile… It’s only about one-tenth that size. But even then, it’s still dangerous enough to cause havoc like a small mountain.”
We struggled even with the King Basilisk, a five-meter dragon-type monster. Facing something even stronger is going to be a real challenge.
“No tricks will work against a Behemoth. In the strategy team, the only way to defeat it is to attack all at once before it can move. Prepare yourselves.”
We swallowed hard. What kind of monster is this Behemoth that even Laura speaks of it this way?
If we get past this, we’ll soon conquer the 43rd floor. But can we defeat the Behemoth? With a mix of excitement and anxiety, we descended the stairs to the 40th floor.
At the bottom of the stairs, a vast space, similar to the other floors with floor bosses, spread out before us.
――However, there was an obvious difference. Seeing what was in the center of the room, we gasped.
“What is that――?”
For a moment, I felt nailed to the spot, unable to move. The sight before me was that shocking.
What is that? This is nothing like what we were told. This is like――
“GROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!!”
The monster before us roared, welcoming us. Its brown, rock-like body looked like a moving mountain.
The problem was its size. According to what we were told, the Behemoth was supposed to be about five meters tall.
However, the Behemoth in front of us was clearly a monster twice that size, about 10 meters tall.
“…! Both of you! Retreat!!”
As we stood frozen, Laura snapped out an order.
“I’ve never encountered a Behemoth of this size before! Something caused it to grow larger than usual!”
It might seem like a simplistic, even cliché explanation. But it carried a weight far beyond the words.
We can’t win. In that brief moment, Laura decided that. We must flee from this overwhelmingly massive monster.
And that made sense. Dungeon exploration isn’t something you do with your life on the line. If you die, it’s all over.
Laura’s decision was practical. We should retreat and wait for a better opportunity. I understood that much.
――But.
“What are you doing, Alcus? We need to get out of here, now――”
“No! We can’t run!”
Laura and Raize stopped in their tracks, looking puzzled.
I can’t run away from this. If we run now, we won’t be able to expose Gerda’s corruption.
Laura will remain bound to that strategy team forever. I can’t let that happen.
“We’ll defeat that Behemoth! No matter what, we’ll overcome it!!”
“No! Are you trying to get yourself killed!!”
Laura yelled with all her might to stop me. But I shook my head.
“I don’t want you two to die over something like this!! If I lose anyone else, I’ll…”
“I won’t die!”
I stared into Laura’s eyes as I answered back.
I indeed have no basis for saying I won’t die. But I’m resolved.
It probably only lasted a few seconds. Laura and I exchanged glances. But in that moment, we undoubtedly communicated our intentions.
“…Alright. We’ll fight.”
Laura averted her gaze from me and looked toward the Behemoth.
“…Are you sure?”
“You’re the one who suggested it. …A little while ago, I would have ignored your opinion. But now, it’s different. I don’t know why, but I feel like betting on this!”
The Behemoth roared again. We glared at it, gripping our weapons tightly.