Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society - Chapter 273

Chapter 273

Chapter 273 . Kahar (7)

[Hu, Huhu… It’s been awhile since I felt like I broke through my limit . ]

After realizing that she no longer needed to fly at a breakneck speed, Lotte spoke in relief . But seeing as how her tail was still standing straight, she still seemed tense . I stroked her head .

“Thanks . Are you tired?”

[Hmph, this much is a piece of cake for a Blaze Queen! In fact, I’d like to thank Hero for letting me realize my own abilities!]

“Yeah, yeah . Thanks . ”

[Like I said, Hero doesn’t need to thank me!]

On the other hand, the wyvern Lotte dragged along was half dead . I thought about letting the pitiful creature go, but when I imagined Lotte carrying Ellos and Edias’ Hero with her claws, I stopped in my tracks .

“Anyways, this is where Peruta Mountain Range begins? It’s already pretty rough . ”

The atmospheric mana I felt before was even thicker in this mountain range . Here, even the ground was affected by the high mana density . This meant that the cause of Edias continent’s strange atmospheric mana was here . It was truly absurd . The size of Seoul was nothing compared to Edias continent, but there was something in this mountain range that could affect the entire continent?

I became certain . It was Peruta . It had to Peruta . Why else would this mountain range have his name? This also explained why this mana felt so familiar to me . After all, my mana was trained using Peruta Circuit .

Besides me, however, everyone else was struggling with Peruta Mountain Range’s high mana density .

“Kuk, it’s really not easy . ”

“It’s like something’s choking me whenever I breathe . Uuu, to think it could affect me so much, how amazing . ”

“… Hup . ”

[I really don’t like this place . ]

‘I see, so the environmental penalty raises the mountain range’s difficulty . ’ I could understand why it was called the continent’s most dangerous place .

Of course, that wasn’t it . I didn’t know whether it was because it really was Peruta’s mana or some other reason, but there was something only I could feel as I was unaffected .

“The dungeon’s power is being suppressed even more . ”

“What?”

Ellos looked back at me with a shocked face .

“Ellos, something’s here, something harmful to explorers . ”

“There’s no way… No one can last long in this mountain range . ”

“That means it’s the best place to set up a scheme . ”

Invaders were apt in magical tools . What was suppressing the dungeon’s power was more likely to be a magical tool than an individual’s ability . Everything made sense in that case . Otherwise, the suppressive force wouldn’t be so strong in this mountain range .

At the same time that I was confident the answer lies here, I became uneasy .

“You said you could feel it, right? The Hero’s energy . ”

“Your paper magical tool is proving that, right?”

“Right . ”

I crumpled the paper . The air felt bitter . I hoped that this wasn’t the case, but it seemed things wouldn’t go as I wanted .

“The Hero might really be here…”

In that case, there was a high chance that I…

“Shin, if what you’re saying is true…”

“I won’t go back now . Let’s go, Ellos . ”

“Yeah . ”

Ellos nodded . Lotte and the wyvern flew up after resting for a bit, and undead suddenly ambushed us in the air .

“What!?”

“Griffins! They’re undead griffins!”

Ellos shouted . I didn’t recognize them because they were all bones! I looked down below . Undead monsters made of bones were also flocking towards us . This entire mountain range was full of undead creatures, each carrying a great density of mana!

“They’re naturally created, Dear Husband . Giant mana brought them together . ”

“We don’t need to waste time killing them . Just break through!”

[Kuaaaaa!]

For monsters only made of bones, the undead creatures screamed and chased after us . I smacked my lips . This was a great opportunity for me to display my Skull Breaker title, but the title’s effect was also halved by the damned suppressive force .

The Hero was somewhere in this mountain range, somewhere where the magical tool was pointing to . No matter what was waiting for me there, I couldn’t stop . I couldn’t help but think how fortunate I was to have received Radiance from Lin before I came .

[This half-dead trash!]

“Rather than half-dead, aren’t they half-alive?”

[Shut it, bat! Just get rid of them!]

“Hmph!”

Lotte’s flames and Licorice flame and light magic scorched the undead . Although they were also affected by the mountain range, with their leagues, they had no problem dealing with the undead . It was the same for me .

Although my power as an explorer was being suppressed, Peruta’s mana and Radiance both supported me . As such, I could attack them without hesitation . I threw lightning bolts full of Lightning God’s power at the undead far away and stabbed the ones that managed to close in with my spear .

Ellos also fought the undead, but it was clear how much he was struggling with his power suppressed . Even so, his eyes were burning passionately .

“Like I’d lose… to these guys!”

“Good, Ellos . ”

I replied calmly and stabbed the air with my spear . A shockwave shot out, exploding dozens of undead . At that moment, Lotte roared and breathed out a fire, opening a path in front of us .

[I’m breaking through!]

“Go, Lotte!”

[Screw off, all of you!]

Lotte roared and charged forward . When I looked around after breaking through the encirclement, I could sense the mountain range’s entire undead creatures running towards us . However, they were no longer in my sight .

The ground rumbled, and a volcanic crater far off in the distance began to smoke . I held up the paper I crumpled . Shining particles of light floated up and made an arrow . It was clear where it was pointing to . He was waiting for us there .

[Hero, you’re all fired up!]

“I know . I realized I can’t fight with my previous mindset . ”

I closed my eyes and checked my condition . Everything was perfect .

“Let’s go . Our goal is that volcano!”

I couldn’t remember how many undead were blocking our path, but I knew that we crushed countless undead on our way . When we arrived in front of a cave on the side of the volcano, I was practically covered in crushed bones . I had to ask Ruyue to clean me .

The undead creatures stopped charging . For some strange reason, they didn’t dare to approach the volcano . In truth, I felt like I knew why . A meek wind was covering the volcano . It was a gentle, yet powerful wind of mana .

“Let’s enter . ”

“Yeah . ”

Ellos nodded solemnly . Together, we entered the cave . Lotte had transformed into her human and stood next to me, while the pitiful wyvern was tied in front of the cave where enemies didn’t approach . At the very least, it would be safe .

“The Hero likely didn’t hide here by his own will . ”

I spoke as we walked through the cave . Ellos flinched, then nodded .

“If there really is a device in here that obstructs the dungeon’s power, the invaders might have something to do with it . ”

“That means there’s something even more important to them than killing the Hero . ”

“Shin, do you have something in mind?”

I didn’t say anything . I didn’t know whether I should . In the end, I just stared at the paper in my hand .

“It’s probably nothing much…”

I gave the paper to Licorice and asked a question .

“Licorice, does this thing point to the Hero’s energy? Or is it pointing to his unique mana?”

“The latter, Dear Husband . If it was pointing to the Hero’s energy, it would have responded to Dear Husband too . ”

Licorice answered without hesitation . As that was what I was expecting, I nodded and took a step forward . Ellos looked at me, curious as to what my question meant .

“Shin…?”

“It’s nothing . I was just curious . ”

“…”

We walked onward . Seemingly because we were getting closer to the center of the volcano, the heat was getting stronger . Although the heat couldn’t affect me, that wasn’t the case for my companions . Licorice wiped off the sweat from her forehead and complained .

“A mere volcano’s heat is making me sweat…”

“Probably because it’s being compressed by high-density mana . Come here . ”

I borrowed Ruyue’s power to cool my hand and wiped off Licorice’s sweat . Licorice blushed and didn’t know what to do . Though she was a Succubus Queen, she had never experienced the real thing . Because of this, she was weak when I was the one being intimate .

“W-W-What, Dear Husband!? What’s up with the excellent service!?”

“I brought you all the way here, so I’m sorry . Ruyue, make the others feel cool too . ”

[Un!]

Ruyue’s mana immediately covered the rest of the crew . I straightened Licorice’s tangled hair and whispered in her ear .

“… Got it?”

“Un . ”

She blushed once again and nodded . I smiled and marched onward .

As the heat became more intense, the density of surrounding mana also increased . It was the same for the power suppressing the dungeon’s power . We were close . Something had to appear soon . I was proven to be correct, as we soon encountered people .

“Humans really came all the way here . ”

“Huhu, look, Hero… Kak!?”

I immediately charged towards them and swung my spear . My ridiculously fast spear, containing the concentrated power of my body, easily slashed through my target’s powered suit and decapitated him . My speed was no different than when I used Divine Speed . However, Divine Speed belonged to the dungeon . In this place where half of my power as an explorer was suppressed, using it was meaningless .

How was I still so fast? It was simple . During the countless days spent climbing the dungeon and countless battles against my enemies, I learned how Divine Speed used my mana and nature’s mana . Knowing how mana moved meant that I could imitate it . I didn’t need to activate it as a skill .

Of course, this was the first time I used it in a real battle . Still, my intuition told me to try it rather than using Divine Speed, and my intuition was correct . In fact, I learned quite a lot from the feeling of my body accelerating and the flow of mana . It still couldn’t be compared to Divine Speed at full strength, but once I got used to it and improved upon it, I had the feeling it could surpass Divine Speed, which was already mastered and had no room to evolve .

“You bas—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I decapitated him too . My lightning-fast attack ripped apart his powered suit and instantly ended his life . With the two sentries taken care of, I dusted off the blood from my spear .

“Let’s go . They should be waiting for us inside . ”

“Shin, you…”

“Ellos, let’s go . ”

I continued on without hesitation . As expected, many invaders were waiting for us there . They were all strong . By the dungeon’s standard, they would have all passed the 75th floor .

“How come he’s unaffected?”

“Who cares? Just crush him and question him later!”

Currently, I was weaker than them . If it wasn’t for Radiance, I might have been gravely injured already . However, I’ve experienced fighting against stronger enemies countless times before . Each time, my limit of my techniques reached new realms .

So what did I need to fear?

“Kuk, this Hero is quick!”

“You can’t even neutralize a weakened Hero!?”

“You, why don’t you help… Kuhuk!”

I roused Mad Typhoon’s power . Whether it was magical attacks or physical attacks, their attacks only worked if they touched me . Mad Typhoon’s fierce whirlpool twisted their attacks’ trajectories, and even if they hit me, they only glazed me . Meanwhile, I continued to thrust my spear using the principle of Divine Speed . With my spearmanship, my attacks already came from angles that were hard to dodge . With its lightning-like speed, there was no way for them to dodge my spear .

“You won’t touch my Hero!”

“Argh, you guys are annoying! You’re wearing ugly clothes, too!”

On the other hand, Lotte and Licorice were practically unaffected besides having their mana oppressed . Since the enemies were also affected by the mountain range’s characteristic, they could easily fend them off . In an instant, dozens of invaders died, and they finally faltered back .

“A-Anymore would be wasting our strength . ”

“We’re not strong enough . ”

“They have to come inside anyway . ”

They were right . No matter how many enemies were waiting for me, I planned to go in . I knew who was waiting for me there .

“Everyone, let’s go . ”

“Shin, how!? No, why!?”

“Shouldn’t you know the answer without asking me?”

Ellos fell silent .

Even if we turned back now, we wouldn’t gain anything . What I wanted, what the enemy waiting for me inside wanted, and what Ellos wanted, we had to decide it now . I walked onward . The pathway soon came to an end, and a giant space opened up . Considering the heat, we were likely close to the crater . No, this place was the crater . I could see the sky from the gigantic hole in the ceiling .

Furthermore…

“I’ve been waiting for you, Earth’s Hero . ”

There was a man standing in the center . It was a middle-aged man wearing a thin black powered suit clearly different than rest of the invaders . The terrifying energy he was releasing made me doubt my chances of victory even if I got back all of the dungeon’s power .

“Oh, young and handsome . You even have two beautiful gals with you . My, my . My eyes are quite happy . ”

He looked at my companions and smiled in satisfaction . Behind him, I could see a giant crystal . A crystal releasing a mystical, yet ominous light . Near it was the Hero we were looking for .

With only his head .

“Sir Kasina, well done . You really succeeded . ”

“It was bound to succeed . ”

Ellos replied calmly . I shouted .

“Ruyue!”