To reach the volcano, I would first have to descend from the hill I was on, pass through an area that looked as if it were turning into a desert for several kilometers, cross another mountain that, while not as high as the volcano itself, was still quite steep, and then traverse another desert-like plain before climbing the volcano itself.

It would be a journey as long and grueling as it sounds. That’s why I’d set out as quickly as possible. Though I still wasn’t in a hurry, so I didn’t go all that fast.

That aside, the dungeon resembled a place that had literally begun to turn into a desert.

The air temperature was at levels that ordinary people could only endure for a few days. Perhaps they couldn’t even last that long.

But for me, the weather was perfectly fine.

Not only did I have a good affinity for fire and heat due to my phoenix lineage, but the armor I wore also had a thermal filter. On top of that, my ring was filled with bottles of cold water I could draw upon at any time.

I felt as comfortable as if I were at home.

So, as I made my way toward my destination without rushing, I examined my surroundings and compared the area with the information I had learned in the game.

In the game, there was no way to enter this dungeon. The player could only reach the Old Gundam about a year and a half after the point where I currently stood. And by the time that happened, the dungeon would already have been cleared out, and everything worth taking would have been taken.

That’s why most of the information I had was pretty… superficial. The dungeon’s general layout, a couple of surprising facts, one of the clear rewards, and that was about it. I might have been preparing for this moment for months, but the likelihood of encountering things I didn’t know was high.

That was why I was as cautious as I was relaxed.

At least… until past the seventh hour.

‘Aiden… something happened.’

“Hm?”

I was naturally surprised when I heard Sith’s voice as I passed through a few dried-up trees. After all, it was still too early for anything to have happened.

‘The dungeon… Something about the surroundings seems to have changed. It’s as if it has noticed your presence. It didn’t care about your existence before, but now… something’s different.’

“…”

I slowed my steps first, then came to a halt.

No way… right?

It’s only been seven hours.

‘Aiden…’

Forget half a day—I’ve barely even spent a quarter of a day here…

It can’t be.

‘Something’s coming.’

…

‘Ah, wait…’

…

…

‘Things, more like.’

…

Like, actually…?

“Hmm…”

Just…

Fuck my luck?

‘They’re surrounding you.’

Unable to think of anything to say, I just stared blankly ahead.

So this actually happened, huh…

The game clearly states that the preparation time in Salvos-type dungeons varies between half a day and a full day based on Lunerra’s standards. As someone who’s played the game for six thousand hours, there’s no way I’m misremembering anything…

In short, an anomaly.

How nice, isn’t it?

I swear, these things only ever happen to me…

“Haaaaah…”

After letting out a deep sigh, I drew my sword. Wrapping my body in caora, I focused my senses entirely on my surroundings.

The first raid of the creatures was about to begin.

But, for now… it seemed they were gathering their forces instead of directly attacking.

‘How many are there?’

‘I’m not sure. More keep showing up. Eleven so far.’

Eleven…

I’m in a relatively open area. There isn’t much around me for any creature to hide in.

That means they either have camouflage abilities or they’re underground.

So either golems, sandworms, or those giant scorpions, then.

Since they’re coordinating, it’s not a group of all of them—at least not yet.

‘Oh, it’s thirteen now.’

…

‘Now it’s fourteen.’

Well…

“Alright, forget about the numbers. How strong are they?”

‘There are a handful of B ones, but most of them seem to be B- grade. I also feel like there are a few C+ ones.’

Just as I expected. It’s always like this in Salvos-type dungeons. At least there’s no anomaly in this regard…

Dungeons don’t expect a group of A grade individuals to constantly battle waves of dozens of creatures at their own level. That’s why, even though the difficulty level appears to be A grade, the creatures’ levels are about one grade or sometimes even lower.

“I see. Thanks.”

With all my senses fully alert, I reached out toward one of the hundreds of items resting inside my ring. A small vial materialized among the blue particles appearing in my hand shortly afterward.

I opened the tiny vial’s cap as carefully as possible and drank its contents.

Every last trace of fatigue in my body began to vanish miraculously.

But I didn’t stop. I started pulling out potions one after another and downing them, all while expecting an attack at any moment.

My muscles filled with strength and power.

The world seemed to become more vivid, as if all my senses had sharpened.

I felt as light as if gravity had weakened.

My mana had begun to overflow. It wouldn’t be wrong to say its intensity and purity had multiplied.

Potion after potion.

Buff after buff.

In just a minute, I’d downed more than ten potions. And there were even more where they came from.

Finally, when all preparations were complete, I stretched slightly. Every bone and joint in my body snapped into place as if they’d been waiting for this moment.

But all of this was just the beginning.

Because on top of all that, I activated the Phoenix’s Ascension.

The dormant phoenix blood flowing through my veins slowly awoke. As my eyes sharpened, my vision took on a faint blue tint. I felt my hair growing longer and cascading down onto my shoulders. Tiny, feather-like particles—as if they were remnants of blue flames, or made of them—began to spread from my body into the air around me. Beneath my armor, just above my skin, golden runes began to appear.

Along with these changes, everything else I had already enhanced with potions—my strength, my senses, my spirit…—grew even stronger once more.

“Alright then…”

I raised my sword.

As Durandal’s Aura and the blue flames simultaneously wrapped around the sword, appearing almost as if they were a sword of their own, I narrowed my eyes.

“Here we go.”

Then, I swung the sword around me.

It was a simple swing.

There wasn’t much to it.

Yet the impact of this simple swing was on a level I’d never seen before—and could never achieve—except for the moment I swung the modified Durandal during the Holar War.

Blue flames swept out in all directions, as if determined to wipe everything away like a wave.

The open plain I was standing in suddenly lit up due to the intensity of the flames.

And then…

The silence was suddenly filled with screeches that seemed to pierce my ears, as if they could have come from anything but a human being.

Just a few seconds earlier, it had seemed as though there was nothing around me…

But immediately after the screeches, the ’empty’ space around me trembled as if reality were warping and light were refracting.

Scorpion-like creatures, nearly human-sized, began emerging from their camouflage beneath blue flames.

First there were a few, then dozens…

In the blink of an eye, nearly my entire field of vision was filled with massive, brown scorpions, each one identical to the next.

Each was a poisonous creature around B grade, and there seemed to be over thirty of them.

Their numerical advantage was so overwhelming that under normal circumstances, I would have thought I had no chance against them.

But here’s the thing—the circumstances were quite different from normal.

Their numerical advantage meant nothing at all.

Even though my general level appeared to be C+, thanks to all the potions I’d drunk, the effect of my armor, caora’s support, and my ascension skill…

I wasn’t that far behind an S or S+ grade individual right now.

I could see, as if in slow motion, that the ones at the front weren’t actually standing still—they were lunging toward me. Those further back were coiling their tails, ready to hurl the acidic venom they possessed at me.

These things could take the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, if they were to set foot in a city…

But standing before me, they almost looked… pitiful.

I spread my arms wide to them.

As if to embrace them.

They, of course… didn’t stop or even slow down.

But, then…

My mana began to be drained away as if sucked into a black hole, as if it were about to hit rock bottom in a matter of seconds.

And a hell of blue flames descended upon the ground, with me at its center.

*******

I tried to smile as much as I could.

As much as I could.

Whatever I could manage.

“You look a little nervous, Prince Lucas.”

Without letting my expression falter even slightly, I slowly turned toward the voice coming from right beside the table where I was sitting.

Standing before me was a slender, tall figure with dark green hair and brown eyes that seemed utterly emotionless. He had casually crossed one leg over the other as if he were at home, sipping the tea provided for us to drink during the waiting process.

“Haha… really? Do I look nervous? A little?”

Alexander Callidas, the sole student to have shattered every theoretical ranking record at CDA one after another, tilted his tea-filled cup slightly downward before fixing his emotionless gaze on me and briefly scanning me from head to toe.

“Yes.”

I couldn’t stop my eyes from twitching.

“Hmm, how strange… I wonder why that is.”

I paused, straightening my posture as I slightly widened my eyes in understanding, as if I’d suddenly grasped something.

“Aha, got it!”

I couldn’t help but let my smile slip. My eyes twitched even more, and I struggled to bite my lip hard enough not to draw blood.

“It might be because of that bastard we call Aiden Tenebra! After presenting me with a fake plan that didn’t show me everything, he jumped into a dungeon and vanished, leaving me to deal with everything—including the most headache-inducing issue—on my own, for instance! What do you think?!”

He hadn’t mentioned any of this!

Yes, he had said he wouldn’t be around for a while and that we’d have to handle the rest of the plan by working together with Alexander…

But we hadn’t discussed anything about him leaving such a mess in his wake!

The plan didn’t include causing the deaths of innocents or dragging an entire city to the brink of destruction!

The bastard lied straight to my face, not caring if the person in front of him was a prince or not!

And now he wants me to lie to others, as if we hadn’t expected this outcome and it was all a miscalculation!

“Uugghhh…!”

The worst part is, there’s nothing I can do but accept it—otherwise, everything we’ve worked for will go down the drain!

“It’s not like we’re in a particularly different situation. We need to stay calm and handle this well as we both are his victims.”

I took a deep, very deep breath. After letting myself sink into the chair, I turned toward the ceiling and exhaled all that air.

As the seconds passed, I managed to calm myself down a little.

Then, I glanced at Alexander again.

He was… quite calm. It didn’t seem like any of what was happening mattered to him. But that was just his appearance. Because in reality, he was a genius who took this plan very seriously and carried out his duties flawlessly.

I still don’t understand how there could be a connection between him and someone like Aiden…

Maybe Aiden is blackmailing him…?

~click!

But I hadn’t had time to think about this for long.

“Attention! The great ruler of Piarlin has arrived!”

Because all my thoughts were suddenly cut short by the voice I heard coming from the door of the room we were in and the servant’s loud warning echoing in my ears.

The end of our wait had finally come.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep