Casting magic—
First requires a relatively safe and stable environnt. Otherwise, the chanting process can easily be interrupted by external factors.
Lefiya naturally wanted to do that, but she couldn't even manage to concentrate.
As an elf—
She wasn't any different from other elves. Only adventurers she truly acknowledged would not make her instinctively resist physical contact.
And clearly—
Ron was one such special existence.
After all—
They had once explored together and helped each other.
But in such close contact, as she repeatedly attempted to chant, trying to guide her magic power and release the spell "Fusillade Fallarica", the girl only felt increasingly powerless.
As for asking Ron to put her down—
That was obviously unrealistic. When it ca to raw stats, Lefiya knew her own shortcomings very well.
As a Level 3 adventurer—aside from her magic stat, her other attributes hadn't even reached an average of 200. Behind her, the pressure from the rolling boulder was overwhelming.
Relying on her own speed—facing this trap whose velocity kept increasing, she didn't even need to think to know the outco. And just as Lefiya attempted to gather magic for the third ti—Ron's voice rang out in her ear.
"Almost at the exit!"
"..."
The advantage of over-tuned stats was clear—his physical abilities were extrely well-rounded. Strength, endurance, speed—everything.
Even while carrying soone—
The weight still didn't compare to that solid brass greatshield.
With no Dungeon wall luminescence along the surrounding walls, Ron could only sprint forward blindly, until the cave passage ahead gradually widened.
When a faint glimr of light appeared—
Ron didn't relax in the slightest. The rolling boulder trap was only a temporary danger. What mattered more were the unknown monsters waiting on the new Floor.
Just what kind of cursed thing—was waiting for him here?!
"..."
He clenched his teeth, rapidly adjusting his breathing.
Drawing on the strength gathered in his legs, just as he was about to exit the stairway passage, he forcibly lunged sideways, widening the distance to safety.
Boom!
And using the slope—the boulder, whose speed had been continuously increasing, had no ability to turn. It could only rely on inertia and slam violently into the wall of the new Floor.
The impact made the ground tremble slightly.
At the mont of collision—countless fragnts of rock scattered outward, and the dust kicked up instantly blocked their vision.
"..."
Is his daily exploration always this intense?
She could've run herself, actually.
But things had already developed to this point—Tiona couldn't just waste Ron's goodwill. It was just that the sudden situation earlier…
The girl found it hard to evaluate.
'A staircase leading directly to a deeper Floor'—
That kind of thing was rare even in the lower Floors, but to appear in the middle Floors, and even overwrite the normal pathway—
"So…"
"You really weren't joking with ?"
The Dungeon was alive.
Ordinary adventurers would never receive this kind of "treatnt"—unless a god had descended here. For Tiona, this was truly… the first ti encountering sothing like this.
It was as if—it was doing everything it could to kill Ron here!
"Damn it!"
"Why would I lie? To be precise, I'm already used to it."
A familiar trick from the Dungeon.
It made Ron want to curse. When they reached that sloped stairway, there had been no branching paths to evade—only a forced route into an unknown Floor.
When he hit the ground, it didn't cause him any real injury.
At most, it just looked a bit embarrassing…
"No idea where the hell it dropped this ti!"
After all, he was a Level 5 adventurer—his safety shouldn't be too much of a concern. After getting up, Ron dusted himself off.
He reached out and pulled up the elf girl, who was equally disheveled, her fair face sared with dust, making her look a bit adorably clumsy.
"It was urgent."
"That was the only option just now."
"Thank you."
"If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have co up with a solution for that kind of trap."
Fortunately, the dust on her cheeks concealed the blush from their close contact. Lefiya kept adjusting her breathing, trying to calm herself down.
"We're teammates. Just helping out."
Ron shook his head lightly.
Compared to small talk like that, he was more curious about their current situation. But as the dust ahead gradually settled, illuminated by faint light—
The good news:
It was still a cave-like passage.
Which ant—this path leading straight to a boss room hadn't taken them into the lower Floors. Otherwise, the consequences would've been unimaginable.
As for the rest?
He frowned, noticing the massive stone that had been chasing them. Even after crashing into the wall, it showed no signs of breaking apart.
Sothing felt off.
"No wonder…"
"Even magic couldn't shatter that thing."
But the mont Ron finished speaking—the massive stone embedded in the wall began to loosen slightly, visibly sliding backward.
The already fractured wall—began collapsing in chunks as the stone receded. Surely this wasn't so ridiculous Soulslike trap triggering on flat ground too?!
Fortunately, things didn't go that way.
When the stone rolled out of the indentation, it finally ca to a stop. But what happened next made Tiona and Lefiya widen their eyes.
Because—the surface of that "rock" began to crack open at a visible speed. Through the fissures, one could even see a body underneath.
"This thing is a monster?"
As that thought surfaced in their minds, they instinctively turned to look at Ron.
Case closed.
No wonder magic couldn't break it—it turned out to be a monster all along!
And not just any monster, but sothing completely beyond their understanding.
Ron stared at the creature, covered in gray-brown rock, its form unfolding into sothing resembling a lizard.
A strange sense of familiarity rose within him.
Rock armor.
Dragon.
'…This can be recreated too?'
Primo Geovishap.
Absurd as it sounded—looking at the monster's crimson eyes and the sharp claws on its limbs, if he wanted to understand the overall environnt of this Floor—he had to kill this thing first.
"Get ready to fight."
It wasn't a Floor Boss.
Ron drew the greatsword "Great Fortune" from his back. Even fully equipped, the bulky Primo Geovishap—was nothing more than a slightly larger target.
Besides—this thing was the culprit that had forced them into the deeper Floor. No matter what, he had to eliminate this special monster.
With that in mind—he had no intention of dragging the fight out. When your stats aren't enough, you can't afford to greed hits against Soulslike monsters.
But now—his balanced build was finally taking shape.
Ron wanted to seize the initiative in battle.
He gripped the greatsword with both hands, slightly crouching as he gathered strength. The mont that power burst forth—he charged straight at the Primo Geovishap.
In nearly an instant—Ron's figure appeared right in front of the monster. Facing those hatred-filled crimson eyes, and the claw raised high above—
Ash of War: Giant Hunt!
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