"Go with the wind~"
The location was at the far end of the 27th floor, right before the stairwell descending to the lower levels.
At this moment, the expedition team, after nearly nine hours of grueling travel, had finally passed through the extremely complex slopes and terrain of the Water City.
Now, as the scattered formation regrouped, the combatants Aether and Lumine had just teamed up again to wipe out several clustered Metal Blue Crabs.
These creatures were about the size of a millstone, covered in bright blue steel shells.
When not lurking, they moved peculiarly forward (unlike normal crabs that only sidestep) and could even perform short jumps.
The worst part?
Depending on the individual, one of their claws, either left or right, was enormously oversized.
That giant claw was a deadly weapon, one wrong hit and an unsuspecting adventurer's head might as well relocate.
And on top of that, they could jump...
"I swear, if I weren't bad at sniping, I'd worry this thing might suddenly leap to my ear and whisper 'uppercut'."
Recalling his days playing Overwatch before transmigration, Aether couldn't help but silently grumble.
At that moment,
"We've been pretty lucky so far, haven't run into much trouble."
Finn, standing at the center of the group, gripping his White Spear, smiled.
"Everyone, keep your spirits up. Once we reach the 29th floor, we can set up camp and rest."
Mid-sentence, he glanced toward Aether and Lumine...
"At that time, our allies will bring food so delicious you'll savor every bite... Of course, we have to show off a bit ourselves and host the guests properly."
Hearing the Braver say this...
"Ha ha ha, I've been looking forward to Lumine-san's cooking since yesterday."
"That grilled steak was unforgettable."
"Wild mushroom and chicken skewers were great too."
"Yeah, after one skewer at lunch, the scratch Siren gave me on my arm this morning healed instantly."
"Better than that insanely expensive Panacea."
"I've long disliked the Dian Cecht Familia's greedy main deity."
"Ahem, ahem, let's not go there."
"Miss Airmid is pretty reliable after all."
"After all, she is the Dea Saintess."
"Too bad she got stuck with a jerk of a main god..."
"Why are you guys drifting so far off topic?"
Nearby, the Support Adventurers who were in charge of hauling supplies chatted casually while working.
Lefiya had been called over by Riveria for some last-minute training and was currently being told where she had fallen short.
As for Aether and Lumine,
"The biggest threat inside the 28th floor is a monster called the Poison Vermis."
"Because the poison it secretes on its body ignores even advanced adventurers' abnormal status resistances."
"Just a touch and your flesh starts to rot."
"And normal antidotes don't work."
"Worse, the Poison Vermis can spray its poison long distances with its mouthparts... Tsk, some kind of mutated alien freak?"
The traveling twins recalled their info on this monster.
The Poison Vermis was an insectoid monster known for forming swarms, often dozens appeared at once in front of adventurers.
At times like this, mages with wide-area annihilation magic like Lefiya or Riveria became the team's saviors.
Of course, Ais, with her Ariel skill, could also reliably contribute during these times.
Though if she dared to rely on the Indestructible Sword of Despair to hack away at the Poison Vermiss directly, she'd probably experience the cold shoulder treatment from the Goibniu Familia (masters of forging), their main god would make sure she learned what logistics daddy's cold violence meant.
Right now,
"Exploration formation, resume."
After about ten minutes, when the supply convoy safely crossed the stairwell between the 27th and 28th floors, Finn issued this command again.
Normally, with dozens of people, this command and execution would have been repeated countless times over the past two days, second nature.
But just seconds later,
Finn, as the expedition's commander, suddenly frowned.
Because he felt a sharp, piercing pain at the tip of his right thumb.
In fact, the pain wasn't from any physical injury in that spot.
It was... a kind of precognition ability.
Yes, for over forty years, whenever the tip of Finn's right thumb began to hurt, it meant something very bad was about to happen.
The stronger the pain, the worse the situation.
But Finn only knew that he or his companions were in serious danger, he never knew exactly what kind of trouble was coming.
He was not Cassandra, the one who could have prophetic dreams.
Still, this special constitution combined with his keen observation, decisive judgment, and excellent command skills had saved him from disaster many times.
At this moment,
"Everyone, be on alert, "
Rumble rumble rumble~
Before Finn could finish shouting, the ground beneath their feet began to violently tremble.
Aether and Lumine's faces both changed instantly.
Because at that moment, huge red arrows appeared in their vision, several of them,
All pointing downward...
In a flash, there was no time for much reaction.
"Watch out!!!"
Aether, closer to Lefiya, and Ying, nearer the other rabbit-girl, both stomped hard and shot forward.
The next moment,
"Roar~"
A deafening roar echoed as the fractured ground at the stairwell's exit trembled violently.
In an instant, the earth collapsed across a hundred-meter radius.
At the same time, almost every member of the expedition team saw,
"It's the Worm Well!!!"
"Run, scatter, get out of here!!!"
In the ensuing panic, five massive creatures, each filling half of their own field of vision, began rampaging through the dungeon.
The Worm Well was a colossal monster originally only appearing on the 37th floor.
It was huge, comparable to, or even surpassing, a floor guardian.
Using this advantage, it could dig through the dungeon's multiple floors to travel freely.
Wherever it passed, it left enormous vertical chasms resembling sinkholes.
Therefore, adventurers capable of descending to the lower levels nicknamed it the Serpent Well.
It was often the culprit behind massive dungeon collapses.
Countless adventurers had died suddenly because of it.
Some fell to their deaths instantly; others barely survived, dragging their broken bodies to the last moment, only to be torn apart by monsters on lower floors.
"The Worm Well has only ever gone as deep as the 29th floor before, right? How is it here now...?"
"Is that strange? This is a dungeon."
"Hurry, save the people!!!"
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