Chapter 118: Discovering Under Coral!
"Ais, you can deal with the monsters in the sky."
Luke dodged the massive claw attack of the 'Blue Crab' with a sidestep, then swung his Ser-Veresta, instantly slaying several monsters around him.
Taking advantage of the moment before more monsters swarmed him, Luke quickly scanned his surroundings and then said to Ais:
"Prioritize clearing the 'Sirens' that are attacking from a distance."
Compared to Luke, who could only form temporary platforms with Prana, Ais, who could fly through the air with her magic, was better suited for aerial combat and was also more agile.
"Okay!"
Ais, surrounded by breezes, easily broke through the defensive circle of the melee-type aerial monsters 'Harpies'.
Whoosh—!
Swoosh—!
The breeze turned into blades of wind, slicing through the monsters' bodies as Ais wielded her short sword.
Both the 'Harpies' and 'Sirens' are monsters with the body of a bird and the face of a woman.
Contrary to the beautiful and enchanting 'Water City', their wrinkled faces and foul-smelling bodies were the epitome of ugliness.
"Gurgle ahhhh—!"
The 'Sirens' ambushed by Ais panicked and continuously unleashed their only skill, 'Weird Sound Waves'.
The sonic attack of several Sirens together was powerful, directly shattering a nearby rocky crystal wall.
Meanwhile, the Harpies that Ais had bypassed also flapped their dark red wings and accelerated towards her.
With the yellowy Siren's sonic attack in front and the Harpies' sharp claws from behind, Ais remained calm and softly chanted:
"Tempest!"
Whoosh—!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!
The emerald wind turned into a storm, mercilessly sweeping away all the aerial monsters around, leaving nearly all of them annihilated in one strike.
On the other side.
Luke, facing the encroaching horde of monsters, also prioritized attacking the rear monsters.
Not because there were ranged monsters on the other side, but because the 'Blue Crabs' simply couldn't keep up with Luke's speed.
These unique monsters, different from the crabs on the surface and capable of moving in a straight line, were extremely slow, even slower than a level 2 adventurer.
The Blue Crabs, characterized by a single massive claw and extraordinary defensive power, were among the easiest monsters to deal with in the lower floors of the dungeon.
Leaping over the encirclement of Blue Crabs, Luke's target was the large monster 'Aqua Serpent' at the rear.
This 10-meter-long creature emerged from the ground along with the flow of water.
It was covered in light green scales and fixed its large eyes on Luke, who was rapidly approaching.
Just as Luke was about to transform Ser-Veresta into a great sword form with his body glowing with Prana.
Boom—!
A massive chunk of crystal rock fell from the sky, striking the Aqua Serpent on the head with tremendous force.
"...!?"
"???"
"What's that?"
Though surprised, Luke, who managed to brake sharply to avoid the falling rock, quickly killed the dazed Aqua Serpent.
Then he looked up into the sky.
He saw Ais unleashing a storm to sweep away the surrounding monsters.
However, what caught Luke's eye, besides the emerald storm, was a fleeting red flash!
"Ais! Be careful, it's an Iguazu!"
Luke's warning made Ais, who had slightly relaxed after clearing the monsters, vigilant again.
The emerald wind around her suddenly blew upwards, and Ais accelerated towards the ground, narrowly avoiding the swiftly attacking crimson monster.
The Iguazu, which Ais had avoided, showed no sign of slowing down and crashed directly into a nearby rock wall.
Boom—!
The impact was like a cannonball hitting, creating a huge noise.
Along with the noise, the large rock wall that fractured from the impact and the Iguazu's body, which exploded into pieces, appeared in their sight.
Crack, crack, crack—!
Boom—!
The crystal rock wall, bombarded twice, finally gave way, with countless cracks spreading apart.
Large chunks of crystal rock fell from the sky, continuously striking the ground.
"Ais, let's go, we need to retreat before the wall collapses."
Without any extra time to clean up the battlefield, Luke and Ais immediately sped out of the area covered by the crumbling rocky walls.
...
The area of Water City, aside from the huge waterfalls and numerous lakes, also featured many mountain peaks, cliffs, and rocky islands.
However, these 'land' formations were not made of soil but crystal.
The entire three floors of the Water City were made of crystal, a deep blue crystal that was slightly darker than the blue crystal of the 18th floor.
These crystals bore some vague patterns, making them look similar to ordinary rocks.
The source of light for these three floors came from scattered white crystals growing like bamboo shoots.
Their light was not dazzling, so the floors were always somewhat dim.
"Ah, what a pity."
Luke lamented as he looked at the area completely covered by crystal debris.
Luke and Ais had a reason to engage in battle here.
They cleared the monsters in this area because they found their entrusted target there.
"What a pity, our target..."
Ais stood next to Luke, also looking at the crystal ruins in front of her.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she excitedly tugged at Luke's sleeve.
"Luke, Luke!"
"Let's head north. I saw what looked like a coral cluster from the sky before."
"Oh? Labyrinth Coral? How many are there?"
Hearing the word 'coral', Luke also became interested. In the area of Water City, 'coral' symbolized treasure.
"A lot, I think there's a good chance we'll find 'shells' and 'pearls'."
"Alright, then let's head north first."
Luke's goal was the 27th floor, with the passage from the 25th to the 26th floor located in the southeast direction of this floor.
The route from the 25th to the 26th floor was quite challenging.
The entrance to the 25th floor was at the southernmost end, and the downward passage was on the southeast side, theoretically close by.
However, a towering vertical cliff separated the two passages, and the floor's central area was completely covered by lakes.
In this region dominated by aquatic monsters, lakes and ponds were the most dangerous areas to approach.
So, typical adventurers would start from the south and travel through the west, north, and east, circling around the central waterfall to enter the next floor.
However, Luke and Ais, due to their mobility and strength, plus the need to find their entrusted target, did not follow the usual route.
Theoretically, they did not need to pass through the northern area of the floor.
But if it was for the rare item 'Under Coral', taking a slight detour was worth it.
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