[Earlier That Day]
"It seems we're all ready."
As the sun slowly rose in the horizon, Adonis' blond hair swayed with every instance his lips moved.
His handsome face greeted everyone who stood before him, and even the equally beautiful Grand Mage who was beside him gave him all her attention.
Right now, all fifty of the Knights and Mages that the United Human Alliance could offer stood before him.
Also standing in front of them were the five Otherworlders who volunteered for this dangerous expedition.
The determined expressions on their faces made Adonis smile a little.
He had said all that needed to be said, and they were already briefed by Lucielle, so there was no longer any need to keep the mission waiting.
"We depart now!"
~VWUUUSHH!~
A wormhole was opened right behind Adonis the moment he made this declaration.
It shone with multiple colors, and it came from a cube-like item that Lucielle held in her unoccupied left hand.
Her right hand had a staff on, and she was currently outfitted in a pure white and red military outfit befitting of a Grand Mage.
She had a cap on—the kind a sailor or a royal emissary would have—and gold buttons and linings decorated her red and white attire.
Her crimson eyes glimmered brightly as the box in her grasp began to vanish once the portal it created stabilized.
This Enchanted Item was called 'The Gateway' and it was a one-time use Item.
It could open the doorway to anywhere that they could pinpoint, as long as it was an actual location.
Since Lucielle already detected Brutus in the lowest Floor—the 99th Floor—of the Dungeon, this Item had just created a portal that led to that very place.
It wasn't a one-sided portal, though, so they had to hurry if they wanted to gain the upper hand.
"Let's go!"
In response to Adonis' orders, the men and women began marching closer to the portal.
As the Hero, Adonis bravely stepped into the portal first, and the rest trailed after him.
Lucielle was the last to enter, and as soon as she did, the portal collapsed.
One of the conditions of use when it came to 'The Gateway' was once its user entered the portal it made, the spatial rift would close, so no one was surprised by this.
In fact, if this was the only condition, then a random person could have been the one to activate it, allowing everyone to venture in and out without any need to ascend the Floors to escape.
Unfortunately, that couldn't be done.
For one, 'The Gateway' was an incredibly powerful device that could only be used by a powerful Mage who had a high level of Magic Mastery.
In essence, Lucielle.
Yet another problem with this device was the duration of the spatial rift.
Even if Lucielle decided to stay behind, letting Adonis and the rest venture in to save their ally, the rift would close after two to three minutes.
Spatial Magic consumed a lot of Mana, and it couldn't possibly be maintained for too long.
If they bet on the chance that Adonis and the rest could save their allies within that time, it was possible that the portal would close before this happened, leaving Lucielle outside.
Needless to say, that would be tragic.
Even though Adonis had the most power and the greatest potential of all, Lucielle was currently the most skilled and experienced member of the entire team, so having her absent in the mission would be a huge detriment.
They needed Lucielle's versatile skill-set. She was perhaps the most important factor in the entire mission.
… Except Adonis, of course.
Once the group had all entered the Dungeon, the portal closed up, leaving mere sparks of remnant Mana floating in the air.
But even those only lasted a second before vanishing entirely, leaving the group of fifty-seven stranded in a world unlike any other.
"W-whoa…!"
A few gasps echoed in the air as the people looked around them to get a grasp of their surroundings.
None of the Otherworlders had been to an actual Dungeon before, so the looks of awe and wonder mostly came from them.
However, even among the Knights and Mages, the expressions of inevitable surprise filled their eyes.
None of them had ever ventured this deep into a Dungeon before, so it was only natural.
After all, there was no way anyone could remain unimpressed by the expanse that welcomed them.
The 99th Floor of the Royal Dungeon was—in simple words—like a world of crystals.
The entire area was covered in shimmering minerals of the finest quality, and in huge proportions.
They glowed like the most precious of stones, and no luminous stone or chandelier could compare to their beautiful radiance.
The very ground was made up of the stuff, and throughout the walls and extremely high and pointed ceilings… everything was filled with the purest kinds of Mana Crystals.
Even Lucielle was distracted for a moment as she took in the sight before her.
This place was a gold mine of resources!
With this quality and quantity of Mana Crystals, the Alliance would never run out of Magic Energy for a very long time.
They could make more Enchanted Items and fuel more of their Magic Weapons.
Potions and Alchemical concoctions would finally be mass-
produced.
They could even somewhat tilt the current tides of battle in their favor.
The possibilities were endless!
"Let's focus on the task at hand." As Adonis spoke, the "ooohs" and "aahhhs" ceased.
His serious tone made everyone remember the weight of responsibility that rested on their shoulders.
However, almost as soon as Adonis said this, even he became distracted by something.
"T-that—?!"
A couple hundred meters from where he and everyone else stood… there stood countless piles of crimson stones.
These weren't mere stones, though.
"The Monster Cores…" Adonis whispered, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief.
He could recognize those piles anywhere.
'H-how are they… here?'
Before Adonis could conclude his line of thought, though, a voice echoed in the massive expanse.
"B-Brutus! There he is!"
Yet another distance from them—much further than the piles of Monster Cores—there was an almost naked man.
He had bruises all over his body, and he shamefully hung in the air, levitating through some sort of Magic effect.
His bushy beards and disheveled hair danced thanks to the current of Magic that raised his body. Dried blood painted his bare skin, and his bulging muscles appeared helpless under the restraints of Magic.
He appeared unconscious—perhaps even dead.
Lucielle's eyes brimmed with hope as she saw him, and everyone instantly knew what they had to do.
"To the target!"
Adonis and everyone rushed to their target destination, though they all had it at the back of their mind to be on guard.
That was the plan.
But…
"Oh? This is a surprise."
… Even they could not expect what came next.
"I didn't expect you'd come this early."
Appearing behind them, in a swirling pool of bluish-purple distortions in space, was a colossal entity.
It had a thick, scaly body that glowed under the illumination of the world that surrounded it; three twisted horns on its massive head.
Wings spread behind it as its tail swept about, creating an irresistible gust of wind.
Its brimming purple eyes stared closely at the group of fifty-
seven, and it gave a twisted grin.
No one needed an explanation as to what this being was.
They all knew instantly.
"N-no way…!"
"H-how can…?"
"T-this is…"
What kind of Monster had been waiting for them all along.
… A Dragon!
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Thanks for reading.
Finally! We get to see a Dragon finally!
Did you all expect this?
