After their harrowing escape, everyone decided to rest for the time being. Lux had unsummoned Jed, and lightly patted the Baby Slime that was resting on his chest, in order to calm her down.
Eiko was forced to copy Lux's Doppelganger [EX] skill in order to create a distraction to allow everyone to escape.
Unfortunately, the Giant Worm changed its decision half-way and decided to pursue the group that was headed to the Silver Gate that led to the Inner Grotto of the Labyrinth. This resulted in the death of the two Kobold Warriors, which made the atmosphere of the expedition tense.
Half an hour later, Cadmus stood up and faced his comrades.
"All of us here knew that we were going to be risking our lives to explore this dungeon," Cadmus said. "They both died for the greater good, and Ross would definitely allow them to be reborn again as soon as possible.
"What we need to do is continue our journey in order to solve the mystery of why the Ancient Civilization got destroyed. This is to ensure that the same fate does not happen to us, should we chose to inhabit the legacy that they left behind."
All the Kobolds nodded their heads in agreement, as they, too, stood up one by one, and faced Cadmus with determined faces. Clearly, the Kobolds wanted to make the ancient city their new home, but due to the mystery of how it got destroyed, they were reluctant to do it.
All of them hoped that they would get the answers inside the dungeon.
Lux kept his silence, but he already knew half of the reason why the Ancient Civilization was destroyed. When he read the information of the Ignus Death Worm, it clearly stated that it was one of the two monsters that was responsible for its destruction.
This meant that there was one more monster, and Lux guessed that this monster could be found inside the Inner Grotto where they were currently at.
'Perhaps, a Dungeon Outbreak happened and the Indus Death Worm and that other Monster left the dungeon,' Lux thought. 'Due to its having the power of the Pseudo-Deimos Rank, it could easily overpower anyone in the Beginner's Zone.
However, there was one thing that puzzled Lux. The Grotto of the Forbidden Guardian was a C-Ranked Dungeon, so it was impossible for it to produce a monster that was as powerful as the Indus Death Worm.
Creatures of that rank could be found in B-Ranked and A-Ranked Dungeons as a Boss Monster for its Hell Mode. For it to appear in a C-Ranked dungeon, it only meant that they may be missing something important.
'It couldn't possibly be that, right?' Lux thought as his body subconsciously shuddered at the absurd idea that passed through his mind.
Lux didn't even want to consider the thought that appeared in his head because it was simply too crazy. However, if the off-chance that he was right, that would easily explain the presence of the Indus Death Worm, in addition to the other Monster that might even be stronger than it here inside the Inner Grotto.
The Half-Elf followed Cadmus as they walked into the single tunnel that led to something bright in front of them.
"Just… how?" Lux muttered as he gazed at the unbelievable scene in front of him.
A fantasy-like scenery that could easily become a postcard appeared in his vision.
A Majestic Mountain range served as a backdrop for the dozens of floating islands that hovered around it. Some of these islands had water falling from their bodies like waterfalls, catching the sunlight and creating stunning rainbows.
This was vastly different from the underground labyrinth that they had exited just a while ago.
Cadmus frowned, because he shared the same thought as Lux. this scene shouldn't be here, which made him unable to understand what was happening.
"You've finally arrived."
A majestic voice resounded from the heavens, which made everyone look up at the biggest floating island above them.
Soon, they saw a giant beast flying in their direction, and its presence made Lux, Eiko, Cadmus, and the rest of the Kobolds feel an incredible pressure pressing on their bodies.
The giant creature landed dozens of meters away from them, which allowed everyone to look at it at close range.
A creature that was over twenty six meters long, and had a wingspan of twelve meters stood in front of them, with an amused expression on its face.
Its glossy-white body sparkled in the sun, and its ancient golden eyes scanned the faces of its visitors before stopping on the red-headed teenager, whose green eyes were locked onto its body.
All the Kobolds dropped down on their knees as a sign of respect to the majestic creature in front of them. They were a race that worshiped their God, Ross, as well as the Dragon God, Bahamut, whom all Kobolds revered as the perfect being.
"A Crystal Dragon." Lux gulped as the Dragon looked at him with great curiosity.
Although the Dragon wasn't showing any signs of agressions, its mere presence was enough to make his breath ragged.
Lux activated the Elysium Compendium to see what kind of monster he was facing, and the information that he saw almost made his knees buckle in fright.
—--
< Keoza the Forbidden Guardian >
– Crystal Dragon
– The Guardian of the Inner Grotto
– Argonaut Ranked Monster
Health: 21,000,000 / 21,000,000
Mana: 4,200,000 / 4,200,000
Strength: ????
Intelligence: ????
Vitality: ????
Agility: ????
Dexterity: ????
– The Crystal Dragon, Keoza, was the one of the two monsters that were responsible for the destruction of the Ancient Civilization that thrived underground.
– this Dragon is usually very friendly, and would not attack anyone unless they tried to attack it first, or rob him of his treasures. The Ancient Civilization's greedy ruler thought that since Keoza wasn't an aggressive Dragon, he could take advantage of its kindness and steal one of the Legendary Items in its possession.
However, the ruler failed to understand that no matter how amiable a Crystal Dragon was, it was still a Dragon. Fools who didn't have the strength to back up their greed, would simply end up dying from its sharp claws, while being blinded by its dazzling dragon breath that could pulverize those that it hit directly.
– Tread wisely upon dealing with Keoza, for it is a creature who can see the greed in people's hearts.
—---
'A-Argonaut Rank?!' Lux's eyes widened in shock because the stats of the Dragon had surpassed the Deimos Rank, leaving it on equal footing with those who reached the level of a C-Ranker.
This was a creature that didn't belong to the Beginner Zone, nor in the Intermediate Zone. This was a creature that could only be seen in the Advance Zone of Elysium, where massive cities—that spanned for several miles—could be found.
Simply put, this was a creature that could destroy the entirety of the Territory of Norria, if it wished for it.
"Salutations, to all of you," Keoza said in a friendly manner, which made Lux, as well as the Kobolds, jump up in fright.
The Crystal Dragon chuckled after seeing their reactions and a mischievous smile appeared on its friendly face.
"Worry not, as long as you don't try anything funny, all of you may leave this place alive," Keoza stated. "However, if you are planning to do something wicked then I assure you that all of you will stay in this place forever as crystal statues that I will be adding to my collection. Do I make myself clear?"
Lux as well as the rest of the Kobolds nodded their heads like hens pecking rice. The creature in front of them was simply too powerful, and only fools would dare to defy it in its own Domain.
The Half-Elf's heart shuddered as his earlier hunch became a reality. They had made a grave mistake when they tried to evaluate the rank of the Dungeon.
It was not a C-Ranked Dungeon, but an S-Ranked Dungeon that had degraded due to the damage that the Dungeon Core had received after the great battle that happened inside its depths, hundreds of years ago.
However, although its rank had degraded, the monsters that lived inside it remained the same, especially the two Boss Monsters that retained their strength, even after the Ancient Civilization had perished under their overwhelming might.
