Within the Dungeon, any monster infamous enough to earn a nickname from adventurers or the Guild... is never easy to deal with.
For instance:
The Killer Ant, known as the Adventurer Killer.
The Worm Well
And of course, on this current floor, the Spartoi, dubbed the Silent Death of the Deep.
...and many, many more.
Now, the Worm Well, aside from its ability to tunnel through multiple floors also had another name: the Omen of Calamity.
Because of its absurdly massive size, even the smallest movement was enough to be classified as a natural disaster in motion.
If this thing ever reached the surface... and if there were multiple of them... Orario would be half-destroyed. There'd be countless civilian casualties.
Judging by sheer danger alone, its apocalyptic nickname was well-earned. Veteran adventurers had long since taken to calling it: the Calamity Serpent.
And now,
"Lefiya, are you going to fight?"
From Aether's point of view, they had two viable ways to take down the Worm Well.
The first: Use Elemental Vision to locate its weak point, then have Xiao leap in with a devastating strike.
The second: Add a bit of difficulty by having Lefiya unleash her wide-area bombardment magic to blast the beast into submission.
Her magical firepower was easily on par with a Level 5 mage. Enough to kill something like this.
But the issue was...
"Ugh~"
Lefiya simply wasn't used to combat in the Deep Levels.
Granted, the moment she made up her mind to change, she could probably rise to the challenge. But now wasn't the time to wait on her resolve.
ROOAARR!!
The massive Worm Well had already detected their presence. And it was charging toward them, jaws wide open.
Its thunderous roar echoed through the floor, rattling their eardrums.
And worse...
"Ugh, dammit, it's all saliva! Gross as hell..."
Aether grimaced. No more stalling. Let's just get to it.
With a flash of light, Xiao teleported to a distant outcropping and gently set Lefiya down.
"Stay alert. Defend yourself."
He handed her the Forest's Teardrop, which he'd grabbed earlier from the collapsed cavern.
Then,
"Umm..."
Fwoosh~
Before Lefiya could say anything more, Xiao vanished and returned to Aether's side, standing shoulder to shoulder.
In the distance, the elf girl clutched her staff tightly, emotions churning.
Meanwhile, Aether calculated:
This guy's no joke. Better bring in Xingqiu and Diona too.
He wasn't deluded into thinking their earlier cheap win using Sage Shenanigans was repeatable. This time, they were facing the Worm Well head-on.
Thankfully, his Starry Abyss passive was fully buffed now. At a 33.6x mana recovery rate, maintaining three Archon Avatars was no problem.
So,
For a beast with defense this thick, Fischl's long-range poking won't do much.
Razor can be summoned in close-range once I'm near enough, within 7 meters, for burst damage.
Xingqiu and Diona will test if Freeze Reactions work on a creature this massive.
As for me...
As he focused his will, two flashes of light signaled the arrival of Diona and Xingqiu.
Aether himself unsheathed the Traveler's Sword, gripping it tightly.
Since mana isn't an issue now... might as well go all out from the start.
Holding his blade in front of him,
Mana Release, Pseudo Wind King Barrier!
A whirling torrent of wind gathered around his body. It was a technique of his own design, one Lumine had shown off many times in front of Lefiya and Ais.
Now, he wielded it like second nature.
BOOOOM!
The Worm Well had no intention of waiting for his turn. Its massive tail slammed down like a divine whip, shattering the earth and hurtling toward the four-man team.
Inside their shared mental link:
Scatter!
No words needed, just instinct and synced senses.
Aether launched himself upward using the Wind King Barrier and the wings of wind that burst from his back.
Xiao grabbed Xingqiu and blinked away with his teleport.
As for Diona,
She was small enough that Aether just scooped her up into his arms and carried her airborne.
Defensive Support: ONLINE!
Just to be safe, even a brittle Cat Shield was better than none. It could block at least one hit under the system's rules. And sometimes, one hit was all that mattered.
But that wasn't all,
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Because Aether was carrying her, Diona didn't need to dodge, so she charged up her attack-defense hybrid skill to the max.
As the Cat Shield formed, five Cryo Cat Claws launched forward, spiraling straight toward the massive beast.
At the same time,
"Let the Rain Fall!"
Having been teleported to the top of the serpent's head, Xingqiu activated his Hydro element skill:
Guhua Sword: Raincutter.
A blue cross-shaped slash burst outward.
Hydro and Cryo met, triggering the elemental reaction: Freeze.
CRACK!
For a brief second, a thin layer of ice coated the serpent's head.
The Freeze worked, though not for long. Likely due to the level gap, the effect was limited. The monster easily shattered it, and the momentary immobilization ended quickly.
Still, Aether had expected this. And he'd already planned the next step.
"Tch..."
Xiao, eyes narrowed, didn't waste the opportunity.
Activating his Anemo skill, Lemniscatic Wind Cycling, he spun forward with his spear and struck directly into one of the serpent's eyes.
SQUELCH!
Its eyeball popped.
ROAAAAARR!!
Perfectly timed coordination.
The Worm Well wasn't fast, but with its enormous body, it had a huge target zone, making it easy for smaller enemies to swarm it.
And now it has lost half its vision. Even if it didn't rely solely on sight, the pain sent sharp signals through its nerves.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
The earth quaked nonstop. The Worm Well, despite not being able to fly, caused massive tremors with each thrash.
Even Lefiya, far away, staggered. If not for the nearby wall to brace against, she would've fallen flat.
Back in the heat of battle,
Before Xiao and Xingqiu could enter a burst state, they blinked away again.
Meanwhile, Aether soared into the air, still holding Diona.
Tch, just a second too slow... If Xiao had just a moment more, he could've gone straight for the brain.
"Oh well."
He floated up to a vertical cliff wall, then, with Diona in his arms, assumed a stance like...
Spider-Man.
One hand, two feet, stuck to the sheer surface. Nowhere to grip. No footholds. And yet, perfectly stable.
If Freeze reactions work... killing this thing is only a matter of time.
Just then,
"Warning: multiple monsters are converging. The commotion attracted them."
A voice came through their hidden comms link, the invisible fifth member of the party: Paimon.
"We need to wrap this up quickly. The real trouble's just beginning."
=============
129+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria
250 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
Add to Library to support