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Lefiya Viridis had finally made it up to the battlements. With no monsters harassing her, she could chant in peace at last.
"Proud warriors of the forest, archers of the green host—Raiders advance upon us. Raise your bows and answer your kin. Nock your arrows, kindle the flames. O firelight of the woods, let loose your blaze. Elven fire, fall like rain—Burn the savages to ash!"
In an instant, volleys of blazing arrows poured down into the monster horde. Every frozen minotaur was pierced through and finished off.
Alex let out a low whistle. "As expected of a 'mana idiot.' You've got Level 5 firepower in a Level 3 body."
But before he could enjoy the moment, the Dungeon began spawning more monsters.
Alex frowned. Great. Endless waves again.
Fine—if you want to play, let's play big.
He turned to Artoria. "Use the Noble Phantasm. Go all out."
Artoria blinked. "Its power is too much. If it destroys the floor—?"
"It's fine," Alex said. "Worst case, it spawns a Juggernaut. With the four of us plus all the Loki Familia elites, even a Juggernaut popping up is dead for sure. And if the floor gets wrecked badly enough, the Dungeon can't spawn new monsters— it'll have to dump all its energy into repairs."
Artoria understood immediately. Without hesitation, she released the Wind King's Barrier.
The true form of Excalibur emerged. The blade shimmered with brilliant gold, leaving everyone stunned.
"That's… that's a divine artifact!" Finn gasped.
No human could forge a weapon like this—only the gods could.
"But gods can't use their power on the surface. How could they forge something like that…?" Riveria frowned, sensing that Alex's group hid secrets far beyond ordinary adventurers.
Artoria raised the holy sword high, then brought it down toward the distant monsters while releasing its true name.
"Ex—calibur!"
A pillar of golden light roared upward like a colossal sword.
As the beam swept across the floor, every monster caught in its glow was reduced to ash.
Not only that—the entire floor split open, a massive fissure carving the level clean in two.
Through the gap, they could even see the next floor below.
Loki Familia stared, dumbstruck.
Even a Level 7 might not survive something like that.
"Was that a skill? Or magic?" Aiz murmured.
"Neither. It's gotta be that sword," Bete muttered, looking uneasy.
"A magic sword?" Tiona Hiryute asked, wide-eyed.
"No. No magic sword is that strong. That's a real divine artifact," Finn said, absolutely certain.
"Divine artifact!?"
Shock rippled through the group once again.
But at that moment, the Dungeon began to tremble.
A deep rumble rolled through every level.
Monsters shuddered in fear. Adventurers felt their blood run cold.
It was a sound that made anyone who heard it sink into despair.
Alex's eyes lit up with excitement. He wondered how much excelia he could gain from killing a Juggernaut.
In the original story, Bell and Lyu killed one together— and that achievement was what let Lyu jump two whole levels at once.
Sure, she had years of accumulated excelia… but the Juggernaut was the key.
First adventurer of the modern era to "double rank-up"!
That was no ordinary honor.
And in this expedition, Alex had fought from the first floor all the way to the 48th, slaughtering who-knows-how-many monsters above his level.
Two floor bosses too—one Level 5, one Level 6.
If he added a Juggernaut to the list… he might actually level up this time.
The thought only made him more excited.
Meanwhile, the Loki Familia felt the complete opposite. The moment they heard that despair-inducing sound, every one of them went rigid.
Veteran adventurers understood the Dungeon's rules—this kind of anomaly meant nothing good.
After a few moments, the ceiling of the 48th floor erupted with a deafening crack.
A huge hole smashed open. From it poured a black liquid—like the Dungeon's own blood.
Then something crawled out of the darkness.
Calamity had come.
It was shaped like a lizard stripped of flesh, nothing but a skeletal frame.
But everyone who saw it realized—those weren't bones.
They were magic stones.
Its eyes glowed a violent red. Its limbs each bore three long, razor-sharp talons. Its tail looked like a steel chain, ending in a blade-like tip.
Its entire body was a weapon built for killing.
"What… what is that?" Lefiya collapsed in terror.
"Damn it. I've never seen anything like this," Finn growled.
"This thing actually makes me feel… pressure?" Gareth muttered, shaken. A Level 6 like him was already at the peak— he could advance to Level 7 any time.
"So its minimum rating is Level 6. That's troublesome." Riveria tightened her grip on her staff.
"It doesn't matter. Treat it like a special floor boss," Aiz said firmly, stepping toward the creature.
Finn didn't stop her. Instead, he raised his voice toward Alex.
"Friend! Do you know anything about this monster?!"
Alex projected a spear using Unlimited Blade Works and answered calmly:
"It's called a Juggernaut. It appears when the Dungeon suffers severe artificial damage. Its strength depends on the floor it's born on, and it specializes in killing. Even a Juggernaut from the 27th floor can surpass deep-level monsters."
Finn's face darkened instantly.
Damn it—he used us.
Alex wanted them to help take this thing down.
"If one born on the lower floors is as strong as deep-level monsters… then one born in the deep floors…" Riveria's face drained of color.
"It'll have at least Level 7 strength. If it's stronger than that, we're in real danger," Gareth said angrily.
"That bastard actually set us up!" Bete Loga snarled.
"This isn't the time to fight among ourselves. We deal with the monster first," Finn sighed.
He turned back to Alex. "Friend, since you know it—any information on its abilities or weaknesses?"
Alex didn't hide anything.
"The Juggernaut has low durability, but extremely high attack power. Its claws can tear through adventurers' weapons with ease. Its armor can reflect magic. And it's insanely fast—on par with a first-class adventurer. It also has a sensory network, so it can easily track anyone nearby. To kill it, you have to completely destroy its body."
Finn grimaced. That reflective armor alone neutralized Riveria, their Level 6 mage.
That meant they'd have to smash it apart by force.
Before they could discuss further, the Juggernaut lunged at Aiz.
"Aiz! Be careful! Its minimum strength is Level 7— maybe Level 8!" Finn shouted.
Aiz's eyes widened, but her reaction was swift.
"Tempest—!"
Wind wrapped around her body, boosting her speed. She blurred aside, dodging the attack instantly.
Alex dashed in as well, shrinking the distance in a single step.
He appeared right in front of the Juggernaut, spear thrusting like a dragon.
Clang!
The tip struck its joint but failed to break it. The recoil shattered the spear instead.
Unbothered, Alex summoned another and stabbed toward the creature's eye.
Fast and precise.
The Juggernaut raised a claw to block, and Aiz seized the opening. Riding the wind, she darted to its abdomen and drove Desperate straight in.
Her weapon was far sharper than Alex's projections— it pierced the Juggernaut's stomach cleanly.
The monster shrieked. Its chain-like tail whipped toward both her and Alex.
At the last moment, Morgan and Gareth stepped forward to shield them.
Gareth braced behind his shield, and Morgan's staff transformed into a massive cross-shield— Distant Avalon.
The two shields absorbed the blow, but the impact still sent both of them flying.
Still, their intervention bought Aiz and Alex enough time to retreat.
The next moment, Artoria and Finn rushed in, giving the Juggernaut no chance to recover.
A sword came down. A spear thrust forward.
The battle began in earnest.
"..."
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