"I'll need at least 1 day to prepare, though," Azrael said, cutting into Mary's excitement.
Mary didn't mind. To her, any preparation before something this big was more than welcome. Curiosity tugged at her too, because she wanted to see what kind of plan Azrael had come up with.
"How will you prepare?" she asked.
Azrael grinned. "I got the idea while pushing myself to the brink. So instead of wasting my mana, I might as well prepare mini-spheres with gravity and forest laws, then control them with my Law of Control. This skill removes so many limits that I feel overpowered out of nowhere. Here, look."
From his pocket, he fished a small orb and tossed it to Mary. She caught it and peered inside.
A gravity vortex spun within. It was the same approach Azrael had used to snatch the snakes and toss the whole pile into the chasm.
At A-Rank, it would catch plenty of defenseless monsters, and even people, by surprise, maybe even take them out in a single move.
More ammo meant more options.
"Besides, I can make bonsai trees inside the orbs and use them to produce oxygen wherever I go, so that weakness won't bite me in other dungeons!" Azrael rubbed his hands, excited.
Pride warmed Mary, because the idea was his.
Floating closer, she flashed him a lovely smile. "Well done, Azrael. You're so clever when you turn off your perverted side."
"It's all so I can show off to you, my little angel!" Azrael laughed.
"You'd better score a few grand rewards in the dungeon to make me forget what you forced me to say," Mary said with a faint smile, clearly not minding that incident anymore.
Even so, she still used it to light a fire under him.
Azrael took the challenge without hesitation. "I'm in."
The entire day went to crafting his new equipment. He called it his Grand Ammo, creating mini-spheres packed with gravity and forest laws.
Each time his mana ran dry, he also ran mental simulations of dangerous situations, trying to grasp the hidden reserves and make them permanent, but it was too much for him right now.
"You're too perverted," Mary said.
"I don't think so. I still have to reach the full potential of my shamelessness and perversion."
With that, Mary sighed.
Once his military uniform pockets were full of Grand Ammo, Azrael closed his dungeon and stepped outside.
Kaya had already done the prep. She'd torn down her tent and covered the whole area with leaves, soil, and branches to hide the dungeon.
At first glance, it looked like a huge, conspicuous mess, yet when Azrael and Mary saw it up close, they couldn't believe their eyes.
"It blends in with the forest," Azrael said.
"Yes," Mary agreed.
"Thanks for believing in me!" Kaya said after hearing their honest words.
Lately, she'd been feeling more useless and less important the longer she traveled with Azrael, but her work on hunts and logistics was impressive. Feisty and bold as she was, she also had a calculating side.
"Off we go, then. It'll take at least 2 hours, so no detours. We head straight to the River Damases. We'll slow down only if you sense something nastier than the common variants of the Shadow Forest Snakes," Azrael said.
"Got it, Master Azrael." Kaya nodded, her forked tongue peeking between her lips.
Two uneventful hours later, the team arrived at their destination: the River Damases.
Along the shore, crowds in tight bodysuits and armored plates lined the shore. Some had wings sprouting from their backs and flew over the wide river.
Azrael's eyes locked onto the flying females, their chests bobbing along with each wingbeat. Beautiful.
As his gaze lingered on their peaks, the winged Beastblood scouted the chasm that had split open across the River Damases.
A gaping entrance yawned there, leading into a dungeon that couldn't be closed, and it didn't give anyone a choice.
Once you fell in, that was it.
By now, the system had confirmed its identity.
[S-Rank Dungeon: The Underworld of Protectors.]
Hearing that name, people around the river started buzzing. That place could hold power great enough to make them truly strong, and maybe even keep their continent from falling apart.
Better yet, it was new, which meant it could be conquered and sealed before it had time to grow into a real disaster.
Kaya started pointing things out. "People in outfits like mine, with beast parts, are Beastblood Clan. We're big, so not everyone will react the same way to you, Master Azrael. Across the river, you can see humans in black uniforms like yours. They're from Rising Dynasty. We don't like them because of their curse skills."
"Curse, huh? Yeah, hiding their tits behind military uniforms is a curse," Azrael muttered.
"Ignore him. I see a third faction too, Kaya," Mary said.
Easy to spot, they had green skin, all kinds of builds, and faces that looked more monstrous than human. Crude clothes and rough weapons made them seem like the weakest group, but no one rushed to pick a fight with them.
Kaya nodded. "They're from Emerald Hide Clan. They don't mingle with others and don't have many ties, but they respect the pact to stop the dungeons' invasion. Under the same pact, everyone's free to enter any dungeon in any territory to conquer and destroy it."
Azrael studied the Emerald Hide Clan. "Hmmm… not my type. I'd rather my girls be beautiful princesses on the outside and monsters on the inside than the other way around."
"We could've guessed," Mary said. "Now tell us your thoughts and plan. Do we enter right away, or gather intel first?"
Azrael looked to Kaya. "Do you know anyone who'll share trustworthy information for free? I don't want to deal with ego-tripping assholes and bargain with idiots."
"Not like you have much to bargain with," Mary chuckled.
Kaya nodded. "Yes. Follow me, Master Azrael."