Judas staggered, trying to remain upright as he took ragged breaths, drops of sweat accumulating on his forehead.
'I'm at the brink of a mind down.'
The glow that surrounded him flickered, dimmed, and finally vanished.
His body felt heavier as his strengthening magic had now worn off, returning him to his original status as a Level 2.
He opened his pouch and noticed that the potion bottles inside had shattered, their contents spilled.
'Just my luck.'
He grabbed a potion bottle that only had half of it remaining and saw there was still some liquid left inside.
'Better than nothing.'
He drank without hesitation, making sure that his lips didn't get cut from the broken glass as he replenished his mind reserves, even just a little.
『Sinkhole』
With difficulty, he raised his arm, manipulated the earth, and created a hole big enough to fit a person on the ceiling.
With this, instead of searching for the stairway just to cross between dungeon floors, creating a direct hole between the floor layers was a great shortcut to take.
Just as he was about to head out, he caught sight of movement at the edge of his vision.
Three of his attackers, the pallums excluded, were breaking free from their ice blocks.
"BASTARD!!!"
The Cat Person was the first to break out, and his enraged shout echoed throughout the area.
Not even bothering to pick up his spear, he rushed towards Judas like a madman.
『Fly』
Judas flew into the air and went towards the hole.
"Oh no you don't!"
The Cat Person's speed was nothing to scoff at as he leapt, leaving behind cracks on the ground, and was able to grab Judas' leg mid-air.
"Get down here, you son of a bitch."
The Cat Person said as his grip tightened and instantly crushed Judas' ankle.
"Argh!"
Judas had to stifle his agonized scream; he bit down on his lips so hard that they bled.
He looked down, pointed his arm downward, and summoned a magic circle.
『Air Burst』
With a sharp crack, the air imploded, sending a shockwave of compressed wind roaring forward.
The attack directly hit the enemy in the face, even causing his nose to break, but his grip never loosened.
"You are not gonna get rid of me that easily."
The Cat Person said with a wild grin, blood pouring out of his nose.
Judas did not say anything and just cast another spell.
『Permeation』
His figure turned to mist, and the Cat Person found himself holding nothing but empty air.
"Fuck, this guy has so many annoying magic spells."
Judas did not look back and opened another hole, passing through to the 8th floor.
"Get back here!"
The veins on the Cat Person's legs pulsated as he launched himself upwards.
Seeing the enemy hot on his tail and gradually closing the distance, Judas turned around.
With blood dripping down his lips, Judas raised his hand and summoned multiple magic circles, each with varying colors.
Witnessing this scene, the Cat Person's pupils shrank into a dot.
"Eat this."
Judas said with bloodshot eyes.
Magic power surged.
『Air Burst』
The air around him warped, compressing before detonating outward in a concussive shockwave.
『Infernal Barrage』
Flames spiraled into being, splitting into dozens of molten projectiles that streaked across like comets.
『Ice Arrows』
Jagged shards of frozen death crystallized midair, making a hissing sound as they cut through the wind.
『Lightning Spear』
A blinding lance of crackling electricity tore through the air with enough force to shatter armor.
『Earth Spikes』
Jagged spikes of stone rotated and charged with a boom.
『Water Cannon』
Finally, torrents of compressed water burst forth like a broken dam, with enough power to pierce through metal.
All these spells were being fired at once... and all of that firepower was focused on a single target.
"This monstrous bastard..."
The Cat Person said with bared fangs as a bead of sweat formed on the side of his forehead.
'With this much magic power... If I take that head-on... it won't just leave a few scratches behind.'
He thought in his mind, but his movements never slowed down one bit.
Judas expected the Cat Person to move out of the way, but he underestimated the grit and tenacity of a first-class adventurer.
"Come on! Bring it!"
With a crazed look in his eyes, the Cat Person charged like an angry bull.
"Out of the way."
The dark elf appeared beside him.
"You chuuni bastard, it's about time you showed up."
The Cat Person spat.
The dark elf didn't reply, his gaze focused on Judas as he cast his own magic spell.
"Burn Drain."
A super-short-chant explosion magic that sent a roar of flames.
When the magic attacks collided, pure devastation occurred.
The battlefield became a storm of chaos as a large shockwave resounded throughout the upper floors.
"What is going on with the dungeon?"
"Are first-class adventurers fighting down here?"
"Someone report this to the guild."
Adventurers who usually occupied these floors couldn't help but become anxious.
"Miss Bell... what's with these tremors?"
Bell and Lili, who happened to be on the fifth floor, felt the ground shaking from all the way up here.
"I don't know, Lili... I am as clueless as you are."
Bell said with a frown as she stared at the ground below her.
Back to the battlefield.
From the smokescreen, two figures emerged, their clothes scorched and their disguises starting to fall apart.
"Tsk... so much for these disguises."
The Cat Person picked up the mask that was half destroyed and crushed it with his hands.
"I can't believe he managed to escape."
He looked up, seeing the hole had already been closed down, and his face couldn't help but scowl.
"Do not fret, Allen, it's not over yet."
The dark elf commented with a calm voice.
"Huh? What are you talking abo—"
Allen was about to ask until his words paused at the end when he realized something.
'Hedin.'
"It's all up to you, you glasses bastard."
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
On the 3rd floor, an adventurer party could be seen working together.
They were rookies, judging by how tense they seemed on this floor.
"Everyone! I sense that there is a group of goblins on the other side of that pathway!"
Just as the rookie party was about to brandish their weapons—
"What's that noise?"
The ground shook, and a hole appeared in front of them.
"A new monster?"
They got into a stance, anticipating danger, but their faces warped into confusion the next second when they saw a bloodied figure crawl out.
Cough
Cough
Judas Spade coughed up blood and felt pain all over his body.
'That impact caused a lot more damage than I thought.'
He said in his mind as smoke came out of him, his clothes torn apart and his armor worn down.
'If I didn't have my healing skill... I probably would have been defeated long ago.'
He looked up at the group of rookies who stood frozen, clearly still processing the situation.
『Close』
Judas shook his head before closing up the hole that he left behind.
'My mind reserves are at an all-time low. I think I should just walk from here on out.'
He touched his head and felt dizzy.
"I think I've already lost them."
The thought barely formed when his instincts flared, a sharp warning cutting through him.
Danger.
He froze, ears straining... footsteps echoed behind him.
Slowly, he turned.
"Fucking hell... give me a break."
From the shadows emerged a familiar figure—
The masked elf, staff in hand, moving with deliberate steps as a hostile aura seeped into the air around them.
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