Volume 4 Chapter 115 The Stirring Earth
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
We followed Sphica, the Elven Elder blessed with clairvoyance, as we pushed deeper into the dungeon.
It was a surprisingly comfortable flight, our airship cutting through the sky with an ease that belied the danger below.
Below us lay a wasteland of reddish-black rock, a hellish landscape where rivers and lakes of molten lava carved glowing crimson veins into the earth.
In the distance, volcanoes spat plumes of fire while volcanic bombs danced through a sky choked with ash.
This was the Sixth Floor: “Burning Dragon Peak”¹.
No matter how many times I saw it, the sheer scale of the devastation was breathtaking.
Sphica announced she’d found the stairs to the next level, but in the same breath, she sensed something…unnatural.
I raised my binoculars, following her pointed finger.
(It should be coming into view any second… there!)
A stone pillar reached toward the heavens, a clear sign of the path forward.
The tower erupted from the center of a boiling sea of lava.
Reaching it would be a struggle, but that was still within the realm of expectations.
The real problem was the Guardian. Every floor had a gatekeeper, and this one was no exception.
I focused my sights on the area in front of the tower.
A solitary island of rock floated in the lava sea, its surface bristling with countless jagged spikes.
It looked like a gargantuan, stony hedgehog.
(That has to be it. The Guardian’s den.)
”My word…” Rozmiaque gasped, his breath catching as he sensed the shift.
”Master, that island… it is alive.”
(Alive? That hunk of rock?) I wondered if the island itself was the boss of this floor.
”That thing’s a behemoth!” one of the girls shouted.
”Looks like a regular island to me,” another replied, squinting.
”How can you guys even see that far?” I kept the airship moving forward, half-listening to their banter while my mind raced.
If that was the Guardian, what was its nature? How were we supposed to bring it down? As we drew closer, the “island” began to stir.
A section of the mass slowly heaved upward, molding itself into a distinct shape with a mouth and two eyes.
A massive, trunk-like neck rose from the island.
”…A turtle?” It was a tortoise of impossible scale, its back laden with a shell of jagged rock spikes.
It wasn’t just big; it was as if a landmass had been granted life.
”A species of Earth Dragon, perhaps,” Sphica mused.
Even for a dragon, its appearance was entirely chelonian.
Spiky protrusions stood like a forest atop its shell, their tips hissing with white steam that shrouded the beast in a thick mist.
It was massive – easily several kilometers in diameter, dwarfing every monster I had ever seen.
As we watched, the massive head swiveled with agonizing slowness.
Its pupils locked… dead on us.
(It sees us? At this distance?) The beast’s eyes narrowed into slits.
Then, the forest of spikes on its back moved, swiveling in unison like a battery of cannons.
”Master! It’s going to attack!” Rozmiaque’s scream echoed just as the horizon erupted.
The spikes weren’t just for show; they were turrets.
A volley of boulders – no, artillery shells – screamed through the air.
The sound was a physical blow, a thunderous roar that made the sky feel like it was warping.
A swarm of projectiles arched toward us, trailing smoke and molten slag.
It wasn’t just a barrage; it was a pyroclastic flow.
”Evasive maneuvers!” I roared.
”Ugh!” “Kyaaa!” “Wanyaaaa!?”
The airship banked hard, the engines screaming as the G-force nearly threw us from the deck.
I clung to the railing, teeth gritted, as a hail of shells tore through the space we had occupied moments before.
Rocks detonated on impact, etching lines of fire across the atmosphere.
But the assault didn’t stop.
A second wave followed, then a third.
The sky was being filled with white-hot stone.
We couldn’t dodge forever.
”Activating ‘Love Hotel’!” I shouted.
A massive door flickered into existence in the empty air – the Hangar Bay.
”Get us in there!” The airship dove for the shimmering portal, but the heavy blast doors moved with agonizing slowness.
A torrent of molten projectiles was already pouring toward the opening.
”M-Mana Weave!” “Wind Wall!” “Ignicaul!” Three voices rose in a desperate chorus.
A shimmering net of light, a wall of hyper-compressed air, and a barrier of burning ironwood trunks slammed into place.
The triple-layered defense met the incoming bombardment head-on with a deafening crash.
Light exploded as the stone shells shattered and melted against the barriers.
Then – CLANG.
The heavy metallic sound of the shutter locking home echoed through the bay.
Silence followed.
We were inside the Love Hotel, a sanctuary tucked away in a pocket dimension where the outside world couldn’t reach us.
”…Phew.” I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.
The adrenaline crashed, and my legs felt like jelly.
My companions were collapsed on the deck, trembling and silent, simply savoring the fact that we were still alive.
That was too close.
”The dungeon… is a terrifying place,” Sphica whispered, her shoulders quivering.
”You want to turn back? Call it quits?” I asked.
If she wanted out, I wouldn’t stop her.
Sphica looked down for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
”To be honest… I was frightened. Truly.” She looked up, and her blue eyes were sparkling with a defiant, mischievous light.
”But more than that – my heart is pounding with excitement. The best part is just getting started, isn’t it?”
”Heh, damn right!” I couldn’t help but laugh.
She was one of us – an adrenaline junkie through and through.
I pulled up the external display.
The titanic turtle was scanning the area, looking for the “gnat” that had vanished.
Eventually, it lost interest and began to… eat.
It took a massive bite out of the surrounding mountainside, redrawing the map with its canyon-sized mouth.
It devoured rock and swallowed lava.
(That’s its food, its fuel, and its ammo. It has an infinite supply. This is the Boss.)
It was a formidable enemy, and ignoring it wasn’t an option.
I knew the dungeon wouldn’t allow for such an easy out.
Besides, the loot from a beast like that – rare materials and magic tools – would be a game-changer for the rest of the climb.
”Can we take it with magic?” I asked.
”I’m sorry, Master.
Our range isn’t even close,” Sphica admitted.
”I have no excuse,” Rozmiaque added.
”Yomi? What about you?”
”Even if I hit it… my beams are too narrow. It’s like poking a whale with a needle,” Yomi replied.
”So, the Magic Cannon?” It was our heavy hitter, but Beckus, the Dwarf blacksmith, shook his head.
”Waste of time. Look at that shell. It’s shot through with magical alloys. Your cannon’s blast will just dissipate. It’d take months to upgrade the gun enough to punch through, and even then, you don’t know where the vitals are.”
”What if we just charge through the fire, get in close, and hack the damn thing apart!?” Kéa shouted.
”Denied,” I said immediately.
With the ground being a sea of lava, it was a suicide mission.
”Wait a second,” Nokiroul, the magic augmenter, interjected.
He had a mad grin on his face.
”Actually… that crazy girl might be onto something.”
—
Summary:
The party navigates the 6th floor of the dungeon via airship.
They encounter the floor’s Guardian, a massive island-sized Earth Dragon turtle that fires rock artillery.
After a narrow escape into the Love Hotel’s pocket dimension, they brainstorm a strategy to overcome the beast’s magical defense.
—
Trivia:
- The ‘Burning Dragon Peak’ is the 6th floor.
- The turtle’s shell contains magic metals that dampen magic cannon fire.
- The turtle literally eats the terrain to replenish its ammunition.
- Sphica, despite her age, finds the life-threatening danger ‘exciting’
—
Character Insight:
Sphica reveals a more youthful, adventurous side of her personality, showing that her role as an Elder hasn’t extinguished her thrill-seeking spirit.
Nokiroul moves from observer to strategist, hinting at a creative engineering solution.
—
Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The ‘Love Hotel’ skill is established as having a physical hangar-like sub-space for the airship.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Sphica – Elven Matriarch, elder sister to Rozmiaque, sports long golden hair and blue eyes, appearing in her twenties. As a clairvoyant elder, she leads the party through the dungeon, wielding deep knowledge of dungeon lore and the world’s logic.
• Rozmiaque – A tall, silver‑haired high‑ranking elf in ornate robes serves the Master, loyal in Spirit Magic. Condescending, he despises half‑elves and humans, uses six‑letter Spirit Magic to trap targets, interrogates aggressively, and suspects a hidden High Elf, sensing concealed truths.
• Yomi – A magic user capable of deploying barriers. A party member who utilizes precision light beam magic.
• Beckus – A skilled blacksmith and engineer with a boyish enthusiasm for mechanical inventions. An elderly Dwarf and world-class blacksmith capable of identifying magical ores.
• Kéa – A high-energy combatant prone to suggesting direct physical attacks.
• Nokiroul – A blacksmith and technician who works closely with Beckus on specialized equipment. An elderly Dwarf specializing in magic augmentation and decoration.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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