Chapter 230: Solo Speedrun of the 58th Floor, Ais Is Stunned!
No one knew how much time had passed before the two entered a floor resembling a giant labyrinth.
Ais's gaze changed slightly.
Clearly, she recognized this place and had been here before.
There were plenty of monsters around, but the narrow passages made fighting much more restrictive.
If they used attacks that were too powerful and caused the entire passage to collapse, things would become troublesome.
"Watch out!"
Just as Ethan was getting into the rhythm of battle, Ais suddenly shouted at him.
"Hm?"
BOOM!
In the brief moment Ethan hesitated, the ground beneath his feet rapidly heated up and turned bright red.
Ethan immediately realized something was wrong and quickly dodged to the side.
The next second, a blazing pillar of fire erupted upward.
It burned straight through the floor and even pierced the ceiling above.
"That was an attack from a Valgang Dragon. They're dragon-type monsters found on the 58th floor."
"Their flames can pierce through several floors. Even when we're multiple floors away, they can still detect our position."
Ais's explanation reminded Ethan of something.
There really were monsters like this in Sword Oratoria.
The flames before him gradually died down, revealing an enormous hole.
Looking down through it, Ethan could see a red-eyed dragon-type monster far below.
That was the creature that had nearly hit him just now.
"Ais, if we jump straight down, won't we reach the 58th floor immediately?"
"It's dangerous."
"Hmph. Dangerous? Not a problem."
Swish!
With a wave of Ethan's hand, two [Magic Shields] instantly appeared around himself and Ais.
Then the Gate of Babylon opened.
Ethan pulled out a shield-shaped Noble Phantasm.
Akhilleus Kosmos.
An extremely rare defensive Noble Phantasm.
"I'm taking a shortcut. Whether you follow is up to you, Ais."
With that, Ethan jumped straight into the hole.
He placed Akhilleus Kosmos beneath his feet and poured magical energy into it.
Using a Noble Phantasm did not always require releasing its True Name.
"ROAR!"
On the 58th floor, known as the Dragon's Vase, a Valgang Dragon stared at Ethan as he rapidly descended.
BOOM!
The next second, intense flames gathered inside the dragon's mouth before erupting upward.
"Perfect!"
Bang!
The shield collided directly with the Valgang Dragon's pillar of fire.
The flames could not break through its defense at all.
Standing atop the shield, Ethan continued descending against the stream of fire.
At first glance, it looked as though he was forcibly pushing the entire pillar of flames back down.
A wild grin appeared on Ethan's face.
His Personal Skill, [Dragon Slayer], began taking effect.
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, Ethan landed on the 58th floor while standing atop the shield.
The sheer impact crushed the Valgang Dragon directly beneath him—the same monster that had attacked him twice.
"ROAR!"
"SCREEECH!"
"GRAAAH!"
Dragon-type monsters filled the surroundings.
Valgang Dragons, Wyverns, Red Dragons, and many others were scattered throughout every corner of the 58th floor.
And the instant Ethan arrived, every dragon turned toward him.
Blazing dragon breaths came from all directions.
Ethan leaped into the air, avoiding the massive barrage.
"Gate of Babylon—Deploy."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless golden portals opened.
In an instant, they filled the air above the Dragon's Vase.
The next second, Noble Phantasms glowing with golden radiance emerged from them.
Under Ethan's control, the bombardment began.
The Noble Phantasms fired one after another like a Gatling gun.
Under the Gate of Babylon's overwhelming firepower, the surrounding dragon monsters were rapidly wiped out at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
With a furious roar, an enormous crimson figure appeared.
Its body was more than ten times larger than an ordinary fire dragon.
A massive dragon head rose above its colossal frame, and scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Ethan.
"ROAR!"
BOOM!
With another roar, a blazing dragon breath erupted.
The crimson torrent shot straight toward Ethan's face.
"Break!"
Bang!
The Inverted Spear of Heaven appeared in Ethan's hand.
With a powerful swing, he directly shattered the incoming dragon breath.
"Ratio Technique—"
In an instant, Ethan rushed forward.
His Cursed Technique activated, dividing the Red Dragon King before him into ten equal sections.
Pshk!
A cold flash passed.
The ferocious Red Dragon King instantly froze.
Several seconds later, its massive head fell to the ground.
Its body then collapsed and vanished into a huge cloud of black smoke.
At that moment, another figure finally arrived through the "proper route."
It was none other than Ais.
Unlike Ethan, Ais did not dare charge through the Valgang Dragons' flames without proper protection.
As for the [Magic Shield] Ethan had placed on her, Ais did not believe Ethan was some kind of dedicated mage.
So she chose the safer route.
She sprinted through several floors at maximum speed, ignoring every monster along the way.
She had only one goal—
Reach the 58th floor as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, by the time Ais arrived, she caught only the final curtain call of the battle.
The Red Dragon King had already been beheaded by Ethan.
The surrounding terrain was full of craters, as though a massive battle had just ended.
And across the ruined ground were countless magic stones and drop items.
Valgang Dragon scales.
Wyvern claws.
Red Dragon fangs.
Rare materials were scattered everywhere.
These were all drops from dragon-type monsters.
Any one of them would sell for a considerable amount of valis in Orario.
No matter the world, dragons were creatures that stood near the top of the food chain.
Naturally, materials obtained from them were exceptionally valuable.
Swish!
A gateway to Imaginary Number Space opened.
All the loot was instantly swept inside.
Ethan no longer lacked money, but these materials were still extremely useful.
He could use them to upgrade his Cursed Corpses or give some to Tsubaki.
Materials of this quality were rarely seen in Orario.
"It's already over?"
Ais stared at the scene in disbelief.
This was the Dragon's Vase on the 58th floor.
Yet Ethan had cleared it alone this quickly?
Just what had she missed?
For once, Ais could not help feeling a little regretful.
Ethan, meanwhile, was in an excellent mood.
After all, he had just made an enormous haul.
…
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