"Watch out for falling rocks!"
BlackStockings shouted in alarm.
With a violent tremor, a large amount of debris rained down from the nearby Flame Demon Volcano.
Empress's eyes flashed, and she quickly switched to a black cavalry shield from her pack, using her skill to deflect the falling rocks.
"Move fast, we don't have much time left."
Orson reminded, as everyone quickly dashed toward the dragon's lair, stepping over the scattered bones on the ground.
Without the two Flame Dragons guarding the entrance, they were able to enter the lair with ease.
"The Flame Dragon's lair master and dragon queen are out. Secure the mission item quickly!"
"The Flame Demon Volcano will erupt in 20 minutes. Countdown starts now!"
As soon as they stepped into the dragon's lair, the mission prompt updated.
Just as Orson had predicted, the eruption of the volcano would happen soon.
"Wait a minute, counting the two we killed, the lair master, the dragon queen... where's the other spicy snack?"
Orson frowned in thought.
Could it be the final boss of the dungeon?
"Damn, a bone dragon throne that's hundreds of meters tall, how big is the Flame Dragon lair master supposed to be?"
ShatteredCrown exclaimed in awe.
The inside of the lair was a palace built from the bones of various beasts. Hundreds of giant beast ribs lined up like walls, holding up a sharp, fang-like ceiling. It gave off a very oppressive vibe.
Everything inside the lair was made from bones and animal pelts, seemingly imitating the style of ancient tribal nobility.
But the proportions of the items were enormous—each of the more than a dozen magical lamps were about 7-8 meters wide, casting a dim red light that illuminated most of the lair.
"I told you there had to be a back door! Luckily, we took down the spicy snack that was blocking the way, maximizing our gains!"
ShatteredCrown grinned, pointing to a gap in the corner of the lair—this was originally the normal entrance to the dungeon.
Empress: "Though your words are crude, it's true. Who would've thought we could kill the two guard dragons?"
As she finished, Empress subtly glanced at Orson.
If it weren't for this guy's outrageous actions, they would have had to sneak in through the original route like thieves.
"The foundation stone for the barrier should be inside, but I think I hear something."
BlackStockings pointed toward the back of the throne. There, they saw a massive bone door.
The door was slightly cracked open, just wide enough for players to squeeze through.
With time pressing, Orson quickly led the group forward, heading toward the door.
As he stepped through the huge bone door, he noticed several blue ghost flames flickering through the gap.
"Get ready for battle."
Empress, always calm, positioned herself at the front with her large shield.
[Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon: Level 35]
Skills: Split, Ambush Piercing
The vision ahead gradually became clearer. Over a dozen elite mixed-blood dragons snarled at them.
These creatures were incredibly ugly, with dark red scales all over their bodies. Their spiked heads split in two with their roars, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.
"Wait, no need to take them head-on."
Orson smiled faintly and called Empress back.
"What do you want to do then?"
Empress looked at him, puzzled.
"Do you want to go in and get surrounded by these small monsters?"
Orson glanced at the bone door and began to retreat, sliding a fire stick into the gap. He casually cast an Explosive Fireball through the door.
The fireball flew straight ahead, traveling several hundred meters before crashing into the wall and exploding.
BlackStockings: "This is bad, so many monsters!"
Thanks to the firelight, they could see that the hallway behind the door was packed with monsters.
At least four or five hundred of them, with only a few being regular cannon fodder, the majority were elite creatures with HP between 100,000 and 300,000.
Empress's face turned pale as she frowned. "You've lost your mind. With so many monsters at once, not even my beast could handle them, let alone me."
"Two high-level mages here, and you're still worried about clearing the small fry?"
Orson chuckled lightly.
"It's time to show my power as a Saint-level Grand Mage!"
ShatteredCrown's eyes lit up at the mention of this.
He immediately understood Orson's intentions, and without hesitation, he also inserted his fire stick into the gap.
"Good intuition," Orson smiled, narrowing his eyes.
The master and disciple synchronously cast C-level Fire-type Awakening Magic.
ShatteredCrown's The Flame Dragon hit the monster group over a hundred meters away, and instantly, flames erupted as the dragon released a barrage of fireballs, dealing AoE damage.
"Wait, you even have this skill?"
Orson shook his head and smiled. This was Touch of the Flame Serpent, a magic created by his teacher, Hazel. It couldn't be purchased from the market.
"You don't have it either?"
ShatteredCrown responded in Orson's tone, causing Orson to slap him on the back of the head.
Orson was an S-level Ice-Fire Mage in the Mage Guild, with enhanced effects for Ice/Water and Fire/Flame magic. Combined with his legendary gear, his damage output was no joke.
However, compared to Orson, ShatteredCrown still had a way to go.
Orson summoned The Flame Dragon, but instead of dropping straight down, it appeared around a corner five hundred meters away, then continued to drop and extend forward.
"Wow! Master, how does your The Flame Dragon turn corners?"
ShatteredCrown was astonished.
"Continuous guidance skills extend the effect by about 0.8 seconds."
Orson generously shared the experience.
Soon, loud screams echoed from around the corner, as a mass of elite monsters was disturbed.
The number of monsters in the hallway surged, and they began charging toward Orson and his group.
ShatteredCrown's eyes lit up. He swung his staff and cast Hailstorm, mimicking Orson's technique.
Sure enough, the spell's landing point drifted forward a little before dropping, and though it was just a brief delay, Orson was quite surprised.
"This kid isn't as bad as people say."
Orson thought to himself.
In his previous life, ShatteredCrown had died in a very humiliating way, which led many of the top-tier experts to underestimate him.
But seeing how ShatteredCrown could intuitively grasp such subtle mechanics, Orson now realized his potential.
"One's crazier than the next."
Empress muttered silently. The mages in her guild, so proud of themselves, seemed like nothing compared to these two.
A barrage of monsters slammed against the bone door, creating deafening explosive sounds.
"Fall back a bit, focus on clearing the monsters."
Orson commanded, moving everyone back, just in case the monsters' impact caused the entire door to collapse. That would be disastrous.
The Chaos Hexagram lit up, and a Chaos Magic Ball flew straight into the gap, causing continuous damage.
With Whisper of the Wind increasing the attack speed to its maximum, Chaos Chain spread across, binding and slowing down large groups of monsters.
Brahma's Divine Flame.
Master and disciple, in perfect sync, unleashed their fiery magic to roast the monsters.
The entire hallway was filled with fire, explosions happening non-stop as waves of monsters fell only to be replaced by more.
"You killed the Inferno Earth Dragon, Experience +2000."
"You killed the Red-Horned Dragon, Experience +1700."
"I can go AFK now, right? Luckily we have two monster mages, this is so relaxing."
Empress lazily lay on the ground, gnawing on a chicken leg, chatting with BlackStockings beside her.
The two of them were relentless in their output, and her role as a frontliner Holy Knight was all about lounging and winning.
She had never been so relaxed in a dungeon before.
Five minutes later, the hallway was filled with a kaleidoscope of loot.
Everyone's experience surged rapidly, and both ShatteredCrown and Empress reached level 30. BlackStockings also reached level 29 while AFK.
Orson, after killing the Gluttonous Devourer and the waves of monsters, was now level 36, with 42% progress toward level 40.
ShatteredCrown paused, looking confused. "Wait, why isn't this Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon dying?"
Orson furrowed his brow and noticed
the issue. The bone door had been damaged by the Cracked-Mouth Dragons.
The number of elite monsters had exploded from the original twenty to over a hundred.
"Split skill?" Orson's gaze sharpened.
Just then, after the last Cracked-Mouth Dragon was killed by the Chaos Magic Ball, it split into two new monsters, rising from the dead.
Orson checked its properties again.
[Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon: Level 35]
"So, this isn't the real body?"
"If I had more time, I'd be happy to farm this thing for three days and nights."
Orson muttered, but his Heavenly Spirit's Right Eye was at its limit, so he couldn't waste time farming.
"Let's just go in and forget about these things," Orson said.
With only fifteen minutes left until the volcano erupted, they had no choice but to force their way through.