Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

Chapter 24: A Stroll In The Dungeon

After flying for about twenty minutes, we arrived at the entrance where I could sense some strong monsters. I landed and looked at the barrier covering the entrance. 

Some of the monsters in there might be stronger than the behemoth. I better take some precautions before we enter.

“Have you been to a dungeon before?” I asked Liz.

“A few times. There was a lower-ranked one around Baruda and one further east some time ago. I went there a few times before the guild decided to collapse them.”

“Why did they do that if they were lower-ranked ones?”

“They most likely wanted the dungeon cores. They are very valuable.”

“Huh, really?”

Dungeon cores have always been seen as worthless. In the past, they just broke them. I just offered to bring it back as proof. Should I ask to keep it? It probably won't fly if they are that valuable.

“I don’t know what they are used for, though,” Liz said with a shrug.

“Guess I will have to ask. I’m supposed to bring it back.”

“So your quest is to collapse the dungeon?”

“That’s right.”

“How big is it?”

“Unknown.”

“They haven't reached the end? What is the difficulty rank?” Liz asked with a frown.

“Unknown.”

“Are you taking me into an unknown dungeon?” Liz asked, now visibly worried.

“Don’t worry, if I thought anything would even be able to give you a bruise, I would never bring you,” I said and took out a gold bracelet and a necklace shaped like a dragon tooth with a blue stone in the middle. “Now, could you put these on?”

“What are these?”

“Just for safety. The party they sent here before had to retreat on the first floor.”

“Are you sure I should come with you?” Liz asked anxiously.

“Of course.”

Liz put on the bracelet and necklace. “Wouldn’t it be safer if you used [Erase Presence] on me?”

“It doesn’t really work that well in dungeons. Actually, it’s the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you walk into a dungeon with [Erase Presence] on you, the monsters will still ‘see’ you. The mana there is dense, so even if the monsters can’t physically see you, they can see that something isn’t there. Your body is like a void in a place filled with mana, and they can’t understand what it is. And monsters, especially lower intelligence ones, tend to attack what they can’t understand. I found that out the hard way when I tried to walk to the end once.”

“So what should I do inside then?”

“I don’t expect you to fight. It’s my rank-up test so I’m supposed to do it alone. I just wanted the company,” I said and smiled.

Liz sighed, “Your lack of common sense is showing.”

“Well excuse me for thinking it would be nice to have you with me,” I said and began walking towards the entrance.

Liz caught up to me, “Luna are you blushing?”

“No,” I said while looking away.

“Your ears are red,” Liz said and tried to get a better view of my face.

“You’re imagining things,” I said as we arrived in front of the dungeon. “Anyway, let’s get going before it gets late.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll stop,” Liz giggled and looked at the barrier that covered the entrance. “What about the barrier?”

I shifted my left arm and punched the barrier with my dragon fist. “What barrier?” I grinned.

“Why did I even bother asking?” Liz said and shook her head.

“Oh right, I better give you [Boar’s Vigor] and [Owl’s Wisdom] as well.”

“Aren’t those minor buffs?”

“Minor?” I said and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, 5% or so increase in a stat right?”

“Well yeah, but it’s 5% of the caster's stats, not yours.”

“Huh, really?” Liz said and looked at her [Status]. “HUH?! My stamina has increased by over 10000 and my intellect over 18000!” Liz shouted in shock.

“You are now 5% dragon, at least in terms of defense,” I smirked. “With that, you should have enough physical and magical resistance to survive if you, for some reason, decided to go and get yourself attacked. Not that I would ever let that happen.”

“It feels unreal. I just got reminded how crazy your stats are.”

“It only lasts for two hours, so let’s get going.”

The first three levels were remarkably boring. The monsters were strong by human standards, but they might as well have been goblins for me. I either sliced their heads off with [Mana Blade] or used [Electrosphere] to destroy their brain or heart. Very effective when you want to focus damage on one part to preserve other materials. 

“I have seen monsters that most adventurers would run away from down here. But for you, it’s like swatting at flies.” 

“Isn’t it time you get used to it by now?” I said as I put away a twin-headed minotaur in my [Inventory].

“Easier said than done.”

I looked towards the stairs leading down to the fourth floor. “As a dungeon, this one is quite basic. There are no traps or treasure chests. I’m almost disappointed.”

“Would there even be anything in a treasure chest that you would want?” 

I smirked. “Probably not, but I just thought it would be nice to find a souvenir, you know?”

“There you go again,” Liz said and sighed.

The fourth floor seemed smaller than the previous one and had fewer monsters. However, it was a floor that looked like an ice cave.

“I didn’t expect to find an ice floor down here. Lucky!”

“Why is that lucky? It’s freezing!” Liz said with clattering teeth.

“Let me buff you with [Warmth]. It’s lucky because ice-attribute magic stones and materials are hard to come by unless something changed while I slept.”

“I see.”

“It looks like the mana density is so high here that only a few stronger monsters spawned. Good for higher grade materials.”

“Isn’t that better for your promotion as well?”

“True, double win!”

After clearing the fourth floor of three yetis, five wendigos, and even a frost wyrm, we approached the stairs to the fifth floor.

“The next floor should be the last,” I said and looked at Liz. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“My head just hurts a little. Maybe it’s this floor.”

“Do you want me to take you back outside?”

“I'm fine. You said the next floor was the last, right?”

“It should be. I don’t sense anything further below. Let me know if you want to take a rest, okay?”

We walked down the stairs to the fifth floor, which seemed to be a long cave.

“Something big is up ahead, probably the boss of this place,” I said and used [Farsight]. “Oh? This is a surprise, to say the least.”

“What is?”

“The thing up ahead is a prismatic hydra. I have only ever seen one of those before.”

“A prismatic hydra? How is that different from a normal hydra?”

“Do you know that hydras can have a different amount of heads and attributes?”

“I think I have read about that in some monster encyclopedia. They get different ranks depending on the number of heads and what type of magic stones they possess. It’s one of the few monsters that can have a big variety of difficulty ranks.”

“A hundred points!” I said with a smile. “As the name might imply, a prismatic hydra has all basic attributes. Seven heads, each with one magic stone in them. Fire, water, earth, wind, light, dark, void, and a non-attribute magic stone in the body.”

“Is it strong?”

“Insanely so. Each head can use magic of the same kind as their attribute stone. I even saw two heads combining their magic to cast a compound spell when I saw it before. Not to mention that the base regeneration is insane. The heads will keep regenerating unless you remove or destroy the magic stones. The body will eventually regenerate the heads even if you remove all the attribute stones. However, they will lose their attributes by then.”

“That sounds insane.”

“It’s the pinnacle of hydras. If a behemoth is SS, then this one is SSS for sure. That one is probably stronger than some of the weaker dragons. Luckily, it is way too big to leave this place, nor would it want to leave the mana-rich environment surrounding the core. There wouldn’t be any danger if they left it alone even if I didn’t come here.”

“So why are you looking so excited?” Liz asked with a frown.

“Eight massive magic stones, one of each element and its materials can be used as material for either elemental resist or elemental damage bonuses depending on how it is made! It is truly top-tier material.”

Liz looked at me in disbelief. “It's the most dangerous thing I have ever seen, and you just want to skin it to make a hat?” 

“Second most dangerous, surely I’m first?” I said with a smirk. “But yes.”

“But why are the materials so valuable? Just because it’s high grade? There are other magic damage materials.”

“Elemental and magic are not the same thing.”

“It’s not?”

“Let's say I made a staff and used materials to give it increased fire damage and magic damage. That is the usual combination you make for a spellcaster, right?”

“Like my staff.”

“Right, and the pure attribute decides the max properties. The magic damage will never go above 50% of the pure attribute. With the eyes of a prismatic hydra, you can add elemental damage with a 75% effectiveness of the pure attribute. You see how good a weapon with three different damage multipliers would be?”

“How is it that I have never heard of this before? Shouldn’t gear made that way be famous items?”

“It’s the only material I have ever found that gives elemental damage. And as I said, it’s the second time I have seen one. Getting one to spawn is extremely rare. And it’s not like it's easily killed even if it did.”

“I see. No wonder I have never heard about it.”

“I would prefer not to collapse a dungeon capable of spawning a monster this strong, but it sounds like I don’t have much of a choice this time,” I said and looked at Liz, who was looking increasingly pale. “Are you sure you’re okay? We can take a break before I do this if you want?”

What is wrong with her? I doubt she would become this pale just from an ice floor. Should I give her some Elyxire? But I don’t know if it’s safe to consume that repeatedly. I better save it for emergencies. It will be faster to kill the boss and teleport up than to walk all the way back, so I’ll just finish up quickly.

“You don’t have to worry about me. A little headache won't kill me. So go ahead and play with the snake.”

“I don’t know if I want you to watch, though.”

“Why not?” Liz asked with a curious stare.

“That thing is huge,” I said and used [Shift] to get my wings and claws out. “I might have to dig deep to rip out the magic stones, so it can get messy. If I use magic, the stones might break.”

“Can’t I watch?” Liz asked with pleading eyes.

“Oh, alright. Just keep yourself hidden, okay?” I said and pointed towards a crevice in the cave wall. “That thing can keep its attention on seven different things and I would prefer if all of them were me.”

That thing is bigger than my dragon form. And I have to fight it inside a cave. This will get messy for sure.

After I had put a barrier around the place Liz was looking from, I flew straight towards the sleeping hydra. Before it could react, I thrust my claws into the neck of the void head and ripped out the magic stone. It was so deep inside that I had to thrust down almost to my shoulder. After ripping out the magic stone, I used [Mana Blade] To slice the head off to prevent further attacks. Even if you remove the magic stone, it can still move around unless you slice it off. I then jumped over and did the same with the wind head. I learned the last time that taking them out in a specific order is best. You start with the void head to prevent the unpredictable spells they use. After that, go for the wind head to stop ice and lightning compound spells, and then it’s just a free-for-all for the rest of them. Lastly, you have to get the non-attribute magic stone from the body. Otherwise, it will eventually start regenerating its heads again, but as heads without attributes.

Not that any of the spells could hurt me, but better safe than sorry. I wouldn’t want a repeat of last time when the cave collapsed from all the spells the hydra used.

After I had ripped out the magic stone from the chest and crawled out of the hole in its torso all bloody, I looked at Liz and saw her on the floor.

“LIZ!” I yelled as I dashed over.

Did an attack hit her? No, the barrier was still active.

I took Liz in my arms but got no response when I shook her. 

Okay, calm down me. She is breathing and doesn’t seem to be injured… Maybe a status effect?

I used [Inspect] but saw no status effects apart from the buffs I gave her.

Nothing… Should I give her some Elyxire anyway? Maybe it’s some high-level debuff? One that I can’t see with [Inspect]? The spell is still incomplete.

As I tried to figure out what to do, I saw the gold bracelet on her arm.

Of course! That must be it. How could I have forgotten about that? Phew, everything will be fine… Probably. She might be mad when she wakes up, but that is a problem for later. Let’s go pick up the hydra corpse and the core and get out of here.

I gently put Liz back down on the ground when I realised what I had done. In my panic, I had rushed over and touched Liz after ripping out a magic stone from the chest of a massive hydra. Some of the blood and guts that I was covered in had rubbed off on her. I quickly used [Purify] and [Cleanse] on both of us to remove any trace of the disgusting hydra remains.

I just have to never tell Liz about that and everything will be fine. Luckily, she didn’t see me crawl out of the hydra.

I picked up the hydra and the dungeon core before teleporting to the entrance and carried Liz outside. The dungeon was already showing signs that the dungeon core had been removed. It will probably collapse in a day or two.

Now then, what to do? I could carry Liz back to town, but that would mean checking into an inn with a sleeping girl in my arms. That might work for cheaper inns, but I want to splurge and go to a fancy one, preferably with some fine dining. Oh, I know, Let's go closer to that mountain and put up camp. Then I can let her sleep there while I report to the guild. I will most likely be back before she wakes up.

After finding a cozy spot to set up camp close to the mountain, I left Liz to sleep in the tent. I summoned my foxlings to keep her company and wrote a note saying that I went to report to the guild before I flew back towards the capital.