Chapter 179: Dungeon Drop-ins

"They are following us." Matt cut a glare at Ryu and Seraphina, who were maintaining distance behind them.

"Do you want me to pulverize them, Rosa?" Damon said with a grin.

Rosa let out a heavy breath. Men. "Forget about them. We have much more urgent matters to take care of."

If Ryu wanted to follow them into the jaws of the dungeon. .. then so be it. Rosa smirked. He might be useful as cannon fodder.

Rosa already knew about the boss of the Lava Islet. With her lists of spells, she was confident that she could defeat the Lava Titan.

What she was interested in was the talk about Dungeons in this Islet, where it was rumored that it contained God-tier items. But with exciting prices came deadly dangers. Those who survive the Dungeons talked about traps and mini-bosses and how they couldn't reach the final room full of treasures.

In the end, they were just lucky to be able to survive. And those who tell the tales told of the same story, 'the rewards are great, but I'd rather not go back there. Ever.'

But most explorers who were lured by the treasures couldn't resist and wanted to try their luck by challenging the dangers of the dungeon.

Rosa, Matt, and Damon were among this group. And they were not the only ones.

Across the sky and in lands, Ryu saw many experts traversing the exact location. "Is something there?"

"I don't know. Must be treasures." Seraphina was sure since only the allure of rare items could attract this many flocks of beings.

It was their third Islet, and mostly the experts in here were in their third Islet as well, and those who made it until this point were stronger than the rest. The cream of the crop.

From surviving their first and second Islet, they accumulated enough confidence to ignore the boss and hunt for treasures instead.

Eventually, Ryu and Seraphina came to a halt at a vast barren land with lava flowing like vines on its rocky soil.

"Where are we?" Seraphina was confused when the others just roamed around like they were searching for something.

Ryu didn't waste time and approached Rosa. "You said that if I offer you something of equal value, you'll give Ferris back to me."

Rosa tried to ignore the halfbreed, but Ryu was more annoying and persistent than she thought. Could she just kill him? Lucian and Cecily weren't here, so she was free to do whatever she wanted.

Though Rosa wanted to be with Lucian, she also wanted to find the God-tier items. And besides, she was confident that Lucian was alive. He was strong, and his Azure powers were no joke.

"Are you searching for something? If I managed to get it for you, will you give Ferris back to me?" If Rosa changed her mind about exchanging an item for Ferris, then Ryu was willing to do whatever she wanted as long as she gave Ferric back to him.

"Back off mutt," Damon spat and pushed Ryu away from Rosa.

Ryu's muscles spasmed behind his skin, and his claws itched from his hands. He was not in the mood to play nice. If the man pushed him again, his limbs would pay the price.

Matt chuckled when he saw that Ryu was angry. "Watch out, Damon, he's going to bite you," he laughed in mockery.

Damon sneered, "You wanna' fight pup?" He swung his axe and spat, "you better last a minute, or ill spit on your corpse."

Multiple veins burst from Seraphina's head, and she glared at the two, but before she could cast a spell, Ryu warned her not to interfere.

"Stay back."

"Looks like your master wanted to play too." Matt licked his lips as he eyed Seraphina. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of your master once you're dead."

Ryu snarled and a growl pushed through his throat. He lunged forwards with incredible speed that caught Matt off guard. He didn't expect that Ryu was two times faster than he expected.

But Matt was a seasoned sword fighter. His strength and skills backed up his good looks, which was why Rosa partied with him.

Using his sword, Matt easily blocked Ryu's claws with a grin. However, his grin left his face when the rocks he stood cracked and formed a large hole underneath his feet.

H-heavy! Not only was the halfbreed fast, but his strength was no joke. This baffled Matt, and he immediately parried another incoming swipe of Ryu's claws.

Clang!

Clang!

"Matt, are you toying with the halfbreed?" Damon laughed. "Hurry up and finish that fucker."

Matt wasn't toying the least. He was already using his full strength and speed to contest with Ryu. Every block of his sword against his claws was like mountains dropping on him that his whole body even vibrated at the force.

Just what is this, mutt? Matt thought. He realized that he, a Rank-A nearing Rank-S adventurer, couldn't even contest with Ryu's speed and strength. If he used any skill and spell now to aid him, he'd be a joke in front of the other's eyes. And he was sure that he wouldn't hear the end of it from Damon's taunting mouth.

Agh. .. what to do. Matt was in a dilemma. He was angry and frustrated, and he lashed out at Ryu with all his might.

"Don't be cocky, you mutt!" Matt bellowed and swung his sword, but Ryu just deflected it with his claws again.

Ryu didn't relent in his attacks. Onslaught of swipes and sharp claws blurred with his speed, and debris flew around them while the wind whistled with his every assault.

Matt was overwhelmed, and some of Ryu's claws managed to scratch his flesh and tore his clothes. The onlookers who caught sight of their fight began to sneer and laugh at him, for he was utterly dominated by a mere halfbreed. This angered Matt, even more, forcing him to release a skill.

Multiple waves of earthen light gathered in Matt's sword, and he swung it on Ryu in full force.

Ryu sensed that he couldn't block Matt's strike, so he leaped back and evaded the sword attack.

Matt's sword struck the rocky lands, and a large aperture quaked the ground, sending boulders and debris flying in all directions.

Matt charged at Ryu once more, and the two were in lock combat of dodging and evading each other's attacks.

At the side, Rosa was surprised that Ryu could contend with Matt in power and speed. Did the halfbreed grow stronger? Just what exactly happened to him in the Islet that he could now contend with a Rank-A nearing Rank-S mercenary with just his brute strength and speed? Without even manipulating mana?

Rosa's eyes twinkled, and her lips stretched in a grin. Ryu might be more useful than she thought.

Meanwhile, Seraphina wasn't worried about the fight, for she knew what Ryu was capable of. Being with him since day one in the Islet, she knew that Ryu was stronger now compared to before. And it was all because some of the powers trapped within him were released.

It must have happened with his fight with Rakash. Seraphina thought.

Though Ryu's other side was human, his beast side, however, was another level entirely. Even with a little bit of his power released from within the constricting pentagram was enough to win him his fight with Matt without much effort.

It was over. Seraphina thought when Ryu faked a maneuver and caught Matt in a series of steps.

RuUuMbLe!

RuUuMbLe!

But just as Ryu could claim his victory, the ground shook and cracked open. Like it was alive, it began to swallow everyone into the land below.

"Finally," Rosa giggled, "it's here," she said before a hole appeared beneath her feet.

Ryu's eyes bulged when Rosa suddenly disappeared and the hole that swallowed her closed. No one was interested in their fights anymore as the ground ate them one after another.

"Rosa!" Ryu shouted, but his attention spun at Seraphina when she called her name.

"Ryu!" Seraphina reached her hand when the ground she stood shook and cracked, and with it, the molten rocks opened.

"Seraphina!" Ryu leaped from where he stood and stretched his hands as far as he could, but he only managed to graze Seraphina's fingertips before the rocks swallowed her whole.

"No!" Ryu slammed his fist into the molten rocks, and his claws dug the dirt, but he couldn't find any traces of Seraphina nor the ending of the hole he created.

"Dammit!" Ryu was panicking, and when he saw another hole open near where Damon stood, his image blurred as he bolted towards Damon's location and pushed him to the side.

"What the–!" Damon was too engrossed with the idea of finally entering the dungeon that he overlooked that Ryu was closing in. And before he knew it, he was on his butt while he watched in disbelief as Ryu took the hole to the dungeon that was supposed to be his

"Bastard!" Damon got to his feet and shot to Ryu, attempting to grab him, but he only managed to grapple the rocks from the closing hole.

"No!" Damon slammed his fists on the ground. He then swept his eyes over the area to see if there were holes leading to the dungeon.

However, he only saw the despair and frustration of some experts who were left behind.

The entrance to the dungeon was limited, and it wasn't until all who entered died or got out would the hole be accessible again.

And who knew when that time would come. But more importantly, what if the others got the God-tier treasure before he did?

Damon gnashed his teeth, and veins bulged from his face. "I'll kill you, you bastard!"

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