Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"This is utterly reckless!" Chardo sighed and drew his sword, his gaze falling on the other side of the giant lake.

Teams of Naga broke through the water and climbed ashore, carrying the corpses of swordfish, accompanied by organized groups of murlocs.

It was a monster that was 5 meters tall, wielding a steel fork, covered in blue scales, with a fish head and a snake tail, and bulging muscles.

They swayed their serpent tails, like cavalry, blocking the little Naga's path, surrounding her, and rapidly approaching.

"Tsk... these guys are getting even harder to deal with!" Chardo clicked his tongue and complained.

Originally, in the extremely cold ice plains, these Naga and Murlocs would also be affected by the cold air, making them slow in their movements. What was troublesome was that the water vapor brought out by their attacks would immediately turn into frost on their bodies.

But now... with water as cover, their speed and survivability have greatly increased, and their numbers have also increased.

"Is this any good? How about we teleport away?" Xia Er suggested a roundabout approach.

"Run? I've been starving for so long, today I can finally have my wish fulfilled."

A black blade flashed with a dark light, and Chardo, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed the head of a fishman in one hand, tearing flesh and blood from it with his fangs.

An ominous magic spread throughout his body, and the next moment, blood, flesh, and limbs flew everywhere.

"Ah ...

It's hard to imagine how strong these fishmen are; they are at least strength-specialized monsters with a potential ability level of 6.

"Ughh ...

Chardor, bathed in blood and monster ash, shattered the ice like a meat grinder, tearing flesh apart. The merman, falling into the water, moved even faster, creating waves that slammed into Chardor.

Following closely behind the fishmen were slender Nagas with swaying female bodies. They did not possess the great strength of the fishmen, but...

A flash of black light.

The Naga, who were already in formation, suddenly blurred and quadrupled in number in an instant.

Charles rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Clone? Afterimage!"

He hid behind the protruding iceberg, watching this group of formidable sea dwellers, his heart pounding.

Holy crap, is this what the dungeons below level 60 are like? That's awesome!

Chapter 144 The Giant Beast Turns Over

60 floors.

Once the number exceeds a multiple of ten, the monster's potential abilities undergo a dramatic change. Above level 59, monsters can still be roughly divided into levels 4-6, but by level 60, almost all monsters are level 5 or higher, with a few enhanced and special monsters reaching level 7.

The harsh environment and difficulties in resupplying during the expedition hindered Zeus and Hera's kin from exploring the floors on a large scale.

at the moment……

"Even if there are some extenuating circumstances, these monsters are just too powerful. Using magic is a bit much!"

As Charles watched the Naga create a ring of water with each swing of her spear, his heart pounded. He sensed something was off about these monsters, and the more he looked, the more they seemed to resemble those underdeveloped [female-shaped fallen fairies]?

“Hey, Chardo, have these monsters always existed?” Charles shouted.

"Ah! It's been here at least since the first time I came here." Chardor swung an uppercut, sending three fishmen flying, and with a follow-up circular slash, shattered the clones. He shouted as he took a moment to speak:

"Hey, stop peeking around and stay hidden. I don't have the energy to take care of you right now."

"You eat your fill, I'm not hungry," Charles shouted... I really don't want to eat demi-humans.

"Who wants to share with you!"

Having given up eating, Charles turned his attention to his sister-in-law... no, his aunt.

In waters where adventurers cannot move freely, she is encased in lightning armor and nimbly weaves through schools of fish. The corpses of mermaids and naga float to the surface, soon emitting a strong smell of blood.

The Thunder Fairy protected Alfia from the electric current while simultaneously paralyzing the monster's nerves. It was almost a one-sided massacre.

"Alphia, there are more and more monsters! Be careful of [Sickness]!" Charles was still worried.

Alphia's development abilities lean more towards mage, and she lacks the [Diving] skill, which is advantageous in naval combat. Her melee combat stats at level 7 are also insufficient, and the harsh environment underwater, where she cannot exert her strength, makes prolonged battles impossible.

While anxiously waiting.

Thump—a sound.

Waves crashed in the water as Alfia deftly landed on the shore, her legs barely touching the surface. Her face was grave as she cried out in alarm, "Chardo! Come closer!!"

A ring of gray magical energy rippled around her as she began to chant.

Before Sharl could ask the reason, the ground shook violently, and a huge whirlpool appeared in the lake. The lake water flowed backward to the bottom, and the Naga and fishmen that emerged from it let out terrified cries and twisted their waists in an attempt to escape the man-eating whirlpool.

Click——click——

The ice beneath their feet cracked, and the toppled blocks could no longer support their balance. After forcing back the last Naga, Chardo leaped fifty meters and landed beside Alfia.

The gray halo flashed by in an instant, appearing on the 60th floor ceiling.

Alfia lifted Charles by the waist, one hand gripping the dent in the rocky ceiling.

Spreading out over a range of several hundred meters, the landscape on the ground is laid out before you.

A colossal whirlpool, a hundred meters in diameter, churned on the lake's surface. The water, like an angry lion, relentlessly pounded against the ice and rocks on the shore. The icy continent shattered under the immense gravitational pull, and massive ice blocks plunged into the abyss, disappearing into the whirlpool's center.

thump.

The distant mountain, which Chardo described as full of maternal love, exploded with a loud bang.

As the ice and snow collapsed, a giant, blue 'root' rose high into the sky. On the side of the root, mysterious protrusions, some convex and some concave, opened and closed, resembled the tentacles of an octopus.

"Holy crap! A colossal beast from the heavens?" Xia Er exclaimed in surprise.

With a deafening roar, the mountain-sized tentacles crashed down, carving a crack in the vast expanse of ice.

The overflowing water flowed along the cracks and quickly converged into a river channel that was very familiar to Charles.

"Oh my god!! What is that thing?" Chardo swallowed hard.

How would I know... I'm only level 2, how could I have ever seen something like this before?

Charles blinked: "Do you still think it's full of maternal instincts? Want to take a sip?"

Chardo licked his lips. "I've changed my mind. It's a good prey now. Charles, can you stew it?"

"Neither of these two pots can hold the stew!"

Alfia frowned: "This stuff is unhealthy! Also, don't learn bad habits from Chardo."

Chardo complained, "What do you mean by learning bad habits from me? This kid is way better at it than I am!"

The entire floor was shaking, and the three chatted casually, dispelling the anxiety and unease brought on by the unknown. The sheer awe of witnessing even a glimpse of a colossal creature would surprise anyone.

“It’s spectacular.”

The behemoth completed a simple flip, the floors crumbled, the broken ice blocks gathered again, and the melting river, like cement, filled the gaps, eventually turning back into an iceberg in the biting cold wind.

"Ah!" Chardo slapped his forehead, as if recalling something: "So those ridiculously large pillars on the 61st floor are actually the legs of this thing?"

Alfia said calmly, "It might not be the 61st floor. It's not impossible that a monster of this size could occupy one of our original safe floors."

Charles swallowed and shook his head: "That... is too exaggerated. The floor area here is already several times that of Orario. It shouldn't be that big."

After calming themselves down a bit, the three landed on a deserted mountain.

"Hey, Charles, kid." Chardo stared at one of the monster's exposed tentacles and said seriously, "It looks like the two of us can't take this guy down today. What do you plan to do?"

“…” Charles pondered for a moment, then looked up: “Let’s do this!”

He stared at the bewildered Chardo: "Now is the best opportunity. We don't know when we'll have another chance. At least we should figure out what its true form is and what its abilities are."

"Also, I didn't see what you call a 'mezzanine'..."

“You brat, didn’t you see that thing? That so-called interlayer is the stomach of a real behemoth!” Chardo paced back and forth.

Charles chuckled: "I was thinking... you might want to taste the saltiness?"

More than facing the behemoth head-on, Chardo was worried about provoking it and being unable to handle the situation, which would allow the monster to escape to the ground.

Then it wouldn't be a major struggle; we might as well just sound the final alarm ahead of time.

"Alright," Alfia chuckled. "Let's go. If we're hesitant and timid under the current conditions, how can we challenge 'The End' again?"

"Alfia, have you thought this through?" Chardo opened his mouth, his thumb rubbing the hilt of his sword, and said loudly:

"We made no preparations whatsoever. We lacked the necessary armor and weapons, and our supplies were running low. We even knew nothing about the monsters."

"So what?" Alfia glanced at her sideways. "It's precisely because we know nothing that we have to go."

She turned to stare at Charles: "Look closely, he is your future rival."

Chardo curled his lip in disdain: "Aren't you spoiling him too much? To risk his life for something like this."

"Do you have any dissatisfaction?"

"No."

Alfia clearly wanted to test the monster's abilities and characteristics on behalf of Sharl, so that he could be more at ease when facing it in the future.

Chardo, however, preferred that Sharl take the risks himself, accumulate more experience and achievements, overcome trials, and rise to a higher position.

After completing two of the three major commissions, there aren't many achievements that can actually get this kid to level 7.

In contrast, Alfia relaxed her expectations of Charles, and he no longer needed to work as hard.

Chapter 145 Alarm, Crisis in the Anus

A huge lake where a whirlpool is forming.

The lake water was completely absorbed by the cave, leaving behind red coral reefs and scattered icicles. Scattered monster corpses lay among the crevices of the rock walls.