You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

"Even if someone figures out the design principles of a new dungeon in the future, the difficulty will probably never be as terrifying as it is now..."

His words left everyone speechless for a moment.

Only Lilith's furrowed brows suddenly relaxed!

Yup!

Alyssa's concern about the "exposure of the design concept" is precisely the bright future that her "sell-off rebate system" has been rekindled!

Once adventurers understand the strategies, their success rate will skyrocket, and the sooner Ron's newly designed dungeons are figured out...

That's when her wish to collect money while lying down becomes more likely to come true!

In an instant, the last trace of gloom that had been weighing on Lilith's heart vanished.

Ron, however, scoffed at Alyssa's concerns.

"Hey, do you think my thinking is so easy to figure out and imitate?"

A smug, ambitious smile curved his lips, his eyes scrutinizing what appeared to be an unfinished masterpiece.

That would be a waste of God's gift of putting me in this body!

Today's visit to the Black Language Cave was merely a warm-up, a small test!

The certainty and arrogance in his tone made the girls feel something...

An unquestionable certainty.

After dealing with the last swarm of annoying bats, only one particularly troublesome creature remained.

Its back is covered with a hard, bony shell!

Ping Pong Pong!

It took considerable effort from Alyssa's heavy hammer, Lilith's chisel-like strikes, Claudia's precise flames attempting to bypass the tortoise shell, and even Ron's sharp arrows, to finally shatter that pesky tortoise shell completely.

When the last fel bat crashed to the ground, the path ahead was completely clear.

After stepping over fallen vines and scattered bat carcasses, the five finally reached the deepest part of the cave, the final challenge.

A wave of scorching heat hit us, and the air itself seemed to be burning.

Inside the small cave ahead, several elemental creatures of various shapes were burning quietly.

They emit light and heat that are either ice blue, incandescent white, dark red, or dim yellow.

That is the final guardian: the fire elemental!

The meeting room of the Volcano Official Residence.

Count Bacchus's face had changed from a liverish color to a near-despairing paleness, with only his eyes, fixed on the "Eye of the Underground" screen, still burning with the last trace of stubborn resentment.

His knuckles were cracking as he clenched his fists, and he had long forgotten to sip the wine in his glass.

"Impossible... There's definitely something fishy going on!"

The roar within him almost burst forth:

"No cheating? No cheating and the pass rate is zero?! Lastly! Yes! Lastly, these fire elements are where he cheated! I don't believe it! I don't believe this idiot could keep everyone out with 'design'!"

The magic circle screen in Emerald Town Square.

The tide of discussion among the crowd has completely turned:

"After all that, the Black Language Cave is just a paper tiger! Once you understand the ins and outs, even a Level 2 player can wander around inside!"

"That's right! There was no cheating, everyone was just completely fooled at the beginning and didn't know what to do!"

"I'm not so sure. What if the final fire elemental is the hidden boss?"

Some people were still unwilling to give up, but their tone clearly lacked confidence.

In front of the small magic circle at the Adventurers' Guild in Emerald Town.

Viser looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water, with large beads of sweat rolling down his temples and soaking his collar.

Each breath was as heavy as a broken bellows.

His eyes were fixed on the few leaping flames on the screen, as if they were his last lifeline.

"...It all depends on...the fire element..."

His lips moved, his voice dry as if sandpaper was being rubbed.

Mills, Belin, and the other two people beside them were ashen-faced, their lips bloodless, too nervous to utter a single word.

The suffocating pressure nearly crushed their last defenses.

Deep within the underground city. Inside a scorching hot cavern.

"Look carefully!"

Bigfoot the goblin hopped around, pointing things out like a professional tour guide:

"That one emanating a chilling aura! It's an ice and fire elemental! Just give it an ice potion and it'll be fine! Those few huddled together dozing off over there are sleepers!"

"Don't be so clumsy as to hit them, they can sleep forever! That thing floating around in circles is the lighting fire elemental? It's useless, you can only use it as a lamp!"

"The most important one is the one in the middle!"

It focused on that constantly writhing, dark-colored aggregate, seemingly composed of mud and lava—

Its surface faintly shows energy patterns resembling chains flowing slowly.

"Combined Chains, Mud, Fire Elemental! If this nasty thing gets near other monsters, especially those sleeping ones, it can combine and become a giant! It'll be a real nuisance! And besides..."

Bigfoot's voice suddenly rose in pitch:

"As soon as it starts fighting, several fiery chains will extend from its body and bind you all! Stop immediately when you see the chains appear! Don't fight! Wait for those ghostly chains to break on their own before you attack it! Apart from that, there shouldn't be any other problems!"

Ron nodded, confirming the accuracy of Bigfoot's intelligence:

"Just do it this way. Everyone, remember the key points."

He took down the purple longbow:

"I'll go lure the monster."

A precise and steady arrow was fired, hitting the frost fire elemental that exuded a chilling aura first.

Sure enough, faced with the powerful effects of the frost resistance potion, the fire elemental's frost attack was weak and powerless, and it quickly turned into a wisp of smoke under the ranged attacks of the girls.

Next, the lighting fire elemental and several other ordinary fire elementals were lured away one by one and easily dealt with.

Finally, only a few silent, burning "sleepers" remained deep within the cave, and the "combined chain mud fire elemental" sat alone in the center of the area, constantly emitting a low rumble.

Ron's next arrow struck the lumpy mud monster precisely.

Ouch——!

A dull, eerie roar resounded, and flames erupted from the massive mud monster's body as it charged forward furiously!

As the intelligence indicated, it had no other monsters it could "combine" with.

Alyssa immediately stepped forward, her giant shield slamming into the ground and forcefully blocking the monster's charge.

The next second, a sudden change occurred!

Several "chains" made of dark red lava energy shot out from the monster's body like venomous snakes, instantly wrapping around Ron, Alyssa, Claudia, and Lilith!

"stop!"

Ron's voice immediately rang out:

"We can't attack anymore, or the damage will be transferred to us!"

Chapter 76 The Will to Fight Ignites

In an instant, the magical light faded, the arrows were pulled back from the bowstring, the daggers' cold gleam disappeared, and the warhammer fell to the ground.

Only Alyssa's massive shield remained firmly in place, enduring the monster's frenzied but inefficient claw attacks and breaths, fueled by its chained connection.

Each heavy attack slammed into the tower shield with a dull thud and blinding sparks!

The heatwave radiated through the shield. Alyssa gritted her teeth, her arm muscles bulging. The sturdy armor glowed slightly red in the intense heat, leaving several charred marks on her arms.

But these are all still within the range of minor injuries that can be tolerated.

Time seemed to slow down.

A few seconds later, the lava chains connecting the four people quickly dimmed in color, and finally broke apart inch by inch like a burnt-out rope, turning into sparks that scattered.

"on!"

Ron's commands were like clarion calls!

The attack, which had been halted, suddenly poured down like a torrential downpour!

Fireballs roared and exploded, armor-piercing arrows tore through the muddy body, heavy hammers smashed with the force of wind and thunder, and poisoned daggers searched for the weakest gaps!

Without the special buff from the chains, this clump of muddy fire elementals, under the coordinated and fierce fire of the four, turned into a pool of smoky, foul-smelling slag.

The flames died down, and the once-hot cavern suddenly dimmed.

Silence enveloped the area.

Ron walked to the slag heap, where a small, worn-out treasure chest had surfaced.

He bent down, opened the box, and pulled out... a few dull copper coins and a rough, lackluster ring.

He picked up the "reward for passing the level" and waved it at the girls with interesting expressions.

"Look, we've cleared the level."

The four girls looked at each other, then at the questionable "trophy" in Ron's hand.

In the end, they all couldn't help but let out a sigh that was both funny and a little sad.

The light shone, and the five people returned to the open space they had entered from.

The air was fresh and the sun was shining brightly, a world apart from the oppressive and dark grotto.

Lan Yingying's portal closed quietly behind them.

The last trace of color drained from Viser's face.