Chapter 640: To the Volcano Dungeon!
Volcanic Mountain Range
Unnamed Continent
Unnamed Apex Planet
Infernal Dimension
September 6th
Year 1054 (Valmone)
"For the first time in a very long while, I actually feel the heat..."
Evan muttered as he wiped the sweat from his brow, before looking at Beatrix and Crim who were holding both his arms tightly, using him as a human air-conditioner.
"You guys are making it hard to walk..."
The moment he’d used his Harbinger of Ice Skill was active to cool his body down, Beatrix immediately noticed the cool air wafting from him, contrasting sharply with the stifling heat.
Without hesitation, she latched onto him, seeking relief from the sweltering air and Crim, who suffered almost as much in the heat, quickly followed suit.
Artemisia was perfectly fine, using her own elemental abilities to cool herself with ice while Hibiki stuck with Arthur who used gravity to literally bend the heat waves away.
Compared to the rest, it was a casual feat for Arthur, who seemed entirely unaffected. But for Evan, the combined weight of two companions clinging to him in desperation was another story entirely.
Their target volcano was approximately 33 kilometres away from where they found Crim.
The base spread five kilometres in diameter, and the structure rose to a modest 3000 meters—not a sharp cone like most volcanoes, but more like a dome with a flat summit.
It was surrounded by a storm of sulphuric gas, wind and sand, so thick that it looked like a giant wall of yellow dust.
However, that wasn’t all. Level 700+ monsters lurked within the storm and to any normal party, fighting them off would prove difficult due to the constant need to fend off the toxic gas while fighting in near-blind conditions.
But this party? They were anything but normal.
The party’s line-up featured a Semi-Transcendent Sub-Cosmic Progenitor, a Time Travelling Rogue Hero, Two High goddesses who could control Space-Time and Evolution, an Elder Breed Vampire and a Greater Succubus.
The further they went, the monsters within the storm started retreating, scared for their lives.
Ironically, Arthur—the strongest present—hadn’t even lifted a finger beyond bending away the noxious gases and blistering heat
The others were all so ridiculously strong for Legendries that any challenge the monsters might have posed was rendered trivial.
Each one benefited from the increase in EXP, so by the time the had reached the centre of the storm, they’d each levelled up a few times.
The centre was surprisingly silent. Without the wind whipping the sand everywhere, they had a clear view of the ashen sky above them.
They’d reached the eye of the storm, and the foot of the Volcano.
"So, what are we gonna do about those ones who’ve been following us?"
"Leave them. If they try anything fishy, they wouldn’t even know how they died."
Arthur responded to Artemisia’s question about the group of cultivators they’d detected following them from afar.
He guessed that they were probably the cultivators he’d sensed the previous day before they found Crim.
As for why they were being followed, that wasn’t too hard to guess.
They were killing off all the monsters in their path, creating a smooth monster free path, so anyone passing behind them only had to deal with the toxic gas. It wasn’t easy, but it was far better than having to deal with both monsters and the gas storm.
Arthur had scanned them, noting that they were a group of Legendries with two Inferior Sovereigns at the lead, nothing he and Evan couldn’t handle, so he wasn’t bothered.
The entrance to the volcano was at its peak, they had to climb up the dark red rock that sizzled and sputtered, with vapours of steam rising here and there.
"Whoa... I-It’s hot."
"Mhm..."
The heat reached a point where even with his Harbinger of Ice skill, Evan was now expending more energy than he could regenerate to cool himself and the two girls beside him.
Thankfully, they didn’t have any monsters to fight on the mountainside.
Arthur expanded his gravity bubble to cover the whole group, allowing them to conserve their energies. They were about to enter a dungeon, so they needed to recover as much as they could now.
As for Arthur himself, well, his gravity powers were so much stronger in this place that the amount of energy he expended was very little.
It was due to the fact that his Gravity Origin Core had been mutated by Anti-Divinity, a negative energy which was more potent in this environment.
Within a few minutes, they reached the summit and found a disorganized mess of boulders strewn all about, creating a complex rock maze.
The juxtaposition of jagged, glossy boulders with polished, smooth ones made it look like a rock exhibit in a science museum.
One boulder stood out far more than the other among the mass of stones. It had been shaped in the form of an arch, which was at least 10 meters high.
Approaching it, Arthur spotted a staircase heading deeper into the volcano right beneath the arch.
"Guess that’s the entrance."
"Yep. Let’s go in already."
Evan was about to take a step into the dungeon, when he sensed something and turned around. Sensing the same thing, Artemisia sighed and spoke.
"We should have dealt with them since."
Before anyone could respond, streaks of light shot up from the mountainside and landed atop the summit, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The dust cleared, revealing a dozen figures in identical robes, emblazoned with the emblem of the Denerth sect, appearing as if they had been waiting for this moment.
"Stop right there!"
They moved forward with a swagger, their chins held high, clearly unimpressed by the party of ’Legendries’ before them.
The leader, a tall disciple with a smug expression, stepped forward and addressed them, his voice dripping with condescension.
"This dungeon now belongs to the Denerth Sect. We’ve claimed it first, so you’d best leave now before things get... unpleasant. We’ll go in first and take whatever rewards are inside. Naturally, you’ll be allowed to scavenge for the scraps afterwards."
"..."
The group just stared at the Denerth sect disciples in utter silence, shocked by their sheer audacity. Slowly, they exchanged glances with each other, and then, in perfect unison, their gazes returned to the disciples.
Arthur broke the silence first, his brow furrowed.
"Are you guys dumb or something? Why the fuck would we do that?"
Evan chuckled under his breath, and Artemisia shook her head, clearly displeased by their mere presence.
The disciples, however, took the response poorly. Their leader’s face twisted into a scowl, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer, puffing out his chest.
"You dare oppose us?! Do you even understand who we are? We are disciples of the Denerth Sect, the number one cultivation sect in the galaxy!"
He practically spat the words, his outrage palpable.
"Do you think you can get away with opposing us? You’ll regret this insult!"
The arrogance in his voice rang out like a challenge, and his fellow disciples followed suit, sneering and glaring at the group.
After all, the Denerth Sect’s reputation was nearly unmatched. Even the weakest among their outer disciples were said to rival the strongest of lower-tier sects, and their status alone was enough to command respect wherever they went.
But not here.
Crim raised an eyebrow at the audacity on display, her crimson eyes gleaming with contempt.
"Have you fools gone blind?"
She asked, her voice dripping with disdain as she gestured to the uniform she wore, the insignia of the Blood Moon Sect proudly visible.
"You’re from the Denerth Sect? Well, I’m a core disciple of the Blood Moon Sect and a direct disciple of the Great Elder.
In my presence, even your sect’s core disciples wouldn’t dare speak unless spoken to, much less low-level outer dregs like you. Get out of here before I decide to make this personal."
Evan and Arthur exchanged amused glances, both surprised that Crim even bothered entertaining the fools with words at all.
But despite her warning, the disciples didn’t relent.
The leader of this Denerth sect disciple group narrowed his eyes, stepping forward with the self-importance of someone used to getting his way.
"Our Denerth Sect is far superior to your Blood Moon Sect. It doesn’t matter if you’re the disciple of an elder."
He sneered as he moved his hand to the hilt of his sword and slowly drew it.
"Besides, do you think your status can help you here? In this place, it’s strength that matters, not titles."
Arthur and Evan exchanged glances, suppressing their amusement at the blatant double standards.
The Denerth sect disciples had been trailing behind them, staying just out of sight, leeching off the hard work of clearing the monsters.
They hadn’t lifted a finger but now had the audacity to try and claim the dungeon as their own, throwing around their status as if it carried weight here.
The two boys took a step back, watching to see how the two people part of any sects here—Crim and Hibiki—would handle these fools. They could already sense the tension rising, and if they were right, a certain scene they’d been awaiting might just occur here.
One of the other disciples spoke up, his voice dripping with arrogance.
"You’ve done enough, haven’t you? Clearing the path for us. You should leave now, while you still can. After all, this dungeon is more than you can handle. We’ll take care of the treasures inside."
His tone was condescending, as though they were merely doing them a favour by allowing them to leave.
Crim’s expression shifted to one of irritation in a flash. She crossed her arms, stepping forward until she was directly in front of the Denerth leader, her red eyes flashing dangerously.
"You’ve been following us this whole time, haven’t you? Hiding behind us while we dealt with every monster on the way here. And now, after we’ve done all the hard work, you want to claim the dungeon for yourselves?"
Hibiki chimed in with a chuckle, her expression twisting into something far more mocking.
"Ah, I see how it is. So, you thought you could just coast along behind us, take advantage of our strength, and then swoop in at the last minute to steal the rewards? That’s a bold move."
Her voice dripped with sarcasm and the Denerth leader’s face twisted with anger.
"How dare you speak to us like that! We’ve shown you mercy by even allowing you to clear the way for us. And now you dare to oppose us? You’re just disciples of lesser sects! You should know your place!"
Crim, who had just revealed that she was from a sect that only lost out to Denerth as they were the Main Sect of Denerth Prime, couldn’t be any more dumbfounded.
