Broken had no idea how deep this cave went or what might be lurking inside.
Considering the relentless waves of monsters they had already fought just getting here—he wasn’t about to rush in blindly.
Pawpaw, the demon cat, was still lounging near the cave’s entrance, casually licking his paws as if he had no care in the world.
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Hah… still a cat, after all.
"Pawpaw, why didn’t you check inside while you were here?"
The demon cat tilted his head up, his large, round eyes staring at Broken blankly.
"You didn’t tell me to. So, I waited."
"Then go scan the cave now." Broken instructed. "And make sure you’re not detected."
Pawpaw didn’t bother responding, simply vanishing into the shadows before slipping into the cave’s depths.
Vallrick, watching this, grinned and chuckled.
"That’s an incredibly useful beast for scouting… you’re so cool, Broken… hehe."
Broken ignored him completely and walked over to join SexyGrill near the cave’s entrance.
They found a few large boulders nearby and sat down, taking the moment to finally eat something.
They had been fighting nonstop, and resting wasn’t exactly an option with the sheer number of monsters attacking them.
Surprisingly, the area right outside the cave was completely clear. Not a single monster in sight.
Still, Broken hadn’t redeployed Zepy, not wanting to risk the dragonkin spotting it again.
But honestly?
Traveling without Zepy was proving to be a pain. Without the flying golem’s early warning detection, they had already fallen into multiple ambushes, attacked by monsters from completely unexpected angles.
Broken occasionally activated his Shared Sense Skill, viewing the cave through Pawpaw’s eyes.
It was dark—completely suffocatingly dark—with only a few mana crystals scattered along the walls, casting faint, eerie glows in certain areas.
But what really caught his attention…
Were the shadows moving deep inside.
Massive shapes. Things coiled, shifting, breathing.
At one point, Pawpaw’s vision briefly passed over a monstrous figure curled in the distance.
A huge snake—coiled so thickly that Broken couldn’t even tell where its body ended.
He swallowed hard.
That thing was just a normal monster? Not even the Legendary-grade target they were supposed to be investigating? That alone made him wary.
Thankfully, Pawpaw was built for this. In his shadow form, the demon cat could move completely undetected. On top of that, he had full invisibility capabilities, meaning he could go anywhere without being seen.
Still, the scouting process took longer than expected.
Which was fine—it gave Broken and SexyGrill time to rest. Besides, analyzing the area was just as important as moving forward.
If they wanted to reach the dragonkin’s location before nightfall, they could. But charging in blind wasn’t smart. If they suddenly ran into a hostile dragonkin group, only to also be ambushed by high-level monsters like the ones in this cave…
It could be a complete disaster.
So right now?
Understanding all possible threats was just another strategy for survival.
Almost an hour later, Pawpaw finally sent a signal to Broken. Without hesitation, he activated Shared Sense again.
And—
He was not expecting what he saw. He had been ready for darkness—but instead, his vision was flooded with blazing red light.
What’s that…?
Through Pawpaw’s eyes, Broken saw a massive cave chamber—so huge that it almost didn’t even feel like a cave anymore.
And at its center…
A huge pool of lava.
Thick, bubbling, and violently churning—as if something was being cooked beneath its surface.
A lava pool?
Before Broken could fully process it, the entire cavern trembled. The lava rippled violently in one area—
Like something enormous was stirring beneath it.
If this cave really did contain a high-level, Legendary-grade monster…
Then this had to be its lair.
From everything Pawpaw had scouted so far—this was by far the most unique location. It had to be hiding something.
Broken waited a little longer, still watching through Pawpaw’s vision—
But nothing emerged.
Only the occasional tremor—subtle, yet powerful. Like whatever was inside the lava… was breathing.
For some reason, Broken felt the strong urge to see it for himself. If he could get a closer look, maybe he could analyze what kind of creature lived here.
Without wasting more time, he sent an order to Pawpaw.
"Come back."
And immediately, the demon cat turned and vanished into the shadows, making his way back toward the cave entrance.
"A massive lava pool?" SexyGrill repeated, her expression intrigued as Broken relayed Pawpaw’s findings.
Vallrick, on the other hand, looked excited but remained completely silent. He was usually the type to talk non-stop, but the moment Broken spoke, he would always go quiet, listening intently like he was absorbing every word.
"Yeah. And I want to see what’s inside." Broken continued. "I’ll go in alone—with Pawpaw."
SexyGrill nodded without hesitation.
"That’s probably the best move. I’ll stay here with our mysterious human companion."
Vallrick simply grinned awkwardly—but still said nothing.
SexyGrill then glanced toward the cave, thoughtful.
"If there really is a monster inside that lava pool… and it’s a high-grade one…"
She trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.
Broken finished the thought for her. "The monsters scattered throughout the cave will already be tough enough to deal with." He exhaled. "Let alone the actual raid boss."
SexyGrill giggled.
"Exactly."
As soon as Pawpaw returned to the cave entrance, Broken stood up and stepped inside without hesitation.
At the same time, the demon cat leaped onto his shoulder, perching comfortably.
And then—
Shadow tendrils emerged, swirling around them, completely engulfing their bodies in darkness.
Within seconds—
They vanished.
Vallrick, who had been watching, let out a small, awkward laugh and turned to SexyGrill.
"He’s so cool…"
SexyGrill giggled.
"You’re worshipping him a little too much." She smirked. "He might start thinking you’re just sucking up to him."
Vallrick scratched his head nervously but laughed anyway.
"He’s just really that cool…"
Broken summoned Polly, swiftly mounting the spirit beast as they darted deeper into the cave.
With Pawpaw’s invisibility skill completely cloaking them, they moved undetected.
And now, everything Broken had seen through Pawpaw’s eyes earlier…
He was seeing firsthand.
High above, massive spiders the size of fully grown humans dangled from the cavern ceiling, their legs twitching slightly as if sensing movement.
On the ground, huge serpents lay hidden in the shadows, their scales blending into the darkness.
Further ahead, giant scorpions patrolled the rocky terrain, their deadly tails glowing faintly with venom.
Every single one of them was at least level 250.
Some were even as high as 270.
Damn.
Everything in this cave was insanely high-leveled.
Broken couldn’t help but imagine what kind of loot he could get if he cleared this place out—
Weapons, armor, rare monster cores, or even monster soul stones.
But that could wait.
For now, his focus was the lava pool.
After a while, Polly’s footsteps slowed as they entered the massive cavern chamber where the lava pool was located.
The blazing red glow from the molten magma illuminated Broken’s face, though he remained hidden within the shadows.
His eyes widened as he took in the sight up close.
So massive.
Even after seeing it through Pawpaw’s vision, experiencing it in person was something else entirely.
Then—
A deep, violent tremor shook the cave. Discover stories with Freewebnovel
And in the next instant—
A massive explosion erupted from the center of the lava pool.
Molten rock shot high into the air, sending waves of lava surging outward, crashing toward the edges of the pool.