novelraw Chapter 83 : Keep Moving Forward
Chapter 83 : Keep Moving Forward
The girl clad in silver-white armor fell together with the frost dragon’s corpse, crashing down onto the icy plain with a deafening boom that kicked up a vast cloud of snow.
When the mist dispersed, the crowd saw her standing tall atop the dragon’s lifeless body.
Did she win?
She won!
The sight was so astonishing that even the cheers of survival stuck in their throats, awkward and out of place.
“Who in the world is she?”
Chris murmured, “She’s absurdly strong... are there really adventurers like this?”
“Never heard of her.”
Thomas shook his head.
As the leader of an S-rank party, he had a fair understanding of the adventurer circles within the Rhine Kingdom. Most adventurers were unremarkable, and even the stronger S-rank parties were all familiar by name.
But this person before them? He had never once heard of her.
“There’s one more possibility...”
Winnie lowered her voice.
“She isn’t an adventurer at all, but rather a secret weapon hidden by the Rhine Kingdom...”
The moment she said it, everyone felt it made sense.
The Undead Fortress labyrinth had existed for over fifty years, yet it had never been cleared. Considering the uncertainty of its prolonged presence and the rising prices it had recently triggered around Flemont, it was only reasonable for the Rhine Kingdom to take action.
The power structure of the Rhine Kingdom was more complex than it seemed.
In name, the king was sovereign, ruler of the land. But in practice, over ninety percent of territorial control lay in the hands of the noble council. Local lords obeyed the king in name, yet could unite to veto any decree he made.
But was the king truly just a puppet?
Not quite.
After all, the royal family had their own guards, hereditary shares in organizations such as the Magic Association, Adventurer Association, and Rhine Royal Magic Academy. Even setting aside annual taxes, just the dividends from these institutions amounted to an enormous fortune.
From what Winnie knew, the royal family was far from simple.
Meanwhile, as the group speculated—
The distant figure suddenly leapt from the frost dragon’s corpse and began striding across the frozen plain toward them.
Kate arched a brow and teased.
“Whoa... don’t tell me she’s about to say something like, ‘The kingdom’s secrets can’t have witnesses,’ and then kill us all?”
“Cough…”
“Can you think before you open your damn mouth? If that were the case, wouldn’t it have been easier for her to wait until the frost dragon slaughtered us all first?”
Chris snapped, unable to hold back.
“Enough,” Thomas said firmly, grabbing both their heads and shoving them apart.
“She doesn’t seem hostile,” Winnie remarked.
“Then let’s try speaking to her.”
Thomas planted his greatsword into the ice and approached unarmed.
“I’ll go too,” Winnie followed closely.
“These two really are in sync. When are they getting married?”
Kate quipped casually.
He hadn’t lowered his voice at all. Winnie and Thomas both faltered mid-step, then continued walking as if nothing had been said.
“See? I told you they were in sync,” Kate smirked.
Chris covered her face, unwilling to comment.
On the other side—
The two parties finally met upon the icy plain.
Because of the armor’s concealment, neither Winnie nor Thomas recognized Rozelite. They merely noticed her feminine figure and felt mildly surprised.
“I’m Thomas, leader of the S-rank adventurer party, Blue Falcon.”
Thomas extended his hand in goodwill.
Rozelite did not respond. She wasn’t used to such handshakes, nor did she wish to make contact lest she be recognized.
Instead, she simply pointed to the frost dragon’s corpse behind her.
“That... is my spoils,” Rozelite’s voice rasped, muffled by the slime filling her throat.
“Any objections?”
“My party won’t have any. As for others, I can’t speak for them,” Thomas replied.
“Then please, ask them on my behalf. If anyone disagrees, let them come speak to me directly.”
“Alright. Any other requests?”
“Are you planning to continue exploring?”
“No. This is the end for us. The fourth floor is already our limit. Pushing further would be meaningless.”
“Then let’s leave it at that.”
“Good.”
The negotiations ended in mutual agreement—a resounding success.
Turning away, Thomas said:
“Once we return, we’ll tell the others—our exploration ends here, we’re heading back. As for what they decide, they can speak to her themselves.”
“And the next exploration? We’re not joining?”
“It’s over. This labyrinth is far more dangerous than I imagined. If such a monster appears as early as the fourth floor, the deeper levels will only be worse. We’ll sell the intel to the Association—that’ll be our end.”
Though they had narrowly survived, Thomas remained calm.
He was a man seasoned in war, after all.
The others, however, reacted far more strongly.
Once the frost dragon was slain, the floor’s barrier lifted. Many adventurers didn’t even wait for Thomas’s return—they rushed to the gate, fleeing the fourth floor.
Barely ten remained behind.
When Thomas explained, all quickly agreed they had no desire to contest ownership of the frost dragon.
After all, they had been utterly crushed and humiliated by it just moments ago. To claim “first come, first served” now… would be shameless beyond belief.
Soon, they too departed through the gate.
And so, in a short while—
Only Rozelite remained upon the vast snowy plain of the fourth floor...
Together with Russell, the slime.
“Mr. Slime, you may begin,” Rozelite said.
At her words, pale-blue tentacles burst from her back, weaving into a massive net in midair that wrapped around the bisected frost dragon’s corpse.
Come to think of it...
This was Russell’s first time encountering a dragon-type monster.
Though it looked like little more than a giant lizard with wings, its status screen undeniably marked its race as “Dragon.” Its mana and health were leagues above ordinary monsters.
It could fly, its scales were formidable, and it wielded ranged attacks—a nightmare for adventurers, especially in a world where few could use magic.
Such enormous creatures almost never appeared in labyrinths. Yet here it was—this labyrinth even had a dedicated space, a boss chamber, just for it.
Outrageous.
【Insatiable lv∞】
As the skill was activated, the dragon’s colossal corpse vanished into the slime’s body.
【Level: 55 → 58↑】
【HP: 1700 → 2100↑】
【Magic Resistance lv7 → lv7↑】
【Ice Magic lv0 → lv5↑】
【Flight lv8 → lv8↑】
【Hardening lv4 → lv6】
【Cold Resistance lv6 → lv7↑】
“...”
Russell tilted a tentacle.
This doesn’t feel like much of a gain…
It was a dragon, yet the stats weren’t that impressive—barely over thirty thousand...
No, maybe his own numbers had just gotten too absurd.
Still… looking at the pitiful boost to his HP, Russell felt helpless.
Nearly level sixty, and his HP was still so low. Meanwhile, Rozelite’s stats were already surging toward six figures. It was enough to make him want to cry.
Rozelite lifted her gaze to the distance.
A pitch-black gate stood silently upon the icy plain.
The entrance to the fifth floor.
Her tentacles retreated back into her body. Feeling the satisfaction of fullness once more, Rozelite instinctively touched the metal-clad lower part of her abdomen. Her breath grew heavier.
“Since we’ve come this far, we may as well fight to the very end.”