On the twelfth floor, the ring of rocky mountains surrounding the lava lake was naturally devoid of any vegetation.
There was only steep lava rock and cliffs as sharp as knives.
It was a wasteland where one could barely find a place to step.
Lava flowed through the terrain; a single fall would result in severe burns, if not total incineration.
After spending a considerable amount of effort searching the mountain cliffs for a downward path, Manfred's group finally managed to climb down the steep rock walls.
Before they could even catch their breath, a dark red figure leaped out from the nearby lava.
Lava flowed over its body as it spat a lava projectile toward them, giving the group no time to react.
Weiss quickly swung his shield, blocking the projectile.
In the next second, the figure leaped onto his shield, sticking firmly to the heavy surface. A frog-like face pressed right against Weiss's own.
A sticky, scalding tongue lashed out, instantly wrapping around Weiss's head.
“Weiss!”
Manfred cried out in alarm, drawing his sword and slashing directly at the ambushing lava frog.
A sharp arc of Sword Qi instantly severed the lava frog's tongue.
Only then did the ambushed Weiss find a moment to breathe and drop into a defensive stance.
The lava frog shrieked in pain as its tongue was cut. Having no desire to continue the fight, it tried to hop back toward the lava lake.
However, Rhine the mage had already deployed a magic circle.
“First-rank magic: Wind Arrow!”
A sharp bolt of wind instantly pierced the lava frog's body. With a final croak, its corpse crashed to the ground.
“Don't let your guard down. Stay away from the lava rivers.”
These lava frogs were elusive. If they managed to ambush someone and drag them into the lava with their tongues, even the strongest warrior would be reduced to nothing.
“Understood,” the others replied.
They continued to grope their way across the unfamiliar lava terrain, dealing with any monsters that attacked.
From the mountains, the massive lava lake had looked like it was right in front of them.
But after descending and trekking across the scorching land, it took a great deal of effort just to reach the lake's edge.
Standing now by the shore, they gazed at the boiling lava before them.
While they no longer felt the overwhelming shock of the fantastical view from the mountaintop, it was as if they had approached a sleeping dragon; they could no longer see its full form, but they could feel the sharpness of its scales up close.
From the shore, the lake of flowing lava seemed to stretch on forever.
At the edge of their vision, the horizon was swallowed by rolling clouds of black and yellow smoke.
Occasionally, lava would erupt from the lake, sending out blinding red light. The intense heat felt as though it were being blasted directly onto their faces even from a distance.
“Captain, how are we supposed to get across this?”
Rhine's face had already turned somewhat pale.
No matter how they looked at it, this lava lake didn't seem meant for crossing.
Putting aside the boiling lava, the thick smoke permeating the air alone was enough to suffocate them hundreds of times over.
Furthermore, through her mana perception, Rhine could sense the presence of a vast number of monsters beneath the surface of the lava.
“Let's scout around the perimeter of the lake first,” Manfred said.
As the captain, even he couldn't think of a good solution at the moment.
Build a boat?
Even a boat made of solid steel wouldn't sail far before being melted into a puddle of molten iron in this lava.
Besides, even if they used a metal boat to cross, they wouldn't be touching the lava, but the heat would conduct directly through the hull.
Wouldn't they just be grilled alive like meat on a hot plate?
For now, Manfred could only hope to find a bridge or a path on the shore that led directly to the center of the lava lake.
The lake was so large that its boundaries were invisible; circling it would be an arduous task.
The scorching path was extremely rugged, forcing the group to stop and start as they navigated the terrain.
When they encountered dead ends that were truly impossible to cross, they had to use magic to reluctantly construct temporary stone bridges.
At this pace, it was impossible to say how many days it would take to make a full circuit.
“Captain, look over there!” Rhine's voice suddenly rang out in surprise.
Manfred quickly looked where she was pointing and saw a giant bridge!
The giant bridge towered over the mountains, entirely pitch black, rugged, and massive.
It looked as though it had been carved directly from a horizontal mountain peak.
Beneath the bridge, stone pillars supported the structure, plunging deep into the lava.
They were currently at the lakeshore, the lowest area of the twelfth floor.
Looking up now, they could only follow the massive stone pillars to vaguely see the body of the bridge hidden within the thick smoke.
The other end of the bridge extended into the lava lake until it was swallowed by the smoke and vanished from sight.
“To think such a giant bridge exists... it looks like it might connect to the center of the lava lake!”
“Let's get up there and check it out first!”
Manfred's gaze fell on one end of the bridge. They were currently beneath it; to get onto the bridge, they would need to climb a steep rocky mountain.
The mountains rose in layers, with rocks as sharp as blades. Climbing up would take even more effort than coming down had.
Once they finally managed to scale the mountain and step onto the bridge, they were struck by the wondrous sight before them.
Even though they had explored many dungeons, they had never seen a sight so fantastical.
The giant bridge stretched forward, plunging straight into the thick smoke.
The bridge was wide enough to allow two carriages to pass each other.
And it was so high that looking down was like peering over the edge of a mountain cliff.
As the bridge extended into the smoke over the lava lake, stepping forward felt like heading toward the hell of legend.
Vaguely, it was as if they could see a three-headed hellhound guarding the other end of the bridge.
“It's so beautiful... I've never seen anything like this in a dungeon!”
Rhine couldn't help but walk to the edge of the bridge, captivated by the fantastical view of the twelfth floor's lava lake.
Such a sight could only be found within a dungeon.
In the outside world, it was said that one could see rare, wondrous sights in the North Sea to the north during winter.
Further away, there was the Golden Royal City of the Lanxi Kingdom, which was known as a sacred land.
There was also Frost City, which sat like a gem among the snowy mountains, and Sea City, which was encrusted with blue jewels.
The three of them had never seen those places.
After all, they were orphans adopted by the Grey family. They had never traveled far from the Northern Territory and had always served the family.
To them, those legendary places found only in storybooks were too far away.
The most beautiful and fantastical sight was right here before their eyes.
“Let's keep moving. We can't afford to waste time,” Manfred reminded them as he led the way across the bridge.
After all, this bridge was far too conspicuous.
Anyone entering this floor would surely find their way to this bridge after a bit of exploration.
The bridge was only so wide; if they encountered other adventurers—especially the knight orders from the Grey family—they would be in danger again.
Therefore, no matter how beautiful the scenery was, they had no time to stop and admire it.
Rhine gazed at the magnificent view. Although she wanted to stay longer to admire it, she knew the captain's intentions and followed obediently.
Rate on N.U.
