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Whoosh.
The wind Nox sent flew to Oculus's feet.
Whoosh!
The wind elemental magic grew in size and flames erupted at the same time.
It was magic that would startle any lower grade student.
Magic that was only possible by manipulating two elements simultaneously.
It was difficult to make flames appear from a distance, but the control afterward was even more challenging.
Nox focused and manipulated his mana.
"Kuaaa!"
The giant Oculus let out a painful scream.
Nox's pillar of fire rode the whirlwind and instantly connected the floor to the ceiling.
It was a tornado made of hot flames.
"Kuaaa!"
Oculus writhed in pain and began to thrash around.
His movements were quick for his large size, and he quickly managed to escape from the pillar of fire.
Although he escaped from the pillar of fire, his whole body was still on fire.
"What is this!"
"He won't die from that fire! We need to finish it quickly! You shouldn't give too much stimulation near the core room where core amplification is imminent!"
Behind the huge iron door on the opposite side of the boss room entrance.
That was where the dungeon core was located, the core room.
"It's too hot to get close!"
"Keep firing ranged attacks!"
Ariel turned her head and immediately found the culprit who caused this.
Nox, sweating and manipulating his mana.
"Nox! What are you doing! Are you trying to turn this place into a sea of fire?"
"I, I'm trying to defeat that monster!"
"Okay, so withdraw your mana! Oculus has already escaped from the pillar of fire! Get rid of the pillar of fire at least! Why are you still making that pillar bigger!"
"T, that's……!"
"You mustn't stimulate the dungeon core any further! Get rid of the pillar of fire now!"
That's what he was trying to do.
When Oculus's body caught fire and he escaped from the pillar of fire and started thrashing around.
At that time, Nox was already trying to withdraw the magic.
But.
The flame tornado, already merged with the whirlwind, had long been beyond Nox's control.
It wasn't the right time to use the complex magic he had just learned in a real battle.
He was sweating profusely and trying to withdraw the mana, but the flame whirlwind was absorbing the surrounding mana and growing bigger and bigger.
"Get rid of the pillar of fire! What are you doing!"
"……I, I can't control it!"
"What? You crazy bastard! Mages! Put out that pillar of fire quickly!"
The mages hurriedly poured water elemental magic into the pillar of fire.
In the meantime, Oculus, whose whole body was on fire, was screaming in agony and running around the boss room.
He was thrashing around so quickly, waving his four burning arms, that even the swordsmen found it difficult to approach Oculus.
"Kuaaa!"
Oculus, unable to bear the heat, stretched out his arms and began to spin around.
Davian watched the scene.
'I thought so. That pillar of fire alone wasn't enough to stimulate the dungeon core. It started from here.'
As Oculus's huge body spun around, the air inside the boss room swirled.
Nox's pillar of fire whirlwind, which was still not extinguished and was rather growing.
Oculus spinning around and thrashing about.
Another huge whirlwind created by Oculus.
Whoosh!
Eventually, the two fires merged into one according to the airflow.
The merged fire instantly grew in power, threatening to engulf the entire boss room.
"You crazy! What is this! Hey! Nox! How are you going to fix this!"
"……I, I don't know either!"
Now, the mages were busy putting up shields rather than putting out the fire.
The students were gradually pushed back by the increasing power of the fire.
"W, what should we do? Should we just get out of the boss room?"
"If we get out without fixing that, the dungeon core amplification will happen today! The core must be on the verge of exploding right now, you can't stimulate it like this for so long right in front of the core room!"
"Wouldn't it be better to go into the core room and destroy the core?"
"That's the better option. Can we stop the D-rank monster wave in that mess? And the boss is still alive and thrashing around?"
"Isn't it worse if the core amplification happens and a C-rank boss comes out?"
"That's true!"
It was then.
Thud thud thud thud.
The inside of the dungeon began to shake as if there was an earthquake.
The same phenomenon that occurred in the dungeon that Davian's party entered during the mid-term evaluation.
'It's started.'
It was dungeon core amplification.
Ariel, who was looking for a breakthrough with a desperate expression, quickly had a shadow cast over her face.
"It's too late now……. The core amplification has started."
If it wasn't for that stupid Nox…….
Things wouldn't have turned out like this.
Why did he insist on joining a club that didn't even suit him.
But regretting and resenting wouldn't undo what had already happened.
"Retreat for now!"
At Ariel's cry, all the students began to step back and escape.
Clang.
After escaping the boss room, Ariel firmly closed the iron door.
The students who had safely escaped the boss room began to chatter among themselves.
"W, what do we do now?"
"What do you mean what do we do? This vibration is dungeon core amplification. A C-rank dungeon boss will be barging in soon. We have to run before that happens."
"What about the villagers?"
"We have to evacuate them at least! D-rank monsters will soon be rushing out of the dungeon."
"Hey! Didn't you see the crude bamboo wall built on the outskirts of the village on the way here? These villagers don't intend to leave here. This is their livelihood that they've built up for over hundreds of years."
Meanwhile, the club president Ariel was silently staring at the firmly closed iron door.
When the C-rank dungeon boss appears and Oculus dies, this door will open.
Then C-rank monsters will quickly spread throughout the dungeon.
Then the D-rank monsters will be chased out of the dungeon and attack the village.
"……Guys."
At Ariel's somber voice, all the club members who were chattering turned to look at Ariel.
"I'm sorry. Because I'm an incompetent president."
"What are you talking about! Ariel-senpai. Ariel-senpai is……."
Ariel stretched out her index finger and brought it to her lips.
The 5th grade club member who was about to say something had no choice but to close his mouth again.
"I'm going back in. I'm going in and destroying the dungeon core. Then this dungeon will disappear from the human realm forever. That's what our plan was originally."
"What? Ariel! Are you out of your mind? The original plan was to destroy the D-rank dungeon core! Now this place is becoming a C-rank dungeon!"
"T, that's right, senpai. The level of monster wave that we can stop won't be possible! In fact, we're still struggling with the D-rank monster wave."
Ariel hung her head.
"That's right. But if someone doesn't stop this, all the villagers will die. Not only that. This area will become a monster-infested area and become land that humans can never set foot on again."
And then Ariel Frontier slowly raised her head again.
The president of the Dungeon Exploration Club.
"Even if we all go in, we might not be able to stop the C-rank monster wave. No, we probably won't be able to stop it. So……."
Gulp.
The sound of one of the members swallowing echoed.
The members already knew what Ariel was going to say.
"I'm going in alone. There's no need for everyone to die. Right? ……So, everyone, get out of the dungeon quickly before it's too late. And guard the dungeon entrance until the dungeon disappears. Don't let a single monster escape into the human realm."
A silence flowed for a moment.
The statement that she would go in alone to destroy the C-rank dungeon core was the same as saying that she would destroy the dungeon and die here.
"……I'll go in with you."
It was Bruno, a 4th grader.
"Me too!"
"Me too."
"Me too! We have a higher chance of stopping the monster wave than if Ariel-senpai goes in alone."
"I'll go in too."
"I, if we all go in…… Maybe! We might be able to stop the monster wave! Then we can protect the villagers and Ariel-senpai won't commit suici……, no. She can live!"
"Okay! What the heck! Let's all go in together! We'll figure out how to stop it!"
Everyone except Nox and Davian shouted that they would go back in.
Ariel's eyes turned red as she looked at the members.
"You guys……."
"Come on, let's go in quickly. Before it's too late."
"……Thank you. Everyone."
"Instead of saying useless things, let's go in quickly and destroy the core, Ariel-senpai."
Ariel, who seemed to have made up her mind, clenched her fist tightly.
"Okay! Let's go in. Because we're the Dungeon Exploration Club. Ah, you, 1st grader. You go back. You don't even belong to our club. And Nox, you're the only one who hasn't answered yet? What are you going to do?"
"I, I……."
"Do as you please. But you do know, right? The reason why the dungeon core amplification happened now."
The sudden dungeon core amplification was all due to Nox's reckless magic manipulation.
Nox hung his head.
"I'll go in together."
Eriel's voice, which had regained its strength, echoed.
"Okay! All club members! Go back into the boss room! We'll catch that C-rank boss first, whoever it is! And then destroy the dungeon core right away!"
Ariel didn't bother to explain the next operation.
C-rank monster wave.
Even if they somehow manage to stop it with this number of people, there's no guarantee that they'll all survive.
Everyone already knew this.
Instead of the next operation, Ariel conveyed a word of request to the members.
"Everyone…… Don't die."
Creak.
Ariel opened the firmly closed iron door again.
The boss room was still engulfed in flames.
And somehow, the earthquake had stopped.
Dungeon core amplification complete.
"Now we don't have to take care of that Oculus, right? It's still too hot."
"When the C-rank dungeon boss appears, Oculus will die anyway. It looks like it's hard for him to escape in his current state?"
"Then, let's wait here for a bit."
At that time.
One of the members began to walk forward.
A member who even passed Ariel, who was finally at the forefront.
"Uh……?"
Now that she looked at it, it wasn't even a member.
The 1st grader who followed them without fear.
Davian Nowen.
He was wearing uniquely shaped iron gloves on both hands.
"Hey! What are you? Where are you going now? Get back quickly? No, you were told to get out of the dungeon quickly!"
Davian turned around.
Ariel and the club members were looking at him with bewildered eyes.
"Where am I going? I'm going to catch the boss."
Davian turned to face the front again.
The entire boss room was covered in flames, and Oculus, running around like a madman inside, was visible.
But the flames were definitely weaker than before.
On the other hand, Oculus's entire body was now burning and melting, revealing red muscles and white bones here and there.
Whoosh.
A whirlwind rose from Davian's hand and stretched out towards Oculus.
Davian's whirlwind created a passage for Oculus to reach through the flames.
Shwaa.
An ice sword appeared in Davian's hand.
Tada!
Davian flew to Oculus in an instant through the path opened by the whirlwind.
Shwaak!
The ice sword accurately cut through Oculus's neck.
Thud!
Oculus's huge head fell to the dungeon floor.
Ariel's mouth dropped open.
"Wh…… What? What is he doing now."
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