Chapter 628 – Back To The Grind.

“Just a bit more…”

The ground shook and trees fell as a stampede of green-scaled monsters charged toward a single destination. When they arrived, all of them hurled themselves at a disc that held a small smoking pallet. Compared to these monstrous creatures, it was tiny, yet the scent was enough to drive them mad.

Chaos erupted as the beasts began fighting over the foul alchemical mixture. Although they were creations of the dungeon, each had a small measure of free will. They shoved one another with their massive bodies, some using their large forelimbs in a desperate attempt to reach the source of the smell first.

“Now!”

This was the moment Roland had been waiting for. As soon as the creatures entered the blast zone, he activated the trap. His visor glowed briefly while he used his skill to trigger a single rune that functioned as a detonator. Once it ignited, several other runes flashed to life, filling the area with a brilliant blue light that quickly shifted to red as a tremendous explosion shook the ground.

Flames erupted across the battlefield, consuming the plant-based lesser dragons. The fiery blast rolled through the clearing like a living storm. Heat waves shimmered and twisted the air as the roar of the explosion echoed through the forest. Trees were uprooted, and clouds of ash and embers swirled upward in a spiraling inferno. Within moments, the entire area was transformed into a blazing crater.

“The sound barrier is holding… Perfect.”

Roland’s voice remained calm as he monitored the entire situation from his position. Although he could not conceal the tremors caused by the dragons running, he was able to control the flames and explosions. The overlay on his display continued to shimmer as it presented all the important data for the situation, and soon the world system responded.

“Woof!”

Agni barked beside him, gaining levels just from standing there.

“I know, Agni. Just enjoy the free levels for now. It will get harder to keep this up once we move to another location and once the other adventurers become aware.”

His experience points were rising rapidly, but this was not the same as his previous experience farm. Back then, he had been the only person in the hidden section of the dungeon and did not need to worry about being discovered. Here, even though the area was quite large, small groups of adventurers continued to go out on hunts.

A lone cockatrice had already alerted some people to his presence, and he was certain they would eventually sweep through this area. However, he did not plan to stay in one place for long. As long as he moved quickly enough, he could remain ahead of the competition.

‘I should visit that fort of theirs. At least there it seems to be a non-combat zone.’

Through his monitoring golems, he had kept watch over the area even when he was not physically present. Many of the people here were on the same level as the Albrook guild master. The majority were Platinum-ranked adventurers like himself, but there were also many Mithril ranks among them, and the leader of the settlement appeared to be one of them.

‘The leader keeps the peace and rarely ventures outside alone. I wonder why.’

“Werf!?”

As he was pondering his next step, Agni started jumping around as if bored of just standing in this place.

“You sure are growing fast…”

Roland wondered what his wolf would become when he reached level two hundred fifty. Even though Roland was still ahead in levels, Agni was starting to catch up. Roland planned to wait until level two hundred seventy-five before taking his next tier-three class, but Agni had no such restriction. If they continued at this pace, his fiery companion would reach the next evolutionary stage before him.

“I just hope you won’t become even bigger.”

“Woof?”

“Nothing. The explosions have subsided. Let’s go down there and check if any of them survived.”

Roland and Agni descended from the ridge where they had been hiding. The air was still thick with smoke and embers, but with his suit active, he could see clearly through the haze. The once green glade had turned into a vast field of ash and scorched earth. Trees lay uprooted, and the bodies of the plant monsters were still burning. Agni’s nose twitched as he sniffed the air, low growls rumbling in his throat.

“Don’t worry, I see it, boy.”

As they reached the ground, a ferocious beast leapt out from the smoke. Its eyes glowed brightly as it tried to activate some kind of power, but whatever it was attempting failed to take effect. A layer of mana shimmered across Roland’s armor, protecting him from petrification, though the creature kept charging forward.

“I got this, Agni.”

The monster kept coming, its body resembling a strange mix between a rooster and a green lizard. Agni barked once and leapt aside. Roland raised his right hand, lowering his wrist slightly, and from a concealed compartment, a double-edged blade slid out. Crimson flames erupted around it, forming a sword of blazing plasma.

Roland waited for the right moment. As he had done many times before, he was not looking directly at his opponent but at the mana phantom it generated. This method had granted him victory in previous battles, but it had its flaws. When an attack was too obvious or when the opponent could instinctively react to any countermeasure, the phantom lost its edge.

The cockatrice, a lesser dragon, lunged with wings spread wide and vines whipping outward in an attempt to distract from its main bite. Roland sidestepped the charge, his boots sliding across the ashen ground as one of the vines grazed his armor and left a streak of sizzling acid.

“Too slow.”

His right arm snapped forward. The plasma-coated blade mounted to his forearm shone brightly as it sliced through the air in a precise arc. The motion was clean and efficient. With a single strike, the execution was complete, and the creature’s head separated from its body in an instant.

For a moment, the creature did not realize it was dead. Its momentum carried it past Roland, vines still twitching, body skidding across the charred soil before collapsing. Then it tried to rise, its vines flailing in a gruesome display. Roland did not move. He simply retracted his blade back into his forearm armor with a hiss.

“It’s just like a headless chicken now.”

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“Rrrr…”

Agni padded closer, ready to pounce on the monstrosity, but he never got the chance. After a few weak flaps of its wings, the cockatrice collapsed for good.

With the notification, he knew that it was over. His level did not rise from this one, but considering how many monsters he had killed in a single rune trap, the two levels he gained were more than enough. Some people were stuck gaining one level for weeks or even months when he could gain two in just one day.

“I should move into another area after the next one.”

He nodded to himself before activating one of his spatial runes. The space before him expanded, and a group of humanoid golems emerged. They resembled metal puppets, their most distinctive feature being their human-like hands.