Chapter 15

The Shadowfiend was worth 3 silver.

If a proper Gatherer were present, its materials could fetch up to 5 silver.

The two Shadow Spiders were worth a little over 2 silver each, plus a few additional drops and some Dark Crystals.

Up to this point, by rough estimation, Kanzaki Rei’s total gains should have reached around 50 silver.

Izz Parulut was taking a fixed 1 silver as a protection fee. Rei had absolutely no objections.

That also meant everything else remaining in this dungeon would belong entirely to him.

Still... was his protection really worth only 1 silver?

The price of a single Shadow Hunt Panther seemed far too cheap.

Izz glanced ahead. "Up ahead is the Lord’s Chamber."

Rei didn’t forget the purpose of this trip.

"Izz. To break the magic limit... do I have to defeat the Lord?"

"Yes," Izz replied. "But not entirely."

"Breaking the magic limit isn’t something everyone can accomplish."

"In my current theory, a Level 1 Mage must first learn Mana Tide before they can surpass the Level 1 magic cap."

"And the key to breaking through lies in..."

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Instead, he revealed a mysterious, chilling smile.

There was something dark in that smile. Something venomous.

The way he looked at Rei—

Like livestock awaiting slaughter.

A thick, suffocating malice surged forward, almost tangible in the air.

It wasn’t metaphorical.

It was visible.

Rei’s scalp prickled. His hair stood on end.

Not good.

He’s a bad person.

Has he finally shown his true face? That bastard!

Damn it—I knew you can’t trust people so easily after transmigrating to another world!

Because he treated me well... I trusted him too quickly!

Rei’s first instinct was to turn and run—

But in the next instant, an invisible force restrained him.

He spun around immediately.

Icicles formed in multiple positions around Izz.

「Ice Spike — Remote Casting」

Izz himself had taught him this technique.

If Ice Spikes were cast in front of oneself and shot forward, the enemy still had ample reaction time.

But if they formed directly around the enemy—

Encircling them—

Their reaction window would shrink drastically. Evasion options would be limited.

Rei used that very technique—

On Izz Parulut.

And in the next second—

Crack!

The freshly formed Ice Spikes shattered instantly.

Countless condensed ice elements scattered into fragments.

Rei couldn’t even perceive what countermeasure Izz had used.

Was the gap between a Level 1 Mage and a Level 5 Mage truly this overwhelming?

Fireball!

Boom! Boom boom boom boom!

Fireballs generated around Izz’s body—

But the moment they formed, they detonated harmlessly.

Izz stood completely unscathed. Not even a strand of hair was disturbed.

Both hands remained in his robe pockets.

He watched Rei with that cold, vicious smile.

As if his scheme had already succeeded.

Whoosh—

The massive stone gate ahead opened.

Rei felt himself seized by an invisible hand—

Bang!

He was hurled violently against the wall.

His internal organs churned.

A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.

From Izz’s direction—

The stone gate closed.

Rei endured the agony. His vision blurred.

The last thing he saw—

Was Izz’s frigid smile.

It hurts.

That force...

He was trying to kill me.

Rei felt his right arm go completely numb, a piercing pain shooting upward from it.

Broken?

No.

Now isn’t the time to worry about that.

He had already noticed—

A colossal serpent, nearly ten meters long, scales reflecting darkness, was slithering before him.

It raised its massive body and looked down at the tiny Rei.

This monstrosity—

He had seen it the moment he was thrown in.

This time, there was no Izz to explain.

Rei had no idea what abilities the serpent possessed.

What attacks it would use.

But one thing was certain—

It was the dungeon’s Lord-tier existence.

Rei drew a deep breath.

If he wanted to survive—

First, he had to defeat it.

Survive its attacks.

Only then could he think about anything else.

In an instant—

Fireballs formed!

But the moment they did, Rei sharply realized—

His mana was not recovering with the surge of Mana Tide.

Focusing further—

He sensed the room’s elemental density was abnormally thin.

Boom!

As the serpent’s head lunged toward him, Rei unleashed seven Fireballs straight ahead!

Explosions erupted in rapid succession!

But this time—

The invincible Fireballs did not kill it.

The serpent’s head still barreled toward him!

Rei rolled with all his strength, narrowly dodging the frontal collision!

Attack pattern... charging impact.

Did Fireballs deal insufficient damage?

My spell damage is over a hundred times that of a normal Level 1 Mage.

There’s no way seven Fireballs dealt zero damage.

Fire immunity?

Rei immediately switched magic types.

「Ice Spike (LV: 91)」

An Ice Spike formed, draining roughly 3% of his mana—

Equivalent to three times the total mana of a freshly advanced Mage.

This time—

It was a massive Ice Spike.

Boom!

It slammed into the serpent’s softer underbelly, forcing its body to arch backward!

The impact dented its abdomen—

But the scales remained intact.

The spike did not pierce through.

What resilient hide.

Bang!

Almost simultaneously—

Another enormous Ice Spike descended from the exact opposite direction!

Boom!

The twin spikes impaled the serpent from both sides!

The giant serpent let out a painful roar!

But even as it roared—

Dust rolled in the distance.

Its tail swept toward Rei in a wide horizontal arc.

Rei sucked in a sharp breath.

What now?

The height of that tail—

Was taller than his entire body.

With his child-sized physique—

If struck, he’d die instantly.

At his current speed, there was no way to outrun such a wide sweep.

That attack—

Completely sealed off every retreat on the ground.

Ground?

Rei’s eyes shot upward.

The cavern ceiling was high!

If above—

But even jumping wouldn’t clear it.

As the thought flashed—

His left hand had already begun condensing frost.

Boom!

The serpent showed no mercy.

Its tail did not slow—

If anything, it accelerated at the final moment!

The sweeping strike plowed across the entire chamber floor.

When the tail finally stopped—

Rei was no longer on the ground.

And there was no blood smeared across the earth.

The serpent’s pupils shifted upward.

At the ceiling—

An Ice Spike was embedded deep into the rock.

Rei’s left hand clutched a protrusion of that spike.

No—

Looking closely—

His entire left hand was frozen solidly to the Ice Spike itself.

He had fused his hand to the spike—

Riding it as it shot into the cavern roof.

Only through this desperate method—

Had he barely avoided that lethal sweep.