We island hop above the massive crab creatures that explode from the sand below devouring every bit of sandy beach one after another. The string of islands slowly sinks into the ocean floor as we move forward.

The orange and red culprits all range from level 495 to 505.

I send an occasional flaming shot down, but Lydia doesn't bother. I kill 3 in total, but unfortunately don't gain any levels.

I'm sure if I stuck around and farmed here for an hour or two I'd be able to reach level 500 in no time.

There are only 4 levels left, surely I'll make it there soon.

After another half an hour of flying passes, we make it to the final island. A lone Boss Room portal sits on the sandy shore next to a single palm tree.

The deep blue ocean gently crashes and ripples behind it.

Like clockwork, as a mutant crab erupts from the ground below, we jump through letting the creature throw a fit by itself and destroy the island.

Transfer magic flashes and brings us to a nearly identical island. The only difference is, behind us there aren't any remains of fallen sandy shores.

It's a deep ocean on all sides, a small sandy beach devoid of life is all we get. The sand stretches out on all sides of 20 meters or so and the ocean waves crash onto the shoreline.

I shift my feet in the golden ground, preparing for something to attack. While gripping my sword, my gaze moves around the island and I power up my stat-boosting skills.

It's best not to be overconfident. Like Lydia said earlier, everything beyond this point will be uncharted territory for her and myself.

The unstable ground starts to shake and churn under our feet. This is definitely the time to make some distance between us and the incoming threat.

The white-haired ice wielder and I both leap into the air as more sand crumbles away beneath our feet.

By the time we make it up 10 meters half of the small island has sunken into the ocean's depths. A dark red colored crab waves its pincers and long legs in our direction in its place.

It's a level 530 King Crab.

I glow red and Lydia glows light blue. She actually draws one of her blades this time. The hunter is finally starting to get serious.

With two downward swings, the dungeon boss doesn't even get a moment to think.

It's sliced in half with blades of ice and fire in a matter of seconds.

It does show some resilience, as its shielding and body hardening activates. White light shines bright but its hell shatters still, failing to stop either of our incoming strikes in the end.

The Boss Room of the 24th Floor is completed in under 10 seconds.

[Level Up]

We glide down to the sandy beach to collect a massive pink mana crystal and a fragment thick red glowing shell.

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It's a piece of the crab's shell with an impressive +3000 Defense buff. I'd like to have it, but considering I stole the last mutant Boss' core without asking, letting Lydia keep this one doesn't bother me.

The mage holds onto it as we're transferred to the next floor.

Her voice can be heard through the bright white transfer magic.

"Floor 25... We're getting into the real dangerous territory now. The Association usually only lets teams of 3 seasoned B-Rank hunters farm on floors above this level. Prepare for the worst. Anything can happen."

My heart starts racing with both nerves and excitement.

The white light fades and my feet hit the hard Dungeon floor. It feels chalky and flat, hard to grip with my sandy boots.

Taking a deep breath in, I can feel the air is dry but the temperature is cool.

It's silent.

Way too silent...

The ground beneath our feet is grey. It feels like hard rock, but it's so artificially smooth it's eerie.

That's not the most off-putting part of this mysterious dungeon.

Looking up at the sky, it's nearly the same color as the floor, just a shade or two lighter.

The horizon line slices the land and the sky into two halves creating a perfectly even cutoff. There isn't a hill, plant, or rock in sight.

It's just a completely flat grey plane.

I gulp, taking a step forward and hearing the sandy crunch echo indefinitely.

Lydia steps forward too, with both hands on her blades fastened to her waist.

She whispers.

"I've never witnessed anything like this..."

I nod in agreement.

The Titan's Domain I was trapped in and trained in for months on end gives off a similar feel. However, there's a huge difference between them.

This Dungeon may have a flat floor of a single shade, and a sky that nearly matches, but it clearly goes on in all directions for as far as the eye can see.

From here, it almost seems like there's no end.

I activate my perception skills and stretch them out as far as they can go.

Nearly 10 kilometers in, I pinpoint the Dungeon's Boss room...

Easy enough.

The odd part is, I don't see or sense a single monster in this entire search.

Taking another step forward, the pressure in the back of my head that I'm very familiar with starts scratching at my telepathy link.

Someone or something is trying to talk to me.

I'm guessing I know exactly who it is...

Gritting my teeth, keeping all my perception skills activated, I allow the nagging voice to enter my mind.

The Arch Demon form the Dungeon in DryRock speaks loud and clear directly into my mind.

I stop mid-stride listening to the creature speak.

"You've come much faster than I expected, and have grown a lot stronger too. Maybe this won't be boring after all."

I reply instantly, turning my head in all directions unable to sense it at all.

"Where are you-"

It cuts me off.

"Our battle shall commence soon on the 26th Floor. I'll see you there."

Its voice cuts off with no link to reply...

My eyes dart around the boss room frantically, scanning every angle as far out as I can sense, but still nothing shows.

The moment these words cut off, from the corner of my eye I see black and purple magic begin to swirl around in the shape of a teleportation portal.

It's on my left side, closest to Lydia.

My eyes open wide and I turn to it with my blade raised, watching a 3-meter-tall black suit of armor walk out making the ground shake with every step.

Its entire frame gives off a black aura, similar in color to the warp portal it leaves.

Once both feet hit the grey stone floor with a thud, the portal disappears.

Surprisingly, the floor doesn't crack or fracture one bit.

The black armored Knight's status finally shows up in my mind's eye.

_______________________

[Lv. 525]

Active Items:

[Armor Set of The Demonic Guard] +120% Defense

[Long Sword of The Demonic Guard] +115% Strength

[Amulet of The Demonic Guard] +110% Mental Strength

Active Skills:

Dungeon Walker

Swordsmanship

_______________________

It's an impressive item and skill set, but the one thing that bugs me is how it and the Arch Demon possibly escaped my perception skills earlier.

Unless this monster came from another floor, it managed to slip under the radar and away from even my All-Seeing Eye.

Even now, as it lifts its long black sword with a matching ominous aura, the magic power coming off it is mixed with something very odd...

Something that feels like it shouldn't even exist.

It's a sensation that I've only felt a few times before.

The feeling of energy and matter being there, and not there at the same time.

Like the Titan's invisible readings on my enemy detection radar. Or possibly that ominous void of space out in the desert behind the city of Solara.

Whatever it is... It doesn't feel right.