Gareth shook his head and shared his observation. "When I retreated earlier, I noticed something. The black dragon's ability seems limited in range."
"If we hug the wall closely, the dragon's ability shouldn't affect us."
"While Leon uses the black dragon to increase his stats, we should find a passage leading to the 60th floor."
His suggestion made sense.
Everyone exchanged glances, then turned to watch the two streaks of light still clashing violently ahead, the explosions shaking the air.
After a moment's consideration, they unanimously agreed on Gareth's plan. Judging by the battle's course so far, Leon and the black dragon hadn't come near the edges of the floor. Being cautious along the walls should keep them safe.
They couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So the group began searching for the passage to the 60th floor along the wall.
Leon's veins of light remained active, and he spotted Finn and the others moving at once. After a brief pause, he understood their plan and cooperated silently, keeping his distance from them.
'This black dragon seems to have nothing special except its fear magic.' Leon thought as he fought.
'At most, it can use magic of various attributes, and its physique is tough, immune to most spells but that's about it.'
Leaning into the battle, Leon held back from using his full strength. He was testing the black dragon, trying to gauge its true power. After all, he would have to face the one-eyed black dragon at the end of the world someday.
But after some time fighting, he realized this black dragon had no abilities beyond the terrifying fear inducing ability. Its magic and tough body made it strong, but no more than other monsters.
If Finn and the others knew what Leon thought, they'd probably label him a fool. After all, this black dragon's magic was stronger than Riveria's, and its fear-inducing ability was utterly horrifying.
By any measure, it was far beyond ordinary adventurers. Adventurers relied on a balance of physical strength and magic.
With a physique strong enough to shrug off most spells and magic power equally fearsome, what else would it need?
Of course, Finn and company had no clue about Leon's thoughts. They did notice, however, that Leon was aware of their plan because Leon deliberately fought away from their location.
"Leon knows our plan. Don't worry about being affected. Everyone, hurry and find that passage!" Finn urged.
No one argued, heads nodded quietly, and they all quickened their pace to begin searching.
The booming explosions echoed relentlessly across the 59th floor, shockwaves now a constant backdrop.
Leon had given up the long sword, switching to his Vongola gloves instead. Hestia's sword simply couldn't keep up with this intensity. Even the weapon with the Durandal attribute was struggling.
It reminded him of desparate, damaged when Ais combined Ariel and Avenger in the original story.
He resolved that after this expedition, he'd visit Tsubaki to see if the weapons could be strengthened.
In theory, the weapons of the Zeus and Hera familias should be up to the task at this stage. If not, he would have no choice but to fight with his fists from now on.
Facing the charging black dragon, Leon swung his fist.
Boom!!!
The explosion shook the earth, and heat surged behind him, his falna burning hotter with every blow.
'It's been an hour since the battle started, and the heat is easing. At this rate, it probably won't last another half hour.'
He struck again, feeling the searing heat behind him, muttering silently.
But then, something caught his attention. He frowned.
'Still alive? Shouldn't that tree be just a shell?'
The shadowy magic Leon had spread earlier suddenly felt a pulse emanating from the towering tree that birthed the black dragon.
A pulse of life — plant life. In other words, the shattered tree was still alive.
'No, the aura's growing stronger—fast. Something's wrong with that tree.'
Just as Leon was pondering this, the vitality of the towering tree swelled rapidly, skyrocketing. Within seconds, the tree's aura surged back to level 8.
Leon's pupils contracted sharply.
"What on earth is this?!"
He wasn't the only one who noticed. Finn and the others searching for the passage also caught it. This time, the towering tree made no effort to conceal its resurrection, its aura blazed openly, announcing its return.
"How is this possible?!"
Finn couldn't help shouting, alarmed by the sudden revival of a level 8 monster that had been so clearly destroyed before.
But now, it had revived and it looked like it had fully recovered.
Everyone else were also deeply shocked, their gazes turning one by one toward the center of the floor.
At that moment, Riveria suddenly had a flash of insight, a sharp realization piercing her mind.
"I was careless!"
"That tree is not the same as the black dragon." Riveria said solemnly, her voice steady yet filled with urgency.
Her words immediately triggered reactions from everyone present. They all knew that once monsters in the dungeon die, they turn to ashes.
Just moments ago, the black dragon had appeared and mercilessly cleaved the towering tree in half.
Everyone had assumed that the towering tree was merely a nursery for the black dragon, essentially the same entity as the dragon itself.
So when the towering tree was split in two, it didn't disappear like other monsters normally would, and no one found this strange. After all, the black dragon itself hadn't died.
But now it seemed that this was a deliberate ruse, a scheme between the black dragon and the towering tree to conceal the truth.
Though it remained unclear why the towering tree could do this, it was certain that while Leon fought the black dragon, the towering tree had been quietly healing itself.
More than an hour later, the towering tree had fully recovered from its injuries. It was revived, restored, and even regained its former strength.
"What do we do now?" Gareth frowned, turning to Finn with concern.
If it had only been the black dragon, they could have left the battle safely to Leon. But now, another plant-type monster of equal level to the black dragon had appeared.
Could Leon really handle them both alone?
"Should we go assist him?" Bete stood up and suggested.
"Contact Leon, tell him to try splitting the battlefield. We'll go handle the tree." Riveria said, her tone firm.
Others also spoke up, ready to provide support.
"Don't worry. Leon's still in his normal state, he hasn't entered that special mode. He should be able to manage it alone. And even if he can't, he will know when to retreat. He's always cautious and won't fight a battle he's unsure of."
"Maybe this is exactly what Leon wants right now. Besides, at this level, controlling the battlefield is impossible."
"The black dragon and the tree are both intelligent beings, probably as smart as we are."
"If we try to split their battlefield, they won't just stand by and let it happen. If we act, it'll drain us."
Finn bit his thumb and murmured, "Besides, my thumb tells me we're not in danger."
His words didn't immediately calm the others, but that last sentence put some minds at ease.
Everyone there understood the warning from Finn's thumb. When danger was near, Finn's thumb would hurt sharply, sometimes even spasm uncontrollably. But right now, there was no such pain, meaning the threat was not severe. Finn had no reason to lie in such a situation.
"But we have to stay prepared. If Leon falls into trouble, we use the communication orb to contact him, tell him to split the battlefield, and then we'll step in." Finn added, his voice calm but serious.
He trusted his early warning finger's sense, but knew unexpected things could always happen.
"Hmm." Everyone nodded in agreement, no objections.
The search for the passage stopped. Finn and the others turned their attention back to the raging battle.