Chapter 87

【Ancient Lune Great Volcano】

Located about a hundred kilometers north of the Ancaji Principality, it appears as a massive rock with a diameter of about five kilometers and an altitude of three thousand meters. Unlike ordinary stratovolcanoes, which are conical, this one is flat, resembling a lava dome. It is more appropriate to call it a massive hill rather than a mountain, though its altitude and scale far exceed those of ordinary hills.

It is well-known that this Ancient Lune Great Volcano is one of the Seven Labyrinths, but compared to the Orkus Great Labyrinth, it is not frequently visited by adventurers. This is because the internal dangers and troubles of the volcano are significant, and the number of magic stones that can be recovered here is pitifully small compared to those in the Orkus Great Labyrinth. However, the most important reason is that very few adventurers can reach the entrance.

The reason for this is...

"...Like Laputa."

"...Laputa?"

Aichi, recalling a scene from a famous Japanese anime, muttered involuntarily. Yue and the others looked at him with puzzled expressions. Aichi just shrugged and saw the massive sandstorm vortex ahead from the magic-powered four-wheeler.

Indeed, just like the cumulonimbus clouds surrounding a floating city, a massive sandstorm vortex surrounds the Ancient Lune Great Volcano. Its scale is so vast that it almost completely envelops the entire volcano, making it difficult to see. It is more appropriate to call it a moving barrier surrounding the volcano rather than a sandstorm tornado.

Moreover, within this sandstorm, there are many monsters like sandworms. In the poor visibility, they launch relentless ambushes. After seeing it firsthand, it is easy to understand why even adventurers with average strength cannot break through the sandstorm surrounding the Ancient Lune Great Volcano.

"Really glad we don't have to cross on foot."

"Even I don't want to enter here with my flesh and blood."

Shia and Tio, like Aichi, looked out the window at the massive sandstorm and thanked the four-wheeler repeatedly. Aichi smiled wryly and said, "Let's go," and the four-wheeler sped up. This time, they couldn't afford to take it slow. The surface layer doesn't have many Static Stones, so they need to go deeper to obtain a large quantity to meet their delivery schedule. If they go deeper, there might be a shortcut to the outside, just like before. Then they can make a quick escape back to Ancaji.

Aichi doesn't care about the safety of the Ancaji residents, but if he can help them along the way, that would be great. At least, it would prevent his companion, Kumi, from being saddened and Miu from seeing too many tragic scenes.

Aichi, thinking about these things, rekindled his resolve and charged into the massive sandstorm.

Inside the sandstorm, the world is a closed, copper-colored space. Like the thick fog in the Haltrina Tree Sea, it is almost impossible to see ahead. The physical impact might make it even more troublesome than the fog. For ordinary people to break through the sandstorm, they would need magic or to wrap their bodies in cloth, while being vigilant against monsters. It is indeed a very difficult task.

In the dim light where even sunlight barely reaches, the green light from the headlights slowly cuts through the copper-colored world. They are moving at about thirty kilometers per hour. Based on previous information, they should break through in about five minutes.

At this moment, Shia's rabbit ears perked up, and Aichi reacted a moment later, shouting, "Hold on!" as he sharply turned the steering wheel.

Immediately, three sandworms jumped out from directly below, mouths wide open. Aichi made the four-wheeler describe an S-shape to avoid the ambush and focused on escaping as quickly as possible. It was better to rely on the speed of the four-wheeler to quickly escape their attack range rather than fighting them one by one in the sandstorm.

The rapidly escaping four-wheeler ignored the sandworms, but two more sandworms attacked from the left and right. Their timing was perfect, and it looked like the vehicle would be hit on the side. Even if they hit with full force, it wouldn't damage the vehicle, but there was a possibility of it flipping over. Aichi, who had detected the ambush with his [Aura Sense], was about to make the vehicle drift to avoid it, but Yue and Tio stopped him.

"Leave it to me."

"Leave it to me, Master."

Hearing this, Aichi straightened the steering wheel and drove straight without hesitation. Then, a massive worm emerged from the copper-colored world.

However, the two sandworms that attacked from the left and right failed to touch the four-wheeler.

"Wind Blade."

Yue glanced at the sandworm attacking from the left and muttered, instantly releasing a wind blade that cut through the air, slicing the sandworm horizontally into two pieces, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The same scene occurred on the side Tio was responsible for.

"Wow, as expected of Yue. What a good wind."

"Of course, I used the wind of the sandstorm. Tio is also as expected."

The [Wind Blade] they both chose simultaneously is classified as a beginner-level wind attack magic, but the [Wind Blade] they just released had reached the power of intermediate-level magic. This is because they utilized the strong wind outside. In terms of magic power alone, the magic they released was not particularly powerful. Excellent mages use the situation and environment to choose the most suitable magic. It sounds simple, but it is very difficult to execute. Indeed, Yue and Tio are highly skilled.

The three sandworms from before followed them from behind. Their speed underground was quite fast. Aichi, starting to feel annoyed, activated the four-wheeler's mechanism. A loud bang came from the rear of the vehicle, and a part of the shell opened, releasing several black spherical objects.

The sandworms pursued the four-wheeler from directly behind. When the black spheres intersected with them, a massive explosion occurred. The impact blew the ground apart, and the sandworms, which were advancing underground, were blown out and severely injured. Aichi continued to roll out more black objects—grenades—which caused another massive explosion, blowing the sandworms apart. The upper halves of their bodies flew through the air and disappeared into the sandstorm.

"Wow—, that's amazing. Mr. Aichi, how many hidden functions does this four-wheeler have?"

Shia, looking out the rear window at the sandworms flying apart, asked Aichi. Aichi smiled mischievously.

"Ultimately, it transforms into a giant humanoid universal weapon—Transformers."

"..."

Although they wanted to call it a foolish statement, if it was Aichi, he might actually do it. Not only Shia, but Yue and Tio also began to look around the vehicle silently. Aichi smiled wryly.

"Just kidding. After all, there are too many problems with such a function... But I do admire it."

If it was Aichi, he would find a way to make it happen someday, Yue and the others were sure.

Aichi and the others continued to advance, laughing and joking. They encountered more monsters, such as copper-colored spiders and ants, but they were all easily crushed by the four-wheeler's armaments and Yue and Tio's attack magic, unable to stop the vehicle's advance.

"I'm, useless."

Shia, feeling dejected in the back seat, was ignored. Thus, Aichi and the others easily broke through the massive sandstorm that had blocked many adventurers.

With a "pop," the four-wheeler emerged from the sandstorm. In front of Aichi and the others was a rock mountain that looked like Ayers Rock, but magnified several times over. After breaking through the sandstorm, the area ahead was calm, surrounded by the wall of the sandstorm, with a clear sky visible above. It was like the eye of a tornado.

The entrance to the Ancient Lune Great Volcano is at the top of the mountain, so the four-wheeler began to climb the slope. The exposed rocks were a dark red, and steam was spewing out everywhere. Despite being an active volcano, it had never erupted, which was one of the mysteries of the Great Labyrinth.

Soon, the slope became so steep that it was dangerous for the four-wheeler, so Aichi and the others got out and walked towards the summit.

"Ugh... Ah, it's so hot."

"Hmm~..."

"Indeed. This heat is different from the scorching heat caused by desert sunlight... It's best to clear this as quickly as possible, even without a time limit."

"Hmm, I find this temperature just right... It's not enough to make my body shake with pain... It's not exciting enough."

"...I'll throw you into the lava later."

Upon stepping outside, everyone except Tio showed a dislike for the heat. This was the downside of the comfortable air-conditioned space; a sudden change in temperature made it feel even hotter. Despite being adventurers or travelers in a different world, they were experiencing the same discomfort as a modern Japanese hikikomori... It was their own fault.

With little time to spare, despite complaining about the heat, the group quickly advanced towards the summit, moving through the rocky terrain as if gravity didn't exist, and successfully climbed the mountain. In the end, Aichi and the others reached the summit in less than an hour.

The summit they finally reached was a place filled with boulders. The rocks were of various sizes and shapes, some sharp and others smooth like mirrors, creating a bizarre and surreal landscape. From the summit, the sandstorm looked close enough to touch.

Among the bizarre rocks, there was a particularly large one that stood out. It was shaped like a skewed arch, about ten meters long.

Aichi and the others walked to it and found a large staircase leading into the Ancient Lune Great Volcano at the base of the arch-shaped rock. Aichi stopped in front of the staircase, turned to look at Yue, Shia, and Tio, and confidently issued the challenge to the Great Labyrinth with a single word.

"Let's go!"

"Okay!"

"Yes!"

"Um-hmm!"

---

The interior of the Ancient Lune Great Volcano was an even more formidable place than the Orkus Great Labyrinth or the Reisen Great Labyrinth.

It wasn't about the difficulty, but the internal structure.

First, lava flowed in the air. Unlike the water channels in the air in the fey nation of Fyabel, the lava here floated in the air, flowing like rivers. The scorching lava twisted and turned in the air, resembling intertwining red dragons.

Additionally, lava flowed in the corridors and halls, and the challengers of the labyrinth had to be cautious of the lava on both the ground and the ceiling.

Moreover,

"Ugh!"

"Whoa, are you okay?"

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Aichi. The lava suddenly spurted out... I didn't notice it at all."

As Shia said, lava would suddenly spurt out from the walls. It was truly sudden and without any warning, making it difficult to detect. It was a natural automatic trap. Fortunately, Aichi had the [Heat Source Sense] skill. Without this skill, they would have to be cautious of the walls and proceed carefully, which would significantly slow down their progress.

Even more severe than the intermittent lava geysers was the oppressive heat—scorching heat. Lava flowed in the corridors and halls, making it feel like a sauna or experiencing the mindset of an ant on a hot pan. The high temperature was the most troublesome element of the Ancient Lune Great Volcano.

Aichi and the others dripped with sweat, dodging the lava dripping from the lava rivers above and the lava spurting from the walls, advancing as quickly as possible. Soon, they reached a large hall where they discovered several areas with signs of human excavation. The walls were broken and damaged, as if they had been chiseled with a pickaxe, and from part of the wall, they could see pale pink minerals.

"Oh? Are these Static Stones...? Hmm."

"Um-hmm, that's right, Master."

In response to Aichi's confirming words, the knowledgeable Tio agreed. Clearly, this was a place similar to a mining site, where adventurers who broke through the sandstorm and entered the Ancient Lune Great Volcano would dig for Static Stones.

"...They're so small."

"Other places only have small pebbles..."

As Yue said, the remaining Static Stones were mostly smaller than a pinky finger. Most had been mined out, or perhaps the Static Stones were naturally small. Indeed, the recovery rate of Static Stones in the surface layers was poor, and to obtain a large quantity at once, it was necessary to go deeper.

Aichi used [Mineral Detection] to check for Static Stones, collected some, and stored them in the [Treasure Vault] before urging Yue and the others to move forward.

Enduring the heat, the four descended to the seventh level. According to the records, this was the deepest level that adventurers had reached. No one who went deeper had ever returned alive. The group tensed and descended the stairs to the eighth level.

At that moment,

Gwooooom!!

A strong heat wave was stirred, and suddenly, a massive flame approached Aichi and the others. An orange wall spiraled towards them.

"Absolute Calamity."

Yue cast a spell to counter the flame, and in front of Aichi and the others, a black vortex sphere appeared. It was a gravity magic. However, it wasn't meant to crush the target by pressing it to the ground.

The deadly flames that could easily burn a person to ashes were sucked into the sixty-centimeter black vortex sphere and disappeared completely. Even the aftereffects were swallowed, or rather, destroyed. The black vortex sphere—gravity magic [Absolute Calamity]—generated gravity, attracting everything into it, acting as a shield.

The flame attack was completely absorbed by Yue's super-gravity vortex, and following the trajectory, they discovered the attacker.

It was a bull. Covered in lava, it stood in a pool of lava. It had two curved, sharp horns on its head, and with each breath, it spewed fire from its mouth. Even heat resistance has its limits! This monster couldn't help but make one want to comment on it.

Seeing its innate magic, the Flame Cannon, easily nullified, the lava bull seemed to be angry. It stomped its hooves on the lava, preparing to charge.

In response to the lava bull, Yue's super-gravity vortex suddenly split towards it. Instantly, the compressed flames became a cannon, shooting straight at the lava bull. The laser-like cannon, compressed, was more powerful than the one the lava bull had released. This was Yue's counterattack, and the lava bull, which was about to charge, took a direct hit on its nose.

Gwooooom!!

With a loud explosion, the space shook violently, and the lava bull, standing in the lava, seemed to be blown away. The strong impact sent it flying backward, tumbling and crashing into the wall. However, it let out a roar, whether in pain or anger, and immediately got up, charging with even more ferocity to eliminate the intruders.

"Hmm... Fire seems to be ineffective."

"Well, when we saw it covered in lava... It's understandable."

After countering the Flame Cannon, Yue expressed her dissatisfaction. Aichi, while smiling wryly, drew Dona, but Shia, standing beside him, volunteered.

"Mr. Aichi, let me handle it!"

Shia, holding Dorugen, seemed full of energy, her breathing slightly rapid. Aichi was puzzled by her unusual enthusiasm, but when he saw the magic power she injected into Dorugen through his Magic Stone Eye, he realized she wanted to try out a new function and nodded in agreement.

"Great~! I'll take care of it~!"

Shia, full of energy, took a step forward and jumped towards the lava bull, which was already a few meters ahead.

Her body spun in the air, generating centrifugal force, and at the perfect moment, she swung Dorugen directly at the charging lava bull. The swing hit the bull's head as if it were being sucked in. At that moment, a pale blue magic ripple spread from the point of impact, followed by a terrifying shock. The lava bull's head exploded as if it had been blasted.

Shia used the embedded Dorugen as a pivot, spinning again in the air, and with the momentum, she flew over the lava bull, which was sliding on the ground after being knocked down, landing gracefully.

"Oh, oh. Mr. Aichi, the power of this new function is so amazing, even I, the attacker, was deeply impressed."

"Ah, it seems so... I was wondering what [Impact Conversion] would be like, and it's quite... impressive."

Not only Aichi, but Yue and Tio also couldn't help but admire the power of Shia's strike. As Aichi said, this was thanks to the [Impact Conversion] innate magic.

[Impact Conversion] is a new innate magic Aichi acquired, a derivative skill of magic power conversion. Its effect is exactly as the name suggests: it can convert magic power into impact force.

A few days ago, Aichi effortlessly crushed a horse-headed monster in the Orkus Great Labyrinth. This was its ability. In fact, when he recovered the stake, Aichi secretly recovered and consumed the horse-headed monster's flesh, thereby acquiring this skill.

At that time, Aichi was able to accurately locate the positions of Hikari and the others because Hikari's Limit Break caused a strong magic fluctuation. For Aichi