The Absolute Godspeed of Infinite Worlds

Boom!

Amid hearty laughter, a meteor descended from the sky, accurately smashing the first charging Valgang dragon to the ground.

"You're too slow, old man!" Tiona complained cheerfully.

"Sorry, sorry! Got held up by some wyverns above!"

From within the dust, the dwarven warrior Gareth gripped the Valgang dragon's head, his full beard giving him a kindly appearance.

"There was even a wyvern lord up there. Without any quick-path magic, I had to fight my way through one by one—Hah!"

With a sudden roar, he exerted both arms and lifted the entire dragon off the ground, spinning it violently like a windmill.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The following dragons were immediately sent flying as the spinning dragon became an improvised weapon.

"Be careful, these dragons are heavy!"

Gareth released the windmill, letting it spin freely before crashing into the ground in the distance. Then, flexing his wrists, he spoke nonchalantly.

"If you don't brace yourselves, even you two could be seriously injured by a single swipe. Try to outmaneuver them with speed or agility!"

"Understood," Eiji nodded.

Dragons were rare species, exceptionally powerful.

This wasn't just reflected in their long-range fireballs—their close-combat strength was equally formidable.

"Six left."

Tiona focused on the remaining Valgang dragons regrouping.

"Two each! Let's see who finishes first!"

Tiona raised her indestructible greatsword, grinning brightly.

"Then I'll take the lead!"

Eiji crouched low, gripping his twin blades as he charged forward.

"Hey, cheating! I didn't say go yet!"

Tiona shouted indignantly before rushing in as well.

"Haha, the youngsters these days are so full of energy!"

Gareth laughed heartily, his twin axes in hand as he too erupted with fighting spirit.

The six Valgang dragons shuddered.

The three humans charging at them all bore the eyes of hunters—as if, to them, the dragons weren't mighty beasts but mere prey like tigers or wolves.

"Roar!"

Feeling their dignity challenged, the Valgang dragons cast aside their inexplicable unease and roared as they charged.

The battle reignited, roars shaking the sky!

...

"Wow, was this floor always a sea of fire?"

At the southernmost part of the floor—the entrance to the 57th level—the other division of Loki Familia finally arrived after a long sprint, having slain countless upper-floor monsters.

Tsubaki, the strongest blacksmith of Hephaestus Familia, marveled at the flames covering the 58th floor.

"No, we've been here before. It was a crimson wasteland, but never a sea of fire."

Finn, holding golden and silver spears, scanned the scene and quickly grasped the situation.

"Lefiya used her magic, didn't she?"

Riveria smiled faintly, pleased at the sight before her.

"Magic stones and drop items are scattered everywhere. This was definitely Lefiya's ultra-large-scale magic at work. And they were too busy to even collect the materials."

Tione kicked up a magic stone the size of a basketball at her feet.

"Let's hurry and regroup with them."

Even Ais's typically expressionless face had turned grave.

"Move out!"

Finn gave a solemn nod and led the group northward with their supporters.

Along the way, few monsters could be seen, and large quantities of dropped materials littered the ground, completely ignored.

Seeing this, the group couldn't help but form a vague suspicion in their hearts.

"Boom!

A sudden deafening roar echoed.

Their hearts tightened, and they immediately rushed toward the source of the sound.

Before long, a Valgang dragon disintegrated before their eyes, losing all color as it turned into black smoke and vanished, leaving behind a magic stone half a person's height.

"Wow! Valgang dragon claws everywhere!"

Tsubaki cheered.

The sight of so many materials overwhelmed her restraint, and she dashed forward, stuffing them one by one into her backpack.

Meanwhile, the others turned their attention to the center of the battlefield.

"You've worked hard."

Finn's eyes brimmed with deep relief as he took in their figures.

"It's a relief there were no casualties!"

The monsters before them had been wiped out once again.

Eiji, Tiona, and even Gareth were panting heavily, sweat pouring down their faces, their clothes nearly soaked through.

Eiji and Gareth's armor bore numerous cracks, while Tiona was covered in bloodstains.

Even Lefiya, who had been the most protected, looked dazed, her spirit on the verge of exhaustion.

They had been fighting relentlessly for hours.

Despite annihilating wave after wave of monsters, unleashing massive spells, and swinging blades and axes without pause, the creatures continued to emerge endlessly.

The unending high-intensity combat had drained their stamina to the extreme.

Only the recovery potions Lefiya had brought down allowed them to barely hold the line without defeat.

"Huff... Finn, if you'd arrived even an hour later, this old man wouldn't have known what to do!"

Gareth dropped his battle-axe to the ground, forcing out a strained but unyielding grin.

"Potions, now!"

At Finn's command, Raul, Alicia, and the others quickly retrieved their backpacks, pulling out potions to restore stamina, mana, and heal injuries, handing them over in bulk.

After downing over a dozen potions, their complexions gradually improved.

"Gareth, didn't you consider heading for the stairways to the 57th or 59th floors?"

Once everyone had settled, Finn finally relaxed slightly before asking intently.

"Of course we did."

Gareth's lips twisted into a strange smile.

"Few monsters target the stairways, so they're supposed to be safer. That's what we thought too, so we checked both the 57th and 59th floor stairways... but they were even more dangerous than here!"

The stairways were more perilous than the center of the floor!

Finn's eyes flashed.

"Could it be...?"

"It's better to see for yourselves."

After exchanging glances, the group quickly reached a consensus.

Once fully recovered, they all dashed swiftly toward the northernmost stairway.

"...This is too much."

At the stairway leading to the 59th floor, Riveria's face darkened as she took in the sight.

Everywhere she looked—

There were only insects.

Their skin was multicolored, nearly ten meters long, with no facial features and an alarming number of fleshy protuberances covering their bodies.

Countless giant caterpillars had completely blocked the narrow stairway entrance, leaving no possible path forward.

The green caterpillars possessed extremely potent corrosive properties—in a way, they were even more troublesome than Valgang dragons. This place was indeed far more dangerous than the center of the floor!