Chapter 27 - Crisis

Link didn't know what was happening in the guild at the time because he and Olga were continuing to conquer the dungeon. 

Floors 13-24 are suitable for LV.2; they belong to the middle level of the dungeon.

Adventurers refer to them as the "initial death line" because, starting from this level, many monsters will use long-range attacks similar to magic. If you are not careful, you could die here. 

Floor 15. 

Link and Olga arrived here. Compared to the upper level, the cave became wider and the ceiling higher as they descended.

In addition to the normal routes to the lower levels, there were also vertical caves leading downward. It was much more complex than before. 

As soon as he entered this place, Link sensed a quiet and oppressive atmosphere. The surroundings were empty. The 'Gaia's Love' skill didn't seem to be working. There were no monsters in sight, which felt slightly abnormal. 

It was like the calm before the storm. 

If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Link tightened his grip on the spear and said to Olga, "It feels a bit off, Olga; be careful." 

"Um!" 

Olga nodded firmly, unconsciously clutching the wand in her hand, and leaned closer to Link. 

In this dark dungeon, only Link's side could provide her with the greatest sense of security. 

The two of them slowly moved forward. 

Suddenly... 

'Stkk! Kakkk!' 

Countless monsters abruptly emerged from the walls. Within moments, the entire cave was filled with these newly spawned monsters, not just in front but also behind them. 

As several hellhounds that suddenly appeared from behind landed, they opened their massive mouths and spat flames directly at Link and Olga without giving them any time to react. 

"Not good!" 

Link, now promoted to LV.2, was the first to react. He immediately jumped toward Olga, rolling with her in his arms, narrowly avoiding the incoming flames.

At the same time, the light weapon behind him shot out, pinning the hellhounds in place. 

However, more monsters seized the opportunity to surround him. 

"Lord Link, this is going to be difficult, both ahead and behind..." 

Olga stood up from the ground and surveyed the front and back of the cave, a solemn expression in her beautiful eyes. 

The current situation resembled a battlefield, except that the overwhelming number of foes had transformed into monsters, and more critically, their retreat was also cut off, trapping the two of them amidst the overwhelming horde. 

Even too many ants can kill an elephant. 

In the dungeon, once you are surrounded by monsters, the continuous onslaught can drag adventurers down alive. 

The current situation was not optimistic.

Olga still had some energy left and cast a few magic spells to create some space for the two of them to move. However, later, the intense attacks from the monsters weakened her, and she fell into a dilemma where she could do nothing, feeling embarrassed. 

Like the flames spewed by hellhounds, Link also had to dodge. If he didn't dodge, he would be injured. Once he dodged, the monsters would continue forward, squeezing the few spaces available for movement for Link and Olga. 

In the end, Link could only let Olga hold on to the wall. He stood in front of her, protecting her, concentrating on facing the monsters' attacks from all directions and using all his strength to defeat the approaching creatures. 

Beads of sweat began to fall from Link's forehead... 

"Lord Link, we..." 

Olga held the wand and could only huddle behind Link. At that moment, she looked weak, and the fire essence cloth covering her body had been torn to shreds by the hellhounds' attack. 

Looking at the group of monsters that had barely diminished, a look of despair appeared on her face. 

"We will leave!" 

Link kept repeating this, not only to encourage Olga not to give up, but also to reassure himself... 

Gae Dearg in his hand never stopped for a moment, and the waving spear tip continued to reap the incoming monsters. 

However, the encirclement was still tightening, and the monsters in front of him seemed to have not diminished at all. When Link killed one, two were born in the dungeon... 

The situation was getting worse, with countless monsters appearing like an overwhelming force! 

Link used all his strength and employed Fire Essence Weaving to hold back the flames spewed by the two hellhounds. Using this skill, countless light weapons shot out from Link's back, followed by the spear's final strike in his hand.

With a powerful sweep, a large area of densely packed monsters at the back of the passage was suddenly cleared. 

"Olga, let's go now!" 

Link sacrificed his life to create this opportunity. He had originally wanted Olga to escape first.

However, behind the group of monsters, two newly born Minotaurs rushed out like mad cows! 

"Moohh!" 

The dungeon did not want to give Link any chance to escape.

Today, Link finally feels the deep malice of the dungeon. The Minotaur's sharp horns were already in front of him.

At the critical moment, Link held the spear in his hand across his chest to block the Minotaur's attack, although he was still hit by it.

He slid back several meters against the immense force, but at least he successfully blocked this fatal blow.

The collision was successfully contained, but the Minotaur's actions did not stop. It skillfully raised its head, and Link, who had the spear between its two horns, was directly thrown into the air by this force.

The Gae Dearg in his hand was also caught between the Minotaur's horns, so he let go of it.

"Oops!" Gae Dearg left his hand, and his body was thrown into the air again…

A group of monsters watched anxiously from below, waiting for their prey to fall to the ground. At the moment of crisis, the space in Link's hand distorted and rippled, and a blood-red long knife appeared in Link's hand instead of Gae Dearg.

Holding the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood, Link kept swinging the long knife in the air at an extremely fast speed and actually launched several long-distance slashes that resembled "sword energy."

When Link landed, the nearby monsters were all torn apart by this "sword energy," including the Minotaur that had thrown him away. "Return!" he shouted!

The bloody spear flew back into Link's hand, and Link was about to breathe a sigh of relief…

"Lord Link!" Orica's screams rang out from the side! Link had just retracted his spear and had no time to take any other actions; he turned back in response, but it was too late!

Another Minotaur rushed forward, and the powerful impact pushed Link back for more than ten meters. The sharp horns directly penetrated the armor on Link's chest, accompanied by a 'Bang Dong!' sound, as the Minotaur forcefully slammed Link into the stone wall.

The dungeon doesn't want to give Link a chance to breathe!

"Ahem..."

Link felt a sweet sensation in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. His abdomen seemed to have been pierced by the horns.