Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

Flames filled the cave at the entrance to the 51st floor, lasting a full seven seconds before finally dissipating.

In Charles's hand, the magic sword shattered into fragments.

"Dragon Roar," the magic sword Charles had forged, had been infused with his and Fal's magical energy during its creation. He had successfully inscribed the spell formation for "Dragon's Roar," making it a product of the combined magical knowledge from both his worlds.

The power unleashed by Dragon Roar was roughly 80% of what Charles could achieve by casting "Dragon's Roar" at full strength himself. It had wiped out all the worm creatures crawling out of the tunnel in an instant.

Unfortunately, due to Charles's still-developing crafting skills, Dragon Roar Version 1 could only be used once.

Finn approached with the members of Loki Familia and remarked, "So that's your magic sword? That was terrifying!"

Charles looked at the remaining sword hilt in his hand and replied, "Too bad—Dragon Roar can only be used once."

Finn said with surprise, "With that kind of power, once is more than enough! But… you already used your magic sword? Was something going on?"

Before Charles could reply, Raul stepped up and said, "Captain Finn, here's what happened…"

As he listened to Raul's explanation, Finn furrowed his brows.

A new species of monster whose blood could corrode equipment? Finn had never seen any such creature listed in the Guild's records.

Judging by Raul's lingering shock, the incident was clearly real.

But in uncharted territory like the deep floors, unexpected developments were to be expected. Finn had already mentally prepared himself for that.

Still, he gave Charles a long, thoughtful look. He hadn't forgotten who it was that noticed the threat before the monster had even appeared. Clearly, Charles was far more mysterious than he had originally believed.

Riveria asked, "So, what's our next move? If we keep pressing forward, we could run into dangers we can't handle."

Finn looked back toward the camp. Because Charles had wiped out the worm monsters so thoroughly, most of the others didn't seem to grasp the true threat the new species posed.

But he did. As both the captain responsible for everyone's safety, and due to the increasing prickling in his thumb, everything was screaming at him: danger lies ahead.

After licking his thumb, Finn said, "You're right. We can't rush ahead recklessly. But retreating now wouldn't sit right with me either.

Our whole purpose for this expedition is to explore uncharted floors and gather intel on the Dungeon. So I've decided—the main force will remain on the 50th floor, while I lead an elite team further down.

As for the advance party: Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Bete, Tione, Tiona—please come with me.

Riveria, I need you to check our food and water supplies. Gareth, gather up all our spare weapons. We may encounter more of those equipment-corroding creatures."

Then he turned to Charles and asked, "Charles, do you have any more magic swords?"

Charles lifted his cloak, revealing its interior lining, which had been modified to hold weapons. Four pristine magic swords were neatly slotted inside.

He smiled and said, "Of course. Adventurers are supposed to carry three sets of equipment—the one they're using, a backup, and a backup for the backup. Since magic swords are consumables, I brought all five of the Dragon Roars I finished forging. Time was tight, so that's all I could make."

Finn's jaw dropped slightly—he hadn't expected Charles to be this… thorough.

But he had to admit, just seeing those four remaining swords eased the pain in his thumb.

He'd seen the destructive power of Dragon Roar firsthand. With four more of them in reserve, even if they ran into serious trouble, they'd still have a means of escape.

Charles's plan to firmly establish his persona as a "magic swordsmith" had clearly worked.

Finn cleared his throat and asked, "In that case, would you be willing to come down with us?

Of course, including the sword you've already used—if we end up needing your support again, we'll make sure you're properly compensated."

Even if Finn hadn't asked, Charles had already planned to find a way to join them. Since the invitation was extended directly, he wasn't about to refuse.

"If I can be of help, I'd be glad to. I'll go make some preparations."

Finn nodded. "Perfect—we need to get the gear ready too. See you shortly."

As Charles walked away, Riveria came over and asked, "Normally, in a case like this, we'd just buy the magic swords at a high price. Why bring that Hephaestus Familia boy along?

And Ais's attitude toward him is odd too. Are you hiding something from us?"

Finn's suspicion toward Charles had come from his own deductions, so aside from Loki and Ais—who had already sensed something unusual—he hadn't told anyone else.

With a mysterious smile, Finn replied, "That boy's quite something. Maybe you'll see for yourself soon."

Riveria was puzzled, but with work to do, she didn't press further and turned to handle her assignments.

Before long, the elite squad had assembled again and began their advance toward the 51st floor.

Upon passing through the tunnel entrance, they saw the aftermath of Charles's magic sword up close. Entire sections of the cavern wall had been vitrified—melted into smooth, glass-like surfaces by intense heat.

They couldn't help but wonder if the Dungeon's self-repair system could even recover from this kind of damage.

Deeper into the tunnel, they found charred remains—evidence of the devastation—and finally stepped out to behold the 51st floor.

"Hold up," Finn said, raising a hand.

Everyone stopped and looked where Finn was pointing.

Near the entrance was one of the worm creatures. It had survived somehow, perhaps thanks to being in a relatively sheltered spot when Charles had fired the Dragon Roar. But even so, over half its body had been burned away. If its magic stone hadn't been spared, it would've been dead already.

Finn drew a short sword and walked over. With a single thrust, he stabbed the still-squirming monster.

Purple blood oozed from the wound—and within seconds, the sword was completely corroded.

"Just as I thought…"

Now having witnessed it with his own eyes, Finn had a precise grasp of how dangerous this new species was.

Though his sword was destroyed, it was enough to finish off the monster.

The worm creature burst into black smoke, leaving behind a dark green magic stone.

Finn picked it up and examined it carefully, then tucked it safely into his belt pouch.

"Alright—let's move on!"

Though he kept a calm expression, Charles noticed that Finn was licking his thumb more frequently.

But Charles was more focused on the steady stream of monsters emerging around them.

Even the weakest monsters in the deep floors were estimated at Level 5 strength. Fortunately, the elite members of Loki Familia proved their worth, and they pushed forward smoothly to the 52nd floor.

Starting here, the structure of the deep floors would begin to distort. From this point through the 58th floor, adventurers had a name for this section:

"The Dragon's Urn."

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