After defeating the lv17 Elroe Blazing Dragon, Ryu Takeno reached lv20 and could evolve into the advanced race Elroe Overlord Serpent.
But he couldn't evolve immediately.
Ryu Takeno didn't know how long he'd sleep during evolution, so he needed a safe place.
The middle layer wasn't safe.
This was the fire dragon's territory. Defeating the Blazing Dragon didn't mean they'd conquered the middle layer; the true boss was the fire dragon Rend, titled "Dragon."
It should be dwelling in the center of the middle layer…
Ryu Takeno decided to return to the initial entrance, where the lowest-level fire dragons were. He theorized that stronger fire dragons lived closer to the center. The magma lake there was larger and deeper; a dragon like Rend would disdain the smaller magma pools at the edge.
That seemed the safest place.
The upper layer was too narrow; evolving there might result in getting stuck. And adventurers frequented the area.
The lower layer was even more dangerous; that was the earth dragon's territory. Evolving there would be like offering himself as food.
"The Blazing Dragon's corpse is yours." Ryu Takeno looked at the still-leaking Blazing Dragon with disgust, pushing it towards Kumoko.
"Eh? Takeno-kun isn't eating? You worked hard to kill it."
"No, it's all yours."
A perfectly good fire dragon, now looking like a poisonous dragon; even without a sense of taste, he had lost his appetite.
"Yay~ Takeno-kun is the best!"
Kumoko couldn't wait to eat.
The catfish and eels had been so delicious; the evolved dragon would likely be just as good.
Just as she was about to eat, Ryu Takeno stopped her.
Danger!!
Kumoko also sensed something bad; staying there would bring trouble.
"Go!"
Ryu Takeno quickly retreated with the eel, catfish, and Blazing Dragon corpses. To preserve these delicacies, Kumoko even used the Strength Boost skill to reinforce her silk, packaging the corpses for easy transport by Ryu Takeno.
Sigh.
Never underestimate a foodie's determination.
Shortly after they returned to the edge, a red Western dragon appeared where they'd fought—Rend, sensing its subordinates' deaths.
Subordinates dying wasn't unusual.
In the Elroe Great Labyrinth, monsters were constantly being hunted and killed; inter-monster battles were commonplace. However, the Blazing Dragon was a particularly planned evolution of dragon-type monster. While fire dragons were plentiful, the success rate of evolving into a true dragon was extremely low.
Compared to the earth dragons, the fire dragons were incredibly few in number.
However, this wasn't entirely due to the difficulty of evolution; earth dragons were also dragons, and they didn't have this problem.
The main problem lay with Rend itself.
This hot-tempered dragon had a hobby: challenging the strongest boss in the Elroe Great Labyrinth, the Queen Spider. Each challenge was with a group of subordinates, resulting in their deaths, leaving only Rend alive due to a pact between its leader and the Queen.
This dimwitted dragon, perhaps mistakenly believing the Queen wouldn't kill it, gathered its forces whenever they recovered and challenged her again.
Each fire dragon was a crucial chip in its challenge against the Queen Spider.
The next challenge was approaching, and the sudden loss of a key combatant prompted it to investigate.
Unfortunately, when it arrived, Kumoko and Ryu Takeno had already fled.
…
"Shiro, I'm going to evolve; you're on your own for a while."
"Takeno-kun, don't worry! Stick to me, and you'll be fine! I'll keep you safe!" Kumoko confidently patted her abdomen, looking confident, even striking a few poses to show off her muscles and prove her strength.
Seeing Kumoko's antics, Ryu Takeno sighed helplessly.
"I didn't ask you to protect me, but to protect yourself." He dove into the magma. He knew Kumoko wouldn't abandon him.
He hid in the magma to avoid attracting unwanted attention with the light emitted during evolution.
Evolution began.
Intense drowsiness washed over Ryu Takeno; he had to stay awake.
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