Chapter 332: Golden Portal

Alex didn’t bother responding, although he found their reactions somewhat amusing. In his opinion, there were several people just as ridiculous as him, including Mrs. Ophelia, whose mastery and talent in Aura had surprised even Alex.

Then there was Roan, who could kill Wild Orcs with a single punch without using any Aura whatsoever. Roan had invested all his Stat Points into Constitution, yet through tempering alone, he had managed to improve his Strength and Agility as well.

"Let’s go. We’ve already spent enough time here," Alex said, approaching the opening in the floor. After one final check of their diving equipment, everyone followed him into the dark water.

Alex covered the pieces of his Fire Mana Armor with a thin layer of mana, preventing the flames from coming into direct contact with the surrounding water. Otherwise, the heat would continuously turn the water into steam, potentially interfering with everyone’s visibility.

The group descended into the submerged section and began exploring the surrounding corridors. Much like the floor above, this level contained numerous doors and rooms, although everything was completely flooded.

Strangely, they didn’t encounter any monsters despite searching several passages. After swimming around for some time without discovering anything useful, they eventually found another opening in the floor and decided to investigate it.

Unlike the previous openings, this one led into a long staircase descending much farther than they could see. The group exchanged glances before following the stairs downward, keeping their weapons ready in case something attacked them.

The water pressure had surpassed what was normally safe for humans, but none of them felt any discomfort. Their improved bodies were working wonders.

To provide illumination, Alex created several fireballs and surrounded each with a thin protective layer of mana. The flames illuminated the surrounding water without producing steam, allowing his companions to see where they were going.

Alex found the experience surprisingly fascinating. His improved mana sphere spell allowed him to detect even the smallest movements in the water, including the currents created whenever one of his companions moved their arms or legs.

Normally, processing that much information would have been overwhelming, but Advanced Battle Instinct handled it without much difficulty. Instead, the constant stream of sensory information produced a strange, pleasant sensation in his mind, making the entire experience feel almost euphoric.

’This is incredible. I didn’t realize sensing everything around me could feel this interesting,’ Alex thought, enjoying the novelty of his new ability. Nevertheless, he remained alert, continuously examining the surrounding water for anything unusual.

Eventually, the staircase ended before an enormous pair of metal doors. Alex attempted to extend his mana wisps beyond them, but the doors prevented his mana from passing through, leaving him unable to determine what was waiting on the other side.

Before anyone could suggest what to do next, the enormous doors suddenly began opening. Water immediately rushed through the widening gap, creating a powerful current that dragged the entire group forward.

Despite their attempts to regain control, everyone was pulled through the entrance before the doors slammed shut behind them. The rushing water threw them across the floor of an enormous hall, although Alex and Joseph managed to recover his balance almost immediately.

Alex quickly realized that the hall wasn’t submerged, and without wasting time, he released several pulse-type Mana Spheres to investigate its surroundings. As the spheres expanded farther into the chamber, the information they returned made his blood run cold.

"Everyone, get ready to fight!" Alex shouted, as an enormous water sword came flying toward them.

He immediately fired three Mana Bullets covered in Disruption Mana, intercepting the attack before it could reach his companions.

The enormous weapon shattered upon contact, scattering water across the surrounding floor. However, Alex barely paid attention to the destroyed attack because he was still processing what his mana pulses had revealed.

The hall was enormous, covering an area equivalent to several dozen football fields combined, but its size wasn’t what surprised him. The entire chamber was filled with Krakens, and even his initial mana pulses had detected at least thirty monsters.

More disturbingly, approximately eight of them appeared to be High Rank Species Krakens. It seemed that nearly every monster in the Dungeon had gathered inside this single chamber.

’So this is where all the monsters disappeared to,’ Alex realized, finally understanding why the previous floors had been almost completely deserted.

However, the Krakens weren’t the only interesting things inside the hall. Near its center stood an enormous arched gate that appeared to be part of the Vault’s original structure, with a swirling mass of Origin Energy suspended within it.

’A portal?’ Alex wondered, examining the structure more carefully.

Something about it felt different from the portals he had encountered previously, although he couldn’t immediately identify what was unusual.

"Is that... a golden portal?" Emma muttered, staring toward the enormous gate.

Alex was surprised by her observation, since his current sensing technique couldn’t distinguish colors.

Until Emma mentioned it, he hadn’t realized that the portal was golden rather than the usual blue. He suspected that the unusual portal was the reason the Krakens had abandoned the other sections of the Dungeon and gathered here.

Before he could investigate further, several enormous tentacles began moving toward their position, while numerous water weapons formed above the surrounding Krakens.

"Form a defensive perimeter! I’ll head into the horde and draw their attention away from you. I can sense Matthew’s group fighting on the other side of the hall!" Alex shouted, immediately preparing to move.

"Got it! We’ll hold our position here, so don’t worry about us!" Joseph replied, releasing an enormous projectile infused with accumulated Kinetic Mana toward the approaching monsters.

Alex didn’t waste another moment and dashed forward, rapidly creating pulse-type Mana Spheres covered in Disruption Mana. He expanded them throughout the surrounding area, intercepting the dozens of enormous water weapons flying toward his companions.

Although Mana Vortex Spell—or solid-type Mana Sphere as Alex was now calling it—was more efficient in several ways, his previous combination of pulse-type Mana Sphere and Disruption Mana could cover a much larger area. That made it considerably more useful for defending against attacks arriving from multiple directions.

However, as Alex continued intercepting the incoming weapons, he quickly noticed something troubling. While the attacks launched by the Mid Rank Species Krakens disintegrated almost immediately, those created by the High Rank Species Krakens remained largely unaffected.

Alex quickly realized that he needed a much higher concentration of Disruption Mana to break apart their attacks.

..

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