Reborn as an Extra Chapter 612: Lia’s Adventure Begins! Part-1.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
As soon as Lia passed through the dungeon gate, she landed on an enormous beach, where the crashing sounds of waves against the shore filled her ears.
The briny scent of the sea breeze struck her face, making her golden locks flutter gently in the wind.
"This is..."
[And just as I predicted, that buff simpleton got separated from us immediately! I knew it all along!]
[I had a strong suspicion this would occur!]
With Kai's yells echoing in her mind, Lia swiftly scanned the surroundings and realized she stood alone on this vast beach!
James was completely out of sight, and the portal that had brought her here had sealed shut and vanished in an instant!
"Sigh, I've faced so many situations like this that worry doesn't even cross my mind anymore..."
Confronted by this scenario, Lia shook her head with a sense of resignation.
While adventuring with Team Astra, she'd often been randomly isolated from the group in similar ways, so James's disappearance held no surprise for her whatsoever.
"Still, the portal vanishing poses a real issue... it signifies a dungeon where the exit only manifests after you've defeated the boss successfully..."
"And as an A-ranker, taking down the boss of an S-rank dungeon is beyond my capabilities..."
[Well, this must be the 'Adaptation' that muscle-headed fool mentioned... the dungeon adjusted itself to match you...]
[It has issued the challenge... now, either ascend to S-rank and conquer the boss, or face doom within this dungeon...]
[The result hinges on your actions now...]
Those words drew a subtle smile to Lia's lips as she gazed out at the endless ocean and declared.
"I will conquer this dungeon whatever it takes... I cannot fall here; someone awaits me back home, after all..."
The image of a certain stoic face surfaced in her thoughts as she amplified the spirit magic flowing to her wings, causing them to expand.
Resolve hardened on her features, Lia took to the skies, sweeping the area below with her keen spiritual sense.
[S-rank dungeons vary in forms and styles; some are direct paths of endless battles leading straight to the boss...]
[Yet others function as complete ecosystems with expansive lands and spaces, rendering the true boss monster hard to locate...]
[Judging by appearances, this falls into the latter category...]
"Yeah... this is going to be a drawn-out quest..."
Lia had once entered a dungeon much like this with Team Astra, fulfilling the entry conditions for the supreme tournament qualifications.
The Dungeon of Maya covered thousands of kilometers in scope, and they had never fully charted its depths.
It recreated a pivotal 'moment' from history, filled with a savage environment and mighty monsters lurking within.
In those days, Lia relied on her companions to overcome it together, but circumstances differed now; she tackled it solo this time!
This ordeal truly tested her survival prowess; it served as the trial she needed to surpass to join the ranks of the world's S-rank powerhouses.
’No monsters register within dozens of kilometers around... just minor beasts and everyday creatures...’
Lia soared above the expansive beach, with a sprawling forest stretching inland beyond it, thickening progressively farther from the coastline.
’Don’t tell me I’m at the brink of an entire continent, forced to trek to its core for the boss monster...’
Were she an S-ranker, such a distance would pose no threat, yet at her peak A-rank power, journeys spanning thousands of kilometers could turn deadly for her.
That assumed the boss dwelled at the center; a different location would alter the dangers accordingly.
[Mana and elemental concentrations here run high, as expected in a standard S-rank dungeon, but one element feels off...]
Kai's subsequent remark caused Lia's eyes to widen in alarm and vigilance.
[A subtle presence of 'Miasma' lingers in the air...]
"So this dungeon harbors demons and creatures twisted by miasmic corruption..."
[Even worse... some beast seems able to unleash blasts of potent miasmic corruption through the air, scattering it far and wide...]
[The miasmic currents emanate from farther inland, diffusing outward...]
"A miasmic plague?... Or maybe a single formidable demon... Possessing such extensive miasmic rot dispersal..."
As she stared at the distant horizon, uncertainty flickered across Lia's face while she murmured,
"Could a demonized 'Wind Dragon' lurk within this dungeon?..."
Among the universe's mightiest beings, dragons stand supreme, with every adult specimen wielding S-rank might; over time, they can climb to peak S-rank, and some even shatter into SS-rank.
As a highly intelligent race, dragons seldom fall to miasmic taint in recorded history, since they effortlessly steer clear of it.
Dragon Valley remains aloof from worldly conflicts; they sat out the thousand-year demon extinction war and rarely venture beyond their sanctuary.
Hence, demonic incursions or corruption afflicting them prove nearly inconceivable.
Yet during the demon extinction war, a renegade wind dragon fell into the demon king's clutches and suffered demonization.
That abomination became a rampaging scourge upon the world alliance's legions, propagating corruption across thousands of kilometers via his 'World Authority' over the winds!
Ultimately, the Dragon King descended in person to confront and grant him eternal peace.