Through the thick smoke, the silhouette of the giant pillar loomed before them.
Manfred was elated. Without needing any signal, Rhine steered the fire-resistant boat at full speed toward the shadow of the pillar.
The monsters behind them were in hot pursuit, but as the fire-resistant boat sped forward, the trio could finally make out the faint outline of the giant pillar through the smoke.
“Jump!”
As the distance closed, Manfred barked the order and leaped forward.
Rhine and Weiss followed without a moment's hesitation, diving into the smoke after Manfred.
Three figures cut through the haze. Manfred swung his arm and drove his sword deep into the stone pillar.
Sparks flew as the blade bit deep into the stone. Manfred quickly reached out and grabbed Weiss, who was right behind him.
As a mage, Rhine lacked the physical capabilities of the two specialized warrior classes and was on the verge of plunging into the Lava Lake.
Seeing this, Manfred exerted his Great Strength to heave Weiss upward. He then unhesitatingly released his grip on his sword and lunged toward Rhine.
Weiss reacted with perfect coordination, catching the sword Manfred had left in the pillar and reaching down to grab Manfred’s leg.
Manfred, now hanging upside down, caught Rhine’s arm. The three of them were suspended from the stone pillar in a human chain.
The pursuing monsters abandoned the fire-resistant boat and swarmed toward the trio clinging to the pillar.
“Weiss!”
At Manfred’s shout, Weiss immediately activated Immovable Fortress.
A barrier expanded, shielding the three and blocking the first wave of attacks.
However, they were unable to counter-attack and could only watch as the monsters bombarded them relentlessly.
The defensive barrier of the Immovable Fortress was not invincible.
The constant attacks would drain Weiss’s stamina. Hanging from the pillar while supporting the weight of two others put a double strain on him, causing his stamina to plummet and exhaustion to mount rapidly.
Hanging upside down, Manfred scanned their surroundings, searching for a glimmer of hope.
But with the thick smoke of the Lava Lake severely limiting his vision, all he could see in his immediate vicinity was the rough surface of the stone pillar.
“Gust Strike!”
Rhine had already deployed a magic circle. A cyan wind magic circle unleashed a blast of air in all directions.
The smoke was swept away by the wind magic, and their vision cleared instantly.
Manfred quickly spotted a platform on the stone pillar. He didn't hesitate; at a time like this, he could only rely on the unspoken understanding forged through countless battles and life-or-death crises.
Manfred put his strength into his arms and threw Rhine toward the platform.
Lacking the physical prowess of a warrior, Rhine had to use wind magic to stabilize herself in mid-air, landing shakily on the ledge protruding from the pillar.
Weiss followed suit. He exerted his strength, holding Manfred by the ankles and swinging the upside-down swordsman toward the platform in the same manner.
Manfred, as a swordsman, was naturally at home in such a situation. Like an agile cat, he adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed firmly on the platform.
Now, only Weiss remained hanging from the pillar.
He gripped the sword embedded in the stone and began to swing his body back and forth to build momentum.
The sword groaned under the strain, making the two on the platform tense up. They could only pray that the blade was strong enough.
This sword was no longer the one Manfred had carried when he first entered the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
His original sword had been damaged several times in battle, and his spares had all been used up.
This longsword had been purchased from the Monster Merchant in the Well of Eternal Imprisonment. It was a mana-infused blade, a piece of magic equipment.
Products of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment were always of the highest quality.
As Weiss swung his body, the blade groaned but did not snap.
With one final surge of strength, Weiss swung himself forward and leaped through the air toward his two companions.
Rhine maintained her wind magic, keeping the smoke at bay to provide Weiss with a clear line of sight.
Thud!
With a heavy impact, Weiss landed safely on the platform.
The narrow, rectangular ledge felt a bit crowded with the three of them standing on it.
Looking ahead and behind, they saw a series of rectangular platforms forming a staircase that wound around the giant pillar, extending both upward and downward.
It was a stone staircase encircling the pillar.
There were eleven giant pillars in the Lava Lake. The eleventh giant pillar was hidden within the thick smoke of the lake; one had to collect map fragments from the other ten pillars and follow the map’s guidance to find the eleventh giant pillar’s location.
Without a map, it would be impossible to find the hidden pillar on one's own.
This pillar was clearly one of the ten pillars besides the eleventh giant pillar.
Although they had reached the stairs, the danger had not passed.
Little Wyverns continued to launch attacks from the smoke, swooping toward the trio on the pillar.
“Upward!”
Manfred took the lead, with Weiss guarding the rear and Rhine in the middle.
Manfred drew the backup sword from his back.
This backup sword was also magic equipment purchased from the Monster Merchant.
Compared to his previous longsword, this one was shorter—shorter than an arm—but it was sturdier and easier to carry.
Gripping the short sword, Manfred quickly summoned Sword Qi to clear the way ahead, climbing the stairs.
Rhine held his staff, casting magic from the center of the group to cover Manfred’s advance.
Weiss brought up the rear with his shield, protecting Rhine while defending against attacks from the monsters behind them.
The coordination between the three was the finest among all the adventurer teams on the twelfth floor.
Moving in perfect sync, they climbed the winding stairs of the giant pillar as if they were a single entity.
The stone pillar was like a massive nail driven into the Lava Lake, with a diameter of over a dozen meters.
Despite climbing for a long time, they still couldn't see the top of the pillar.
With the smoke obscuring their view, they had no idea how high they had climbed or how much further it was to the summit.
However, their stamina was nearing its limit.
They had to fight off the attacking Little Wyverns even as they climbed.
While the stone ledges weren't exactly narrow, having three people on them made things very cramped.
One slip and they would fall from the stone stairs into the Lava Lake.
Even if there were no lava below, falling from this height would surely result in being smashed to pieces.
As a mage, Rhine’s stamina had long since reached its breaking point. Under her heavy fireproof suit, she was drenched in sweat and gasping for air.
Misfortunes never come singly.
Manfred cut down a Little Wyvern and leaped toward the next stone step.
To his surprise, the stone step suddenly changed. A crack split open, revealing a hideous maw that lunged at Manfred!
[Stone Step Monster lv12]
Rate on N.U.
