The ninth floor was a grassland.

They descended the stairs and ventured forward, encountering a monster of this floor almost immediately: a single troll.

Trolls were humanoid monsters like goblins and orcs, but they were at least 2 meters tall, some even reaching 5 meters or more. They were incredibly strong.

They could swing a massive club carved out of rock with ease. It was dangerous to fight them head-on.

Their bodies were also tough. Even blunt swords could only scratch them.

But Sophie and Marie's swords, though not able to kill with a single blow, inflicted significant damage. They managed to defeat the troll by repeatedly striking it while it was stunned by Betty and Alice's magical attacks.

But their next opponent was a terrible one. A cyclops appeared, accompanied by three trolls.

A cyclops was a one-eyed giant classified as Danger Level B, standing at least 5 meters tall, with some individuals reaching 10 meters. It could fire shockwaves from its giant single eye.

It moved relatively quickly and possessed immense strength, wielding a massive sword.

It was also highly defensive, and blunt swords couldn't even scratch its skin. Beginner-level attack magic didn't even faze it.

To make matters worse, three ogres appeared from another direction.

Ogres were classified as Danger Level B, but multiple ogres together were considered Danger Level A, making them extremely dangerous. There was no way Sophie and the others could handle both threats. They considered retreating immediately, but Ryu remembered fighting ogres in the dungeon a while back. He had engaged in a bare-knuckle brawl with them at a place like an underground fight club.

Could these ogres be related to those ones? He was curious, so he decided to take care of the ogres himself.

Ryu: "I'll take on the ogres! Focus on the cyclops!"

Marie: "It's dangerous to go alone! We'll..."

Ryu: "It's not necessary! Protect the princess!"

He noticed that Sophie was already charging towards the cyclops with a determined look on her face, sword drawn. Marie hurried after her in a panic.

Ryu provoked the ogres, striking a fighting pose. But they were slow to react. They were clearly different from the ogres at the fight club. Their eyes seemed to lack intelligence. They weren't even trying to fight fairly one-on-one. They simply attacked randomly in a group, without any strategy, technique, or skill.

Since it didn't seem worthwhile to fight these ogres, Ryu decided to teleport their magic stones, quickly and silently killing them. He then returned to Sophie and the others so he could help them if needed.

Sophie and the others were struggling against the three trolls the cyclops had brought with it, but they were gaining the upper hand and would soon defeat them. But what about the cyclops...?

Sophie and the others managed to defeat the trolls, but the cyclops was too much for them.

Their attacks weren't working.

Sophie and Marie were in the front line, swinging their swords, but even when their swords hit the cyclops, only the surface scratched, and the blades didn't penetrate.

Alice was protecting Sophie, using her short sword to attack whenever she got an opening and also firing ice lances. But her beginner-level attack magic, cast without chanting, couldn't even scratch the cyclops.

Betty could probably cast magic that would inflict damage, but Marie and Sophie were keeping her busy in the front line, so she couldn't cast powerful spells.

She tried to begin chanting a longer spell, but the cyclops' giant single eye fired a shockwave, interrupting her. It wasn't enough to inflict fatal damage, but every time she was hit by the shockwave, she was knocked back and rolled on the ground.

The four of them were struggling against the single cyclops. They would lose if they continued like this.

Ryu decided it was time to intervene when Marie was blown away while blocking the cyclops' giant sword.

The cyclops, having knocked Marie back, swung its sword towards Sophie. As it seemed like the blade would strike Sophie, the cyclops' attack was blocked by an invisible wall. Ryu had set up a dimensional barrier.

The cyclops looked confused, touching, striking, and even slashing at the invisible wall with its greatsword, but the barrier didn't budge.

Betty: "What? Barrier magic? You can do that?"

Ryu: "It's my limit. That's all I can do. Let's go."

Betty: "Why aren't you helping?! If you can hold off the enemy, I can take it down with my magic!"

Ryu: "It wouldn't be a dungeon experience if I helped, would it?"

Betty: "Huh?"

Ryu: "I've cleared this dungeon alone. If I do it, you guys won't have a chance to get involved."

Betty: "You cleared the dungeon?! You're full of hot air! They say there are dragons in the deepest part of this dungeon! Even if you're strong, you can't beat a dragon, right?"

Ryu: "Easy peasy, anything else?"

Betty: "You're making fun of me?!"

At that moment, perhaps irritated by being ignored by Ryu and the others, or maybe angry at the invisible wall, the cyclops roared in frustration and began to wildly slash at the barrier with its greatsword. Everyone looked in that direction in shock.

Marie: "Y-you can defeat that monster by yourself?"

Marie pointed at the cyclops.

Ryu: "Watch."

Ryu held out his hand, and a small magic circle appeared on the cyclops' chest. The cyclops shuddered for a moment before stopping, slowly falling to the ground.

Ryu was holding a large magic stone in his hand.

Ryu: "See, when I teleport out the magic stone, the monster can't survive."

Alice: "That's unfair..."

Sophie: "Hmm, so teleportation magic can be used in such a convenient way."

Ryu: "Yeah, well. I haven't really fought monsters properly because of this. Oh, the Hydra dungeon boss was a little tough. It wouldn't die even when I pulled out the magic stone. Even if you cut off its head, it regenerated. It even regenerated when I pulled out its magic stone. It was quite a struggle."

Alice: "The poisonous dragon Hydra. They say it has a deadly poison that can kill even gods..."

Marie: "Even Ryu, that's a bit of an exaggeration to say you fought a Hydra... What? Really?"

Alice: "Ryujiin is the dungeon's conqueror, it's in the guild records."

Betty: "What? You're serious?! The Hydra is the master boss of this dungeon?!"

Marie: "Probably no one can conquer this dungeon when facing a Hydra..."

Sophie: "But Ryu did it."

Betty: "It must've taken a large group of high-ranking adventurers, right? Ryu must've been one of the survivors."

Ryu: "No, I did it alone. I'm usually solo."

Alice: "It says 'solo' in the guild records."

Marie: "That's beyond imagination... I was challenging someone who can single-handedly defeat a Hydra... "

They decided to end the dungeon exploration for now and leave the dungeon using Ryu's teleportation magic. They were all at their limit in terms of strength and magical power, and they were running out of supplies.

Ryu: "You need to properly conserve your supplies, strength, and magic for the return journey. Or you won't make it back alive, remember that."

However, an unexpected person was waiting for them outside the dungeon.

It was Prince Harris and his personal knights.

(Scene Change)

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(Text: Prince Harris's order to kill Ryu is revealed to Sophie. Don't miss it!)