Chapter 117: Dino

He’d heard of dungeon cores plenty of times before, though he’d never personally encountered one under circumstances remotely like these. If that pendant really was what he suspected, it might tie directly into the dungeon’s overall operation somehow. Getting his hands on it could potentially reveal exactly how this whole environment functioned, or even offer them a legitimate way out entirely.

Still, actually reaching it would prove genuinely difficult with three enhanced Tyrannosaurus rex standing squarely between them and their mysterious, masked owner.

Derek carefully concealed his growing interest, redirecting his full attention back toward the incoming threat instead.

Noah’s entire body suddenly became wreathed in dark, swirling energy.

Mana gathered around him in twisting, coiling currents, spreading outward from his shoulders and arms before curling tight around his torso. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to grow noticeably heavier as his presence intensified further. His eyes glowed fiercely through the skull mask, whatever casual amusement had defined his expression earlier now shifting into something considerably more unsettling.

He extended one hand toward the three adventurers standing before him.

"Enough talk. Terry, take them all down!"

The dinosaurs answered instantly.

Claws tore violently into the rocky ground as they surged forward, every heavy step sending fresh tremors rolling through the mountain path. Terry led the charge straight through the middle, massive jaws cracking open as it unleashed a deafening, earth shaking roar. The two smaller Tyrannosaurus rex spread outward to either flank, moving deliberately to surround their targets rather than simply charging blindly into the exact same space.

Mark’s eyes narrowed sharply.

"They’re actually coordinating!"

"Then we need to coordinate right back," Derek replied.

The three dinosaurs closed the remaining distance fast. Their enhanced bodies made them even more genuinely intimidating now, hardened scales strongly suggesting ordinary attacks probably wouldn’t be nearly enough to stop them outright.

Mark drew a slow, steadying breath, forcing himself to lock in completely.

He couldn’t afford to get distracted by Noah’s bizarre behavior or the swirling questions surrounding this entire dungeon right now. For the moment, pure survival remained the only thing that actually mattered.

Derek glanced toward him.

"Guess we’re splitting opponents between us, then."

"Didn’t need to say it out loud," Derek added, then immediately caught himself, shooting Mark an annoyed look. "Wait. That was supposed to be my line."

Mark grinned despite the real danger surrounding them.

"Sorry. Looked like you needed a little help remembering your own script."

"Just focus on the actual fight, genius."

"I’m focused."

"Then prove it already."

Mark turned toward Penthesilea. The Amazon had already shifted into a full battle ready stance, gaze locked firmly on Terry as the enormous Tyrannosaurus rex thundered steadily closer. Her battle axe rested easy at her side, mana already stirring visibly around her frame in direct response to the incoming threat.

"Penthia, you’ve got the biggest one," Mark instructed. "Derek and I will handle the other two between us."

Penthesilea’s lips curved into a confident, settled smile.

"My specialty, entirely at your service, dear Prince."

She rolled her shoulders, raising her weapon with deliberate purpose.

"Leave the largest one to me."

Mark nodded.

"Just be careful out there. Those apples made them considerably stronger."

Penthesilea gave Terry a brief, measured look.

"I can see that clearly enough."

"That’s really all you’re going to say about it?"

"What more needs saying? It’s large, powerful, and currently approaching with the clear intent to attack. I’ll meet it accordingly."

Derek glanced over at Mark.

"Your summon really knows how to keep things simple, honestly."

"That’s one of her better qualities, for sure."

"I’m standing right here," Penthesilea remarked flatly, not bothering to look at either of them.

Mark coughed awkwardly.

"Right. Sorry about that."

Penthesilea stepped forward, expression sharpening further as Terry continued its relentless charge. The ground shook violently beneath the dinosaur’s crushing footsteps, jaws cracking open wide enough to reveal row after row of genuinely formidable teeth.

Rather than wait passively for the creature to close the final distance, the Amazon began actively channeling her mana instead.

Energy swirled steadily around her frame, growing denser with every passing second. Her metallic form began expanding visibly, proportions climbing steadily back toward her original, truly enormous stature. The reinforced surfaces covering her body gleamed brightly as they stretched to accommodate the rapid transformation, raw power surging ever stronger through every limb.

Within moments, Penthesilea had climbed to roughly twenty five feet tall.

She stood nearly as high as Terry itself, broad shoulders and powerful limbs lending her an imposing presence entirely her own. Her battle axe scaled proportionately alongside her enlarged form, and she adjusted her grip firmly around its handle before planting one foot hard against the trembling ground.

Noah, who’d been watching their preparations unfold with casual amusement up to this point, suddenly went completely still.

"What?"

His full attention snapped sharply toward the Amazon.

Penthesilea’s sudden transformation had clearly caught him entirely off guard. His eyes widened visibly behind the skull mask, and for the very first time since this entire encounter began, he looked genuinely uncertain about exactly what he was witnessing unfold in front of him.

"How is that even possible?" he exclaimed.

He leaned forward sharply, staring at the Amazon’s enormous, gleaming metallic form.

"A summon capable of scaling her size like that?"

Derek stood equally astonished.

He’d already watched Penthesilea demonstrate genuinely overwhelming strength during the earlier fight, sure, but watching her expand to nearly match the fully enhanced Tyrannosaurus rex represented an entirely different experience altogether.

"Mark," he called out, never once taking his eyes off her. "You conveniently forgot to mention your summon could actually do that."

Mark shrugged, already shifting to move toward his own assigned opponent.

"Figured you’d already worked out she’s full of surprises by now."

"That’s not an actual explanation!"

"It’s the one I’ve got!"

Penthesilea didn’t bother waiting for either of them to finish arguing.

She surged forward.

Her first few strides sent loose stones scattering violently beneath her feet as she charged directly toward Terry. The enhanced Tyrannosaurus rex lowered its massive head, jaws cracking wide open in an attempt to seize her before she could close the distance.

The Amazon moved with genuinely surprising speed for someone carrying that much size.

At the very last moment, she shifted sharply sideways, letting those crushing jaws snap shut harmlessly beside her rather than around her. She planted one foot firm, rotated hard through her hips, and drove a devastating kick straight into the side of Terry’s skull.

The impact landed with the sound of two enormous objects colliding violently.

Terry’s head snapped sideways hard, its charge faltering instantly. Claws scraped desperately against the rocky ground as it struggled to recover its balance.

Penthesilea gave it absolutely no opportunity to do so.

She seized the dinosaur’s upper body with both hands, bracing hard against the ground, using its own forward momentum to lift and violently redirect its massive frame. For one brief, suspended instant, Terry’s feet lost their grip on the rocky path entirely.

Then the Amazon swung the enormous creature away from herself with tremendous force.

The enhanced Tyrannosaurus rex sailed violently through the air, limbs flailing wildly as it struggled desperately to regain some measure of control. Noah’s eyes went wide, tracking its unexpected, rapidly shifting trajectory.

For the first time since this encounter began, the masked rider seemed to genuinely register that this particular fight wasn’t unfolding anywhere close to his original expectations.

He’d been so thoroughly confident in his enhanced summons that he’d never once anticipated facing an opponent capable of actually matching Terry’s sheer size and strength head on.

Penthesilea had other plans entirely.

With one final, controlled motion, she redirected the dinosaur’s airborne trajectory straight toward the exact spot where Noah stood.

The rider’s attention snapped sharply toward the incoming mass bearing down on him.

"What? Wait!"

He tried desperately to scramble clear, but the enormous creature was already descending fast. Its shadow swallowed the ground around his feet entirely, the roaring sound of its approach drowning out his startled shout completely.

Noah had only a single heartbeat left to react.

The Tyrannosaurus rex crashed down exactly where he’d been standing, producing a tremendous, earth shattering impact that shook the surrounding rocks violently and sent a thick, billowing cloud of dust rolling through the entire mountain passage.

The collision fully swallowed the masked rider beneath the fallen dinosaur’s crushing weight. As the dust gradually began settling, Noah had vanished from sight completely, the ground surrounding the impact site left badly, visibly torn apart.

For one brief moment, the entire battlefield seemed to hold its breath collectively.

Mark stared at the scene, mouth hanging slightly open.

Derek had frozen entirely mid motion, crystal armored arms still raised defensively as he watched the enormous dinosaur finally settle against the churned ground.

Even the two remaining smaller Tyrannosaurus rex seemed momentarily distracted by their leader’s sudden, violent collapse.

Mark slowly turned toward Penthesilea.

"Penthia... did you seriously just throw the boss directly at its own master?"

Penthesilea rested her battle axe casually against one shoulder.

"He positioned himself directly in the battle’s path."

Derek blinked hard.

"That’s certainly one way to put it."

Mark glanced back toward the fallen Terry, then toward the dust choked crater where Noah had been standing only seconds earlier.

"Pretty sure we can safely say he wasn’t expecting that particular outcome."

Penthesilea’s expression stayed perfectly calm throughout.

"Then he should have prepared himself better beforehand."

Derek looked between Mark and the Amazon, finally letting out a slow, disbelieving breath.

"You know what? I’m officially done complaining about her stealing my kills from here on out."

Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely. If she can casually hurl something that massive straight at the person actually controlling it, she’s more than welcome to claim as many kills as she genuinely wants from here on."

Penthesilea gave him a brief, approving glance.

"A wise decision."

Mark laughed, though the sound faded quickly as his full attention snapped back toward the rest of the battlefield.

Both smaller Tyrannosaurus rex were still standing. Their enhanced bodies remained wreathed in faint traces of lingering mana, glowing eyes shifting away from the fallen Terry and locking directly onto the three remaining adventurers instead.

The fight was clearly far from over.

Mark tightened his fists, stepping firmly toward his own assigned opponent.

"Right. Still got two of these things left to deal with."

Derek’s crystal armor shifted visibly as both arms began reforming into weapons once more.

"Then let’s finish exactly what we started."

Penthesilea raised her battle axe high, turning toward the remaining predators, her enormous form casting a long, heavy shadow stretching clean across the rocky ground.

The cold mountain wind swept through the passage once more, carrying dust and drifting mist around all three fighters as the enhanced dinosaurs braced themselves to charge in again.

Whatever Noah had genuinely intended by dragging them into this dungeon in the first place, Mark and Derek were fully determined to survive long enough to uncover the real truth behind it.

And judging by Penthesilea’s latest, devastating display of raw strength, their enemies were about to discover firsthand that these two particular students carried considerably more trouble in them than anyone had originally bargained for.