Chapter 142: Flame Wheel

[You have cleared the Second Wave.]

[The Third Wave will begin in thirty minutes.]

When Liam returned after killing all the monsters, he was panting heavily and drenched in sweat, as he had used up most of his Mana and stamina during the fight.

There were even a few minor injuries on his body that he had sustained during the battle.

However, despite being exhausted and injured, a big smile was plastered across his face, clearly showing how satisfied he was with his performance.

"Good job, buddy," Kevin said to Liam when he returned.

"Than—"

Liam was about to thanks to Kevin, but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw Evan and Kevin sitting on beach chairs, wearing glasses and watching him while eating popcorn.

He looked at Erza and Alice, hoping for an explanation, but both of them simply shrugged their shoulders without saying anything.

Liam stood rooted to the spot, his mind somewhat numb as he stared at the absurd scene.

Seeing his expression, Kevin took out another box of popcorn and asked, "Want some?"

Liam immediately wanted to refuse, but when he felt his stomach grumbling slightly, he gulped before accepting the box.

"Are we really inside a Rank Two Dungeon?" Liam couldn’t help but ask aloud as he ate the popcorn.

When Evan and the others heard his question, they were taken aback and looked at one another.

"Now that you mention it, this really is a bizarre situation," Erza said, glancing at everyone’s relaxed expressions.

Normally, facing five waves of monsters, each containing tens or even hundreds of them, was extremely difficult.

Yet here they were, eating and drinking while chatting as if the monster waves didn’t matter at all.

"Ugh... I think it’s because of this guy." Kevin suddenly pointed at Evan, startling him. "This guy kills groups of Rank One monsters as easily as chopping vegetables. It’s because of him that I feel like even if hundreds of monsters charged at us, we’d just ask him to shoot one of his bolts, and everything would be solved."

Liam and the others looked at the baffled Evan after hearing Kevin’s words and nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. Unless we encounter a Rank Two monster, with this guy and our team’s combined strength, there really isn’t much Rank One monsters can do against us. Well, unless we face thousands of them at the same time."

"Don’t make it sound like I am the one telling you guys to become careless," Evan said, rolling his eyes at their words. "Although it might look like I’m relaxing, I’ve been keeping an eye on our surroundings just in case something unexpected happens."

He pointed at Alice and added, "She’s doing the same. Unlike you guys, she’s been looking around to make sure a monster like a Shadow Leopard, or something similar that’s good at sneak attacks, doesn’t get close to us while we are distracted."

"Hmm?" Liam and the others looked at Alice, who simply shrugged as if she wasn’t doing anything wrong.

"So we are the only ones relaxing, huh?" Kevin scratched his head and put away his popcorn.

Liam and Erza also became a bit more serious and kept their eyes on their surroundings. Even though the notification said the third wave would begin in thirty minutes, they remained vigilant just in case.

Soon, thirty minutes passed, and the third wave of monsters appeared.

[The Third Wave will begin now.]

"You can take care of this one. I’ll handle the next wave," Alice said to Evan when the third wave began.

"Sure." Evan nodded without refusing and looked toward the far end of the platform.

Suddenly, around one hundred monsters appeared there and immediately charged toward them.

Evan narrowed his eyes and, without even standing up from his beach chair, took out his Arch Eagle Crossbow and aimed it at the incoming horde.

He used thirty percent of his Mana to create a dark-green bolt inside his crossbow before using the skill of his Thunder Ring to give it an additional boost.

Soon, a dark-green bolt surrounded by crackling lightning was loaded into the crossbow.

Without hesitation, he used his Touch of Thunder skill on it to give it another boost, increasing its power even further.

"Absolute Bolt," He muttered in a low voice before firing the bolt toward the incoming horde.

The bolt shot forward at lightning speed, leaving a trail of crackling thunder in its wake.

In less than a second, it reached the group of monsters and struck the middle of the horde.

BOOOOOOM!!!!

An explosion shook the entire area, and Alice and the others watched as a mushroom cloud rose from the spot where the monster horde had been standing just moments earlier.

Most of the monsters were instantly killed in the explosion, while many others were blasted away and seriously injured.

Evan took out the Rank One bolts Alice had given him before they entered the dungeon and began shooting the injured monsters that couldn’t even stand properly.

One bolt after another flew from the crossbow, and within just a minute, all the monsters had been killed.

[You have cleared the Third Wave.]

Alice and the others watched Evan’s actions with their eyes wide open, feeling completely speechless.

Liam opened his mouth to say something but eventually closed it again, as he had no idea how to describe what he was feeling.

"This guy is a fucking monster!" Kevin couldn’t help but swear, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

[The Fourth Wave will begin in one hour.]

A notification flashed before everyone’s eyes, and Evan put away his crossbow before returning to his previous position and continuing to eat popcorn.

Seeing him act as if nothing had happened, Liam finally couldn’t remain silent any longer.

"This guy is definitely doing this on purpose just to act cool."

Evan glanced at him but didn’t bother responding.

Alice and the others also shook their heads and began talking about other things.

"How are you going to handle your wave?" Erza asked Alice.

"You will see when it begins," Alice replied calmly as she glanced at her status window, looking at one of her skills.

Soon, an hour passed, and the fourth wave began.

[The Fourth Wave will begin now.]

As soon as the notification appeared, around one hundred and fifty monsters appeared at the far end of the platform.

When Kevin and Liam saw the horde, they couldn’t help but swallow nervously, as the sight of so many monsters rushing toward them was truly intimidating.

Seeing the number of monsters, Alice’s expression also turned serious.

She raised her hand and created a ring of fire with a diameter of around two meters above it.

The ring was bright orange and looked like an ordinary ring of flames. However, Evan and the others could feel the immense amount of Mana condensed inside it.

"Flame Wheel," Alice muttered softly before launching the two-meter-wide ring of fire toward the incoming horde.

As soon as the ring of fire left Alice’s hand, Evan and the others watched with wide eyes as it continued to expand while moving toward the horde.

By the time it had traveled the two kilometers to the far end of the platform, approaching the monsters, the ring of fire had already expanded from its initial two-meter diameter to a full three hundred meters.

Upon reaching the monsters, the ring encircled the entire horde.

Alice’s eyes gleamed slightly as she snapped her fingers.

"Burn."

As soon as she spoke, the ring of fire began spinning and expanding upward, forming a cylindrical shape.

Evan and the others watched in shock as the ring transformed into a fifty-meter-high cylinder of flames, covering an area three hundred meters across.

The agonized roars of the monsters echoed from within the fiery cylinder before everything fell silent.

[The Fourth Wave has been cleared.]

[The Fifth Wave will begin in two hours.]