Is It Wrong to Abusing Cartoon Tropes in Dungeon?

The 52nd floor, the most difficult known floor, had begun.

The dominant monsters here were primarily dragons. The common ones were earth dragons, and while you were attacking them, flying dragons might swoop in at any moment for a coordinated assault.

As previously mentioned, there was also the constant threat of cross-floor bombardment. Attacks from the [Cannon Dragons] on the 58th floor could summon swarms of flying dragons in an instant.

Even if you avoided their dragon breath, the resulting swarm of flying dragons moving across floors would still spell disaster for an elite squad.

Altair entered the 52nd floor alongside the Loki Familia, learning about the floor's conditions from Finn.

"Starting from the 38th floor—the deep levels—the dungeon's monsters gain extremely high physical resistance. From that point on, the main force for conquering the dungeon shifts to mages. Just like with Cadmus, whom you saw earlier, physical damage barely scratches them. Mages become increasingly vital in the later stages of dungeon exploration."

"Magic swords can indeed harm those monsters, but their usage is limited, and they're incredibly expensive. Even magic sword warriors struggle against deep-level threats."

"So, you're saying that in the deep floors, melee adventurers are just tools to draw aggro and clear small fry?"

Altair voiced his question, summing up Finn's explanation as essentially turning melee fighters into punching bags.

"Well… Mr. Altair, you're not exactly wrong," Finn admitted, a bit embarrassed. It was true—against flying dragons, ground-based units like them had little advantage. Even if the dragons landed, their scales were so tough that melee fighters, even those wielding greatswords, could only scrape them. It was a natural advantage of dragonkind, especially the rumored strongest boss in this dungeon world—the Black Dragon, said to be capable of destroying the world. Its physical resistance was maxed out.

Back in the day, the Zeus and Hera Familias, ruling Orario with a roster of LV6 and LV7 adventurers, were wiped out trying to defeat the Black Dragon. That failure allowed the Loki and Freya Familias to team up and drive them out of Orario. Otherwise, the current dual rulers of Orario wouldn't have stood a chance.

To deal with these dragons, you needed powerful mages capable of inflicting massive damage through magic.

"So, magical attacks are more effective against deep-floor monsters?"

"Exactly," Finn nodded seriously. This was why the Loki Familia was so keen on expeditions—they had Orario's greatest mage, Riveria, and a rising star who could inherit her full arsenal, Lefiya. With these two firepower juggernauts, their dungeon expeditions were far more formidable.

"If that's the case, this is going to be interesting."

Indeed, if deep-floor monsters had high physical resistance but low magical resistance, didn't that mean his magic cannon could run rampant?

It was like the heavens were on his side!

"Interesting?" Finn looked at Altair, puzzled.

"Nothing, Captain Finn. Please, tell me more."

After entering the 52nd floor, the team's pace noticeably slowed. From here on, they had to explore cautiously, constantly wary of the ground suddenly exploding beneath them.

Soon, they encountered an earth dragon sleeping smack in the middle of their path, impossible to bypass.

The Loki Familia engaged it head-on.

As with the Cadmus fight, several melee fighters rushed in to harass it, scraping at the dragon with their weapons to wake it from its slumber. Then Lefiya began her chant from the rear, unleashing High Victory Sword once more to deliver a finishing blow.

The operation was seamless, and the earth dragon perished in a blaze of hellfire. Unfortunately, Bete, ever impulsive, forgot to brace himself and was badly injured again. It took a swig of an elixir to get him back on his feet.

Getting beaten to a pulp and chugging potions like mad—these guys were playing a reckless game. With all that money, they could've just trained a proper tank and a shield-healer. Why waste millions on potions every dungeon run?

As Bete recovered and grumbled his way over to pick up the magic stone, the ground suddenly trembled.

The instant Finn felt the vibration, he shouted, "Trouble! It's a cannon dragon's bombardment! Scatter—everyone, split up in different directions! Bete, forget the stone!"

At Finn's command, the team bolted. Even Bete, whose hand was already on the stone, activated his wolf-like reflexes and dashed away in a blink.

The moment he abandoned the stone, it was swallowed by flames.

A terrifying dragon breath pierced through the floor, surging upward and turning the area around the stone into a sea of fire.

"They hit us from the 58th floor with pinpoint accuracy—why?" Finn stared at the towering pillar of flame, eyes wide with shock, gnawing at his thumb.

"Was it Lefiya's magic? Can the cannon dragons sense spellcasting, or was it just random chance?"

As the captain, he needed answers. If it was random, they'd just need to stay cautious. But if it wasn't—if the cannon dragons could detect Lefiya's magic and target her casting location precisely—it changed everything. It would mean mages, the only ones effective against dragons in the deep floors, would be silenced. Every spell they cast could invite a cross-floor counterattack from the cannon dragons!

"Captain, flying dragons! A ton of them!" Lefiya's scream snapped Finn out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw a swarm of nine flying dragons emerging from the tunnel carved by the dragon breath.

"A flock of flying dragons? Just our luck," Finn muttered, frowning. In their current lineup, only Lefiya could deal significant damage to the flock. Their other mages weren't up to the task, and Riveria, their other dragon-slaying ace, was holding the line on the 50th floor. They were out of options.

"Everyone, retreat immediately! Dodge attacks as you go—no engaging!"

Finn issued the retreat order, and the team prepared to flee. But just as they turned to run, another voice cut through.

"Get down."

The sudden warning, paired with their adventurer instincts, made them drop to the ground instantly.

Boom—

A torrent of light streaked over their heads, shaking the air as it blasted toward the flying dragons, engulfing the entire flock.

Roar—

Still prone, the team gaped at the massive beam piercing the sky, accompanied by the dragons' agonized screeches.

When the light faded, nine magic stones plummeted from above, crashing onto the ground.

Staring at the glittering stones, everyone stiffly turned their heads toward the source of the beam.

There stood Altair, slowly holstering a glowing weapon at his waist.

Noticing their stares, he flashed a brilliant smile. "No one hurt, I hope?"

"Mr. Altair… you… just now… that…" Lefiya, closest to him, pointed at the beam weapon, stuttering frantically but unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Miss Lefiya, you mean this?" Altair lifted the weapon slightly.

"Uh… yeah…"

"Oh, this? Just a standard weapon of mine. It fires attacks like the one you just saw."

With that radiant smile, Altair explained politely.

That's right—time for me to shine!

___

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