155 Somersault Cloud

The cannon dragon's size and attacks were a nightmare for Orario's adventurers. Even the strongest familia couldn't hope to challenge it with current capabilities. Its dragon breath had an impossibly wide range, and for today's adventurers, it was a death sentence—unbearable and lethal on contact.

Worse still, the cannon dragon wasn't alone. It was surrounded by a swarm of smaller flying dragons, unpredictable threats that would swarm anyone bold enough to engage the beast.

Taking on the cannon dragon while also dealing with its airborne minions would require a raid of at least 36—no, 48—seasoned adventurers, all LV5 or higher. In the current era, the cannon dragon was a boss that Orario's familias couldn't hope to conquer.

But for Altair, this cannon dragon was nothing more than trash!

He didn't even need his atomic breath. Transforming into Nidhogg with the power of the bear, his flame breath reached temperatures akin to the surface of the sun—a literal solar flare. With one blast, he reduced the cannon dragon, which had misfired and hit the wrong target, to ashes.

Escape wasn't an option for the beast. Altair's massive wings boxed it in, and standing over a hundred meters tall, he could swat it back down before it even got off the ground. In mere seconds, the cannon dragon was incinerated, leaving behind a 3-meter-tall magic stone.

It was the largest stone Altair had ever seen. What a generous guy, this cannon dragon.

After finishing it off with a single breath, Altair surveyed the 58th floor's skies. Countless flying dragons circled above, but not one dared approach. To them, Altair wasn't an adventurer—he was a monster. A super monster!

Satisfied, he reverted to human form and stowed the giant magic stone in his spatial pocket.

Ding ding ding—

No sooner had he pocketed the stone than his communicator buzzed—a magical energy device, usable in the dungeon where standard magic communicators failed due to signal issues.

Pulling it out, he saw it was Saeko calling and answered immediately.

"Hey, Saeko, it's me."

"Thank goodness, Altair, you're okay!" Saeko's voice came through, thick with relief.

"Where are you? Are you safe?"

"I'm fine. I'm on the 58th floor. Just took out the cannon dragon that ambushed me. Heading back now."

Saeko wasn't surprised by Altair's words. She knew he was unlike any other adventurer in this world.

"As long as you're okay. Finn and the others just got back to camp—huge losses. Everyone's injured. Bete took the worst of it, holding the rear to cover the retreat. He nearly died. When I didn't see you with them, I asked, and they said you'd been killed by the cannon dragon's attack. I freaked out."

"No worries, no worries. In this world, nothing short of a god could kill me—and even then, I'd give them a run for it. Don't stress."

Altair hadn't told Saeko or Hestia about his time in the Godslayer world or his new status as a godslayer. In a world ruled by gods, revealing that identity felt risky—too sensitive to share.

"Good to know. When can you get back? The Loki Familia's gearing up to pull out. They're worried the monsters below might surge up, so the camp won't hold much longer."

"I'll be back at camp in a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll wait for you there."

"Cool, don't worry."

After a few more reassuring words, Altair hung up.

Pocketing the device, he glanced up at the ceiling, dotted with holes from the cannon dragon's many cross-floor barrages. He couldn't tell which one he'd fallen through.

"Whatever. Worst case, I take the scenic route. Won't waste much time."

Altair brushed off imaginary dust and stripped away the damaged armor from the dragon's attack. Several pieces were beyond repair, but he'd crafted spares for every part.

"Somersault Cloud!"

As he worked on his armor, Altair invoked a command. A small white cloud appeared before him, cartoonish and brimming with comic-book charm.

Gained from defeating Sun Wukong, the [Godspeed] skill let him either enter a speed domain or summon this Somersault Cloud. From the skill's memory, he knew he could control its size with his mind—up to 5 meters wide and 10 meters long at its largest, or 1 meter wide and 2 meters long at its smallest. Right now, it was in its tiniest form.

"Looks like it could carry a bunch of people," he mused.

Stepping onto it, he felt a soft, bouncy sensation—like a kid's inflatable castle at an amusement park. He plopped down, and with a thought, a backrest sprouted from the cloud, letting him lean back comfortably.

"Heck yeah, this is the way to travel!"

With another mental nudge, the cloud accelerated, shooting toward the ceiling. Picking a random hole, it zipped inside.

As it soared toward the upper floors, Altair rummaged through his spatial pocket, pulling out spare armor and a fresh blue tunic to replace his singed one. Changing mid-flight, he was done in under five minutes. The cloud reached the 52nd floor, and relying on his still-fresh memory of its layout, he quickly located the exit to the 51st.

Flight was leagues faster than ground travel. Altair breezed through the floors, reaching the 50th-floor camp before the Loki Familia finished prepping their retreat.

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