Rumble~
Not long after Scaly drifted off into dreamland, the small mountain that she was sleeping on top of began to slowly sink into the sand at a slow but visible speed, causing the different monsters trying to enter the mountain to increase their speed.
As time passed and the main passage into the mountain became too small for some of the larger monsters to move through, they began to make their way up the mountain and enter through some of the other passages into mountain that had remained empty and without any monsters wandering through them before the small mountain began sinking into the sand.
Not just the small mountain Scaly was sleeping on top of, but the rest of the small mountains inside the sea of sand that had monsters entering them also began to slowly sink into the sand, some faster and some slower than the one Scaly found herself on top of.
Outside of that, sandworms that had been feasting on the monsters moving towards the small mountains had also begun to gather together towards the different small mountains and were now almost forming a wall around one of the small mountains adjacent to the one Scaly was inside of. Leaving most of the monsters heading towards that mountain to make the dangerous journey towards her mountain to avoid the sandworms, while a few stronger and braver monsters remained behind and tried breaking through the wall of sandworms.
Some succeeded in reaching the small mountain, while most ended up dead long before they got anywhere close to the small mountain.
In the end, everything inside the sea of sand became more and more chaotic with each passing minute, as the number of monsters grew exponentially compared to when Scaly had made her journey through the sea of sand to reach the small mountain.
Not just that, but outside of monsters increasingly growing in numbers inside the sea of sand, a few humans had also started appearing at the edge of the sea of sand. Not doing anything to the monsters, but instead just keeping an eye on the situation from afar without entering the sea of sand.
"So, this is the monster movement technique of a dungeon I heard about in the past... I never expected the Howling Caverns to do something like this during my time here." Among these humans, one of them could not stop himself from muttering this out loud as he looked at the large number of monsters moving around inside the sea of sand filled with amazement.
"Indeed, events like this are rather rare for dungeons. Only when significant damage is done in a floor would they engage in such an energy consuming endeavor as moving around monsters between floors..." Nodding his head, an older adventurer standing beside him said this with a look of a senior teaching a junior.
"I see, so what happened this time around for the Howling Caverns to suddenly move that many monsters to the lower floors?" Hearing his senior, the younger adventurer could not help curiously asking, as he turned towards his senior filled with expectation.
"Hm? This... From what I heard, an A Rank Adventurer that had gone to the Howling Caverns with a younger sibling went on a rampage inside the fourth floor of the dungeon after his younger sibling died to a sudden ambush by a monster. The movement this time around should be because the dungeon wants to try and fill the void created by so many dead monsters with the large number of sea monsters on the third floor.
After all, even if they aren’t strong enough and not really suitable for the fourth floor, they are more than enough to serve as food and experience for those monsters on the fourth floor to grow." Thinking about it for a bit before answering, the senior adventurer answered to the best of his ability with what he guessed to be the cause of the large-scale movement of monsters undertaken by the dungeon.
"Woooow! To think a single person can cause enough damage to force a reaction from the dungeon itself...!"
Even if it might not be entirely true, the senior adventurer was more than happy seeing the amazed face of his junior as he turned his attention back towards the small mountains in the sea of sand that had slowly started sinking into the ground.
"Looks like things will be over in the next few hours as the dungeon finishes moving the monsters down to the fourth floor..." Shaking his head as he quietly muttered this to himself, the senior adventurer continued keeping his attention focused on the sea of sand together with his amazed junior.
Not too dissimilar to them, there were other adventurers who were also keeping an eye on what was happening inside the sea of sand from all directions.
The simple purpose was to keep an eye on the monsters being moved under by the dungeon to a lower floor, as there was no small number of examples of these monsters going out of control and turning into a monster stampede that would kill anything in their path inside the third floor of the Howling Caverns. Even having caused the total destruction of several dungeon towns in the past.
In a sense, the reason why the sandworms were allowed to exist even with their level being far above what was normally allowed by the guild inside the third floor of the dungeon, was because these sandworms were perfect for ensuring that the monsters trying to move to lower floors in the dungeon didn’t end up as a stampede.
After all, with the strength of the guild. Even though it would be difficult to kill the sandworms, it wasn’t impossible if they dispatched strong enough adventurers or a group of adventurers from desert regions that were specialized in hunting down sandworms.
Even then, there was never a guarantee that a monster stampede wouldn’t form inside the sea of sand, as one such stampede had taken place when a similar thing had happened 10 years earlier.
Unfortunately, punishing the A Rank Adventurer who were most often the people responsible for these monster movements from dungeons was a difficult endeavor, as adventurers at that level had far more power and sway compared to ordinary adventurers. Allowing them to avoid most responsibilities whenever they ended up causing a monster stampede inside a dungeon.
"I really hope that a monster stampede doesn’t end up forming..." Observing the large number of monsters that had begun to gather around the increasingly small number of entrances to the small mountains, the senior adventurer could not help muttering this to himself as a look of unease appeared on his face.
Considering how experienced he was and the fact that he had also been one of the few surviving adventurers in charge of watching the sea of sand 10 years ago when the last monster stampede had happened, he understood that the most dangerous time was when the monsters began struggling to find a way inside the small mountains created by the dungeon to transport the monsters to lower floors.
Rumble~
At the same time, it was also at this moment that the sandworms began showing their usefulness, as they began swallowing up large numbers of monsters that had gathered around the small mountains struggling to find a way inside. Lowering their numbers significantly, while also making it hard for them to form up into a single large group.
RUMBLE-!
Finally, after a few hours like this and with one loud rumbling sound that caused the entire sea of sand to start violently shaking, the small mountains that served as a temporary path between the third floor and the fourth floor of the dungeon began rapidly sinking into the sand at a speed far greater than before.
Huh!? Wha-what is happening!?
At the same time, Scaly, who had managed to peacefully sleep through what was happening outside as she had climbed rather far up the small mountain to find a safe place to sleep. Woke up to the loud rumbling sound that directly destroyed the small stone and rock barrier she had created at the entrance to the small hole she was sleeping inside of.
The mountain... Is sinking!?
Only after poking her small head out to see what was happening, did she discover that the sand below had grown significantly closer compared to when she had gone to sleep, while also approaching her at a speed that would land her back in the sand in another few minutes.
Rooar-!
Roar!
Roar~!
However, the main thing Scaly focused on was not this, but the sea of monsters that now surrounded the small mountain numbering in the thousands.
I-I have to get away, but where? Inside the mountain? Yes! Inside the mountain!
In the end, she began panicking at the prospect of having to face thousands of monsters all by herself and as a result didn’t think clearly as she rushed out from her sleeping spot before rushing into one of the still empty passages leading into the mountain.