Chapter 228: An Extravagant Way to Fight!
Boom!
A [Gem Bomb] exploded, and under the bombardment of his money-burning magecraft, every monster was instantly wiped out.
Magic stones littered the ground everywhere, enough to make anyone wonder what had happened here.
Watching Ethan fight in such an "extravagant" way, even the usually expressionless airhead Ais was moved.
He really was rich.
Although Ais was the princess of the Loki Familia, she herself did not have much money.
It was not because the Loki Familia withheld her valis.
Rather, her Skill increased her offensive power at the cost of damaging her weapon.
Before she obtained [Desperate], Ais had practically been a master weapon-breaker. Buying replacements constantly meant she could never save money and often ended up in debt.
Things were not much better now.
Every so often, [Desperate] needed maintenance.
Although the sword possessed an "Unbreakable" property, it could still wear down. Each maintenance cost a considerable amount of valis.
Worse still, Ais could never sit still.
Even while her weapon was being maintained, she would continue entering the Dungeon, making her finances even tighter.
Because of that, even Ais found Ethan's habit of using gemstones as ammunition incredibly extravagant.
A single gem was not particularly expensive in Orario.
But scattering them around like candy was something few people could afford, no matter how cheap each individual gem was.
"Ethan, they were only a few monsters. Did you really need to use that many gems?"
Ever since obtaining the Gate of Babylon, Ethan had finally satisfied some of the envy he had once felt toward Gilgamesh's flashy style.
Because of that, his own combat methods had gradually changed.
For example, Ethan had developed his Jewel Magecraft into something resembling Ningguang's Elemental Burst, [Starshatter], from Genshin Impact.
Numerous gemstones would gather around him.
Then, the moment he released them, they automatically locked onto nearby enemies and bombarded them with powerful magical attacks.
Unlike Ningguang, however, Ethan's gemstones carried many different attributes.
Therefore, the magic they unleashed was not limited to a single element.
Of course, while this fighting style looked spectacular, it was extremely expensive.
The gemstones themselves were only part of the cost.
The real trouble was storing magical energy inside them beforehand.
Fortunately, Ethan had no shortage of magical energy, allowing him to use such an extravagant fighting style freely.
"Ais, you need to understand something."
"Winning or losing is temporary, but looking cool lasts forever."
"Oh."
Ais did not understand what Ethan meant at all.
Still, she indicated that she had heard him.
Ethan did not bother explaining further.
He only used this fighting style when clearing weak monsters anyway.
In a serious battle, it was practically useless, so he did not feel bad wasting gems on small fry.
The two continued talking as they traveled deeper into the Dungeon.
Since their destination was the deep floors, the journey itself would take quite some time.
This was already approaching expedition-level distance.
After all, Ethan's actual targets were the powerful monsters of the deep floors, perhaps even floor bosses.
Crack.
"Hm?"
Hearing movement nearby, Ais immediately became alert.
A gentle wind wrapped around [Desperate] in her hand.
Although she had obtained an Anemo Vision, her overall fighting style had not changed much.
She was still a swordswoman.
There was no reason to completely change professions just because she obtained a Vision.
Crack… Crack…
The ground around them began bulging.
Then, one after another, short creatures that looked like little skin-and-bone men crawled out.
"Spartois."
As a first-class adventurer, Ais naturally recognized them.
They were monsters found only in the deep floors.
Individually, they were not particularly strong, but they appeared in enormous numbers.
And wherever Spartois appeared, there was a good chance a monster nest was nearby.
"Jewel Magecraft: Flame Starshatter."
Just as Ais prepared to move forward, Ethan's voice rang out.
One crimson gemstone after another shot forward like artillery shells.
The moment they struck the ground—
BOOM!
Violent explosions erupted.
Roaring flames instantly covered a vast area.
The same scene repeated in every direction.
There were too many monsters?
No problem.
Just blanket the entire area in firepower.
'I may lack plenty of things, but firepower definitely isn't one of them.'
The surroundings instantly transformed into a sea of flames.
Large numbers of monsters were burned to death inside.
Only a few stronger monsters with tougher defenses managed to break through the fire and charge toward Ethan and Ais, baring their claws and fangs as they tried to kill the humans before them.
Swish!
Pshk!
Before Ethan even reacted, Ais had already rushed forward.
Emerald-green Anemo energy surrounded her body.
It was not her Magic, [Ariel].
This was pure elemental enhancement.
At Ais's waist, the Anemo Vision emitted a faint glow.
Within only a few minutes, the entire swarm of monsters gathered around them had been eliminated.
Ethan swept away the weak ones.
Ais handled anything that managed to survive.
Their cooperation was almost perfect.
"So this is a Vision?"
Feeling the Anemo energy surrounding her entire body, Ais placed one hand on the Vision hanging from her waist.
She did not need to cast magic.
Simply by thinking about it, she could control the Anemo element and wrap it around her body.
Not only could it increase her speed, but it also provided a certain degree of defense.
"Don't underestimate a Vision."
"If you learn to use it properly, someday it might let you surpass even your own understanding of what's possible."
"My own understanding…?"
Looking at the silent Ais, Ethan shook his head slightly.
Among countless worlds, the Falna system of DanMachi was undoubtedly one of the most miraculous.
After all, different people could awaken countless unique Skills and Magic.
But in certain areas, it was also extremely restrictive.
Magic depended heavily on talent.
There was even a fixed limit to how many spells a person could possess.
It almost felt like a game with a limited number of skill slots.
A Vision was different.
As long as the user had enough imagination, they could develop countless elemental techniques.
How those techniques evolved and what direction they specialized in were entirely up to the user.
A single Vision had given Ais countless new possibilities.
What she eventually accomplished with them depended entirely on her.
"All right. Time to collect the loot."
Swish!
The entrance to Imaginary Number Space opened.
One magic stone after another was immediately sucked inside.
A battlefield-cleaning method like this was probably something only Ethan could manage.
In Ais's eyes, if Ethan ever joined the Loki Familia on an expedition, their efficiency in collecting loot alone would increase tremendously.
Every expedition inevitably faced the same problem.
They gathered too much loot to carry and were forced to abandon part of it.
Finn always found that incredibly painful.
After all, every abandoned drop was valis being left behind.
Expeditions did not always turn a profit.
There were plenty of occasions when the expenses exceeded the earnings and the entire expedition ended at a loss.
…
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