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The dungeon was dark, damp, and heavy with the stench of decay and danger.
"Ryuu, duck!"
Crack!
The [Higanbana] shot through the air like lightning, slicing just above Ryuu's head and nailing an ambushing creature to the wall before it could even fully poke its head out.
The lizard monster had tried to sneak-attack them by sticking to the wall with suction pads. Its shriek was cut short as blood splattered the stone.
Dan's gaze was sharp, and his Sharingan glowed with an eerie red light.
Ryuu's pale blue eyes widened. She tightened her grip on her wooden sword, her pride as a mentor flaring up.
"Tch… I'm the higher-level adventurer here, and yet he sensed the enemy before I did… makes me look useless... That's NOT okay!"
"Lyra, don't you think Dan right now kinda looks like… a mini Ryuu?"
Celty leaned in toward Lyra and whispered, half teasing, half impressed.
"His movements, his posture, his technique… it's like a carbon copy. It's not just learning at this point…"
"It's imitation."
That throwing move just now—identical to how Ryuu throws her boomerangs.
Lyra crossed her arms behind her head and smirked.
Who'd have thought? A weak little Pallum like me, known for clumsy combat, actually being copied by someone... and feeling excited about it. Guess I'm still not that mature after all.
She closed her eyes, recalling how seamlessly that guy and Ryuu fought together earlier—like mirror images. She chuckled.
"Maybe it's fate or something, but thank goodness his personality is totally different from that stubborn Ryuu. Otherwise, we'd all be losing our minds."
Celty couldn't help but giggle too, imagining Kaguya trying to argue with two hard-headed elves at once.
"Haha, Dan's way more mature than we thought."
Celty looked on gently as Ryuu and Dan exchanged competitive glares—the kind that even her mask couldn't hide the smile beneath.
"I didn't expect these two, who seemed the hardest to get along, would end up syncing so well. Ryuu's personality is difficult, even by elf standards."
Where Ryuu still had that innocent outlook on the world, Dan was the total opposite—grounded, focused.
Sure, he had his moments of doubt, but he always figured out what he really needed to do—and then did it, no hesitation.
Especially in battle, his calmness made him look like a seasoned veteran, not a newbie.
Croak—
Suddenly, a Frog Shooter leapt out of the shadows and shot a blade-like tongue straight at Dan.
"Crap! He doesn't have time to retrieve his weapon!"
Ryuu slashed down a Killer Ant and rushed to help, but the next second she froze, eyes wide again.
"T-That move...!"
Dan dodged the tongue with a swift sidestep, then dropped low and dashed forward like a beast. He exploded upward, delivering a brutal kick to the frog's gut—blasting it to bits!
His movements were so agile and primal that everyone instinctively turned to look at Neze, the beastkin girl with ash-gray hair.
Neze scratched her head and twitched her ears.
"For a human body to pull off something like that… that's crazy."
As always, she showed no jealousy—just genuine admiration.
"I wonder if he can copy my beast transformation under the moonlight? I'm pretty proud of my combat power when I go full beast mode!"
Her eyes sparkled.
In that state, she could outfight even Kaguya and Ryuu. And combined with her top-tier leadership (second only to Alise and Lyra), she was basically flawless.
If the familia had to pick a third captain, everyone would choose her.
But now... maybe there's a new candidate in the running.
Even though Dan wasn't officially part of the Astraea familia, none of the girls saw him as any different anymore.
Just then, a Shadow Warrior monster burst from a broken wall, lunging at Dan while he was momentarily stiff.
Its long arms stretched from every angle, shaped like bird talons made of black blades. Each claw gleamed menacingly as it slashed with deadly speed.
This type of monster—Shadow Warriors—were unmatched in pure combat among 6th floor creatures.
In the dungeon's "Upper Levels" (Floors 1–12), they were absolute nightmares for newbie adventurers.
"Hmph."
Dan let out a calm chuckle. He didn't panic. He stepped down hard, launching the shell of a Killer Ant into the air.
Grabbing a protrusion from inside, he copied a move he'd seen the dwarf Asta use—catching the Shadow Warrior just as it wound up for an attack and slamming it hard, throwing it off balance.
The monster stumbled, stunned.
"Dan, catch!"
Without even turning, Dan reached back and grabbed the hilt of the [Higanbana] blade. His whole aura changed.
Then—slash!—he pulled off Ryuu's signature sword move perfectly, slashing down diagonally in a classic Kesa Giri.
The flash of steel was blinding. The Shadow Warrior was sliced clean in two, disintegrating into ash.
Calmly, Dan flicked the blood off his blade and extracted the magic stone and loot with practiced ease, tossing them into his bag.
Ryuu landed beside him and cleared her throat, trying to sound composed.
"We're even now. Also… ahem… not bad back there."
Dan had already figured out how to deal with this tsundere elf.
"Yes, yes, all thanks to Teacher Ryuu. I've improved so much because of your help."
"You—!"
Ryuu's cold poker face cracked. Her cheeks flushed red as she glared at him.
"I-I told you, don't call me that!"
"You're just like Alise, never listening to a word I say!"
She raised her wooden sword to bonk him on the head, but hesitated halfway and awkwardly lowered it. She ended up just huffing and looking away.
"Okay, okay," Lyra chimed in, strolling over as she gathered up a bunch of dropped loot again. "We get it, you two are cute—can you stop flirting in front of us?"
"F-F-Flirting?!"
Ryuu wanted to shout in denial, but instead, she let out a pitiful squeak and stomped her foot in frustration.
Lyra sighed internally.
Looks like this dense elf is seriously falling for him…
Jeez. What is this guy, a walking succubus or something?
"Dan, you've officially cleared the 5th to 7th floor trial. That ability of yours—to take in our techniques like food and evolve with them—yeah, I'm honestly super jealous."
"....."