The floor boss on the twenty-seventh level hadn't respawned yet. Ais hesitated in her steps. It wasn't that she didn't want to grow stronger, but she worried about Lefiya's condition. She would never sacrifice a companion just to strengthen herself.
"Ais, are there dense clusters of monsters on the next levels?" Ren asked, glancing at her.
"The next ones are all powerful monsters, but they exist individually," Ais explained.
"Alright, I'll go crazy with you. Lefiya, get on." Ren lowered himself.
"No… it's fine." Lefiya hurriedly refused.
"Ais wants to get stronger. You can't hold her back. Just rest for now." Ren knew her weakness very well.
"Okay." Lefiya nodded and slowly climbed onto Ren's back. Surprisingly, there was no discomfort at all. Instead, it felt strangely reassuring. She enjoyed the feeling.
"Tiona, maybe your analysis was right. If he targeted me, he is about to die." Lefiya closed her eyes.
"Let's try to take detours as much as possible," Ren said, placing his hand on Lefiya's back. The girl's light fragrance didn't distract him; after countless times with Hestia climbing on him, he had gotten used to it.
The two continued onward. Lefiya noticed that Ren ran steadily. She felt no jolts and began to rest, recovering her magic.
Whenever they encountered monsters, they simply went around them. This time, their goal was clear: reach the thirty-seventh floor and defeat the floor boss.
But the higher they climbed, the more Ais regretted bringing Ren and Lefiya here. Was this kind of strength really what she wanted?
"Ais, just keep moving forward. Following you is our choice. Didn't we agree on this before? Besides, I'm strong," Ren said with a smile.
Ais nodded. They walked in pauses, stopping and starting, until they finally reached the thirty-seventh floor. The floor boss had already respawned, and its presence alone was Level 6. If it were just Ais, she would be doomed.
"Speed Boost, Mana Boost, Strength Boost, Weakness Detection." Ren cast several enhancement spells in succession. Shared across all worlds, these had already broken his limits, making him a being that even the gods wanted to study.
Ais once again felt the surge of newfound strength. The mana enhancement allowed her to maintain Gale Dash for a long time, and combined with her speed boost, she didn't think she could lose. Her immense power might even break the boss's defenses.
Watching Ais charge toward the boss to draw its hatred, Ren observed from the side. Despite facing a Level 6 monster, he still felt no pressure.
"Ais!" Lefiya was awakened by the commotion. Seeing the unparalleled monster before her, she felt a pang of worry.
"It's fine. Trust her," Ren smiled. If needed, he could just heal her. No big deal.
"So fast… speeds I can't usually reach." Ais dodged the floor boss's attacks. No matter what, she had to defeat it. She wanted to get stronger.
Her attacks struck the boss's skeletal body, easily causing damage. Ais was shocked. The power amplification was immense. She knew this floor boss well, having fought it frequently during expeditions. She understood its condition perfectly.
"Impressive."
This was the first time Lefiya had truly felt Ais' strength firsthand. Of course, the Floor Boss's destructive aura was equally overwhelming. She believed that even a mere scratch from it could be fatal.
Boom.
The Floor Boss's attack caused the area to start collapsing. Of course, the damaged structures would restore themselves the next day.
"Faster."
Ais began using Gale Dash at full power, leaving countless wounds on the boss's skeleton.
Even from her vantage point, Lefiya could tell that although Ais' attacks were fierce and incredibly fast, the actual damage dealt wasn't much.
"Ais…"
"We just have to trust her. She won't let us interfere with her fight."
Ren's brow furrowed. The monster, of which only part of it was visible, was already over ten meters long. Ais wasn't built for prolonged battles; if this dragged on, it could be deadly.
The Floor Boss naturally entered a berserk phase. As for Ais, her expression remained calm, but the paleness creeping over her face revealed how difficult the fight had become.
The strain of using Gale Dash started manifesting physically. The room itself began to change, rocks sprouting into sharp spikes aimed at Ais.
This was one of the 37th Floor Boss's special abilities. Its upper body was over ten meters tall, but the lower half never fully emerged from the ground—not because it didn't want to, but because the entire floor and room were part of its lower body, which it could manipulate at will.
A deafening roar echoed through the room.
Small bosses burst from the ground as it unleashed both of its signature abilities.
Sweat covered Ais' face. She had barely dodged the last spike attack. Although she was familiar with the boss's mechanics, her body was reaching its limit, especially with so many minions being summoned.
Seeing Ren's position, Ais smiled, then charged at the boss without hesitation. She chose to trust Lefiya and Ren.
At that moment, an enormous spell erupted. Lefiya, being a prodigy, had naturally formidable magic power. Combined with Ren's enhancement spell, the attack achieved a terrifying effect.
Almost all the minions were frozen, and the floor itself was encased in ice. Lefiya knew other spells might fail, so immobilizing the monsters and spikes was all she could do.
Ren applied an enhancement on Ais, then cast Exhilaration Magic. It allowed her to ignore fatigue and pain temporarily, though the backlash would hit her double afterward. The side effect was severe.
Feeling the pain vanish, Ais was deeply grateful to Ren. Ignoring everything else, she launched a final, furious assault on the boss, dancing across its body as her rapier carved countless marks.
When the minions tried to break free from the ice, Lefiya finished another chant, freezing them again. However, the repeated use of magic drained her completely, and she collapsed into Ren's arms.
Lefiya wanted to sleep, and being in Ren's embrace made her feel safe. Seeing her unconscious, Ren lifted her effortlessly; it felt light to him.
Feeling that the boss was about to go down, Ren quickly led Lefiya away from the battlefield, leaving Ais to enjoy the experience and glory alone.
At the doorway, Ren looked at the boss still struggling desperately and knew that Ace had already won.
Within a minute, the boss turned into loot, its body dissipating, and Ais, due to the overexertion of her magic, began to feel the side effects as she fell from a ten-meter height.
It wasn't the cold ground she landed on, but a man's embrace. At that moment, she didn't care about this, as the muscle pain from the Gale Dash hit her twice as hard as before, making it impossible for her to feel anything else.
Sensing her pain, Ren cast a healing spell, and her injuries began to mend, but the side effects didn't disappear. Seeing it wasn't enough, Ren directly knocked her out to prevent her from suffering further.
Before losing consciousness, Ais felt it was unbelievable. By logic, with Ren at Level 2, he shouldn't have been able to knock her out.
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