"Get up, young ones!" Gareth's voice boomed through the large tent, jolting everyone awake—me—included.
""Shut up, old man!!"" several of the adventurers complained. I groaned into my blanket. Too early for this.
"Tsk! I came to wake up lazy bums up, and that's how you treat me, ungrateful brats… Anyway, get up, we will be leaving shortly!" Gareth announced and went back.
I dragged myself out of the tent, eyes still heavy with sleep. Outside, a group of supporters was already preparing food.
Slowly, all of us gathered near the makeshift kitchen area, our mouths chewing on the food like hungry hyenas—me—included. After everyone had finished eating, Finn gave the signal; it was time to move.
I checked my gear condition one last time and joined the others in descending the stairs.
.
.
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"Owaaa… no matter how many times I see it, it's always so creepy…" Alise's voice echoed as we stepped onto the twenty-ninth floor.
The floor was a forest-like area dense with trees, making it hard for the artificial skylight to pass through. The forest felt wrong—too quiet, too dark, fog clinging to the twisted trees, almost like a haunted forest.
"Alise," Ryuu spoke, "if you, a first-class adventurer, act like that, it's only going to make others nervous."
"I can't help it, Lion, it's just so creepy. But you are right, I am a first-class adventurer, the great, beautiful, perfect captain of Astraea familia! He-hem!" Alise said, striking a pose.
"That's not the point, you goofball…" Lyra muttered, but Alise completely ignored her.
Filvis looked over at the low-ranking members who were getting visibly nervous. "There is mostly one type of monster on these floors; we would have an easier time defeating them." A few of the supporters visibly relaxed at her words.
"Oh, Eina mentioned something about that, if I remember right, the monsters are mostly dinosaur-type, right?" I added as Ais nodded her head.
"Yes, although their skin is tough and they are physically strong as well… but their speed is very slow." Just as she finished speaking, the forest rustled—loud, sudden, everyone prepared themselves to fight.
We spun toward the sound. Red scales flashed between the trees as massive shapes burst into view, their eyes fixed on us with predatory hunger. The monsters easily stand over 250 centimeters in height and around four to five meters in length. Their looks were, as their names suggested, very similar to a dinosaur's. Their skin was covered with crimson scales, giving them great defense against physical attack.
"It's a Bloodsaurus!" Kaguya shouted, already in motion, blade flashing toward the nearest monster, the rest of us not far behind, as we also lunged at the monsters.
The lead Bloodsaurus, standing at over three hundred centimeters, roared—GUAAAAA—and charged, shaking the ground beneath its weight. Kaguya's blade flashed. The first Bloodsaurus fell in a spray of ash. Ryuu, Alise, and Ais moved in perfect sync, each taking down a monster before pivoting to the next.
The monsters didn't stand a chance, as our weapons cut through their flesh, with rear support firing arrows and magic attacks.
I also attacked a nearby monster, its jaw snapping, intending to bite my arm. I sidestepped, my blade cleaving the beast's neck, before I followed up with a downward slash to the next monster, turning both beasts into a pile of ash. Their magic stone dropped on the ground with a loud thud.
Just as Ais had mentioned, their skin was tougher than the regular monsters we had faced till now, but it wasn't tough enough to stop our blades.
Another monster tried to attack from behind before I could take action. A knife pierced through the monster, breaking its magic stone.
I look up to see Asfi giving a nod before she throws another knife, successfully killing a monster attacking the adventurers carrying the supplies.
The number of monsters dwindled as the battle raged on. The last monster fell, dissolving into ash.
The horde of monsters was taken care of, and the supporting adventurers quickly picked up the magic stone and any drop items we might have gotten.
"Well done, everyone, but let's avoid any battle as much as possible. Our next stop is ten floors down after all," Finn said, leading the group from the front as we stood at the very back of it.
We keep pushing forward, descending further and further, the monster becoming more active and stronger with each floor.
After several hours, we reached the thirty-seventh floor.
"So this is the white palace, huh?" I said, looking around the floor where Ryuu and Bell fell in the cannon, just as it was depicted in the anime, the whole floor was covered in white from the walls, ground, and ceiling.
"Yup, and also the monster will start to get a lot stronger now," Lyra spoke.
"I would advise you to start using your strange magic from here on," Kaguya spoke next.
"Oh? Are you worried about me?" I replied, scooting closer to her. In return, Kaguya sent a glare my way, not intending to humor me.
"I am just warning you so you don't die like a dog, but you seem adamant about wanting to die like a horn dog instead." She said, her hand going to her katana. "Maybe I should do you a favour."
But before things could escalate, another horde of monsters, mostly Barbarians, attacked our group.
The Barbarian stood over three to four meters tall, their body bulging with pure muscles.
The battle began with me leaping at the Barbarian at the forefront. The monster swung its arm, aiming at my head. I ducked and severed its leg; the monster's balance tilted to the side, giving me the chance to stab at its chest. The monster turned to ash, but before I could take a breath, another monster took its fallen Kin's place.
I was thinking that I might need to use my magic to contend with these monsters, but after the first battle, I concluded I wouldn't need to use it as of now.
All the party members also began attacking the horde. Still, as the battle raged, more and more monsters of different species, from Spartio to lizardman elite and many more, started attacking our group.
"I shall carve a path for us, everyone follow me!" Finn proclaimed, swinging his spear around, the monster's limbs flying in the air before ash started to rain down.
"ORYAAA!" While Gareth cut the monsters down with his Axe, even killing some monsters with his bare hands, showing his unmatched strength.
"Keep calm, Level 3 and lower fight in groups!" While Riveria kept commanding, Along with using her short chants to freeze or burn the monsters. Adventurers who were starting to panic, seeing so many monsters, regrouped under her command.
"Let's show them the night of Hermes Familia!" Lydia raised a battle cry, rallying the adventurers under her to support the front lines. Asfi followed closely behind, drawing her short sword as she cut a monster down, while keeping command of her familia members.
"Girls, we can't be the only ones slacking! Let's bring justice down upon these monsters!" Alise cried, her red hair dancing in the wind, as her blade stabbed one monster after another; all of Astraea familia jumped into the battle alongside her.
Lyra, using her boomerang, diverted the monster's attention while Neze and Iska defeated the monsters.
Nion worked like a tank, but instead of taking the monsters' hits head-on, she parried them with her shield, providing others the opening needed to attack the monsters.
"Ohhhh!" Tiona followed after Alise, rotating her huge weapon—Urga—decimating the monster that came anywhere near, while her sister, Tione, joined as well, daggers in hand, and still making use of her naturally strong body, she defeated one monster after another, working in tandem with her sister.
Ryuu leaped from place to place, her figure looked as if she was flying, only the monster's ash remained behind where she had landed for but a moment before she leaped again in search of her new target. She looked beautiful to me, but I am sure to monsters, she must have looked like an angel of death.
While Ais, with her incredible speed, raged the battlefield like Strom. Her golden blonde hair fluttered in the wind, her speed far outclassing the monsters. She appeared before a monster before the monster could comprehend, Ais had already severed its head and disappeared, and appeared in front of another monster.
Kaguya's blade glided across the wind, her sword skills filled with grace and deadly edge, cutting the monsters in half.
Lefiya, using her magic supported from behind, froze several monsters at once, allowing the other adventurers to kill an immobile monster far outclassing their levels.
Ryana and Celty worked in cooperation with Lefiya, raining magic spells down on the monsters, not giving them any chance to fight back.
We continued to battle monsters, our advance not stopping even for a little while. I observed the battlefield, using flame or wind magic to shield or attack far-away monsters that were proving too difficult to fight for lower-level adventurers.
We finally arrived at the innermost layer, or the center room, should I say, of the thirty-seventh floor.
"There are very few monsters in this area," I observed a severe lack of monsters appearing in this area.
"That's because even those monsters know a beast that far outmatches them resides here," Lyra answered.
Monster rex Udaeus, huh? Hm? Wait, now that we are here already, should I try it? I thought of something I always wanted to try after watching Ais fight the monster rex Udaeus.
"Everyone, we will take a small break and then enter the room. Only adventurers level 4 or above will go with us. We will defeat the floor boss and advance further down." Since no one questioned his decision, Finn concluded the small strategy meeting.
Noticing that the adventurers who will be fighting the monster rex started doing a wear and tear check, while the rest guarded the area. I decided to approach Finn regarding my request.
"Finn, I have a favour to ask."