It has been an hour since the heroes' party began exploring the newly discovered dungeon.
When they stepped on the second floor, they found it to have the same ceilings of the height of a hundred meters. The floor is also a labyrinth type as well. It was also worth noticing that the temperature increased once again.
Progressively, the monsters they encountered became stronger than on the previous floor. Not only do the monsters spawn more often, but the monsters' base strength has also significantly increased.
In addition to the monsters before, they have begun encountering up to three-foot-long giant spiders, ear-splitting giant bat-type monsters called night bats, six-foot-long evil centipedes, and five-foot-tall ape-type monsters called redfur monkeys.
Unlike the monsters on the floor above, whose worth is not that much, the monsters on the second floor have better market value. The silk sacs of the giant spiders are used for crafting high-quality garments, the tough exoskeletons of the evil centipedes are commonly made for armor padding, and the soft fur of the redfur monkeys is a high-demand material for luxurious clothing.
However, these types of monsters are rarely encountered this early. Normally, they can be found on the middle floors of normal-sized dungeons. Seeing them on the second floor made everyone conclude that this dungeon has more things to offer.
For that reason, the adventurers are very much thrilled to gather as many rare materials as they can. They are raking in a fortune there. However, the knights' captain reminded them not to collect too much since it could become a burden and distract them during fights on the deeper floors.
As expected, the excited adventurers cleared out the monsters without exerting too much effort. Harvesting the materials fresh is supposed to be a mess since parts should be dry for transport.
However, most adventurers of this company are in parties, and each party has someone that is specialized to properly dismantle the carcasses. Dismantlers usually have the basic fire magic spell called Radiance that gives off heat to draw out moisture from the materials, similar to sun-drying but warmer, faster, and more efficient.
Other than the sought-after materials and other throwaway scraps, monsters also possess something in their body called magic crystals. Magic crystals are the physical manifestation of every creature's mana in the shape of a dipyramid prism. By every creature, that includes humans and other intelligent races other than monsters.
The magic crystal's size and color vary from race to race and from individual to individual. The size is always fixed to the being's body mass, which means the more massive the magical being, the bigger the magic crystal.
Meanwhile, the color depends on how much the creature's mana reserve is. However, it is much more complicated than it seems, as there are many factors to determine what the approximate color of a magic crystal can be.
The value of the magic crystals varies by size and color. However, so far, the magic crystals of the monsters of this dungeon are not of that good of a quality and do not have that much value or use. That is why they just disregarded it and left it together with the scraps.
After spending some time hunting and collecting loot, the adventurers haul big. Despite the warnings of the captain, many adventurers dismantled the valuable materials of every one of their kills and carried them to the next floor, adding more weight to the expedition.
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"Damn it. It's getting hotter and hotter the deeper we go."
David complains as he wipes off a line of sweat dripping on his forehead. Not just David, but everyone in the company feels the significant increase of air temperature on the third floor of the dungeon.
Geoffrey steps forward before he looks up and visually estimates the measurements of the ceiling. "This floor is still as spacious as the ones above, I guess."
"Should I bless everyone with heat resistance?"
"Hmm."
As Geoffrey is thinking about Shirley's words, Knights' Captain Russell approaches him and voices his suggestion.
"Sir Hero, Miss Shirley, you don't have to do that right now. You have to reserve your energy until when needed."
"But how about you all?"
"Don't worry about it, Sir Hero. We, the knights, are ready for anything. Every knight's order has their own supports assigned for blessing everyone with buffs and supports."
After that, Russell turns around and calls out a male knight. "Gwent."
"Yes, sir."
As Russell orders, Gwent thrusts his palms forward, and a five-foot-wide, light yellow magic circle appears on the ground beneath him before he casts his spells.
"Area Bless Heat Resistance. Area Resistance Boost."
Once the two light magic spells are cast, everyone within the radius of a hundred meters radiates a pale light around their whole body for a second.
"Oohh! The heat instantly vanished!" One adventurer yells.
Area Bless Heat Resistance is an intermediate-level spell that grants tolerance to heat in a wide circular area; it is also an area-of-effect version of the Bless Heat Resistance. The receivers of the spell would gain its effect for a few minutes to an hour, depending on the level of the caster.
On the other hand, Area Resistance Boost, the ranged version of the Resistance Boost, is a spell that obviously enhances one's resistances.
Both of the spells require the receivers to be in the affected area upon casting. After that, they can now carry the buff wherever they want until the caster stops the spell or runs out of mana.
"Geoffrey, I can sense dozens of monsters like hobgoblins, ghouls, treants, and mega slimes coming out of position."
"Thank you for the info, David." Geoffrey then faces Russell. "Captain."
Russell nods after receiving the info.
"Listen, everyone!" Russell stands with conviction and faces both the knights and the adventurers. "Now that the issues with the heat that you have been complaining about have been temporarily resolved, I order you all do not waste Gwent's efforts and clear this floor as quickly as possible!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
Boosted physically and mentally, the knights and the adventurers charge to welcome the incoming monsters.