No major incidents cropped up, and we made excellent time—reaching the twentieth floor even earlier than planned.
We could hit the floor boss in under ten minutes. Any escort could handle it easily. Looked like today would wrap up smoothly.
Tenth squad had fought multiple times along the way.
I'd been worried about their three-person setup, but during this guided run it didn't feel like a handicap at all.
First, Logan.
His buff selection, timing, and potency were all top-tier.
We were still in the upper layers, so fights ended quickly—hard to judge endurance—but if he could sustain that level in long battles, he'd hold his own even in an A-rank party.
His attack magic cleared the baseline expected of enchanters too. No wonder the kid carried himself like that. Straight-up prodigy.
His command ability, though? Sloppy, no sugarcoating it.
That comes with experience. He'll improve.
Next, Caroline.
True to her evasion-defender goal, her agility was impressive—even horn rabbits and white wolves, fast for upper layers, couldn't land a hit.
But problems remained.
She charged the second she spotted a monster. Fine for drawing aggro as a defender, but her mindset seemed more "strike before they do!" She rushed in recklessly—nerve-wracking to watch.
And her weapons: dual daggers. They suited her nimble style, but with only her as frontline in a three-person party, damage output felt dangerously low.
Finally, Sophia.
Compared to the other two standouts she looked average, but her spell power and cast speed were far beyond rookie level.
Her personality kept her from being aggressive, but that would come with time and trust in her teammates.
Against veterans she still had a long way to go, yet for a newbie she had almost no glaring weaknesses. Her growth potential looked bright.
Ninth squad… yeah, they'd get there eventually.
While I mulled that over, the other three escorts finished off the twentieth-floor boss.
That was it for today.
I'd braced for more chaos, but the clan clearly had solid internal rules.
Even in borderline situations, no one panicked—everyone handled things calmly.
Honestly, I hadn't expected it to go this smoothly.
I'd underestimated "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky" as an organization.
Still, tomorrow we enter the mid-layers.
Fewer floors, but the difficulty jumps hard.
We reached twenty-one, the rookies took turns registering at the crystal, then we all teleported back to the surface.
Even finishing early, the sun had long set.
Plenty of kids looked exhausted—tension plus fatigue hitting peak.
This was rough on rookies.
Whoever that shortsighted noble was who planned this—I wanted to give them a piece of my mind.
We returned to the morning assembly plaza. Selma gave the group encouraging words, and the day officially ended.
I was a little worn out myself—planned to grab a quick dinner and crash—but Selma caught me.
"Orun, how were the rookies?"
"Ninth squad has potential. Tenth lived up to your 'promising' label, but their teamwork was nonexistent. Caroline especially… nothing but red flags."
"Haha… and that's already a big improvement from before."
She muttered it with a rueful smile.
If that was "improved," what were they like originally…?
"Anyway, tomorrow too—looking forward to it."
"Yeah. Good night."
We parted, and I started walking toward town for food.
The guided exploration's first day had gone far better than expected.
Tomorrow would test how much that held up.