As soon as they reached the second floor, a monster tried to ambush Yui. However, everyone had their Observation Haki activated and had already detected the monster. Taihei swiftly brought out a shield, blocking the monster's attack.
Seeing that the shield could withstand the monster, everyone felt more confident. Umaru also stopped preparing to cast magic.
The monsters here were quite different from the ones in the cemetery and the one attached to Nibutani.
These were more physically solid and significantly stronger. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that physical objects could block their attacks in this situation...
After blocking the monster, Yukino, who had been charging her spell, quickly acted, firing an ice arrow that sent the monster flying.
However, this monster was much tougher than the one on the first floor and didn't die immediately...
Seeing this, no one was too concerned. Umaru followed up with another ice arrow at the monster. Two consecutive ice arrows finally finished it off...
Next, everyone looked towards a larger monster not far away. It was on all fours, baring its teeth menacingly at Takeru's group.
"Attack together!" Sensing the terrifying aura from the monster, the group exchanged glances and agreed.
Ui immediately activated her stealth skill, vanishing from sight as she stealthily approached the monster.
Taihei positioned himself in front of the group, while Umaru, Yukino, and the others simultaneously began gathering magic.
"Roar!" An intangible soul-roar echoed towards the group, and then the monster charged rapidly at Yukino and the others...
Facing the charge, although their practical combat experience wasn't extensive, they weren't foolish either and chose to dodge.
Having been tempered by battles with zombies, they wouldn't panic or freeze up in such situations...
After dodging, the five mages, Yukino, Yui, Hachiman, Umaru, and Rikka, who had been charging their spells, unleashed their most powerful magic.
Fireballs and ice arrows swiftly flew towards the monster. The monster wasn't stupid either… it leaped aside, evading two ice arrows and a fireball.
However, it was still hit by the subsequently launched fireball and ice arrow, instantly letting out a cry of pain.
But the monster quickly recovered. Gritting through the pain, it charged at Yui, who was closest. Yui's reaction ability was still too weak, and seeing the roaring monster charging, she momentarily forgot to dodge. At the critical moment, Taihei stepped in again with his shield, blocking the monster's path.
Thwarted, the monster felt disoriented. The hidden Ui seized the chance, leaping onto the monster's back and plunging her dagger deep into it, inflicting significant damage.
After striking, Ui quickly retreated, denying the monster a chance to counterattack.
The monster's aggro was indeed drawn by Ui. Furious, it tried to attack her, but Umaru and the others' second wave of magic was already prepared.
The enraged monster, having lost its composure, didn't evade this time and was directly hit by five spells, dissipating amidst its wails...
"Whew! A complete success!" Seeing the monster vanish, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Takeru merely watched quietly. Overall, aside from Yui's significant mistake, it was quite good that they defeated the monster without injuries, considering they hadn't coordinated much before...
After defeating this monster, the remaining ones were relatively ordinary. With the group's cooperation, they cleared the monsters in less than ten minutes, though that was partly because there weren't many monsters here to begin with.
Emerging, everyone showed smiles. This battle had forged a closer bond among them… a sense of camaraderie.
"Everyone's okay, right?" Returning to the original spot, Nibutani was still waiting. Seeing that Takeru and the others didn't seem injured, she sighed in relief.
"Mhmm, we're fine. By the way, how about we all go have lunch together?" Yukino suggested again.
"Sure!" Still riding the high from the recent 'battle', everyone agreed enthusiastically with Yukino's suggestion. Takeru checked the time and nodded as well.
Yukino also invited Nibutani. Nibutani didn't hesitate much and nodded. After all, Takeru and the others were clearly not ordinary people, and having a chance to get closer wasn't something she'd refuse.
…
In the blink of an eye, another three days passed. Watching the countdown to the instance entry, Takeru showed a thoughtful expression.
Compared to the first time, they now found they couldn't choose the time to enter the Reincarnation Space at will.
Although they received the prompt yesterday, they couldn't enter the Reincarnation Space early. This time, the entry time was exactly 9:00 p.m.
With five minutes left on the countdown, Takeru sat quietly in place, awaiting the Reincarnation Space's summons.
Takeru wasn't at the apartment currently. At 8:40 p.m., he had informed Miu and left home, arriving at this pre-arranged, hidden location...
For next time, Takeru planned to rent another room, where he could go whenever he needed to enter the Reincarnation Space.
The reason for not entering from home was mainly to avoid worrying Miu if she discovered his sudden disappearance...
Besides Takeru, Yukino, Umaru, and the others were also at home, waiting for the Reincarnation Space's call. Since the time was in the evening, they hadn't gathered together again, each finding their own secluded spots to leave from...
As time ticked by, the instant the countdown ended, Takeru's figure was engulfed by suddenly appearing black light and vanished from the spot...