Note: Changed "Floor Boss" to "Monster Rex".
===
As he had expected, upon returning to Twilight Manor, Riezel was separately 'preached' to by both Loki and Finn.
"Hey, it's not like I don't let you go to the Dungeon, but can't you at least pay attention to the time?"
"You're no longer just some rookie. Everything you do now directly affects the familia. If you go missing for too long, those close to you will start losing control out of worry. I hope you can think about that carefully before you act next time, understood?"
Loki and Finn had both spoken to him in turn, leaving Riezel no choice but to promise he would reflect on his behavior.
Unfortunately, their final looks told him they didn't believe a single word.
Knowing his credibility was already in tatters, Riezel could only retreat awkwardly.
He walked along the aerial corridor connecting the towers, heading toward his room, when he suddenly turned his gaze toward the courtyard—something had caught his attention.
Over there, a golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman entered Riezel's sight.
"..."
Ais stood in the courtyard, bathed in the glow of the magic stone lamps above the fountain, her eyes closed as she calmly regulated her breathing.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
Her rosy lips parted slightly, glistening as if they held morning dew.
It was an entrancing sight, yet with each breath, an astonishing volume of air was drawn swiftly into her lungs.
"Huuu..."
A gentle breeze brushed past, lifting strands of her golden hair.
Drawn toward her, the wind lingered around her body until, in the next instant, her eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
Exclaiming in a cool, steady voice, Ais suddenly unsheathed her sword before her body turned into a gust of wind and shot forward.
Her advance was fast—so fast the air around her roared, growing from a breeze into a gale, then into a storm, until it finally became a tornado encasing her entirely.
*BOOM!*
Howling through the courtyard, the tornado tore across the ground, scattering dust and stones in a furious whirl.
*Swish!*
As Ais emerged from the storm, her forward momentum peaked as she swung her sword, unleashing a powerful shockwave that tore through the air ahead.
"Huuu..."
Having finished the strike, Ais came to a stop, the violent winds around her fading as she exhaled softly, releasing the tension in her body.
*Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa—*
Suddenly, the sound of clapping echoed, startling Ais, who immediately turned toward the source of the sound.
"Not gonna lie, that Dust Whirlwind Cutter was executed quite nicely."
At some point, Riezel had jumped down from the corridor above and landed in the courtyard, still clapping as he approached Ais.
"Looks like you've pretty much mastered Wind Breathing."
Riezel smiled as he praised her, making Ais sheathe Desperate and show a bashful expression.
"It's all thanks to you." Ais said, her tone filled with quiet gratitude. "Because of you, I can keep getting stronger."
"You'd grow stronger anyway, even without me teaching you Wind Breathing." Riezel shook his head, then asked curiously, "So? How does it feel? Smooth enough?"
"Mm." Ais nodded without hesitation. "Very smooth—feels just like when I use Ariel."
Hearing this, Riezel couldn't help but let out a sound of admiration.
"As expected, your compatibility with Wind Breathing is far higher than mine."
It had to be said that in terms of affinity, Riezel was nowhere near Ais.
Needless to say, the Breathing Style most suited to Riezel had long been clear—it was Sun Breathing, where his compatibility with it reached a perfect 100.
Next came Moon Breathing, derived directly from Sun Breathing, with a compatibility of 95.
After that was Flame Breathing, said to be the closest in form to Sun Breathing, with a compatibility of 90.
As for Wind Breathing, Riezel's affinity with it was only 85, even lower than his 88 with Thunder Breathing.
Ais, on the other hand, had a perfect 100 with Wind Breathing.
For this golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman, Wind Breathing was the ideal Breathing Style—no other suited her better.
In other words, in Ais's hands, Wind Breathing could produce far greater power than in Riezel's.
If the two of them were of similar strength and both used Wind Breathing, Riezel would definitely be the weaker one. Even if he used Ariel along with Wind Breathing, Ais would still be able to draw out more power.
It was only natural, for it was simply a matter of compatibility, and Riezel couldn't change that.
It made him all the more certain that teaching Ais Wind Breathing had been the right choice.
In her hands, this Breathing Style would bloom anew—opening paths he himself could never walk.
"Since you've learned Wind Breathing, starting tomorrow, I won't be teaching you anymore." Riezel said with a shrug. "No more sparring either. Your body and mind are already fully worthy of Level 6."
At this, Ais's eyelids lowered slightly.
For some reason, hearing that Riezel would no longer guide or train with her made a faint sense of regret and loss rise in her heart.
Even though she couldn't quite explain why she felt that way, instinctively, she didn't want to say it aloud and didn't want Riezel to know.
"...Thank you for everything these past days." Ais could only express her gratitude to Riezel, bringing this chapter to a proper close.
"You've helped me plenty before, too, so I'd say we're even." Riezel replied with a casual smile. "Got any plans for tomorrow?"
Hearing this question, Ais immediately fell into thought.
Now that she had mastered Wind Breathing and regained balance in both body and mind, it was time to return to the Dungeon, just like before.
Although she had only learned the basics—the precision of her breathing still needed work, and the 'Total Concentration – Constant' that Riezel had mentioned was also something she needed to train—but after being home for so many days, it was time to stretch her wings again.
With this in mind, Ais turned her gaze toward Riezel.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to the Dungeon."
Hearing Ais's decision, Riezel's face remained calm, but inwardly, he sighed.
'How fitting of fate.'
As the anomaly on the 24th Floor began to surface and the forces lurking in the dark started to stir, Ais was now preparing to head straight into it.
It made one wonder if the very worldline was converging.
Still, after thinking for a moment, Riezel found he didn't mind.
'Maybe this is fine too. I mean, it was only a matter of time before Ais entered those people's sights. Since that was the case, it's better to step in now.'
If he could dig out some information from them, he could use the chance to inform Loki and the others about many things, which would be a good outcome.
Besides, Ais would eventually have to face those people, so given that she had to face them sooner or later, doing so now was far better than waiting until everything spiraled out of control.
At the very least, by facing it now, Ais could prepare herself mentally.
"Then... wanna go together?"
Riezel extended an invitation to Ais.
"…Can I?"
A faint, almost imperceptible shimmer passed through Ais's transparent golden eyes as she asked quietly.
"Of course." Riezel replied calmly. "If the two of us go together, we can go a lot deeper. Going alone always comes with all kinds of limitations and worries—it's hard to dive too far down by yourself."
Ais fully agreed with that point.
A single person truly could not descend too deeply—she had long experienced this herself.
If she needed to return the same day, the deepest she could reach was the lower end of the Middle Floors—she simply couldn't push farther.
However, with two people, they should be able to descend more, reaching the Lower Floors.
Monsters there were mostly around Level 3 to Level 4, and they might even encounter the Monster Rex of the 27th Floor, the two-headed dragon classified as Level 5.
While monsters of that level were no longer a match for the current Ais, they were still far stronger than the Level 2 monsters of the Middle Floors.
Only by defeating powerful monsters could one gain more excelia, leading to faster growth.
Of course, going into the Dungeon with Riezel also gave Ais a faint, inexplicable sense of good mood, while the regret and disappointment she had felt moments ago had vanished.
"I-In that case… let's go together."
Ais spoke with a slight stutter, and Riezel nodded with a smile.
===
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
When the bell signaling the start of breakfast rang, Riezel entered the grand dining hall alone for the first time in a while because Ais and the others were already seated and eating.
Tiona and the others seemed to have learned from Ais that she and Riezel planned to go together into the Dungeon, as the moment they saw him, they immediately began complaining.
"Why didn't you invite me?! I wanna go too!"
Tiona's words made Lefiya beside her nod rapidly, since she also wanted to go very much too.
Going into the Dungeon together with the two people she admired?
Needless to say, that was double the happiness.
Lefiya practically radiated a desperate desire to join them, as shown by how her pointed elven ears twitched up and down at high speed.
However, before Ais could say anything, Riezel rejected them outright.
"Next time, alright. Today it's just Ais and me."
Riezel's words instantly turned a certain elf girl to stone, while several people in the dining hall let out teasing whistles.
Fortunately, a certain werewolf wasn't present.
Otherwise, with the level of favorability he showed Ais, he would definitely have tried to interfere.
Just like that, Riezel and Ais finished their breakfast under the gossiping looks of the others, then left the dining hall together, departing from Twilight Manor.
===
While Riezel and Ais entered the Dungeon together and headed down to the lower floors, a shadow appeared within a pitch-black space somewhere far away.
"Riezel Brynhart..."
"Ais Wallenstein..."
Gazing in a certain direction, the shadow murmured the two names, then nodded after a moment.
"They really are suitable choices. Let's go with them."
After speaking to themself, the shadow turned and stepped deeper into the darkness, vanishing completely.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]