So, the wolf waited by the door to the next floor down, acting something like a look out or guard, and the expedition team continued on their pace through the dungeon floors. However, the wolf that was left behind soon had a handful of others of similar curiosity come forward, each subsequently taking a seat, leaving a truly interesting surprise for the group when they'd make their return.
The final region of the lower floors was a cross between a thicket, and a cavern type location. Without a good idea of where to go, one would get hopelessly lost.
"Remember, don't stray away from the group, you'll put more work on everyone that way."
"Understood, I don't want to get lost down here either. It's pretty scary."
"Really? Boo!"
"Ah! Damn you!"
"Focus, these floors are the final test of the lower floors, if you prove yourselves capable of handling this, the deeper floors will be your next hunting grounds." Zald warned, ensuring the message got across.
The 33rd floor was a bunch of winding caverns, littered with the undergrowth. It was as if the floor was separated by an incredibly thin layer of dirt, as opposed to the usual thick rocks. With all the ups, and downs, twists, and turns, Shurry realized something.
"Aunty Lyca, these floors are confusing. It feels like my senses don't work too well down here."
"Ha! It's not easy to grasp, that's for sure, but you're still young, give it time you'll get used to it." Lyca laughed. "There's a trick to these floors, but we don't use it until after we've passed through it normally. Can't pass up on the challenge after all."
"Well, it's just I smell everyone coming from above, and from the side. Like we've passed through a layer or two already."
"That's this region's effect. A rather annoying one, but all of these floors entangle into each other like a system of roots. The trick is to just blast right through all of them, but, that can be extremely dangerous, care to guess why?"
Meteria raised her hand. "Oh, oh, pick me!" She said, and then continued regardless. "It's because this floor heals its damage way faster than other floors right?"
"Precisely. Without a level 7 constantly tearing through the floors, it's impossible to achieve such a method." Lyca answered, confirming Meteria's studious nature, a nature that came out of having hope for her future. "However, as a result of this incredibly fast healing, no monsters spawn on these floors, except for the level 6 monster Rex at the very end of the 36th floor."
"Another monster with a big crystal?" Shurry noted, getting excited at the idea.
"I am getting quite hungry since I finished that last one." Luna yawned, stretching as she laid on Shurry's head. "It'll be nice to see what shows up in the falna when we reach the surface again."
"It'll be a while till that happens. We're going pretty deep this time around. I'm surprised that Shurry wanted to come with us, since the School District will be leaving port at most a few days after we resurface."
"Huh? I gave mommy, and daddy things to always have me with them. And I'll always have them with me too! Besides, I want to get stronger, much stronger. And when they come back to see me again next time, they'll be proud of me!" Shurry said, showing a rare maturity for a puppy, but it was likely due to his desire for strength that he could rationalize this idea, even if it broke his little puppy heart.
"From what I've seen so far, you'll do quite good in the future. I can feel it in my bones." Lyca reassured, with a confident smile.
A few hours later, the party arrived at the boss room. The boss fight was rather short, considering the time it took to arrive there. The reason for it was that the level 5s and 6s aided in guiding combat with an active role, and the Shurry ended up with another crystal for Luna to eat. And she did precisely that, and though she felt groggy, she was able to remain awake even after draining the gigantic crystal of all its power completely.
"Hmm, good, it seems that in time the spirit will be able to handle eating more than one of those things before needing to take a break. That's good, because the next boss is not going to be a pushover. It is firmly in the upper limits of level 6, this one is merely at the beginning…" Maxim noted, acting terribly interested in the tiny spirit.
Empress stepped up closer, and pet Shurry, scratching him behind the ears with skill, knew what she was doing. "Now, don't force yourselves alright. There's still plenty of time for you to grow stronger."
As Maxim walked off to check in on the others, Shurry sniffed that all too familiar scent, he sniffed a few more times, then tilted his head. "Aunty's having a baby?" He asked in a hushed, yet curious tone.
"Shh, don't say it so loud. I'm quite capable of doing everything I need to while on this trip as it is. So there's no need to worry about me-" Shurry licked Empress' cheek, clearly worried, but his tail also showed another emotion, excitement. "Pfft, you're too adorable." Empress gave Shurry a hug, though it was an awkward one considering that he was still in wolf form.
"Alright everyone, let's get a move on. We have two more floors to clear through before we can arrive at the safety point on the 39th floor."
With Maxim's order, the formation changed a little, and the party pressed forward. Soon they arrived on the 37th floor, shortly after, they did manage to kill Udaeus with their new method, though it was a considerable deal harder, but Shurry didn't mind since he got another crystal, and this one made Luna fall asleep to digest the meal, opting to return to her place in Shurry's soul.
Eventually, a camp was set up on the 39th floor, and once again the party made all preparations needed to safely advance to the next point, while Shurry hunted for more food. This cycle repeated for each push to all other safety points, forward and back. Everyone had to turn back after the monster rex on the 61st floor was killed, as resources were rapidly draining largely due to the singular growing pup, Shurry.