Fortunately, the "Spirit" had completely severed all ties with the "fetus," which made it much easier for Bell to take control.
'As expected, a clean break.'
Using Runes, Bell engraved a brand onto the "fetus" to secure his control over it. He then double-checked that there were no lingering traces of the "Spirit" left behind.
Even with that confirmation, Bell still wasn't at ease. Who knew what tricks the "Spirit" might have left? It was better to be overly cautious than careless.
'No issues. We can begin.'
By the time Bell had completed several rounds of checks, the "fetus" had nearly finished absorbing the magic stones.
Its aura had already stabilized at the peak of Level 6.
But that was the limit.
Getting stronger within the same level and actually breaking through to the next were two entirely different things—the difficulty between them wasn't even comparable.
Still, reaching the peak of Level 6 was just enough to meet Bell's expectations.
Although advancing to Level 7 was extremely difficult, there were some special methods that could make it possible.
Sacrificing one's own time, condensing all of one's past, present, and future into a single moment and unleashing it at once—if one had the resolve to give up everything, even overcoming the barrier between levels wasn't impossible.
Of course, the one making that sacrifice wasn't Bell. It was the one receiving the power.
Bell was merely providing the opportunity and the platform. Those seeking power could use that platform to burn themselves out and briefly touch overwhelming strength.
The only problem was, the "Spirit fetus" lacked a sense of self—it couldn't choose to burn everything it had for a moment of ascension.
But now that Bell had enslaved the "Spirit fetus," he could command it just like the "Spirit" had ordered the Virgas and Violas. He could make it sacrifice everything for the power to transcend its limits.
The ritual was quickly prepared, and Bell placed the "Spirit fetus" at its center.
Soon, the "fetus" entered a unique state. Its aura gradually grew wilder, and its power began to break through the shackles of Level 6.
'Looks like the ritual is progressing even faster than I expected.'
'I'll need to slow it down a little.'
Bell adjusted the pace of the ritual, scanned the surroundings, then closed his eyes and waited for it to complete.
...
After a night's rest, the expedition team was in peak condition. All members heading into the unknown region had already gathered at the entrance to the 51st floor.
Finn scanned the crowd of people seeing them off—but he didn't spot the person he was looking for.
'Has Bell-kun already gone to the Deep Floors?'
If not for Cassandra's prophetic dream, Finn wouldn't have thought so. But because she had seen Bell in an unknown part of the Deep Floors, he was sure Bell had headed there.
Though he couldn't learn exactly what Bell was doing from Cassandra, Finn had a strong feeling the situation was closely tied to him.
"Captain?"
"...Move out."
Snapped out of his thoughts, Finn looked away.
This was the time for their expedition into the unknown. His focus needed to be on exploration—not on where Bell had gone.
"Ais, take care of Haruhime."
Ais gave a slight nod and walked over to Haruhime.
After crouching down, Ais let Haruhime climb onto her back.
"Sorry to trouble you," Haruhime said softly as she settled in.
The 51st floor was extremely dangerous for adventurers.
Since Haruhime was only Level 1, she couldn't keep up with the others. Being carried was the best option for her.
Even knowing that, Lefiya couldn't help feeling a bit envious seeing Ais carry Haruhime.
Unfortunately, as a Level 3 mage, she couldn't compete with the speed of a werewolf—but at least she could still keep up with the group.
Naturally, she no longer had the honor of being carried by Ais.
"Veil Breath!"
As Riveria called out the name of the spell, a soft green magical veil wrapped around everyone participating in the expedition.
"This is a basic defensive spell. Its effects will last for a while, but don't rely on it too much."
With everyone now shielded by magic, the operation officially began.
"Bete, Tiona, Tione—you take the lead."
"Everyone else, move out!"
"Yeah!"
The three with the greatest strength dashed to the front, while the others conserved their energy and followed behind.
The 51st floor was truly the gateway to hell.
Monsters that had heard their footsteps came rushing out from the dark corners.
Even though the Dungeon had stopped churning out large numbers of monsters, the ones on this floor were still a significant threat to any adventurer.
Spider-like creatures clung to the walls, their tail stingers poised to strike at any moment.
"Get lost! Out of the way!"
Bete charged forward at full speed. Wearing metal boots, he kicked a monster clean off the path with a single blow—shattering its magic stone in the process.
"Bete, move aside."
Tiona swung her large double-bladed weapon in a wide arc, slicing through the wave of monsters that followed.
The two of them, leading front and rear, took down nearly all the charging monsters.
Even if a few slipped past, Tione was right behind to finish them off.
Further back, Raul took a deep breath and kept a close eye on their surroundings, also warning Lefiya, who was on her first trip this deep into the Dungeon.
"Lefiya, stay alert. From here on, there won't be any time to stop."
"Why?"
Lefiya looked at Raul, puzzled. But seeing how focused he was, she kept her guard up despite not understanding.
Tsubaki, however, didn't hesitate to ask directly.
"We're being targeted."
That made Lefiya and Tsubaki even more confused.
But no one in the group offered any explanation—they just kept moving forward.
Suddenly, Finn picked up on a disturbance underground.
"Bete, stop!"
"Tch!"
Bete reacted instantly, halting in place.
Boom!
A wall of fire erupted from the ground, aimed directly at their previous path.
The surrounding pit glowed red-hot from the flames, and part of the wall had melted into a bubbling liquid.
Touching that liquid would definitely burn the skin right off.
Now that they had a brief pause, Raul finally had time to explain.
"From the 51st to the 58th floor lies the 'Dragon's Vase.' In the Deep Floors, the Valgang Dragons can attack adventurers across all floors without restriction."
"If we stop moving, we'll be swarmed and attacked until we reach the 58th floor and take those dragons down."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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