We decided to wait near the entrance of Rivira town, and shortly after, the rest of our allies met up with us. And since it hadn't been that long, we entered the dungeon, and no one was tired or injured, it was unanimously decided that we would be venturing forth on the 19th floor without stopping.
The nineteenth floor was a forest-like area, with different types of plants growing all over the place.
"Arin, since you are new to floors lower than the 19th, it will be a good experience if you take on more monsters from here," Finn suggested, which was understandable, as it will help me get used to fighting with stronger monsters, since until now, I have more experience fighting humans than monsters. But there was a doubt I needed to get cleared before that.
"But won't that delay our progress?" I asked doubtfully, since we are on an expedition, it wouldn't be wise to delay ourselves simply for one person.
"Don't worry about it, we have some leeway in terms of time, besides, I doubt that with your strength, you would delay us too much, if at all," Riveria answered instead of Finn.
"If that's the case, then I would gladly accept the suggestion—" "Grrrr…!" My words were cut short by the growling of a monster. I turned to see several bug bears eyeing our group. I had fought with these monsters before, when I had come with Ryuu.
So I already knew their attack pattern. "I will take it from here then," I said, and walked towards the monsters, SHING! I drew my sword, black blade gleaming from the light provided by the dungeon walls.
I used my wind magic, conducting it through the sword, creating a small tornado around the blade.
"GRRAAA!" the monster, seeing their "Prey" approaching, lunged forward. I also swung my sword, the tornado bursting forward, enveloping all the monsters in the vicinity, and when the winds dwindled, there was no sign of the monster, not even the ashes remaining, as the winds took them with it, leaving behind only their magic stones littering the ground.
"Wow! Is that the move he used when fighting that troll, Lion?" Alise asked in surprise, and everyone other than Ais turned their heads to Ryuu, awaiting her answer.
"No, the one Arin-san used then was a mixture of flames and wind and was much more concentrated than this." Ryuu simply answered.
"Really, an attack stronger than this one? Sheesh! He is practically a magic sword with no use limit." Lyra commented.
"But wouldn't using an attack like this take a lot of mind? What if he exhausted all his mind like that?" Kaguya asked, her voice steady, yet with some worry mixed in.
"You don't have to worry about that, Kaguya. While this attack indeed takes a generous amount of mind to create, my magic is replenished fast enough for me to keep using this attack while taking only a few breaks in between."
I walked back to the group, while the supporters rushed past me to pick up any drop items and magic stones.
"So, you can use it indefinitely?" Asfi, the ever-observant, asked, possibly thinking of the impact it might have.
"Um, not quite, my hold on wind magic is not as good yet, and even then, it does take more than just a little focus to charge up, and I also have to be aware of my surroundings, not to get them caught up in the attack," I list down the flows of it, but those are things I am constantly working towards to make it better.
"If everyone is done with their question, shall we go ahead? We have a long way to go, you know?" With Finn's words, we get back on the path again.
The monsters from the nineteenth to the twenty-third floor were really not a challenge for me, but the moment we entered the twenty-fourth floor, the frequency of monsters appearing was too much for me alone to contain them, and so the rest of the members started lunging into the battle as well.
And there were a variety of monsters on these floors, from bugbear to moss huge. I was a little more cautious of this particular monster, but was a little disappointed when I found out it was not that strong a monster. I guess that's obvious since it's not an enhanced species.
"So, this is a green dragon, huh?" I said, while looking up at the giant dragon guarding a tree with gems glowing on the branches. "Yosh! Asfi, let's take one down!" The rest of the group was busy taking out other monsters. And I wanted to know how strong a normal level 4 monster is.
"Eh? Why?" She asked the obvious question anyone would have. And so I also answered with full honesty.
"Because I am curious."
"That's not a valid reason!" She cried, but still ran alongside me, taking on the right flank, while I took the left side of the dragon. The green dragon looked at Asfi, but I blasted a fireball on its face.
"GRAAA!" The dragon stumbled on its feet, but shook off the flames and lunged at me, its claws sharp enough to cut through steel like butter raised high, but before the dragon could bring its claws down on me, Asfi threw a knife that traveled through the air, attacking the dragon's eyes.
"GAAAA!!" the dragon roared in pain, the ground shaking. I took the opening Asfi made for me, and leaped through the air, my black blade sliding horizontally along its neck, separating the head from its body, a fountain of blood raised in the air, before the dragon's body collapsed on the ground, and turned into ashes. Hmm… looks like normal monsters that are on the same level as me are not that big a deal anymore for me. I summarized my thoughts as I called out to Asfi.
"Well done, Asfi! Now let's take a look at the treasure, shall we?" Asfi blushed at the praise, but quickly shook away her embarrassment as we made our way towards the big tree. The rest of the group was also almost done taking care of the monster. I could see Ais taking down another green dragon, her winds wrapped around her body. For a moment, I was worried, but seeing Riveria near her, I put my worries to rest as I pluck a gem hanging from the tree branch.
The gem was about the size of a baseball, glowing with a translucent hue.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? And pretty useful as well, too bad we can't take too much with us…" Asfi stated her impression, along with a complaint. Since we have limited space and resources, it was practically impossible to take all the loot with us.
"Here, Asfi, you take it. I don't think it would take that much space if we take only one with us." I said, handing her the gemstone. I was not that interested in it and only wanted to take a look, but Asfi seems pretty interested in the gem.
"Is it really fine?" she asked again, but the way she was holding onto the gem, I could tell she didn't want to give it back.
"Of course. I was only curious about the strength of that green dragon, and I don't have any interest in it."
"Everyone, gather up!" Our conversation was interrupted by Finn. I glance back to see, everyone had taken out the horde of monsters we encountered the moment we entered this floor.
"Let's go, Asfi." Asfi and I also made our way back to the rest of the group.
"Is everyone okay?" I asked them.
"Of course! In the presence of a beautiful and competent captain like me, no one will get hurt! He-hem!" Alise answered.
"That's good to know." After spending so much time with her, I have gotten used to Alise's narcissistic streak.
"Since everyone is fine, we will continue." Riveria conveyed the command, and everyone got ready to move.
"Arin, how much do you know about the twenty-fifth floor?" Riveria asked, and I remembered all the information I had heard from Eina.
"The entrance to the 25th Floor is known as the Second Line. The 25th through 27th Floors are also known as the Water City. The 25th Floor marks the beginning of the Great Fall, a huge waterfall estimated to be 400 meters wide and twice that in length, which lasts until the 27th Floor. The 25th Floor is also described as being a paradise of water. To move on to the next floor, adventurers must navigate through a series of passageways varying in elevation around the waterfall to reach the passageway at the bottom of their current floor." I took a deep breath after explaining all of the information that I had drilled in my head.
"That is all correct, but why are you speaking like you are reading a textbook, and why do you even remember the size of the waterfall?" Riveria asked, giving me a strange look.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, I am just telling you what I read in the information book that you gave me, and by the way, which floor is our destination today?"
"It's the twenty-eighth floor," Riveria replied, as we descended the stairs to the next floor.
"Oh, the safe floor, filled with flowers, right?" I remember Ryuu, Riviera mentioning that floor a few times, saying it resembles a forest of elves' flower garden. "I am looking forward to seeing it," I said, as I was able to hear the sound of water rushing and falling.
"Sure, but for that, we would first need to clear these two floors," Riveria said, turning back to face me, as I saw the great waterfall behind her.
The waterfall was really huge, I think it was one of the biggest waterfalls that I have ever seen. Even if I knew and saw it in the anime, seeing it in real life gave a whole other impact. I took a breath, the moisture in the atmosphere settling on my skin, as I took one final step and entered the twenty-fifth floor.
Alright then, let's see what the water city had in store for us.