Chapter 374

Chapter 378: Stamina A++

Ultra-deep region, Fifty-Eighth Floor.

Here, just like the Great Wilderness on the Forty-Ninth Floor, there’s absolutely no maze. The entire floor is a vast single space, a wilderness.

Now, this wilderness presents a scene of bodies strewn everywhere, and the one responsible for all this stands nonchalantly in a deep crater, catching his breath.

A faint blue Starflame flickers unstably around him, and the fiery wings behind him have shrunk by more than half.

Truly, the attack just now was quite draining of magical power, not bad at all.

But after holding back, it still almost destroyed the Fifty-Eighth Floor, all due to that one strike.

The annoyance from being harassed by breath attacks since falling from the Fifty-Second Floor has now been vented completely.

As for the consumption of much magic, Izay didn’t really care about it.

He had recovery skills brought on by development abilities, and even pills he could pop. In his personal space, there were several sets of high-grade spiritual force recovery medicines, as well as Panacea and physical strength recovery medicines, each one unique without any repetition.

Recovering magic? Wasn’t that an easy task?

His great Izay’s stamina was at least A++ level!!

“Hmm… seems like there’s nothing left for us to do?”

“It’s pretty relaxing now, but we’ll have to wait here for the captain and the others; it’ll be tough later.”

Soon, Tiona and Tione successively dropped down from the vertical hole.

Then came Refia, who landed lightly on the ground but almost tripped due to the cracked floor.

“Fi-nally made it. Earlier, I thought I was going to die…” The little fairy managed to stabilize herself, patting her small chest that had just begun to develop as she panted heavily.

Lastly, Gress unceremoniously slammed onto the ground with a loud crash, delivering another blow to the floor.

Gress glanced around briefly before looking away, casually sticking his two axes into the cracked ground.

“Tione is right. Finn and the others will have to deal with the dungeon monsters and the new species advancing forward. Even if everything goes smoothly, it’ll take them several hours to run through Floors Fifty-Two to Fifty-Seven. During this time, we need to ensure the safety of this floor.”

In other words, kill all the Cannon Dragons that appear within these few hours.

“What should we do now? Most of the monsters have already been dealt with by Izay. Should we find a place to rest?”

“In that case… I have some spiritual medicine…”

“There are also some leftovers from good luck. I’m going to go slaughter them, you guys do whatever.”

Tiona and Refia whispered to each other while Bert looked toward the distance and the sky, glaring at the monsters who had survived the aftermath and dared not approach again.

“If you want to rest, how about the passage connecting to the Fifty-Seventh Floor? There won’t be many monsters visiting there.” Tione suggested.

“From a general rational perspective, what Tione said is indeed a good idea…” Izay, flying over from afar using his yet-to-dissipate fire wings, happened to hear their conversation.

Then, noticing his comment, Refia twitched the corner of her mouth. “But?”

When Izay used such sentence structures to start, there would definitely be a “but” afterward.

After spending so much time together, she knew this habit of his.

“But… look at the north direction~”

To the north of the Fifty-Eighth Floor was the passage leading to the upper floors, conversely, the south led to the lower floors where the Dragon’s Nest was located, which Izay had already destroyed.

Following his indication, everyone immediately turned to look northward.

“Ugh! Those are… new species…”

In front of the team’s vision, the northern passage of the Fifty-Seventh Floor spat out countless wriggling shadows. Their horrifying yellow-green and colorful skins made the adventurers close their eyes.

Unsurprisingly, these new species were attracted by the immense magical power Izay unleashed earlier.

“The passage connecting to the Fifty-Seventh Floor is blocked…”

“Looks like resting isn’t an option for now. Truly, I was thinking of taking a nice break here and then mocking Finn’s ‘wind-battered’ appearance when he arrives. Plans ruined.”

Tiona had just stated the situation when Gress beside her sighed deeply and grabbed his two large axes.

Upon speaking, the dwarf emitted a strong pressure, glaring fiercely at the approaching worm-like monsters. Tiona and the others were somewhat surprised by this rare sight of the old man.

However, Izay knew that among his three top members, in terms of single combat prowess, Gress was truly the first.

This immensely powerful veteran embodied the characteristics of the dwarven race. His “strength” and “durability,” enhanced by skills, were probably only surpassed by Ota in all of Orario.

The old man was naturally a frontline attacker, with warrior and tank talents maxed out.

The reason he always let others take the front lines and stayed at the rear, protecting Tiona and the other officers along with young members like Raul, was entirely to safeguard them.

This old man could get terrifying when he got serious.

“Now talking too much is useless. Prepare for battle. Izay, focus on recovering your magic first. Except for necessary skills, conserve your efforts. Everyone else, don’t leave my side!”

Like a heavy tank, Gress charged straight out with overwhelming momentum.

Facing the massive amount of new species active in the ultra-deep levels, Tiona and the others followed the old man into battle.

…

On the other hand, the main group separated from Izay’s team, Finn led the remaining seven people, slaying monster groups as they entered the Fifty-Third Floor and continued moving forward.

Due to the division of the team, the number of first-class adventurers in the group had decreased to four.

Ais, Finn, Riviria, and Tsubaki.

The number of supporters was equal to theirs, significantly reducing their overall combat strength.

However, the benefit brought by the team’s division meant that the cannon dragon sniping had ceased since just now.

“It’s been quiet below for a while now, replaced by a sense of vibration. Is that caused by Izay and the others?”

“Definitely. There’s no perception of dragon species anymore… for a moment, the number of dragons below plummeted drastically.”

Facing the dragon species, Ais’s skill made her more useful than radar, able to vaguely perceive the situation below from several layers away.

Certainly, part of this ability was related to the “Dragon’s Pot” environment of the seven integrated layers, but it was genuinely effective!

“It seems Izay has used his rule-breaking magic again. That kid is as reckless as ever.”

Riviria’s delicate face showed a hint of worry, and she sighed.

Almost all of Izay’s magic research involved her participation, and Riviria roughly estimated the power of those magics and the consumption on Izay.

But ultimately, she wasn’t the person himself. Mama-san knew that Izay had a lot of magic power and could recover quickly, but other values were rather vague, causing her some concern about the situation below.

“He is reckless, but that absurd operation plan actually worked~ I’m impressed.” Tsubaki, carrying equipment, concurred.

Chapter 379: Philais: I’m Here! And I’m Gone! (Request Subscription!)

“Forget about Izay’s situation for now, everyone. Stay alert. Doesn’t this place seem too quiet?”

Finn and the squad rushed past the temporarily monster-free floor, sensing something amiss as they traversed most of the Fifty-Third Floor without encountering many monsters, which was undoubtedly abnormal.

“Probably something waiting ahead for us.” The Halfling Tribe Leader licked his right thumb, judging the signs of abnormal conditions through the pain here.

“…”

Hearing his words, Ais and the others heightened their vigilance.

Soon, Finn’s prediction came true. The horrifying sight ahead made the squad stop in their tracks.

“That, that’s…”

“New species? No, humans!?”

Tsubaki exclaimed, and Raul’s expression became astonished upon seeing the scene ahead.

Among the waiting worm monster army seemingly prepared to ambush the squad, there existed a particularly large leader individual. It wore a swaying purple-blue hooded robe.

Its limbs were covered with boots and silver metal gloves, and its face revealed a sinister-patterned mask. These two items clearly triggered Ais’s memory.

“Finn, that’s the mysterious person who appeared on the Twenty-Fourth Floor.”

“An accomplice or fellow of the red-haired beast tamer?”

Ais’s statement made Finn’s expression become serious.

Although many things changed during the process, Reivice still exposed the identity of the strange person, which was enough for Finn to deduce a lot of information.

Moreover, the movements of the new species seemed to confirm his viewpoint. Under the encirclement of the worm leader individual, it was as if they had been neatly divided and arranged.

The next moment, without giving the squad more reaction time, the hooded mysterious person extended his right arm straight out.

In coordination with his movement, the colorful army formed several horizontal rows and adjusted their head heights, forming upper, middle, and lower tiers like stairs.

“Kill them!!”

“—!? ”

At the command, the worm monsters suddenly opened their mouths and spewed out large amounts of corrosive liquid.

“Change direction! Retreat quickly!!”

Seeing the tsunami-like corrosive liquid rushing over, Finn immediately issued orders, and the group hastily turned into nearby passages to take cover.

There was not a single thought of resistance. The concentrated artillery fire launched by the monsters under command was not something Ais’s wind could block with a little bit of output force.

To handle such an attack, perhaps only Izay’s magic could do it.

Finn realistically associated, while also pondering why the person was here.

Blocking them from reaching the Fifty-Ninth Floor?

But that doesn’t make sense.

If that mysterious person and the red-haired beast tamer Reivice were accomplices, then there would be no reason to obstruct them.

Because the attitude of the red-haired beast tamer was very clear, wanting Ais to reach the Fifty-Ninth Floor.

Facing their own “self-surrender”, she should be delighted to see this scene.

Finn couldn’t figure out the connection in a short time, hearing the sound of channels being corroded behind him, and the approaching sounds of monsters. He hurriedly urged everyone to retreat first and discuss later.

“Laur, Alisia, Cruz, and Vina, prepare your Magic Swords! Ais, you use magic later too, Riviria, take this opportunity to chant! If he pursues further, we will annihilate him!”

While retreating deeper into the channel, Finn also outlined the next combat plan.

Complex magic can mask the flow of magic to a certain extent. With the moves of other members, Riviria would gain a safe environment and unleash a full-power magic bombardment.

Just one shot, and Riviria could freeze all the insect-type armies.

“So who exactly is that person?”

The only one in the squad unaware of the strange person matter, Tsubaki initiated an inquiry.

“To put it simply, the beast tamer of those monsters.”

“What!?”

Finn succinctly answered Tsubaki’s question, leaving the blacksmiths and supporters who weren’t fully informed beforehand shocked.

At this moment, the colored monsters reappeared in the forward direction.

“We’re ambushed!?”

Still the same scenario as before, facing this repeat attack, the squad had no choice but to change direction again.

“Again!? They’ve come again!?”

“They’re coming from the adjacent vertical holes too!”

Seeing the worm monsters swarming everywhere, the reports from the supporters were almost screams. It seemed like the opponent could predict the squad’s retreat direction, always blocking them perfectly.

However…

“Don’t panic. Get ready with your Magic Swords. If we’re blocked again, we’ll break through directly!” Finn calmly gave orders.

With the dispersion of the monster army and the repeated encirclement of the squad, the scale of monsters appearing in front of the team was decreasing accordingly.

This was unavoidable.

The mysterious person intended to force the squad into a dead end from all directions, and the dispersion of troops was necessary.

Although the encirclement net was getting tighter, the possibility of breaking through was increasing.

Frankly speaking, the feeling given to Finn by the opponent might not be genuinely aiming to block the squad.

While threatening his group, he seemed to be searching for something.

The leader slightly glanced back with his emerald eyes.

The mysterious person stood on the chasing leader individual commanding, and even though the mask concealed his face, Finn could still feel the movement of his gaze… that feeling of being scanned and reviewed.

(What is he looking for!? Ais?)

(Izay and Refia aren’t here? Why??)

Questions echoed in the mysterious person’s mind.

Looking at the squad of only eight people ahead, the face beneath the mask twisted with confusion.

From every aspect, the guesses of the Halfling Tribe Leader were not wrong.

The mysterious person actually didn’t care at all whether the main Loki Familia team lived or died.

She merely knew what was inside the Fifty-Ninth Floor. After learning about the Loki Familia expedition, she came to confirm the safety of the person she cared about and attempted to help them a bit.

As for the lives of others, what did it have to do with her?

Attacking Finn and the others was just “acting”, providing a reasonable excuse for her appearance.

But now, the two people she was looking for couldn’t be found, causing the mysterious person to be somewhat perplexed at the moment.

And while the mysterious person was distracted, she inadvertently overlooked the rising magical fluctuations.

With a dazzling magic circle enveloping herself, Riviria, who had been secretly chanting, completed the spell.

“—【Ecstasy: Fimbul Winter】!!”

Three blizzards swept across every corner of this area.

Ice magic froze the entire passage all the way to the distant end.

Whether it was the worm-type army, the leader individual, or a few carnivorous flowers mixed in, they were all instantly frozen and sealed in the icy world.

“!? ”

The mysterious person caught off guard by Riviria’s magic bombardment escaped at the last moment, leaving behind an empty hooded robe and a frozen mask on the spot.

“What’s going on here?”

“Escaped in an instant!?”

“How fast… no, it’s the speed of escape.”

The main squad approached and looked at the frozen empty robe dumbfounded.

However, the current priority is to reunite with Izay and the others, so now is not the time to dwell on someone escaping. Heading to the Fifty-Eighth Floor is the key.

After Finn made this judgment, no one raised objections.

Although everyone still had doubts, they proceeded to rush to the lower floors again.