Dungeon, Lower Floors, Water City, Floor 25.
"Scorch... Fireball!"
Two magic circles spun in opposite directions around the magic crystal at the head of the Twisted Staff. As Leon called out the spell names, they flared to life one after the other. An instant later, a burst of searing flame erupted across the Raider Fish that had just launched itself from the waterway.
Before it could even thrash in midair, the Fireball detonated with a thunderous blast, reducing it to a lump of charcoal.
Leon tapped his staff against the ground and nodded in satisfaction.
"Nice. The combo's getting smoother every time. I'm getting a real handle on the gap between the two spells now."
He thought back to his earlier practice sessions, how the target's thrashing after Scorch landed kept throwing off his Fireball accuracy in all sorts of ways. He almost had to laugh.
"If it weren't for Scholar's Heart boosting my learning speed, nailing that timing window would've taken way more practice."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Kureha spun mid-dance through the pack of monsters ahead, and a silver arc of blade-light traced a perfect circle.
The sight reminded Leon of a technique buried deep in his memory, something called "Crescent Moon Slash."
Blood lines split open simultaneously across every monster surrounding her. The next second, blood gushed out like burst pipes, and the monsters toppled in unison.
Kureha sheathed her blade, breathing steady, expression unchanged.
Clearly, after leveling up, she'd already converted what used to be her burst mode into a baseline. Obviously the result of raw stat increases.
Leon watched the whole thing, quietly stunned.
She adapted to the post-level-up changes that fast? What kind of monster talent is that...
With that thought, he shifted his gaze to the others.
He quickly noticed that Jeanne, Rose, and Kureha had adapted the fastest. After only a few low-intensity fights, they'd already finished recalibrating.
Laurier and Aura, on the other hand, were noticeably a step behind.
"Aaaagh, what the hell is this?! I wasn't trying to hit that hard!"
"How come even my magic won't listen to me after leveling up?!"
Laurier's face was flushed red with frustration, stomping her feet in embarrassment.
Beside her, Aura was staring blankly at the shortbow in her hands, looking adorably lost, like she was questioning her entire existence.
Leon saw this and let a teasing grin spread across his face.
"Wooow, the power just surged right up, huh?"
"So? You got your wish. How's it feel now that the power's rushing through you?"
The teasing turned her face instantly red.
"Aaaah, s-stop it! Don't bring that up!"
Remembering how she'd been shouting "Power, surge through me!" before, she wanted to sink into the floor and vanish.
Persephone smacked Leon on the back, snorting.
"Quit picking on the juniors. You weren't any better when you were adjusting."
He flashed back to after his own first level-up... that feeling like someone had cranked his mouse sensitivity to max and he couldn't even find the cursor if he breathed wrong...
Leon's expression darkened. He quickly faked a cough.
"Ahem, anyway. The floor passage is just ahead. Let's pick up the pace."
Persephone pushed her glasses up and let out a derisive laugh.
"Pathetic deflection."
This woman and her high-and-mighty attitude... I swear, one of these days I'm going to string you up and teach you a proper lesson!
Picturing Persephone's haughty expression crumbling into indignation, Leon smiled darkly to himself.
This insufferable man! He's definitely thinking something rude right now!
When we get home, I need to find the time to show him exactly what a queen's wrath looks like!
The two of them were plotting against each other in perfect sync. As for who'd come out on top... that was a matter for a few days from now.
...
...
Dungeon, Floor 26.
Not much to say about this floor. Floors 25, 26, and 27 formed the trinity known as the Water City. Apart from monsters being slightly stronger than on Floor 25, nothing had changed significantly.
The real difference lay in monster spawn rates and density, plus the numbers lurking in the complex waterways.
Across Floors 25, 26, and 27, monster density and respawn rates increased progressively, though within the broader context of the Water City, the jump wasn't dramatic.
But for a group that was already Lv. 3, the difference was noticeable enough in practice.
Especially in combat...
A flash of silver blade-light cut through the air.
Kureha didn't even glance at the Crystaroth Urchin she'd bisected. She simply raised her beloved sword in front of her eyes, brow furrowing slightly as she studied the edge.
"The monsters' latent power is getting stronger. If this keeps up... my weapon might not hold out."
She sighed softly, drew out an oil cloth, carefully wiped and maintained the blade, then slowly sheathed it.
"That's on me. I should've had proper Third-Class Adventurer gear ready for you all beforehand."
Leon said it apologetically, addressing Kureha, Laurier, and Aura.
Kureha tucked a few loose strands of silver hair behind her ear and shook her head gently.
"It's not your fault. Choosing to level up inside the Dungeon was our decision."
"Alright, but don't worry too much. Even if a weapon breaks, we've got spares. They're not as good as your mains, but they'll get the job done."
"I know."
Just then, Jeanne's eyebrow twitched. Her gaze sharpened, snapping toward the exit of a nearby cavern passage.
"What is it, Jeanne?"
Rose was the first to react, raising her shield and leveling her sword, eyes following Jeanne's line of sight with full alertness.
"Revelation triggered. I can feel it... there's a strong wave of hostility closing in on us. Fast."
Hostility?
Rose's expression hardened. She tensed her body, dropped her center of gravity, and locked her eyes on the passage.
As the two shifted into alert stances, the rest of the group reacted instantly, reforming around Aura at the center.
"Frost Armor!"
Leon flicked his fingers, coating himself in ice armor, then positioned himself with Persephone in front and behind, shielding Aura and Laurier between them.
He fixed his stare on the cavern mouth, lowering his voice as he turned to his superior beside him.
"Persephone, what do you think... what kind of enemy would set off Jeanne's skill like that?"
As a seasoned elite who'd spent years at Lv. 3, Persephone might not have adventured in a while, but compared to Leon and the others exploring the Lower Floors for the first time, she held an overwhelming edge in experience, perspective, and knowledge.
She gripped her sword and held it across her body, bent her knees to lower her stance, and pushed her glasses up with her free hand out of habit. After a long, measured pause, she murmured:
"Not even the Monster Party made Jeanne use the word 'hostility' to describe a threat. If that's what she's feeling... the only thing I can think of is a Strengthened Species."
[Read 60+ chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/NiaXD]