Even for first-class adventurers, venturing deep into the dungeon without supplies is dangerous.
Adventurers, still within human limits, feel hunger, fatigue, and can be injured.
The eighteenth floor, a safe zone where no monsters spawn, serves as a gathering hub for adventurers, with a simple town established.
However, like shops in tourist traps, prices there are exorbitant—several times, even dozens or hundreds of times higher than in Orario.
Unless necessary, most adventurers only rest briefly on the eighteenth floor, rarely buying goods.
Thus, Ais chose to stop at the twenty-third floor.
As a seasoned adventurer, sound judgment was key.
As the trio stepped into a flat area, lumps of earth erupted from the ground, bursting open.
Monsters over two meters tall emerged, joined by others crawling from hidden corners.
At least fifty monsters blocked their path, mostly Level 2, with three Level 3 mixed in, signaling the approach of deeper floors.
"Miss Ais, do you usually face this many monsters?" Lefiya asked, pausing at the sight of the menacing horde.
Though Level 3, she trained mostly on middle floors above the eighteenth, where a dozen monsters at once was plenty.
The twenty-third floor's numbers were overwhelming by comparison.
"It's not many," Ais replied calmly, unfazed.
In the lower floors, especially beyond the fortieth, monsters swarmed in dense hordes that could intimidate even Loki Familia's main team, sometimes forcing them to retreat.
"The lower floors are scary," Lefiya sighed, her eyes glinting with longing.
"I wonder when I'll reach them on my own."
Only one floor shy of the lower floors at the twenty-fifth, the twenty-third was already daunting.
Without Roy and Ais, she'd struggle to progress alone.
Gripping her magic wand, Lefiya began chanting a spell to clear the monsters.
"Stop," Roy said sharply. "These monsters are mine. Don't steal them."
"Steal monsters?" Lefiya's mouth twitched.
As a mage with magic rivaling Level 4s, she could lighten Roy's load.
Back at the guild, Roy had clarified his goal: find a floor with abundant, steady monster spawns.
The twenty-third floor fit perfectly.
"Hmph!" Lefiya snorted, halting her spell as Ais agreed.
"Thanks for the offer, but I need to kill over ten thousand monsters myself," Roy explained, not wanting to seem ungrateful or let Lefiya misunderstand his intentions.
"Ten thousand?" Lefiya's eyes widened.
Had she even killed a thousand monsters from Level 1 to Level 3?
This must be why Roy, a supposed first-class adventurer, took such a tough commission.
Roy drew the hilt of his lightsaber.
Infusing it with the power of light, a pure white blade extended with a faint buzz.
He charged into the monster horde, the blade dancing.
Each swing turned a monster to ash.
The twenty-third floor's monsters were no match for him.
One strike, one kill.
"He's strong," Lefiya said, watching Roy tear through the horde, then glancing at Ais.
Ais could do the same.
"That weapon's strange," Ais said, her focus on Roy's lightsaber.
Soon, Roy cleared the monsters, leaving the ground littered with magic stones and a few dropped materials.
Lefiya stepped forward to collect them.
Roy withdrew the power of light, the blade vanishing back into the hilt.
"Your weapon…" Ais said, eyeing the hilt curiously.
"A sword," Roy said, handing it to her.
Ais examined it, fiddling briefly before returning it, puzzled.
"It's a special weapon that needs a specific power to activate," Roy explained with a smile.
"Think of it as a magic sword that lasts a long time."
"A magic sword that lasts?" Ais's eyes widened, intrigued.
Lefiya, curious, asked, "Is there another magic sword ?" Magic swords were consumable luxuries, useless after a few uses.
"As long as the hilt's intact, it can be used indefinitely, with power close to a first-tier weapon."
"But for now, only I can use it," Roy said, demonstrating.
The blade extended, then vanished again.
Using a lightsaber required the power of light, which needed a contract with an angel or fallen angel.
Roy could share the power of light, but crafting a lightsaber required skills he hadn't mastered.
"That's convenient," Ais said, a hint of envy in her eyes.
Portable, low-maintenance, and cost-effective—a dream weapon.
After Lefiya gathered the magic stones and materials, Ais led them to the next monster spawn point.
Read advance chapters at:
200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter