Roy flew out of the Colosseum holding Lefiya, shouting to Ais below to stop and retreat.
Ais, her stamina drained in the Colosseum's, didn't linger.
She carved a path through the monsters and rushed out.
The Colosseum's monsters chased her, swarming to a cross viaduct exit before reluctantly returning to the arena.
"Are you okay, Lefiya?" Ais asked, reuniting with Roy.
Her voice was flat, but a trace of concern shone through.
"She's fine, just shaken," Roy said, glancing at Ais.
"You need to recover."
Ais was splattered with monster blood, mixed with some of her own.
Even a first-class adventurer couldn't face hordes unscathed.
Wounds marked her body, her armor bearing weapon scars.
Destroying it would take effort, but it held.
Roy pulled a recovery potion from his space and handed it to Ais.
"I'm not shaken!" Lefiya snapped, bristling at Roy's comment in front of Ais.
"Then let go already," Roy said, rolling his eyes.
Despite landing safely, Lefiya, still rattled, clung to Roy's arm.
At his words, she jumped away like a startled cat, her face flushing.
Ais glanced at Lefiya curiously, then looked away, uncapping the potion and applying it to her wounds.
In this world, stamina recovery potions and mental restoration potions—came in low, mid, high, and top-tier grades.
The top-tier potion, costing over 1m-10m valis, could heal nearly any injury, even near-death states, and cure ailments like poison or paralysis.
Roy saw the top-tier potion as a budget version of Phoenix Tears.
Curious about their crafting, he planned to replicate it.
Medicine was lucrative in any world.
Though different, this world shared similar plants and creatures with DxD, suggesting the potion could be mass-produced as a cheaper alternative to rare, costly Phoenix Tears.
Ais's wounds healed visibly under the high-grade potion, her skin restored.
Such injuries were routine in the dungeon, so she felt unbothered.
"Sorry, Miss Ais. I meant to support you," Lefiya said, guilt-ridden for her failed aid.
"You're fine," Ais said, shaking her head.
She'd seen Lefiya's predicament but was too far to help.
Roy had saved her first.
Ais's concern touched Lefiya, stirring both gratitude and self-blame.
"I swear it won't happen again," Lefiya vowed.
"Don't make promises, idiot elf," Roy said mercilessly.
"Who's an idiot elf?!" Lefiya shot back, fuming at being undermined before Ais.
"I couldn't move! I was halfway through my spell. Moving would've caused my magic to backfire."
"I wouldn't mess up like that!" Lefiya retorted, then muttered, "I just couldn't dodge the monsters."
"Ais, she's Level 3 at her age. A key prospect for the Loki Familia, right?" Roy asked.
"Lefiya's in our second team, set to join the first as an executive."
Lefiya smirked proudly, but Roy shattered it.
"Can't even cast while moving?"
"Cast while moving?" Ais tilted her head.
"That's it," Roy nodded.
"Parallel chanting's advanced! Don't toss it around lightly!" Lefiya glared.
"Advanced? Isn't that a basic mage skill?" Roy said, puzzled.
"Laymen always oversimplify other jobs' core skills," Lefiya huffed, ready to school him.
Mages needed intense focus to channel magic through chants.
Any lapse could fail the spell or, worse, cause a magical backfire, harming the caster.
Moving during chants was typically impossible, but top mages could dodge, move, or defend while chanting—a skill called parallel chanting.
"Stop," Roy cut in as Lefiya rambled.
"So, this 'hard' skill is just multitasking?"
"It's harder than multitasking!" Lefiya insisted. "Chanting doesn't even need extra thought for other actions."
"You're not a proper mage, so you wouldn't get it," she added, defiant.
Instead, he drew a circle with his left hand and a square with his right on the ground. "Try it."
Lefiya mimicked him, scribbling with both hands.
But her shapes were sloppy—circles with straight edges, squares with curves, far from Roy's clean lines.
"Try again?" Roy smirked.
"Why's it so hard?!" Lefiya jumped up, face redder.
"When Ais and I fight later, practice this in your corner," Roy said, pulling out food.
After a half-hour rest, they returned to the Colosseum.
In a corner, Lefiya, draped in magic clothes, squatted, staring at the ground, drawing shapes with both hands.
The first day on the thirty-seventh floor passed quickly.
At night, Roy spread his wings created by bond of life, flew to Ais amidst the monster horde, and pulled her out.
"You're crazier than me," Roy said, exasperated, meeting Ais's confused gaze.
Ais fought tirelessly, as if she or the monsters had to die before she'd stop.
"Sorry," Ais said, unsure why but prompted by Roy's reproachful look.
"Wanting to be stronger is fine," Roy said.
"But rushing too hard leaves weaknesses."
"Weaknesses?" Ais asked, puzzled.
"In body and mind," Roy said, choosing his words.
"In a fight, with equal strength, is an impatient foe or a calm one easier to beat?"
"Impatient," Ais answered, grasping the concept.
"Exactly," Roy nodded.
"Uncontrolled eagerness shows in battle, giving enemies an opening to strike."
"What do I do?" Ais asked.
"Stay calm," Roy said.
"Like homework: review after fighting."
"Got it," Ais said, taking his advice to heart.
Roy flew Ais to Lefiya's side.
"Run, or do I carry you?" he asked Lefiya.
Seeing the monster swarm chasing them, Lefiya gasped, leapt onto Roy, and clung tightly, urging, "Hurry!"
Her small frame wouldn't survive a fall into the horde.
Roy, holding one in each arm, spread his wings and soared out of the Colosseum to a small hall, the map's least monster-heavy spot, ideal for resting.
After landing, Roy set them down.
Post-dinner, he planned to find a quiet spot to update his Falna.
"Where are you going?" Lefiya asked, puzzled.
"Shower," Roy said casually.
"Shower?" Lefiya froze. "We don't have enough water for that!"
She and Ais had bought ample food and drinking water, not bathing water.
"Don't worry?" Roy said, forming a large water orb in his hands.
Pure but tasteless, it was a last-resort drink.
"Another spell?" Lefiya's eyes widened.
Storage, flight, and now water magic—rare even among elves.
Ais's eyes flickered with surprise.
"No big deal," Roy said, dispersing the water with a flick.
"It doesn't use much magic, right?" Lefiya asked shyly.
"I want a shower too!" Lefiya said.
The stench was unbearable, and with Roy's magic, she couldn't resist.
"What, I make water while you bathe?" Roy teased.
"Wahhh!" Lefiya blushed. "Just dig a hole. I'll heat the water with magic."
Ais looked expectant, her body sticky with monster blood.
"Fine, like that," Roy nodded.
"Eh?" Lefiya glanced at Ais, her mind spinning, face flushing as she grew dizzy.
Read advance chapters at:
200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter