The White Palace, surpassed the entirety of Orario.
Beyond its towering walls and labyrinthine terrain, adventurers seeking the next floor had to follow the map's route.
"Really, you always mislead Ais with those fallacies..." Lefiya muttered under her breath while leading the way, map in hand.
"Lefiya, I think it makes sense," Ais said softly, walking beside her.
She'd lingered in her comfort zone too long.
As a Loki Familia executive, Ais couldn't recklessly endanger herself—Finn and Riveria wouldn't allow it.
Thus, she'd remained at Lv.5 for three years, unable to advance.
Ais desperately yearned for growth.
Roy's arrival had ignited hope and yielded results.
Under his guidance these days, Ais truly felt her strength improving.
She trusted his words implicitly.
Lefiya's expression twisted awkwardly.
She turned to meet Roy's amused gaze and huffed indignantly, "Don't get smug. I won't lose to you."
How could an outsider earn more trust from Ais than her!
Lefiya seethed with reluctance.
"Yuri elf," Roy mouthed silently.
Lefiya flushed crimson, glanced guiltily at Ais, then shot Roy a furious glare before silently pressing onward.
After some time, the trio reached the floor boss's chamber.
Before them sprawled a vast canyon-like expanse.
Monsters grew scarcer nearer the canyon.
By its edge, none wandered, an unnatural silence enveloping them.
The temperature plummeted closer in.
The chill, paired with the dim surroundings, stirred unease.
Yet any seasoned adventurer could sense the danger radiating from the canyon—a warning to intruders.
This was Udaeus's domain.
Its level and power eclipsed the floor's norms, shunning other monsters.
"How about we turn back?" Lefiya suggested with a forced smile after entering the canyon, her voice trembling.
"Cowardly elf," Roy retorted mercilessly.
"You gave me another nickname!" Lefiya's blood pressure spiked.
"It's coming!" Ais halted, sensing imminent danger.
A faint tremor rippled underfoot.
The vibrations intensified, then the central ground bulged unnaturally with a sharp 'crack.'
Amid shattering rock, the earth erupted. An immense form burst forth, debris cascading like a landslide.
With ear-splitting roars and crumbling stone, Udaeus emerged—an enlarged Spartoi variant, its bones pitch-black, exuding menace.
Its lower body remained embedded, but the upper skeleton towered 10 meters. The spine's black bones quivered as if alive.
Twin horns crowned its head, scarlet flames flickering in empty sockets.
At its core, shielded by thick ribs, loomed a massive magic stone.
"It's taller than the 17th floor's boss," Lefiya stared, awestruck. Udaeus was the largest monster she'd seen—even the 17th floor's Goliath was half its height.
Its sheer size radiated overwhelming intimidation.
"I feel like it's taunting me," Roy remarked, eyeing the near-invisible magic stone.
The surest way to slay a monster was shattering its magic stone.
Even regenerative abilities couldn't save it then.
"A floor boss's magic stone must be valuable, right?" Roy asked Lefiya.
"Don't even think about it. I've never heard of anyone selling one," she replied.
A floor boss's magic stone far exceeded normals in quality, size, and energy—fetching a fortune if sold.
"Udaeus regenerates quickly. Last time, our Loki Familia's full first-class lineup had to destroy it utterly to win," Ais explained, resisting the urge to charge.
"Exactly. Collecting floor boss magic stones is tough due to regeneration. As long as it exists, revival is possible," Lefiya added. "Unless you extract it before regeneration."
Floor bosses or monster rex, dungeon-born specials, bonded deeply with the labyrinth.
"We can try," Roy mused.
His space might sever the dungeon's link to Udaeus's.
"Ais, engage Udaeus first. If needed, Lefiya and I will support," Roy said calmly.
"Ais soloing Udaeus? What nonsense!" Lefiya exploded, deeming it reckless.
Their team lacked power; challenging Udaeus demanded caution. Yet Roy started with this bombshell.
"Ais has stalled at Lv.5 long enough. Her status should meet rank up prerequisites?" Roy asked.
"So, it's just lacking excelia for rank up?" Roy pressed.
"Hm," Ais affirmed simply.
"Rank up demands high level excelia—alternate stimuli for bodily potential," Roy explained, glancing at Udaeus. "Like overcoming the strong as the weak."
"In near-defeat, fully commit—nerves, muscles, mind racing for victory, tapping potential, transcending limits. Battle sublimates you wholly."
Roy smiled. "Udaeus is Ais's ideal foe now."
"For the weak besting the strong, seek Finn's team. Besides, you're here too," Lefiya fretted.
Roy regarded her with exasperation.
"Don't interfere," Ais urged, already eager.
Roy's words unleashed her impulse. She drew her weapon, and charged Udaeus.
The skeletal behemoth bellowed.
As if summoned, armed monsters tore from the ground barring Ais's path.
"Ais..." Worry flashed in Lefiya's eyes; she readied magic support.
"Don't disrupt her," Roy pressed her arm down. "Missing this would depress Ais."
"If danger arises, I'll save her."
Ais, wreathed in tempest, deftly dispatched those extras. Like Roy, she'd grinded Colosseum monsters recently.
She shattered blockers, even using some as footholds, leaping to assail Udaeus.
Udaeus roared furiously, swinging its massive arm in a charged slap.
A crater formed, shaking the canyon.
She plummeted, piercing Udaeus's arm joint.
Udaeus's body was durable—even Lv.5 slashes barely scratched its bones—but joints were vulnerabilities. Shattering them crippled combat power.
Ais, veteran of Udaeus crusades, knew this well.
Her aerial strike pulverized the joint.
With a resounding crack, Udaeus's right arm detached, thudding heavily.
"Ais is amazing!" Lefiya's eyes sparkled, fangirling.
"Such a flip-flopper..." Roy chuckled helplessly.
"What flip-flopper? I knew Ais's strength would be enough," Lefiya blushed.
Udaeus countered in rage, but Ais's agility and size let her weave through assaults.
Another fist slammed down.
Dozens of black spines erupted from the ground, razor-sharp tips chilling to behold, piercing any flesh.
"In the past, evasion would've been harder."
Roy's recent tutelage had honed her skills, letting her handle Udaeus's wide attacks effortlessly.
She might've sustained minor wounds before.
Fruitless strikes enraged Udaeus. It pounded again, birthing a black claymore from the earth—cold and ominous.
Udaeus gripped and yanked it free, sweeping with colossal force.
"Udaeus wields a weapon?" Lefiya gasped.
She'd never fought Udaeus but knew Loki Familia's intel.
Spines and skeletons were its staples; ground-pounding at most. Swordplay was unheard of.
"Likely stimulated," Roy explained.
In canon, Ais soloed Udaeus; her superior skills now made it straightforward.
"Ais hasn't peaked yet—don't fret. I have potions aplenty," Roy reassured.
The weapon's emergence startled Ais.
Amid spines and sweeps, she clashed fiercely with Udaeus.
As an Lv.6 monster, Udaeus outmatched even Ariel-boosted Ais in raw power, blasting her like a cannonball into the wall.
Yet she rose swiftly.
Learning from the setback, Ais adapted to Udaeus's new patterns.
She evaded direct hits, though the fight remained grueling—near-impalements multiple times.
After ten intense minutes, Ais found the right opening, aeriel-spiraling her strike to demolish Udaeus's other arm.
Armless, Udaeus's threat plummeted. Ais's blitz chipped away its bones.
Victory was inevitable.
Roy then summoned Ais back from Udaeus.
Seeing her exhausted, on the verge of collapse yet eyes calm, Roy patted her head. "Well done!"
Ais's fervor faded; she gazed at Roy blankly, warmth from his hand stirring unfamiliar emotions.
Read advance chapters at:
200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter