Diving deeper into a floor often means finding fewer adventurers and stronger monsters, leading to more experience and faster level-ups.
Since experience is only distributed when a monster dies and any contribution is rewarded, some adventurers are tempted into solo explorations.
However, even now, Earth had only seen a handful of top-tier solo adventurers.
Yet, thanks to [Gacha Kingdom Building], I could bring an entire party with me, and we'd all receive the same experience as if we were going solo.
Miwen: "The day is not even over yet, and we entered way later than usual..."
Licia: "Yeah... It's amazing."
Amazing didn't cut it. It was a record-level pace.
Though I did cheat a bit by bringing the newly summoned girls directly from the Kingdom inside the second floor, bypassing the need for them to defeat the previous floor boss, they had all reached level four only two hours after entering the Dungeon.
Of course, Claire, Licia, Mia, and I were taking care of the stronger monsters, but since they received the full amount of experience, they were almost jumping levels.
Miwen: "It's the second interaction between the Dungeon and my Gift..."
Licia: "Hmm. It's almost like the rules of your Gift overpower those of the Dungeon..."
Thankfully, I wasn't the only one thinking this was strange.
The Dungeon seemed to be bending its own rules to accommodate my Gift, almost as if it were afraid to enforce them.
Not that I'd complain about it, though.
While Mia and Claire handled the frontline, Licia and I stood in the back, watching over our newcomers.
Miwen: "...Your Gift is super useful, huh?"
After a few corridors, I turned and whispered into Ellie's ear.
Her face flushed red, her ears perking up.
Ellie: "Ah... I guess? Hehe..."
She scratched her own chin, giving me a slightly awkward smile.
A moment later, she readied the [Bow of Galia] I had given her and shot an arrow through the skull of a hobgoblin that had jumped behind us.
Despite only grazing the second hobgoblin's arm with her arrow, her luck was enough to trigger her Gift's ability to inflict any debuff she chose on an opponent, and the monster froze in place, fully paralyzed.
Licia didn't waste a second finishing it off.
Despite her cute face and expressive reactions, she was a little terrifying.
The bow emanating malice I had given her certainly contributed, but... Even at a lower level, she had turned most troublesome-looking monsters into nothing more than speedbumps.
And that wasn't even everything her Gift could do...
Miwen: "I'd really like to see that other effect. The random debuff one..."
Ellie: "W-Well... I can try..."
It was a bit tough for her, since it was down to luck, but...
If she didn't choose any debuffs when striking an enemy, a random one would be applied.
Depending on her luck, it would be the best effect possible against that opponent, a jackpot.
And if a jackpot happened... The debuff would become even stronger.
Miwen: "Nah, it's fine. You do you."
I instinctively reached a hand over her head, but I stopped short of patting her.
She tilted her head slightly, and I just patted her shoulder.
After that, though, I continued asking to see more of her Gift.
Despite her earlier enthusiasm, she was a bit shy when the spotlight was placed over her and kept downplaying her own abilities.
Still, I saw her do things like stack the same debuff on a monster, making it even stronger, or even apply multiple different ones, like freezing and poisoning a goblin so that it would die slowly.
Licia: "I don't know if arming her was a good idea. Especially with that bow..."
She leaned over, whispering into my ear.
Miwen: "What's wrong with the bow?"
Licia: "It's pure evil! And you gave it to such a cute little elf with a smile on your face! Seriously... You can be a bit terrifying sometimes..."
Seeing Ellie tilt her head, trying to overhear us, I couldn't help but chuckle.
She had an awkward smile when I gave her the bow, but she never complained, so I didn't think much about it, but...
It was a funny contrast.
Miwen: "You think she's dangerous?"
Licia: "Hmm... I think she's cute. But also... She's skilled. Frighteningly so."
I had to agree.
It wasn't just that Ellie had pinpoint accuracy; her decision-making was also top-notch.
Whenever she saw two or three enemies, despite being able to fire that many arrows at once, or nearly in seconds, she often didn't push herself, letting the frontline deal with at least one or two.
Like this, she avoided getting in the other's way and always had an arrow ready for unforeseeable threats.
Hers was a very conscious fighting style, but if she got a little more comfortable fighting with us, she had the potential to be a lifesaver.
Miwen: "If she turns on us, we'll run to the Kingdom."
Licia: "Alright."
Unable to hear us, she stared at the ground, her ears drooping.
Until the next monster appeared, and she shot its heart.
After that, we continued walking further into the Dungeon.
We had come far enough for entire groups of high-level monsters to appear, and despite Ellie taking out two in the front, we found ourselves surrounded.
The girls in the front line, Mia and Claire, each took one, while Ellie, Licia, and I handled the ones in the back.
We finished our side just in time to catch a monster jumping at Anna from an intersection, its makeshift spear coated in flames.
While Anna had a stance she'd always come back to, she was way more stiff than Claire, and her movements didn't flow as smoothly.
She dodged the speartip by the skin of her teeth, and Mia killed the monster for her, but it was enough to draw blood.
Miwen: "Are you alright?"
Anna: "Nhn... It's just a scratch. Don't worry, I'm used to getting hurt."
While she wasn't bleeding profusely, the tear was deep enough that a line of blood streaked down her arm.
Miwen: "Let me take a look."
I kneeled near her.
Near the scratch, her skin had burned pink.
Miwen: "This will sting a bit."
I took a roll of bandages from my backpack and a bottle of alcohol.
I poured some of the alcohol on the wound and tried cleaning it before wrapping the bandage around her arm.
Anna: "Nghn... You're... very prepared."
Miwen: "Yeah. A friend of mine gets hurt every now and then, so... I decided it was worth it to carry these with me, just in case."
All thanks to Roy.
Though, of course, the bandages would only help for so long.
She needed a potion, at the very least.
Licia: "Should we call it?"
Miwen: "I think so. It could be poisoned."
Anna held her own arm and looked away for a brief moment before facing us.
Anna: "I'm sorry for dragging you down."
Miwen: "Don't worry. I'm blaming the two running ahead."
Even though her swordsmanship wasn't on the same level as Claire's and she didn't adapt as easily as Licia, Anna clearly had the basics down.
At first, I thought her level being reduced to 1 was holding her back.
But even after leveling up, she didn't improve as much as I'd expected.
Still, since Mia's level was capped at 7 by the second floor, Claire thought she could one-up her, and they quickly got competitive, rushing after each kill and leaving Anna behind.
Ellie: "Um... I could apply [Poison Resistance] on you, if you don't mind."
She raised her hand as if volunteering.
Miwen: "...You never told me you could buff allies."
Ellie: "Ah... I didn't mean to lie... It's just that... I don't like hurting my friends..."
She stared at the ground, fidgeting as she hugged herself.
Anna: "That'd be great."
With Anna's approving smile, Ellie approached.
She sat beside her, carefully scratching Anna's arm with the arrowhead.
Ellie: "I think it didn't trigger because of your high defense. S-Sorry... I'll try again."
While Ellie's Gift triggering at all depended mostly on her luck and dexterity, the target could block it depending on their own luck, dexterity, and defense.
Anna's Gift just so happened to provide her with an immense boost to both strength and defense, combining the two base stats to form the "Total Defense" and "Total Strength" special stats.
With the two level-ups she had invested in it and the three she put into defense, her Total Defense had reached level 5.
At the same time, since I had given her a skill that directly increased her strength, her Total Strength was at 6.
It was unfortunate, but points granted by skills didn't count towards her "Base Stats".
Anna: "You can't do anything about the burn, can you?"
Ellie: "Sorry... I'm not a healer. Resistance works to stop poison from spreading, but... The skin already burned, so..."
She nodded her head, avoiding eye contact.
Anna: "It's fine. Thanks."
She gave Ellie a headpat, messing up her already messy hair.
Miwen: "We can get you a potion at the settlement, but... What do you wanna do?"
Anna: "I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry."
Holding her arm, she flexed her muscle.
I decided to watch for a while, but perhaps thanks to her defense, it didn't seem like the bruise affected Anna much.
If anything, she seemed a little more concentrated. Her swordsmanship didn't improve much, but her reaction time was faster, and compared to the rest of the front line, she was barely breaking a sweat.
Despite the incident, after reaching farther than ever before, Mia asked Licia to switch positions, taking her place at the front.
Mia: "Do you mind if we stop a little?"
Miwen: "Something wrong?"
She was panting hard, her shoulders dropping.
Mia: "It's... The level cap. I feel sluggish. Like... I want to stretch, but I can't..."
Miwen: "Hm... Alright."
As I thought, Claire and Mia had pushed themselves hard.
Thankfully, while we had mostly walked through narrow corridors, there was a slightly larger space a few turns ahead where we could rest.
Beatrice: "Haah... Hah... I'm... Not made... for walking..."
While everyone seemed a little tired, no one was as bad as Beatrice.
She couldn't even lean against the wall and just sat on the floor, sweating and trembling.
And that was beside her not firing a single bolt of magic, as I prohibited her from learning any for the time being and asked her to focus her level-up points into her intelligence stat.
Miwen: "Here."
I tossed her a bottle of water from my backpack.
Despite her extended arms, she didn't have the reflex to catch it.
The bottle rolled next to her, and after it came close to stopping, she finally caught it.
She even had a small smug smile, as if she had nailed it.
Beatrice: "Affluent and kind... No wonder... You are a hit... with the girls..."
Miwen: "...I'm neither."
Beatrice: "Hehe... I can tell, you know? From your soul..."
She gulped down the entire bottle.
Miwen: "Yeah? Which color is it?"
Beatrice: "Black. And orange. Sometimes, there are flashes of gold and white, too. The shape... Is like a burning campfire."
She told us that her Gift had two effects.
The first gave her access to all types of magic, making it easier for her to learn, train, and level up magic and magic-related skills. It also reduced the cost of leveling them up using level-up points.
Of course, that same effect increased the power of any magic she cast, too.
It was a standard Gift for a mage, but the second effect made it very unique.
Beatrice could see the "mana aura" of other people.
According to what she told us, she could use it to determine a person's nature, if they were lying, and even predict if they were about to cast a spell.
Though some auras were harder to read than others, apparently.
Miwen: "So...? Is that good?"
Beatrice: "It's interesting... Black and white rarely appear together... And the flame-shape... Heh..."
The elf sitting next to her had leaned closer, her ears twitching.
Beatrice seemed to have realized, but she said nothing more, opting to catch her breath instead.
Miwen: "What about you, Anna?"
Anna: "Eh? I'm fine..."
Miwen: "Tell me if it worsens, alright?"
She narrowed her eyes at me, her lips slightly parted.
Then, she lowered her gaze, nodding.
I noticed Mia staring, so after checking on Anna, I went to her.
Mia: "...Mind if we talk? Just the two of us."
Miwen: "Sure. Let's go."
Since everyone had rested, I decided it'd be best for us to continue diving deeper.
Licia took the front with Claire, while Mia and I stood a couple of steps behind the group.
Mia: "Are all dungeons in this world like this one?"
She whispered, her narrowed eyes fixed forward.
Miwen: "I told you before, right? Even though every Dungeon is different, there isn't a single gate to another world on Earth."
I could hear her ragged breathing.
Mia: "I thought you were lying. Damnit."
The coat I'd given her hid her tail and ears, and yet, I could still see them drooping, much like Ellie's.
Mia: "I guess it explains why there are only humans in this world, but..."
She clenched her fist, walking ahead of me.
A few minutes later, Licia came back.
Licia: "...Claire is distracting her."
Miwen: "Yeah."
It probably wasn't on purpose, but at least when they were competing, Mia seemed to stop thinking about her world for a while.
I knew she wanted to go back, but... In a way, I was glad that Earth didn't have gateways to other worlds.
She'd just be throwing her life away.
Thanks to their competition, however, we ended up going so far into the second floor that all enemies were either [Noble Monsters] or [Superior Monsters].
Eventually, we found a hobgoblin that was both a Superior and a Lord, surrounded by three other [Superior Hobgoblins].
The monsters stood blocking one of the corridors ahead.
We waited, hiding behind a small hill, but no new monsters came from the corridor.
Miwen: "The Hobgoblin Lord stats are... Almost all at the cap. It's also capable of [Wind Magic], it seems."
I used [Appraisal] to confirm their stats.
They were close to the hardest challenges the second floor had to offer.
Miwen: "The two carrying spears are as strong as I. And the weaker one on the right can use [Earth Magic]..."
Claire: "Might be tricky..."
Even though we held the numerical advantage, Beatrice couldn't fight, and the chances of Anna getting even more injured were high.
Licia and I were at the level cap of this floor, but Claire only needed a little more experience.
She could definitely reach level 7 just by us making our way back.
Miwen: "I think we can do it, though."
It was risky, but it would absolutely level up the other three girls.
Miwen: "Ellie, could you shoot the Lord Hobgoblin on my mark? Try to freeze or paralyze him."
Ellie: "Y-Yes..."
She held her bow tight, steadying her breath.
Her concentration was so high that she didn't even seem like the same girl anymore.
Miwen: "If her Gift doesn't trigger, we'll bail."
Mia: "So brave."
She rolled her eyes.
I thought about responding, but...
I was glad some of her snark had returned.
Next time, I was going to pay her back, though.
Miwen: "On the other hand, if it triggers... We'll surround it in a wall of ice..."
I was very much improvising, but we had three ice users in our party, and this monster was by far the strongest we had come across today.
Isolating him was the only way to ensure victory.
Miwen: "After that, we can either barrage the others with magic or jump them as usual."
Mia: "...Sounds good."
Her ears perked up on their own, her eyes sharpening as her fangs appeared behind a slight smile.
I checked to see if the girls were ready, and then I gave Ellie the signal.
She peeked out of the hill, calmly waiting for the monsters.
Ellie fired two arrows a second later, just as the Hobgoblin Lord stepped away from the others.
The first arrow pierced its stomach, while the second hit its chest, falling to the ground.
With [Appraisal], I confirmed that the monster staggering to the side had been inflicted with [Paralysis].
Miwen: "It worked! Go!"
Once the Hobgoblin was shot, the other monsters rushed toward us, following the shot's trajectory with nothing but instinct.
Combining our magic, Mia, Licia, and I erected a thick ice barrier between the Lord and the Superior Hobgoblins, isolating the monster from the others.
Anna charged ahead, briefly holding back two of the monsters at the same time.
She deflected a spear and grabbed the other, giving Licia the perfect opportunity to cast one of her slightly sadistic ice tricks.
As one of the monsters pushed, she froze the ground under its feet, creating an ice sculpture that looked like a hand to grab its feet.
Ellie already had another arrow ready, and not even wasting a second, she pierced the skull of the monster that had fallen to the ground.
Since the menus distracted me, I had already stopped using [Appraisal], and I couldn't tell if any effects had been applied.
However, that didn't matter much, as a fire blast burst from Claire's hands, and once the fire subsided, despite the monster turning charcoal black, Licia pierced its body with an ice spike.
It almost looked like they had something against this specific monster, but it happened so fast that they probably just got in each other's way. Or maybe they really hated the way it looked, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.
Nonetheless, the other two hobgoblins didn't bother with their fallen comrade.
While Anna fought the one with a spear, I flanked the one that could use [Earth Magic].
His stats were below mine, but I had no experience facing [Earth Magic].
Erecting an ice stake behind the monster, I waited for the moment it'd dodge, seeking to slash its shoulder.
Unfortunately, casting magic and swinging the sword at the same time was like kicking and punching for me.
Licia and Claire made it seem easy enough, but my timing was way off, giving the monster a chance to block me with an earth wall.
Spikes sprawled from the erected earth wall, forcing me to jump back.
Only once my feet landed on the ground did I notice it had become muddy.
I lost my balance, and the sprawling spikes erupted toward me.
Without any time to react, I instinctively copied what was in front of me, erecting an ice wall of my own.
However, the spikes kept chipping away at it, forcing me to repair the wall.
The monster had turned it into a battle of attrition, and with my current mana... I wasn't confident I'd win.
I caught my breath, looking for a way out, but suddenly...
The monster stopped attacking.
Its face then appeared behind my ice wall, the impact reverberating through the Dungeon's hall as red blood stained the ice.
A second later, I saw a pair of fluffy ears rising behind the wall, accompanied by a smug smile.
Mia: "You can come out now. Big sister took care of the bad monster outside."
Miwen: "Do you promise?"
Mia: "Yeah, yeah, come out now."
She demoted me from fiancé to little brother.
Miwen: "I can't believe it almost had me."
Mia: "Hmph. It was firing those spikes everywhere from behind its wall. It couldn't see you."
A small ice platform erupted beneath my feet, sending me to the top of the wall.
Mia: "You should've made a pillar and thrown yourself behind his wall like this when you had the chance. You'd destroy him in close combat."
She nodded to herself, her arms crossed.
Miwen: "Didn't even think of that. My head was filled with walls."
Mia: "It happens, you got swayed in the heat of the moment. If you get more experience, it won't happen as much. But you had more time to think than you might've realized..."
She patted me on the back, wearing a surprisingly friendly smile.
Miwen: "If you say so. But man, was it annoying to have the ground turn on me. How do you deal with that?"
Mia seemed to be having fun lecturing me.
Meanwhile, I was happy to see her talking more.
Mia: "The enemy can't mess with the ground around you if you are already messing with it. If you had earth magic, you could've maintained the ground in its original state through the fight. You can also... just be mindful of your surroundings."
Judging by the pillar of ice behind me and the Hobgoblin corpse, it seemed like she had already used that tactic before helping me out.
Which meant there was only one monster left for us to face.
I readied myself for the fight that would come as soon as Claire finished melting the ice wall around the Hobgoblin Lord, but...
Instead of a fight, I witnessed a massacre.
The Hobgoblin was strong. I had no doubts.
However, I could only tell that because of how long the monster endured the onslaught.
Between the paralyzing arrows, fire blasts, ice stakes, sword stabs, punches, kicks, and bites.... I almost felt sorry for the monster.
It even dropped a [Wind Mana Orb], as if apologizing in the afterlife.
The girls really didn't hold back, but...
Seeing them make mincemeat of the monster, I started looking forward to our next Dungeon Raid.