Just after leaving the safety floor, silver boots and a greatsword instantly brought down the monsters charging toward them.
"Proceed directly along the standard route according to plan. Stay alert for the approach of the new-type monsters!"
Finn loudly issued his orders.
From the 51st Floor onward, the structure once again became completely different from the upper levels. The ground, sky, and walls of this section of the Dungeon were all glossy black. Intricately interconnected passages of a unified design linked one vast chamber after another.
At first glance, it looked similar to the upper floors frequented by rookies, but the scale was entirely different.
Moreover, the passages here were much narrower, making it impossible for the group to fight freely as if on an open plain.
Therefore, any unnecessary battles and expenditure of energy had to be avoided.
"Left turn ahead!"
A crossroads appeared before the vanguard. Upon Finn's command, Bete and Tiona turned without hesitation into the left passage.
No one doubted Finn's orders. Every member held absolute trust in their commander.
Because everyone knew just how much effort Finn had poured into conquering unexplored territory. The maps of this area, all the way to the 58th Floor, had already been etched into his mind.
"Monsters are spawning ahead, fast!"
"Vanguard, ignore them. Ais, Ryoji, you deal with them!"
"Yes!"
Bete and Tiona ignored the wall cracks rapidly widening beside them and ran straight past.
Shortly afterward, under Finn's orders, two figures shot out from the left and right, rushing toward the walls with overwhelming speed.
"Moooo, !"
Emerging from the walls were hordes of Black Rhinos.
"Whoa, these things make excellent armor materials!"
Tsubaki immediately looked at them with greedy interest, clearly tempted.
"There'll be better stuff further down, so don't bother collecting now!"
Finn warned while keeping control of the overall situation.
"Got it!"
After all, backpack capacity was limited. Even if they were going to bring back materials, it made more sense to choose monsters from deeper floors, their loot would be more valuable.
Though reluctant, Tsubaki gave up on the materials.
Black Rhinos possessed extremely thick hides; even Level 5 Adventurers could not kill them easily.
But,
A sword like a flash of light thrust forward.
Incredibly fast.
Overwhelmingly powerful.
Like a hot knife slicing through butter, the shining blade cleaved the freshly spawned Black Rhino cleanly in two.
"His attack power is on a completely different level from an ordinary Level 5!"
Finn watched the battle unfolding on the left.
Seeing the swordsmanship Ryoji displayed, he could not help but feel inwardly shaken.
That lightning-fast sword gave even Finn a chilling sensation. Its trajectory was completely invisible, as though a moment's lapse in attention could result in decapitation.
"So when he fought Bete, he really wasn't going all out. His strength is at least comparable to mine!"
And not only that, over the past half month, not only had his ability values risen dramatically, but his swordsmanship had also become even more unfathomable, impossible to fully comprehend.
That was only natural. Even Ryoji himself had needed half a minute to understand this sword technique in the beginning, and had only mastered it after injuring himself once in the process. Anyone lacking sufficient skill could not hope to grasp even the surface of it.
Though shocked inwardly, Finn felt even more encouraged.
This meant the chances of success for this expedition had risen considerably!
On the other side, Ais also effortlessly slaughtered several Black Rhinos. Having advanced to Level 6, she cut through these monsters as easily as chopping vegetables, matching Ryoji's ease perfectly.
"We can do this!"
Finn was brimming with confidence.
Compared to last time, their combat strength was far more abundant!
"A large number of monsters are incoming!"
"Don't get bogged down in battle, break through quickly!"
The Dungeon roared.
To stop the Adventurers invading the labyrinth, countless monsters surged in from every part of the floor. Side passages, crossroads, ceilings, walls, monsters appeared and spawned without end, over a dozen emerging at once.
An endless succession of encounters with powerful enemies, this was the terror of the 51st Floor, several times more difficult than the 49th Floor.
But this party showed not the slightest fear.
Bete made full use of the mobility he had once relied on as a skirmisher, kicking aside every monster blocking their path. Rather than finishing off the wounded creatures, he kept charging forward without pause.
On this floor, stopping was absolutely forbidden. The moment you stopped, you would be swallowed by layers upon layers of monster encirclement. Only by continuously exploiting superior mobility before the hordes could react could one break through this floor.
"The new-type monster is here!"
Before long, Tiona's tense shout rang out as a five-meter-tall Virga emerged from the passageway, crawling toward them while clinging to the ceiling.
"Change formation, Ais replaces Tiona!"
At the command,
Tiona swiftly fell back, while Ais leapt forward from the right flank.
"...Tempest!"
An emerald gale erupted from within Ais's body, wrapping itself around the silver-white blade.
"Ais, give me wind!"
"Understood!"
The wind dispersed outward and was absorbed into the silver greaves on Bete's legs.
Then two tempests blasted forth together like artillery made of wind, utterly pulverizing the Virgas blocking the way. Even the exploded bodily fluids were blown clear, opening up a broad path.
"After advancing to Level 6, the power of Ais's wind has increased dramatically too!"
Ryoji noticed that the roar of the wind was even fiercer than before.
Using Ais's wind as a spearhead, the entire group easily crossed the bloody passage and followed the standard route to the staircase leading to the 52nd Floor.
"From here on, prepare yourselves for having no opportunity to resupply."
Standing at the staircase entrance, Finn looked over the group before him.
If anyone needed recovery, now was the time, that was the implication behind his words. But having passed through uninjured, none of them had any need to recover.
"Before we enter, let me remind you one last time: forget everything you think you know about the Dungeon. From this point onward, the common sense of the upper floors no longer applies!"
Everyone's expressions tightened.
Tsubaki glanced around, her eyes filled with surprise.
Is it really that dangerous?
"Move out!"
With that brief command, the party advanced toward the 52nd Floor.
Through the glossy black labyrinth passages, similar to those of the 51st Floor, they sprinted at an even faster pace than before.
"Avoid combat whenever possible. If you can't avoid it, knock them away!"
Finn continuously issued instructions.
The frequency and number of monster appearances showed no sign of decreasing, and the group charged forward with taut expressions.
"Whoa, a valuable drop material!"
While advancing, Ais smashed apart a spider-type monster, causing a black spider leg to drop.
Tsubaki's eyes lit up instantly, and she almost broke formation to grab it.
"Don't!"
But suddenly, Ryoji, serving as the left guard, grabbed her arm.
"Why? I don't see any danger!"
Tsubaki looked around in confusion.
"We've already been targeted!"
Even though there were no monsters visibly blocking their charge, Tsubaki saw that Ryoji's expression had turned extremely serious.
(End of Chapter)
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