As long as... as long as he levels up once more, and then learns my sword techniques, he will definitely be able to do it...
Astrea murmured unconsciously in a low voice, one hand gently pressing against her racing heart.
The moment she thought about possibly facilitating the birth of a hero candidate with her own hands, personally teaching a top-tier swordsman capable of truly unleashing Lumina Slash, she felt an uncontrollable surge of excitement. A captivating blush involuntarily crept across her fair cheeks.
But soon, the Goddess's rationality forced her to steady her breathing.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, clarity had returned to her gaze.
The most important thing right now was Alise.
Aiden's matters could wait until they returned to the surface.
With the complete destruction of the Bloody Hive, this massive battle finally came to an end.
"Phew... that felt like fighting a Floor Boss. So tiring."
Hyacine dropped her massive travel pack—which was completely disproportionate to her petite stature—right in the middle of the path with a heavy thud, and then plopped down onto it.
Daphne and Tifa also sat down next to her without standing on ceremony. Tipping their heads back, they downed the recovery potions or water in their bottles in one gulp. Their crisp conversation rang out in the main passageway, which had returned to silence.
"Alright, pretty much."
Daphne wiped the sweat from her brow and leaned against the luggage, letting out a long sigh of relief. "Around here, that giant hornet's nest is the most troublesome thing you can run into."
Having finished the largest battle of the day, the exhausted group began their routine post-battle work: gathering the loot.
The ground was littered with "Deadly Hornet Strong Shells." This material could fetch a good price at the Guild.
More importantly, there were the blue-purple crystals emitting a faint glow—Magic Stones.
The Magic Stones in the middle floors were not only larger than those in the upper floors but also contained purer energy.
Just as everyone was bending over to pick up the loot and the atmosphere was gradually relaxing—
"Watch out!"
The voice of Robin, who possessed the sharpest perception, abruptly detonated within everyone's Mental Network. Her warning was without the slightest delay, decisive and urgent.
Almost simultaneously, a cold, swift aura lunged from the shadows deep within the tunnel.
It was a black shadow moving at blinding speed. It passed silently through the lingering dust, its body seemingly wreathed in a thin, light-distorting mist, lunging straight for Tifa and Daphne, who were picking up Magic Stones.
"Perfect timing!"
Tifa and Daphne's reactions were also at the level of top-tier adventurers.
They didn't panic in the slightest; instead, the will to fight ignited in their eyes.
The two exchanged a knowing look, simultaneously abandoning the loot in their hands, and leapt backward to open up some distance.
Aiden had already gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to strike, but seeing the eager expressions on the two girls' faces, he stopped his movements. Instead, he stepped back a few paces to cover them.
Emerging from the shadows was the new type of monster they had only begun encountering after entering the 24th Floor—the Abundance Sprite: Wooden Lupus.
This was clearly another "specialty" created from a corner of his memory by his troublesome skill, [Abyss Gazed Back].
This monster resembled a giant wolf, but its entire body was covered in a carapace as smooth as obsidian. Its limbs were vigorous and powerful, and its sharp claws glinted with a metallic chill under the light of the glowing moss.
Its most bizarre trait was that a faint mist always coiled around its body, and fine, golden arcs of electricity frequently danced within the vapor.
According to their experience from several previous encounters, this monster, with potential ability parameters as high as Level 3, was not only terrifyingly fast with incredibly sharp claws and fangs capable of releasing paralyzing electricity, but it also possessed the troublesome ability to create a clone with strength nearly identical to its main body.
Making matters worse, its endurance value and self-healing speed were comparable to a weakened Floor Boss, making it extremely difficult to kill completely.
Even Aiden needed to use high-powered magical bombardments to blast it to pieces, or chop it into bits with a sword wrapped in Everlasting Flames, to ensure it wouldn't stand back up a few seconds later.
In the previous encounters, Aiden had personally stepped in to resolve the situation.
But now, Tifa and Daphne clearly wanted to give it a try.
They knew very well that if they could defeat such a powerful monster with their own strength, what they would gain was not just a massive amount of Excelia, but a "Great Feat" sufficient to cause a qualitative leap in their "Falna."
The battle erupted instantly.
"I'll be the shield; you take the offensive!"
Daphne said concisely, simultaneously activating her magic.
"Bloom, Armor of the Laurel Tree!"
A faint halo of light enveloped her body. The defensive magic of Lamour not only enhanced her endurance but also drastically boosted her agility.
Holding her rapier like an elegant duelist, she proactively met the Wooden Lupus head-on.
The Wooden Lupus let out a low growl. Its body blurred, unexpectedly leaving behind a clone in its original spot—identical to the main body, and similarly wreathed in lightning and mist.
"Two-front battle. Tifa, the one on the right is the clone; its energy fluctuations are weaker."
Robin's voice sounded calmly in both of their minds, providing them with a perfect god's-eye view.
"Understood!"
Tifa let out a sharp cry. Lowering her body slightly, she dropped into a martial artist's stance.
She didn't choose a weapon, because her most powerful weapon was her own body.
"Shine!"
Non-elemental magic power instantly wrapped around her limbs like the trailing flames of a shooting star.
With Meteor Plume activated, every punch and kick she delivered would carry pure magical impact.
The battle instantly reached a boiling point.
Daphne faced the main body of the Wooden Lupus.
She didn't choose to clash head-on; instead, utilizing the high agility provided by her magic, she continuously kited and evaded.
Her swordplay was precise and efficient. The slender blade always thrust toward its joints, eyes, and other relatively vulnerable spots at tricky angles during the gaps in the Wooden Lupus's attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The tip of the sword collided with the Wooden Lupus's obsidian carapace, throwing up a chain of sparks, but could only leave shallow white marks.
The Wooden Lupus's defense was unimaginably tough.
Enraged by this annoying "fly," the Wooden Lupus abruptly opened its massive maw. A bolt of golden lightning shot out, aiming straight for Daphne's face.
"With the holy banner as my witness, and my faith as the pact!"
In the distance, Jeanne had long been on high alert.
A golden ring of light flashed over Daphne's body. It was the ranged protection of Luminosité Eternelle, granting her a temporary magical shield.
The lightning slammed into the shield, exploding into a blinding burst of electricity, but failed to harm Daphne in the slightest.
On the other side, Tifa's battle with the Wooden Lupus clone was an entirely different scene—one filled with a sense of extreme power and speed.
Tifa was like a black butterfly, weaving through the clone's torrential claw strikes.
Every one of her evasions was flawless. Her body contorted and folded at impossible angles, always managing to dodge the sharp claws by a hair's breadth at the very last moment.
The [Battle Rhythm] skill allowed her to fight faster and faster; her attack speed and agility continuously climbed throughout the sustained combat.
Seizing the opening created by the clone's missed claw strike, she closed the distance, and a fluid combo instantly exploded forth.
Straight punch, elbow strike, knee bash, spinning kick.
Attacks infused with the magic of Meteor Plume fell upon the clone as densely as raindrops, producing heavy, muffled thud-thud-thud sounds.
Every strike contained explosive power, beating the clone back continuously, the mist around its body dissipating significantly.
"Hyacine, give them some healing."
Robin commanded calmly from the sidelines.
"Understood! We Who Fly Into the Dawn!"
Following Hyacine's chant, the pink little Pegasus, Ica, neighed happily and flew out from her embrace.
A gentle rain, carrying specks of starlight, sprinkled down, enveloping Tifa and Daphne.
The [Rain Clears to Sun] status instantly took effect.
The small cuts on the two girls began to heal at a visible rate, and their depleted stamina also slowly recovered.
More importantly, that faint sense of paralysis brought by the lightning permeating the air was completely dispelled by this warm power.
Under multiple layers of support, Tifa and Daphne's combat power was pushed to its absolute limit.
Daphne pinned down the Wooden Lupus's main body from the front. Although she couldn't inflict effective damage, relying on her resilient defense and agile footwork, she firmly stalled this most powerful enemy.
Meanwhile, Tifa secured an overwhelming advantage on the other side of the battlefield.
Her offensive grew fiercer, her speed grew faster.
Under her tempestuous assault, the lightning and mist around the Wooden Lupus clone grew increasingly dim, and its recovery speed began to slow down.
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