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Chapter 37: New Skill
The expedition to conquer the 59th floor finally began.
"We move out."
With the 59th-floor briefing concluded, Finn signaled the start without another word.
The vanguard consisted of Bete and Tiona; the middle guard held Tsuna, Ais, Lefiya, and Finn; and the rear guard was anchored by Gareth and Riveria. Supporters carrying weapons and items were strategically positioned within the formation.
Currently, Tsuna's group was marching through the Ash Wood, the connecting route between the 50th and 51st floors.
"No idle chatter from here on out. All hands, prepare for battle."
As they broke through the Ash Wood, a massive crater revealed itself. The slope was so sheer it was practically a cliff. Down below, countless monstrous eyes floated eerily in the pitch-black abyss.
Beyond this point was the 51st floor. Unusually for the Deep Floors, the 51st through 57th floors reverted to the labyrinth-style structure of the upper levels. However, the scale was incomparably vaster than anything above.
"Go. Bete. Tiona."
At Finn's command, Bete and Tiona leaped off the cliff, plunging straight into the swarm of monsters. Bete's metal boots, Flos Virt, and Tiona's massive greatsword effortlessly kicked and cleaved the monsters apart.
"Advance along the primary route as planned! Stay on high alert for the Enhanced Species!"
With Finn's orders, Tsuna and the rest pressed forward without stopping, slaughtering monsters as they marched. The spawn rate was staggering, completely eclipsing the previous floors. Even now, they were surrounded on all sides by rhino-type monsters called Black Rhinos and massive arachnids known as Deformis Spiders, but the expedition's momentum never stuttered.
"The monsters are a lot stronger here, and the spawn frequency is insane. This is going to be a pain."
"Agreed. This is definitely going to break a few bones."
"You two say that, but you aren't even breaking a sweat..."
Raul couldn't hide his astonishment. Even though he knew Tsuna and Tsubaki were vastly stronger than him, the casual ease with which they slaughtered the monsters—in a floor Raul had struggled through countless times—was mind-boggling.
"By the way, Tsubaki, you're a blacksmith. Why are you so strong?"
"Hm? You gotta test your weapons, right? I just kept diving deeper, hacking and slashing to see if my gear held up. Guess I just got strong along the way."
"That's… amazing…"
Tsuna had finally asked the question that had been bugging him, but the answer was so unexpectedly blunt that he didn't quite know how to react.
"Incoming! The new species!"
At Tiona's shout, the caterpillar-type monsters Finn had warned them about appeared ahead.
"Formation shift! Tiona, fall back!!"
Tiona immediately dropped back to the middle guard, swapping places with Ais, who stepped up to the vanguard.
"Tempest!"
"Ais! Give it here!"
"Wind."
Ais completed her chant, cloaking her body and weapon in a fierce armor of wind. She swung Desperate toward Bete in a sweeping arc. Bete's metal boots instantly absorbed Ais's spell, wrapping his legs in a violent gale.
His Flos Virt possessed a unique property: they could absorb magic and sheathe the boots in the stolen spell.
"Oraa!!"
"Haa!!"
Bete unleashed a storm of sword slashes and wind-clad kicks, while Ais decimated the new species with godspeed strikes from her wind-enchanted Desperate.
During the last expedition, the Loki Familia had been driven into a corner when the caterpillars' corrosive acid destroyed their weapons. But this time, they had come prepared with Durandal weapons. The tables had turned, and they were the ones cornering the new species.
"Can I move up to the front?"
"Yes. Permission granted."
Tsuna asked Finn for permission to advance. Sensing Tsuna had a plan, Finn allowed it. Tsuna pulled his hands back, igniting his flames in a reverse thrust to fly at low altitude straight toward the caterpillar swarm.
"Hyper X-Stream!"
From his low-altitude glide, Tsuna launched himself upward in a tight spiral. A massive tornado of flames erupted around him. The caterpillars caught inside were incinerated without resistance, entirely consumed by the destructive heat of the Dying Will Flames.
"A tornado of fire…"
"Amazing…"
Tione and Lefiya watched, mesmerized by the blazing cyclone. After generating the tornado, Tsuna flipped and landed upside down, sticking to the ceiling of the cavern.
"Closed light. Freezing earth. Blow, three harsh winters. My name is Alf!!"
"All hands, fall back!!"
Riveria's chant echoed from the rear guard. Finn barked a retreat order to ensure no one was caught in the blast. Ais and Bete instantly dove into a side tunnel, while Tsuna remained crouched upside down on the ceiling.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!!"
A violent blizzard exploded from Riveria, howling through the corridor. The caterpillars were flash-frozen, instantly reduced to statues of ice. Without missing a beat, Tsuna, Bete, and Ais shattered the frozen statues, obliterating them completely.
"That's incredible…"
Tsuna muttered, looking at the frozen dungeon. Because they had been traveling in a massive group up until the 50th floor, Riveria had restricted herself to low-tier, low-impact spells. This was the first time Tsuna had witnessed the true, unbridled power of the Nine Hell.
"You're the incredible one. Setting up the perfect environment for Riveria to chant, while simultaneously easing Gareth's burden."
"Huh?"
Lefiya looked confused, not grasping the meaning behind Finn's words.
"By clearing out the front lines with that fire tornado, you created a wall that prevented the reinforcements in the back from advancing, while also blocking their corrosive acid from raining down on us. That bought Riveria the environment she needed to focus entirely on her chant. And because of that, Gareth only had to focus on defending her from the enemies attacking our rear. Am I wrong?"
He moved to the vanguard for Lady Riveria's sake!? In the middle of all that chaos!?
Lefiya was dumbfounded. In this uncharted 51st floor, where the monsters' strength, numbers, and spawn rates were entirely different from anything they had faced, Tsuna wasn't just fighting—he was orchestrating the battlefield to protect his allies.
"Though, Riveria is a mage capable of Concurrent Chanting. She can cast her spells even with enemies right in her face. Plus, with Gareth guarding her, the chances of her spell failing were essentially zero. I doubt you didn't notice that," Finn added.
"You never know what's going to happen in the Dungeon. It's better to raise the success rate, even just a little. Right?"
"I suppose not."
Tsuna's logic was sound, so Finn didn't argue further.
Suddenly, the walls began to shift. A massive horde of monsters burst forth—a Monster Party, just like the one that had occurred on the 27th floor.
"All hands, prepare for—"
"X-Thrower!"
Before Finn could even issue the command, Tsuna stepped forward with his left foot and thrust his right hand out. A concentrated beam of flames blasted forward, incinerating the entire horde in a fraction of a second.
"I was going to say prepare for battle… but it seems that wasn't necessary…" Finn muttered, dropping his hand.
"Gahahaha!! The boy just stole your job, Finn!!" Gareth roared with laughter, highly amused by the Captain's stolen thunder.
"Still, between that tornado attack earlier and the one just now… you certainly have a wide arsenal of techniques…" Alicia noted.
"The tornado is a move I already had. But that last one was something I just thought of."
"Eh!?"
Alicia let out a shocked cry, realizing he had literally just invented the technique he used to wipe out the horde. The rest of the party looked equally stunned.
"Thank you, Riveria. Seeing your magic just now gave me the idea for this move."
"A-Ah…"
Tsuna had drawn inspiration from Riveria's piercing blizzard, Wynn Fimbulvetr, to create the concentrated beam of X-Thrower. He sincerely thanked the High Elf, but Riveria, still processing the sheer absurdity of his combat adaptability, could only offer a vague nod.
Just how far are you going to shatter my expectations, Tsuna...
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