The two of them were not far from the passage to the next floor.
They walked through the winding cave tunnels one after the other with steady steps. The faint glow of the moss mixed with the light from the ceiling, dimly lighting the path ahead.
Jeanne walked in front. Her silver greaves made a sharp, steady tap-tap sound on the ground. She gripped her flag-spear with her silver gauntlets and kept watch over their surroundings. Her light purple eyes stayed alert.
Ronan followed behind her at a safe distance, carrying his supporter backpack.
In his left hand, he held his wrapped staff. His right hand hung at his side, his fingers occasionally crackling with sparks. He kept his magic ready so he could support Jeanne at once if anything happened.
They kept moving, sometimes stopping, sometimes walking again. Most of the time, the Dungeon was silent. Only the occasional distant monster cry or the sound of a stray fight reminded them of the danger around them.
"The Dungeon is alive. It's a terrifying place," Jeanne said quietly without looking back.
"Did you feel something?" Ronan asked in a low voice, thinking about her skill.
The girl tilted her head slightly toward the dark cave walls, but she did not stop walking. Her tone was complicated.
"Ever since we entered the Dungeon, the Falna on my back has been warm. It feels like being in a hot spring. I think it's because my skill, Revelation, is always active. I can clearly feel a faint sense of danger that never fully goes away. I can't tell exactly where it comes from, though. It only becomes sharp and clear when an Irregularity happens."
She took a deep breath and came to a conclusion. "I understand now. That constant sense of danger isn't aimed at us personally. It comes from the Dungeon itself."
"So the Dungeon is hostile to every visitor equally?" Ronan said with a bit of self-mockery.
...
"Cinder!"
Boom!
Ronan's face darkened. He endured the numbness in his body and forced himself to drink a bottle of Antidote.
"I... I was careless. No matter how careful you are, there's always a chance you'll slip up..." His speech was slurred because of the poison. His tongue was not moving properly.
"Things do not always go smoothly. That would be too easy," Jeanne said as if it were obvious.
As for why Jeanne did not need an Antidote, it was because of her skills.
Ruler's Verdict, Holy Maiden, and her naturally high resistance let Jeanne ignore the poison from the Purple Moths.
Ronan also had Magic Shield & Guard, which greatly reduced negative effects, but he did not have full resistance. To be safe, he used the Antidote right away.
When it came to resisting things like this, Jeanne was far ahead of Ronan. Her durability and resistances were simply much higher.
...
After a while, they arrived at the passage to the next floor. Although they ran into a few small problems and some monsters blocked their path, the trip was mostly smooth.
They did not stop to rest like they had on the 7th floor. They went straight in.
The 9th Floor.
Like the floors above, this was still part of the Upper Floors. However, the light was dimmer. The dark, quiet surroundings felt heavier and more oppressive.
According to the Adventurer's Guide, floors 6, 7, 8, and 9 became larger one after another. Each floor was bigger, more complex, and more dangerous than the last.
From what they had seen compared to the earlier floors:
The number of rooms had increased, and they were wider.
The paths connecting the rooms had become shorter.
The ceilings, which used to be only about two people high, were much higher now, nearly 10 meters.
Along the paths, the brown cave walls and corners were covered in moss like a thick layer of carpet. Even the ground was no longer just stone. It had become a grassy field.
The light falling from above looked almost like sunlight. It gave the place the feeling of an open field.
With more space and a wider field of view, adventurers had more room to react. Because of that, most veteran adventurers considered floors 8 and 9 relatively easy compared to what came later.
Since time mattered on the 9th floor, Ronan and Jeanne gave up on exploring side paths and hidden rooms. They decided to follow the main route straight to the 10th floor and reach their goal for the day.
"It matches the manual. The 9th floor is not that different from the ones above. There are no completely new monsters here. Instead, Goblins, Kobolds, and Needle Rabbits appear here with stronger stats. As long as we do not underestimate them, we can handle them the same way we did before."
After looking over the information, Ronan summed it up.
"This floor still follows the usual pattern. The monsters appear more often, and they are stronger. Other than that, there is nothing too unusual."
Jeanne agreed with the first half, but ignored the second half. Rare species? Keep dreaming.
"Cinder!"
Ronan took down a screaming stronger Goblin with a fast-cast spell. He smiled under his mask.
"The monsters are stronger, but for me, the change is small. It feels almost the same as the floors above. Cinder still takes them down in one hit."
This showed that Ronan's current firepower, boosted by his staff and skills, was already much higher than what was needed for normal monsters.
"Still weak. They can't take a single hit," he said proudly.
Jeanne stared at the burning remains. Her brows furrowed slightly as she disagreed. "No. They lasted a little longer in the flames. You may not notice it, but Revelation tells me the difference is there, even if it is small."
So your Revelation caught that too? Ronan thought to himself.
With a clear goal and a map in hand, they quickly reached the 10th floor through the passage.
"Starting from the 10th floor, the Dungeon really becomes dangerous," Ronan said in a serious tone.
"The 9th and 10th floors are the dividing line. The layout is similar to floors 8 and 9, but from here on, this area is known as the Mist Labyrinth."
"From here on, we are not just dealing with monsters. We also have to be careful of the Dungeon's traps and other dangers."
He opened the Adventurer's Handbook and pointed to an underlined section.
"This is the important part. The 10th floor has thick mist that blocks your vision. That makes it much harder to find enemies or scout ahead. When you cannot see clearly, danger appears much more suddenly. Our reaction time will be much shorter. We have to stay alert at all times."
"Finally, there are the Irregularities. This is different from the Monster Party we saw on the 7th floor. From the 10th floor onward, Monster Parties become a regular danger that experienced adventurers all have to deal with. If we cannot handle one, then retreating is the best option."
At the entrance to the 10th floor, Ronan and Jeanne stood side by side. One held the handbook, and the other held the map. They spoke in low voices as they worked out their plan.
In front of them, a pale mist spread across the floor, blurring the path ahead.