The cycle of combat continued for the next month. It was constant fighting. A sound that Alfia found difficult to deal with, and would frequently cover her ears to sleep, occasionally getting the wolves to help with being the mobile sound muffling pillows.
Alraj on the other hand paid close attention to the others whenever he got the chance. He would then work everything he learned, into his own combat style. One thing he mastered, albeit barely managing to do so, was Afterglow. And not the weak shit where it was a single lucky shot, no, the type that he could continuously use throughout the fight.
His efforts did not go unnoticed by anyone, the one he really wanted to show off for, had taken a bit more than special notice. Meteria had decided that getting a little closer to Alraj wasn't exactly a bad idea. He's kind, and strong. Pervy, but I can fix that.
Meteria also improved quite a bit. Though, not to even remotely the same extent that Alfia did. As the younger twin, Meteria had far less talent than her elder twin. Even so, she'd managed to prove that she wasn't just a random slouch, earning the right to be called a proud member of the Hera familia.
Shurry's improvement… Well, for the first time… Ever, finally said a phrase that many have wanted to hear, but has never once come from his lips. Though he only said it in his sleep, it still counted… "I'm full"... The first time he said that, was such a shock and wave of relief that now there is one less reason keeping them down in the endless hell.
It was the final day, and the vast majority of the retreat plan relied upon Shurry… An unfortunate issue, but one they had no other choice but to deal with. And so, once he woke up, stretched, washed his face, and righted his loose, or stretchy clothes… Custom made to accommodate his insane growth in wolf form… He got his game face on.
"Another day of hunting! I'm so excited!"
"Heh, you don't ever get tired of hunting, do you?" Zald chuckled.
"Nope! I love hunting, Unccy Zaldy! It's so much fun! I can eat all I want, then buy more food with the money I got from hunting! It's a win, win, win!"
"Well you know that today is the day we make our way to the 39th floor, right?"
"Yeah… It's sad, I wanted to hunt more."
"I get it. But you wouldn't want to keep Lyca, and Gale from hunting their prey, right?"
"Aunty Lyca's hunting Balor next right!? I wanna see, I wanna see! Also, Gale? Is he the weird uncle that blew up the colosseum?"
"Yep, that's him. Both of them are due for a level up. I'm trying myself, but it's a whole lot harder when you're much stronger than your own level."
"Shut up. You're just jealous that we're going to reach level 8, and leave you in the dust."
"Shut your face, Gale. You still need help to kill Balor. I can beat his ugly mug on my own with little issue…"
"Enough! Everyone up. If you're tired, suck it up. We make our break for the 39th floor." Maxim announced, his words cutting through all of the noise. "Shurry, that means you're up. Whenever you're ready, we'll begin."
"I'm ready! Super ready!"
"Good. Empress, you're ready?"
"Ready as well. Having a comfy pillow, and snuggly puppy does wonders for recovery."
"I'm sure it does. Careful you don't start sounding like Zeus."
"Pfft, That old coot, I couldn't possibly."
Empress, and Maxim both readied themselves for combat.
"Everyone, we're pulling out, begin the operation!"
Shurry howled out, creating a protective dome around the encampment, and a pathway leading up, over, and out of the colosseum. The path had raised walls to protect from any projectiles, the entire thing was made out of moon light given solid form.
The adventurers, in their hyper efficient form, broke down the camp, and collected all of the materials they'd gained, to include the month's supply of Peluda needles. In the end, there were no longer any traces left of their encampment. The whole expedition climbed the moonlight bridge, the guild members were a little nervous at first. But they were also very clearly unwilling to stay.
Finally, the members who'd been fighting the monsters, joined the others on the light bridge, with Empress, and Maxim serving as the defensive line for them to escape behind. Shurry, was of course also there. The escape had gone as planned thus far, but, the number of monsters seemed to be increasing at an incredibly insane rate.
"It's like the dungeon doesn't want us to escape from here?"
"I know, it's a good thing we're the ones holding back this massive horde."
"Unccy, Aunty, I have an idea! Jump out of the way."
Shurry's warning came, and both Empress & Maxim, having learned more than enough about him, jumped up, and back to get out of the way. Just in time too, because what Shurry unleashed was something he'd only shown a handful of times. A cone of moonlight emitted from his mouth, enveloping the monsters in an instant, destroying every last one of them.
"Damn. He might be able to do this all on his own after a few more levels."
"Now's not the time to be gawking. Let's get out of here."
"Wee! That was fun!"
Everyone reached the exit, and continued down the path, eventually they'd finished the 37th, and 38th floors, arriving on the 39th floor, a safe point in the dungeon. Camp was set up, and the bathing schedule was set up. Food was had, and everyone rested up…
While they did that, the guild members were starting to exhibit signs of dungeon fatigue. Bad ones, like really bad ones. And Shurry's magic couldn't help them anymore.
"It looks like we might need to split up the group and send some people back to the surface with the guild members."
"Don't worry, we'll be fine for a few more days at least."
"It'll take a few days to reach the surface from here. So there really isn't any time to waste. The safest option is to have Shurry go along with them, the wolves he commands would be indispensable for their safety. But…"
"He's going to have a hell of a fit if we do that. Why not send Zald as the main frontliner, and then split our level 5s and below to go with him? While keeping a few supporters down here for ourselves? I'm also curious about how he'll react if we go a little further…"
"Fine, I'll bring them back out. The wolves stay on the 28th floor, so we'll have them for the most dangerous sections. See if he can get one of those things from down there. He'll be so much stronger after that…"
…