As the "morning" came, our expedition party quickly got ready to continue to advance through the dungeon. With Finn and the others leading the charge, we blazed through several floors, reaching floor 44 in just a few hours.
The moment we had descended halfway through the stairs, Hot air prickled my skin as we entered the 44th floor, as if we might as well have been inside a volcano, or at least that was the impression I got.
"Waaa! amazing! Kaguya! Lion! We are on the forty-fourth floor!" Alise cried in wonder.
"Calm down, captain, or so I would like to say, but yes, I can understand your excitement," Kaguya muttered, scanning the floor.
The walls, ground, and ceiling were colored a burning red, and distorted rocks lay scattered across the floor. Cracks lined the walls, blackened as if carbonized by intense heat. A faint red light shone from inside the cracks, giving off an eerie presence as we walked through the wide corridor.
"Everyone, drink water regularly," Riveria commanded, her voice cutting through the air. "Heat exhaustion is a real danger here. Don't push yourselves beyond your limits." Just as Riveria advised, several footsteps resounded around the dungeon floor, silencing the group.
Everyone readied their weapons as a horde of monsters came into view, blocking the path ahead. The monsters ranged from two to three meters tall, their entire bodies made of volcanic rock with red veins giving the appearance of pure lava flowing through them.
"It's Flame rock!" Asfi identified the names of the approaching monsters, drawing her sword and several knives loaded with ice magic.
"Those of Level 4 and lower, fight in groups!" Finn quickly gave a command before lunging at the monster nearby him with his spear, tearing through the monster. All the adventurers from the three allied familias quickly formed their teams, already used to each other's presence.
"Hold your shield tight, lass! Don't give chase to those rushing past; the ones behind us will handle them!" Gareth shouted, guiding Noin along with the other "Tankers" of our party, keeping the monsters from overwhelming us with numbers.
"Wow, monsters here are so strong!" Lydia laughed, ducking under the arm of the rock monster before slashing at its stomach, defeating it.
"Right!" Alise cried in support as she stabbed the rock monster through the chest, not giving the monster any chance to fight back as it disintegrated into ash. Both of them looked at each other. They exchanged a high-five
"Both of you, don't let your guard down!" Kaguya shouted, blade flashing, and cleaved the monster that tried to attack the duo in half before running past them in search of the next prey.
"Fire your magic at the far end, keep the output to a minimum, the horde is small, it would be just a waste of mind reserves otherwise," Riveria instructed the mages, Lefiya, Filvis, Ryana, Celty, and other mages as they fired their spell at the monster behind the frontline, dwindling their numbers as the battle raged. While Riveria herself used short chants to heal anyone who got injured, keeping the party at full health.
I was standing in the middle, participating in the front lines whenever necessary, while shooting flames and protecting our allies with wind magic.
Lyra stood near me, using her boomerang to divert the monster's attention. "Oh, they're going crazy over there." She spoke, her voice low, but a smirk played on her lips, and I looked in the direction she pointed to find Ryuu and Ais tearing through monsters like a storm on the left flank. They both like invisible blades, taking down monster after monster before they could notice.
"Ugh, they're having all the fun... I am joining them!" Tiona shouted as she too jumped between the monster horde, butchering monsters as she swung her weapon—Urga, monster limbs flying in the air.
Tione followed shortly behind, "You stupid sister!" she complained, her daggers cutting and stabbing through the monsters' thick hides.
"Finally a chance to cut loose!" said Bete before jumping between the monster, his kick shattering the head of the rock monster, before landing like a wild animal and charging towards the next target, and here I thought he was being quiet for once but seeing his behaviour now tells a different story.
Seeing everyone going wild on the frontlines, I felt the urge to join them, but just as I was about to jump forward, Asfi called out.
"Don't you dare go wild like them, too! I already have my hands full!" She cried as she supported the frontliners, eliminating any monster that caught any of our allies off guard. She glided across the battlefield like an overworked angel of salvation. Grateful voices called out as she saved adventurers from their own recklessness.
Seeing her so troubled, I decided against my selfish craving and instead leaped in the air, forming a foothold under my feet. I observed the battlefield and worked in tandem with Asfi, keeping the monsters at bay.
"Those who have disobeyed the command, we will be talking later!" Finn warned as several adventurers paled, trying to get back into their original positions.
"Ah-haha... the captain's mad," Tiona laughed nervously, though she didn't stop fighting.
"Of course he is, you idiot! You broke formation!" Tione snapped, though she, too, was repositioning herself.
The battle continued for several more minutes, the combined might of three familias systematically dismantling the monster horde. Gareth's booming laughter echoed as he literally punched through a Flame Rock's chest, pulling out its magic stone with his bare hand.
"That's how you do it, youngsters!" he roared.
"Please don't encourage reckless behavior, Gareth," Riveria said with a sigh.
Finally, the last of the monsters fell, dissolving into ash. The supporters quickly moved in to collect magic stones and any drop items, their movements practiced and efficient.
"Status report!" Finn called out, walking through the aftermath of the battle.
"No serious injuries!" one of the healers reported. "Just minor scrapes and burns."
"Good." Finn nodded, "Then we will move forward, and this time I don't want anyone breaking formation. Understood!" All the adventurers nodded and started moving.
As the group began moving again, I found myself walking alongside Asfi, who still looked exhausted from trying to cover everyone's mistakes.
"You okay?" I asked.
"No," she said bluntly, her head lowered. "Do you have any idea how stressful it is watching people throw themselves into danger like that? It's like herding cats. Very violent, overpowered cats."
I couldn't help but laugh, finding even her disheartened expression endearing.
"Don't laugh!" she cried and started softly thumping my chest with her fist.
"Ow, ow, okay, okay, forgive me!" I said, with mock hurt expression.
"You are such a drama queen," she said, eyes narrowing behind her glasses, a small smile playing on her lips.
Mission success! I thought as I saw that adorable smile come upon her exhausted face.
"How much farther to the next floor?" Raul asked, his voice strained from the heat.
"About another hour if we maintain this pace," Finn replied. "Though we'll likely encounter more monsters along the way."
"Of course we will," Lydia sighed. "Why would anything be easy?"
"Because then it wouldn't be an adventure!" Alise declared, somehow still full of energy despite the oppressive environment.
We continued through the scorching corridors of these floors, battling monsters again and again. After who knows how many hours, we reached the forty-ninth floor. Passing through the stairs and entering what appeared to be a huge, completely desolate room.
"So this is Moytura, huh?" I muttered, looking over the room. The rocks and sand were reddish brown in color, and there were no trees or grass anywhere on the floor.
"Yup, the boss room!" Said Tiona.
"Let's hurry and go to the safe floor. I am so tired." Said Alise.
So without prolonging, our entire party made its way down another floor, reaching the fifth floor. The fifth floor was 'grey', or that's the most appropriate word I could think of, as all the trees were grey in color, stretching all over the floor, with veins like rivers running through the trees endlessly, providing nourishment for the jungle.
"It's always so gloomy here," Lefiya said, scanning the familiar floor, as she had come here a few times at least.
"All right, everyone, good work today!" Seeing everyone had settled down, Finn decided to call out, "For now, we will set up our camp, and it will work as our checkpoint. Beyond this floor, only those of second class and higher will be going down below, so the rest of you have to protect our camp. We will have another meeting, but for now, since everyone is exhausted, let's all get some food and rest for today!"
And with that announcement, everyone began setting up camps, retrieving supplies from the cargo, and preparing dinner, as the "night" had already arrived in the dungeon, the ceiling casting a soft glow on the ground. I watched everything as I thought of what the floor in the 50s had in store for us.
"Arin! Stop spacing out and help out here!" and following the voice of Alise, I hurried over to help set up camps for us to rest.