Spell Cards.
An item unique to Gensokyo, sealed within them are one's personal attacks.
The Spell Card Duel Rules.
Gensokyo is a fragile place. Within it reside youkai of immense power, but even more powerful than these youkai is the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.
So long as she remains in Gensokyo, the Shrine Maiden is invincible.
If the Shrine Maiden were to battle a great youkai, the very barriers of Gensokyo could shatter. Yet, within Gensokyo, no youkai could ever defeat the invincible Shrine Maiden.
This would render the youkai's reason for existence meaningless.
And so, the Spell Card Rules were established.
These rules were created to prevent youkai and the Shrine Maiden from using power far beyond what was necessary and throwing Gensokyo into chaos.
One gives a name to their ultimate techniques, limiting their power to a specific degree.
During a duel, both parties agree to use the same number of Spell Cards, launching them against each other.
When one side has had all of their Spell Cards broken, it signifies their defeat.
Furthermore, the victor must not kill the loser.
Combat transformed from life-or-death struggle into a form of competitive sport.
Lesser youkai gained the possibility of defeating the Shrine Maiden, and weak humans found hope of triumphing over great youkai.
These are the Spell Card Rules of Gensokyo.
Because the Rules prevent combatants from exerting power beyond a certain level, Spell Cards cannot withstand excessively strong forces.
Alice knew how to make Spell Cards. When her power was average, they were indeed very convenient.
After all, Spell Cards only cap the upper limit of one's output.
In this world, provided one doesn't exceed that cap, a Spell Card's attack still possesses considerable lethality.
But as Alice grew continuously stronger...
The strength limit imposed by the Spell Cards could no longer support her usage.
Although Alice still used things like [X Sign] during fights, it was merely a casting habit.
In combat, Alice's magic wasn't limited by power-restricting Spell Cards.
However, casting magic on her own came with a constraint.
For simple spells, Alice could cast them effortlessly. But for grand magic, the kind that required extensive preparation and time...
This is where the grimoire's value became apparent.
Seven Luminaries magic focuses less on incantations and more on mana manipulation, using mana and magic circles to form spells.
So, if Alice inscribed the magic circles of Seven Luminaries magic into this blank grimoire, then whenever she needed to use certain grand magics that normally required preparation, she simply had to open the book, supply mana, and release the spell directly.
Moreover, with the grimoire's enhancement, the magic's power could be increased significantly.
Therefore, Alice had scored a huge bargain, but also owed a substantial favor.
Still, being able to obtain this grimoire made all those previous concerns trivial to her.
'There's no way Freya doesn't know this book's value, she's a goddess.' Alice, hugging the book, followed behind Ais, her head lowered in thought.
'But it's also possible. She is a goddess, the Goddess of Beauty at that, not the Goddess of Forging or the Goddess of Magic. She might have genuinely misjudged the grimoire's worth.'
Alice muttered under her breath.
By now, Alice and Ais had long since returned to the expedition party. As part of the main force, Alice, Ais, and the others were positioned at the very rear of the entire group.
"What misjudgment?" Lefiya, who was walking alongside Alice and Ais, overheard Alice's muttering and asked curiously.
"Huh?" Startled from her own world by Lefiya's voice, Alice immediately looked up. "It's nothing."
Alice smiled, deciding to set aside for now her pondering on why Freya would give such a precious grimoire to her.
Anyway, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. If Freya had any requests, Alice would definitely take them seriously.
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen any monsters along the way. Were they cleared by the vanguard?"
Alice glanced at the people around her.
The number was still large, but nearly half of the Loki Familia members she'd seen before were gone. Most of the adventurers here now were Level 3 and above.
The Level 2 adventurers were nowhere to be seen.
As for why they were gone, Alice could only assume they had been sent ahead to clear the path.
The expedition's target was the deepest floors, with Finn and the others as the core attackers.
Alice and the Level 3 Lefiya, due to their special traits, could also be counted among the main force.
Hearing Alice's question, Lefiya explained.
"From the 20s to even the 30s floors, we usually don't intervene unless an 'Irregularity' occurs. Only then does the main force step in."
"Further down it becomes too dangerous for the vanguard members. So, when the first group can't hold on anymore, the second group, mainly Level 3s, takes over clearing the path for us."
"Around roughly the 40th floor, those members will also withdraw. After that, it's time for us, the main force, to act."
Lefiya hadn't been on many expeditions, but she had been on a few, so she was quite familiar with Finn's arrangements.
Alice nodded upon hearing Lefiya's explanation.
"I see. But what exactly is an 'Irregularity'?" There was a term in Lefiya's words that particularly caught Alice's attention.
"Hmm... There are many kinds of Irregularities. Like monsters suddenly becoming stronger, or their numbers increasing drastically, or lower-floor monsters appearing on upper floors... things like that. The Dungeon has a will of its own, and we humans are all its enemies."
"To eliminate the humans invading it, the Dungeon adjusts itself. So if you ever go into the Dungeon alone, Alice, you must be very careful, understand?"
Lefiya spoke to Alice with the seriousness of a teacher.
Seeing Lefiya's earnest expression, Alice let out a light laugh.
"Thank you, Lefiya."
"Don't mention it..." Hearing Alice's praise, the previously solemn Lefiya blushed shyly.
Alice continued.
"Among Irregularities, when monsters get stronger, does that include the Floor Masters as well?"
"Floor Masters?" Lefiya looked up, puzzled.
"For example, what if the Goliath I defeated before has now reappeared, even more powerful than before?"
The 17th Floor.
Alice looked at the empty chamber, her voice ringing out for all to hear.
Just as everyone turned questioning glances towards Alice...
CRACK! BOOM!
The wall of the 17th floor shattered, and a black giant emerged from within the crumbling rock.
--+--
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