"Fire Javelin Volley, Fire Javelin Volley, Fire Javelin Volley..."
"Elf Ring, Elf Ring, Elf Ring..."
"Fimbulvetr, Fimbulvetr..."
Clutching her staff tightly, Lefiya crouched at the base of a large tree, her wide eyes bloodshot as she pushed herself through intense special training.
She repeated the magical incantations over and over, searing the spells deeper into her mind.
Lefiya didn't possess a skill like Riveria's, where longer chants resulted in greater magical power. So, even if she abandoned the chanting process altogether, it wouldn't diminish her spell's potency. This method of reinforcing her magical impression by constantly reciting the spell names was a form of practice perfectly suited for her.
However...
After five grueling days of navigating the Dungeon's upper floors, Alice could say with certainty that Lefiya's current state was... not good.
To put it mildly.
Just one look at her pale face and those wide, bloodshot eyes was enough. Anyone would find the current Lefiya utterly terrifying.
"Lefiya... you're kind of scary, you know.."
Alice, holding a book in her arms, walked over and settled down beside Lefiya.
"The 51st floor is next. In your current state, Lefiya, it's dangerous. You should relax a little." Alice sat down next to the distraught elf.
Leaning back against the tree, she opened the grimoire she carried. A quill pen appeared in her hand, and she began writing something across its pages.
The quill itself was just an ordinary feather.
The words Alice inscribed weren't formed from ink, but from mana, meticulously channeled. The quill was merely a conduit, a focus for the magical script.
She carefully recorded the spells she knew into the grimoire.
Whether it filled the pages or not, writing them down was best. No matter the attack, being able to mount an immediate counter was what truly mattered.
This was a combat lesson Alice had learned well over the past five days.
The Dungeon's monsters grew denser the deeper one went, especially during large-scale assaults. They came in swarms, a seething, densely packed tide.
Mages were positioned at the rear of the party, protected by their comrades.
But even so, facing a craze of monsters, a mage always risked being overrun.
Therefore, even those in the back line needed capable close-quarter combat skills.
Take Lefiya, for example. While she lacked refined melee techniques, the force behind her staff swings was nothing to scoff at.
Alice had also come to understand something.
Why in Orario, those delicate, slender wands existed but few used them, most mages preferring staves the size of walking sticks.
It was because these staves were incredibly sturdy. In a pinch, you didn't even need to cast a spell; just swinging one at an enemy's head could deal significant damage.
Following a similar logic, Alice's Grimoire, already made of durable material, had been further enhanced by her with a 'Reinforcement' amplification spell.
Now, if Alice hurled this book, it could probably send a Level 2 adventurer stumbling back.
Of course, Alice's physical strength was ultimately her weak point. Whether she could actually muster enough force to do so was another question.
Under normal circumstances, enemies wouldn't even get close enough to test it.
In Lefiya's eyes, Alice always seemed so elegantly beautiful, so unflappably composed.
Watching Alice sit beside her, so intently inscribing spells into her grimoire, a thick wave of envy welled up inside Lefiya.
Finally, she let out a helpless sigh.
"Haaah...."
"Alice-chan is so amazing. Even though it's your first time reaching such deep floors of the Dungeon, you're not flustered at all. And I... I've been on several expeditions already, yet my performance still doesn't measure up to yours."
Lefiya was deeply dejected. As if to symbolize her elven heritage, her two long, pointed ears drooped pathetically.
If it were just a gap in magical ability, Lefiya could probably accept that. After all, Alice possessed the knowledge of an entire world, and her own prowess was merely due to special skills and racial traits.
But after entering the Dungeon, especially beyond the 20th floor, the value Alice demonstrated to the team, along with her sheer adaptability, filled Lefiya with profound envy.
The gap between people was just a fact.
Even though Lefiya had always known Alice was exceptional, she'd still hoped that her own extensive expedition experience would allow her to be somewhat helpful to Alice within the Dungeon.
But the result...
You see, having someone of a similar type beside you, who nonetheless excelled beyond you in every conceivable way...
No matter how hard you tried to catch up, it felt like an impossible task. How utterly disheartening that was. Especially for Lefiya, who was considered a genius mage in her own right—this feeling was all the more magnified.
"Hm?" Alice tilted her head, looking curiously at Lefiya. Through the fluctuations of mana, she could clearly sense Lefiya's profound despondency.
Alice lowered her gaze to her grimoire. The quill in her hand still moved across the page, but without the infusion of mana, it left no trace.
Then, she spoke softly.
"Lefiya, do you want to head back together in a little while?"
"Eh?" Lefiya felt she must have misheard. "What did you say, Alice?"
"From the 51st floor down to the 60th, aside from the Floor Bosses, the floors are basically interconnected, and they're all populated by Dragon-type monsters. It's extremely dangerous."
"To be honest, having come this far, I've fully assessed my own capabilities. I'd estimate they're roughly around Level 5. While I could probably continue following Finn and Riveria further down, it's not really necessary anymore."
"Lefiya, you're Level 3. Your magic is powerful, but venturing deeper would be very dangerous for you too, especially in your current state. So, I'm planning to turn back. Would you like to come with me?"
Alice didn't look at Lefiya, instead keeping her head down, carefully checking the spells she'd written for any errors.
Hearing Alice's words, Lefiya felt a sudden sting in her nose, and tears instantly streamed from her eyes.
"Alice-chan!!" Lefiya threw her arms around Alice, weeping loudly.
Alice offered a gentle, somewhat resigned smile, softly patting Lefiya's head. "It's alright. Lefiya is plenty strong. Reaching the 50th floor as a Level 3—not many can claim that."
"And, for an elf like you, Lefiya, you're only sixteen. Riveria is over seventy, you know? So you're truly amazing."
The comfort only made it worse.
Hearing Alice's kind words, Lefiya cried even louder.
Alice was human. And from the uncertain information she'd gleaned from Loki, Alice was even younger than she was.
--+--
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