"So heavy..."
Ais slowly pushed herself up from the ground, her movements sluggish and labored, her breathing coming in heavy gasps.
Within the gravity magic circle, just the act of getting back on her feet had drained a significant amount of her stamina.
Fine beads of sweat even formed on her forehead.
The effect of the gravity magic left everyone present utterly astonished.
"No way! Just standing up uses that much energy?" Tione's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Even Lady Ais is struggling that much..." Raul was equally shocked.
After carefully observing Ais, Finn narrowed his eyes and said, "No. Ais has already adapted. She was just caught off guard by the sudden change in gravity, which is why she ended up flat on the floor."
"By now, she should be getting used to it. Her breathing, for instance, is gradually returning to normal."
Finn's analysis was meticulous.
Just as he had said, Ais was rapidly adapting to Alice's gravity magic.
Alice hadn't infused the gravity magic with any conceptual power.
If she had, Ais might have been crushed to death in that very instant.
But at its current level, the pressure was just right for Ais. Relying on her exceptional physical prowess, she quickly grew accustomed to the strain of the gravity magic.
Feeling the weight bearing down on her, Ais looked at Alice with shining eyes. "Can we have this magic in the Loki Familia?"
Ais's words made everyone present, except for Alice, light up with excitement.
What Ais wanted was simple: to get stronger.
The exact mechanics of the gravity magic weren't clear to the members of the Loki Familia, but based on Lefiya and Riveria's earlier explanations, one thing was certain: this gravity magic essentially acted like an immense weight strapped to the body.
For adventurers newly joined to the Familia, weighted training was an extremely effective method.
Finn and the others had their own experiences with weighted training in the early days.
They had stopped simply because there were no longer any weights substantial enough to challenge them.
And now, after just briefly adapting to Alice's gravity magic, Ais was suggesting installing one back at their home.
The potential of this gravity magic was becoming abundantly clear.
"Is it really that effective? Let me give it a try!"
"Me too..."
Unable to contain their curiosity, the two Amazons in the party stepped towards the magic circle.
The moment the sisters, Tione and Tiona, set foot inside the circle, it instantly vanished.
They looked at Alice, puzzled.
Alice sighed helplessly. "This magic circle is designed for a single target. If more people enter, the mana required increases. A small circle like this can't handle that much mana."
"Besides, regardless of how effective my gravity magic is, or whether we decide to set up one or more circles back at the Loki Familia, we actually have to get back first. We're still in the Dungeon, you know."
It might have sounded a bit dismissive, especially since Alice had already agreed to Ais's request.
But as Alice pointed out, they were in the Dungeon. Even though they were in the upper levels close to the surface, danger could strike at any moment.
The Dungeon had evolved a Goliath.
Maggot monsters, never before seen in the Dungeon, had appeared on the 50th floor. It wasn't impossible for an irregular event to occur here on the 16th floor.
Just as everyone was marveling at Alice's gravity magic, she could feel the atmosphere in the surrounding space grow heavy. An irregular event was unfolding.
They had likely overstayed their welcome on this floor while preparing to leave.
So the Dungeon itself was taking action, starting to evict them.
On the solid rock walls surrounding them, layers of stone began to crumble away. One Minotaur after another emerged from the walls. In mere moments, nearly a hundred of them had stepped out.
"Minotaurs, huh." Finn didn't seem the least bit surprised by the appearance of the bull-men. Everyone present was, after all, a highly experienced adventurer.
While amazed by Alice's gravity magic, maintaining a vigilance of their surroundings wasn't particularly difficult.
"Everyone," Finn addressed them, "just as Miss Alice said, we can discuss everything else once we're back. And this magic is, ultimately, Miss Alice's personal spell. It's likely something even Lefiya cannot learn."
"So, let's not place too much expectation on this magic circle."
"For now, let's deal with these tactless brutes and head home."
Finn drew his spear from his back, twirled it with a fluid motion, and then charged headfirst into the horde of over a hundred Minotaurs.
Finn's words were carefully considered.
Upon realizing Alice's magic could affect even them, everyone had indeed entertained the thought of having Alice use this gravity magic directly within the Loki Familia to aid their training.
In that moment, the question of whether Alice was willing had been overlooked.
Now, with Finn's reminder, they all cooled their heads.
Alice was not a member of the Loki Familia. She had no obligation to serve them. If she was willing to help, it was because of their good relationship with her.
If she was unwilling, they couldn't hold it against her.
As had been said before, even Airmid, of the Dian Cecht Familia, who possessed excellent healing magic, charged for every spell she cast.
Alice's gravity magic was undoubtedly even more miraculous than Airmid's healing magic.
There was simply no way it would be offered for free.
And, to be blunt, if Alice was on good terms with the Loki Familia, it was largely out of respect for Loki herself. It had little to do with them, the Familia members.
Thus, reminded by Finn's words, no one uttered any foolish requests for Alice to develop a more convenient form of gravity magic or create puppets imbued with it.
Their primary focus now was the sudden monster horde.
Minotaurs continued to seep relentlessly from the walls.
Although the party was cutting them down steadily, they couldn't keep up with the Dungeon's generation speed. It was unlikely this exaggerated spawning would stop until they had left the Dungeon altogether.
Watching everyone shift their focus from curiosity about the gravity magic to enthusiastic combat against the monsters, Alice inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
--+--
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