'Should I step in or not...'
Alice watched as the brutal high-class adventurers mercilessly slaughtered the poor Minotaur horde, her mind quietly pondering.
And just then.
The Minotaurs suddenly became frenzied. They stopped attacking the group and instead began scattering in a blind panic.
The monsters ceasing their assault didn't put Finn at ease; on the contrary, it made him even more tense.
With his ample experience, the moment the monsters fell into chaos, Finn's gaze immediately snapped to the passage leading to the upper floors.
His sharp eyes instantly spotted several Minotaurs rushing upwards, and he quickly shouted.
"This is bad! The monsters are fleeing! If any Minotaurs reach the upper floors, the adventurers there definitely won't be able to handle them!"
"Ais, you're fast with your magic. Please, hurry and eliminate the Minotaurs that have escaped upwards. I'm counting on you."
Finn entrusted the task to Ais.
Ais was fast, but not the fastest. Bete was much quicker than her. However, in the 'narrower' labyrinth corridors of the upper floors compared to the lower and deep floors, Ais's mobility was far more suitable.
Because Ais's speed was incredibly agile.
After Ais dashed off in pursuit, Alice looked at the remaining hundred or so Minotaurs and decided to act.
Compared to Riveria's magic, Alice's own magic had much broader applicability.
"Everyone, watch the ground!"
Alice called out loudly.
Hearing her voice, the others spared a fraction of their attention for the ground beneath their feet. Then they saw it—sharp earthen spikes erupting from the floor in an instant, impaling one Minotaur after another.
"Earth Glare." Alice had come up with a rather fanciful name for her simple manipulation of the ground using Seven Luminaries Magic.
With the aid of Alice's magic, the group quickly cleaned up all the nearby Minotaurs.
But the Dungeon seemed relentless. Ahead of them, Minotaurs were still fleeing in all directions, while behind them, the wall cracked open once more.
This time, as a large number of Minotaurs emerged from the wall, they immediately charged towards the three mages closest to them: Alice, Lefiya, and Riveria.
However, having long since overcome her nervousness during the expedition, Lefiya didn't falter at the sight of the large horde charging them from behind. She immediately began her concurrent incantation.
"Barrage of Fire Javelins! Wide-Area Coverage!"
Lefiya raised her staff. She had an exceptional grasp of the very first magic she had ever learned.
She had now reached a level of proficiency with her three spells where she could unleash them regardless of what words she used.
Thus, crimson magic circles materialized in the air behind her, and in the next moment, javelins of fire shot forth from them, slamming into the tide of Minotaurs.
In an instant, a single spell from Lefiya wiped out over a hundred Minotaurs. The scene was truly spectacular.
Spectacular it was, but there was no time to admire it. Nor did the Dungeon cease spawning monsters just because Lefiya had created such a stunning display.
On the contrary, it seemed the Dungeon grew even angrier because Lefiya had annihilated the Minotaurs.
"So, the Dungeon definitely has a consciousness, right? This behavior of trying to drive us out is getting really out of hand." Seeing the scene before her, Alice couldn't hold back her urge to complain any longer.
Abnormal occurrences... well, they happened.
Anomalies that most people wouldn't encounter once in their lifetime—Alice had run into several of them in less than a week. She didn't know if her luck was good or bad.
"Everyone, it seems the Dungeon isn't welcoming us. Let's make a run for it. Probably only after we've left will the Dungeon return to its normal state. So, run!"
With that, Finn took the lead in the retreat.
The others followed close behind.
Riveria glanced at Lefiya and said, "Let's go, quickly. Pick up the pace, and be careful not to get left behind."
"Let's go too, Alice." Hearing Riveria's words, Lefiya grabbed Alice's hand and ran along with the others.
Alice's hand was very petite. On her fingers were ten thimble-like rings, their metallic coolness making her hand feel even colder.
Lefiya, pulling Alice along, ran swiftly. She noticed that even though she was dragging Alice, she felt no sense of extra weight at all.
Puzzled, Lefiya glanced back.
She saw that Alice was floating. Pulling Alice was like tugging on a kite—it required no effort for Lefiya. The fact that Alice could fly was something well-known within the Loki Familia.
Seeing Alice floating along behind her, Lefiya didn't dwell on it too much and simply kept pulling her as they ran.
After the group finally left that floor.
The Dungeon, quite remarkably, stopped its insane monster-spawning rampage.
Seeing the Dungeon return to calm, Finn smiled faintly. "It seems the Dungeon really didn't welcome us. Let's keep moving. Ais is up ahead; she's probably dealt with the fleeing Minotaurs by now and is waiting for us to catch up."
The deeper you go into the Dungeon, the smaller each floor's labyrinth area becomes in the upper levels.
The return trip to the surface would be very quick.
It had taken Alice and the others five days to reach the 50th floor, but the return journey took only two days, making a neat total of one week.
Ais was already far ahead. By the time they caught up, they'd likely have ascended several floors.
Finn made a decision.
"Everyone, let's head straight back today."
--+--
Ais, chasing the escaping Minotaurs, had already cut down several of the ones that had fled to the upper floors.
When she found what was likely the last one.
A rather unfamiliar party came into her view.
Minotaurs were monsters from the 16th floor. For adventurers, being at least Level 2 was essential; anything less was just asking for danger.
And now, right in front of Ais.
Four adventurers were facing this final Minotaur.
A white-haired, red-eyed boy stood behind two women, clutching a cheap-looking weapon, ready to provide support at a critical moment.
And Lili stood further away, waiting for the others to defeat the monster so she could step forward and collect all the dropped items.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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