After a short break to recover their stamina, Lucas weighed a few Magic Stones in his hand and glanced at Jeanne.
"Jeanne, how's the pressure fighting the War Shadows on the sixth floor?"
"War Shadows?" Jeanne thought back to what she'd read in Dungeon Monster Manual II. "According to the guide, their potential ranks around G to F… but honestly, they didn't feel any different from the monsters on the first floor."
Lucas froze, then suddenly got it.
"Right… it's your Skills."
[Ruler]
Greatly increases resistance to all magic; boosts Strength when resisting spells.
Greatly increases resistance to negative effects; boosts Endurance when resisting debuffs.
Slightly weakens any target recognized as an enemy.
[Heart of a Saint]
Reduces all incoming damage.
Gradual regeneration of health and mind.
[Holy Maiden]
Enormous boost to all Stats.
Slightly boosts allies' mental resistance within range.
Put together? An absolute nightmare combo.
[Ruler] weakens the enemy.
[Heart of a Saint] reduces damage.
[Holy Maiden] buffs every one of her own Stats to absurd levels.
Once Jeanne's base Stats improved even a little, she wouldn't just be punching above her Level—she'd be breaking the scale.
Stack all three Skills, and any evenly matched fight would turn into a one-sided massacre.
Even ignoring the Skill bonuses, her refined combat instincts, experience, and sheer willpower amplified her Stats to an insane degree. A base of 300 could easily perform like 400, 500, or even higher in real combat.
So yeah—first floor or sixth, it didn't really matter. The difference was cosmetic.
Realizing this, Lucas exhaled sharply, a manic grin spreading across his face.
"Alright then. Down we go!"
With Jeanne tanking the frontlines, all he had to do was spam magic from behind.
XP and Valis would come pouring in. Hell, maybe even treasure chest drop rates would spike from sheer efficiency.
Seventh Floor.
Lucas pulled his mask up over his face—a sleek black design that hid everything below his eyes.
He unclipped the weapon from his pack, unwrapped the cloth around it, and gripped the new staff tightly. His gaze swept across the dim, twisting corridors.
Light glinted off the weapon's polished surface. His lips curled in satisfaction.
[Name]: Scholar's Staff
[Origin]: System
[Type]: Two-Handed Staff
[Effects]: Increases mind power and spell potency. Highly durable.
[Description]: A two-handed magic staff. Enhanced with a spherical magic crystal at the head and etched runes along the shaft for increased performance and future upgrade potential.
Because its spiral design resembles a twisted pastry, it's affectionately nicknamed the Twisted Staff.
A true classic—the graduation weapon of mages from another world and era.
The Scholar's Staff was a custom commission, built using a System blueprint that dropped from a treasure chest.
The main material? A Great Holy Tree Branch, harvested personally by Lucas.
Even so, after adding in the auxiliary materials, the crafting fees, and a personal favor from Goddess Demeter, the total cost had hit a staggering five million Valis.
And everyone knew—anything related to magic was never cheap. Especially a mage's core weapon.
Still, the investment was worth every coin. In gaming terms, this was a signature weapon.
Its performance would supercharge Lucas's magic output. Combined with his ridiculous mind reserves and buffing Skills, his overall combat power had skyrocketed.
As his magic resonated with the runes carved into the staff, they pulsed to life—glowing and fading like living veins of light.
The air shimmered faintly. Lucas's eyes glowed pale blue, his body radiating a subtle, oppressive aura.
It wasn't magic—it was sheer mental energy leaking into the air, the overflow of power he couldn't fully contain.
In simpler terms: his "badass mage glow-up mode" was officially online.
Jeanne, scouting ahead, kept glancing back at him.
They'd sparred countless times before, but he'd never been allowed to use magic during training—just swords and physical drills.
Seeing him like this for the first time, surrounded by that quiet, terrifying pressure, she couldn't hide her astonishment.
"That's… incredible. Your magic power is so vast—it might be several times my own," she admitted softly.
Behind the mask, Lucas smirked. His voice came out calm, almost casual, but the pride bled through.
"With my current mind reserves, I could keep casting spells all day down here."
Granted, he added silently, we're talking small stuff like Scorch… but still.
Most mages treated Magic as their trump card—a last resort to turn the tide. But Lucas? He was built different.
[Demon Lord's Crest]
Doubles Endurance and Magic Stats.
Increases total mind a hundredfold.
Continuous mind regeneration and high efficiency when casting.
That meant his "mana bar" was literally a hundred times longer than any other mage with equal Stats.
Where others might cast one or two spells per battle, Lucas could fire off dozens—hundreds, even.
Thanks to True Essence of All Magic, he could charge up for Super Magic or instant-cast like it was nothing.
To him, spells weren't trump cards. They were basic attacks.
His auto-attack was a damn fireball.
Sure, instant-casting reduced power a bit, but the tradeoff was worth it.
Range advantage, flexibility, elemental variety—Lucas could outfight melee brutes without ever letting them close.
And honestly? That alone made him feel smug as hell.
"Quit admiring yourself and focus," Jeanne said sharply, her voice cutting through his thoughts. "Something's coming."
In an instant, Lucas's expression hardened. He loosened his stance, eyes narrowing toward the dark tunnel ahead.
The sound reached them—soft at first, then growing: a dry, rustling scrape like countless chitinous legs dragging against stone.
Lucas's face paled.
"Killer Ants. They start spawning on the seventh floor. Tough exoskeletons, sharp claws—and they swarm. They're infamous 'newbie killers.' Even veteran adventurers die to them if they're careless."
Jeanne's eyes fixed on the darkness. "Newbie killers? Doesn't sound pleasant."
Lucas shifted his footing, lowering his center of gravity as he readied the staff.
"The name says it all. Insect-type monsters—hard shells, insane defense. If your weapon or Stats aren't enough to pierce it, you're screwed. Add in those claws, and one mistake in close quarters can end you."
He glanced at her grimly. "And that's just one. The real danger is—"
He didn't finish.
Because in that moment, the darkness lit up.
Hundreds of red eyes flared to life, filling the corridor wall to wall.
A deafening hiss rolled through the tunnels, a chorus of grinding mandibles echoing off the stone.
The swarm was coming.
Even Lucas felt his skin crawl as the oppressive wave of monster bloodlust surged toward them.
If any other adventurers their Level were here, they'd already be running for their lives.
But Lucas and Jeanne stood firm.
The Killer Ants had arrived.
"The Dungeon's welcome party, huh…" Lucas muttered, his voice tight.
Cold sweat slid down his back. The air itself felt heavier.
"Hell of a way to say hello."