"We… survived…?"
Aneiri muttered.
"How can you say that in this situation!? This is the worst-case scenario! The black dragon got sent somewhere via 'Capricious Door'—what if it landed on floor ten!?"
Luna shot down Aneiri's words sharply.
Floor-ten bosses were mostly fought by rookies—some only days into being explorers.
Imagine clueless newbies suddenly facing a deep-layer black dragon in terror, getting torn apart.
The atmosphere between us grew even heavier.
"I never imagined floor bosses could be affected by 'Capricious Door'… We should've considered the possibility the moment it appeared outside its zone. For now—return to the surface immediately. Request forced extraction from the guild."
Luna regretted her earlier suggestion but quickly shifted gears.
Guild cards had another function besides registering crystals at each layer.
Forced extraction: the guild forcibly removing someone from the labyrinth.
Used only for criminals hiding inside or emergencies—never lightly.
This was undeniably an emergency.
No explorer could handle a black dragon wherever it ended up.
"Right. We'll probably face penalties, but we can't afford to care right now."
Derrick and Aneiri looked dissatisfied but didn't argue.
"After that—swap Philly for Orun and sweep the floor bosses. He's probably diving with "Silver Rabbit" rookies today. Catch him right after forced extraction—"
"Wait—hold on!"
Derrick cut Luna off mid-sentence.
Understandable interruption, but interrupting people was one of his bad habits.
"…Injured people should stay quiet and get treated. We'll be running soon."
"Why bring Orun back!? We don't need him! We're already slumping—adding that incompetent—"
"Treatment's done. Time's short—let's talk while moving."
"—Don't interrupt me!!"
…Derrick, nobody agrees when you say that.
"Philly—can you cast Agility Up on everyone?"
"Understood…"
Luna ignored Derrick and asked Philly for support magic.
With boosted movement speed, we sprinted toward the ninety-second-floor entrance.
◇
"…About what you called a 'slump' earlier—you haven't changed at all."
While running, Luna finally resumed her interrupted explanation from before the black dragon appeared.
"But our abilities clearly dropped. My Heaven Flash couldn't even scratch that thing…"
Saying it aloud made the frustration boil up again.
Why didn't my strongest move land!?
"The answer is simple: Orun-san isn't here."
Not concentrated enough?
True—my convergence time had shortened compared to before.
But that was because my [Mana Convergence] skill improved—I could match or exceed old power in less time.
"Orun-san understood his raw support values were average. To catch up and stand out, he developed original spells to cover the weakness. Among them—one that boosts stats by roughly fifty times."
"Impossible!! Even if… even if he could… if something like that existed…"
Philly desperately denied it.
What shocked her so badly?
"Even Selma Crodel—called 'continent's greatest enchanter'—only reaches ten times. Yet Orun-san used a spell that granted fifty times—albeit for less than a second."
—What!?
Weren't his buffs supposed to be weak!?
"You seem to understand now. Your Heaven Flash, your decisive strikes, Aneiri's magic—all rode that fifty-times boost. Oliver-san—you grew complacent with Orun's support, shortening convergence time. If you'd concentrated fully, you could've damaged those wings."
My Heaven Flash… relied on Orun's magic…?
No way.
"Aneiri-san too—you mistook attacks boosted by Orun-san's spell for your own power. We warned you—you never listened. That's why you developed the habit of fast, weak casts. With Orun's support, mid-tier spells worked fine—so now you can't even use high-tier ones anymore?"
"Then why didn't he just show me—make me feel it without words!? Why not do that!?"
"When you joined, we were already at eighty-six. No room to slack. Orun-san made a painful choice. Still—he thought your cast speed was valuable. He tried to bring you deeper—you refused because it was 'a hassle.' Remember?"
"…Was my defense… propped up by him too…?"
"Yes. Instantaneous—but immense power. And since it targeted equipment and magic—not the body—there was no sudden weight when it ended. —That's why I opposed his expulsion. I said it before… Do you understand now?"
We couldn't deny it.
We'd just been helpless against a black dragon we once defeated.
We were a party built around Orun…?
No one spoke after that.
Only footsteps echoed.
About twenty minutes after the black dragon vanished—finally we reached the labyrinth entrance.
Philly had cast Agility Up on everyone every minute while running—now drenched in sweat, breathing ragged.
People waiting spotted us—cheers erupted.
Ignoring them, we headed straight for the explorers' guild.